Chapter 64
At the same time.
Shuleiman was on his way back to the palace, escorting the arrested members of the organization.
‘Not perfect, but still a result,’ he thought.
The dark organization he had been tracing—the Diahder—had its headquarters in a place he hadn’t expected at all.
He had assumed their base would be hidden away in some dim back alley, but the building sat brazenly on a major avenue that cut across the city.
“…Bold, or simply reckless. They must be utterly fearless.”
They had hidden their identities so thoroughly that even the merchants and residents nearby hadn’t noticed a thing.
As he had suspected, there were no obvious incriminating documents left in the headquarters, but he felt they had taken a meaningful step closer to uncovering the group’s identity.
“Sir Shuleiman, I’ll lock the captured men up first. We’ll interrogate those who appear to be of high rank, one by one.”
“Leave that to me. How’s the aftermath of the city incident being handled?”
“Because the hired mercenaries fought fiercely, there were a number of civilian casualties, but the seriously injured were immediately sent to nearby treatment centers for care.”
“Treatment center…”
For a moment the image of Ishtar working at a treatment center flashed through Shuleiman’s mind.
‘She’s looked tired lately. I hope she’s alright….’
Ever since she’d begun helping at the treatment center, he hadn’t even had a chance to make sure she’d had a proper meal.
It seemed she used so much of her life force that she always fell into a deep sleep in her cat form and didn’t open her eyes until morning.
To be considerate of her, he’d been quietly slipping into bed beside her and leaving, over and over, and so they’d rarely had the chance for the light banter they used to.
‘Tonight I must make time and spend the evening with her.’
Now that the raid on the headquarters—the thing that had kept him busiest—was settled, he planned to set aside time purely for her.
After giving orders to his subordinates and finishing up the cleanup, he lifted his head and gauged the sun’s position in the sky.
Just then, a rider burst urgently through the city gate at high speed.
He was so frantic with his horse that the people nearby were startled and dropped to their haunches.
“Iblan…?”
Where was Iblan, who should have been escorting Ishtar? Why had he appeared alone?
A foreboding chill ran up Shuleiman’s spine.
“It’s bad! Lady Ishtar’s carriage was attacked! We need support at the scene!”
“What?!”
Shuleiman’s subordinates hurried around Iblan at his report.
“An attack… how did this happen? Why target Ishtar…?”
“They were ambushed by unknown assailants. We routed the enemy, but Lady Ishtar is missing…!”
“Quiet, everyone.”
Shuleiman’s cold word smothered the commotion like a bucket of water.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Facing Shuleiman’s intense gaze, Iblan flinched and answered.
“They waited along the road as she returned from the treatment center and attacked. The carriage was overturned, but by Arin’s report, she didn’t appear to be seriously injured.”
“What do you mean ‘missing’?”
“None of the witnesses saw where she went, but it seems she fled into an alley. And…”
Iblan hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer to Shuleiman and whispered in a small voice.
“She was missing her clothes in the alley. It looks like she may have transformed into a cat while escaping.”
“…!!”
Shuleiman clenched his teeth, barely holding back the surge of anger.
Imagining her—small and fragile in a cat’s body—shivering and hiding in a dark alley made his vision go red as if painted with blood.
“Leave the palace at once. Iblan, gather a search party and follow. Mobilize as many people as necessary.”
“And you, Shuleiman-sama…?”
“I’m heading to the scene immediately.”
As soon as he finished speaking he vaulted onto the warhorse Iblan had ridden and spurred it forward.
Voices shouted from behind trying to grab him, but he paid them no attention.
‘Ishtar, please… be safe!’
A cloud of dust rose like a banner behind Shuleiman as the horse thundered away.
At that moment he was no longer a prince or governor—he was simply a man desperate not to lose the person he loved.
“Mew…”
Ouch, my head.
I opened my eyes on a slightly hard bed and pressed my forehead against it from the dizziness.
‘Where on earth am I?’
The room I was in was dim and cramped; only a few candles were lit, giving the place a gloomy feel.
As I tried to get up despite the unexplained vertigo, someone suddenly spoke from beside me.
“Are you coming to, Ishtar?”
“Myaoong!” (Ah! You startled me!)
I jumped so abruptly that I convulsed and leapt in place.
Thud!
I hit my nose on the edge of the bed and had to rub my sore bridge with a miserable face.
“Nyaaao….” (Ow, it aches…)
“I must have frightened you too much. I’m sorry.”
The bleak voice belonged to Theron.
Tearing up, I looked up at him. He gave me a slight, wry smile.
“How do you feel? You seemed exhausted—get some rest and you should recover….”
Hmm. From his words he seemed to be a caregiver of sorts.
Any fool could see my current form was that of a white, adorable kitten.
“Nyaaaw…” (Let’s see…)
I blinked my big round eyes and opened and closed my cotton-like paws as if squeezing them.
Then, stretching like waking up, I stretched my body wide.
‘My limbs move properly; I don’t seem to be seriously injured.’
After a short while the headache subsided, and I carefully checked myself by pressing my temples with my two front paws.
“Nyaang, nyaoong?” (Yeah, I think I’m okay.)
“…I can’t fully understand you, but from your expression you look fine.”
If he could read a cat’s expression, that meant he had at least some experience as an owner.
‘Come to think of it, he did say he used to have a pet cat.’
I had known him for a while, so it made sense he could interact, at least minimally, with me in this form.
As I propped my chin on my paws and nodded to myself, a sudden thought jabbed at me.
‘No, this isn’t the important thing now!!’
I spun my head and looked around. The windowless, barren room made me uneasy.
If it was underground, there was a musty smell that made things worse.
“Nyaong, nyaoong? Myaong?!” (What time is it? Where is this? I need to get back to the palace!)
“…I’ll explain things slowly. First, have some water. You were sweating and tossing; you must be thirsty.”
Speaking calmly, Theron set a shallow dish of water near my mouth.
I lapped it up briskly, swallowing dryly by instinct.
“Since it’s fortified with tonic, it should help restore your energy. I’ve also prepared some porridge; please eat.”
“Nyaang…” (Mmm… it smells good.)
At the scent of food my eyes lit up and I devoured the porridge in the bowl.
After finishing, I looked down at the empty bowl and my now-full belly and felt a twinge of self-reproach.
‘No matter how relieved I am, why am I stuffing myself in a situation like this…?’
In cat form I tended to follow instincts more than usual—especially when my energy was drained, like today.
Feeling a bit limp, I let my head droop when a large hand came up and gently stroked my brow.
“The wound on your forehead seems to be healed. That’s a relief. It seems your transformation into a cat helped. You seem to have recovered better than before you changed.”
I jerked my head up and cautiously touched my head with the pads on my paw.
As Theron had said, the wound from when the carriage overturned was completely gone.
“Nyaa, myaoong. Nyaang?” (So, tell me. What happened?)
I tapped the bed with my paw, pressing him for answers. Theron shrugged and replied.
“After I rescued you earlier, you fainted suddenly. Do you remember that?”
“Nyaong.” (Yes.)
“Then you transformed into a cat, and I brought you to my residence. I couldn’t leave you in that form out in the alley—stray cats might attack.”
His nonchalant explanation made me grit my teeth.
If I had been left in the alley where only Shuleiman’s or Theron’s kiss could restore me to human form, what would have happened?
‘…The local gang of alley cats would probably have given me a proper scolding.’
Remembering my old stray life made my fur stand on end.
I shook myself and tried to discard the unpleasant memories, and then, gathering myself, I asked,
“Nyaong, nyaoomyong? Myaaang.” (Why were you there? Why did you bring me here specifically?)
“Hm. It seems you don’t fully understand cat speech. I can’t quite catch everything you say.”
Theron—back to his usual human self—smiled and playfully dodged the question. I scowled.
‘I knew it. He’s avoiding the question.’
Beneath his neat, gentle appearance there was a sly streak; I’d noticed it long ago.
From his life experience he wasn’t a simple child.
Still, even if he ranked lower in birth, he was still a prince. I might want to grab him by the collar and force an answer, but honestly he wasn’t someone I could bully.
As I puffed out my cheek in a petulant pout, Theron smiled as if I were cute and pressed my plump cheek with his finger.
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll not harm you… at least, not to you.”
