Chapter 8
As Süleyman appeared in the garden, everyone except Hürrem bowed in respect.
‘Why the hell did that guy show up here……!!’
Startled, I hurriedly looked for a place to hide.
But with these short legs of mine, there was no proper way to escape the tea table.
‘I need to hide, quick!’
I crouched behind the three-tiered tray piled high with sweet pastries, curling myself up as tightly as possible to avoid notice.
“Meowww…….” (No way he’d recognize me, right……?)
After all, what Süleyman had seen was only my human form.
Besides, every cat around here was wearing the same bell-tipped choker as me, so there shouldn’t be any risk of exposure.
Still, rational thought couldn’t stop my heart from pounding like crazy.
Hürrem, reclining in her armchair, greeted Süleyman in her languid tone.
“Welcome. To think it’s this difficult to see the face of my one and only son. You’ve grown terribly unfilial.”
“I believe I’ve been doing my best to be filial, in my own way.”
As he shrugged with a shameless expression, Hürrem’s eyes narrowed.
“Filial? Don’t make me laugh. The other princes send me handwritten letters and gifts nearly every day, yet my own son doesn’t even show his face.”
“Flattery and filial piety aren’t the same thing.”
“Your tongue is the only thing that’s grown. How disappointing. I must have raised you poorly.”
She unleashed her complaints like a machine gun, but Süleyman held his ground.
“That’s because His Majesty the Sultan has been dumping far too much work onto me. Even matters he should handle personally end up at my desk.”
When Süleyman stressed the word “Sultan,” Hürrem let out a small chuckle.
“You could still call me ‘Mother’ like before. You were so adorable once, always clinging to me and calling me that.”
“…I’m no longer a child.”
“Yes, and yet it feels like just yesterday you were tugging at my dress hem, bawling and begging me not to go to work. You’ve grown so much, my son.”
Her tone was clearly mocking.
Süleyman clenched his fist and ground his teeth, but couldn’t muster a reply.
‘Yeah, he’ll never win against her in this lifetime.’
The victor was obvious—it was Hürrem.
Süleyman wasn’t weak by any means, but Hürrem’s sharp tongue was on an entirely different level.
“Now, sit. Let’s have some tea and talk.”
“…Fine.”
The moment they sat down, attendants appeared from nowhere to set the tea table.
“Ah, and our adorable guest should sit with us too. Help this one into a chair—looks too small to climb up alone.”
N-no, really, I’d rather decline!
But since I was technically an invited guest, I ended up seated at the table with them.
In front of me was placed not fragrant black tea, but a special cat drink.
It was warm milk mixed with finely shredded cod, and it actually smelled delicious.
Unfortunately, I’d completely lost my appetite.
Because sitting right beside me, a far too noble figure was practically glaring holes into me, making cold sweat bead down my back.
‘I just want to escape…….’
The sight of one tiny kitten sitting with a mother and son locked in a deadly-serious family quarrel looked utterly bizarre.
It was Süleyman who broke the silence first.
With princely grace, he sipped his tea, then set the cup down sharply and asked Hürrem a pointed question.
“Yesterday, I had an uninvited guest in my chamber. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Oh, do you mean this little one? To cruelly throw out such a lovely cat—your taste is truly dreadful, even if you are my son.”
When Hürrem jerked her chin toward me, Süleyman frowned and stared straight at me.
‘Terrifying…….’
His blood-red eyes fixed on me, and I felt a chill creep down my spine.
Shrinking back, I quickly averted my gaze and pretended to be interested in something else.
“…So it was the runaway cat the guards mentioned. But I wasn’t talking about a cat—I meant a person.”
Across from him, Hürrem casually shrugged.
“I did hear someone tried to sneak into your chambers. But really, would your own mother ever do such a thing?”
Even before she finished, Süleyman let out a deep sigh.
“Forget it. Clearly you have no intention of telling me. Then state your business. You didn’t summon me here just for tea.”
“As expected of my son—you know me well. You’re right.”
Her eyes curved in a mischievous smile as she finally revealed her true purpose.
“Your gubernatorial inauguration is soon. And since your coming-of-age ceremony is long over, you should at least have a cat by your side.”
“I’ve told you repeatedly—I need neither cats nor women.”
“You can delay marriage, but a prince with succession rights who keeps no cat will be the laughingstock of the capital and beyond. Foolish son.”
Crackle.
For a moment, I swore sparks were flying between them.
‘If you’re going to fight over something so personal, please leave me out of it…….’
This must be what that proverb means about shrimp getting crushed between battling whales.
With two people radiating such intense pressure right next to me, I could hardly breathe.
“In any case, take this one and keep it in your chambers. That’s why I called you here today.”
“Mother…!”
He leapt to his feet in protest, but she silenced him with a finger to her lips.
“Shh, lower your voice. You’ll frighten my cats.”
Hürrem lifted one of the cats from the floor and gently stroked it.
Watching her ignore him so brazenly, Süleyman ground his teeth in frustration.
But Hürrem’s expression didn’t waver as she continued.
“Do as I say. Since Aziz went through so much trouble to find this one, it will surely help you as well.”
“Still with that prophecy nonsense? I don’t believe in such superstitions.”
At that moment, Aziz, who had been quietly listening, suddenly cut in.
“Prince, whether the prophecy is true doesn’t matter. What matters is that the next Sultan has the ‘prophesied cat’ by his side. Haven’t you heard the other princes are scrambling to gather cats of their own?”
“Just because they do doesn’t mean I should.”
“True, but that’s not the only reason I brought this one. Didn’t you feel unusually light today? That’s one of the innate abilities of this cat.”
“…And so?”
“Keeping this cat close will bring you many benefits. As Ashtar’s priest and the Sultan’s hereditary court sorcerer, I guarantee it.”
Something in Süleyman’s expression stiffened, as if the words struck a nerve.
Silence fell over the garden.
‘So he’s the Sultan’s personal sorcerer…… no wonder. That’d explain why even a prince handles him so carefully.’
After all, only someone of that level could slip a prince sleeping draughts and get away with it.
“…Fine. If that’s the case, I’ll take it. But if it displeases me in the slightest, I’ll throw it out immediately.”
With a cold declaration, Süleyman rose from his chair.
The short tea time ended, and his attendants waiting in the distance approached.
Among them was someone I’d met before.
“Iblan, take the cat. Just toss it somewhere in my chambers.”
“Yes, my prince.”
Iblan ordered a servant to place me inside a cage shaped like a birdcage.
“Meowww…!” (I don’t want to go……!)
Dragged back toward the prince’s chamber—the very one I’d only just escaped from last night—I clung to the bars of the cage and sent a desperate look toward Aziz.
But he only smiled brightly and even waved as if to see me off.
‘I was a fool to trust him even once more…….’
Ah, that bastard.
Next time we meet, I’ll curse him out good.
And so, I was carried away into the terrifying Süleyman’s chambers.
