The little cat that had stacked all the clothes together grabbed the edge of the bottommost garment in its mouth and trudged forward with strained little grunts. It didn’t even make it a few steps before stopping short. Of course—it was far too much weight and bulk for such a small creature. Simon clenched his teeth and suppressed the urge to rush out and carry it for him.
After resting for a moment, the cat dragged over a wooden laundry basket nearby. Then, one by one, it picked up the clothes in its mouth and dropped them into the basket. Once everything was packed inside, it moved behind the basket and began pushing it forward with its head—thud, thud.
When it grew tired of shoving with its head, it went around to the front, bit the basket’s edge, and dragged it along the ground. When that became too much, it went back to pushing with its head again. It was doing surprisingly well, but even so, it wouldn’t be able to continue like this for long. The imperial palace was simply far too vast to haul things this way.
Just as Simon predicted, the cat didn’t make it very far before collapsing inside the basket with a plop. Its black little body heaved up and down, breath clearly caught in its chest.
Simon clicked his tongue. Leaving it like that, it might push itself past exhaustion and get sick. The order he’d received was to watch it—and to guard it. If the cat fell ill, that would count as failing his duty. And even aside from orders, it didn’t sit right with him to leave such a tiny creature in that state. He didn’t know what exactly it was trying to do, but it was clearly headed toward the Crown Prince’s residence. In that case, the solution was simple—help it get there.
“Oh my. Why is there a basket here?”
The sudden voice startled me so badly I jerked my head up.
A pretty maid was looking down at me—well, at the basket I was sprawled in.
I scowled deeply and cursed inwardly. Damn it.
“Meow—”
This is mine.
As I cried out, asserting ownership, the maid burst into a light, tinkling laugh. Seeing that bright, innocent smile eased my nerves a little. Judging by that expression, she probably wasn’t here to reclaim the clothes. After the hell I went through dragging this thing all the way here, if someone took it back now, I’d probably die of sheer outrage.
“Is this yours?”
At her question, I replied with another meow.
Yeah. It’s mine. Definitely not stolen. Absolutely not laundry that was hanging out back there.
“I’m heading to the Crown Prince’s residence anyway. I’ll carry it for you.”
At her unexpected words, my tail swished happily.
You’re the best, noona.
I must’ve been born under a lucky star. That’s the only explanation.
Thanks to the passing angel maid’s help, I safely transported the clothes, and after that, everything went smoothly. I hid the clothes under the bed, and when I stepped outside, I found a pair of shoes someone had dropped in the garden—easy pickings. Leaving not one shoe but a full pair lying around? What a careless human.
Anyway, once I’d stored both clothes and shoes under the bed, I felt incredibly secure. I wouldn’t be freezing naked anymore. Now all that was left was money…
I looked up at the building I’d returned to and steeled my resolve.
No matter how easy it might be, stealing from maids or servants was off-limits.
If I was going to steal, it had to be from rich nobles.
Back in elementary school, my homeroom teacher once said something like this:
“When you grow up, you can become a doctor, a judge, an astronaut—or even a thief. Whatever you choose to be, dream big. And if you’re going to be a thief, be a great one.”
That line had oddly moved me. That night, I told Grandpa I’d rob the Bank of Korea someday. He laughed heartily and gave a big thumbs-up, saying his little mutt was impressive. Later, my mom smacked my ass. It hurt so much I had no choice but to abandon that grand dream—but I guess it was still my destiny after all.
Because now, I was planning to pick the pockets of nobles roaming the imperial palace.
The place I was heading into now was the building where the morning assembly was held. It wasn’t just used for morning meetings—this was where nobles gathered to handle affairs of state. I’d only ever been inside the assembly hall itself, but there were many other rooms as well. Come to think of it, there was no place in the palace with more noble traffic than this one.
This was the perfect hunting ground for Phantom Cat K.
I checked that the pouch Julia had knitted for me was securely hanging around my neck, then walked inside.
From this moment on, I was Phantom Cat K.
***
“Your Highness.”
At the sound of the maids’ greetings, I flicked my eyes toward the door. My patron met my gaze and walked over—but I immediately snapped my head away and glared at the wall.
“Why are you in such a bad mood?”
My patron asked while rubbing my back. I smacked his hand away with my tail.
After standing still for a moment, my patron lifted me up and pulled me into his arms. I hissed irritably, but he didn’t care. As he hugged me close and lightly patted my butt, the anger swelling in my chest eased a little. As expected, my patron’s hands were magic hands.
After scratching the back of my neck and stroking my head and back for a while, he suddenly stopped. Then he looked at the basket beside us and asked Julia,
“What is that?”
I felt my settled anger surge back up and kicked the basket violently with my hind legs.
“They’re gifts sent for Nabi by various nobles, starting with Duke Licht, Your Highness.”
Julia answered in a voice brimming with amusement.
I scratched my patron’s chest furiously with my front paws—claws retracted.
Don’t listen. Don’t listen.
But despite my desperate plea, my patron asked again.
“Why?”
At his question, Julia covered her mouth and let out a soft pfft, her shoulders trembling.
I was screwed.
Silently, I extended my claws and began shredding the bedsheets rip, rip.
Up until the break-in, everything had been perfect.
I’d had no trouble slipping into the nobles’ lounge.
Several humans were seated on sofas inside, chatting away. Keeping my body low, I searched for my target. Choosing the lounge had been a brilliant move—every noble had taken off their outer coat and draped it nearby. I slowly approached one jacket, aiming for its pocket, then stuck my head inside and pulled out a gold coin.
But then—
“Isn’t that His Highness’s cat?”
Damn it all to hell. Some old geezer spotted me.
I froze stiff, fully exposed to the humans’ staring eyes.
They slowly gathered around me, alternating their gazes between me, the gold coin clenched in my mouth, and the pocket I’d just emerged from.
I thought about pretending to be a different cat and bolting—but the humans didn’t let me.
The old man who’d spotted me first burst into laughter.
“Looks like you needed some pocket money. Here—take one of mine too. Hahaha!”
He pulled out a gold coin and dropped it straight into the pouch hanging around my neck. While I stood there in shock, the other humans got excited and started pulling out their own coins, stuffing them into my pouch one after another.
The small pouch Julia had knitted just for me filled up with gold coins in no time.
Kyaa!
Are these people insane?!
I swatted the pile of gold coins away with my front paws, tore the pouch off, and hurled it at the old man. Then I hissed loudly to scare them and bolted out of there.
I was so humiliated and mortified that I actually teared up a little while running back.
Phantom Cat K, my ass.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
While I was face-planted on the bed, researching methods of dying from embarrassment, someone knocked on the door. Julia, who’d been trying to comfort me, went out and came back holding a pretty basket.
Then she said,
“Duke Licht asked me to give this to you. He heard you got pocket money from the nobles? Nabi’s so lucky!”
I was utterly knocked out at the sight of the basket—filled to the brim with the pouch and gold coins I’d thrown away.
Those humans knew exactly how to humiliate someone properly.
My pride didn’t just shatter—it was ground into dust.
When I started kicking the basket furiously with all four paws, my patron burst out laughing. I glared daggers at him.
Are you mocking me too now?
When I stared at him menacingly, he seemed to flinch a little. He stopped laughing and gently stroked my head. The care in his touch was so sincere that I grudgingly decided to forgive him.
“Put it in the drawer. So he can take it out whenever he wants.”
Julia laughed cheerfully as she slid the basket of gold coins into a nearby drawer. I hissed that I didn’t need that kind of money, but it was completely ignored.
I went back to shredding the bedsheets with my claws to vent my frustration.
Damn humans. Just wait until I turn human again—
I’ll grab that basket and dump it right on your faces. Just you wait!
