Chapter 47

Chapter 47

“Uh… I… I wasn’t invited, was I?”

“Haha. Not like that — I meant as my partner. How about it? Will you be my partner?”

A partner request? From the young marquis?

It was shocking enough to make my eyes roll back, but in that moment, without even realizing it, I glanced at the Duke. Part of me hoped he’d take notice of the situation. But he showed no particular reaction.

A strange pang of disappointment hit me. Still, I set that feeling aside and opened my mouth to refuse the young marquis.

“I…”

“Why? Not going with Lady Karenne?”

But the Duke suddenly cut in with a flat tone. I turned my gaze back to him. His face was as cold as ever — no, wait. On closer look, he seemed a little annoyed.

“What are you talking about? I broke up with Eleina over three years ago.”

“Is that so?”

“‘Is that so,’ my foot.”

The young marquis furrowed his brows as he retorted. A small crack appeared in his ever-smiling face. I couldn’t utter a single answer and had to watch the scene unfold.

“And Laura will be going with me.”

The Duke continued.

Huh? Wait. What did he say?

“Hey. Hold on. What’s that supposed to come out of nowhere?”

Right. I’d like to know that too.

“I also need a partner to go with.”

Me?

“You’ve always gone alone before.”

“So now I intend to go with my secretary.”

“What the hell, Elize? Out of the blue?”

“I took Laura as my partner when we went as envoys to Krentis. There’s nothing sudden about it.”

They were throwing my name back and forth as if I weren’t standing between them. Though their voices never rose, the atmosphere felt charged with a full-blown argument. Caught in the middle, I grew flustered.

“No. No. Forget it.”

The young marquis rubbed his forehead with his right hand, like his head was throbbing, while waving his other hand palm-out in dismissal.

“We don’t need to be like this. Let’s hear what Laura thinks first.”

Then he turned to me and spoke.

Ah, right. I’d been so flustered I forgot — my answer comes first. How sensible of you.

Well, if I were to follow my honest heart, of course I’d say I’d go with the Duke. But the fact that I’d been given a choice now made it feel far too burdensome to just follow my feelings.

“I…”

Blue and green eyes waited without a word for my answer. I drew a breath’s pause, then spoke again. This would probably be the most fitting response I could give.

“……Do I really have to go?”

“…….”

“…….”

* * *

“Shion. That cat — you brought it here, to this mansion, right?”

“Yeah, I brought it here!”

Oh! So Madam was telling the truth… The little blonde is Shion, after all!

I was crouched behind the spot where the cat had appeared, stealing another glance toward it. And Shion had settled beside me, waiting too.

“Then you really picked it up from Neo Street, Second Alley?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember?”

“You don’t remember? You can’t recall where you got it?”

“I found it in the alley behind that big tea shop. You know, the one with the red sign.”

“Then that *is* Neo Street.”

“Uh-huh. That makes sense!”

The child nodded twice from her hunched position.

“But big sister, will this *actually* make the cat come?”

She pointed at the cardboard box I’d set out and asked.

“Cats love boxes. If we leave it here, it’ll probably come and get inside.”

“Really? That’s amazing! I want to see it hurry up and crawl in.”

Shion’s voice rang with excitement. Then she fixed her gaze on the box again, as if determined to wait calmly this time.

“Laura. What are you doing? Playing hide-and-seek?”

Just then, a voice sounded behind me. I turned my head to find the young marquis looking down at me, curious.

“Oh. Ah—Young Marquis!”

I scrambled to my feet at once. Feeling a bit embarrassed that he’d caught me sitting flat on the floor, I quickly brushed off my skirt with a few pats.

“Sorry. Did I startle you, appearing out of nowhere?”

“Ah. No, not at all.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Well… you mentioned the cat ghost earlier. I was waiting for it.”

“A cat?”

His gaze landed on the box in front of me.

“Can something like that actually affect ghosts? I mean, objects from the land of the living.”

He approached the box, bent one knee, and sat down on the ground as he asked. But of all places, he chose the very spot where Shion had been sitting first. As a result, Shion slipped right through his body.

“Hey, what’s this guy doing! I was here first!”

The child slipped out from behind him, her voice sharp with irritation. She swung her tiny fist, thumping his shoulder again and again—but of course, her blows just passed through his body, over and over. Furious, Shion looked at me as if to say, *Do something about him.* I just pretended not to see and stepped closer to the young marquis.

“Souls were once part of the land of the living, after all. If they loved something while alive, it’s only natural they’d love it in death too.”

“Hmm~ But I take it the cat hasn’t gone inside that box yet?”

“No. I waited quite a while, but it hasn’t shown up at all.”

To be honest, the moment night fell—prime time for ghosts—I’d dashed out here. But even after a long while, that creature hadn’t so much as flicked the tip of its tail into view.

“Right! I was waiting too!”

Shion scurried over to my side, planted herself anew, and shouted. It was as if she were talking *at* the young marquis, even though he couldn’t hear a word.

“Hmm… If a dead soul can still be drawn to living things, there’s one idea that comes to mind…. I’ll bring some catnip tomorrow. What do you think?”

The young marquis continued.

“Catnip?”

‘What? Is he talking about catmint?’

“I grow it in the garden. With that, wouldn’t it be easier to lure the cat out?”

“You grow catnip too?”

“I love animals. So I planted a bit.”

“That sounds great! I’d appreciate it, Young Marquis.”

“Alright, then. I’ll come back tomorrow, Laura.”

He smiled gently, then rose to his feet.

“Huh? You’re leaving already?”

“I’ll head back for today. I need to prepare the catnip to bring tomorrow.”

After that, he bid farewell and rode off in his House’s carriage back to the marquis’s manor. I decided to give up waiting for the cat and head to Neo Street instead. It occurred to me that the cat might have already shown up and wandered off somewhere else. If that was the case, waiting any longer would be pointless.

But as I grabbed a light coat and was about to step out of the manor, I ran into the duke in the corridor. He stopped mid-stride and strode over to me.

“Going somewhere?”

“I’m going to check the spot where the cat ghost was.”

“At this hour?”

“Uh… Is it too late?”

The sun had fully set, so it was definitely late. But I had to learn from the butler starting early tomorrow, so I couldn’t spare any other time.

“I’ll be quick. Just planning to look around the streets.”

“The area’s safe enough, but not completely. I’ll have a carriage called—wait for me. I’ll go with you.”

‘Huh. I’m fine, though…’

I would have been fine on my own, but the Duke insisted on sending someone to summon the house’s carriage. In the end, we found ourselves seated across from each other, surrendering to the jostling ride.

The Duke sat close—close enough that I could reach out and touch him. He must have washed up; his usually immaculate hair had loosened, falling untidily around his face.

‘It must be because of the cat. The Duke coming all the way to Neo Street…’

I watched his black hair slide down the bridge of his nose and thought.

Animals could become evil spirits just like people. They wouldn’t grow as strong, but they could still be threatening enough. So that cat lingering in Cuvershaiden had to be ascended—one of those souls that absolutely couldn’t be left behind.

He was probably thinking the same thing.

Neo Street wasn’t far from the ducal house, so we arrived quickly. But it was already too late; every shop—including the old teahouse—had closed for the night.

We began walking side by side down the darkening road, hoping to catch even the faintest trace. Then, in a tucked-away corner, we spotted a black figure hunched on the ground.

It was round and murky—impossible to tell if it was even human-shaped. So I decided to just pretend I hadn’t seen it and walk past. The Duke seemed to think the same, keeping his eyes forward and paying it no mind.

“Your Lordship! A noble, sir!”

The creature that had been huddled there suddenly called out to us. Judging by how it was addressing a random passerby, it wasn’t a ghost—thankfully.

“Have mercy, spare me a coin!”

Right. Just an ordinary beggar.

The Duke stepped closer, pulled out a gold coin, and handed it over. The ordinary beggar man’s eyes went wide as he took it.

“Oh! Oh, thank you, thank you, sir!”

He clutched the gleaming gold coin in both hands, crying out with unrestrained delight. I stepped closer and studied his face—unkempt hair and beard, a body so gaunt he looked ready to collapse at any moment.

“Excuse me, I’d like to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

As I spoke, the man hurriedly stuffed the gold coin into his shirt as if afraid someone might snatch it, then looked up at me.

“Did a black cat used to live around here?”

“You know the cat, do you?”

“Huh?”

“Ain’t you looking for a cat? Truth is, there’s one around here that’s been roaming all over—it’s been a real headache, I tell you.”

“Has that cat been coming and going until recently?”

“Aye. That’s right.”

Then that couldn’t be the news I was after. The cat I was looking for had been dead a long time.

“Look there—that’s the one.”

The man jerked his chin toward the space behind me. I followed his gaze, turning my head. Two blue-green orbs swelled larger as they drifted toward us, then resolved into the shape of a cat against the dim backdrop.

It was a tiny kitten.