How was he even supposed to start?
Why had he come all the way down to the duchy, knowing full well he wouldn’t be welcome?
It hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Justyn understood his position better than anyone. His life was already fading—doomed to wither away sooner rather than later. He had no desire to stir up conflict, no matter who it was with. That was why he’d spent his days practically imprisoned in the capital.
The only reason he held the hollow title of “Duke” was because he was a direct heir. Once he died, that title would pass to the only family he had left—his uncle.
So he’d put up with it. Let the spies his uncle planted roam the capital estate, watched the ducal house get bent to someone else’s will. He could live with that.
But the moment he brought Ries into the picture… everything changed.
I can’t protect him with the strength I have now.
The second the rumors started spreading among the servants—that Ries was a Spirit Beast—he knew they couldn’t keep living like this. Their peaceful days were numbered.
Especially since Ries…
…isn’t just any Spirit Beast.
He remembered that night—the one lit by a clear, brilliant full moon. If that truth ever came to light, Ries would be caught right in the center of a storm.
Back then, the best he could do was hunt down the spies sneaking around the estate, trying to delay the news from reaching his uncle’s ears. But the longer time dragged on, the harder it would be to keep everything under control. Because Justyn didn’t have the power a Duke was supposed to wield.
That single ray of light—Ries—had come running into his arms after all his years of crawling through the mud. Justyn couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. That desperate need to protect Ries forced him to imagine the worst-case scenario.
What if the rumors kept spreading, like sand slipping through his fingers, and more and more people started coveting Ries?
If he didn’t change, he wouldn’t be able to protect him. So Justyn made a decision—to take back everything that should’ve been his, everything that had been stolen from him.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to say all of that out loud. He didn’t want to burden Ries with the weight of his emotions.
And when he filtered out all the things he couldn’t say, only one thing remained.
“Thank you.”
The purring stopped. Ries stared up at him with wide, round eyes—clearly confused about where that had come from.
Justyn gave a faint smile. It was hidden behind his mask, but he had a feeling Ries would understand it anyway.
“You were… the first. The only one who’s ever stood by me against my own family.”
“Mya! Myaoong!”
“…If only I could understand what you’re saying.”
“……”
The nonsensical meowing quieted. He’d lost count of how many times he’d wanted to peek into that tiny head and figure out what was going on in there.
Even so, Justyn could feel it—Ries’s reply was a promise. A vow to always be on his side.
Ries had always been that way. He stayed through lonely nights, taught him what love felt like, and planted the first seeds of hope, giving him a taste of normal life.
“…I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad you’re the one who’s given me all these unforgettable firsts.”
He whispered the words like a secret. Ries flicked his ears at the ticklish sound, then slowly blinked, his eyes growing hazy like he was lost in some strange thought.
It was unbearably cute.
Justyn couldn’t stop himself. The affection surged up all at once, and he ended up petting Ries until the poor thing was a mess.
***
Meanwhile, Ries—completely unaware of the emotional storm inside his master—was dealing with his own crisis.
Ugh, my fur is a total disaster.
He groaned internally at the chaotic fluff sticking out in every direction. He made a firm mental note to sentence Justyn to “grooming duty” later, completely unaware his master would take that as a reward.
Still, Ries’s tail was swaying happily.
He said it kind of weird…
But no matter how awkward the phrasing, the words had been undeniably sweet.
His first, huh? That’s a lot of pressure.
He grumbled a little, but only on the surface. Even that was quickly drowned out by the warm satisfaction rising inside him.
Prrrr. Prrrr.
Justyn had admitted his firsts. As a responsible pet, it was only right for Ries to take care of him.
Especially now, with the duchy’s frosty atmosphere and the Count’s outright hostility. Ries had already been feeling a little bad for his master.
Maybe I should try to win them over a little.
Ries gave it some serious thought.
If he could get the people in the duchy to think, “Wow, the Duke actually has a human side!”—that alone might be enough. That tiny shift in perception could change everything.
But that could wait. Right now, something else was more important.
Before he’d even entered the estate, Ries had accidentally absorbed a fragment of the curse that had been clinging to the Count.
It was definitely bigger and darker than what I saw with Diana.
Maybe, just maybe, his master’s curse had weakened noticeably.
His heart thundered with hope as he opened his eyes wide.
His abilities as a member of the Myo tribe had definitely grown. Now he could observe curses without exerting much effort at all.
But even so, the curse itself was still a tangled mess—so dense it made his eyes sting just to look at it.
Still, it wasn’t time to get discouraged. Ries shook off Justyn’s hand, which had been absentmindedly petting his fur, and leapt up.
“…Ries? What’s wrong?”
“Myang. Myang-myang-myang!”
He hopped once, tapping at Justyn’s mask with a paw. Then again, another tap-tap-tap—so light it could barely be called a touch.
He just didn’t want to see Justyn go digging emotional holes again, all “Oh no, I’ve been hit!”
Fortunately, his message seemed to get across.
“You… want me to take the mask off?”
“Myak!”
“…Alright.”
There was barely a moment of hesitation. Justyn reached up and removed the mask.
Ries immediately locked eyes on him, staring hard at the black veins that once had sent a jolt of horror through him.
“……Ries?”
“Muuuung!”
His stare was so intense, Justyn froze up, his eyes darting around helplessly.
But for all that scrutiny… nothing had changed. No visible improvement. Ries’s tail drooped limply.
Oh—right.
The black veins didn’t stop at Justyn’s face. Ries immediately scrambled to his master’s gloved hand.
“W-Wait, Ries. You’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“Myaooong!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll do it. Just wait. You want me to take off the glove, right?”
“Aeng!”
Without the slightest delay, Justyn pulled the glove off.
Ries immediately grabbed his bare hand with both front paws, eyes narrowing as he focused so hard it made his eyes ache.
“Myaaak! Myak! Nyaaang!!”
He shot straight up like a spring and bounced around the room in a blur, adrenaline bursting through his small frame.
Justyn stumbled back a step in surprise, nearly taking a headbutt to the chin as Ries bolted around the room like a possessed furball.
The sheer rush of emotion was too much to hold in.
Just before Justyn could furrow his brow in concern, Ries jumped up and rammed his head right into his master’s chest.
“Oof—!”
“Aeng?”
It must’ve hit harder than intended—Justyn let out a small grunt and staggered back.
…Okay, the headbutt is way more intense than I thought.
He’d have to revise the Count’s earlier assessment. There was clearly a reason he’d passed out after a single hit.
“Uwaaeeeng…”
Filled with guilt, Ries gently rubbed Justyn’s stomach with a paw. Hopefully, the old saying about cat paws being healing hands wasn’t just a myth.
Thankfully, Justyn recovered quickly—just like the lethal powerhouse who once dispatched a group of assassins without breaking a sweat.
No, wait! That’s not what matters right now!
He had good news to share!
Still in Justyn’s arms, Ries started flailing all four legs, paddling the air like he was trying to swim.
“Ries… what’s gotten into you since earlier—”
“Aeeaeng!”
One of Ries’s paws smacked directly against Justyn’s bare hand—and then latched on tight. Very tight.
“Aeng. Aeooong. Myak-myakk!”
Here! Look here! Your fingers—look at your fingertips!
He poured all his energy into the message. And finally, finally, Justyn caught on.
“Nyaaang.”
More specifically—he noticed the change.
The black veins that had once covered his fingers from base to tip had receded. A full knuckle’s length of skin was now clear.
Justyn stared at his hand in silence, then quickly peeled off the glove from his other hand. Same result—the veins there had faded too.
He reached up and gently brushed his fingers across the smooth, unblemished skin.
Every tiny movement made him look overwhelmed.
Ries tilted his head. What was Justyn thinking about right now?
Was he happy that the curse had finally started to fade?
Or was he remembering the pain it had caused him all this time?
