Chapter 58
At the same time, without realizing it, Roze’s lips drew closer before Noah’s eyes.
Almost instinctively, Noah’s head leaned toward Roze’s face, wanting to kiss her.
And what’s the big deal about a kiss, anyway?
Well…
When Roze was still a cat, if Noah had eaten something greasy for dinner, she would sometimes pounce on him and lick his lips.
Nothing special. That’s what he tried to tell himself, but still, his heart was pounding madly. Before he could even think about whether it was right or wrong, his body moved first—
Tap.
Noah’s lips brushed against Roze’s sleeping lips.
For a moment, he worried—what if this brief act unleashed all the filthy desires he had long suppressed?
“Haha…”
But it didn’t feel like that at all. On the contrary, that fleeting kiss left his heart feeling light as a feather.
The suffocating thoughts that had clung to him—wanting to lock Roze away, to keep her always in his arms, thoughts that wouldn’t peel off no matter how hard he tried—suddenly vanished cleanly.
Because Roze was just so lovely.
His heart felt like it would burst, or that he’d waste away and die from the ache.
“Mmm…”
Even when Roze stirred a little, Noah couldn’t help but pull her tightly into his arms.
Roze woke up the next morning determined to first send the cats out to their posts.
It was the perfect excuse to slip out as well and hear the latest reports from the Cheese Cats.
“Seriously, are you ever going to get a grip!”
Always oversleeping.
When she opened her eyes, Noah was nowhere to be found, and the room was already far too bright. She didn’t even need to check the clock—instinctively, she knew she had slept way past her usual waking time.
If I went to bed so early yesterday, shouldn’t I have woken up earlier today?
That’s what she thought, but the truth was, all the exhaustion she hadn’t even noticed had melted away. Her body felt light, refreshed.
Regret lasted only a moment. Hopping off the bed and rolling her shoulders, Roze brimmed with motivation.
Right now, she felt like she could do anything.
“It’s already this late?”
Her stomach grumbled, so she checked the clock—it was already 10 a.m., well past breakfast.
Guess I’ll just have a snack before Christina arrives at the palace later.
That was her plan, when—
Tap. Tap-tap.
Something hit the window from outside.
“Huh…? Nana?”
She thought it might be Tuxedo Cat coming for beef, but instead, Nana was there—and behind her, Mango and Lemon too.
All three Cheese Cats she had stationed by the protagonists’ sides were here.
“What are you three doing here all at once…? Wait—oh no, you’re hurt!”
Grumbling that they’d be harder to send back if they all came at once, Roze rushed to the window in alarm.
Their fur was ragged, with scratches and bite marks all over.
“What happened!”
[Boss…]
“Lemon!”
The moment she opened the window, Lemon, leaning against Mango, collapsed to the floor.
Roze scooped her up and laid her on the bed, then brought the others inside and demanded an explanation.
“That bastard!”
So it was that black cat again.
Whenever they tried sneaking close to eavesdrop, the black cat would leap out and chase them off.
But the Cheese Cats hadn’t given up, circling back over and over, until a fight finally broke out. They had been overwhelmed by the larger cat.
So that cat really belonged to Aria…
The black cat Christina called Black had shown up both in the imperial gardens and at the duke’s manor.
Roze had thought it was just a stray, and when Aria picked it up, she assumed she was just caring for a street cat. But apparently not.
So even the protagonists have a beastkin on their side…?
There was no way that cat appeared at every critical location by coincidence.
If Aria also had a beastkin with her, using cats as spies just like Roze did, then it all made sense.
Sure, none of this was in the original story—but for someone like Roze, who was herself a beastkin, it wasn’t impossible that others existed.
“I should’ve taught that thing a lesson sooner!”
What made her angriest was the sight of her cats hurt.
Even though she hadn’t given them much, they had thrown themselves into danger, eager to help her.
[We’re sorry, Boss. We wanted to be of use to you…]
[The three of us together still couldn’t manage.]
They came back battered and ashamed, thinking they had failed her. That only made her heart ache more.
“It’s fine! Who cares about them! Whatever they’re up to, it doesn’t matter at all!”
[Boss…]
She said it loud and firm, even though of course it mattered to her. At least enough to cheer them up.
At last, Nana and Mango’s drooping tails lifted again.
Truthfully, she had just been too hasty. She was only saying this because she felt guilty for sending them into danger.
But still—our Noah is doing great right now!
Even if she didn’t know exactly what the protagonists were plotting, Noah was holding up far better than expected.
If things worked out between him and Christina too, then whatever they did wouldn’t matter.
“Are you all hungry?”
[Yes…]
[But Boss, we didn’t even accomplish anything. Do we deserve to eat?]
“Hey! Don’t you dare insult your boss like that. Have you forgotten? I’m the emperor’s cat!”
They were far too sweet, worrying about such things. Roze puffed herself up, hands on hips, until—
Ha… it’s been a while since this kind of reality check.
Leaning against the wall, she sighed.
Because no matter how much she said it, in everyone’s eyes she was still nothing more than the emperor’s pet cat.
“Lady Roze, time to get ready to receive guests. Oh, you’re already up—! Oh my, what happened to these cats?”
Just as she was trying to compose herself, Evelyn entered.
“Evelyn, bring food for the cats—and fetch Jonathan too!”
Yes, that was it. Complicated as things were, all that really mattered was tying Noah and Christina together.
Time to play her hand, even if it was risky.
Leaving Evelyn to care for Lemon—who had just woken—Roze headed to the rear garden with Jonathan.
After slipping down a familiar narrow path, they reached the gazebo. Checking that no one else was around, Roze spoke carefully.
“How about the throbbing handkerchief plan?”
“…What is that?”
“Christina drops a handkerchief, His Majesty picks it up, notices a sweet fragrance, wonders whose it is, and then discovers it belongs to Christina—his eyes sparkle!”
She wasn’t insisting on this exact plan, just tossing out ideas to see if anything useful came up.
“…I think I read that in a novel from twenty years ago.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“Not only is it a terrible plan, but His Majesty would never stoop to picking something up off the ground.”
“Terrible…?”
Jonathan dismissed her suggestion without a flicker of expression.
Roze wished he’d at least phrase it a little more nicely, but undeterred, she suggested another idea.
“Hmm… Ah! What about showing Christina caring for an injured cat? Our Cheese Cats are hurt and need treatment anyway.”
“Not really.”
“That’s no good either?”
“I doubt His Majesty has much interest in other cats.”
She had thought this one would work, but Jonathan remained unimpressed.
And what did he mean by “other cats,” anyway?
“What do you mean no interest? Noah—ah, I mean, His Majesty loves cats.”
“Not exactly.”
“Huh?”
“It is you he loves, Lady Roze.”
That was Jonathan’s answer. Of course she already knew that, but hearing it put so directly made her face flare red in an instant.
“Are you overheated?”
“No!”
He had said it so casually, but it sounded like Noah really did love her. Yes, it should have only been affection for the cat Roze—but today, it felt different.
Good grief, me…
Thinking it over, Jonathan was probably right.
Come to think of it…
Back when they returned from the market, even though she had handed Noah several adorable cats, his expression hadn’t softened one bit.
Then why did he perk up when Christina brought up cats…?
Puzzling over this strange inconsistency, she tilted her head. That was when Jonathan spoke again.
“If you insist on going down such a childish route, there is one thing that comes to mind.”
