Chapter 10
“I never wanted to see this room again…”
I pressed down firmly on the hot pink cushion. Out of all the countless colors, why did it have to be hot pink?
Well… it’s comfortable, so I decided not to care about the color.
‘Must be that white tiger’s taste.’
I respect all kinds of preferences.
But then… why is that over there?
‘…A study and a bow?’
In one corner of the office, a silver bow and arrows stood there in all their grandeur. Those arrows looked powerful enough to hunt crocodiles.
At that level, wouldn’t even close combat with a bear be manageable?
‘…If someone swung that bow a few times by accident, a couple of people would just drop dead.’
Could anyone even lift that thing?
A hot pink cushion… and then arrows and a bow that looked far more threatening than ordinary ones.
‘What kind of combination is this?’
Ah, whatever. That tiger is a creature I’ll never understand.
‘He didn’t even need to bring me to his office, but he still did.’
I turned my gaze away from the bow and continued pressing the vivid pink cushion for no reason.
Three seconds after opening the office door, I had tried to run away—only to be caught shortly after by a brown-haired man and dragged right back in.
Even while being dragged, the butler’s proud voice praising the mansion echoed in my head.
Thinking of the butler’s face, I carefully lifted my feet so as not to leave even a scratch on the floor.
‘Sigh… Why am I stuck in Ian’s office? I was just trying to look around the mansion.’
Seriously, what kind of route was that? I was told to explore the rooms, so I did—and somehow it ended here.
What a disastrous result.
‘Who even planned this route?’
Obviously Ian.
There’s no way I’d be here unless that clever tiger had schemed something.
‘Otherwise, there’s no way a cushion perfectly sized for me to lie on would just be here.’
Now that I thought about it, when I tried to head back after looking around, the head butler had seemed desperate to show me this room.
I secretly squinted at Ian, who was busy working.
He picked up papers one by one from the mountain of documents in front of him, scribbling with a fountain pen—while his other hand came over and covered my eyes.
“Kitten, you shouldn’t glare like that. It looks ugly.”
His eyes were clearly fixed on the documents.
Yet somehow, his large hand perfectly covered where my eyes were.
My whole face was blocked by that big hand.
When I lowered my face slightly to see again, his hand followed.
“…?”
I tilted my head to the side.
His hand tilted along with me.
That tiger definitely has eyes on the back of his head.
‘Ah, this is frustrating.’
After dodging his hand for a while, I finally gave up.
I whipped my head away from him and turned toward the brown-haired assistant who had practically dragged me in.
‘Yeah. I don’t like him either.’
The assistant had chased me down at terrifying speed, shouted “I’m sorry!”, grabbed both my legs, and dragged me into the office—
Like escorting a criminal who was resisting arrest.
And so, in front of everyone, I had been dragged in by my feet.
By that assistant.
‘Well… judging by that desperate look on his face, he probably had his reasons.’
She had no idea that reason was his bonus.
‘Ugh. So embarrassing.’
Just remembering it made me uncomfortable.
If you’re going to drag me, at least do it gracefully. What was that, dragging me like a criminal?
“Miss Cat, if you glare at me like that, my fragile heart might not survive.”
Allen clutched his chest dramatically. Judging by that exaggerated act, his heart seemed incredibly sturdy.
Maybe it was made of steel.
He looked like he’d live a long life.
Probably even die of old age.
“I’m too scared to focus on my work, Miss Cat.”
He spoke in a calm voice devoid of sincerity, while continuing his work.
His tone was so light it felt like it might float away.
‘Sorry, but could you maybe stop those lightning-fast hands before saying that?’
I stared at the documents disappearing at terrifying speed, then looked at him in disbelief.
“Kitten, he says he can’t work.”
Ian gently turned my face toward him. After confirming I was looking at him, he smiled softly.
There was a strange hint of irritation in that smile.
What was he annoyed about? Because his assistant said he couldn’t work properly? That didn’t seem like his personality.
Where exactly was the irritation coming from?
‘Right. You’re not supposed to try to understand tigers.’
The old saying was absolutely correct.
Still squishing my cheeks, Ian pointed to his own face.
“Don’t look at him. Look at me.”
And just like that, I was forced to “appreciate” his face.
With round silver-rimmed glasses hanging from a chain, he looked intellectual as he worked.
Since he wasn’t smiling, he gave off a cold aura.
Like a sharp, cold scholar.
When he smiled before, he had looked dazzling—but now he seemed cold and distant.
‘He’s ridiculously handsome. How is that a beastman’s face?’
No wonder the maids in Simond were so captivated they said they wouldn’t mind being eaten, as long as they could see him once before dying.
‘If people had to raise their hands for liking that face, the continent would fold in half.’
My gaze drifted from his face to his hands.
‘Wow… his hands are pretty too.’
Unlike when we first met—when he wore black gloves—he now wore white ones. His fingers were long and straight.
His hands were large enough to cover most people’s faces, flipping through papers one by one.
I resisted the urge to walk over and place my paw on top of his hand.
‘And he’s tall too.’
Big hands, tall, long legs… What is this guy? Everything but his face is huge.
I looked down at my own legs—short, fluffy stubs.
‘……’
Life really is unfair.
‘…Does he know how good-looking he is?’
“No matter how much you like me, staring so intensely would make even me embarrassed.”
A low voice interrupted my admiration. Ian continued signing documents casually.
He didn’t look embarrassed at all.
‘You don’t look embarrassed at all.’
“Ian… you feel embarrassment?”
The brown-haired assistant asked with a serious face—so serious it was hard to tell if he was teasing or genuinely curious. His eyes sparkled brightly, though.
Like a dying plant suddenly drenched in water.
Ian smiled faintly, stopped signing, and began spinning his pen.
Then he threw it.
Like tossing a paper airplane.
Lightly.
Whoosh—
The pen flew toward Allen at incredible speed.
Allen, buried in documents, tilted his head slightly to the right.
Thunk.
The pen narrowly missed him—and embedded itself into the wall.
Yes. Embedded.
Deeply.
…How was that even possible?
The previously smooth wall now had cracks spreading out from the pen.
It felt like I could hear the mansion’s maintenance staff screaming in the distance.
‘…What just happened?’
I froze on the spot, mouth agape.
If someone tapped the back of my head, I felt like I’d faint and collapse right there.
Ian smiled.
“Allen.”
“Yes, my lord. Though that one was quite hard to dodge.”
“That’s a shame. You could’ve been hit.”
He clicked his tongue lightly.
“You’d really want to lose a talent like me? I thought I was done for.”
Allen shrugged with a miserable expression.
“Do you think someone like me is easy to find?”
Anything—be it a pen or a handkerchief—became a lethal weapon in Ian’s hands.
Dodging everything required constant focus.
If that pen had hit, his skull would’ve shattered—and he might’ve gotten a few days off in the infirmary.
Lost in such thoughts, he returned to his documents.
‘…Didn’t he almost get his head pierced just now?’
I looked around in disbelief.
The other assistants were calmly working, completely ignoring what had just happened.
As if nothing had happened at all.
Ian opened a drawer under his desk.
Inside—countless fountain pens.
He took out a new one, tested it briefly, and resumed working.
Allen also returned to his pile of documents.
It all looked… far too familiar.
As if this was daily routine.
Throwing pens into walls as a normal occurrence.
Apparently, I was the only one whose heart had nearly stopped.
This place was insane. Nothing normal existed here.
Five minutes of peaceful silence passed—with a pen still stuck in the wall—until Allen suddenly looked up.
“Aside from that, Ian… do you know Miss Cat’s name?”
“No.”
“…You kidnapped her without even knowing her name?”
Silence followed.
Then Allen chuckled.
“Wow, my lord. I didn’t know you were this bad. You don’t even know the name of the cat you kidnapped? At least have some decency as a kidnapper.”
You shouldn’t kidnap in the first place.
And what’s “kidnapper decency”…?
“Shouldn’t you at least know who you’re kidnapping?”
Where did this absurd logic even start?
“It’s my first time kidnapping.”
‘Hey! Kidnapping in the first place is the weird part!’
I jumped to my feet, glaring at him.
Even my tail stood stiff.
“Well, that’s true. You don’t usually kidnap people.”
‘Then what do you usually do…?’
A chill ran down my spine. Suddenly, I didn’t want to know.
Someone tapped my head.
“It’s my first time kidnapping.”
‘What an honor to be your first hostage.’
My forehead was pushed back by his finger, and my body toppled over slightly.
My glare softened instantly.
“Kitten.”
He stroked me.
‘What.’
I looked up blankly.
“What’s your name?”
Suddenly?
‘And you’re asking that now?’
I shook my head.
‘I don’t have a name.’
At that moment—
Ian and Allen both froze.
