The Prince and the Princess

Before Nancy left, Wilbur made his request. "You have to drive me to Bay State University tomorrow."

Neither the tone nor the wording sounded like a request, so Nancy questioned, "Why should I agree to your request?"

"You broke my stone," Wilbur replied.

"But you've already said I don't need compensation."

"Really?" Wilbur didn't seem to care about what he had just said. "But I've changed my mind."

Nancy, with one arm around her waist and the other supporting her chin, looked at Wilbur: "You want to borrow the Necronomicon from there?"

Wilbur didn't hide anything and nodded.

"Is that book really that important?" Nancy asked.

"It's very important to me."

"Well—okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow," Nancy said. "But I'll try to persuade Professor Armitage first. He's very easy to talk to; if I speak to him, he'll change his mind."

"That would be wonderful," Wilbur said, changing the subject. "Have you decided whether you want to climb Sentinel Hill with me?"

"I haven't decided yet—maybe I'll bring a friend along."

"Really?" Wilbur's expression instantly turned impatient, and his previously calm tone became rude. "But I don't want to see your friend. You'd better leave; this house needs rest."

His tone was Nancy, which made Nancy feel somewhat panicked.

She was always a welcome guest and a hospitable hostess; neither being driven away nor driving others away had ever happened to her.

Nancy wanted to say something more, "Hey, wait a minute—"

But Wilbur wasn't going to listen and shoved her.

To the diminutive Nancy, Wilbur was nothing short of a "monster." She lost her balance, stumbled back several steps, and was forced to retreat outside the door.

Nancy was angry. She knew Wilbur was rude, but kicking her out like that was just too impolite. "Hey! You—"

Before she could say anything, Wilbur had already closed the door.

Nancy stood outside the door and heard the sound of the door being locked from the inside.

She couldn't possibly act like a shrew, yelling at the person inside through the closed door—she might have done something similar before—but Wilbur's rudeness provoked Nancy. The more rude Wilbur was, the more Nancy wanted to display her elegant and well-mannered side.

It's like a princess facing Beast Prince.

In the novel:

The Beast Prince roared at the princess: Get out!

The language is crude.

But the princess didn't take it to heart. Her reaction was as if she had heard the most elegant words. She politely smiled back at the Beast Prince Beast Prince and bid him farewell at a leisurely pace.

The wording was carefully chosen to avoid offending the Beast Prince in any way.

The Beast Prince was reminded that he too had once been a prince.

Wilbur was certainly not the Beast Prince, but Nancy was indeed an elegant princess.

Nancy said goodbye softly to the door, turning gracefully with the royal etiquette she had once learned but had almost forgotten, hoping that Wilbur was peeking through the crack in the door behind her.

After turning around, Nancy's face immediately fell. Although she kept telling herself not to care, she couldn't help but feel angry.

Even her elegant gait was tainted by anger; she was unfamiliar with such aristocratic etiquette to begin with, and now her steps were stiff.

Nancy tried to adjust her posture in frustration, but she couldn't achieve the desired effect. Instead, it only made her angrier and her steps more stiff.

She was annoyed and stopped paying attention to these things; after all, she couldn't see anything through the crack in the door.

Nancy began to reflect on Wilbur's attitude.

Beast Prince ----

Although she was certain that Wilbur was far inferior to the Beast Prince, she couldn't help but think of them together.

After all, they were all very tall, none of them were liked, and all of them had conflicts with the princess.

They all had conflicts with the princess.

The Beast Prince was too insecure; he had completely forgotten the composure he once possessed as a prince, leaving only a layer of arrogance to protect himself.

He was kept in a cage and put on display every day, just like a real wild animal.

So when the princess treated him like a normal person, he also felt it was an insult.

humiliation----

Nancy remembered what she had said before Wilbur kicked her out; she had told Wilbur that she wanted to bring a friend.

Was this considered humiliating for Wilbur?

Maybe so, after all, Wilbur had always said he wanted to go hiking with Nancy.

A hypothesis began to emerge in Nancy's mind.

She still remembered the momentary look of surprise on Wilbur's face when she let Wilbur into her car.

He wouldn't have fallen in love with...

That explains everything. Wilbur's strange behavior throughout the journey was all an attempt to get Nancy's attention, including his unreasonable request at the end, which was all in the hope of seeing Nancy more often.

Sentinel Hill —perhaps that mountain held special significance for Wilbur, which is why he only wanted to invite Nancy Wagner.

Nancy's steps became lighter.

Wilbur, behind the door, didn't peek through the crack as Nancy had imagined.

Wilbur raised his proud head again, drank his coffee, hesitated for a moment, and then threw the cup Nancy had used directly into the trash can.

Lavinia finally came out of her room.

"What are you going to do?" Lavinia asked.

Wilbur ignored her, took a book from the shelf, and sat down on the sofa to read.

Lavinia shuddered, not daring to ask any more questions, and quickly returned to her room.

--

Wilbur closed the book and tossed it aside casually. He picked up the huge, egg-shaped stone.

The stone barely managed to stay in two, but the swirling pattern in the gap had disappeared, and now the gap was as crystal clear as Nancy had hoped.

Wilbur was not lying to Nancy in this respect; the stone was indeed picked up from Sentinel Hill.

However, this only happened after the campfire was lit.

The God are great.

When he descends upon the world with unparalleled power, even if it is just a phantom, it may cause strange changes in some things.

This change is beyond our control and has no value to us even for cult members.

However, it may leave some people with a mark from the God.

Wilbur opened the window and threw the egg-shaped stone outside. As expected, he heard a crisp sound, and the stone shattered completely in two.

He finally loosened his overly tight clothes a little.

Anyone would assume that the skin under his clothes was covered in thick, dark hair, just like the skin on the outside.

But no, Wilbur's skin inside his clothes had no hair.

The strangeness of his skin is manifested in other aspects.

His chest had a strange, crocodile-skin-like texture—hard, smooth, and inhuman.

Wilbur walked toward Old Whateley's room.