Meanwhile, Dominique stretched out his arm and retrieved the branch. After shaking off the water, he placed it down in front of me.
“Happy now? Get going. I have to train too.”
Huh?
My ears perked up.
Why would he train here?
Shouldn’t he be taking lessons from instructors at the training center?
But Dominique seemed serious.
He picked up a wooden sword lying on the ground and began taking a stance.
For a long while—
“…Haa.”
With a long sigh, Dominique glanced at me with a sour expression.
“Why aren’t you leaving?”
“Myaa.”
Then why are you training here all alone?
Of course, Dominique wasn’t my sister, so he couldn’t understand a word I said.
“Talking to a cat… What the hell am I doing?”
Clicking his tongue, Dominique began training.
He gripped the wooden sword firmly and swung it downward with perfect control and focus.
Honestly, his dedication was admirable…
‘But why is he training alone?’
While Dominique and I bickered back and forth, the sun had already begun to set.
Which meant—
At this hour, a nine-year-old boy had been left completely alone.
‘Still… no one has come looking for him.’
I frowned deeply.
How could a child that young be wandering around alone while the adult instructors did nothing?
Shouldn’t someone be checking where he is?
And yet, Dominique looked completely used to being alone in such a remote place.
As if training were some kind of crime, and as if being seen by others was forbidden…
I let out a sigh, just in my thoughts.
‘Really… my sister will be waiting for me.’
But I couldn’t bring myself to leave Dominique behind.
In the end, I stayed rooted in place until he finished his training.
—
That evening.
‘That cat was ridiculous.’
After finishing his training, Dominique was—for once—in a good mood.
A rather daft-looking cat with snow-white fur, like it was sculpted from light.
Contrary to its gentle appearance, it had quite the temper, and had slapped the back of Dominique’s hand with surprising force.
Thinking of that cat, Dominique let out a small chuckle.
‘Fell out of a tree like an idiot, and it’s a cat…’
Honestly, he thought the cat would dart off the moment he pulled it out of the pond.
But to his surprise, it didn’t.
Instead, the cat stayed by his side until he was done training.
—
“Myaang, myang!”
“I’ll come see you again tomorrow!”
That’s what those bright blue eyes seemed to say as it stared up at him.
To be honest… he was really happy.
In a world where no one paid the slightest attention to him—
Even if it was just an animal, that cat was the only living thing that didn’t ignore him.
Even now.
“…”
Dominique stood with a blank face, staring at the darkened, unlit dining hall of the training center.
The other trainees—and even the instructors—were probably inside having dinner.
And yet no one noticed Dominique was missing.
No—more accurately:
‘They probably don’t even realize I exist.’
It was something he’d grown used to.
Still, a corner of his heart ached with emptiness.
To the current Emperor, Dominique’s very existence was a liability.
And those at the temple, fearful of the Emperor’s cold gaze, kept their distance from Dominique.
Rather than treating him like a prince, they treated him like a burden.
There was nowhere he belonged. Nowhere he was wanted.
‘What am I even thinking?’
With a bitter smirk, Dominique carefully snuck into the dark dining hall so no one would notice.
He rummaged through the cupboards in the kitchen and found a couple of dried-out pieces of bread.
But even that he didn’t get to eat.
Because—
“Oh, look who it is.”
As he stepped out of the kitchen, bread in hand, he ran into fellow trainees.
“Aren’t you that little beggar?”
Dominique stared blankly at the boys before him.
Though they were still young, their sneering faces looked anything but innocent.
“Why don’t you eat with everyone else? Sneaking around like a rat.”
The reason was simple.
These very boys never let him eat in peace.
Tripping him, picking fights—those were everyday occurrences.
One time, they even tried to dump food on his head. He couldn’t let that slide and finally retaliated…
—
“Stay quiet. Stay low. Stay out of sight.”
—
The Emperor’s warning had come down swiftly.
After that, when they realized Dominique couldn’t fight back anymore—
The bullying only got worse.
“They say you’re a prince, but you look like a piece of trash.”
One boy snatched the bread from Dominique’s hand and tossed it to the floor.
Then he stomped on it, grinding it into crumbs.
He watched Dominique’s reaction with disgusting anticipation.
That vile expression, filled with base amusement and glee.
“…”
Even then, all Dominique could do—
Was pretend not to be angry.
To act like it didn’t bother him.
And keep his face blank as he watched the scene unfold.
“What? You wanna hit me?”
One boy leaned close, taunting him.
“Come on, like last time! Hit me!”
“Ahaha!”
“What a coward, seriously!”
Laughter exploded around him.
‘It’s fine. It’s not like this is the first time.’
Dominique clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay calm.
‘I can’t cause trouble.’
After all, he couldn’t do anything to them.
So the best option was to leave.
But the mockery still followed him as he walked away.
“Look at him run away! What a joke!”
“Seriously pathetic!”
Once he got far enough that their voices could no longer reach him—
Dominique took a deep breath.
‘How long do I have to live like this?’
It was like someone had lit a fire deep in his chest.
An uncontrollable rage bubbled up, turning his thoughts white-hot.
Then suddenly—
‘Ah.’
Dominique stopped in his tracks.
‘That tree…’
In the distance, he saw a tree with small red berries hanging from its branches.
It was the same tree the cat had struggled to climb earlier that day.
And so, Dominique couldn’t help but remember that cat again.
‘I probably won’t ever see it again.’
His mouth tasted bitter.
The only good thing that had happened lately…
Was meeting that nameless stray cat.
‘Well… it’s for the best anyway.’
If the cat stayed near him, it might get hurt by those boys.
Better not to meet again.
Above all—
‘I don’t have time to care about some cat.’
His violet eyes darkened.
He had to make a place for himself in the High Temple as soon as possible.
To become useful, to be protected by the Temple—
That was the only way Dominique could survive.
And yet—
He couldn’t shake the feel of that soft, fluffy fur from his fingert
ips.
Dominique clenched his fist tightly.
—
“Mei! Why are you so late!!”
As I quietly tried to sneak into the house, my shoulders flinched at the sudden shout.
Standing tall at the front door, arms crossed, was my sister—with her eyebrows arched high in irritation.
