Chapter 14
“Meowk!”
I almost tripped over the thickly wrapped blanket, but Artif caught me.
“You look like you’d roll if I pushed you. Could even play ball with you.”
You’re the one who wrapped me up like this.
How could he laugh at me after being the one who made me look this way?
“Alright. Don’t move. The blanket will come loose.”
I’m not even cold.
I shot Artif a glare as he once again tucked the blanket tightly around me, then turned my head away.
Taking advantage of the rare moment when he wasn’t pestering me, I etched the garden into my memory again—the flowers, the trees, the pond, all in harmony.
I should ask to come out for a night stroll again next time. That pleasant thought was in my head when Artif suddenly spoke.
“Sasha. Do you know there are nights when the moon doesn’t rise?”
I tilted my head, puzzled at something I’d never heard before.
Seeing my innocent reaction, Artif gave a faint smile. But strangely, that smile looked unbearably lonely.
“Most people don’t notice the absence of the moon among so many stars. It’s so clear, and yet…”
I followed his gaze up at the sky. The stars glittered as if proudly asserting their existence.
But amidst the sea of stars, the moon was nowhere to be found.
‘Ah…!’
At last, I realized why the sky had felt so strangely empty earlier, before Artif returned to the room.
‘So many stars…’
It was breathtakingly beautiful, and yet something essential was missing.
Artif let out a faint sigh and murmured,
“It’s been a long time since I felt this tired.”
I stopped searching for the moon and looked at him instead.
The night wind scattered his black hair. His face, darkened to the point of looking worn, carried eyes devoid of life, empty and hollow.
So different from the Artif I usually knew.
I wanted to ask what was troubling him, to at least listen—but I couldn’t bring myself to.
He didn’t seem like he would tell me.
Maybe it was because I was a cat who could understand human speech. If I were just an ordinary cat, maybe I could have comforted him better.
“Still, I’m glad you’re here. If you weren’t in this situation, I…”
Artif exhaled, a painful sound escaping with his laugh.
“…I don’t think I could bear it.”
The gentle breeze began to play music on the blades of grass in the garden.
As I stared at Artif’s weary face, I threw off the blanket and leapt into his arms.
“Sasha?”
I thrust my soft pink paw pad right up to his face.
Startled, his eyes widened, darting between my paw and my face, before he burst out laughing.
He’d understood what I meant.
It was a little embarrassing, but I couldn’t just sit and do nothing. You like my paw pads, after all.
“Are you letting me touch the jelly?”
His large hand engulfed my tiny fluffy paw.
I expected him to press and squish it playfully, but instead, Artif lowered his head. Gently, he pressed his lips to the furry back of my paw.
W-what…!
His action was so reverent—like a knight swearing an oath to his lord—that I froze on the spot.
For a while, he just rested his lips there in silence, until finally lifting his head.
“Is it already time?”
His bitter murmur was followed by Allen approaching with a tray.
“Your Grace. It’s time to leave.”
Allen placed a glass filled with a transparent liquid onto the table.
‘Water?’
I peered at it curiously, but Artif picked it up and downed it in one gulp. Then, once again bundling me tightly in the blanket, he held me in his arms and walked back toward the mansion.
“Starting tomorrow, you won’t see me for fifteen days.”
What?
It was such sudden news. I had heard before that he’d be gone for half a month, but I never imagined it would start tomorrow.
‘He could’ve at least told me a few days in advance.’
Why didn’t he, when he knows I can understand him?
I frowned up at him, but couldn’t even meow the way I usually did.
Because the expression on his face looked so lonely it made my chest ache.
Somehow, his steps seemed slower than usual.
“Even if we don’t meet, you’ll still get reports about me. If you have something to say, tell Allen.”
Huh? Allen knows I can understand people too?
“I won’t be far. Even if you send messages often, I’ll be able to reply quickly, so don’t hold back.”
Not far? Then you’re not even leaving the estate? Where exactly are you going…?
Artif spoke only on his own terms. Frustrated, I wriggled, trying to escape his hold.
But wrapped tight in the blanket and locked firmly in his arms, I couldn’t even free a single paw.
“Stay still. You’ll catch a cold.”
Artif entered the mansion.
“Even if you miss me, endure it for a little while. I… this time, it feels different somehow.”
He climbed the stairs. Instead of stopping at the second floor, where the bedrooms were, he went all the way up to the top floor and stopped before a certain door.
What room is this? Aren’t we sleeping together since you’re leaving tomorrow?
No matter how much I meowed, no answer came.
Instead, Artif pressed his lips firmly against my face.
Artif. Are you really leaving without telling me anything?
In his clear, ruby-like eyes, I saw my own reflection.
Looking at my face, filled with both worry and resentment, he smiled faintly before handing me over to Allen.
“Take good care of her. If there’s any change, report immediately.”
With that cryptic order, he turned the doorknob. Just before going in, he paused and looked back at me once more.
Behind him, the room lay in total darkness—no light, only cold, chilling air that seemed to seep out.
“When the full moon rises, I’ll return.”
Leaving only those words, Artif entered the room.
Allen carried me down the stairs. I didn’t struggle, too busy ranting about Artif in my head.
‘Who was it that insisted we always sleep together, no matter what?’
And now, when we’re about to be apart for half a month, he doesn’t even spend the last night together?
‘Heartless, cold-blooded duke. One moment he looks at me like honey’s about to drip from his eyes, and the next, he tells me nothing when it actually matters.’
Artif sometimes teased me, yes, but he never hid his affection. Yet, now and then, he could be strangely hurtful.
‘I put up with you petting my paws, stroking me, hugging me—even though I hated it.’
I knew it already, but—he really is a bad guy.
“Sasha. I’ll brush you tomorrow. Do you know how sad I was when His Grace banned me from brushing you?”
While I was still busy harshly criticizing Artif in my head, Allen butted in, pretending to cry.
From afar, when I used to watch him assist Artif, he seemed dependable. But up close, he turned out to be such a fool.
“But it’s still banned, so this has to be our little secret, okay~?”
Come to think of it, Allen didn’t seem that scared of Artif. He must’ve gotten used to his intimidating aura, having known him since childhood.
He’d get cowed for just a moment, but then he’d go right back to being silly.
“Why does our Sasha look so gloomy?”
I’m not gloomy. I’m mad.
“Or… are you already missing His Grace? Missing that scary face of his?”
What nonsense. Why would I miss that bad guy? I’m thinking about Mom right now…
Grumbling, I trailed off mid-sentence. There was no reason I couldn’t see my mother.
Yes, my family wanted to take me for themselves. But my mother was in the annex anyway—I could just sneak a glance at her.
There would be guards patrolling, but still.
‘With this tiny body, I can surely slip into my own house.’
Especially since Artif had even dismissed my guard knight, Sir Alcott.
The decision was quick, and once made, there was no reason to hesitate.
After Allen carried me to the bedroom, I waited about thirty minutes. Then, I slipped out of Redmond Mansion.
