Myaaang—
Hey. Water.
When I poked my face out between the cloth covering the basket, Simon stopped talking. I let out another meow. But the guy just stared at me in silence. Growing frustrated, I thumped my tail against the floor tap tap and pointed at the water bottle with my front paw.
“Ah… water?”
Simon rummaged through the heavy bag slung at his side and pulled out a white ceramic bowl. It was the water dish Julia had packed specifically for when I drink. She must’ve given Simon some very thorough instructions, worried I might suffer. You could tell by how quickly he took it out.
I lapped up the water slurp slurp and looked around. It was a quiet forest path. I pushed aside the cloth covering the basket and took in the surroundings.
The horse started walking again, clopping softly. Maybe because he was thinking of me, the pace was slow. When I followed my patron into the Imperial Palace, I’d been curled up in the guy’s stomach—so I hadn’t noticed—but now that I’m seeing it properly, the scenery’s pretty decent. Organic weeds. Organic shrubs. Organic air. Even organic dog poop. It’s organic as far as the eye can see.
Being wrapped in the arms of nature feels nice and all… but I still hate walking directly on the ground. Where there’s no grass, dust kicks up everywhere. Where there is grass, bugs are guaranteed to be swarming.
Simon, who’s guiding the horse, is unusually quiet today. Honestly, I don’t really feel like chatting either, so it’s not a bad thing.
After parting with my patron, I cried my eyes out, and now my chest feels a little lighter. We hadn’t even been together that long, yet my heart feels this tight… I guess I liked him far more than I’d thought.
To be perfectly fair, aside from lacking a nice, full chest, the guy was flawless. Handsome, pretty smiling eyes, diligent, kind, gentle, rich, and on top of that, the Crown Prince… what exactly was he missing?
Ending things with someone like that overnight—there’s nothing embarrassing about how hard I cried. Sure, I’m a cold city cat, but isn’t it only natural to be warm toward my guy? I didn’t cry in front of anyone, just holed up alone and bawled, so I kept my dignity as a man intact.
And my patron—
[I’ll keep waiting. K.]
He said he’d keep waiting.
If there’s a road that leads back, then that means the road leading here still exists too. Wouldn’t it be fine to go home, reassure Grandpa, and then come back? I can’t just leave him without even knowing where I am. No matter what, I need to go reassure him.
If I don’t, I might never find my way back. And then what? Well, I’d just have to go back to the Imperial Palace hand in hand with Simon.
Honestly, I don’t really know myself.
When I think about my grandpa, my grandma, and my mom, I know I have to go back. So I have to find a way. But at the same time… there’s also this thought—what if there is no way back at all? It’s a bad thought, but still. If there’s truly no way back, then I wouldn’t be abandoning Grandpa to stay with my patron—it’d just be something I couldn’t help. So then…
My thoughts tangled into a knot, and I finally stopped thinking and let out a long sigh.
If Grandpa ever found out I’d thought something like that, he’d wail in grief. This is all my patron’s fault. If that bastard hadn’t gone around smiling softly and rubbing his face against me, I never would’ve started thinking like this in the first place.
The horse suddenly stops. I tilt my head back to look at Simon. When our eyes meet, he scratches the bridge of his nose awkwardly and hops down from the horse.
“Let’s take a short break.”
Where Simon points, a fairly wide lake spreads out between the trees. I was just starting to feel a bit motion-sick anyway. I answer with a meow and jump lightly down to the ground.
Sitting side by side with Simon by the lakeshore feels just like being back at the Imperial Palace.
Whenever we’d sneak a peek into the maid waiting room together, we’d spend time sitting shoulder to shoulder by the fountain afterward. This guy would stare off with a dazed look, replaying what we’d seen in the waiting room, while I’d rank whose chest I’d bury my face into later.
We’re not talking, just sitting next to each other—but that’s exactly what manly friendship is. Men don’t need words between them. And yet… this guy…
I glance sideways at Simon, who’s sitting there stiffly.
He’s not wearing a blank expression—he looks deep in thought. I don’t have the ability to read minds, so there’s no way to know what he’s thinking. Maybe he’s sad I’m leaving and thinking about how to stop me. Or maybe he’s thinking about me myself.
I’d never really thought about it before because there was no reason to, but the day my patron saw me transform into a cat, the knights guarding the pavilion definitely saw me too.
And the head of the knights protecting my patron is none other than this guy right here. He must’ve received a report. But even so, his attitude toward me hasn’t really changed. It’s not like he openly calls me K either, though.
Hmm…
Now that I think about it, it’s kind of funny.
My patron didn’t even bat an eye when he saw me turn into a cat. Maybe because he’s the Crown Prince, but this guy Simon also seems to have noticed everything and yet showed no reaction. If I’d seen something like that, I might’ve been so shocked my heart would’ve leapt out of my chest. Or maybe I’d have just brushed it off, thinking I was dreaming.
My patron’s a gentle, kind-hearted loner, and this so-called knight is big-built but kind of dense. Still, both of them seem to have adaptability on a monster level. Otherwise, how could they just accept it all so casually?
Anyway, judging by how my patron whispered something to this guy, he must’ve told him what needed to be done. Without my patron around, I can’t return to human form at night anymore—so Simon has to step in and harass the witch in my place.
He’s a knight, and a big guy at that, so even that old witch hag will definitely get scared and undo the curse quickly. He still hasn’t seen my human form, so he’s going to be shocked out of his mind.
This guy’s huge even compared to the other humans here, so once I turn back into a human, the height difference is going to be ridiculous. Even most women are about my height or taller, after all. If he makes fun of me for being small after I turn back, I’m kicking him in the shins. These humans are just freakishly big—it’s not that I’m short.
“Ahem.”
At the sound of the fake cough, I turn my head. Simon’s scratching the bridge of his nose again, his face awkward. Guess he wasn’t sure how to call my name.
He hesitates while looking at me, then slowly opens his mouth.
“The Crown Prince, you see…”
Huh? Our Lyx?
“His Highness is a very lonely person.”
I tilt my head at the sudden statement.
Seeing my reaction, he scratches his head hard this time and turns his gaze toward the lake.
“Well, uh. His Highness is, so…”
He’s taking an absurdly long time just to say one sentence.
“His Highness is… His Highness is—”
What about my patron?!
After repeating “His Highness is” over and over, Simon finally lets out a heavy sigh, his face troubled, and manages to continue.
“So, His Highness is… v-very, v-very, v-very innocent, and k-kind, k-kind, k-kind, so—”
Simon drags a hand down his face mid-sentence. I narrow my eyes at his beet-red face. What the hell is wrong with him all of a sudden?
He flinches at my stare, then clenches both fists tightly. Taking a sharp breath, he shouts at the top of his lungs.
“His Highness is extremely innocent and kind, and he gets lonely very easily!”
As soon as he finishes shouting, Simon pants heavily, huff huff. I tilt my head again while watching him. I already know my patron is kind, innocent, and a loner. So why bring it up now?
After taking several deep breaths, Simon looks straight at me, his face still flushed.
“Nabi… no, K.”
I flinch when Simon suddenly calls me while looking directly into my eyes. It’s completely different from his usual look—his gaze is incredibly forceful.
“If there’s no way back… then stay by His Highness’s side.”
As Simon’s face keeps drawing closer, I instinctively step back.
It’s not because I’m scared. It’s because hot air is blasting out of his nose in whoosh whoosh bursts, packed with pressure.
I got it! I get it, so back off already!
Maybe he saw the terrifying claws shooting out of my front paws. Simon’s face finally pulls away again. I let out a sigh of relief. If I’d taken that blast of nose wind head-on, I might’ve been beyond saving.
Simon stares at the lake again, deep in thought. For a moment, I wonder if this guy, like my patron, has some kind of hidden screw loose.
Suddenly, he jumps to his feet. I look up, wondering what now—
“I need to take care of something real quick.”
And with that, he strides straight into the tall grass.
Left alone, I sit there blankly, staring at the lake.
I feel the heart I’d barely managed to steady sink all the way back down, and I let out a sigh.
Our kind, innocent Lyx. He’d been so lonely, and then he met me and was over the moon—how shocked must he’ve been when I suddenly said I was leaving? Thinking about it makes my chest ache. If it weren’t for worrying about Grandpa, I’d want to go straight back to him.
He won’t be able to do without me anymore.
