I snorted disdainfully at the humans who were completely absorbed in cleaning and headed out of the room. Walking away with a stinging heart, I glanced back—and saw a neat trail of paw prints stamped all along the path I’d taken. Thinking about how much trouble they’d have erasing those too, I let out a series of quiet giggles.
As I wandered into the garden, the smell coming off my body was atrocious. I gave my front paw a lick—bleh, bleh. It tasted nothing but ink. I scanned myself over. Since my fur is black, it doesn’t stand out much, but under the sunlight it gleams like it’s all clumped and greasy. This won’t do. I need to wash up, fast.
I looked around and spotted a perfect place. Right in the center of the Crown Prince’s garden stood a beautiful fountain. Clean water is always sloshing around there, making it ideal for washing up. I’ll just rinse off roughly here, and when my patron comes back, I can wash properly with him again. I was already a bit overheated from all that work anyway, so I might as well go for a swim while I’m at it.
I hopped up onto the edge of the fountain and dipped one paw into the water. It’s a little cold, but not unbearably so. As soon as my paw goes in, the ink dissolves and spreads through the water in soft waves. I swish it around a bit, then dive straight in.
“Nabi!!!”
Crown Prince Calyx quickened his pace at the scream echoing through the garden.
A bad feeling flashed through his mind, sending his heart into an anxious frenzy. No matter how stubborn the little one was, he’d never left him alone in the room before. Regret reared its head sharply.
“What’s going on?”
Near the fountain he’d practically run to, several maids were hovering nervously. Calyx rushed straight to the edge of the fountain.
“Th-the cat… Nabi put ink into the fountain…”
One maid said, pointing. Calyx finally released the breath he’d been holding as he took in the sight of the fountain filled with deep blue water—and the cat tilting its head innocently inside it.
Nyaaang—
The tiny thing spotted Calyx and its eyes sparkled brightly in delight. Without hesitation, Calyx stepped straight into the fountain and scooped up the small body. Blue water soaked both the cat and the fountain spilled into his clothes, but Calyx didn’t care as he carried the docile little body back toward the bedroom.
“Y-Your Highness. Please forgive us. We haven’t finished cleaning yet.”
At the bedroom entrance, the head attendant spoke with a trembling voice. Calyx looked down at the living creature in his arms as the strong scent of ink drifted out through the open door. When their eyes met, the cat rounded its eyes and cried, “Nyaaang,” as if proudly showing off.
Inside, the room was saturated with the smell of ink and blue stains everywhere.
The white marble floor was covered in cat paw prints, scuffed rolling marks, splattered ink, and streaks that looked like something had been brushed around with a tail. The bed sheets piled off to one side were also deeply soaked in blue. It was a sight horrifying enough to drain all color from the head attendant’s face.
Calyx slowly surveyed the room, filled with evidence of the little one’s frantic running and rolling, then lowered his gaze to the cat in his arms. It was looking up at him with eyes full of anticipation. What on earth had it been thinking this time? With such a tiny head, it was impossible to guess what kind of thoughts went through it. Still, seeing how pleased it looked, Calyx decided it didn’t really matter. After all, it had been irritable and gloomy since the night before last.
Calyx gently stroked the little head with his finger.
“Looks like you had fun.”
Nyaaang—
The cat answered with a satisfied expression. Calyx let out a low chuckle and rubbed the ink-soaked back.
“Your Highness. The bath is ready.”
At the attendant’s words, the cat’s eyes lit up brightly. It hopped out of Calyx’s arms and began urging him on with eager cries of “Nyaaang, nyang.” It must have really wanted to get clean. After all, for a cat that refuses to bathe unless the water is warm to have gone into a cold fountain, that much was obvious. Calyx followed the trail of small blue paw prints dotting the floor.
The little one leapt straight into the steaming bath and climbed up onto the step, starting to purr loudly. Blue-tinged water spread outward around the purring cat. Calyx focused especially on the tail, where the color bled the most, gently rinsing it through his fingers. The cat splashed about, stirring the inked water with its front paws. Seeing how genuinely delighted it looked, Calyx finally felt at ease.
Even now, there was still a tiny scab clinging to the cat’s ear.
The wound on that small ear bothered him. Now that it had healed enough for the cat to play like this, it was easy to forget—but when he’d first seen the injury, his mind had gone cold.
The little thing was so small he’d thought it was a kitten at first.
It had fought a cat at least twice its size—there was no way it could have escaped unscathed. When it staggered toward him with all its strength and finally collapsed to the side, Calyx knew the killing intent he’d failed to suppress had turned the maids’ faces pale. Yet all his attention had been fixed on the fragile sound of the cat’s breathing. Despite being fully exposed to that killing intent, the black eyes looking up at him held not a trace of fear or hesitation. Instead, the cat had burrowed straight into his arms.
Seeing the little one, body covered in wounds, stubbornly force itself to stand on all four legs—how proud that had made him. That night, listening to the cat whimper softly while curled up on his chest, his heart had ached unbearably.
It was just a single, tiny cat. And yet, he couldn’t understand why it was so unbearably lovely and precious. The trusting black eyes, the voice that begged for what it wanted, the soft black fur, the small body that clung to him without fear or reservation—there wasn’t a single thing about it that wasn’t endearing.
What he realized more and more with each passing day was that a single being could be this lovable. And what he could say with certainty was this: even if the cat didn’t have black fur but white, even if it wasn’t this small but large, even if it looked completely different, it would still be just as precious. As long as it continued to look at him with those same black eyes, nothing would change.
Calyx lifted the purring cat up to face level. Then, carefully, he pressed his lips to the small head. The cat squeezed its eyes shut at the contact, then slowly blinked in surprise. After that, it stared at him intently, tilting its head left and right. Watching it, Calyx let out a low laugh. Ever since meeting this little one, he’d been smiling far more than ever before.
“When we’re done, I’ll play with the feather toy with you.”
At Calyx’s words, the cat let out a “nyaong,” showing its tiny fangs. Calyx pressed another gentle kiss to the small head.
The feeling of finding something adorable—once realized—spreads at a frightening speed. Calyx didn’t bother trying to control it, simply letting it flow freely.
Just how much more of his heart did this tiny creature intend to fill, again and again? Given how greedy it already was, it surely wouldn’t stop until it had filled his heart completely. Of that, Calyx was certain.
***
“…Hey.”
I glanced sideways at Simon Licht, who was squatting next to me, and let out a deep sigh. Looking out the window, the sky was brilliantly blue. White clouds floated lazily, and a gentle breeze drifted by. It was a perfect day.
“Hey.”
Simon called me again. I shot him an annoyed look. When our eyes met, he scratched the back of his head. The sight of such a big guy crouching next to a windowsill was oddly cute. Talking to a cat while squatting beside it seemed to make him deeply self-conscious. After scratching his head several times, he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. Only then did he lean in and whisper quietly.
“Did something happen?”
In response, I smacked the windowsill twice with my tail.
As we’d grown closer, Simon had started understanding my words fairly well. Interpreting my reply, he frowned seriously.
“Did His Highness scold you over that ink rampage yesterday?”
As if. My patron wouldn’t scold me over something like that.
“Or did the maids, exhausted from cleaning, secretly bully you?”
Nope. I turned on the charm hard this morning out of guilt, and they melted almost immediately. Though all the ink bottles on the desk mysteriously disappeared.
“Then what on earth happened?”
I stared at Simon, who looked utterly baffled. When I kept staring, he cleared his throat awkwardly and made an embarrassed face. Despite his massive build, Simon is surprisingly shy.
I examined his rugged face carefully. It’s a very manly face. Thick eyebrows, big, sharp eyes. His nose is huge and tall. And the lips beneath that nose are—
Yeah. Lips. Those damn lips.
Lips. Lips. Lips!
I scratched my head furiously with my front paw. Simon tried to stop me, saying, “Hey, what’s wrong with you,” but I ignored him completely. I couldn’t stand it unless I scratched.
After a long while, I finally calmed down a little. Sitting upright again, I let out another deep sigh. Seeing how unlike myself I was acting, Simon looked at me with concern. I asked him:
Nyaaang—
Simon. Have you ever been kissed on the forehead?
Simon couldn’t understand that one. There’s nothing to be done—he’s still too low-level. I tapped his shoulder twice with my tail in consolation while he struggled to decipher my meaning, then buried my itchy head between my front paws.
Last night, when I went into the bath with my patron to wash off the ink, I was ambushed with a kiss. Yes. That was definitely a kiss. No room for doubt.
When his lips suddenly pressed against my head, I was so shocked I nearly short-circuited. Even after his lips pulled away, I spent a long time just tilting my head stupidly, unable to process what had happened. My patron lulled my stunned self into lowering my guard by mentioning feather play—then pressed his lips to my head again. For a full four seconds!
