BL: The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster (Novel Translation)

The warmth on my forehead and cheeks was clear enough to feel hot.

"I didn't expect to meet you in the study," Kyle said, a hint of unexpected joy in his voice. "If I had been waiting in my room, I would have gone quickly."

Of course, I had stopped by the study because I had business, but I didn't have to be entirely honest with him. I chose an option that would make Kyle happy.

"Because I miss Your Highness."

"..."

Of course, he didn't truly believe it. However, he seemed even happier than before. He buried his head against mine and sighed. Overjoyed, he had a habit of catching his breath every time he felt overwhelmed.

"I have some questions."

"About Blake's Estate?"

"Well, not exactly. If you wanted to know about the territory, you wouldn't have to come to the library. You could just ask him."

"That's true. Then what are you curious about, my mathematician?"

"That's it..."

At that moment, a pale hand suddenly stretched out and knocked on the door.

"I'm sorry to disturb you during your good times, but I'm here too."

Didn't you leave, wraith?

Kyle said bluntly, without even looking at him. Unlike when he spoke to me, a chill dripped from his tone.

"This is a private space, so I hope you don't come in."

"Oh, is it like a forbidden area? It wasn't written in the contract."

"Well... isn't it a matter decided by common courtesy?"

The hand that had been touching my forehead and cheek now covered my eyes. My vision turned black. He didn't seem to want to show me how he stood up.

"Because you're the guest, and this is the owner."

"Sure..."

Knox asked, holding back a laugh. "What is that thing the Grand Duke is holding?"

Kyle said nonchalantly, "The only one who is exempt from all taboos."

"You lost, you lost."

I raised my hand and tapped Kyle's hand, which was still covering my eyes. Then Kyle relaxed his grip and gently grabbed my left shoulder, turning me at the same time.

[✿(///◡‿◡///)✿]

'You're good to me, so why are you embarrassed?'

I grumbled inwardly and looked at Kyle's expression. He looked a little more dissatisfied than usual. His face filled my vision. I thought he must have been with Knox this whole time.

'That's not the case.'

Kyle was waiting to meet the wizard, but he was hungry and eating a sandwich. I was just doing that. Then that damn wizard came up to me at will, and just behind me, I just followed him...

"Shu."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Looking closely at his expression, he seemed to have a rough idea of what had happened. So, rather than being sad...

'I just don't like it.'

Is it some kind of jealousy? Or, foolishness?

The terrifying Grand Duke was so jealous that his mouth seemed to stick out further than his feet. Honestly, it was cute. I touched his cheek quietly. The day will come when even Kyle Blake will look like this.

Kyle had a sullen face, but he quickly smiled softly at my loving touch. It was as if, now that he had my full attention, nothing else mattered. I was told not to be easily swayed by other people's minds, but I stopped. Yes, no matter what he thinks? I won't betray him, and Kyle's appearance like that is far from ugly. It was just lovely.

I said after calming him down moderately, "Would you like to help me out now that I've met you here?"

"Whatever."

Knox wouldn't come in anyway. If he wasn't going to leave, he could just stand there and watch. I stepped slightly and whispered so that only his ears could hear me.

"I'm looking for materials. I want to investigate the 'Drowning Body' and the 'Grim Reaper.'"

At first, I thought it was just Knox's peculiar way of speaking, but even in front of the chessboard, he was talking to himself. Judging from this, it didn't seem to be a problem that could be simply overlooked. Maybe he was talking about other beings among the Northern Mages. 'White Ghost' might be a kind of name for them.

"Besides, I told you that I use similar power to them. But if he talks to himself... just as I talk to the system, Knox may be communicating with them from a distance. Who knows?"

When I asked the system about 'Drowning Body' and 'Grim Reaper' a while ago, the system replied:

[Unexplainable.]

In short, they were beings who did not appear in the development of the original Heart of Winter. Or, I never ran into them. However, it was necessary to find out. Their existence might change the future.

Their existence was not highlighted in the 'novel,' but now I breathe and stand on my feet in this place, which is not just a novel but a 'reality.' So even the slightest thing is enough to change everything.

"Yes. I was looking for it too."

Kyle nodded slowly. His red eyes shone with determination. He glanced at Knox and whispered softly to me.

"But when I looked up the records of wizards recently, I didn't find much."

"Is there anything like a century-old record, not just recent ones?"

"A century?"

"Yes, it doesn't matter if it's earlier, but it's going to be hard to get, right?"

If Knox's age reached triple digits, his colleagues wouldn't be much different. I'd have to find records from at least a century ago to get useful information.

Kyle pondered my words and shook his head. "If it was related to magic, it would have been preserved... But the data isn't categorized by period, so it may be difficult to find."

"A wizard who died while using forbidden magic, or someone thought to be dead who suddenly appears in the world, or someone who gained a great ill feeling in the world due to their own death or the death of others... There are stories like that. It's like a tumultuous incident, a piece of gossip in the Meinhardt family."

'Wraith,' 'Drowned Body,' 'Grim Reaper.' And what they had in common with me was death. I had almost suffered death, and all of their nicknames were related to death.

Kyle seemed to have a similar idea to me and nodded with a rather serious face. "... It was a matter of timing. Yes, look it up."

He looked at me with a peculiar and almost dying expression. Then, after going back and forth in front of the bookshelf for a long time, he began to pick out bundles of parchment, books, and papers. I checked the contents of what Kyle handed me and moved them one by one onto the desk. Once I had selected only the materials that matched the theme, I planned to go to the bedroom and check the details together. If I checked them here, it would save me the trouble of moving the data...

"Aren't you going?"

My muffled voice was answered by a faint laugh. Knox was at the door of the study, arms folded, watching us with interest.

"Any problems?"

"Since you're looking at me like that, I can't do anything. It's burdensome."

"Can't I just look at you? As recommended, I didn't even put a toe in the study."

It was nothing short of cheeky. Even if they were equally grumpy, one was cute and the other was annoying. Seeing that, I was reminded of how solid my affection for Kyle was.

"I didn't know you had voyeuristic tendencies."

"I don't know, if you want to say that, you have to take off your shirt coolly."

"... What, what? There's nothing he can't say!"

When I got angry, Kyle, who was looking at the book, glanced at us. It was a sign of his renewed dissatisfaction. He was secretly jealous.

I quickly approached Kyle, wrapped my painless arms around his waist, and buried my face against his back. "Let's just go quickly. I'll come back and check the rest. Yes?"

Instead of looking at me, Kyle took out a few more books with a casual touch. The old books were covered in leather, and a little dust was blown away.

"I suppose so."

His voice softened a little. Even if he tried to pretend not to be affected, the corners of his mouth would rise slightly.

Isn't it a foul to be so cute with such a big size? And he's half a year older than me on top of that.

Anyway.

I replied, rubbing my cheek affectionately against his back. "Yes, we don't have much time, so let's go quickly."

As soon as Kyle nodded, I grabbed the materials on the desk and put them by my side. I walked to the wide-open study door. Knox was still smiling and looking at me, leaning against the doorframe.

"Can I help you, kid?"

I wanted to scold him for calling me "kid," but as we got closer, the height difference became noticeable, and my pride was hurt for no reason.

I nodded outside the door without hesitation. "Getting out of the way is helping. I didn't push you away, so today's laugh is the end. How is it, isn't it?"

"It would be difficult to find such a record alone." It was as if he knew exactly what I was looking for. "It's quicker to ask me, how about it? With a pitiful face, just like you would do to the Grand Duke, if you are proud, you can be kind."

Would you do it?

Anyway, he had a knack for talking nonsense with such care.

I said firmly, "Turn it off." Even if Kyle wasn't in front of me, my answer would have been the same. I'd rather bite my tongue on the spot than charmingly beg him for information.

According to the system, in order to interfere in an event, you need to collect a certain amount of knowledge. So, even if it was a little slow at first, if we gathered as much information as we could, we would somehow be able to make up for the number of anomalies.

I put my arms firmly around the hard-earned data so it wouldn't spill out and called the system.

'These things are also knowledge, so the number of anomalies will go up, right?'

Then, a blue window appeared in front of him.

[Current Adverse Interference Rate 1%]

... Yes? What the heck. Where did you get that 1 percent?

While I was a little dazed, Knox bowed his head and whispered to me. "He was empty. Nothing. He can't even say a stupid word... It's a bit difficult to describe as 'alive.'"

"..."

"Even so, there was someone who hugged me and said he loved it. I was amazed inside. I didn't even have it properly, but can one love it even though one has nothing in their hands? No, is that really love?"

It was so strange that it sounded absurd at first glance, but somehow I felt like I had to remember all the words he uttered.

"Kid. What do you think love is?"

I thought for a moment and then replied, "What I give to His Highness, and what His Highness gives me."

"..."

"I'm not sure what you mean, but this one thing is clear."

"Hmm?"

"You can't just love it if you get it."

It's not love to keep something by your side, like having something or collecting it. I know that.

I looked at Knox sympathetically and passed by. A system window, blurrier than usual, seemed to have risen, then disappeared in front of me.

[Current Extraordinary Interference Rate 2%]