Chapter 28
In a dream, Artiph was desperately searching for someone.
His body wouldn’t move according to his will, but the emotions were so vivid that he understood them.
The man was in despair, wretched, and on the brink.
He searched across the Empire, across the whole continent. There was no place he hadn’t been.
He fell asleep as if fainting, forced food down his throat saying he mustn’t die yet.
And still, he could not find them.
Years—or perhaps longer—passed, and in that time the man was torn apart miserably.
When even the faintest flicker of hope finally disappeared from his heart, with parched lips he spat his fury toward the heavens—then collapsed.
And when he opened his eyes again, a completely different scene spread out before him.
The imperial ballroom, so unpleasantly familiar.
It still felt like a dream, but this time Artiph’s body moved according to his own will.
When he raised his hand, it was not the battered, bleeding hand of that man. It was his own hand, calloused from training.
Artiph thought of the man.
They were certainly different people, but because he had been inside that man’s body, it felt as if his own heart had been ripped apart.
No—he thought it might be better if his heart really were torn apart instead.
“Your Excellency! This is no time to be standing around!”
Allen’s meddlesome voice cut through his thoughts, and Artiph opened his mouth.
“What are you talking about?”
“You have to go greet her, of course! If you don’t, some other young lord will steal her away!”
“……”
A jolt of déjà vu made Artiph’s heart stop.
Suddenly his legs moved on their own. His destination was already set, and before he knew it his hurried steps had turned into a run.
Through the crowd, he saw Charlize.
Her eyes, clear as the sky, met his—and tears he didn’t even realize were falling streamed down Artiph’s face. But he did not stop. He didn’t run away this time.
Shoving past people, Artiph rushed forward and pulled the startled Charlize into a fierce embrace.
She stiffened in surprise but did not push him away.
So he held her tighter, as though he had finally found salvation, as though he could lock her away in his arms.
Whispering desperately that he had finally found her, begging her not to abandon him—without even realizing he was doing so.
He just clung to her.
After a long while of holding her, Charlize began to squirm in his arms.
Something about her reaction reminded him of when she was Shasha, and laughter escaped his lips.
Whenever she had refused to be released, she would resign herself to staying quietly in his arms, and that had been so endearing.
This time too, he wrapped one arm firmly around her back and drew her waist closer with the other, and Charlize went still.
But then a faint pressure pushing against his chest, followed by her angry, resounding voice, snapped his eyes open wide.
“Artiph!”
His strength faltered in an instant, and her warm body slipped out of his arms.
Her silver hair, disheveled, shimmered in the morning sunlight.
Face blazing red, Charlize yanked up the blanket to cover herself.
Only just waking, Artiph didn’t immediately comprehend what he was seeing.
“Why…?”
He hadn’t meant to let go.
As he looked at her in disbelief, Charlize suddenly turned her back to him.
Her pale, delicate shoulder traced a graceful line down to her lower back, uncovered by the blanket.
Artiph’s dazed gaze drifted lower. The gown she had loosened when seducing Shasha. The familiar bed.
When he raised his head again, her slender back was in front of him.
“…!”
At last realizing the situation, Artiph scrambled upright so fast that he tumbled off the bed with a loud thud.
“Artiph…?”
Charlize peeked over the edge of the bed, her clear eyes locking with his. Her small, lovely lips spoke his name.
Her long silver hair cascaded over the side of the bed, brushing against Artiph’s stomach.
“Are you all right?”
It was really Charlize.
Not the small, cute cat Shasha, but the Charlize he had fallen for at first sight.
“……”
Artiph still couldn’t say a word. The situation was simply too unbelievable.
“Um… could you give me some clothes first…?”
Her soft voice trembled as she spoke, cheeks flushed. Artiph’s eyes reflexively flicked to the blanket she clutched.
At the same time, the events of a few minutes ago replayed backward in his mind—her delicate yet shapely figure, her scarlet face, the sensation of holding her tightly in his sleep.
“Are you still half-asleep?”
When he saw the small hand she held out toward him, Artiph shot to his feet in a panic.
“Arti—”
Before she could finish, he bolted into the bathroom.
I sat staring blankly at the firmly closed bathroom door.
From the moment I opened my eyes, one shocking thing after another had happened, but the most baffling was right now.
“I suddenly appeared in his bed, and instead of saying anything, he just ran off to wash up?”
I could read Artiph’s expressions now, so I knew he had been completely flustered when he saw me.
“But seriously, he’s showering?”
I had imagined all sorts of reactions he might have when he woke to find me in his arms—but “leaving to wash up” had not been on the list.
“He could’ve at least given me some clothes first.”
With a sigh, I got up.
The dressing room was familiar; I chose Artiph’s clothes there every morning. Naturally, there were no women’s clothes, so I grabbed one of his shirts.
“Oh, wow. It’s huge.”
I tried holding a pair of pants up to my waist, but they were hopelessly too big.
In the end, I came out wearing only the shirt. Locking the bedroom door, just in case, I sat down on the sofa where I usually sat.
Then the bathroom door opened, and Artiph emerged. When he spotted me, he flinched, then spoke.
“…Will you be washing up?”
His low voice, his formal tone, and the fact that he was properly dressed—it all felt strange.
But I wasn’t much different myself.
“…Yes. Thank you.”
I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth with the new toothbrush he had laid out, washed up, and used his lotion. By then, I had made up my mind.
I would come clean.
There was no point in excuses, and I didn’t want to lie. I had already decided, back when I was still Shasha, that I would tell him the truth.
To clear my head, I splashed cold water on my face. Then I stepped out.
“……”
“……”
We sat down at the tea table across from each other.
“Where should I even begin?”
Neither of us spoke. Artiph must have been even more confused and hesitant than I was.
Be honest. Speak from the heart.
“…I’m sorry.”
Artiph’s red eyes wavered. Seeing my own face reflected there felt so unfamiliar that I blurted everything out in a rush.
“I’m Shasha. I don’t know why, but I suddenly transformed into a cat. Thanks to you, I was able to live comfortably here. I’m grateful—and I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”
“That…”
Artiph’s lips moved, but afraid of what I might hear, I hurried to explain myself.
“It’s not black magic. Well, I do suspect it might be, but I swear I didn’t use black magic to sneak in here and harm your house. Please believe me.”
I ducked my head, avoiding his gaze, but the tremor in my voice gave me away.
“My lady…”
“My family doesn’t know anything!”
At the title that slipped from Artiph’s lips, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.
Yes. I wasn’t Shasha, but Lady Charlize of the Retel Duchy.
I couldn’t lean on the affection he’d shown to Shasha.
“Investigate me alone. If you tell the Imperial Family that I agreed to be quietly investigated, they’ll accept it. You wouldn’t want to be entangled with black magic anyway. Once the investigation starts, we can learn more about it—”
“Enough.”
His low voice dropped over my head. Quiet, but weighted, and it silenced me at once.
“I believe you, Lady. You don’t need to beg me any further.”
A lie. Even if it was brief, we had spent nights side by side—how could I not know when he was angry?
“What matters now is your place of residence. If you were Shasha, that would be one thing, but as a Lady, you can’t stay in my chambers like this.”
At his cool, rational words, I suddenly realized.
I would never again see Artiph’s playful smile.
The thought made all the tension drain from my body at once.
