I slowly swept my gaze over Simon, the handkerchief in that bastard’s hand, and then Julia and the maids. Simon was completely absorbed in the handkerchief he was holding. Julia and the maids were squealing nonstop, chanting how cute it was.
Faced with this unbelievable reality, I blanked out for a moment.
As if it weren’t enough that I’d turned into a useless cat who couldn’t even catch a mouse, now I’d become a pathetic cat who got jealous of a muscle-brained idiot.
What kind of disgrace was this?
What kind of humiliation was this?!
I was trembling with rage as humiliation swept through my entire body when Julia brought over a basket and proudly held it out.
“Nabi, you were really hurt, weren’t you? Of course we prepared a gift for Nabi too.”
……
……
…Hmph. A gift, my ass.
I shot a sideways glance at the basket Julia was holding out. It was so big it nearly filled her arms. No matter how you looked at it, the inside had to be packed full. It was on a completely different scale from Simon’s pathetic little handkerchief.
“We stayed up all night making this just for Nabi.”
…Hmph.
I sharply turned my head away and deliberately snorted.
You think my mood would improve over some stupid gift? Not a chance. I’m not some easy guy whose feelings get fixed with one present.
“Yeah. Do you know how hard we worked on it?”
“We really put our hearts into it, thinking about Nabi.”
The maids chimed in one after another. They seemed anxious about my lukewarm reaction. They even started calling out “Nabiii~” in nasal voices. I smacked my tail against the floor over and over again and kept snorting loudly.
Yeah right? Give that crap to that muscle idiot instead. Hmph. Hmph.
Sensing that my reaction was no joke, the maids exchanged looks with each other. Then Julia turned on an even more upgraded nasal whine and started acting cute.
“Nabiii~. Please take it? Hm? You’ll accept our gift, right? Hm?”
I narrowed my eyes and alternated my gaze between Julia and the basket. Taking this as their cue, the maids all but joined together to beg me to please accept the gift. Watching that, even I couldn’t help but soften a little.
Truth be told, I didn’t want some stupid gift like that at all. I wasn’t even curious what was inside the basket. But with them pleading that desperately, what choice did I have? It was annoying, but I’d accept it.
Hmph. Hmph. Hmph.
I gathered every ounce of generosity and mercy within me and sent them a look that said I’d accept the gift. The maids immediately lit up with joy. When they placed the basket in front of me, their eyes were brimming with anticipation. They’d been sewing nonstop since yesterday to make it, so of course they’d be like that. They should’ve told me earlier that they were making something for me. If they had, I might’ve at least given them a few rounds of my beloved kneading service out of sympathy for their hard work.
“Tada—!”
Julia set the basket down. Amid the maids’ cheers, I peered into the basket with the coolest expression I could manage.
…Huh?
Inside the basket were piles of cloth bundles. I tilted my head as I stared at the colorful lumps. When I looked up, I was met with the maids’ sparkling eyes.
Nyaaang?
What is this. Is it food?
I poked at the bundles in the basket with my front paw, but nothing special happened. When I just stared at them blankly, Julia picked up one of the bundles. I carefully examined the cloth lump she held out in front of me. Made of high-quality green fabric, it was plump from being stuffed with cotton. At one pointed end were two black eyes and a nose, and at the opposite end dangled a long string.
This is… no way…
A bad premonition flashed through my head, and my body stiffened. When I lifted my uneasy gaze, Julia smiled brightly. Then she gently shook the cloth bundle in her hand and said,
“Squeak squeak squeak. It’s a mouse. A mouse. Squeak squeak squeak.”
……
……
……
…I’m never playing with you guys again.
“K.”
The moment I entered the office, Lyx called out to me in a gentle voice. Hearing his voice made something surge up inside my chest. I leapt up onto the desk and rubbed my head and cheeks all over Lyx’s hand. As his warm hands stroked my back and head, my nose stung.
That’s right. My so-called friend betrayed me, and Julia and the maids betrayed me too—but I still have this guy. Handsome, kind, respectable, gentle, soft-hearted, and absolutely head-over-heels for me. This guy is my you-know-what. As long as I have him, I don’t need Simon, Julia, or the maids. None of them matter.
“What happened?”
Lyx asked softly. I let out a mournful “nyaaang—” and complained to him.
So listen. That bastard Simon got a handkerchief from Julia, but I got a mouse doll instead. They told me to practice hunting by playing with the mouse doll and kept teasing me. Simon laughed watching that. Julia laughed too, holding the doll and going squeak squeak, and then later they even threw the mouse doll and told me to catch it, and all that…
Nyaaang— nyaaang—. The more I complained, the more wronged and furious I felt. They say if you’re too angry, you end up crying—and that was exactly it. My nose burned, and it felt like tears were about to spill. I clenched my teeth and held back my furious tears. If I cried here, I’d really lose. I couldn’t become the kind of guy who sniffled just because he was treated like an idiot.
“K?”
Lyx looked me over with worried eyes. Then he gently rubbed under my nose with his finger. When I looked at his finger, it was damp. Looks like since I held back my tears, my nose started running instead. Today, really, nothing was going right. Me—who always kept things neat and tidy—sniffling like this, and even having my you-know-what wipe my nose.
I swallowed down the surge of sorrow and tears, then crawled into Lyx’s stomach.
I curled myself up between Lyx’s skin and his clothes. Through the fabric, he patted my back and butt softly. I rubbed my constantly running nose against his clothes, wiping it off, and closed my eyes.
I wish that when I woke up, everything would’ve been a dream. That mice never appeared, that Julia was still my Julia, and that I could go back to a few days ago—when everything was peaceful and perfect, when I shared manly camaraderie with that muscle-brained Simon.
***
I am absolutely not a nice guy.
If someone wrongs me, I can’t rest until I pay them back two or three times over. Even if it was mutual fault, I don’t care. As long as I hit them at least one more time than they hit me, that’s what matters. Whether it was intentional or an accident, I don’t let it slide. No matter what it takes, I’ll get my revenge. If I don’t, the anger won’t go away.
When I was a kid and got angry, huffing and puffing, my mom would pinch my cheeks and say, “Oh dear. Look at this little brat. You’re absolutely covered in spite.”
Every time, I’d argue back like this.
This isn’t spite. It’s just revenge.
And that was the truth. Spite and revenge are completely different things. I was clearly wronged, so I was simply paying it back. Calling that spite is ridiculous.
Of course, I do admit that my way of paying it back tends to be a bit excessive. Even my grandpa—who dotes on me like I’m the prettiest thing alive—admits that much. Still, he actually thought that part of me was a good thing. He’d laugh and say it was reassuring, because it meant I wouldn’t go through life getting pushed around.
Anyway, I’m that kind of guy. The kind who pays things back two or three times over.
Morning.
I stretched lazily atop Lyx’s chest-bed.
Front paws stretched way forward. Back legs stretched way back. Then I arched my back up high and stretched again. Finally, one biiig yawn.
Once my morning stretch was done, I hopped down from Lyx’s chest and waited for the wash water to come in.
Only then did Lyx sit up on the edge of the bed.
It’s always strange—once we get up and sit, the wash water comes in as if they’d been waiting for that exact moment. It’s not like we call out loud or have someone standing by inside the room. It’s suspicious enough to make me wonder if there’s a surveillance camera installed in the bedroom. Or maybe they drilled a hole in the wall somewhere and have been watching us the whole time.
The maids came in carrying a washbasin. I sat in my usual posture, no different from any other day, and composed myself.
