But being praised for a good apology—to a cat, no less. Ketir hadn’t felt this level of self-loathing in ages.
He finished tidying up the dishes and quietly stepped away, deep in thought. The Duke was even more obsessed with his cat than he’d feared…
And yet—
Something’s definitely off.
The faint suspicion he’d been carrying finally ignited into certainty.
He retraced every moment he’d spent with Ries. The way he always found his way around so easily, how he understood spoken language—at first, Ketir had just assumed he was unusually intelligent for an animal.
But now?
…I really don’t know anymore.
He was too intelligent. As if something—or someone—was hiding inside. That strange, unshakable sense of wrongness clawed at Ketir’s nerves.
***
Step by step, Ries crept along the hallway, barely breathing. He moved slower than a tortoise, doing everything he could to stay silent. If he wanted to avoid being caught by the man ahead, this much was necessary.
A few meters in front of him, dull ash-gray hair bobbed with every step. That was his target. His destination was just ahead.
The library of the Duke’s mansion.
If it’s the Duke’s library, there’s bound to be useful information.
He wasn’t after some rare ancient tome like the ones Sefiut had mentioned. What Ries needed was intel—more information to help him understand Justyn’s curse.
That’s why he chose the library. Conveniently, Ketir was heading there to return some of the books Justyn had borrowed—A History of Sewing, An Embroidery Primer for Beginners, The 30 Most Alluring Designs in the Astot Empire, and so on—so Ries simply followed him.
There was only one problem.
He keeps staring at me.
Ketir’s gaze had grown sharper by the day. As a cat, Ries was especially sensitive to being watched, and he’d quickly noticed how often Ketir had started looking at him.
Why is he doing that?
He asked himself, dragging the question along like a heavy weight. The answer was obvious. He’d been acting way too un-catlike. No wonder it raised suspicion—he did understand human speech a little too well.
Maybe I should look up spirit beasts while I’m there.
If things went south, he could always pretend to be a clever spirit beast, just like Sefiut had suggested.
Whether it was on a curse or a spirit beast, he needed more information either way. To get it, he had to sneak into the library unnoticed.
Going in with Ketir would only make things worse. Too suspicious. Best to go alone.
Trailing him had been easy. Ketir had entered a room at the end of the hallway, and Ries had noted its location before darting away.
The next day, Ries stood alone in front of the library. Getting the door open was going to be the easiest part.
He slipped through the slightly open crack, and a thick wave of aged paper scent washed over him.
He looked up. Bookshelves lined every wall and filled the entire room like a labyrinth. The sheer number of volumes had to be in the tens of thousands. It was overwhelming.
I’m supposed to find something in this mess?
His future suddenly felt very bleak…
Before starting, he scanned the room one more time. He knew he was alone in here, but still—just in case.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He pictured his vision rising, his four legs stretching into two, his fur vanishing, skin smoothing out.
Just like that night, when moonlight had gently wrapped around his body.
Hoo…
When he opened his eyes, his line of sight had shifted, just as he’d hoped. He looked down and saw five perfectly human fingers. And not a single thread of clothing.
If only I could do something about the clothes…
He shut his eyes again with a grimace, but for a whole different reason.
Ries rushed to the window and yanked down the curtain. At this point, he was starting to feel oddly sentimental about its texture. Maybe next time, he should steal some clothes and stash them somewhere. He really didn’t want to keep going through this humiliating ordeal every time he transformed.
For now, he wrapped the curtain tightly around his body. He had no idea when someone might barge in, so he had to work fast.
Not this one, not that either…
He darted from shelf to shelf, scanning titles. If something looked promising, he’d grab it on the spot.
Thankfully, he found what he was looking for sooner than expected.
Why Have the Gods Forsaken Us – A History of the Fall of the Astot Empire
Gods, forsaken, the Empire’s fall—enough keywords to be worth the read.
He quickly dropped the book to the floor and shifted back into cat form. Reading as a human might be easier, but if someone walked in and saw him like that? Game over.
He used the fallen curtain as a cushion and opened the book. It smelled old—like it had soaked up centuries of dust and time.
[After the first emperor, blessed by Thalassa, founded the Astot Empire, the nation entered a long era of prosperity under her gaze. The sea was endlessly merciful…
…Then the sea turned. A wave high enough to swallow five grown men crashed over the city. Dozens of homes vanished without a trace, and more than a hundred people disappeared without a sound.
The Saintess begged her for mercy, but the goddess never answered.
Thalassa withdrew her blessing from the Saintess. “You have broken our covenant,” the Saintess conveyed in her mother’s voice, before returning to her embrace.
…And so Thalassa cast judgment. The sea would devour the Empire.]
Ries clumsily turned the pages with his front paws, reading line by line. Most of the text detailed the events of the catastrophe.
Is this the disaster Sefiut said he lived through?
From the content, the catastrophe seemed to have originated from the sea.
Thalassa is the Empire’s one and only deity… and she tried to destroy it?
He scrunched up his nose, suspicious. Would he have to read the whole book to get the full picture?
Just as he turned back to the passage about the broken covenant—
Splat.
A wet sound hit the floor. Then came the sharp, startled inhale of someone caught off guard. Ries’s head snapped up.
And locked eyes with a servant.
“……”
“……”
How long has he been standing there?
A silence heavy as death settled between them. Ries’s eyes darted around quickly.
The man stood frozen, facial features stretched wide in sheer disbelief. Below him lay a soaked rag. Still reeling, Ries scrambled to piece the situation together.
When the hell did he get in?
He was sure he’d closed the door behind him. The man must’ve come in to clean, but if he’d opened the door while Ries was there, surely he would’ve heard it.
But he hadn’t heard a thing. Not a creak. Not a footstep. Nothing.
Why?
No—screw that question. That could wait. Right now…
“……”
The open book in front of him suddenly felt like a brick on his chest.
Would the servant believe a cat had just been playing with a book out of curiosity?
He tried spinning up a hopeful theory, but it fell apart instantly. He hadn’t played with it. He’d methodically flipped through each page—like a scholar. From the look on the man’s face, he hadn’t missed that part.
Which raised the real question:
…How much did he see?
Did he see him in human form? Wandering around searching for books? Or had he walked in just as Ries had started reading?
Every strand of fur on his body stood on end. His tail had instinctively wrapped around him. With stiff paws, he uncurled it and began to inch backward, slowly.
Get out of here. Just run.
His brain was too fried with panic to come up with anything smarter. He moved step by step, never breaking eye contact with the servant, retreating—
The man took a step forward.
“HISSSS!!!”
“EEP!”
Ries bared his teeth and hissed violently, ears pinned back and tail puffed up like a bottlebrush, trembling in the air. His raw hostility made the man stumble back with a ridiculous squeak.
Now!
Ries sprang forward.
Before the servant could even react, he’d already reached the door.
But he couldn’t bolt straight through.
It’s shut?!
The door was closed.
He leapt up, grabbed the handle with his paw, and hung on it with his full weight. It gave way with a creak, and the door opened just enough.
Slipping through the gap was easy. Untangling the chaos in his head was a different story.
Tap tap tap—
His paws echoed down the long hallway as he fled.
If the door was closed…
Maybe the guy had just come in to clean and closed it behind him. That was the reasonable take.
But Ries’s mind kept spinning toward the worst-case scenario.
What if the door had never opened in the first place? What if that servant had been in the library with him the entire time?
A terrifying thought. But not impossible.
He hadn’t heard a single sound—no door, no footsteps. Nothing.
I should’ve checked the whole damn library first.
