“Nabi—!”
Julia calls out to me in a desperate voice. Immediately after, shrill screams erupt in succession. No—if I’m being precise, they’re not exactly shrill screams but closer to quacking, squealing noises. However, since I am, above all else, a gentlemanly cat, I decide to politely bury the fact that the sound is extremely similar to a pig being slaughtered. After all, they do have their dignity.
“Kyaaak—! Aaak—! Aak!”
Just from the noise alone, it sounds like a war has broken out. Julia and the other maids scream like they’ve lost their minds. Some of them even start jumping straight up and down in place. Every time they leap, white glutinous rice cakes bounce and sway exuberantly. Regardless of the situation, it’s an incredibly beautiful sight. I sit atop the display cabinet in an elegant pose, admiring the bouncing chest rice cakes. Big Guy, seated neatly beside me, is undoubtedly enjoying the spectacle just as much.
“Nabi.”
Julia looks up at me with tears welling in her eyes. When our gazes meet, she trembles and shakily points toward one side of the room. Then she pleads.
“Nabi. You’ve got to catch the mouse. A mouse!”
Encouraged by Julia’s words, the other maids cry out in unison.
“Catch the mouse, Nabi. Hurry!”
I look toward where their fingers are pointing. In the corner of the room, a single mouse is trembling violently. The moment my gaze settles on it, color returns to the maids’ faces. They look like they’ve just met their savior.
“Nabi, hurry up and catch it. Hurry!”
One maid, who has climbed onto a chair, screams as if in desperation. I slowly take in the sight of the maids trembling atop chairs and tables, their eyes full of fervent hope. Then I look once more at the gray mouse, shaking uncontrollably.
It’s huge.
The gray fur covering its body looks as stiff and bristly as steel needles. Within that fur, there are undoubtedly about 2.5 million bacteria harmful to the human body living it up.
I sweep my gaze around my surroundings.
The display cabinet is fairly tall, but it still feels unsafe. There’s no rule saying that terrifying mouse can’t climb up here.
Big Guy. Hyung will evacuate you to a safer place.
I grab Big Guy in my mouth and leap lightly onto an even higher display cabinet. From the tallest cabinet in the room, I look down to see the maids staring blankly up at me.
“…Nabi….”
Julia sends me a thoroughly dumbfounded look. I lift my chin proudly in her direction.
Why aren’t you catching the mouse already?
The maids’ expressions twist into something strange. With calm eyes, I add:
You need to disinfect afterward, too.
***
Nyaaah—
Julia. Let’s plaaay.
Hearing my cute, affectionate call, Julia turns her head. When our eyes meet, she smiles once—then immediately turns her back again. Wondering what that was about, I try once more.
Niyaaaah—
Julia. Let’s plaaay.
I call out sweetly. But would you look at that—she lazily waves her hand at me and sinks right back into her sewing trance.
Nyaaah— Niyaah—
Let’s plaaay. I’m bored. Let’s plaaay—.
Even when I try to charm the other maids, they only glance at me briefly before returning to their sewing trances.
…What is this?
I’m flustered by this absurd situation. Normally, when I cry this adorably, it’s the maids’ daily routine to come running while squealing. But to ignore me unanimously like this? That’s unheard of. Under normal circumstances, this would warrant a major tantrum—but the maids’ condition is far too strange for that. My sharp instincts as a predator are telling me something.
Don’t touch them carelessly.
All day long, the maids have been sitting in a circle, doing nothing but sewing. Occasionally, they lower their voices and whisper amongst themselves, then go right back to sewing. Then they whisper again. On the surface, it’s not such an unusual sight. But the problem is their eyes when they whisper.
Their eyes gleam strangely, as if possessed by something.
I start to wonder if they were so shocked by yesterday’s mouse incident that they collectively lost their sanity. Yes. That must be it. There’s no doubt they became strange because of yesterday’s mouse appearance.
Yesterday, a mouse suddenly appeared.
A mouse in the glittering imperial palace. It was truly absurd. At this rate, we might as well pool our gold coins and call in a professional extermination service.
In any case, at the appearance of the mouse, the maids screamed as if they were about to faint. The sight of them scrambling onto nearby objects and quacking in terror was, frankly speaking, a bit unsightly.
The moment the first maid spotted it and shouted, “A mouse, mouse, mouse, mouse—it’s a mouse!” I leapt onto the nearest display cabinet at the speed of light. Even then, I didn’t forget to grab Big Guy in my mouth. Naturally. Big Guy is precious to me. I couldn’t possibly expose him to 2.5 million mouse bacteria or mouse fleas.
After taking refuge atop the cabinet with Big Guy, I maintained my elegant posture and surveyed the situation below. Without exception, the maids were flailing about and quacking in panic.
I fully understood and sympathized with them. No matter how disgracefully they thrashed about, I had no intention of criticizing them. Anyone in the world would react the same way when confronted with a mouse.
Of course, I was also generous enough to understand their unreasonable demand that I catch it.
After all, I am technically a cat, so I can’t exactly escape the prejudice that comes with catching mice. Even if they were blinded by the urgency of the situation and forgot that I am a noble Crown Prince cat who does not hunt mice, it wasn’t something worth scolding them over.
But it seems they didn’t understand my generous heart.
As they looked up at me sitting atop the cabinet, their eyes were filled with resentment and disbelief.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wronged. If only I could, I wanted to sit them down and explain calmly. That I am a refined city gentleman raised in a hygienic environment. Furthermore, that there exists an unspoken rule that noble Crown Prince cats never hunt mice—and that it wasn’t that I couldn’t catch it, but that I chose not to.
Well. In the end, the mouse was caught.
It was carried out of the room, dangling from Simon Licht’s hand. What became of it afterward, I don’t know. I can only assume that it is no longer a mouse of this world.
Anyway, after that incident, the strange behavior of Julia and the other maids began. They gathered at a distance and whispered like they were holding some sort of meeting for quite a while. Then, as if possessed, they suddenly started sewing.
I quietly approached Julia’s side.
Even when I sat right next to her and stared openly, she showed no reaction. She was completely absorbed in her sewing.
I have no idea what they’re making. Are they sewing a net to catch mice? Or armor to protect themselves from mice? Or maybe a barrier to prevent mice from approaching?
…Ah. This is boring.
The endless sewing is making me restless. It doesn’t look like anyone’s going to play with me today. I guess I’ll just take a nap.
“So?”
“So what do you mean, so what? It’s just like that.”
The boy snaps irritably, then turns over with a huff.
Calyx gently pats the sulking boy’s back. Judging by the way he’s grumbling under his breath, he doesn’t seem to be in the mood to calm down anytime soon. Calyx smiles faintly and whispers into the boy’s ear.
“Want me to punish them?”
At the whisper, the boy whips around and meets his gaze.
“As if? I’ll handle it myself, okay?”
He grumbles petulantly, then immediately starts kicking the bed again, venting his irritation.
“Damn it. I’m annoyed. I’m so annoyed.”
The boy flails, pounding the bed with his hands and feet. Calyx strokes the boy’s head with a languid hand, smiling inwardly.
Even when he’s throwing a tantrum, he’s this cute.
Yes. The boy is currently in a state of irritation.
