Chapter 06
“Meow!”
‘Mari!’
“Did you sleep well?”
‘Yep!’
Sitting on the cushion, I waved my front paw as I returned Mari’s greeting. She gave off a cold and rational impression at first, but contrary to expectations, she was quite expressive. Probably.
Maybe it just felt that way because I had only been seeing malicious faces before, so even a calm expression seemed full of emotion.
During the week I’d been staying here, I had gotten close to several beastfolk in the mansion, and Mari was the first among them. Well, it made sense—she was my personal maid.
“You’re adorable again today.”
‘Thanks for the compliment.’
I purred while rubbing against her hand.
Mari smiled warmly and gently stroked my head.
After petting my fur a few times, she placed her palm in front of the cushion.
Having realized that I was afraid of dangling from someone’s grip, Mari had changed her method to simply lifting me on her palm.
Thanks to that, I no longer had to experience the horror of being held midair.
I glanced at her hand once, then hopped onto it out of habit.
Being lifted while standing on her palm felt like riding a glass elevator, so it wasn’t particularly scary.
Maybe I wasn’t afraid of heights—just of being grabbed.
Though unlike a glass elevator, this one had no walls on any side.
If I slipped, that’d be instant death.
Still, unlike when I first arrived at the mansion, I wasn’t particularly scared anymore.
“My lady cat, shall we take a walk in the garden again today?”
‘Yes, yes.’
I still had to find that dog hole I missed last time.
From the very first day I regained my senses, I had been thoroughly searching both this room and the garden for an escape hole. But somehow, there wasn’t a single hole in the room.
…Well, rooms aren’t supposed to have holes, are they? If there were, whoever built the mansion would’ve lost their head. Or maybe the one managing it would have. Either way.
Once I climbed onto her palm, Mari carefully lifted me and walked out of the room.
Compared to the flustered beginning, this was a huge improvement. The first time her hand tilted, I thought I was going to die from the fall. Amazing how many thoughts flash through your mind in such a short moment.
Anyway, since there were no holes in the room, I had recently given up searching there and instead focused on the garden.
More precisely, I was searching for a hole in the garden.
For the sake of my comfortable future, it seemed wise to at least know where an escape route was.
‘You never know what might happen in life.’
If things get dangerous, you run.
“My lady cat, how are you feeling today?”
Mari whispered softly while holding me.
‘Great. Really great.’
I nodded.
…Anyway, it’s not like I’m just eating and playing around. I’m doing something important for my future (finding an escape hole).
Of course, if I kept living like this, it might not be so bad to give everything up and just become the White Tiger’s pet cat.
Three meals a day, snacks, sleeping whenever I want, waking whenever I want. If I get bored, I can just go for a walk.
And the owner doesn’t even come looking.
Oh… now that I think about it, this is pretty nice.
Is there a better job than this? Probably not.
“I’ll set you down here.”
‘Okay!’
I nodded happily, enjoying the fresh scent of grass.
“My lady cat.”
A voice called me from somewhere nearby.
I turned my head, looking around.
No one was there.
Aside from Mari, there were no beastfolk nearby.
The bushes weren’t even rustling.
Well, if someone were a normal employee, why would they be hiding in bushes? That’s something you do when crawling through holes.
Just then, something black dropped from the tree above me.
‘Ah!’
Startled, I looked ahead and saw a man in black standing before me.
…Is it normal for people to just pop out like that?
I looked up at the man, who was holding pruning shears and a shovel.
…Do servants usually jump down from trees?
The servants in the Simond family certainly didn’t climb trees. Haha. Maybe the Simond household was the strange one…?
‘…Or is it a regional difference I don’t know about?’
Once again, I realized just how many different kinds of beastfolk there were.
‘Mari, who’s that?’
When I looked at her with a questioning gaze, she smiled as if used to this and answered immediately.
“He’s the gardener.”
The man flinched as if he had seen something, then turned his head—and flinched again.
Realizing how odd his actions must have looked, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed.
“Yes. I’m the gardener. Haha.”
I see. His entrance definitely didn’t look like that of a normal gardener…
Must’ve been my imagination.
‘Well, Mari’s maid outfit is black too, so I guess a gardener could wear black as well.’
Having organized my thoughts, I looked at him again.
“My lady cat, it’s an honor to meet you.”
‘Hello.’
I waved my paw in greeting.
As I did, the gardener gripped his shears tightly, and with a snip, the branch caught between them fell to the ground.
“Would you accept my gift?”
‘What gift?’
I looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Reading my approval, he stepped closer and gently placed a flower on my head.
Mari gazed at me with satisfaction.
“My lady cat, you’ve put a flower in your hair.”
Mari… that sounds a bit weird…
I looked at her with a subtle expression.
At least she didn’t seem to mean anything bad by it.
“That’s right. A flower in your hair. You’re so adorable.”
The gardener clapped seriously.
No, could you both not seriously say I’ve “put a flower in my hair”…? It sounds strange if you think about it.
Technically, it’s just resting on my head.
I silently prayed that the other beastfolk wouldn’t misunderstand me as some kind of lunatic.
I just wanted to live quietly, avoid Ian’s attention, and leave as a human someday.
“My lady cat… what should I do? I don’t think my heart can take this.”
Mari said seriously, her face completely stiff.
Mari… please don’t say things like that with such a serious expression.
No matter how many times I see it, I just can’t get used to it.
Unable to bear her intense stare, I turned my head away.
‘Sorry. Even for you, Mari, I can’t accept that kind of comment with a straight face.’
I wrapped my tail around myself and sat on the mat.
“My lady cat…”
“My lady cat…”
Both Mari and the gardener looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if expecting something.
Right. When you receive something, it’s only proper to return the favor.
‘But I have nothing to give…?’
In this cat body, I couldn’t even gather flowers to make a crown.
And plucking flowers from the garden didn’t feel right.
‘Do they just want to see me walking around with the flower on my head?’
People usually like seeing how their gifts are used.
Not sure how I reached that conclusion, though.
‘Should I just walk around with it?’
Stretching out my short legs, I began walking like I was on a runway.
Elegant. Graceful.
Behold—the catwalk.
‘Oh… this is actually kind of fun?’
It was oddly addictive.
As I got immersed, I almost felt like a real model.
And so, I strutted around the mansion garden.
In reality, it was just a tiny fluff ball with a flower on its head, trying to look elegant while waddling around.
Mari watched with satisfaction.
‘Our little cat, who used to just doze all day, is finally walking around the garden on her own…!’
Pride swelled in her chest.
Then, from various places, the sound of people inhaling sharply could be heard.
‘That sound again.’
I stopped walking and looked around nervously.
“Ah… too cute… I want to bite it.”
A dreamy voice came from afar.
“Should I… just eat it…?”
“Let’s destroy the mansion… yeah… let’s destroy it…”
Rustle—
The bushes began to move.
Crash!
At that exact moment, a window shattered, and cracks spread along part of the wall.
I froze on the spot, mouth agape.
Thud.
The flower fell from my head.
‘What… is that…?’
‘They said they’d destroy the mansion… and it actually broke… is that even possible?’
‘I don’t know…’
I concluded to myself.
“Meooow…”
Mom… everyone here is weird…
Later, after playing around with the flower on my head and wandering the garden for a long time, I returned to my room.
Spending time with Mari and the gardener had been more enjoyable than expected.
‘Maybe it’s just because they’re kind to me.’
All the employees in this mansion had been visibly kind to me.
‘Why, though?’
I tugged at the edge of the cushion with my paw.
After being outside in the cold, the warmth of the room made my whole body feel drowsy.
Inside what I assumed was a cat house, I lay stretched out, my body heavy like soaked cotton.
And it was comfortable.
Perfectly sized for me.
Grrr—
At the same time, my stomach growled.
Didn’t I just eat?
“Meow!”
‘Chocolate cookies!’
I spotted cookies on the table.
When your sugar drops, chocolate cookies are the best.
Dragging my heavy body, I made my way over.
‘Ah… if only I had telekinesis… why are those cookies on the table…’
I probably couldn’t even finish one. Maybe not even a bite.
‘Still… I might manage one bite…’
I remembered collapsing when I first tried to eat here. After days of effort, I could at least manage now.
Everything felt like a hassle.
But hunger doesn’t let you sleep.
Like always, I struggled onto the table to nibble at the unattended cookie—
“Looks like a thieving cat.”
A mischievous voice echoed through the room.
