Chapter 19
From that moment on, Leon trained himself to remain calm in any situation while in his tiger form.
Starting yesterday, he had also begun practicing keeping his tail down, no matter what appeared in the greenhouse. So far, he hadn’t let it puff up even once—probably because he wanted to earn Lucas’s praise.
However, no matter how hard he tried, transforming from a tiger back into a human remained difficult. So today, rather than forcing the transformation, they focused on assessing his abilities while in his tiger form.
But today, butterflies fluttered around the greenhouse, and for some reason, the vanilla scent coming from Lucas was even sweeter than usual…
Spending such a beautiful day solely on training felt like such a waste.
Leon turned his expectant gaze toward Lucas. His instructor had maintained a firm, rigid expression throughout the training session, and even now, his brows were slightly furrowed.
Leon often felt a pang of sympathy when he saw the ever-present shadows on Lucas’s face. At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder—why?
He’d look so much prettier if he smiled more… I’m happy, so why does Lucas always seem so burdened?
Playing is the best cure for that!
It didn’t seem like skipping training for just one day would cause any major problems…
In Leon’s opinion, Lucas needed to play.
The man barely slept, constantly worked, and… of course, that would make anyone miserable!
With these thoughts swirling in his head, Leon gazed up at Lucas with big, shining eyes. He caught a flicker of hesitation in those deep black eyes. That was all the encouragement he needed.
Leon quickly sprang up and clung to Lucas’s arm. Though his small frame lacked strength, he had learned something interesting while tumbling around with Lucas during their training on falling techniques—
First, Lucas really liked animals. When Leon was in his cub form, Lucas’s reactions were noticeably different.
Second, Lucas was incredibly ticklish.
With his claws carefully retracted, Leon ran his soft paws over the bare skin of Lucas’s neck. The moment his fine fur brushed against him, Lucas flinched, unable to suppress a laugh.
“Hah… Le-Leon… stop that…”
“Rawr! (Let’s play!)”
The more Lucas twisted and squirmed, the more determined Leon became. Eventually, Lucas lost his balance and toppled backward. Seizing the opportunity, Leon clambered onto his chest and unleashed everything he had learned about making Lucas laugh.
He licked his chin, kneaded his chest like a cat, rolled around playfully, and even rubbed his fur-covered cheeks against his.
“S-stop… We… need to… continue training…”
Lucas tried to scold him, but he was laughing too hard to sound convincing.
He’s happy too, Leon realized, his tail flicking with satisfaction. I want him to laugh even more!
Pressing his damp nose against Lucas’s, Leon wagged his tail, wondering what else he could do to make him smile.
Just then, a butterfly flitted past.
Leon wanted to ignore it since he was playing with Lucas, but his eyes kept following its movement. His naturally short attention span was at work again.
Inevitably, the butterfly won.
Leon leaped off and darted around the greenhouse in pursuit, bounding after it with reckless joy. Eventually, he ran out of breath and skidded to a stop—right in front of a patch of snow-white daffodils.
They were so pure, so beautiful… just like Lucas.
Carefully, Leon plucked one between his teeth and trotted back to where Lucas was standing.
Despite rolling around in the dirt earlier, Lucas remained impeccably clean, standing there as if he belonged in the midst of the glowing sunlight. Squinting against the brightness, Leon padded closer and gently placed the flower at his feet.
“Rawr! (A present for you!)”
Lucas, smiling softly, knelt and picked up the flower before reaching out to ruffle Leon’s fur.
Leon had received so much from Lucas that he felt a little guilty about never giving anything in return. Now, at least, he could offer something.
Purring contentedly, he nuzzled against Lucas’s hand. But when he blinked, he realized something—
Lucas had pulled his hand away.
“You’ve changed back.”
“Ah…”
Technically, the entire purpose of their training was to regain human form, so he should have been happy about his success.
But…
“Lucas, why don’t you pet me when I’m human?”**
Leon frowned, his ears twitching.
“My curse doesn’t affect you, so there’s no reason not to. You like me better as a tiger, don’t you? That’s why you only pet me when I’m in that form. If that’s the case… I won’t turn back into a human anymore.”
His childlike complaint caught Lucas off guard.
Of course. A boy his age would naturally crave affection from his guardian. Lucas hadn’t considered how much Leon might be longing for simple gestures of comfort.
“That’s not true. I prefer you in your human form.”
“Really? Then why don’t you ever touch me when I’m human?”
“That’s…”
Lucas hesitated.
It was simply a habit—one he had built over years of avoiding people. Even though Leon wasn’t affected by his curse, breaking that ingrained habit was proving difficult.
“…As I said earlier, we’re training. You need to remember how it feels to shift back into your human form, so you can do it again next time.”
Finally, Leon’s bright smile returned.
“Okay!”
“Then, let’s try to recall. What were you thinking about just before you turned back into a human?”
Leon pressed a finger to his lips, carefully retracing his thoughts.
“I was thinking that I wanted Lucas to smile more. And that I wanted to play with Lucas every day. Oh, and that the flower was as pretty as Lucas’s face…”
Lucas’s ears tinged slightly red at the child’s unfiltered praise, but Leon was too deep in thought to notice.
Now that he said it out loud, he realized something—whenever he transformed into a tiger or returned to his human form, he had only ever been thinking about Lucas.
“When I’m with you, Lucas, I feel so, so good… it’s like I can control my power better.”
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
Back when Lucas first rescued him, when he had wandered alone searching for Lucas, and even now—
“Oh! What if you’re actually the one helping me control my power? Lucas, you must be! You’re the fairy who saved me!”
“…That may be possible. But we can’t be certain yet, so we should continue training—”
“No, really! Let’s test it now! I know it’s because of you! The last time I turned into a tiger, I stayed that way until you arrived. And even before coming to the north, it was the same.”
Lucas was still skeptical, but there was no harm in testing the theory.
“Then—”
Before he could finish speaking, Leon had already latched onto his arm, spinning them both in a circle. It was a game he used to play with the Emperor in the palace gardens when he was younger.
“You’ll get hurt if you keep doing that.”
“But I learned how to fall without getting hurt from you, Lucas!”
Lucas sighed, a bit awkward but relenting nonetheless. He started spinning slowly, adjusting his pace so Leon wouldn’t get dizzy or fall.
Even as they twirled, Lucas kept a careful grip on the daffodil in his other hand.
This was the first flower anyone had ever given him—whether in his past life or this one.
It would wither with time, but the fact that Leon had picked it while thinking of him was something Lucas wanted to remember for a long time.
Golden hair shimmered under the warm sunlight as Leon spun around him, laughing.
Michelle leaned against a column outside the greenhouse, silently observing the scene within.
Her sharp gaze focused on the little brat—whether he was a tiger or a child, she wasn’t sure—but either way, he was clearly charming Lucas.
Otherwise, why would a tiger be rolling over and kneading the air like that in front of a person?
More importantly—why was the Teian Imperial Prince transforming into a tiger at all?
Was it a curse passed down in the Imperial bloodline? Had it finally begun manifesting?
Michelle’s brow furrowed as she turned her attention back to Lucas—only for her expression to shift into something more complicated.
Lucas, who was usually so cold and severe, had his eyes softened into gentle curves. The darkness in his gaze had lifted, and for the first time in a long while, his face was touched by light.
His pale cheeks flushed faintly before returning to their usual pallor, and most telling of all—his lips curled into an unmistakable smile.
The gloomy figure who always seemed to stand in the midst of a storm was nowhere to be found.
Michelle’s emotions churned with conflicting thoughts.
She knew her younger brother had a weakness for small creatures, so it made sense that he was reacting this way to the cub-like prince.
But the real problem was who that cub was.
The enemy nation’s prince.
“I should drag that brat out of there right now—!”
True to her bold nature, Michelle made a move toward the greenhouse doors—
But then, she saw Lucas’s expression shift again.
The carefree smile vanished as he returned to his usual composed demeanor.
It was only for a brief moment, but Michelle had seen it.
Then, the little brat—now back in his human form—clung to Lucas’s arm and spun them both around. And Lucas? Instead of scolding him, he simply smiled again.
That was the last straw.
Michelle slammed open the greenhouse doors.
“Lucas Rion!”
“…Sister!”
At Lucas’s exclamation, Leon’s eyes widened.
The person who had suddenly barged into the greenhouse—interrupting their happy moment—looked just like Lucas.
