I lightly jumped down to the ground and glanced back.
A small, one-story house built of rose-colored bricks.
Because I had wandered around before the paint had fully dried, tiny footprints of mine remained scattered across the red roof.
In the flowerbed that my sister tended to herself, a variety of flowers bloomed each season.
The white fence surrounding the cottage was a bit blotchy—probably because the paint job had gone wrong.
The little nest my sister and I shared.
Our beloved home that I adored more than anything.
At the same time, my eyes hardened with determination.
“This time… I’ll protect it for sure.”
And to do that, I have to persuade Dominique!!
I dashed out of the garden.
Oh, and where was I going, you ask?
They say if you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den.
Which means…
If I want Dominique on my side, I need to go to the temple myself.
“At this time, Dominique should still be a trainee knight, right?”
Today, I’ll scout out the temple, figure out exactly where Dominique is—
And slowly build a relationship with him, step by step!
“A young Dominique… I wonder what kind of child he is?”
The image of Dominique from my previous life flashed through my mind.
A cynical man who never let anyone close.
“Hmm… I can do this, right?”
Swallowing nervously, I pushed off the ground with strength in my legs.
My heart was strangely pounding.
—
At last, I arrived at the Great Temple.
Once I passed through the elaborately carved marble gates, grand buildings supported by massive pillars came into view.
Even the ceilings stretched dizzyingly high above.
Everything about the scenery gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.
As if trying to weigh down anyone who dared to pass through the temple…
“Ugh.”
I inwardly grimaced and trotted across the temple hall.
Priests dressed neatly in robes, worshippers here to offer prayers—
Though there were many eyes, no one paid any attention to a small cat like me.
As I strolled leisurely through the temple…
“Ah, those fruits!”
My eyes suddenly sparkled.
In a corner of the temple courtyard, where no one was around,
Small red fruits the size of thumbnails hung in clusters from a tree branch extending over a pond.
“Cordel berries!”
They had fever-reducing properties.
Though it’s likely they were planted for ornamental purposes rather than their medicinal value.
After all, the temple has a strong sense of divine superiority, and they tend to look down on medicine.
“Anyway.”
My eyes gleamed as I wiggled my backside excitedly.
“I’ll go get some of those in advance.”
If I take them home, my sister might find them useful!
Target acquired—I leapt with energy!
“Meow!”
My claws dug into the tree trunk.
Climbing swiftly, I finally reached the branch with the berries.
Pressing down with my paw—
Snap!
The branch broke and fell into the pond.
So far, so good.
Except for one problem…
“Meeooowww!!”
Splash!!
I fell into the water too!!
“Myaaa! Myaaah!!”
I flailed around in the pond, desperately trying to crawl back to dry land.
I hate water!!
But just then—
“Myaaah, nyaah, nya…?”
Suddenly, I stopped struggling.
Someone had grabbed the scruff of my neck and lifted me into the air.
“What the heck is this?”
A low, gruff voice muttered.
A tall boy was staring straight at me.
I forgot all about how soaked and miserable I was—my eyes went wide.
“Myaa?!”
It’s Dominique!!
Messy black hair falling over a handsome forehead.
His eyes, slightly narrowed, were the royal family’s signature noble purple.
An indifferent expression, still just nine years old.
Yet his striking features were already unmistakable.
The only issue was—
“Ah, I wasn’t mentally prepared to face Dominique yet!”
Stunned, I started flailing again.
“Myaaak! Myak!”
Let me go!
I’m not some kind of sack you can just dangle by the neck!
But instead of letting me go, Dominique simply walked over to the pond’s edge while still holding me.
Then he dropped a training towel over me… and started scrubbing me down?!
I guess he’s trying to dry me off.
“Excuse me, you’re going to scrub all my fur off!!”
Seriously, only a knight trainee would rub this hard.
“Myaaang!”
I cried out pitifully.
At that, Dominique flinched slightly, and his hand softened just a bit.
“If you’d stayed still, I wouldn’t have had to scrub so hard.”
His voice was still sharp, though…
But honestly, compared to the cold, blade-like demeanor he had in our past life—
He’s a little softer now, maybe?
“Hmm.”
I sat quietly in the classic “bread loaf” pose, eyes darting around.
It was clear he was trying not to make me uncomfortable.
“Fine, I’ll let it slide.”
As he wiped around my chin, the towel edge slipped into my mouth—
Ugh! I’m eating towel here!
“Mya!”
I batted at his hand with my soft front paws.
Thwap! Thwap-thwap!
But Dominique didn’t even flinch.
“Was that supposed to hurt?”
He scoffed and plopped the towel on my head.
At that point, I gave up.
“Why is he even out here alone?”
As he dried me head to tail, I pondered the situation.
“Shouldn’t he be in training right now?”
Once most of the moisture was gone, Dominique unceremoniously set me down.
“Alright, off you go.”
“…”
I looked up at him with a pout.
Seriously?
You’re just going to dry me off and set me down?
You’re not even a little sad to part ways with such a cute and lovable cat like me?
You don’t know when we’ll meet again!
…Well, I will come find you again, but still.
Then suddenly—
“Mya!”
Wait! The fruit!
I jumped up.
“I was going to give that to my sister as a gift!”
Peeking toward the pond, I saw the red berries floating on the water, almost like they were teasing me.
“Ugh, there’s no way I can swim over and get those…”
I had no choice.
Closing my eyes tightly, I dug my claws into Dominique’s pant leg.
Dominique, who had been ready to leave without hesitation, widened his eyes and looked down at me.
“What, now what?”
“Myaa, myaa, mya.”
Please fetch that fruit for me. Pretty please?
I looked up at him with desperate eyes.
Dominique glanced between me and the floating branch.
“Ugh.”
He let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his chest.
Then slowly walked toward the pond.
“Huh.”
I blinked in surprise.
He saved me from the pond earlier, too…
Grumbling as he might, he still does everything, huh?
