The Letter Scrawled in My Own Hand
“Blanc! I brought snacks!”
While I had been rolling around in the Gumiho’s arms for quite some time, Princess Kailian came running over with a huge silver tray in her hands.
Again with the servants trying to snatch away what I do myself.
By now it was a familiar sight, so I slipped out of the Gumiho’s embrace.
“This time I brought mostly the ones you said were delicious last time.”
“Whoa…”
To keep her promise properly, the tray was piled with far more snacks than usual.
I took the cake from the front of the tray and sliced off a piece with my fork.
The sweet cream and the rich aroma of butter swept over my nose, while the moist, fluffy texture of the cake layer melted smoothly down my throat.
How are the cooks getting better and better every day?
“Big brother! Me too!”
“Yeah, sure, go ahead.”
I sliced a piece of cake and fed it to Lumia, who was whining beside me.
“Yummy!”
“Let’s eat together.”
Lumia and I climbed onto the table where the silver tray sat and dug in with focused intensity.
After eating for a while, my stomach got full enough that I remembered the thing I had forgotten.
“Ah… right. I’ll write a letter. Give me some paper and a pen.”
At my natural request, Princess Kailian dropped her teacup slightly and stared at me.
Why are you so startled…
That was the expensive teacup she had bragged about last time…
“What? A letter? You, you can even write letters?!”
“Yeah, I picked up writing when you always looked at documents on the desk.”
Even if I show this much, when it’s a human I had private tutoring in English!
The letters here are pretty much the same as English anyway, so it wasn’t hard to pick up.
Fortunately it was English that the Vikings had once beaten into shape, so that was a plus.
At my answer Princess Kailian opened her mouth wide, then poked my cheek sharply and muttered in amazement.
“Oh my… our Blanc… you weren’t just thinking about eating all the time?”
“… Let’s fight with a knife.”
I bared my teeth and lunged toward her, but Lumia and the Gumiho stopped me, and I ended up sitting back down.
… I wonder who would have thought I’m actually a pig that thinks about food twenty-four seven.
“Sorry. I was just surprised, Blanc. I’ll get the letter paper right away, so cheer up, okay?”
Princess Kailian waved at a servant waiting nearby, and the servant bowed deeply and hurried off.
A short while later, on the garden table there were several sheets of delicate gold-embossed parchment and an elegant imperial fountain pen with a feather quill.
I wagged my tail and reached for the pen.
… This is heavy.
“… What are you all staring at?”
In front of me were Princess Kailian, and on either side the Gumiho and Lumia, all three staring at me with wide eyes.
Their gazes were so intense they were almost painful.
Lumia had even propped both hands under her chin and was holding her breath.
“Mama, big brother can write letters. It’s amazing…”
“Shh. You have to be quiet so Blanc can concentrate.”
Even while saying that, it’s working.
Princess Kailian stared at me fixedly and had been muttering to herself since earlier.
“Our Blanc… who should I write the letter to first? Of course it’s me… No way… Demian… Demian would…”
… Demian is busy with work these days and I can’t even see his face, why would I kill the kid.
Even the servants kept peeking, so I simply could not concentrate on the letter.
Aw, damn it…
I scrunched up my face, slammed the hand holding the pen down on the table, and shouted at the three of them.
“Hey, if you keep staring so unnaturally I won’t be able to write anything!”
“Eee, why? I’ll just watch.”
“Yeah, I want to see big brother writing letters!”
Princess Kailian and Lumia reached for me, but I grabbed the pen and the paper and shot to my feet.
“No! I’ll write it by myself! Nobody follow me!”
I held my tail straight up, crossed the grass, and sprinted full speed down the corridor of the Princess’s Palace.
It felt pretty fast even running on two human legs.
I knew the palace layout blindfolded, after all.
I ran straight to the office where Grandpa was.
Crash—!
I didn’t bother with knocking and flung the Emperor’s office door open roughly.
Knocking between us is a bit of a faux pas.
“Grandpa!! I’m using the desk!”
I slammed the door shut behind me and burst into the office, panting.
As soon as I entered suddenly, Grandpa’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
But when he looked at my ears and voice, his face broke into a wide smile instantly.
“What’s the matter that you came running so urgently?”
“… There are too many people outside I like, and I can’t concentrate. Grandpa, let me use the desk, Grandpa.”
I stood on my hind legs and struggled to climb onto Grandpa’s desk.
Because my jumping power was lower than usual, it was hard to get up.
Argh… I used to climb up easily in my real form.
Grandpa saw me struggling and stood up, lifting me up with both hands and gently setting me down on the desk.
“Wait just a moment.”
Grandpa immediately cleared away the very important-looking documents so I could use the space.
… I should give you a good massage later.
I felt a little bad for interrupting state affairs, but I didn’t know when I’d be going back.
So I had to write the letter quickly now.
“Go ahead and write to your heart’s content.”
“Grandpa is the best!”
I rubbed my head against Grandpa’s chest, then slipped the things I had brought onto the desk and started writing the letter.
Scratch, scratch.
In the quiet office the only sound was the fountain pen gliding across the premium parchment.
Emperor Carchion held his breath silently and watched Blanc with a warm smile from a step away.
The kid… he’s surprisingly capable… Did he secretly learn to write?
He imagined the crooked letters Blanc must have made and a smile crept onto his lips.
Deciding he would praise whatever was written, he glanced at the letter and his eyes widened.
“…… What is this?”
A stunned exclamation escaped him.
“Huh…”
The handwriting on the parchment still carried the slightly round, cute charm of a child, but the spacing and proportions were perfectly even, the strokes clear and neat, the whole thing beautifully neat.
Moreover, the sentence flow and word choice were completely natural.
… Is this what Blanc is writing?
He checked the handwriting and, eyes wide with disbelief, closed them and opened them again.
He checked the letter once more, and overcome with pride and emotion, he ruffled Blanc’s hair vigorously.
“Ah, Grandpa! My hair’s all messed up! I’m concentrating right now!”
“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. It’s just so amazing I couldn’t help it.”
I grumbled but couldn’t stop the smile on my lips as I finished the letter.
“Whew, it’s done.”
I exhaled in satisfaction and set the fountain pen down.
I neatly folded the letter in half to send to Mom, Grandpa, and the White Tiger Uncles in the distant realm.
Writing after a long time makes my wrist hurt.
I rubbed my aching wrist and stretched my back.
“Is it finished? Come here. This old man will seal it for you.”
Grandpa watched me, took an imperial gold seal engraved with the empire’s crest and red sealing wax from the drawer.
Grandpa carefully dripped the melted wax onto the letter’s flap and pressed the seal firmly to close it.
“Grandpa! Do this too! There’s more!”
I pushed several more sealed envelopes onto Grandpa’s desk.
Short notes for Princess Kailian, the Gumiho, Lumia, and the rest.
The kid… is turning the Emperor himself into a personal servant.
Grandpa chuckled softly without a trace of irritation and sealed each one with care.
“All done.”
Once the last letter was perfectly sealed, I gathered all the envelopes.
And I held the very last one in both hands and offered it to Grandpa.
“Here! This one’s for Grandpa!”
“……!”
At that moment Grandpa’s body froze like a stone.
His gaze stayed fixed on the red-sealed envelope in my hands.
“You have one of mine too…? … What?”
“Yeah, of course. Grandpa’s family too, right? Grandpa’s precious to me.”
“… Is that so?”
Grandpa carefully took the letter from me, then suddenly bowed his head low, hiding his face from me.
“Are you okay, Grandpa?”
“… Yeah, it’s nothing. Go deliver the letters now.”
“Ah! Right! Okay. Thank you so much, Grandpa!”
As soon as Blanc opened the door and left, Emperor Carchion was left alone. He barely calmed his trembling body and collapsed into his chair.
He had cherished the child like a pet, and now the little one casually called him family and said he was precious.
Though he had vaguely sensed Blanc felt that way toward him, hearing the words directly made his emotions surge suddenly.
“… I’m getting old.”
Emperor Carchion bit his lip hard and opened the precious letter with a strange wetness in his eyes.
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