By nature, beasts are sensitive to the scent of killing intent and blood. Perhaps because he had wandered battlefields since childhood—whether they were wild mountain beasts or domesticated animals, whenever the Crown Prince approached, they would scramble to flee. No—perhaps it was something innate to his very presence. Even back when he was a child who knew nothing of bloodshed, animals would strangely avoid him. Because of that, the Crown Prince had never touched a small, fragile animal. At least, not while it was still alive.
Perhaps it sensed his gaze. The cat suddenly shifted slightly. He wondered if it had woken up, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It wriggled a little, then resumed breathing evenly in soft, steady puffs. A tiny creature sleeping soundly atop his abdomen. Feeling not just curiosity but something bordering on the uncanny, the Crown Prince carefully extended his hand.
Erasing his presence, the hand moved slowly and stopped just above the black fur. The Crown Prince’s golden eyes carefully examined the cat’s face. For a long moment, his gaze weighed whether it was truly all right to touch it—but the cat remained peacefully asleep. The Crown Prince moved his hand.
Fur brushed against his palm. When he stroked it lightly, just the tips of his fingers grazing it, the softness felt like touching the finest silk. After stroking only the tips a few times, his hand pressed more firmly, caressing the warm, tiny body. As he stroked from the head—smaller than his fist—along the rounded back and down to the hips, a small sound slipped out.
“Nggh—”
The small nose twitched, and the eyelids that had been closed slowly lifted. The cat blinked several times, as if confirming the Crown Prince’s face, then opened its mouth wide in a yawn. After that, it buried its face again and closed its eyes. The posture looked as though it were utterly convinced this place was perfectly safe.
The Crown Prince resumed stroking the cat. Unlike before, the touch was gentle yet free of hesitation. The warmth of a small, fragile creature—something he was feeling for the first time—was comforting, and the fur beneath his hand was impossibly soft.
“You’re a strange one.”
A faint trace of amusement seeped into the Crown Prince’s quiet murmur. Simon, who noticed it easily, glanced at the cat curled up asleep on the Crown Prince’s abdomen and frowned.
It truly was a strange cat. It was hard to dismiss it as merely a bold or clever animal. It had long been a well-known fact that even pet dogs that adored people would tuck their tails and run the moment the Crown Prince came near. It was so severe that the Crown Prince couldn’t even keep a hunting falcon—no matter how well-trained or gentle, the moment it got close to him, it would panic. And it wasn’t limited to animals. From infants barely weaned to young children, strangely enough, anyone who got close to the Crown Prince would burst into hysterical crying, gasping for breath. And yet this cat not only begged him for food of its own accord, but even climbed onto his abdomen and fell asleep there.
Simon shot the cat a look filled with suspicion and wariness.
Just the fact that it approached the Crown Prince without hesitation meant it couldn’t be an ordinary cat. There was definitely something off about it.
Simon forcibly suppressed the urge to pull the cat away from the Crown Prince at once. The Crown Prince had been eerily devoid of emotional expression since childhood. And yet now, he was showing—even if only faintly—a hint of enjoyment. It was a sight Simon himself, despite having stayed by his side for so long, had almost never seen.
It was only for one night anyway. They would depart for the imperial palace early in the morning, so that unsettling cat would resolve itself. There were only knights and soldiers riding horses—no carriages—so there was no way to bring it along. No matter how agile a cat was, there was no way it could chase horses running all the way to the distant imperial palace. Thinking that, Simon closed his eyes.
***
As expected—those who are meant to succeed can do anything.
K yawned lazily and nodded to himself in quiet satisfaction. His body was rocking in a steady rhythm, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it was cozy and warm. It was a bit cramped, sure—but by his standards, this was a perfect score.
Right now, K was curled up inside Crown Prince Calyx’s belly. More precisely, between the prince’s skin and his clothing. K couldn’t see it himself, but Calyx was surely riding his horse with his lower abdomen bulging slightly.
Imagining the usually expressionless Crown Prince riding with a conspicuously puffed-out lower belly, K let out a quiet heehee laugh. Perhaps the movement from laughing was felt—something gently stroked along K’s back through the fabric and disappeared. It was definitely Calyx’s hand.
Is there seriously anyone this kind in the world? You little bastard.
Deeply moved, K reciprocated, rubbing Calyx’s belly a few times with his front paws.
Judging by the sound near his ears and the intense vibrations, the horse was moving at quite a speed. But for K, curled up inside the Crown Prince’s belly, it posed no problem at all.
K had already decided that this Crown Prince would be the human to take care of him for the time being. No matter how he looked at it, it would be hard to find another human who suited his tastes this well. He didn’t know which star or which country this Crown Prince came from, but still—he was a Crown Prince. That meant living in a massive palace and being served only the finest food. He might even build K a cat house far more luxurious than the home of Paris Hilton’s pet dog.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason behind his decision. The most important factor was personality. And in that regard, the Crown Prince was flawless. Didn’t giving up his own food to a lost cat in the depths of the forest prove that? And that morning, when K had gotten cranky from struggling to gnaw on cold boar meat, the prince had even kindly torn the meat apart by hand for him—carefully trimming off the fatty bits K hated. It made K think of his own mother. She’d always picked out fish bones and fatty meat, placing only the best pieces onto his spoon. Having been raised so dotingly, wasn’t it only right that the human who cared for him be held to that standard?
As K lay curled up, imagining the glamorous palace life ahead of him, his ears suddenly perked up. He’d abruptly gotten thirsty. Without hesitation, K scratched at Calyx’s solid chest with his front paw.
After scratching a few times, the motion stopped.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
From beyond the cloth came a familiar voice. K immediately recognized it as Simon’s—the knight who was always stuck to Calyx’s side. K stepped onto Calyx’s chest with his front paws. Poking his head toward the prince’s neck, outside air rushed in. K looked around at the people making strange faces as his head popped out from inside Calyx’s clothes. Every single one of them looked like they’d just eaten shit. K didn’t care in the slightest and let out a sweet, drawn-out cry.
“Niyaang—”
A large hand grabbed the scruff of his neck and lifted him up in one swift motion. Dangling in midair, K came face-to-face with Calyx. The Crown Prince looked at him with the same expressionless face as always. K met those curious golden eyes, cried “Niyang,” then looked at the water flask hanging from the saddle and cried “Niyang—” again.
Thirsty. Water.
His suspended body was placed down on the saddle. K looked up with satisfied eyes as Calyx immediately understood him and lifted the water flask. Whether he understood the meaning behind that look or not, the Crown Prince cupped his hand and poured water into it, holding it out. K stared silently at the impromptu hand-bowl in front of him, then lifted his head.
What? Is this… for me to drink?
K looked at Calyx, who was calmly watching him, then turned his head. After glancing at the unsanitary reins Calyx had been holding just moments ago and then looking back at the offered hand, a chill ran down his spine. He was absolutely certain there were at least two hundred thousand germs in there.
K deliberated seriously.
For about three seconds.
He appreciated the sentiment and wanted to drink at least a drop—but there was no way he could. Drinking something that unhygienic might give him an upset stomach immediately. K quietly raised his front paw and mercilessly slapped the outstretched hand away. The cupped shape collapsed, and the water spilled down. He heard knights nearby sucking in sharp breaths, but he didn’t care.
I’m precious, okay?
Sitting upright in an elegant posture and lifting his chin high, K locked eyes with Calyx’s golden gaze. Looking up at him, K voiced a powerful protest.
“Niyang—”
That’s gross. Wash your hands and try again.
Calyx stared at K for a moment, then suddenly looked down at his own hand. After that, he washed it with the water from the flask. He rinsed until the flask was completely empty, then cupped his hand again, catching the remaining water and holding it out in front of K. K thoroughly inspected the gently sloshing hand-bowl, then relaxed and quenched his thirst.
Once he’d drunk his fill, K turned his head toward the owner of the gaze that had been burning into his face for a while now. The one shooting him an irritated look was the knight named Simon. Licking the water droplets from his mouth, K narrowed his eyes and smiled at him. Perhaps sensing the mockery, the man’s face twisted sharply.
“Nyaa-nya.”
When K scratched at Calyx’s chest with his front paw, the Crown Prince scooped him up and tucked him back inside his clothes. K wriggled into a comfortable position, deeply satisfied.
Truth be told, he hadn’t been so thirsty that he absolutely needed water right then. This was all groundwork for later. That’s how relationships work. Well… human–cat relationships, in this case—but still. You have to train them one step at a time from the very beginning if you want things easy later on. Whoever seizes the initiative at the start gets to hold it for life, right?
You little bastard. You’re my meal ticket now.
K tapped Calyx’s firm chest a few times with his front paw and formed a sly, secretive smile.
