Chapter 67
With the resolution of the most significant threat to the Grand Duke in recent months by becoming the assistant’s partner, and the assurance that this state would continue, the Grand Duke’s emotional state went beyond stability to near fulfillment, making him a cat free from worries and concerns.
After all, isn’t worry something only for those who lack the power to resolve dangers?
But the Grand Duke was already the assistant’s partner, having received his courtship. There was no longer a need to be cautious and wary of danger.
If there was anything he needed to do… it was perhaps to maintain an image of a satisfactory partner for the assistant.
Like a cat with nothing to be wary of, the Grand Duke pondered with his body fully expanded in confidence.
‘What makes a good partner?’
First, the Grand Duke recalled the elements that cats generally consider attractive in a mate.
Healthy, glossy fur. Dominance over a wide territory. A sturdy frame and strength, strong pheromones, and excellent survival skills.
And the composure that comes from all of these.
As he listed these attractive characteristics one by one, the Grand Duke suddenly realized something he hadn’t known about himself.
But those things…
‘Aren’t they all things I already possess?’
Firstly, the Grand Duke had never been in an unhealthy state. Moreover, he always groomed meticulously. It was natural for his jet-black fur to always be glossy and soft.
Even his assistant often looked at his sleek back with greedy eyes, didn’t he?
And the Grand Duke had quite a large territory under his responsibility. His assistant, who knew every nook and cranny of the territory from taking care of it, was well aware of this.
Furthermore, the Grand Duke was the strongest cat in the area, with strong pheromones, and had the ability to provide for not only himself but also his assistant anywhere.
So…
Although he had never thought about being someone’s partner before and thus hadn’t realized it by comparing himself to others’ partners, it seemed the Grand Duke was not a bad choice for a mate.
The Grand Duke finally understood.
‘So that’s why he courted me.’
He had been so focused on the fact that the assistant had courted him and the benefits of being partners that he hadn’t thought about the reason.
Thinking about it this way, everything seemed to fall into place.
The one with the poor sense of smell often burying his nose in the Grand Duke’s fur to breathe must have been because he liked the Grand Duke’s strong pheromones.
His insistence on wanting to brush the Grand Duke’s fur might have been because he liked the Grand Duke’s sleek fur so much that he wanted to groom it.
Some other eccentric behaviors must have been in the same vein.
‘I see. So he liked those aspects of me as a partner.’
Glossy fur, ability as a territory owner, pheromones and robustness, and the composure encompassing all of these.
If that was the case, maintaining an image of a satisfactory partner for the assistant wasn’t a difficult task. Just as he had shown a cat-like appearance for the assistant when he first got to know him, all he had to do was show his usual self.
‘Back then and now, he continues to like my usual self.’
The Grand Duke’s body stretched out even more majestically as he reached this conclusion.
As the Grand Duke had anticipated, showing a satisfactory partner image for the assistant was easy and smooth. It was even more so because the assistant was delighted with the Grand Duke’s relaxed and dignified appearance.
The assistant, who had seemed low in energy during the Grand Duke’s period of worry, brightened up with sparkling eyes at the sight of the Grand Duke regaining his composure and confidence.
‘He seems to really like this appearance.’
Feeling satisfied, the Grand Duke became even more relaxed and dignified.
It was truly a perfect virtuous cycle.
However, there were some obstacles to the Grand Duke maintaining this satisfactory partner image.
For instance…
‘Your Grace. While you’re on patrol, may I briefly meet with the Steiner Guild Master?’
Like when the assistant said he would go meet that dog while the Grand Duke was away.
The Grand Duke was already putting in considerable effort every night to cover up the dog smell that the assistant brought back after spending time with the dog during work hours. Yet, he wanted to make separate time, especially when the Grand Duke wasn’t around, to meet him?
It was a statement that automatically lowered the Grand Duke’s tail, which had been standing straight up due to the good mood caused by the assistant standing beside him.
Was that dog planning to try something with the assistant in the Grand Duke’s absence?
The Grand Duke almost lost his relaxed and dignified partner attitude at the unsettling assumption that crossed his mind, but…
‘I thought if I needed to make time, it would be better to meet during that time so it wouldn’t interfere with the time I spend with Your Grace.’
‘I absolutely won’t let my mind wander to other matters and keep Your Grace waiting again.’
The Grand Duke couldn’t help but feel better at the assistant’s words, seriously expressing that the Grand Duke was his priority, saying he wanted to handle business while the Grand Duke was away because he couldn’t waste time with that dog during their time together, and that he wouldn’t let his mind wander to such a person.
With his tail loosely wrapped around the assistant’s leg, no longer swishing in displeasure, the Grand Duke thought:
‘That’s right. In the end, I am his partner.’
The one the assistant would prioritize, the one he would focus on without letting his mind wander elsewhere, the one he would return to at the end of the day.
It was all the Grand Duke, his partner.
Not that dog who would never be the assistant’s lifelong partner.
So there was absolutely no need for the Grand Duke, as the assistant’s partner, to be wary of that dog.
Absolutely none.
With that word, the Grand Duke’s tail stood straight up vertically.
Becoming the most relaxed and dignified cat in the world in an instant, the Grand Duke generously allowed the assistant to go meet the dog.
It was the same even when the assistant came back smelling of the dog afterward. As the assistant’s partner, the Grand Duke could overlook such trivial matters.
After all, he was the assistant’s partner. What reason was there not to?
He did put more effort into grooming to maintain glossier fur… but well, that was just a partner’s duty to maintain attractiveness. It was what a cat with a partner should naturally do.
Moreover, this period wasn’t even that long. Soon, the dog would be leaving.
Before leaving, the dog again babbled nonsense to the Grand Duke for a while, but unlike usual, the Grand Duke could listen even to that with a generous heart.
And so, as the dog disappeared from the Grand Duke’s territory.
When the assistant could once again spend his work hours entirely with the Grand Duke, the Grand Duke could spend utterly satisfying and content days without even a single crooked hair to bother him.
It was such a satisfying time that if he had known having a partner was this good, he would have bitten and made him his partner much earlier. It was almost frustrating that he had only realized this good thing now.
However, if there was one complaint amidst all this…
‘Why hasn’t he courted me since then?’
Since the initial courtship. Even though they had become partners, the assistant hadn’t shown any courtship behavior even once.
* * *
The Grand Duke closely observed the assistant sitting at his desk, shuffling through documents.
The assistant was no different from usual.
He diligently helped the Grand Duke take care of his territory, stayed by the Grand Duke’s side, and paid attention to the Grand Duke at every moment.
Even now, noticing the Grand Duke looking at him, wasn’t he raising his head to meet his gaze?
The assistant clearly really liked the Grand Duke, his partner.
But why…
‘Why doesn’t he court me?’
The Grand Duke simply couldn’t understand.
As far as the Grand Duke knew, being partners meant having a mating relationship. Although the human concept of partners was slightly different from that of cats, it was common for partners to mate.
So the Grand Duke and the assistant, who had become partners, should naturally mate.
‘But he doesn’t court me.’
Male cat’s estrus was preceded by the partner’s courtship. But the assistant, the Grand Duke’s partner, showed no signs of courting.
The Grand Duke swished his tail, lost in thought.
‘He likes me so much. Why doesn’t he court me?’
The answer to this conundrum didn’t come easily, and the Grand Duke’s pondering continued.
Even when the bell rang announcing monster attacks and he headed to the castle walls.
Even when he was inspecting the training status of knights and soldiers and swinging his sword in between.
Until he confirmed that the situation was settled and roughly wiped his sword, continuously.
And then suddenly, as the Grand Duke was pondering, he overheard a conversation between soldiers collecting orc corpses.
“You know, Elsa… She used to hold my hand first, kiss me, and all that. But lately, she doesn’t even like me touching her. What should I do?”
The Grand Duke’s ears perked up at the soldier’s lament as he held the orc’s right arm. Although the situation was a bit different, wasn’t it similar to what the Grand Duke was experiencing now?
The soldier holding the orc’s left arm responded:
“It’s that, you know, that thing.”
What thing? As the Grand Duke’s gaze turned towards the soldier who seemed to know the reason why a partner wouldn’t court, the soldier who had been building suspense finally spoke:
“You don’t feed a fish you’ve already caught. You’re already a caught fish, so there’s no need to feed you.”
A caught… fish?
