“Ha… Ridel. What are you doing on the floor? Get up. Now.”
“C-Chief Steward!”
Ketir emerged from the end of the hallway, and he looked like hell. His face was gaunt, his hair a tangled mess, and he was gasping like he’d run a marathon. Clearly, he’d spent the whole day tearing through the mansion in search. And it wasn’t hard to guess whose fault that was. Ries quietly clamped his mouth shut and avoided Ketir’s eyes.
“This floor is restricted. You’re not authorized to be here, and I will be reporting this to the Head Maid. Go back immediately—and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Y-Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The maid, now on her feet thanks to Ketir’s permission and Justyn’s silence, bowed over and over, nearly folding herself in half. Honestly, her behavior couldn’t have been more bizarre.
Still, now that the intruder had been dealt with, the air in the room finally seemed to clear… or so he thought. Apparently, the issue wasn’t entirely over.
Ketir didn’t even bother fixing his hair before bowing his head.
“My apologies. I’ll make sure she receives proper discipline so something like this doesn’t happen again. And…”
He paused and swallowed hard. There’s more?
“…I lost track of Ries while I was distracted.”
Ries stiffened.
He’s apologizing for that, too?
He shot a quick glance at Justyn. Hopefully this wouldn’t turn into a scolding—he had run off on his own, and if anyone was at fault here, it was him.
“So long as he’s come back safely, that’s what matters.”
Thankfully, Justyn didn’t seem interested in assigning blame. Whew. Ries let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his head against Justyn’s foot.
A gloved hand reached down. The fingers brushed between his ears with such delicate care it hardly even counted as petting. He handled him like porcelain—no, even more gently than that.
Justyn leaned in. That familiar bitter herbal scent, the one that always clung to his clothes, drifted between the folds of his black coat.
The corridor had gone silent. At some point, Ketir had slipped away without a word.
“…Are you…”
The low murmur pushed out a single word. Justyn hesitated, then finished the question.
“…not afraid of me?”
Again with this? He asked this every other day, without fail. The answer had never changed, and yet he still looked so uncertain.
His eyes were far too sorrowful to get annoyed at. So Ries, being merciful for once, answered sincerely.
“Meow.”
…Okay, maybe not entirely sincere. But to make up for the halfhearted reply, he gave Justyn’s glove a soft lick. Don’t be sad.
“Thank you.”
Justyn’s hand ran gently down his fur, from head to back. Compared to the time when he couldn’t even bring himself to reach out, this was incredible progress.
Ries closed his eyes, savoring the warmth of that touch. The dimly lit mansion, the deserted hallway, the terrified expression on that maid’s face—all of it flashed through his mind.
And the one responsible for her fear was standing right in front of him.
Justyn was the highest-ranking noble in this estate. He was the Duke. And yet the maid had looked at him like he was some kind of monster.
A thought surfaced in Ries’s mind.
Why?
No—he already knew the answer.
The curse.
The reason people called Justyn the “Cursed Duke.” Chesif often claimed it was proof that Justyn had been forsaken by the gods.
Ries could still recall the disgust that twisted Chesif’s face every time he said it. It was a reaction rooted in instinct, pure revulsion.
Disgust, fear—whatever the flavor, in the end both served the same purpose: isolating Justyn from everyone else.
Maybe that’s why he was so awkward with physical contact. Maybe he’d just gone so long without warmth from another person that he’d forgotten what it even felt like.
Well, if that’s the case…
Then I’ll just have to get him used to it.
Okay. From now on, I’m sticking to him like glue. Ries made the decision with grim determination. He might be in the body of a furry animal right now, but when it came to sharing body heat, he was confident in his abilities.
And he didn’t waste any time. As Justyn’s hand started to pull away, Ries wrapped his front paws around it and held tight. The startled hand twitched, then started to fidget awkwardly inside his grasp.
Their eyes met. Just beyond their locked gazes, he caught a glimpse of Justyn’s crimson eyes—brighter than the rarest ruby—curve ever so slightly.
It was subtle. But it was a smile.
Knew it. I knew you’d like it.
Ries purred in pride.
***
Ketir shot him a look loaded with unspoken frustration. One glance at the towering stack of documents on the desk was enough to understand why.
Justyn, who’d been quietly sighing and looking anywhere but at him, finally surrendered.
“I’ll finish it by tomorrow morning.”
“Please. I’m begging you.”
Considering how close Ketir had come to a full-blown lecture—and how sharp that stare was—Justyn figured he’d actually try to follow through this time.
But no sooner had he made the decision than his gaze slid downward, as if drawn by some irresistible force. A soft, snowy-white belly had completely taken over his field of vision, and even seemed to fill his mind.
Lately, Ries had developed a habit of crawling into his lap the moment he sat down at his desk. And once he was there, he’d roll over and expose his belly like it was the most natural thing in the world.
For someone who already struggled to focus when Ries was nearby, this was the final blow.
His eyes drifted instinctively to that belly.
He’s definitely gotten chubbier.
Thanks to regular meals of high-quality food, Ries had filled out nicely since first arriving at the mansion. His belly, especially, had become noticeably rounder.
The sight of it—so soft-looking, so squishy—sparked a strange urge in Justyn to reach out and poke it. The thought was so alien to him that it left him weirdly unsettled.
He forced his eyes away. This time, they landed on Ries’s sleeping face.
A triangle…
His mouth was shut tight, yet there was this small, perfect triangle where his lips met. Justyn saw it every day, and yet he could never look away.
And sometimes, that little mouth would slowly part.
Between those lips were the tiniest, rice-sized white teeth and a tongue so pink and delicate it didn’t seem real.
Is he dreaming?
His ears twitched, his lips moved, and every so often, he’d sniff at the air. In those moments, Justyn would get this absurd idea—what if he gently slipped a finger into that tiny open mouth…
No. Stop. Justyn clamped his eyes shut.
He turned away again.
“……”
But this time, it was Ries’s pose that caught him.
His back legs were stretched out like a person’s. Justyn had never realized cats could sleep like that until he met Ries.
Only, his legs were just a little too long. One back paw was barely resting on Justyn’s thigh, the other dangling in the air. He didn’t move a muscle, and there was something oddly mesmerizing about that stillness in such a tiny body.
Justyn suddenly remembered a book Ketir had given him recently—some guide on feline behaviors. Surprisingly useful, actually.
It had mentioned those soft, pink paw pads. Toe beans, apparently.
…Should I touch one?
Before he realized it, his hand had already started to reach out—but he froze. Why did all his thoughts seem to lead to disturbing Ries’s sleep? He tightened his grip on his pen to snap himself out of it.
If Ketir saw this, he’d probably collapse from despair. He’d begged Justyn to stay focused, after all.
Ries cracked one eye open. He could feel the stare—so hot it was almost prickly.
What’s going on?
He looked straight ahead. There was the source of the heat—Justyn, head tilted slightly to the side, looking thoroughly lost in thought.
It didn’t take long to figure out where he was staring.
Ries gave his back paw a little wiggle. Justyn’s head moved with it, like he was hypnotized. Ah, this is the thrill of teasing a human.
Emboldened, Ries swung his leg a bit more—until their eyes met.
Busted.
With no excuse, he slowly pulled his leg back.
“……”
“……”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Embarrassment thickened the air.
First things first: Ries rolled over, hiding his exposed belly. Then he used Justyn’s thigh as a launchpad and hopped lightly onto the desk.
There were way more papers than usual today. He found an empty spot and settled in.
This was the perfect time for a grooming session. He pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere and started licking his front paw.
But Justyn was the first to reach out.
“…Sorry for waking you.”
What a kind owner, Ries thought, generously accepting the apology.
Sorry for teasing you too.
“Meow.”
