Chapter 52

Chapter 52

I shot them a desperate look to rein my friends in, but it didn’t really sink in. Apparently, the way the butler’s mustache drooped sadly was visible only to me. They seemed to have eyes for nothing but the adorable cat. At that, the butler’s expression turned even more woebegone. Then he simply turned and quietly left the spot. I could only watch his retreating back with a pang of pity. A pathetic man, who loved cats but couldn’t get close to them.

Tough break….

Well, for all that, I didn’t think he’d forbid us from keeping the cat. So maybe, like the maids said, we could just raise it in secret(?).

“Alright. Let’s keep it.”

And so I made my decision too.

After that, we decided to bring the cat to Ann’s room — she was off-duty — and then head back to our respective posts. The maids filled the corridor with a clamor of voices until they reached a fork and scattered in every direction. The space, so riotous a moment before, settled into calm in an instant.

I walked slowly down the hallway, my own footsteps echoing. It was the path to the duke’s chambers, but in the sudden silence, a somber feeling crept in, along with a certain thought.

‘I should probably bring some white flowers. All the formalities will be skipped, but it’s still a funeral, after all.’

The image of the man who’d closed his eyes quietly on that hospital bed rose unbidden. His soul had already returned to the sky above. And soon, his body would return to the earth. For his final journey, I wanted to give him a proper farewell — at least enough to seem convincing.

“Should I bring the cat along, maybe…?”

I reached the study door, grasped the handle, and pushed it open as I thought. Then I stepped inside. My mind was a tangled mess, spinning nearly to dizziness, but right now, it was time to work.

“What’s that?”

No sooner had I entered the study than the duke looked at me and asked.

Huh? What’s he talking about?

“Pardon?”

“Next to you.”

I looked around as he said, but there was no one there.

“Below.”

This time I dropped my gaze. A black cat padded out from beside my leg.

“Ah! You startled me! What the—!”

I jumped a full span into the air. The little creature that should’ve been in Ann’s room had followed me out.

Oh, damn… I was planning to keep it on the sly…

“Did you bring it?”

“Uh… yes… Actually, it’s about that man I saw before. You remember, the one who collapsed and was taken to the hospital? I went to visit him today, and he suddenly died.”

“So that’s how it ended.”

“Yes. So since there was no one to look after the cat, I brought it home. I’m sorry.”

“You must have been worried.”

“……I suppose so. But I only planned to keep it for a little while, just a very little while, then send it home or find it a new owner……”

“Understood. Do as you see fit. But tell Handel about it. He needs to know about everything that goes on in the manor.”

The duke lowered his gaze again and rummaged through a stack of papers as he replied. His tone was surprisingly unremarkable, unlike what I’d expected.

“Hmm… Actually, that was my plan at first. But I heard the butler has a cat allergy. So somehow it turned into a secret.”

I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly and stepped closer to him.

Meow—

The cat trotted right along with me.

“He does have an allergy, but it’s mild. He wouldn’t stop you from keeping just one cat. Besides, Handel adores cats.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

It was hard to forget the butler’s twitching mustache. He didn’t try to show it, but anyone could see he clearly liked them. Though somehow none of the other ladies-in-waiting had noticed.

“Then that settles it.”

“……Yes. I’ll do that.”

I nodded in affirmation and looked at the duke. As if sensing my gaze, he lifted his eyes and met mine. For a moment, our looks tangled in the air.

“……How’s the training going? Manageable?”

He groped the desk with empty hands, grabbed a pen, and asked me.

“It’s good. Once I get the hang of it, I think I’ll be amazing.”

I fidgeted with the edge of the desk, running a fingertip along its corner as I answered. He seemed to be scribbling something over the documents for a moment, then his gaze shifted to my restless hand, and from there, he lifted his eyes to meet mine.

“…….”

Then, without a word, he gave a short, soft laugh. It was a calculated charm attack, the kind no one could stay immune to—and I sure wasn’t. So I cracked a silly grin in response. But right then, the duke froze, almost flinching.

“Laura……”

“Yes?”

“Don’t do that……. Not you.”

“Yes?”

He dragged a hand over his face in silence. His tone was like he’d just taken a counterblow, so I quickly pressed my lips flat and bit down hard. I could see his ears burning red.

“Oh……. Yes…….”

That reaction made me a little embarrassed too. So I scratched behind my ear for no reason and hesitated, wavering between heading back to my seat or sending the cat away, twitching in place. But in the end, I made no decision at all and stood pinned before him like a statue.

“Um…… Excuse me, Your Grace……”

“Go on.”

When I spoke again, I could dimly sense both our voices had dropped a register. He must have spotted the tension lingering between us too.

“What are you two doing?”

That’s when it happened. Suddenly, Shion’s face popped right between us.

Ahhhhh.

I screamed internally and collapsed onto the floor, then instinctively started frantically petting the cat pacing beside me.

Meow—

The cat dodged my hand this way and that, clearly annoyed. I ignored its protests, chasing its head around and stroking it with determination.

“Big brother, you’re holding the paper upside down. The letters are backward.”

Shion’s voice came from behind me a moment later. Then I heard the flutter of a document being flipped over—the duke must have scrambled to turn it right-side up.

“Oh? Cat! Found the cat!”

The child scurried over to my side, pointed at the cat, and shouted.

Meow, meow—

As if it had heard Shion’s voice, the cat answered loudly, mimicking a reply.

“Hey. Hey? Quiet down.”

I scooped the creature up quickly and whispered. I could feel my own voice flustering without my permission. Then, suddenly aware I might have overreacted, I held my breath again and looked down at the cat in my arms.

“Hey. You, be quiet.”

Meow—

But it shot back a response as if to show off. Like it understood me perfectly and just chose to ignore it.

“Be quiet!”

Shion looked up at the cat and shouted cheerfully. It seemed like she was copying me, but I never spoke that brashly.

Meow—

The cat let out another desperate wail, and within moments the study had dissolved into chaos.

“Your Grace, let me put that cat in Ann’s room. I’ll be right back.”

I glanced sideways at the duke as I spoke. Sure, the ruckus was bad enough, but I was also starting to worry about Ann, who was probably searching for the little beast, thinking she’d lost it. The moment he gave his go-ahead with a word, I strode out the door.

“Shion, you’re coming with me.”

I made sure not to leave Shion behind—he’d only bother the duke if I did.

“Okay!”

The child answered briefly and followed after me. We walked down the corridor and headed straight for Ann’s room. But then Shion, mid-step, cut me off.

“Unnie! Hey, Unnie!”

“Huh? What?”

“Do you two like each other?”

Huh?

“What? Wait—no?!”

I yelped, almost a scream. Startled by my own voice, the cat swatted my cheek with its soft little paws—over and over.

“Mrow?”

With a playful grin, the child spread both arms out wide and wobbled them, then took off in short, scampering steps.

“Hey. I said no.”

I chased after her, getting my cheek whacked a dozen more times by the cat along the way.

“Uh-huh. Got it!”

“You’re not listening to me, are you?!”

Shion ignored me and sprinted down the corridor. I had no idea what that little brat thought she knew, but one thing was clear: she was messing with me. I hurriedly broke into a run after her. It’s not like I could catch a ghost, really, but I dashed anyway, blindly.

That’s when we reached the end of the corridor. Ann popped out of nowhere from around the corner. No time to dodge—we slammed shoulders into each other, and in the shock, I dropped the cat.

“Ah! Oh, the cat!”

Ann shot out her hands to catch it, but the little beast slipped right through her arms and landed on the floor, safe as a cat would.

Thank goodness.

We both looked down at the cat and exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. Then we lifted our heads and met each other’s eyes.

“Oh! Laura, you had the cat all along. I thought I lost her.”

“Yeah. You must’ve been worried. Sorry. I think she followed me out without me noticing.”

“No worries. Glad she’s safe.”

Ann smiled softly and looked down at the cat again. I followed her gaze. The little thing was circling around me.

Meow—

Then it looked up and gave a short mewl, as if it were trying to tell me something.

“This little one. Looks like she really adores you.”

Ann said.

No way. That thing slapped me about twenty-five times just a minute ago.

“Well… maybe I’m just doing it because I’m used to being here.”

“But look at how it follows you around. It wouldn’t act like that unless it likes you.”

“Hmm…”

I tilted my head, mulling it over for a moment.

Is that so…?

Now that I thought about it, when I’d slipped out of Ann’s room, it could have wandered anywhere—yet it’d chosen to follow me.

So did it actually like me?

Maybe this little thing had more in common with its owner than I’d thought. Twenty-five hits or not, it still liked me.

Hmph.

A surprising swell of pride made me sheepishly rub beneath my nose.

“Then like me back, okay?”

Ann’s voice dripped with disappointment. She bent down and stroked it. Watching her, I realized how many people here would welcome the creature—it would live loved from now on. If that could help it bury the memory of being separated from its owner, nothing could be better.