Chapter 57

Esadien kept his mouth tightly shut. But even as he glared with his sharp ears pinned back flat, Ramande’s demeanor didn’t waver.

“I know you understand me. I heard you speaking earlier.”

— How…how did you know?

Esadien asked hesitantly.

Ramande let out a sigh and straddled his chair backward, resting his arms on the backrest.

“Who knows. I just knew the moment I saw you.”

He tapped his fingers against the carved wood of the chair as if trying to sort out his thoughts. Every time his fingertips touched the decoration, a faint glimmer of holy power sparked.

“What is that thing wrapped around your body? Even holy power can’t erase it.”

If anything, it felt like it was pulling him in.

Hearing Ramande’s murmured thoughts, Esadien’s tail puffed up so big it looked like it might go pop.

— Priest… does this mean you can’t turn me back either?

“…Why do you like her?”

If it had been just a normal cat in front of him, Ramande might have found the sight adorable. But the creature inside that fur was the damn Third Prince.

His lips twisted in contempt.

“Let’s say waiting in front of her estate, showing up all the time—maybe that was just a lingering attachment. But this? This is just revolting.”

— You’ve got it all wrong! I didn’t choose this form!

Esadien desperately defended himself, aghast at the disgust in Ramande’s eyes—like he was looking at an incurable pervert.

He explained that it was probably because of the ‘love potion’, but Ramande’s expression didn’t change.

“Oh, really? Then why didn’t you go to the royal mages?”

— No one could understand me! What was I supposed to do, show up like this and just meow at them?

“You didn’t even try.”

Esadien inhaled sharply.

“At the very least, if you’d made an effort to contact the Crown Princess, the entire imperial court wouldn’t have gone into chaos thinking you’d been kidnapped or killed.”

— I…

The thought hadn’t even occurred to him.

‘Minuelle said she told my sister about the assassin…’

If that was true, then the Crown Princess must be especially worried, probably imagining the worst had happened.

Guilt churned in his stomach.

Even as Esadien bowed his head in shame, Ramande’s tone remained cold.

“I’ll take you to the palace tomorrow. I should be able to get away for a short while.”

— I…

Esadien knew, logically, that Ramande was right. Going back was the right thing to do.

It would be difficult to convince the Emperor and the Crown Princess, but if Ramande vouched for him, there were ways to prove the truth.

Even so—

— …I don’t want to.

Esadien had abandoned everyone.

Ramande clearly hadn’t expected that answer. His face twisted with disbelief, then darkened with anger.

“What did you just say? Are you insane? If you’re found out, it’s over—no more lingering feelings, no more chances.”

— …Are you worried about me? You’re a priest after all.

“Don’t flatter yourself. The engagement may be broken, but the last thing I want is for Minuelle to think of her first love and throw up in disgust.”

That shut Esadien up completely.

— Throw up…

The insult was so beyond imagination that Esadien felt like his brain had gone numb. But Ramande didn’t care in the slightest—he just continued coldly, his face expressionless.

“Imagine Lapheche Celeste sneaking into your room disguised as a flowerpot and watching you 24 hours a day. How would you like that?”

As if anyone would!

Esadien’s whole body trembled in visceral rejection. Ramande let out a scoffing laugh.

“That’s exactly what you’re doing now.”

— I… I’m not like her.

“And how are you any different? Oh, wait—true, the flowerpot wouldn’t get in the bath with her. So maybe the flowerpot would be better.”

— I-I didn’t mean to get in! I wasn’t even trying to look!

“Pathetic. As a fellow man, you’re an embarrassment.”

The mocking tone struck a fatal blow. Esadien collapsed in place, utterly defeated.

Ramande grabbed him by the scruff and growled,

“You’re going back to the Imperial Palace tomorrow. Understood?”

— …

Still, Esadien stubbornly turned away. Ramande, having all logic on his side, began to feel genuinely confused.

“You can’t return to normal unless you go to the capital first. His Majesty will summon any temple or Archmage necessary to break the side effects.”

But even that didn’t change Esadien’s silence.

Ramande narrowed his eyes. A possibility occurred to him.

“Don’t tell me… you don’t want to go back to being human?”

At last, Esadien’s tail twitched.

Ramande, stunned, dropped him with a small thud onto the desk.

Esadien landed with a light bounce on his rear and murmured gloomily,

— Minuelle likes me as a beast, not as a man.

“Even so…”

— I love her.

Ramande’s lips froze. Watching the color drain from his face, Esadien bared his heart.

— But she would never accept me as a human. If I can stay by her side like this…

“So any form is fine, as long as you can stay near her.”

Esadien nodded slowly.

The more he looked at Ramande, the more certain he became: this priest wasn’t just a pure, platonic friend to Minuelle.

No matter how he tried to hide it, deep affection always found ways to show.

‘That’s why he was jealous.’

Now that Esadien shared the same “condition,” Ramande’s feelings were clearer than ever.

Leaning his forehead against the backrest of his chair, Ramande let out a wry laugh.

“Why is it that every man Minuelle attracts turns out like this…”

— So please… let me stay like this, priest.

Esadien pleaded with a quiet intensity.

Ramande stared at him for a long moment before speaking again.

“Aren’t you being a little naive, Your Highness?”

— Naive about what?

“Saying you’ll be content just to be near her, that watching her is enough… Maybe that’s true for now.”

— It won’t change.

“Really? Then what if Minuelle falls in love with someone else?”

Esadien’s pupils dilated. It felt like a massive boulder had dropped on his head.

— I… I never even thought…

He hadn’t. Not once.

Knowing Esadien was reeling, Ramande kept pressing with calm cruelty.

“What if Minuelle gets married? Has children? Builds a family with someone else and lives happily? Could you really endure watching that?”

Each question was like a punch to the gut.

Esadien had rushed to her without considering any of this. And yet, these were truths he couldn’t avoid forever.

Ramande gently laid the dazed Esadien onto a folded blanket.

“Think it over. Seems like you’ve got plenty of time.”

That was as good as saying he would keep the secret.

Even long after that night, Ramande couldn’t quite figure out why he had chosen to act as he did.

Maybe it was shared pain.  

Maybe it was the weary leniency of someone who had already said “yes” to those cruel questions.  

Or maybe… he simply wasn’t confident Minuelle would believe him even if he exposed the beast’s true identity.

* * *

As a true animal lover, Father broke into a pleased smile the moment he saw El.

“So this is El?”

“Yes. Cute, right?”

“Hmm, sure.”

Lifting one of El’s feet to examine the black jelly pads, Father gave a thoughtful nod.

“He’s going to grow big. Looks like he’ll do well walking on snow.”

Then, as if shaking hands, he gently took the paw and gave it a shake. His added remark came like a promise.

“You must protect our Minuelle well.”

El, as if understanding that too, nodded up and down.

Other than the soft “mya” sound he made when calling for me, El rarely made any noise. I’d been slightly worried about that, and when I brought it up, Father chuckled like it was no big deal.

“Feline species communicate using sounds humans can’t hear.”

“Really?”

“Sure. So the only reason El makes audible sounds is probably just to get your attention.”

“El really loves me. Isn’t that right, El?”

“Myaah.”

El replied clearly, rubbing his face against my neck.

“Aw, you’re so smart.”

Stroking El’s warm body, I murmured contentedly.

“Forget marriage… maybe I’ll just live alone with my cat.”

Strangely enough, the moment I said that, both Ramande sitting beside me and El in my arms froze at the same time.

“Are you serious, Minuelle?”

“Mya?”

Such drama. It’s not like a woman can’t live alone if she’s rich.

I pouted and grumbled.

“I dunno. It’s just an option.”

“Didn’t you say you were collecting handsome men?”

“Ugh, seriously! How long are you going to tease me about that?”

Father neither intervened nor encouraged our bickering. He simply watched with a smile.

While we were passing the time like that, the mage—now finished with preparations—gave a report.

“The gate is ready.”

The rest of the convoy would travel by land, while we were to arrive directly at the main Karnian estate via the gate.

I tucked El securely inside my outer cloak and held him close.

“Keep your eyes shut tight, okay, El?”

As I gave the warning, Ramande held out his hand to me.

“Minuelle.”

Taking my dependable friend’s hand, I closed my eyes tightly.

The mage began counting down.

“Three, two, one. Initiating.”

Flash—the world beyond my shut eyes flared bright, and a floating sensation swept over me.

“Arrival confirmed. Eleven twenty-nine.”

It was a different mage’s voice, and the air was noticeably colder as it greeted us.

We had arrived in the North.

“Are you alright, Minuelle? Not too cold?”

Ramande shook his head once to shake off the lingering weightlessness before asking.

“You know I don’t get cold easily. What about you?”

“I’m managing.”

Now that I thought about it, was my resistance to the cold because I was a Northerner, or because of the spirits?

As that idle curiosity drifted away, I patted El’s bottom—he hadn’t made a fuss at all despite the magic jump.

“Oh my, oh my, our sweet El was so well-behaved. Not even scared when it went flash! Such a good boy. Sooo cute.”

When I started baby-talking, Ramande clicked his tongue.

“Where did you even pick up that nonsense?”

“I didn’t learn it. It just comes out when something’s this cute.”

“Cute… right. Just so cute, huh?”

Was it that Ramande preferred canines over felines?

I subtly turned my body to shield El from Ramande’s line of sight.

“What? It’s good to shower them with praise, okay?”

“Mmm. Sure. Praise…”

Ramande looked at El with a complicated expression.

El, for his part, had long since perched his chin on my shoulder and was gazing off elsewhere.

‘Honestly, El seems calmer than Ramande.’