He shot a glance at Justyn. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to sit down instead? His clothes were already black—any dirt would show up even more clearly.
“Don’t worry. Clothes can be washed.”
I can be washed too, you know…
Before Ries could even argue, Justyn plopped right down onto the dirt floor. He could already picture Ketir’s horrified reaction without even seeing it.
Screw it.
In the end, he gave in—just like Justyn wanted—and sat down on the man’s coat. The familiar scent wrapped around him immediately.
They spent a long while beneath the ancient tree. Midway through, Ries ended up crawling into Justyn’s lap—he felt a little bad, but the man didn’t seem to mind.
The coat’s fabric was soft and smooth, clearly expensive. Moss underneath made it surprisingly cushiony, but even that couldn’t compare to Justyn’s lap. It was like a homing instinct—just being there brought him peace.
And judging by the way Justyn looked even more pleased, the feeling was mutual. He really had turned into a full-time butler.
Ries got to hear more stories about his master’s past. Justyn seemed to be picking the more tolerable ones, but most of them were still heartbreakingly bleak.
No one had hit him—not physically. But rumors spread that anyone who touched him might catch his curse. So instead of abuse, he’d been completely ignored.
That’s still abuse.
His uncle—the Count—had been involved too, apparently. Ries made a silent vow to scratch the man’s face off the next time they met.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, Justyn looked up at the sky.
“Rain’s coming.”
Rain? Ries sniffed the air.
It did smell damp. But with the moss underfoot and the huge tree looming behind them, it was hard to tell if that meant anything.
Besides, the sky was practically painted in blue—bright and cloudless, like someone had filled it in with a crayon. No way it was going to rain.
……
And yet…
It started to pour. Hard.
Ries stared at the sky in shock. Where had those storm clouds even come from? One second it was clear, the next it looked like a full-on storm had rolled in.
No wonder everyone kept saying the Duchy’s weather was unpredictable. This wasn’t just unpredictable—it was completely unhinged.
If you exaggerated a little, it felt like the sky flipped in the blink of an eye.
“It’ll stop soon.”
“Mrrr?”
“Yeah. Weather’s always like this here.”
Rain was gushing down like someone had punched a hole in the sky, but Justyn—still letting Ries rest on his lap—remained perfectly calm. Maybe locals really were built different.
With the refreshing sound of rain as background noise, Ries rolled around on his lap. His position got a little unstable, so Justyn gently adjusted him.
As he absentmindedly ran his fingers through Ries’s fur, Justyn murmured,
“Still the same.”
What is?
Ries blinked up at him, then followed his gaze. A canopy of dense leaves stretched out above them.
The ancient tree was somehow blocking every drop of rain. The ground within its roots stayed completely dry and fluffy. Not a single raindrop made it through.
It really was the perfect shelter.
Ries rolled his eyes thoughtfully.
When Justyn was little, he must’ve hidden under this very tree to escape the rain. He’d have been smaller back then. Weaker. Alone.
Ries could almost see it—a frail little boy curled up beneath these branches.
“Myaaang.”
But he wasn’t alone anymore. And Ries hoped that the next time Justyn remembered this tree, the memory wouldn’t be a lonely one.
“…Yeah. I’ll have to revise that. It’s different now—because you’re with me.”
Justyn had understood him perfectly. What a good master.
And a good master deserved a reward. When Justyn subtly reached for his paw, Ries let him have it without a fight. The feeling of a gloved hand gently kneading his toe beans was weird… but bearable.
A little more time passed. The rain seemed to be easing up—just a bit.
“Ketch.”
Then came a sneeze. Ries snapped back to awareness. The air was colder than he’d realized.
“Ah—”
Justyn seemed to notice too. He reached quickly for his coat.
Was he going to cover him? It had felt warm enough when they were sitting on it, so he wouldn’t mind. Ries relaxed his body and waited for the warmth.
“?”
“Sorry. I should’ve noticed sooner.”
And just like that, he was wrapped up tight in the coat. Head to toe, sealed in like a burrito. Not a single tuft of fur left exposed.
“Myaa? Myah? MYAAK?!”
And then—
Justyn, still holding him in the coat, bolted straight into the rain.
What the hell—
Ries’s tiny pink mouth dropped wide open in utter disbelief.
***
“This damn weather’s throwing a tantrum again.”
“Jeez, listen to that rain. Sounds like someone’s dumping buckets from the sky. It’s gonna pour like this all day.”
“Tch. Amateur. I’m telling you, it’ll stop within thirty minutes.”
“What? No way. Thirty minutes is pushing it.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Loser buys drinks.”
“Finally, a real reason to drink!”
“Says the guy who—wait, huh?”
One servant, who’d just managed to rescue a bundle of dry bedding from the storm’s clutches, paused and looked up. Something was moving through the sheets of rain—something tall and black, a head taller than himself, slowly approaching.
“H-Hey, what is that? It’s coming this way, isn’t it?”
“Damn it, you made me drop it! What the hell’s going—holy shit!”
It wasn’t just nerves. The other servant, annoyed by the panic, went dead silent as the thing approached fast—unnaturally fast. And then, it came into view.
“AAAHH! A ghost!”
“G-Gahh—huh?”
Just as one servant was about to toss the precious bedding and bolt, he caught a glimpse of a familiar mask and crimson eyes.
Without warning, the figure swept past and disappeared into the downpour. The two men turned to each other in perfect sync, staring.
“Did… something just pass us?”
“You idiot. That was the Duke.”
“……”
“……”
They both clammed up like they’d been hit by a storm.
“H-Huff…! Your Grace!”
“Bring a dry towel.”
Justyn, soaked from head to toe, had walked straight through the rain—and he wasn’t alone. Cradled perfectly dry in his arms was a cat, warm and pristine.
The maids trailed behind him, wiping up the droplets left in his wake and whispering in hushed voices.
“Did you see that? He was holding a cat!”
“So that whole rumor about him drinking animal blood at night was total crap?”
“Shh! Are you insane?! What if His Grace hears you?!”
“Right? Didn’t you hear what happened with Tia? She mouthed off about some weird rumor and Sir Ketir caught her—chewed her out so bad she cried. If the Duke hears it himself, she’s as good as dead.”
People whispered behind closed doors, the way they always did. But even as they trembled at the idea of getting caught, they all agreed on one thing: the new Duke clearly adored his cat.
***
Someone’s talking about me.
His ears were itching.
Ries gave one a flick with his hind leg, then turned to glance at Justyn. The man was toweling himself off with the long cloth a servant had handed him, and Ries had a pretty good idea of who was making his ears tingle.
Probably one of the servants they’d passed. Maybe all of them were gossiping.
Anyway…
Ries’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Wrapped snug in Justyn’s coat like a prized treasure, he hadn’t gotten even a single drop of rain on him. The only thing remotely damp was one paw—and that wasn’t from the storm. Justyn had noticed dirt on his pads and gently wiped them clean with a damp cloth himself.
He glanced out the window. The sky that had looked like it was falling apart just minutes ago was now clear. Not a drop of rain in sight.
Seriously, why did he even run into the rain if it was going to stop this fast?
Justyn had said it wouldn’t last. “It’ll stop soon,” he’d told him—and then dashed out into the downpour anyway, ending up completely soaked. It was absurd.
Reckless, irrational, and completely unnecessary—but Ries couldn’t bring himself to scold him. Justyn had done it because he thought Ries was cold.
“There. Feeling better now?”
Yet the fool of a master didn’t seem to care one bit that he was dripping wet. He’d barely dried off and was already focused on stoking the fire in the hearth.
The air in the room was already toasty. With a soft huff, Ries trotted over and nudged Justyn’s leg.
“Ries?”
“Aaowooong. Myaa.”
