Chapter 56

The next morning, bright and early—  

I opened my eyes at the unfamiliar weight on the bed. When I turned to see the warm presence snuggled up against my side, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.  

“How did you even escape and get here?”  

Curled up like a little ammonite was El.  

“Mya…”  

His barely-opened eyes narrowed as if in a smile—then gently closed again.

* * *

Esadien glanced around in every direction, trying to get his bearings. Relying on human memory in the body of a small beast made it all too easy to get lost.

‘The Grand Duchess’ residence was… that way, I think.’

He had just slipped out through a small hole in the palace wall.  

Watching hooves and wheels pass by on the road, Esadien was reminded—quite vividly—of how much lower his perspective had become.

‘At this rate, I could end up trampled by some blind hoof.’

His judgment was quick, but his body wasn’t used to this form yet. Even climbing a low wall proved a real struggle.  

Only after several failed attempts did he finally manage to scramble onto the short ledge.

— Hey. You there!

‘Hm?’

Esadien’s ears perked up and twitched involuntarily at the strange sound. It wasn’t human speech—but something else entirely.

The sensation of his body reacting on its own, without his intent, was something he still hadn’t gotten used to.  

While he was still flustered, the voice calling to him revealed its source.

— What are you? A mutt?

— You’ve got a weird look. Where are your parents? Who lets a half-grown kid wander alone?

Three cats that had been trailing him from the alley surrounded him—one calico, one grey-striped, and one pitch black.  

Esadien had no idea what they meant by “mutt” or “half-grown,” and even if he had, there wasn’t much he could do about it.  

So, silently, he tried to walk past them.

Wasn’t it obvious? He’d just transformed bodies, he was originally a human—there was no way he could speak cat.

But the fully grown cats were surprisingly large, and the only path around them was a patch of dirt on the ground.

‘…’

Esadien swallowed nervously. It had been hard enough getting up here—climbing down looked twice as high now.

Still, he decided to put his trust in this “cat-like” body for now. Cats were known for landing on their feet, even from high places.

— Uh, hey—what’s he doing?

The sight of his twitching rump as he prepared to jump was enough to send the cats into mild panic.

— Is he just gonna bolt like that?

What’s with this guy? Doesn’t he know to lower his tail and say “sorry” when trespassing?

Cats were territorial by nature. They’d only tolerated him this far because he looked young.

— Hey, kid!

The calico tried to scold him, but Esadien had already leapt.

‘Perfect landing!’  

…or so he thought.

The soft thud that followed, and the way the cats instinctively rubbed their own faces in sympathy, said otherwise.

— In all my life, I’ve never seen any cat that clumsy.

— Even newborns land better than that.

— How is he even walking around like that?

The critiques were brutal—worse than a zero on a scoreboard.

— If we let him wander around like that, he’s definitely gonna get himself killed—huh?!

Just as the calico, annoyed but feeling responsible, was about to guide Esadien back to his “mother,” his eyes widened.

The kitten who’d been lying motionless just a moment ago suddenly sprang to his feet and shot off like an arrow.

The grey-striped cat watched him go, clicking his tongue.

— Well, he is young… guess that’s why he bounces back fast.

— Shut up and hurry up, will you?!

But the moment Esadien realized the others were following him, he picked up the pace and darted off.

Had he simply gone on his way without trouble, the other cats would’ve likely given up and gone to hunt pigeons instead.

However, Esadien kept crashing into everything in sight, stirring up every bad-tempered creature in the neighborhood. They couldn’t just leave him alone.

— What the heck is with this mutt?!

He stepped on the tail of a famously gorgeous cat belonging to a merchant’s house and got properly scratched up in return.

Some cats are just unlucky—like him, who, after slipping from a tree, fell right onto the back of a hunting dog with no sense of mercy in its eyes.

“Woof! WOOF WOOF!”

— Sorry, buddy!

The cats had to break into a sweat calming the hound down before it could sink its teeth into Esadien.

The black cat, unable to bear watching any longer, tried to grab the clearly malfunctioning kitten, but only got scratched along the flank for her efforts.

— Agh, this is so frustrating!

Maybe because of his small body, Esadien was surprisingly good at slipping through gaps and dodging with artful grace.

— Should we just give up? I’m getting hungry.

— Cat gods help us… what do we even do with him?

They were tempted to abandon the chase, but their sense of adult feline responsibility drove them to keep following the walking disaster.

Esadien was clearly running out of steam. They guessed right—he must’ve been getting hungry too.

— Let’s wait a bit longer. The second he slows down, we grab him.

Just as they were lying in wait for an opening, the little one suddenly slipped into a hedge.

— Uh—wait, what?

The black cat froze in disbelief.

Where Esadien had squeezed himself into was no ordinary hedge—it was a thick wall of brambles covered in sharp thorns.

— Does that kid not feel pain or something…?

While the black cat’s tail trembled in dismay, the calico remained calm.

— Good thing that house only keeps horses.

As long as he didn’t wander near the stables, it would be safe.

Relieved, the cats nimbly scaled the fence and climbed into the trees.  

But once inside the garden, the kitten was nowhere to be seen.

Then, suddenly, a distant boxwood shrub twitched.

— When did he get all the way over there?

But the cats weren’t the only ones who noticed it.

A human with long, wavy hair was slowly approaching.

The cats immediately crouched low and held their breath. With bad luck, this could end with more than just being shooed away—it could mean real trouble.

Unaware of their tension, a withered little voice came out from the bush.

— Minuelle…

— What the… He can talk?

The striped grey cat grumbled under his breath.

— But what a weird sound. It’s like…

His tail—striped darker near the end—swayed in a questioning curve.

— Oh! Like when little humans try to mimic our voices!

— Is that really important right now? Are we just leaving him?

The long-haired human had already picked Esadien up with a soft, “There, there…”

— Let it be. Looks like she’s trying to treat him.

The calico gave a curt reply and turned away without hesitation.

After all, he’d clearly mumbled something the moment he saw her.

— I missed you.

Before he passed out, he’d even blinked at their direction—his way of showing thanks.

—Take care, little one.’

The calico cat brushed under his nose with a paw and turned to leave.

The others grumbled, but quickly followed.

— Pigeon for lunch?

— What about a crow?

— Ugh, crows kinda freak me out though…

* * *

Esadien couldn’t believe this was real.

He had blacked out from hunger and exhaustion, only to wake up completely healed—Minuelle had tended to all his injuries.

Even more unbelievable, she didn’t flinch when he nuzzled her or licked her cheek. Instead, she smiled and held him gently, complimented his beautiful eyes, and casually gave him a name.

— Minuelle…

Every time he tried to say her name, all that came out was a strange “mya,” but she would only marvel at it and meet his gaze. That alone made him happy.

“Alright. From now on, you’re living with me. Got it?”

When Minuelle said that, Esadien wished he could stay like this forever.

So what if he was in a beast’s body? As long as he could live by her side and be loved by her, that was enough. It was a far better fate than constantly fearing for his life in his human form, where the imposter threatening his existence lurked.

However, even Esadien found himself at a loss when Minuelle carried him into the bathroom.

— N-No, Minuelle. This… this isn’t right…

“Shh, you need to be clean if you want to sleep under the covers.”

— …

Well… that was a fair point.

Things somehow spiraled from there—his head spun, and he fainted again.

When he came to, Ramande was looking down at him, visibly displeased.

— Minuelle…?

“El, are you okay?”

Minuelle asked with worry and relief mingled in her voice.

Behind her, Esadien caught sight of Ramande’s expression subtly shifting. The priest—did he know something? Esadien instinctively averted his eyes and snuggled closer to Minuelle, pretending not to notice.

But of course, as soon as Minuelle said he’d be sleeping beside her, Ramande strongly objected.

“No. You can’t bring something like that into your bed—it could bring in bugs.”

Esadien had let the mystery of his species slide. But this? This was too much.

— What do you take me for?!

At that moment, he realized too late that he shouldn’t have responded at all.

Ramande seized the opportunity. Calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he scooped Esadien up under his arm like luggage and walked away.

“Then he’s sleeping with me.”

“What?!”

— What?! Let go of me this instant!

Both Minuelle and Esadien cried out in shock, but Ramande simply ignored them, offering a breezy farewell over his shoulder: “Sweet dreams, Minuelle.”

As soon as he stepped out of her room, however, his playful demeanor vanished entirely.

In a voice as flat as ice, he said, “Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

The sudden shift in tone made Esadien swallow nervously.

‘Don’t tell me…’

No one else—not the attendants, not Minuelle, not even the animals—had sensed the truth.

But Ramande had been looking at him differently from the very start.

Even now, despite Esadien not speaking a word, Ramande seemed entirely certain that he understood everything.

‘Do I need to run?’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

‘But… but still…’

He hesitated.

He had just gotten Minuelle back. Even if it had only been a short while, he’d already learned what it meant to feel joy just from seeing someone.

Who knew if the priest could even turn him back? There was no guarantee.

Even if he did, who would believe him when he held up a cat and said, “This is actually a person”?

Sure, there was a risk of being forcibly transformed back—but Esadien decided to hold onto hope.

So when Ramande set him down on his desk and stared daggers at him, Esadien managed to keep his cool.

“You really need to stop this perverted act, Your Highness.”

Esadien flinched slightly at the blunt address—but just slightly.