He couldn’t stop his face from burning.
Even as he subtly spread his toes apart in denial, the reality before him didn’t change. Hillein looked more excited than he’d ever seen her, and Sefiut had no intention of stopping her.
There was clearly no ally for him in this room.
“Mmmgh. Nngh…”
— Hehe.
Ries wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what Hillein was trying to say. More than that… he knew full well that his reaction right now was far from normal.
He’d buried his face in the floor with his front paws covering his eyes, but only for a moment. Inch by inch, he grew in size, and with a voice so faint it could barely be heard, he murmured,
“…We—we’re not even the same species…”
That—after all that thinking—was what he managed to come up with.
His brain, spinning in circles like a top gone wild, couldn’t produce anything better. Hillein gave a bright, amused smile, as if she’d just heard the most delightful thing.
—Gender doesn’t even matter to me. Why would species?
To make her point even more convincing, she had even transformed herself into a human form—but it had all been for nothing. If anything, it had just exposed Ries’s flushed face even more.
Whatever she saw in his expression, Hillein’s translucent features visibly brightened, as if she could clearly sense the emotions written all over him.
—I knew it. I was right. It has to be you. No one else could ever love my son this much. It’s definitely you.
“……”
His breath caught—and his voice died in his throat. Ries couldn’t say a word. He just parted his lips, then silently lowered his head.
Like master, like pet? Not even close—Hillein was far worse. She faced him with a heart so sincere, so utterly untainted by any impurities, that it felt like she was hitting him with her whole being.
Just looking at her—at that face completely devoid of embarrassment—made him feel like he was taking on the burden of all the awkwardness and flustered emotion she should’ve been feeling.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—his heartbeat was loud enough to rival thunder, pounding relentlessly in his ears. He’d swallowed so many times his mouth had gone dry, and his face—already scalding—was reaching the point where it wouldn’t be surprising if literal steam started rising off it.
In the end, Ries had no choice but to choke out a reply.
“P-please… j-just give me a bit of time to think!”
And that was it. That was his limit.
How long had he even been in human form? With a pop, Ries shifted back into his cat shape and bolted. In the blink of an eye, the small feline had disappeared from in front of the attic.
And so, only the two ghosts remained.
Hillein wore a faintly disappointed look as she remembered the chubby little rump that had fled in a panic.
—Did I push too hard?
—Hmph. Stubborn little idiots like him won’t understand anything unless you hit them with a full-on shock treatment. If you just sit around watching, you’ll be so frustrated you’ll drop dead from the stress before you ever find peace.
Sefiut shook his head firmly. After all the time he’d spent watching over his descendant and the boy’s partner, he’d long since abandoned any expectations.
Still, he had encouraged Hillein for a more complicated reason. His round, doll-like eyes rolled toward the woman beside him.
—Are you really not going to meet your son? You won’t get a second chance like this.
“……”
Sefiut brought up the one topic she hated most without a second thought.
A stark contrast to when Ries had tried so desperately to convince her while Sefiut just watched from the sidelines. Hillein flinched slightly.
—You didn’t really think you could fool my eyes, did you? You know your time is running out.
—Th-that’s, I…
She opened her mouth reflexively—but closed it again just as quickly. A silent admission. Sefiut’s eyes narrowed.
Her fingers, hidden beneath her voluminous sleeves, fidgeted restlessly. She still couldn’t form a single reply. Her lips parted and closed again and again—until Sefiut stepped in once more, coaxing her on.
—You were right.
—…What?
The way he began was odd enough that Hillein forgot her anxiety and turned to look at him.
—You said it yourself. No one else would go this far for Justyn but Ries. If you’d kept following us, you would’ve seen it yourself—how that boy ran himself ragged, fire at his heels, just to help his master.
“……”
—It’s almost laughable that he still doesn’t realize how he feels.
She clasped her trembling hands together. Her gaze turned toward the staircase.
As if she’d only now decided to chase after the boy who had run off down those steps long ago, her eyes lingered on that space for a very, very long time. Sefiut watched her silently, then laid it out plainly.
—This might be your last chance. You said you weren’t worthy, didn’t you? Well, in my opinion—you absolutely are.
“……”
—You knew your soul was being eaten away, but you still refused to leave your son’s side. I’ve never been a parent myself, so I can’t say I fully understand whatever wrong you think you committed—but whatever it was, you’ve already paid the price.
She didn’t respond. But Sefiut could tell her resolve was starting to waver—like a ship battered by waves.
Still, something was missing. Something decisive.
What should he say? His start had been vague and rambling, but now the path was clear.
—Do you know why Ries kept begging you—practically to the point of tears—to meet Justyn?
—Wasn’t it for that child’s sake…?
—Yes. But that’s only the surface of it.
Sefiut recalled something Ries had once said—something more like a quiet mutter to himself than anything else.
—He wanted his master to know. That there was someone—someone who loved him enough to bless his birth, and stay by his side even after death.
It would surely mean the world to Justyn. The boy who looked whole on the outside, yet carried countless festering wounds within.
And Hillein… she would never be able to turn away from that truth.
***
“……”
His tail twitched aimlessly through the air, a perfect reflection of his troubled mood.
It had been a while since he’d run out, asking for some time to think. Quite a bit of time had passed, yet Ries still couldn’t bring himself to return to his nest.
The reason was simple—if he went back, he’d have to face the one responsible for throwing his emotions into disarray.
But he couldn’t just wander around the estate forever. Eventually, he’d have to return to Justyn’s side. Ries knew that. Still, his body refused to cooperate.
He shuffled his paws uncertainly, unable to go forward or back, when suddenly—
Right. There’s another room!
A lightbulb went off in his head.
The room Justyn had prepared for his new aide, “Rienstine Elton.” He hadn’t visited much, since he never really felt the need—but right now, there was no space more perfect for him than that one.
He turned around at once. First, he’d go there. He could figure out the rest later.
Unfortunately, Ries’s plan hit a snag right from the start.
“There you are.”
“Ngyaa?! Kyaaa!”
His scruff was caught. It took him a beat to realize the voice and the hand belonged to someone familiar. His back legs dangled stiffly in the air.
As his slow-turning vision finally adjusted, Ketir’s weary-looking face filled his view. Cradling Ries effortlessly in his arms, Ketir spoke—half-grumble, half-reprimand.
“The Duke is worried about you. It’s fine to be gone for a short while, but being away this long isn’t ideal for someone in your position.”
Only then did Ries glance out the window. The sky had turned a deep red, stained by sunset—when had that happened?
More time had passed than he’d thought. And for some reason, the words “the Duke is worried” hit him particularly hard.
“…Mnyaa… meowww…”
He gave up trying to run.
He didn’t want to cause anyone trouble, and besides—running wouldn’t change anything. Still, there was nothing he could do about his drooping expression.
“Hm.”
Ketir tilted his head as he looked down at him.
He thought back to his master, who had been pacing around the office more than usual lately. Today especially so.
He’d been late coming back, clearly worried, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to go looking. That indecisive, restless behavior was still fresh in Ketir’s mind.
The real alarm bell had rung shortly after.
A task that should’ve taken an hour still hadn’t been completed after nearly two. At this rate, there’d be no sleep tonight.
Sensing disaster, Ketir had gone out to find the source of all this disturbance himself.
He doesn’t look great…
And by some miracle, he’d found Ries in this huge estate in just a few minutes. But now… the little guy looked pretty down.
Narrowing his eyes, Ketir examined him more closely. A few things stood out.
No doll.
That ancestor-possessed doll from the Laufe family was nowhere to be seen. He could’ve sworn they’d left together. Still, the thought didn’t lead to any real concern.
After all, it wasn’t just any ordinary doll—it was a vessel for the spirit of a hero who’d once saved the Empire from the Calamity. It had wandered the estate alone from time to time. It’d come back on its own.
So Ketir didn’t think much of it. But the next issue wasn’t something he could brush off so easily.
Ries’s body, limp like wet laundry, and that uncharacteristically gloomy expression. And then…
Suddenly, Ketir felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he held him.
…Is it just me, or is he hotter than usual?
Ries always ran warm, but today… his body felt almost feverish.
