Chapter 07
I flinched in surprise and turned toward the direction the voice came from.
And then I ended up locking eyes with the culprit who had brought me here.
Dressed casually in a neat white shirt and what looked like comfortable black pants, he stood leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, one corner of his lips crooked upward in a smirk. It seemed he had just finished washing up—droplets of water fell from his hair onto his shoulders, dampening the fabric of his shirt.
He casually shook his pale, almost silver-white hair once.
There was something strangely sensual about him, and I quickly averted my gaze, instinctively taking a step back—then another.
Our first meeting in the Simond Garden flashed through my mind. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory, and recalling it made me tense up. My fur puffed out, and my tail shot straight up.
But I was on top of a table, so there was only so far I could retreat. If I fell off, my body—far weaker than other cats—would almost certainly suffer at least a fractured ankle, no matter how good my jumping ability was.
While I was gauging whether I could safely jump down, he walked over and picked up the plate of chocolate cookies.
‘Ah… I didn’t even get to eat one. I wanted to.’
If I had to die, I’d rather die after eating one. My health problems could wait.
I stared longingly at the chocolate cookies as they were taken away.
“Cats can’t eat chocolate.”
‘I’m a beastman, so I should be able to.’
I looked at Ian with eyes full of dissatisfaction.
My complaints rose all the way to my throat, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them out loud.
“Besides, you’re not good at eating regular food anyway.”
Ian rang the bell in the room and said,
“Bring plain cookies. No additives.”
The servant who had taken the chocolate cookies bowed silently and left.
I watched the cookies disappear with a hollow feeling.
So they weren’t meant for me after all. That was devastating. It seemed obvious now that the snacks on the table were meant for that beastman.
No wonder my food bowl only ever had finely chopped carrots. I hate vegetables. I hate carrots—and I hate celery even more.
‘But why is he here…?’
Our first meeting—where I had begged for my life—wasn’t exactly great, so all sorts of thoughts flooded my mind. Did he come to kill me? No, he said he’d spare me back then. Then… did he come just to replace those chocolate cookies? But would the head of a noble house really come all the way here just for that?
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no special reason for him to be here.
‘Or… did he come to see me…?’
Ah. That’s a bit much. I’m getting ahead of myself.
While I was deep in thought, his low voice sounded right in front of me.
“I came because it’s my room.”
The answer was much simpler than I expected. Yeah… figures. That would’ve been embarrassing.
His tone was casual, like stating an obvious fact—like saying a mountain is a mountain or water is water.
‘Oh… I see. Your room… so—wait… what?’
But the content was anything but light.
“Meow?! (Your room?!?)”
Judging by how he showed no sign of lying, this was clearly a truth I didn’t want to believe.
No way.
My eyes widened.
No, he must be joking. Why would he share a room with me? Even in the novel, he didn’t share a room with the female lead.
And as far as I knew, he didn’t like beastmen. No—he practically despised them.
‘Then… does he actually like animals?’
No. Absolutely not.
Then why?
For a moment, I denied reality.
And then, a moment later, I accepted it.
No wonder. The room was way too big for a mere cat.
The decorations were unusually extravagant.
The bed was incredibly nice.
The bathroom was enormous.
I quickly turned my head, looking around the room again.
Everything was still there—the tower-like structure reaching up to the ceiling like something out of Disneyland, the soft cushions you could sink into, and what looked like a cozy cat house that was intimidating to enter but probably incredibly comfortable inside.
Don’t tell me… he put all of this in his own room?
All those familiar items suddenly felt new. And so did Ian Cadelion.
I couldn’t even imagine him buying things like this.
‘But I’ve been here for a week and never once saw you?’
If we shared the same room, shouldn’t I have seen him at least once?
I clung to my last thread of hope.
‘Maybe not…’
“You always went to bed early and woke up late.”
His casual remark cut that final thread cleanly.
‘Oh. So you came in while I was asleep and slept too?’
“Yeah. We slept together. In the same room. You just didn’t notice.”
Why am I accepting this so easily?
Wait a second.
So I’ve been sleeping with a fully grown 18-year-old male beastman? In the same bed?
Unable to process this shocking truth, I plopped down right where I stood at the edge of the table.
How could you do this to me, you shameless tiger? I may be a kitten, but I’ve lived 19 years. I’m old enough to know things!
My eyes trembled.
I stared at him as if he were the most shameless being in the world.
“What? Got something to say?”
He smiled shamelessly, his tone teasing as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. I felt like kicking him.
‘Y-you… shameless!’
I sprang to my feet again, glaring at Ian with sharp eyes, my body crouched as if ready to pounce.
It felt like I was about to fight him just a week after begging for my life.
But maybe it was because of his handsome face—my intense glare almost softened into a grin.
No. No matter how good-looking he is, I can’t let this slide.
I forced strength back into my eyes and glared at him again.
“What.”
As if telling me to go on, Ian slightly lifted his chin, the corner of his lips curving elegantly. His silver hair shimmered softly as it shifted. His narrowed eyes clearly showed he was enjoying this situation.
He was definitely amused.
‘Come here and explain yourself.’
The initial fear I felt had completely faded from the shock, and I sat down boldly.
I tapped the table with my right front paw.
‘Explain.’
A strong charisma radiated from my small black puffball of a body.
The soft thumping of my paw echoed faintly on the table.
Ian casually sat on the chair in front of the table, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at me.
“I didn’t do anything.”
‘Really?’
I narrowed my eyes, studying his face.
“Yeah. We just slept in the same bed.”
‘Y-you…!!’
My whiskers trembled violently.
Still sitting, I stomped my tiny paws twice before jumping to my feet again, too shocked to even speak.
‘What?! You said you didn’t do anything!’
“I said we slept. Peacefully.”
‘Then say it properly!’
Embarrassed, I sat back down and curled my tail beneath me.
…Fine. I’ll believe you. Even if you’re the type to imprison the female lead and do all sorts of things, surely you wouldn’t do that to a kitten you brought in.
Honestly, I wanted to get off this table right now.
No—I wanted to leave this place entirely.
But to get down, I’d have to navigate past plates and cups. And landing safely would require incredible precision and focus.
So I stayed put.
“You didn’t seriously think I was that shameless… did you?”
I lowered my gaze slightly, avoiding his eyes.
“Wow. That’s harsh.”
He lowered his gaze with fluttering lashes, his long eyelashes casting shadows over his eyes, giving him a pitiful, almost melancholic look—like the moon reflected on a lake.
‘…That face is cheating.’
I glanced at him again before looking away.
I knew he was making that face on purpose, but I still felt like I should apologize.
Silence fell between us.
“Heartless cat.”
Still sitting on the chair, looking at me with that sorrowful expression, he suddenly spoke again.
“I saved you, and you don’t even come to see your savior.”
You were the one who tried to kill me in the first place! Still… I am grateful you saved me.
I had plenty of arguments in my head, but I just lowered my head and listened quietly.
If I looked at his face, I’d probably apologize immediately.
“An ungrateful cat.”
‘…Ungrateful?’
I may look like this, but I do repay kindness, you know. Haven’t you heard of cats that repay kindness?
I bristled and lifted my head.
And immediately came face-to-face with that ridiculous face of his.
‘But when you say it like that… I feel bad.’
My nonexistent conscience started aching just from looking at him.
“And you look at your owner like he’s shameless.”
‘That… I’m sorry. I misunderstood.’
In the end, I softened and approached him, pressing my front paw gently onto his palm.
Unlike our first meeting, he wasn’t wearing gloves, so I could observe his hand clearly.
‘I thought it would be rough from holding a sword.’
My soft paw pads touched his warm palm.
The moment our touch met, Ian silently held his palm out in front of me.
‘…What am I supposed to do with that?’
What, does he want to play some hand game? I narrowed my eyes at him.
Do you really want to play that badly?
I quickly placed my paw on his hand and pulled it back. But his palm remained open.
Tilting my head, I thought for a while.
I tried pressing down on his hand, bumping my head against it, placing my paw on it and shaking it like a handshake, even carefully picking up a plain cookie and placing it on his palm without breaking it—but he didn’t react at all.
Just like our first meeting, it turned into a frustrating quiz where the one asking gave no hints and the one answering had to guess everything.
Don’t tell me… he wants me to climb onto it?
No way. That can’t be it.
I glanced between his hand and face suspiciously.
He just smiled faintly, saying nothing.
…Actually, I think that’s it.
‘But what if he says, “How dare you climb onto my hand,” and throws me off?’
Ugh. I don’t even want to imagine that. I literally held a flower in my mouth and waved my paw to survive before.
‘Still… he doesn’t seem like he’ll kill me.’
Carefully watching him, I slowly climbed onto his palm and sat down.
Ian’s eyes curved into a satisfied crescent, as if praising me for doing well.
