Chapter 055
“Dia?”
“Yes. She said if you haven’t gone back yet, please bring her to see her.”
Good thing Perea had prepared a bouquet just in case. She followed the staff member with Ray.
After walking through a long, confusing hallway where any normal person would definitely get lost, they finally reached the actors’ waiting room.
Knock knock.
The staff knocked, and soon a voice answered, “Yes!” The door opened.
Dia greeted Perea with a bright, excited face, still flushed from the performance.
“Perea! Thank you so much for coming today! I’m so happy to see you again!”
“Thank you for inviting me. Your performance was amazing!”
Perea sincerely praised her and handed over the bouquet. It was even more beautiful and luxurious than the one she gave Madam Trukisil.
The room was already filled with flowers, but Dia still smiled brightly.
“It’s so beautiful! It smells amazing too. I’m really happy—this makes all my hard work worth it!”
Her reaction made anyone feel good.
While they were talking, Dia’s eyes moved past Perea—to Ray.
Even though his face was half covered by a mask, it was obvious he was very handsome. As an actress with a good eye for beauty, even she was surprised.
But seeing his ears and tail, she knew he was a fierce beastman. He looked cold, so she hesitated to speak.
Not wanting to ask directly, she stayed quiet—until Perea introduced him.
“Dia, this is Ray. You know—Prince Theo’s guard knight.”
Dia quickly nodded, but honestly, she didn’t fully understand.
The gloomy guard wrapped in a black cloak from before and this handsome man in front of her… they didn’t seem like the same person at all.
The only thing they had in common was the color black.
She froze in shock, covering her mouth.
Perea gave her time to adjust—but suddenly, loud voices came from inside the room.
Then five large wolf beastmen rushed out.
“Did you say Ray?!”
“Where is our big brother?!”
It seemed they heard his name and ran out immediately.
They looked like guards for Dia, wearing lighter clothes.
The first person they noticed was Perea. They greeted her—then their eyes widened when they saw Ray.
“Wait… our big brother… was his jaw always this handsome?!”
“I don’t know, but the smell is definitely him!”
“Wow… he’s actually super handsome!”
The wolf beastmen surrounded Ray, praising him wildly—even though they could only see his jaw.
Their fluffy gray tails wagged excitedly.
Ray frowned, clearly annoyed.
When he turned his head away—
“Wow! Look at that jawline!”
“It’s like a sculpture!”
Finally, Ray said, “That’s enough,” and they stopped.
The wolves shrank back and returned to their spot.
Perea and Dia sat together and talked about everything that had happened.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying your time in Eclit,” Dia said.
“Yes, it’s even better than I expected! You must have had a hard time practicing.”
“Honestly… since it’s my first lead role and such a big performance, I practiced constantly.”
Dia complained a little about how hard it was. Perea listened with a smile.
Dia was amazing on stage—but talking like this face-to-face felt even better.
They wanted to talk more, but Perea had to check on Theo, and Dia had interviews waiting.
So they said goodbye.
“Perea, I was really happy you came wearing the dress I gave you.”
“I was happy too! I loved your performance.”
They promised to meet again on Dia’s day off.
As Perea walked away and Ray followed—
Dia gently grabbed Ray’s sleeve.
He turned to look at her.
Dia tucked her red hair behind her ear and whispered softly,
“You and Perea look really good together.”
“…What?”
“I’m rooting for both of you.”
Ray’s round ears twitched.
Dia smiled knowingly, then let go and waved goodbye.
After That (Time Skip)
Two weeks passed quickly while they enjoyed their time in Eclit.
Yesterday, Perea received a long letter from Elo, who had gone to Timi Village as a doctor.
Most of the letter—over five pages—was about how beautiful the white ears of rabbit beastmen (especially snow rabbits) were.
Still, Perea felt relieved that Elo was doing well.
But now she had a new worry: Theo.
Recently, a group of unfamiliar armored knights had appeared in Eclit.
Tourists thought monsters might have appeared again.
But Perea knew the truth—they were searching for the missing prince.
She was very worried Theo might be discovered and taken away by another faction.
However, Theo, Ray, and Berry all seemed calm.
Theo was young, so that made sense—but Ray and Berry should know better.
While Theo was napping, Perea spoke seriously to Ray.
“Ray, you heard the rumors, right?”
“Rumors?”
Ray, whose hair had returned to its shining silver after the dye wore off, looked relaxed.
He leaned back on the sofa, looking both lazy and elegant.
Perea shook her head, trying not to get distracted by his looks.
“This isn’t the time for that!”
She tapped the table.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know!”
“…There are suspicious knights around,” Ray said casually.
“You know they’re looking for Prince Theo!”
She lowered her voice, clearly worried.
Ray, who usually disliked fearful people, reacted differently because it was Perea.
He leaned closer to her and spoke gently.
“I can defeat them all.”
He thought that would reassure her.
His tail even wagged proudly.
But instead—
Perea’s expression became even more serious.
