JSOML 05

Chapter 05

‘Ah…… of all times…….’

This timing.

‘And there’s probably no cat-only restroom here either.’

Lery looked around anxiously. It seemed like she might end up taking care of business outside.

Even though she looked like a cat on the outside, she was still human inside, so she didn’t want to urinate on the street like a stray cat.

Lery gently nudged Sonia’s leg. Hoping Sonia would help her somehow.

“Meow……. (Let’s go inside…….)”

I’m in a hurry.

But unfortunately, Sonia didn’t understand. She only offered a gentle smile.

“You’re right, the weather is really nice.”

“MYAA. (No, let’s go inside.)”

“Should we come out for walks more often?”

“MYAA! (I need to go to the bathroom!)”

Startled by the sharp cry, Sonia blinked her eyes.

From what she could see, her little master’s behavior seemed suspicious. She was yowling out of the blue and spinning around aimlessly.

“What’s wrong? Is something uncomfortable?”

Lery put strength into her lower abdomen.

This was the limit. Her impatient bladder was whispering to her like this.

‘Knock knock! I’m coming out now~’.

‘I can’t. I can’t hold it anymore!’

Lery had no choice but to run to the nearest flower bed.

‘I don’t care anymore. I’m a cat, so it should be fine.’

There were only Sonia and herself here. She had even eaten cat food, so there was no reason she couldn’t relieve herself on the street.

Just as she was rationalizing this to herself and about to get into a comfortable position,

“What brings the Crown Prince’s handmaiden here?”

An elegant voice was heard from a distance.

It was the voice of ‘Bella Lopez,’ the pinnacle of high society and the lady of the Lopez family.

Sonia hastily averted her gaze from Lery and offered a greeting.

“I greet Lady Lopez. I am Sonia Clover, handmaiden to the Crown Prince.”

Bella tucked her shimmering violet hair behind her ear and smiled. Then she surveyed the garden.

“The Crown Prince? It’s still time for his official duties.”

“Ah…… I am currently attending to someone else…….”

“Someone else?”

At Sonia’s answer, Bella raised her slender chin.

The phrase ‘someone else’ bothered her strangely.

Just yesterday, she had been a handmaiden following Theodore around. It was strange that she was attending to someone else overnight.

‘Who could she mean? If the handmaiden is here, then her master must be nearby.’

Even though she was the most talked-about lady in the empire, she had been ignored by Theodore, which made her feel uneasy.

Not to mention, she’d heard that the noble ladies’ courtship towards him had been relentless.

‘Could it be…… that he’s with someone else……?’

Bella tried to calm her impatience and looked around. But she saw no human silhouette, only a cute cat.

“……Surely, you’re not attending to a cat?”

“Yes. This is His Highness’s companion cat, Lady Lery.”

“Oh my. How adorable.”

Bella forced a smile and looked at Lery. Then she let out a hollow laugh.

It was absurd that she had felt uneasy because of a handmaiden using honorifics for a cat.

Bella’s slender fingers lightly tapped Sonia’s shoulder.

“I almost misunderstood, you know.”

“……Pardon?”

“You said you were attending someone. I thought it was a person.”

“……Ah.”

Sonia was taken aback. She had just used honorifics as she always did; she hadn’t expected Bella to express displeasure.

‘What should I say to her…….’

Just as Sonia was choosing an appropriate response,

Bella burst into laughter.

“But is that little one about to do her business here?”

Startled by the choice of words that didn’t match the setting, Sonia quickly turned around.

“La, Lady Lery……?”

Oh no.

After confirming the sight, Sonia’s face turned pale.

The most precious flowers in the empire were being showered with the bright yellow starlight that Lery was pouring out.

‘What is that posture supposed to be…….’

Sonia squeezed her eyes shut. The posture of neatly gathering her fluffy hind legs seemed like an imitation of a person sitting on a toilet.

They say cats do many incomprehensible things. Perhaps that was why.

“You must have your hands full. There’s a lot to teach, I see.”

Bella covered her mouth and patted Sonia’s shoulder consolingly.

Meanwhile, Lery, whose shame had skyrocketed due to the gazes fixed on her, buried her small face deeply.

‘Ah, when did that woman show up? Anyway, if more people had seen me, I would have died of embarrassment.’

Especially those guys. The blondie and the tray-head.

But the world wasn’t on Lery’s side. Unfortunately, Theodore and Ian, who had just finished their meeting, were nearby.

Recalling the stormy meeting room, Ian lightly scolded him.

“If you keep doing that, you’ll only attract His Majesty’s attention.”

“It’s not like it’s the first or second time.”

Theodore shrugged, recalling the cold air in the meeting room.

The final agenda of today’s meeting had been about his marriage.

Unlike himself, who had only maintained silence, the argument between the Emperor and the families of the Crown Princess candidates had deepened.

In the end, the cause of it all was when he, his breath constricted, had made a bombastic remark.

‘Can I recommend my own Crown Princess? I have a cute cat named Lery.’

What followed was a sight to behold. Complaints of ‘the immature Crown Prince’ erupted from all sides, and the meeting room was in shambles.

Finishing his brief recollection, Theodore rubbed his heated forehead. He needed some fresh air.

He playfully tossed a joke at Ian.

“Marriage should apply to you too, shouldn’t it?”

“Are you worried about me as well?”

Ian chuckled and retorted.

At that, Theodore’s lips twitched. He remembered a rumor he’d once heard from Luke.

“Rumour has it.”

“…….”

“That you’re married to your sword.”

Finally getting a hit in, Ian’s steps faltered.

And for good reason—Ian was well aware of the popular gossip among the noble ladies these days.

That he had no interest in women because of his sword, that he held secret conversations with his sword every night.

But he hadn’t expected Theodore to know about it too. He had specifically told his close associates to keep their mouths shut.

Not suspecting Luke as the culprit, Ian muttered in a dejected tone.

“It’s better than being crazy about a cat.”

“Still, it’s better than an inanimate object…….”

The two bickered as they walked to the fountain.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

At some point, Bella, having spotted them, trotted over like a puppy. Sonia, with a perplexed expression, followed behind.

The two offered their greetings with proper etiquette.

“We greet the sun of the empire.”

“We greet the sun of the empire. Your radiant visage shines brightly again today, Your Highness.”

Theodore nodded with a dry smile.

“It’s been a while, Lady Lopez.”

“Indeed! Oh? The Marquess of Serpeon is here with you as well?”

“Yes.”

Ian also replied briefly in a monotone voice.

At their appearance, Bella smiled brightly and clearly. She had a beauty worthy of the reputation of being the most adorable lady.

But the two didn’t seem particularly interested. Rather,

“Lery, are you out for a walk?”

They only cast their gaze towards Lery, who was desperately kicking her feet.

Lery, who had been urgently trying to clean up her mess, felt all the fur on her body stand on end.

In Lery’s trembling eyes, the two men who had suddenly approached were reflected.

‘I’m screwed.’

At this moment, Lery felt she understood the feelings of a sunfish. She might die young from shame.

“You were giving some fertilizer to the garden, weren’t you?”

Just as Lery wanted to hide in a mouse hole, Theodore started spouting nonsense.

He approached right in front of her with a big grin.

‘……Ah, I just want to…….’

Lery bristled her white fur like dandelion seeds. Not only did he not help her hide, but he seemed to be teasing her, making her blood boil.

“Ahem.”

Fertilizer, huh. She’d like to hear the cat’s perspective on that.

Ian, who had been watching their reunion, bit his lip tightly. He was holding back the laughter about to burst out.

‘He just laughed at me.’

With the ‘annoying bastard’ filter applied to Ian, Lery only found his words displeasing.

‘That owner giving fertilizer and that bastard laughing. They’re both the same. Infuriating.’

Lery looked back and forth between Theodore and Ian, clutching the dirt with her front paws.

She wished she could throw it in their faces right now.

“Exactly. The gardener won’t have to put in any extra effort.”

Bella, who had naturally followed Theodore, also chuckled from the side.

‘You, you……!’

At the sweetly sarcastic tone, even Lery’s blue eyes flashed with anger.

Before she knew it, her embarrassment had turned into irritation.

Theodore, seeing Lery completely bristling, tried to soothe her.

“Don’t worry, Lery. This entire garden is your restroom.”

Enough, enough!

Lery fiercely swatted his hand away. The more she thought about it, the worse her owner was.

“MYAA! (Cut it out already!)”

“Haha. Lery, you want to play, don’t you?”

“Anyone can see she’s throwing a tantrum.”

Ian clearly pointed out the misaligned guess.

At his words, Lery vigorously nodded her head as if he had the right answer. That man at least seemed to understand a cat’s heart somewhat.

Lery irritably hopped down from the flower bed. Her dirt-covered paws left little tracks.

As if taking out her anger, she scratched her grimy paws on the corner, making the mess on the floor even worse.

“Your Highness!”

Just as she had been wrestling with her discomfort for a while, Luke came running in, out of breath.

Theodore, with Lery’s little finger in his mouth, slightly turned his head.

“What is it?”

“A letter from the High Priest.”

“……The High Priest?”

“There was a message to be delivered along with the letter.”

Luke took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Theodore.

Theodore carefully opened the mouth of the envelope, which was embossed with a wolf emblem.

“‘You must come today. If not, the High Priest says he will walk for half a day to come get you.'”

As he read the handwriting written with a quill, Theodore’s eyes narrowed.