Chapter 52
I blushed as I jumped to the conclusion that he must have gotten a lover.
At the time, I was in my cat form, so emotion came before reason.
But the thought that he might’ve held someone else in those broad arms of his made my stomach churn.
“Meow… nyaang.” (I’m sorry, Suleiman.)
With the heart of a sinner, I buried my face between my paws.
I already knew well that he always considered my feelings first.
But could thoughts and emotions ever be the same?
Like any human being, I was constantly anxious and suspicious of him.
“Lift your head, Ishtar.”
Suleiman carefully picked me up and gently stroked my flattened fur.
“It was unwise of me to try to keep my distance. I think I only ended up hurting you. I’m sorry.”
His voice, unusually warm and tender, made something sting faintly in my chest.
What the heck, why’s he being so sweet all of a sudden? It just makes me feel guiltier!
Whether it was emotion or relief, tears welled up in my eyes, and I pressed the jelly of my paw against my eyelid to keep them from falling.
“…Are you sure it’s all right if I sleep beside you? I might still smell unpleasant.”
“Meow, nyaoong.” (Of course!)
My sense of smell might be sharp, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t handle a little human scent.
Besides, his body didn’t smell unpleasant at all—only faintly metallic, maybe. He naturally had a good body scent, so it would fade soon enough.
Wait… could he be hurt again?
I scanned him carefully. He didn’t seem injured, but knowing him, he could easily be hiding wounds like before.
With a serious look, I suddenly dove straight into his robe without warning.
“Ishtar…? What are you—”
“Nyaoong.” (Don’t move. Just stay still.)
My fur must’ve tickled his bare skin, because he shuddered slightly.
But he didn’t stop me; my determined attitude must’ve left him speechless.
When I pulled his robe open wide to inspect him, his firm chest and sculpted abs came into view, exposed to the air.
It was certainly a sight for sore eyes, but I didn’t have the luxury of appreciating it.
After some struggling, I managed to half-strip him and carefully examined his body for wounds.
Across the smooth bronze skin were countless scars—some old, some new.
Spotting a faint, fresh scratch, I frowned in concern.
“It’s nothing serious. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Meow!” (Silence!)
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused energy into my front paw.
Recalling the sensation from when I’d healed the tuxedo cat earlier that day, I pressed my paw to his skin.
A warm light glowed, and the wound vanished without a trace.
“This is… incredible. Even my old scars are gone.”
He looked down at his body in disbelief.
Sure enough, the injuries that had been visible moments ago had completely disappeared.
Just as I leaned in closer to inspect his chest, I realized the rather compromising position I was in.
A tiny white kitten clinging to a handsome man’s abs, face buried in his torso—
yeah, even to me, that looked pretty perverted.
“Kyah, grr!” (Ahem!)
I sprang off his body at lightning speed and scrambled back.
Now I was teetering at the edge of the bed—just like he’d done when he was flustered by me before.
But instead of looking offended, Suleiman suddenly scooped me up in a tight embrace, pressing his cheek against my furry neck.
“I’m always grateful to you, Ishtar. Truly.”
His warm breath tickled the tip of my reddened ear.
Oh no. I’m losing it. Someone save this poor cat!
I wanted to scream that aloud, but of course all that came out were soft little mews.
Just as I thought I’d lose my sanity if this went on any longer, his lips brushed against the bridge of my nose.
“I’d kiss you properly if I could… but that would be inappropriate.”
His low, drunken murmur was followed by gentle pecks along my cheeks and forehead.
Unable to bear it, I decided to just pretend to sleep.
Curling into a ball, I closed my eyes and even added a few fake sleepy purrs.
A quiet chuckle drifted above my head.
Some time later, the white cat and the awkward man fell asleep in each other’s arms.
After that day, I began taking both theoretical and practical lessons from Aziz on how to use my divine power in different ways.
The theoretical lessons mostly involved theology and history.
Through those studies, I discovered something fascinating—this continent didn’t only worship Ashtar; there were many gods.
“But isn’t Ashtarism the state religion? I heard from Arin that most of the kingdom follows Ashtar.”
Sitting across the desk from me, Aziz nodded pleasantly.
“That’s correct. More than eighty percent of the people follow Ashtar.
However, everyone is free to choose their faith. There’s no persecution for it.”
For a world that outwardly resembled something like the Arab world, the people’s mindset was surprisingly open.
Apparently, anyone—man or woman—could rise in rank through exams similar to civil service tests, and it wasn’t rare for women to become family heads.
Seeing my surprised look, Aziz smiled.
“The kingdom is rather unique. Geographically, it’s between East and West and has access to the sea, so many cultures came through both land and sea routes.
That’s why it’s much more open-minded than neighboring nations—religiously as well.”
“I see. What other gods are there?”
“There are quite a few, but the sun god Shamash and the god of wisdom Enki are especially popular.
In fact, Shamash’s faith has been growing rapidly, particularly around the capital.”
Ugh… why are all these gods’ names so hard to remember?
Deciding not to even try, I stared intently at the theology book filled with squiggly letters, pretending to study.
Honestly, I’d never had an ounce of interest in religion, even in my past life, so these lessons were painfully dull.
What truly excited me, though, was something else.
“So, Aziz—where are we practicing today? The forge? Or the kitchen again?”
I asked eagerly, my eyes shining, and he gave a small, resigned smile.
“It seems the Lady Ishtar is more suited to practical work than theory.”
He was right—I’d grown to love using my divine power to heal people and animals.
The vast palace was filled with countless workers and servants, many of whom suffered small injuries.
The forge, the kitchens, and the guards’ quarters were the most common places for accidents.
The most dangerous, though, was the training ground of the Janissaries—essentially the knights of this world.
But Aziz refused to let me go there, saying it could lead to political complications.
So naturally, I spent most of my time practicing in the stables or kitchens.
At first, everyone hated it.
They couldn’t exactly be thrilled that the Sultan’s rumored mistress wanted to “heal” them.
But once they saw the instant results of my power, their eyes went wide with awe.
Thanks to that, my reputation—once rather infamous—began improving fast.
Even the maids who used to look down on me started approaching timidly, asking for help.
Before I knew it, life in the palace had become far more comfortable, and few people looked down on me anymore.
I shrugged at Aziz, who watched me with a complicated expression.
“Well, honestly, this is way more fun than sitting at a desk.
Besides… it feels kind of amazing to help people.”
At first, I’d done it simply to practice my abilities, but seeing the joy on people’s faces gave me a strange sense of fulfillment.
Especially when their smiling faces overlapped with Suleiman’s radiant one.
Suleiman… he’s really changed lately.
Just a few weeks ago, he’d been all stone-faced reserve, but now he seemed like a different person.
He still acted cold and stiff toward Arin and the other attendants, of course.
But when he was with me, it was like he’d decided to be gentle on purpose.
Granted, I was usually in my adorable kitten form at those times, which probably helped.
“Is something wrong, Lady Ishtar? Your face seems flushed.”
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
Snapping back to reality, I cleared my throat and fanned my hot cheeks with my hand.
Just thinking about him was enough to make my face burn—clearly, my condition was severe.
“Please take care of yourself, my lady. Even blessed by the gods, your body still needs rest.”
“I’m fine, really. The only side effect of using my powers is that I get sleepy sometimes. Otherwise, I’m bursting with energy.”
I averted my gaze to dodge Aziz’s brotherly nagging.
With a quiet sigh, he shut his thick theology book with a firm thump.
“I suppose we’ll end today’s lesson here, then. It’s about that time, after all.”
“Time? What time?”
“The Sultan asked to see you. It seems he has some personal matter to discuss.”
