If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 82
“I’ve seen it before, but why does that tail spin around in circles like that?”
Louis heard her curious little murmur before Ivan did.
Louis looked at his own hand, looking like he didn’t quite believe it himself, and whispered softly:
‘It’s because he likes you a lot.’
“What?”
‘A wolf’s tail can’t hide emotions.’
“Huh? Why?”
“…Is there someone else around?” asked Ivan.
Ivan was used to Ruby suddenly talking to herself, but he found it odd this time since he didn’t sense any chill. He looked around, as if searching for an invisible presence, and Ruby answered him in a hushed tone.
“Um, not right at the moment.”
She waved at Louis as he flew off into the distance.
“You seem to have calmed down a bit. Your sentences aren’t as high-pitched.”
“Well, that’s…”
Hugging him tightly, Ruby watched his furiously swishing tail calm down over his broad shoulder, and decided to try an experiment.
“…I haven’t calmed down at all, I think?”
“What, are you still scared?”
Swish, swish—
The black tail, which had been calmly sinking, began to swish again. Ruby watched the spectacle with a twinkle in her eye, and when she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders in a hug, the tail began to spin with even more force.
Ruby hugged him tightly in surprise, and Ivan, thinking she had done it out of fear, awkwardly patted her back to reassure her.
“It’s okay. I’m here now.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Swish, swivel-!
“In any case, please don’t go out for a while.”
“Okay…wait, no! Why?”
“Not if you can help it. We have an important meeting coming up, and if you can’t keep getting into trouble like this.”
Ruby was genuinely troubled. His tail was no longer wagging. Now his tail was flicking from side to side in an unpleasant, brushing motion.
Seeing this, Ruby leaned her cheek against his shoulder in resignation. Then his tail began to spin like a windmill again. Expressing emotions with a tail—but that only made it even harder for her to grasp his feelings.
“I understand.”
In response to her affirmative answer, he said, “For now, let’s go back. Liam must be waiting.”
“Yes~”
“Heh, that’s cute, saying words like that.”
Neither of them took notice of Ivan saying that she was cute. Ivan thought he had only said it in his head, and Ruby, already knowing that she was cute, decided to just play along.
As they were about to leave, a desperate voice came from above, “Lord, sir! I-I…”
Realizing that the lord had come to rescue Ruby, Leslie despaired. Watching the lord favor Ruby so openly had become increasingly agonizing.
She wanted to go down, but she couldn’t muster the courage to. She didn’t realize how high it was when she climbed up, but now that she looked down, it seemed pretty high.
Thinking that Ivan would surely save her, Leslie called to Ivan just as he was about to leave.
“Because it’s too high, I can’t get down alone, sir… Please take me with you, too?”
Leslie pleaded with a pitiful expression. Or perhaps she wasn’t trying to come off that way, but it naturally came off as pitiful.
However, instead of a response, Ivan stared at her silently. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he held Ruby tighter.
Ruby’s ears perked up at the sound next to her. Doesn’t that sound like a broken molar? Quickly straightening up, she wrapped her hands around Ivan’s face and tapped his lips with her fingers..
In response, Ivan, who had stopped moving his feet again, asked with a puzzled voice, “Why are you doing that?”
“Just open your mouth for a moment.”
“…Why?”
At that moment, her tail started swirling fervently again. However, Ruby, who wanted to check inside his mouth right away, was so focused on his crimson lips that she didn’t notice the tail.
