***
“Brought a lot again today?”
At Julia’s words, I let out a proud meow.
Kind Julia loosened the pouch in front of me and poured everything out so I could see. When the contents I’d only briefly checked earlier were fully spread out, there was far more than I’d thought. With a satisfied feeling, I examined today’s haul laid out on the floor.
I pressed a gold coin with my front paw and slid it smoothly into an empty space. One.
Then I pressed another coin with my paw and pushed it over. Two.
As I slid the coins to one side, counting them, Julia crouched down beside me and counted along too—“one, two, three.” She knew perfectly well that she could count much faster than I could, but she never stole my fun.
When I finished counting by moving the coins one by one, there were exactly ten. Not bad at all. If I give two as allowance to our Simon and save the rest, it’s just right.
I tore my gaze away from the gold coins and narrowed my eyes as I examined the jewelry.
This one’s a necklace. A women’s necklace.
I carefully turned the necklace this way and that with my front paw, inspecting it.
Hmm. The gem’s size is decent, and the cut isn’t bad either. I like the delicate craftsmanship.
Ever since coming to the imperial palace, I’ve seen every kind of jewel there is, but honestly, most of them are just big chunks loaded with gold. I’m not trying to become some nouveau riche. Even if it’s not a branded piece, shouldn’t it at least look refined? The life of jewelry lies, above all else, in its design. Design.
I tapped the necklace lightly with my front paw and let out a nyaang.
“You like that one?”
Julia asked. I nodded.
In a few days, this necklace would be hanging around my neck.
Julia gathered up the day’s loot and headed toward my storage area. I swept my gaze around the room, checking if anyone was there. Good. No one. I crept cautiously toward the display cabinet.
Flattening myself in front of it, I slid my front paw into the narrow gap and swished it around. But nothing caught. I pulled my paw out and peered into the gap—something had been pushed slightly to the other side.
I shifted sideways, stuck my paw back in, and fished around again. This time, something snagged on my claws. I carefully pulled it out.
The small pouch that emerged from the cabinet was exactly how I’d left it. I grabbed it in my mouth and crawled under the bed. No one must see this.
Under the bed, I used my mouth and front paws to open the pouch. Inside, a blue-glittering ring caught the light. I slipped my paw into the pouch and rolled it around, admiring it from every angle.
This magnificent ring, set with a large blue gem and crafted with exquisite detail, wasn’t something I’d stripped in the conference hall. This was something Duke Licht—that old man—had offered up to me. Of course, it wasn’t a bribe. I’m not the kind of cat who accepts bribes. This was simply something the old man offered because he wanted, even just a little, to look good in my eyes.
It was only natural that Duke Licht offered me such a fine ring. He’d once inflicted an unforgettable humiliation on Phantom Cat K, and because of that, he alone had been spared from being stripped clean. Ever since, the old man had been desperate to have his pouch taken by me. So by presenting me with such a splendid ring, he was begging me to forget the past.
Honestly, I’d intended not to accept anything from the old man. But the moment he showed me this ring, it was far too beautiful to ignore. Besides, we did have that connection where we once shared sandwich-like bread on a bench. I figured I could forgive him this much.
I rolled the ring around, smiling with deep satisfaction.
If I wore this on my finger, everyone would definitely envy me. Subtly flashy yet chic, the ring gave off an aura that would further enhance my image as a cold city cat. The old man really did choose the ring well.
After finishing my inspection, I pulled the string at the mouth of the pouch tight with my teeth and secured it firmly. Then I checked outside the bed to make sure no one was in the room.
With the pouch in my mouth, I crawled out from under the bed and used my own secret route to leap onto the highest display cabinet in the bedroom. There, I set the pouch down.
The top of the cabinet was already so full of my secret collection that there wasn’t even room to set a paw down.
I do already have a storage area where I keep the jewels and gold coins I’ve stripped from the old men, but that alone isn’t enough. All of that is open to the patron and to Julia. Everyone needs to have a little slush fund of their own.
From the top of the tallest cabinet in the bedroom, human eyes can’t see anything. So I secretly stored my treasures there, one by one. By now, the hoard I’ve amassed is sizeable enough that I could easily be counted among the wealthy just with this.
Before anyone entered the bedroom, I hurried back down to the floor. Then I climbed into the yarn basket on the bed and casually rolled around while hugging Big Guy.
Big Guy. You mustn’t tell anyone about this.
I whispered to Big Guy just as the patron came stomping in. I greeted him with a polite meow, then secretly flicked a brief glance toward the cabinet. No matter who it was—even the patron—there was no way they’d notice that.
“Oh my. There’s another one now.”
Julia said as she climbed onto a chair and looked at the top of the cabinet. The maids who’d been cleaning came trotting over, pressing her to show them what it was.
Carefully lifting the newly added pouch from the cat’s secret storage atop the cabinet, Julia stepped down from the chair and opened it.
“It’s so pretty!”
One of the maids exclaimed in admiration. Julia nodded as she examined the large ring in her hand. True to a cat with remarkably refined taste, the item newly added to the treasure hoard was splendid enough to draw awe on its own.
After admiring the ring sufficiently with the maids, Julia placed it back into the pouch and carefully returned it to its spot atop the cabinet.
From the chair, the top of the cabinet was revealed to be overflowing with treasures the cat had collected. Most of them were expensive pieces of jewelry, but there were other assorted items as well—a shabby feather pen that looked like it had been played with for quite some time, wrinkled pieces of paper, and more. Julia picked up one of the papers and gently unfolded it.
On the paper were several cat paw prints stamped in ink, and beneath them were words written out. From left to right, it read “K,” “K,” and “Calyx.” The top line was written in elegant handwriting, and beneath it was a crooked, awkward imitation. It was written by the cat boy who sometimes sat on the Crown Prince’s lap at night, learning how to write. Julia smiled softly and put it back where it had been.
“All right. Cleaning. Let’s get back to cleaning.”
As Julia said this and stepped down from the chair, the maids began moving busily again. Before long, the Crown Prince and the cat would stop by briefly after the morning meeting, so everything had to be cleaned quickly.
***
“You came?”
The old man Licht called out with a delighted face. I greeted him politely with a meow and sat beside him on the bench.
We sat side by side, staring quietly straight ahead, when the old man subtly slid a pouch toward me with one hand. I turned my eyes, glanced at it briefly, then fixed my gaze forward again. The old man, still looking straight ahead, placed the pouch right in front of me and withdrew his hand.
“You know, my son. You’re giving him two gold coins as allowance, right?”
Meow—
Yeah. Two coins each time.
“Ahem. The boy’s always had quite the appetite since he was little.”
Meow—
I know. Simon is always stuffing his face.
“So, I was wondering if you might raise his allowance to three gold coins.”
I shot the old man a sidelong glance. He cleared his throat loudly—khm—then said in a small voice, “I’m asking you.” After that, he pointed with his eyes at the pouch in front of me.
I snorted, hmpf, and lazily tapped the pouch with my front paw.
I hadn’t looked, but it felt quite heavy. The old man had a good sense for these things, so without even checking, I knew it would be something excellent. I tapped the pouch absentmindedly for a moment, pretending to be uninterested, then replied with a reluctant, short nya. After that, I grabbed the pouch in my mouth, hopped down from the bench, and began walking away with light, graceful steps.
Even as I grew more distant, the old man didn’t bother saying goodbye. He knew as well as I did. A transaction must be discreet, and once it’s over, we must pretend we never met. That’s the rule of secret dealings.
Carrying the pouch in my mouth, I chose a place with few people and walked on, deciding that starting tomorrow, I’d raise Simon’s allowance from two gold coins to three.
A deal is a deal, after all.
