JSOML 07

Chapter 07

Ian searched the vicinity thoroughly for Lery. But finding a tiny animal among a sea of people was impossible.

The same was true for Lery.

‘Where is he? Where did he go?’

Afraid of being stepped on, he couldn’t move quickly, and the robes blocking his view left him helpless.

Eventually, Lery was buffeted this way and that by people’s feet.

[SYSTEM: You have taken damage due to external impact!]

“Meowww! Meow! (It hurts! It hurts!)”

His scratched hind leg and stepped-on front paw ached all over.

Lery cried out loudly, hoping Ian would hear him. But his cries were buried in the noise and scattered into the air.

Living as a small creature was proving more difficult than he’d thought.

How much time had passed?

Only after the seemingly endless procession had thinned out was Lery finally able to escape. His pristine fur was now covered in dark, dusty smudges.

The space that had once been full of wonder became frightening in Ian’s absence. Lery hurriedly looked for him.

“What the hell, this dirty little shit of a cat.”

Just then, a man passing by suddenly hurled abuse.

Lery steadied his battered body and faced him.

He was a man with rare black hair and dark skin in the Empire. His reddened eyes blazed with madness.

“How dare a mere cat set foot in the sacred place where Lord Lycaon is enshrined!”

As if venting his anger on a frail animal, the man raised his rough hand high.

Just as a minority of priests harbored hostility towards felines, this man was no exception.

“Yowl! (You son of a bitch!)”

Fueled by anger, Lery mustered all his strength and swiftly scratched him.

The man clutched his palm and screamed. As dark red blood flowed from the deep gash, his fury grew, and this time he raised his right foot.

[SYSTEM: Your current fear level has exceeded 40%.]

‘…I’m screwed.’

Lery squeezed his eyes shut. He had no strength left to fight the man.

Just then.

“What, is this.”

A low voice, descending from above, halted his foot. The man stopped his action and looked up.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Ian, veins standing out on his neck, glared at the man as if he would kill him.

“You won’t survive if you lay a hand on His Highness’s companion cat.”

Ian continued, removing his gloves.

Though devoid of emotion, his voice felt chillingly cold. Enough to give even the watching Lery goosebumps.

“But I’ll cut your throat before that.”

Only then did the small, disheveled cat register in the man’s unstable eyes.

‘That’s His Highness’s companion animal?’

Suddenly, the man recalled a conversation among his fellow priests.

Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered hearing that His Highness the Crown Prince was planning to visit the temple.

‘Then this person….’

A dignified bearing and tone of voice. A smartly worn uniform.

Cold sweat ran down his back from the oppressive aura pressing down on his head.

The man saw the sword tucked into Ian’s waist. The hilt was wrapped with a band of blue and gold encircling a wolf motif.

‘That pattern is the insignia of the 1st Knights Division… I heard it’s personally bestowed by the Emperor when appointing the Commander….’

As the clues clicked into place one by one, the man’s rigid back bent instantly.

“I… I’m sorry. I was rude.”

The man quickly changed his tune. But when Ian didn’t respond, the silence felt like sitting on a bed of nails.

Unable to bear it, the man cautiously added.

“Please forgive me, Marquess Serpheon.”

Ian shot the man a look of contempt and then scooped up the bedraggled Lery into his arms.

He turned his back on the man. Treating Lery was now the top priority.

Even as Ian walked away, the man couldn’t get up from the ground.

‘That’s right, mister. If you do bad things, you get punished. Oh dear.’

Lery stuck out his head, intending to stick out his tongue at him.

But Ian’s large palm covered Lery’s eyes. Suddenly, Lery’s vision went dark.

Ian quickened his pace with long strides.

After walking for a while, he stopped only when the man’s presence had completely vanished.

He removed his hand from Lery’s face. As his palm moved away, Lery’s vision opened up as if a curtain had been drawn back.

‘Is he angry?’

Without a word, he brushed the dirt covering Lery’s body.

Lery observed him carefully.

For some reason, the mouth that had been speaking to him while calling him ‘Cat’ was now tightly shut. His jaw muscles were prominent from clenching his teeth.

Yet oddly, the hands that touched his body were infinitely gentle.

On the way back, Lery was most worried about Theodore’s reaction. It was obvious he would raise a huge fuss once he found out he was injured.

‘Sure enough….’

‘Turn the carriage around right now! Hurry!’

Theodore had yelled several times from the carriage, demanding they turn back towards the temple.

He seemed ready to tear the temple down, but Luke and Ian had prevented a disaster.

Even after barely making it back to the palace, his anger showed no signs of abating.

He tapped the armrest of his chair and abruptly called Ian.

“Ian.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“So, who was it?”

Though Ian had explained until he was blue in the face that it was an accidental occurrence, the barrage of questions made his head throb.

Ian replied in a weary voice.

“Do you intend to cut the throats of all those priests?”

“What I want to know is who harmed Lery.”

“Meowww. (Stop it, I’m okay.)”

Why are you two fighting?

Lery, feeling awkward, stepped in to mediate. It was clear things would escalate if left alone.

“Alright, Lery. I won’t get angry.”

Only when Lery wriggled his way between them did Theodore return to being a doting butler.

Lery finally breathed a sigh of relief as he received his gentle touch.

Just when they thought things had calmed down….

“Luke, send a communication to the temple immediately…!”

You said you wouldn’t!

Shadows fell over everyone’s eyes. How could they stop this stubborn man’s actions?

As they each pondered a solution, Lery came up with a clever idea.

‘There was that left paw that got stepped on earlier. Let’s use that!’

Lery decided to become the most pitiful cat in the world.

“Mew… (It hurts here….)”

Lery immediately began his act. And with all his might, he limped.

“Lery….”

Just like that, Theodore froze as if under a spell. He had only been thinking of severe punishment, and hadn’t considered Lery’s injury.

Seeing Lery in pain, Theodore realized his priorities were wrong, and his mind went blank.

Luke, who had been waiting for the next order, tilted his head.

“Your Highness? What should I put in the communication?”

“No, put it on hold for now.”

Theodore’s gaze was fixed on Lery’s injured paw.

Theodore clenched his hands so tightly that the blood drained from them. Then he spoke to Luke in a stern voice.

“Summon the court physician immediately.”

“What?!”

“Hurry!”

Though that very man had been grumbling that he didn’t know if he was a doctor or a veterinarian…?

Luke mutely grumbled to himself, fiddling with his nails, keeping the unsaid words inside.

“Who calls the court physician just because a cat got hurt?”

Ian poured cold water on the overheated Theodore.

Relieved by Ian’s dissuasion, Luke’s eyes glistened with tears of relief. Once again, Ian was like an honorary firefighter to him.

‘Now that the Commander has stepped in, His Highness will surely back down.’

But Luke’s hopes slipped through his fingers like a handful of sand.

“Isn’t that the court physician’s job?”

“Your Highness….”

“…Fine, I’ll just look at him myself.”

Unable to contain his frustration, Ian strode over to Lery. He examined the little cotton-ball creature from all angles.

Fortunately, there were no major injuries, just a few scratches.

“It’s not broken or seriously damaged.”

“Meow! Meoww. (That’s right! It’s just a mild bruise.)”

Lery, a former veterinarian, also chimed in with his opinion. Could there be a clearer diagnosis than this?

Theodore’s gaze as he watched Ian turned peculiar. He asked suspiciously.

“Ian, since when did you know medicine?”

Ian paused his examination of Lery.

In truth, it wasn’t really medicine. It was just at the level of stopping bleeding with cloth.

His close master surely knew that Ian had never actually performed proper first aid.

“…I learned it by watching over someone’s shoulder. So don’t call the busy court physician.”

Ian muttered as he wrapped a bandage around Lery’s front paw. He even added a cute little bow, as if something was missing.

‘How peculiar.’

Lery blinked his large eyes at the cute bandage. It was a bit unexpected that someone who didn’t seem the type would tie such a dainty bandage.

Still… if it hadn’t been for Ian, Lery might have been at death’s door by now.

Perhaps it was out of gratitude. Lery waited quietly until the treatment was finished.

“Lery, please don’t be in pain.”

Theodore whispered, pressing his forehead against Lery’s small head. His drooping eyes revealed his affection for Lery.

‘Right. He likes me this much. He must have been pretty shocked. I was, too.’

Having experienced so much in just one day, Lery’s eyelids grew heavy.

Lery looked at each of them carefully. Theodore, Luke, Sonia, and Ian. Everyone was sincerely worried about this cat.

When was the last time he’d received such concern? It felt as if a piece of warmth had settled into the heart that had no place to rest in this unfamiliar world.

[SYSTEM: Your current fatigue level has exceeded 70%.]

‘Come to think of it, this cat has some very warm people by its side.’

With a gentle smile on his lips, Lery drifted off to sleep.