Chapter 153
At that moment, in the Imperial Palace.
Aslan and Ayla were being treated to a lavish luncheon.
Yupiteria’s eyes were busy as she watched Aslan happily chewing, his cheeks puffed out.
“You still eat so well, Aslan.”
With his mouth full, Aslan answered by vigorously nodding his head instead.
At the end of the grand multi-course meal, a mountain of sweet desserts awaited them.
This time, Yupiteria turned to Ayla.
“Well, Ayla? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes, Grandmother. Thank you for being so thoughtful.”
“Good, good. You must have been tired lately, so you should eat plenty.”
Nodding with satisfaction, Yupiteria urged more desserts on her.
It was her own way of comforting Ayla, knowing she liked sweet things.
Ayla hadn’t expected Yupiteria to care for her so much, and with her nose stinging, she buried it in the cream of a cupcake.
Mistaking this for Ayla truly loving desserts, Yupiteria began insisting she try this and that.
Fortunately, just before Ayla’s stomach was about to burst, one of Yupiteria’s attendants stopped her.
“Your Majesty, it is time.”
“Oh, is it? It’s already gotten this late.”
I wanted to see them a bit longer…
Unable to hide her regret, Yupiteria stood up.
As talk of meetings and other complicated matters came up, Yupiteria’s face twisted as if she’d bitten into something unpleasant.
“So being the ruler of a country doesn’t mean you just get to do whatever you want.”
Aslan’s illusion about the emperor’s position cracked a little.
In the end, even an emperor was inferior to a cat.
Completely unaware of Aslan’s irreverent thoughts, Yupiteria apologized to the children.
“I’m sorry, my dears. It looks like Grandma has to be going now.”
“It’s okay. Please go comfortably.”
For Ayla, whose stomach had no room left for even a single snack, this was actually welcome news.
After telling them not to hold back and to keep eating before she left, Yupiteria exited the dining hall.
But both Aslan and Ayla were already stuffed.
Ayla, in particular, felt like her stomach would burst if she relaxed even a little. She clutched her belly and groaned, prompting Flora—now Ayla’s attendant—to rush over.
“Your Highness Ayla, are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine…”
Despite her words, her complexion was poor.
While Yupiteria had been there, Ayla had managed to stay composed out of nervousness. But once the tension faded, it felt like her stomach might spill out.
The cream and cake melted the moment they touched her tongue—so when had all of this piled up inside her stomach?
This went beyond overeating. It was outright bingeing.
Flora quickly prepared digestive medicine.
She considered making some warm tea as well, but with Ayla’s small stomach already crammed full of desserts, even that seemed like it might make it burst, so she couldn’t bring herself to offer it.
Even after taking the medicine, Ayla groaned for a long while before Flora finally helped her lie down on the bed.
Even as she lay down, she had to be extremely careful, afraid the food might come back up. And once she was down, her belly was so swollen that breathing felt difficult.
Aslan lay down beside her, showing his concern.
“Ayla, why did you eat so much?”
“It felt like Grandma was expecting me to…”
“Ah, I know what you mean.”
Yupiteria especially liked seeing children eat a lot.
Maybe it was because she couldn’t eat that much herself. It seemed like she was enjoying it vicariously.
In fact, when Yupiteria urged Aslan to try this or that, his competitive streak kicked in and he ate more too—but since he was clear about his likes and dislikes, he would say he was full and bow out.
Ayla, however, still found Yupiteria intimidating and couldn’t do that.
“When you sleep right after eating, you’re supposed to lie on your left side.”
“Left? Why?”
“I don’t know. That’s what Mom said.”
Ayla wondered why, but since it was Minerva who’d said it, she trusted her and turned onto her left side.
It really was much better than lying flat on her back.
Still, her face looked bad, and Aslan asked worriedly,
“Want to sleep a bit?”
“Don’t go anywhere while I’m asleep…”
“I won’t.”
Do you think I’m some kind of troublemaker?
Aslan replied gruffly, but Ayla had already fallen asleep like she’d passed out and didn’t hear him.
Aslan sprawled out beside Ayla, lying flat on his back.
He was full, and rolling around on a soft bed—it felt perfect for a nap.
“Yaaawn.”
As if to prove he really was a cat, the moment he decided to sleep, a yawn escaped him and drowsiness crept in.
His body felt stiff; I’ll just stretch once before sleeping.
Aslan dropped onto all fours on the bed and stretched his body long.
And at that moment—
The terrace window was definitely closed, but somehow a breeze slipped in, making the curtain flutter.
Through the gap in the curtain, an intruder appeared—and Aslan’s eyes met theirs mid-stretch.
“Oh, a cat.”
What kind of cat is that?
The intruder was a calico cat.
Seeing Aslan stretching in the exact same posture, the cat froze with its eyes wide in surprise.
Meanwhile, Aslan stretched fully, right down to his fingertips and toes, and greeted the cat.
“Oh, I know you. I’ve seen you before!”
It was one of the cats he’d seen lazily sprawled in the garden.
As if agreeing, the calico let out a thin meow.
“Why are you here? I definitely closed the window.”
Meow.
“What? You want me to follow you? No way. I’ll get scolded if I go out.”
Mrow.
“Just to the terrace? Well, I guess…”
The terrace wasn’t really outside, so it should be fine, right?
What could a cat possibly do? Thinking he was stronger anyway, Aslan jumped down from the bed without suspicion.
The calico cat wiggled its hips as if beckoning him and trotted ahead to the terrace.
Seeing its tail standing straight up, Aslan felt a flicker of excitement—maybe there was something interesting.
When he pulled aside the terrace curtain, an unexpected person was sitting at the tea table.
“Oh, you’re that lady—”
This time, the roles were reversed.
Aslan froze with his eyes wide, while the calico cat calmly leapt up onto the table.
“Thanks for guiding him.”
The woman lightly scratched the calico under the chin. Satisfied, the cat slipped through the terrace, squeezed between the walls, jumped down to a tree, and leisurely exited the main palace.
After seeing the cat off, the woman turned to Aslan and greeted him.
“Hello, Aslan. Long time no see.”
A beauty with black hair.
A woman cats seemed to adore.
And a woman Minerva disliked.
Tilting her head as if she’d been waiting for him, she smiled warmly.
“I told you my name last time, didn’t I?”
“Gabriel.”
“That’s right. You remembered. You can call me Gabi if you like. Doesn’t Gabi sound friendlier?”
Gabriel shrugged.
Aslan tried the names Gabriel and Gabi in his mouth, then nodded.
Gabi did sound better.
Still, he didn’t feel like calling her by such a friendly name.
“How did you get here? This is the main palace. Mom left me here on purpose.”
Aslan wasn’t clueless.
He’d long realized why Minerva disliked Gabriel, and why she’d deliberately left him in the main palace.
Gabriel raised a finger to her lips, as if signaling a secret.
“There’s always a way.”
“You came in through the terrace, didn’t you? It was closed, but then it suddenly opened.”
“Hehe.”
Gabriel laughed it off, clearly not intending to explain how she’d entered.
“Is your friend asleep?”
“Yeah. She ate a ton of dessert, took some medicine to help digest, and fell asleep.”
“That’s a relief.”
Gabriel smiled faintly, as if relieved there was no one to interfere.
At that reaction, Aslan frowned as though he’d been insulted.
“Why don’t you like Ayla? She’s a good kid.”
“There are reasons for that.”
“Try being more generous. If you don’t, kids will hate you.”
“Let them. I don’t like other kids anyway—except you.”
“Then I won’t like you either.”
“That would make me sad.”
Gabriel replied with an expression that made it impossible to tell whether she was joking or serious.
Now Aslan understood why his mom disliked her.
People who hated kids were never good people.
“I take back what I said before about you being a good person.”
He considered calling someone to have her thrown out, but deep down, Aslan also wanted to meet Gabriel alone.
Minerva would never allow it.
That sense of déjà vu he’d felt since first meeting her—
Back in the garden full of cats, he hadn’t been able to ask properly because of all the constant meowing.
Aslan suddenly jumped up and plopped himself onto a chair.
Gabriel, seeing his odd behavior, showed no surprise at all and simply smiled.
She even leaned in closer, as if inviting him to look as much as he wanted.
With an openly inquisitive—and frankly rude—gaze, Aslan scrutinized Gabriel’s face from every angle. Once satisfied, he leaned back.
At last, a dream he’d only vaguely remembered came back to him.
“I saw you in a dream. Way before I ever met you.”
“Did you?”
Gabriel listened seriously to his strange claim.
That attitude only made Aslan’s hostility flare up even more.
“In the dream, you said you were friends with my mom—but you’re not. So what are you, lady?”
