Sefiut zipped over in a blur.
―Heir, did you hear that? This little brat just now…!
He looked like he was about to explain everything from the beginning. Feeling awkward, Ries just rolled his eyes for no reason.
Did I go too far?
After all, he was Justyn’s ancestor. Just as a hint of worry began to creep in, it was Sefiut who unexpectedly admitted defeat first.
His tail, which had been flapping angrily, began to slow. His voice, which had been boiling with fury, cooled just as quickly.
After a long moment of silence, he mumbled with a tinge of resignation.
―Fine. Talking to you is pointless—you’ll just take the kid’s side anyway. Ugh, my damn luck…
“Mya?”
Wait, what?
Ries tilted his head, not understanding, when a warm hand came down gently on his head. At some point, Justyn had taken off his gloves, and the calloused fingers softly brushed behind Ries’s ear.
He didn’t say a word, but it was clear that gesture meant he was taking Ries’s side. The warmth stirred something inside him, made him feel fluttery, and he fidgeted with his front paws.
“I understand what you meant by those words.”
―…You do? Is that so?
“Yes. It was a valid point.”
And just like that, the tides shifted again—this time in Sefiut’s favor.
Ries forgot to even twitch his tail as he stared up blankly at his master. Their eyes met, crimson locking onto crimson without a trace of wavering.
“Ries. I…”
Justyn’s gaze deepened. For a long while, his eyes stirred, as if lost in thought or overcome by the swell of emotion rising within. Then, at last, his focus sharpened.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
Ever since the Crown Prince had left, that same sentence had been echoing endlessly in Justyn’s ears. Out of all the things he’d ever heard from the man, it was the one that struck deepest.
“Taking something before it’s taken from you. I’ve always believed that was the best way. And that belief hasn’t changed.”
Take before being taken.
If someone tried to take Ries away…
Justyn would strip that person of everything. Crush them, destroy everything that sustained their life, and make sure they never rose again. Only then would he feel at ease.
And so, he could understand what the Crown Prince had meant. Maybe it was a sentiment only those who had found something more precious than life itself could truly relate to.
And there was no way Ries hadn’t noticed this change in emotion. He might not be able to read every thought in Justyn’s head, but he knew he was the cause of that shift.
“Myaorrr…”
Ries leaned his head weakly against Justyn.
Worried by the cat’s droopy eyes, Justyn leaned down and gently stroked his face. The tender touch, full of affection and concern, made Ries blink slowly, his eyes fluttering shut and then open again.
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to accept that proposal right away. I’ll think it over a bit more and watch how things play out.”
“…Aeong.”
“Yes. I promise I’ll tell you when I make a decision.”
“Nyak? Waong. Aeng.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Human words and cat meows went back and forth several times. Amazingly, the conversation actually flowed. Sefiut couldn’t hide his shock.
―Wait, don’t tell me… You understand that kid?
“No. But if I listen long enough, I can usually guess what he means.”
He wasn’t sure whether to praise the concept or the stubborn effort that went into trying to understand feline speech.
They’re so damn in sync.
You probably couldn’t find a better-matched pair in the world. Watching the two fuss over each other was enough to make him feel exhausted all over again.
One of them was meowing nonstop, not even realizing the other’s conclusions were born out of concern for their well-being. The other just kept taking the brat’s side like some spineless pushover, agreeing to whatever.
―……
Sefiut chose to remain silent. Better to keep his mouth shut than to get caught up and tossed around between these two lunatics.
A wise decision, honed over many long years.
***
One more day passed, and just as he’d said, Harrison left the ducal estate. His smiling face showed no trace of the tension from their heated exchange the day before.
Just before he boarded the carriage, during the final farewell, the Crown Prince suddenly turned back, painted on a smile, and said:
“I do hope you’ll consider my proposal seriously. You’ve always had things taken from you by fate, haven’t you? It’s about time you started protecting something.”
How that statement sounded to Justyn, no one could say.
But one thing was certain—he looked like he had a lot on his mind. He just stood there, unmoving, silently watching until the carriage completely disappeared from view.
Even after returning to his office, he remained distracted. Ries paced around him in circles, wondering if there was something he could do to take his master’s mind off things.
Should I just turn on the charm?
At this point, he was so used to laying on the cuteness that it didn’t even require effort. The days of suffering over how cringe it all felt were long gone. Now all he thought about was how best to weaponize it.
As he seriously considered deploying that option, a sudden question popped into his mind.
Ries reached out a front paw and poked Sefiut, who was flopped out on a cushion nearby.
―Eiii, whaddaya want, furball?
“?”
Why does he sound like that?
Looking closer, Ries saw that he was holding a fruit in his mouth the size of a doll’s eye. The source wasn’t hard to guess—he probably went on a joyride now that the Crown Prince was gone.
Ries quickly snatched the fruit Sefiut had stashed in the corner.
“Omnyamnyam.”
―Hey, you little—! That was the sweetest one! I was saving that!
“Keheh.”
―Do you have any idea how long I went without even tasting good food, longer than you’ve been alive, you brat! And now you’re just snatching it away?! You’re gonna turn into a fat cat at this rate!
“…AEOORRK!!!”
…There may have been a minor incident, but Ries still managed to get his message across to the gluttonous flying fish.
Soon after, Sefiut floated weakly toward Justyn, his expression limp, a faint bite mark from a cat’s teeth visible on his face.
―Heir. This brat wants to know why that Crown Prince guy’s totally fine.
“Myauk!”
That’s not what I meant. Ries firmly demanded a correction.
Justyn seemed completely unaware that the commotion between Ries and Sefiut had already pulled him out of his own thoughts.
―Alright, alright, I get it! The brat wants to know why that Crown Prince doesn’t seem afraid of your curse—and why he thinks he was your “first.”
The memories came flooding back. Among them, a certain whispered phrase from Justyn, spoken with deep affection in every syllable.
“You were… my first.”
One day, Justyn had said that. That Ries was the first one to take his side, the first to never once look at him with disgust, the first to show him love.
But the Crown Prince had apparently known Justyn for a long time, and he didn’t seem put off by him at all.
So couldn’t he also be one of Justyn’s “firsts”? Even if Ries didn’t exactly like the idea, he held firm to the question.
Maybe, in some part of him, he hoped Justyn’s life had at least been a little richer during the time Ries hadn’t been around.
“Hm.”
Did he understand the intent? Justyn looked thoughtful for a moment.
“No. It’s… a little different.”
He gave a short answer, then fell silent again—not as though he didn’t want to explain, but as if he were choosing his words carefully.
Finally, he began to speak.
“He was born a monarch.”
An unexpected phrase. But Justyn continued.
“The Crown Prince I know is an incredibly arrogant man. He believes only he is fit to sit on the throne, that only through him will the Empire know another golden age. And he’s utterly convinced that no one in the Empire is more noble or valuable than himself.”
“…Myak?”
“And because of that, he likes to keep others in the palm of his hand—but he absolutely loathes being in someone else’s. Even if that ‘hand’ belongs to a god.”
Ries had to wonder if his master was insulting the Crown Prince or genuinely analyzing him. But as soon as the word ‘god’ came up, he realized it wasn’t an insult.
―Hmm. Makes sense now.
Sefiut, listening in from the side, nodded.
―I thought something was off. The Astot Imperial family might not be as sensitive as Beastkin, but they’re still humans especially favored by the gods. That blue hair passed down through their line is proof of that.
―It means they’re more closely tied to the divine than ordinary humans. So someone like that should’ve had a stronger reaction to your curse. But he didn’t.
―Maybe he rejected the emotion itself. You said he was arrogant, didn’t you? Makes sense. Even if it’s from a god, he wouldn’t appreciate someone else manipulating his feelings.
The fog that had been clouding Ries’s mind suddenly lifted. He finally realized what had been bothering him.
So it wasn’t just in my head.
There had been a moment—just a moment—when Justyn’s curse latched onto the Crown Prince.
He hadn’t imagined it.
For that fleeting instant, the Crown Prince had hated Justyn. He recognized the foreign emotion and cut it off coldly.
“……”
He didn’t think people like that even existed. Arrogance aside, the Crown Prince was a ruthless man.
It turned out Ries’s wild theory from before had been dead-on. But instead of feeling triumphant, another emotion rose up first.
…Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
He glanced up at Justyn, a bit downcast.
“You don’t have to be sad. I’m okay.”
A deflated chuckle escaped him. When Ries looked again, Justyn’s eyes had softened into gentle arcs.
Tap, tap—he patted his lap twice. A signal for Ries to come up. Normally he’d think about it for a second, but this time Ries jumped up without hesitation.
Firm muscle held him steady without a wobble. Before he could even fully settle in, sweet words came down like a drizzle of rain.
“I love that you’re curious about me. And… I once said this to you, remember?”
“……”
“‘I’m glad it’s you who gave me unforgettable firsts.’ …That hasn’t changed. And it won’t, ever. So even if you pity my life… please don’t hurt for me.”
It was comfort. A confession spoken without hiding a single thought.
And a quiet plea—Please… stay with me.
“No. But if I listen long enough, I can usually guess what she means.”
This sentence uses the wrong pronoun for Ries