Chapter 27
Since I’m a cat, I’ve never been properly introduced to people. The only reason I know Allen’s family name is because Artif would call him by his full name whenever he was angry.
But who would’ve thought those two were brothers?
Sorry, Sir Alcot, but now that I look again, you do resemble Allen a bit.
I wonder who’s older. Probably Sir Alcot, right?
While I was curiously observing Alcot, Handsome—who had already finished slurping up all his treat—came over and rubbed his face against me.
— Was it tasty?
The satisfied expression on Handsome’s face was so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.
Honestly, he ate it so deliciously that I wondered if I should try it too, but the smell wasn’t appealing.
“Meow~”
Handsome let out a sweet cry.
If you look closely, it really does seem like he understands everything I say.
“Ah!”
“Mi, Minam Bendingk!”
Just when I was de-stressing while watching the adorable cat, Joffrey and Alcot suddenly shouted in alarm.
— ……?
Handsome climbed onto my back.
“No!”
“Hisss!”
But before I could even register what was happening, Alcot quickly grabbed Handsome.
He was so fast he managed to snatch him up before Handsome’s weight could topple me over.
“Myaaahk! Hissss!”
Handsome struggled to break free, but it was useless.
“No. Any other cat is fine, but not Shasha. Her life could be in danger.”
“Haha. How could her life be in danger? Even His Grace would be delighted if Shasha had kittens.”
At Joffrey’s cheerfully horrifying remark, Alcot turned pale.
“Absolutely not. The name Bendingk could disappear from the noble registry.”
“If Redmond and Bendingk are connected by marriage, won’t that make ties even stronger?”
“Marriage, you say?”
An all-too-familiar voice, darker and more menacing than usual, cut through their conversation.
Artif, who had gone to the imperial palace for a nobles’ assembly, returned to his chambers just then.
“Th-that is……”
The eerie glint of his crimson eyes was enough to make even normally unshakable Alcot stammer.
“Handsome went into heat and mounted Shasha. You may be seeing kittens soon. Congratulations, Your Grace.”
With a bright smile, Joffrey explained everything in detail. Alcot accidentally dropped Handsome in shock.
The moment Handsome landed gracefully, he bolted toward me.
“Nooooo!”
Allen, who had been frozen in horror behind Artif, rushed forward, scooped Handsome up, and held him tight.
“Allen. Alcot.”
“Y-yes, Your Excellency.”
“……Give us your orders.”
The Bendingk brothers stood stiffly before Artif, full of nerves.
“You—escort the veterinarian out and get straight to work. You—run 500 laps around the training ground. And that—hand it over.”
Artif pointed at Handsome.
“Y-Your Excellency! Please, have mercy!”
Allen dropped to his knees, begging frantically.
Meanwhile, Alcot stood frozen, unable to react at all.
Joffrey, realizing what was happening only then, quietly grabbed his bag.
“You seem busy, so I’ll see myself out.”
He whispered swiftly and slipped away before anyone could stop him.
As Joffrey vanished, I walked up to Artif, who was still fuming.
This must be how a father feels raising a daughter, right?
I understood him well. My dad had said the same when I got engaged—that he couldn’t hand over his precious daughter to some good-for-nothing.
Of course, my Handsome is nothing like Chase; he’s infinitely sweeter and cuter.
I passed by the sobbing Allen and tugged on Artif’s trousers.
“Go wait in the office.”
Artif glared murderously at the Bendingk brothers as he spoke.
All this fuss over something like that.
Guess I’ve got no choice.
I unsheathed my claws, dug them into his clothes, and began to climb.
When I clung precariously to his body, Artif sighed, bent down, and picked me up.
“I told you not to do dangerous things.”
— But you’re angry. What else was I supposed to do? Calm down already. Handsome just likes me. He only did what normal cats do—he didn’t do anything wrong.
“……I can’t even put into words how filthy this feels.”
He couldn’t understand me, but it seemed he sensed that I was trying to stop him.
His slightly softened voice almost sounded like he was sulking.
— I get how you feel, but whether human or cat, you can’t just erase love and reproduction from life. Now cheer up and play with my jellybeans.
I held up my pink paw pads in front of his face.
“Haa……. You’re wicked.”
He kissed my paw and then, glaring at Allen, Alcot, and Handsome, gave a short command.
“Get out.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”
The Bendingk brothers bolted out so fast it created a gust of wind.
Allen, though, carefully shut the door, double-checking even my little cat door, before disappearing.
Artif wore a sullen expression as he stroked my paw pads.
— That’s enough now.
When I pulled my paw away, he grabbed the other one.
— I said stop.
When I pulled that one away too, he started kneading my paw pads on my feet.
— Are you planning to play with them all day?!
I balled my little white paw and punched his chest. Only then did he stop, gazing down at me trapped in his arms.
“You told me to touch them.”
— I didn’t mean for you to rub all four for an hour straight.
“So it was just an empty promise to calm me down?”
— What are you talking about—you already touched them plenty.
Claiming he had earned the right to touch my paw pads, Artif decided to save it for later, after finishing his work for the day, so he could devote himself to it fully—until night.
All this, just for paw pads.
Tired of his clinginess, I tried wriggling away to sleep elsewhere.
“No. Stay still.”
But his thick arms wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I pushed.
— Bring me the card.
I drew a furious square in the air with my paw.
“Why would I? You’ll just badmouth me again.”
He refused lightly and went back to playing with my paws.
— Hey!
“Why are you always like this with me?”
— What?
“For a cat, you show way too many expressions. Who taught you to make such disrespectful faces at your master?”
Judging from how he was rambling, this had to be Artif’s version of bedtime whining.
“Every time, I’m forced to gratefully accept your paw pads like they’re a gift. But you let others touch you so easily.”
There were so many things wrong with that statement.
I never offered them like a gift, and I never let others touch me freely.
“Yet you don’t even cozy up to some mere beast like Bendingk’s cat. So why only treat me like this?”
— Because you go overboard. If I let you, you’d rub me down until I wore away completely.
“Ha! Unbelievable.”
The weight of his arm lifted from me, and I could finally breathe.
But that wasn’t a good sign. He rolled over, showing me his back.
Oh great, and now he’s hogging the blanket too?
— …….
He stayed still, pretending to sleep.
— Artif.
No answer. I tapped his back with my paw, but he wouldn’t turn around.
— Heyyy, fine. Touch the paw pads more. Here.
When I scratched his back, he rolled over briefly—only to shove me far away.
— Are you seriously doing this?
His broad back was so stiff with sulking, it was funny—but also made me feel a little guilty.
Maybe I really was too stingy only with him.
— Artif. I was wrong.
Carefully, I approached, afraid he might push me away again. When I touched his back, he didn’t resist.
Emboldened, I leapt over the narrow gap of his neck and landed in front of him.
Got it.
Face-to-face at last, I saw his crimson eyes quickly flicker away.
“Meow~”
I pressed my paw firmly to his lips, mimicking the jelly-kiss he always gave me.
His long lashes trembled.
So this is what taming a beast feels like.
I wanted to soothe him more, but I was too sleepy now.
I burrowed toward his crossed arms, head-butting them.
— Let go.
After a few bumps, his arms easily loosened.
Curled up the way I always slept, I nestled against his chest.
“……Not going to give me more?”
I yawned so wide my mouth split open, looking up at him. Artif chuckled and gently stroked me.
“Next time, I won’t give in so easily.”
— Yeah right. Next time, no mercy from me either.
And so, bickering to the end, Artif and I both drifted into a very, very deep sleep.
