JSOML 14

Chapter 14

No matter how loudly Lery, whose heart had shrunk like a pea, shouted, Theodor could not understand him.

“Meow-meow! (There was a venomous snake!)”

It was *this* big!

Frustrated, Lery moved his front paws widely, earnestly describing the snake.

“Want a hug, Lery?”

Like a game of charades, he put his whole body into the gestures, but Theodor didn’t seem to understand.

He just gaped at Lery’s adorable appearance as if he’d gained a mighty army.

At least Ian, who was quick-witted, looked into the grass Lery had pointed at.

“What on earth startled you?”

But no matter how much he looked around, there were only a few insects in the grass.

“Lery is more timid than I thought.”

Theodor held Lery and gently patted his back.

‘But it was really there!’

Suddenly branded a scaredy-cat, Lery pouted his lips.

He couldn’t believe that the snake he’d clearly seen had disappeared in such a short time.

The cheerful chirping of birds filled the Imperial Palace.

From early morning, Theodor had summoned the gardeners.

The reason was simple. It was for Lery, who had been startled by a bug the previous night.

His goal was singular:

Eradicate all bugs. Remove all obstacles that interfered with Lery’s smooth walks.

He instructed the gardeners in a solemn voice.

—

*’A tidy exterior is what befits the majesty of the Imperial Family. I wish for not a single bug to be seen.’*

—

The reality was, *’Our little one has a weak heart, you see.’*

His instructions threw the gardeners into confusion. Some gardeners wanted to voice their opinion that eradicating bugs would ruin the ecosystem, but they fell silent at his resolute expression.

Lery, too, was left slack-jawed listening to this absurdity.

*’Talk about overprotective parents.’*

The commotion of the cleaning also caused a change in Lery’s schedule.

To avoid the ruckus, Sonia chose the quietest time of day for their walk.

“Hoo…”

Sonia, carrying Lery, let out deep sighs. She seemed unusually troubled today.

“Meow~? (What’s wrong, Sonia~?)”

Lery tilted his head as adorably as possible at Sonia, whose shoulders were drooping.

He thought this might cheer her up a little, but no such luck.

Sonia only muttered in a gloomy voice.

“I wanted to see you wearing the dust hat too, Master Lery…”

Ah, so that was the problem. No wonder. Theodor had bragged about it until he was blue in the face.

He’d randomly clutch his heart and say things like:

—

*’I must make a hat out of something like dust immediately. I thought I’d go crazy from the cuteness.’*

*’I have no regrets now, even if I die.’*

His boasting had spread far and wide, even making people who weren’t interested peek around curiously.

Among them was Sonia, who was practically Lery’s ‘real butler.’

Lery thought hard.

*’How can I cheer Sonia up?’*

It was only proper as a companion animal; he couldn’t just leave Sonia feeling disappointed. He needed an idea that was novel and would strike straight at the heart.

“Chirp! (#$!)”

Just then, Pompom peeked his head out of the basket.

Seeing him pop his head out between the handkerchiefs was so cute that Sonia burst into laughter.

“Oh my~ Sir Pompom~”

True, Pompom was full of aegyo, naturally becoming Lery’s rival. Lery and Pompom engaged in a battle over the theme of ‘Who can capture the butler’s heart better?’

*’That little pip-squeak!’*

Seeing Pompom’s flicking tongue, Lery flew into a rage.

*’So you’re trying to steal Sonia’s attention. I won’t let it slide.’*

Just as Lery was grinding his teeth and arriving at the garden, Sonia set Lery and Pompom free.

Lery immediately dashed to the flower bed.

Flowers embracing spring with their whole bodies glistened with dew. Seeing the frilly petals, he pictured Sonia’s delighted face.

*’Yes, this is it!’*

As he plucked a flower and held it in his mouth, the fragrance of the blossom filled his mouth.

Lery crept up to Sonia, who was knitting on a bench. Then, he made his eyes sparkle like stars.

“Oh my, are you giving that to me?”

“Meow~ (Of course~)”

“Master Lery…”

Sonia’s eyes reddened as she briefly set down her knitting. She received the flower Lery offered and hugged it to her chest dearly.

*’How could he think of something so thoughtful…’*

Sonia completely forgot about Theodor’s boasting from earlier.

The only thing on her mind was how infinitely lovable Lery was for bringing her a flower as a gift.

However, the touching moment didn’t last long.

*’This is…’*

It was only when she looked closely at the flower that she realized.

The identity of this flower – it was the one Lery had previously taken the liberty of plucking, the ‘most precious in the Empire’…

Sonia’s expression slowly hardened. Soon, her hand holding the flower began to tremble like an aspen leaf.

*’Is she that moved?’*

Not knowing the situation, Lery scratched his neck awkwardly.

Just then, Sonia jumped up from her spot as if she had made a decision.

“L-Let me, I’ll be right back! Please wait just a moment!”

She had decided to go get a shovel to secretly rebury the flower.

Watching Sonia’s back as she dreamed of the perfect crime, Lery only tilted his head in confusion.

“Chirp! (#$!)”

“Meow? (Is that for me?)”

As Lery stared blankly at the drifting clouds, Pompom unexpectedly offered him a kernel of corn he had been eating.

*’Is this a peace offering?’*

Lery was half-doubting, half-believing as he extended his soft jelly-like paw.

However, the corn kernel disappeared into Pompom’s mouth before it could even touch Lery’s front paw.

*’Wow. Why is this one so irritating?’*

Lery glared at Pompom munching on the corn and puffed up his fur. The fluff he’d bunched up tightly became round like a dumpling.

He felt foolish for even briefly considering getting along. He wanted to swat Pompom’s behind right this instant.

*’Ah, this is stressful. It’d be better for my mental health to just ignore him.’*

Deciding that giving no attention was the best policy, Lery turned his body away.

“Chirp! Chirp chirp? (#$%^!#)”

“Meow. (Be quiet.)”

But Pompom only grew bolder, hopping around the bench.

*’He sure has energy. Doesn’t he ever get tired?’*

“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp! (#$^^!#)”

Even knowing Lery couldn’t understand him, Pompom kept chattering. It seemed he was just babbling away, knowing Lery wouldn’t comprehend.

Just then, maids passing by began to whisper.

“Isn’t that His Highness the Crown Prince’s cat? He’s with a squirrel.”

“They don’t seem to get along.”

Hearing their conversation, Lery nodded.

*’Ding dong dang. Correct. How much do you think he torments me?’*

Whether he heard them or not, Pompom kept poking at the ribbon on Lery’s tail, as if testing Lery’s limits.

“Chirp~ Chirp chirp~ (#!%$%)”

“Mee-ow… (I’m going to s-snap…)”

“Chirp~ Chirp chirp! (#!^&^)”

“MI-YOW!!!! (HEY!!!!)”

Ultimately, Lery, unable to control his anger, roared.

At the resounding roar, Pompom dropped the ribbon he’d been fiddling with. Startled, his wide-open mouth spilled seeds everywhere.

“Mreow. (Hmph.)”

Serves you right.

Lery blinked slowly, pretending not to see.

Finally, Pompom cautiously retreated back into the basket, glancing around.

Having been sufficiently scared, the basket that had been shaking around became quiet for a while. It seemed he had finally tasted some medicine.

“Meow! (Ouch!)”

But the seeds flew again.

“Chirp chirp! (#^*&)”

*’Sigh… This squirrel doesn’t know when to quit.’*

Pompom kept throwing seeds, hurling incomprehensible curses, and hiding again.

Just as a prominent vein was about to pop on Lery’s forehead from being pelted with seed bullets for so long—

—

[SYSTEM: Would you like to acquire the ‘Chubby Animal Dictionary’?]

[YES/NO]

—

A system window appeared at the perfect moment. Seizing the opportunity, Lery irritably pressed ‘YES’.

He was determined to find out what that damn squirrel was actually saying.

—

[SYSTEM: Acquired skill ‘Animal Language’!]

[When your affinity with a specific animal reaches ‘5’ or higher, you can learn the language of all animals.]

[Current affinity with specific animal ‘Pompom (Squirrel)’ is 2/5.]

—

‘Wait, why is the affinity only 2?’

Lery snorted hot air, puzzled.

Their relationship was bad, at best, there had been no occasion for it to improve, and whenever they met, they were busy growling at each other.

The more he thought about it, the more the affinity seemed like a symbol of Pompom’s dismissiveness towards him.

Meanwhile, Pompom’s gestures of protest continued.

“Chirp chirp! (#!Clear!)”

But thanks to the animal dictionary, Lery began to understand Pompom’s words little by little.

Lery raised his hindquarters and growled.

“Mee-ya…? (Did you just call me stupid…?)”

“Chirp chirp…? (Uh#% ya get it?)”

Realizing his words were accurately understood, a guilty Pompom started having a fit.

‘How could he possibly know.’

Lery gave a wicked smirk, and a startled Pompom quickly clamped his mouth shut.

“Chirp chirp! (No#*words!)”

Pompom stomped the ground in frustration.

*’Eeek!! I’m so mad! How can I communicate with that stupid cat?! Since when did he start understanding me?!’*

Pompom had been absolutely certain that he and Lery couldn’t communicate.

He had mocked him calling him ‘Fatty Cat,’ it was a cat that had extended a paw saying ‘Let’s be friends,’ and when he teased him calling him ‘Stupid, Idiot, Dumb-dumb,’ it was a cat that got angry asking ‘What did you just say?’

But if all of that was a misunderstanding…?

Countless curses he had hurled without a second thought flashed through his mind.

—

[SYSTEM: Acquired skill ‘Blazing Charisma’!]

[You can now overwhelm your opponent with just your gaze.]

—

At Lery’s chilling glare, Pompom slowly backed away. For the first time in his life, Pompom felt afraid of Lery.

With that momentum, he felt like he could be eaten at any moment…

*’So this is how you’ve been talking to me all this time.’*

Just as Pompom had feared, Lery’s ears flattened back as he realized the truth.

What should I do with that guy? Should I punish him with a soft paw?

Lery flexed his front paws, ready to rumble. It felt like today was the day for a good old-fashioned dominance display.

Just as Lery was about to unsheathe his hidden claws—

“Master Lery!”

Luke came running from a distance.

“You must come quickly!”

His bare forehead was fully exposed, showing he had been running for a while. Luke wiped away the streaming sweat and gasped for breath.

“His Highness Theodor is currently…”

Lery was bewildered. Judging by Luke’s disheveled state, something urgent must have happened.

*’What…? What’s going on?’*

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t fathom what could have happened to the man he’d cheerfully parted ways with that morning.