Ries sat snugly in Justyn’s arms, staring intently at the people before him. Five guests had been invited to the banquet: four unfamiliar faces, and one shameless one he would’ve preferred never to see again.
But if one stood out the most, it wasn’t Diana—it was the old man seated beside her.
That must be the High Priest.
It was obvious. His deeply lined face carried the weight of years and authority that couldn’t be ignored.
Ries’s gaze narrowed to slits. That man was the very reason his dream of a new wardrobe had been crushed…!
The sudden announcement of the High Priest’s visit had thrown the ducal estate into chaos. Every upcoming appointment had been postponed without question—even the deal with the magician had been pushed back.
So Ries had begged Justyn to take him along to the banquet. If the reason for this visit turned out to be trivial…
I’ll sink my teeth into him.
He was determined to punish the man thoroughly. Cats had no concept of respecting elders.
Justyn took his seat, instantly drawing the attention of all five priests. The table before them was piled high with dishes so delicious-looking they made one’s mouth water.
“I’ll make sure you get your share later,” he murmured kindly, lowering his head.
Settling comfortably on his lap, Ries bobbed his round little head.
“Meow.”
Then he tapped Justyn’s thigh with his paw. The signal meant focus on the priests now—but perhaps because the casual touch pleased him, Justyn’s eyes softened into a smile beneath the mask.
“Ah!”
Someone gasped sharply. Clearly, they were stunned to see the Duke smile. Exactly as Ries had expected.
The banquet began under a suffocating tension. The only sounds were the clinking of cutlery against plates.
As host, Justyn lifted his utensils once, purely out of courtesy. After that, he didn’t touch a thing.
That seemed to gnaw at someone.
“Um… Your Grace, won’t you be eating?”
“I’d rather not remove my mask in front of those who fear my curse. Please, don’t concern yourself with me.”
The words were calm, but their weight wasn’t lost on anyone. One priest—who had been gossiping earlier about what the Duke’s face looked like beneath the mask—hiccupped in panic.
But Justyn bore no grudge against that man. His words were aimed not at him, but at the brazen woman seated across the table.
Diana’s brows furrowed for the briefest moment before she smoothed her expression into a smile.
Perhaps because this wasn’t a private meeting, there was none of the fear she had shown before.
She dabbed her lips neatly with her napkin before speaking.
“Your Grace, please don’t say that. I’m certain neither the High Priest nor any of the others here think such a thing. I certainly don’t.”
“……”
Justyn’s eyebrows shot up beneath the mask, though no one could see it. Ries wrinkled his face on his behalf. That syrupy voice grated on him.
“As I’m sure you recall… our last meeting didn’t end very well, did it? Since then, I’ve worried constantly about your well-being. I know I acted rashly back then, and I’d like to apologize, even if belatedly.”
“?”
Ries perked his ears.
…What’s this about?
An apology was normal enough. But her meek tone still felt suspicious.
“Still, you seem so much better now. I suppose all my long hours of treatment were worth it.”
…Ries immediately retracted his earlier judgment. She was as shameless as ever.
Diana looked utterly convinced that Justyn’s recovery was thanks entirely to her, and she flaunted it as though it were a medal of honor.
Her eyes swept quickly over the priests beside her, as if checking their reactions.
The pale, stricken faces from earlier were long gone. Now they were sneaking glances at Diana, unable to hide their shock.
Ah.
That told Ries enough. Perhaps Diana had been aiming for this exact response. She could play simple at times, but when it came to manipulation, she was unnervingly precise.
“I won’t ask why you stopped the treatment without so much as a word. But Your Grace, even if you feel fine for now, if you continue refusing treatment, the curse will worsen again.”
Her voice, soft and coaxing, brimmed with concern. Then she clasped her hands together, her tone turning to a heartfelt plea.
“Please, reconsider continuing the treatment. And…”
A short pause followed. Lowering her eyes like a tragic heroine, she added with effort,
“…I’ve heard House Laufe never forgets a favor. So I ask just one thing—please grant me this request.”
“……”
“I took the first step and apologized to you, Your Grace, because I truly want to mend our relationship. So please… would you also apologize to me, formally, for the disrespect you showed me before?”
Gasps rang out again around the table.
For her to openly demand an apology from the Duke at his own banquet was unthinkable. Yet if everything she claimed was true, it changed things.
She had supposedly healed his curse, and now asked nothing more than an apology in return. By another measure, it was shockingly modest.
…If her words were true.
What utter nonsense.
Ries’s tail thumped Justyn’s leg irritably. From his perspective, knowing the whole truth, the claim was outrageous.
And an apology? Without even acknowledging what she had done wrong? Did she really think a single “sorry” erased everything?
She feigned pity, feigned virtue—but the shamelessness underneath was still the same.
At this rate, Diana’s lies would harden into fact.
This won’t do.
She needed a smack. He’d tried to restrain himself, but wasn’t she practically begging for it?
And he had the perfect excuse.
The black haze clinging to her—it resonated with Justyn’s curse, proof enough of her lingering malice toward him.
He’d strike her once under the pretense of dispelling it. Ries was just about to leap down when a warm hand stroked his back.Â
…A little firmer than usual, almost as if telling him to stop.
He froze. And in that pause, Justyn—silent until now—finally spoke.
“There’s one point I need to make clear.”
All eyes turned to him. Most wondered if he’d give in to Diana’s demand. But Justyn remained unmoved.
“The reason I spurned you was because you tried to take my cat without permission. Even if you had bestowed a great favor upon me or my house, that has nothing to do with this.”
“That’s—!”
“Then and now, Ries is my family. I won’t hand him over to anyone.”
His voice was steady, his eyes unwavering. There was no sign he felt anything for Diana at all.
“So I’m sorry, but I cannot give you the apology you want. I don’t believe I acted rudely in the first place, and even if I could go back, I’d make the same choice again.”
For someone supposedly speaking to the only person who could cure his curse, his words were blunt to the point of cruelty, drawing a clear and absolute boundary.
Perhaps that was why the priests, so taken in by Diana’s tale, now shifted uneasily, glancing between them.
It was a moment that demanded caution. Instead, Diana blundered.
“He was my cat first!”
“That doesn’t give you the right to steal his home. And besides…”
A spark flashed in Justyn’s eyes.
“…Ries doesn’t seem to like you. Did you really care for him the way you claim?”
Ries shuffled his paws, the timid movement soon turning into affectionate kneading.
So he remembers what I told him.
Back when Ries had shared the story of his time at Marquess Marilon’s household, he’d done it to learn about Justyn’s past. The fact that Justyn remembered and used it now—it made his chest warm.
But that was only Ries’s sentiment.
For everyone else, the grave discussion of curses and favors had suddenly derailed into talk about a cat. The priests, who had been listening intently, were left stunned.
A cat? Just like that?
This is…
Did she just yell at the Duke?
Their thoughts showed plainly on their faces. The already tense atmosphere chilled further. By then, even Diana seemed to realize the ripple her careless words had caused. But she would never get the chance to recover. The High Priest, silent until now, finally spoke.
“Diana. That’s enough.”
“Y-Your Excellency…”
“The Duke allowed us to rest after our long journey, and despite our sudden arrival, he welcomed us with a grand banquet. How long will you continue to ignore his courtesy?”
His words, siding firmly with the Duke, made Diana grit her teeth. Countless protests swelled on her tongue.
But I healed him. I’m the only one who can. I swallowed my pride despite the insult and reached out first…!
Resentment, fury, and disbelief blazed in her chest.
Why?
She couldn’t understand. She didn’t want to understand. That refusal to see toppled all her careful plans.
And yet the one who crushed them completely wasn’t Justyn Laufe.
“…And, Diana. It seems your judgment was gravely mistaken. You were not the one who healed Duke Laufe’s curse.”
High Priest Greus.
With that one simple statement, he shattered her reality, her dreams of the future, her flawless illusions—completely and without mercy.
