Chapter 25
I had been unconsciously treating him like a real cat because he was so cat-like…
‘Come to think of it, the Grand Duke wasn’t just a simple cat.’
Of course, his core was indeed that of a simple cat. That was an undeniable fact.
But the shell of that cat was clearly human, and not just any human, but the Northern Grand Duke, no less.
That meant that cat had human vocal structures.
Therefore, that cat…
“Why are you acting like that?”
…could speak human language perfectly like that.
Ruan stared in amazement at the human-form cat who was looking at him blankly after speaking in a deep, perfectly aristocratic pronunciation.
‘I had been naturally thinking it couldn’t be helped because he was a cat… But come to think of it, I’ve been conversing with that cat in human language all along.’
Although the Grand Duke was truly a cat in essence, and thus behaved in ways that made it more appropriate for humans to not place objects in high places rather than telling him not to knock things down…
At least, as long as he looked human, he could communicate with humans in human language. Unlike ordinary cats.
So if people who couldn’t understand cat-like expressions misunderstood him…
‘The Grand Duke could have cleared up misunderstandings by speaking human language instead of cat language!’
It was such a clean, effective, and simple problem-solving method that he hadn’t thought of because it was natural not to ask a cat, “Would you speak human language since people can’t understand cat language?”
‘No… Even though the Grand Duke is openly a cat, how did I only realize this now?’
Ruan felt as empty as when he realized he had been tricked into feeding the cat twice by a cat pretending to be foolish.
‘I can’t believe I was this stupid…’
Although he became a bit troubled by doubts about his intellectual abilities… At least a way to easily solve the problem he had been worrying about had emerged.
Ruan looked at the Grand Duke with eyes full of anticipation and opened his mouth.
Completely forgetting that even a cat that speaks human language is still a cat in the end.
* * *
The Grand Duke had never deeply thought about how humans perceived him throughout his life.
In the world of the cat Grand Duke, everything was classified into two categories: things that posed a threat and things that didn’t, and human thoughts generally fell into the latter category.
Humans were creatures with unnecessarily complex behavioral principles who occasionally did strange things, but in the end, they weren’t much different from cats. Of course, they were a bit large for cats… But anyway, the biggest and strongest cat in this area was the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke didn’t feel the need to think about how cats smaller and weaker than him perceived him.
He had felt somewhat of a crisis when the aide kept running away recently… But after changing aides several times, he finally met the current aide, so wasn’t it a good thing in the end?
That’s why the Grand Duke couldn’t understand the aide’s words.
“Your Grace. Most humans cannot understand a cat’s behavioral language. As a result, it seems people often misinterpret Your Grace’s intentions. Although it might be troublesome… wouldn’t it be better to convey Your Grace’s intentions in human language, if only to prevent misunderstandings?”
The Grand Duke pondered over what the aide had said.
Humans misunderstanding him, he says.
‘What’s the problem with that?’
Humans misunderstanding the Grand Duke wasn’t something that posed a threat to the Grand Duke. It meant it wasn’t something the Grand Duke needed to pay attention to.
And to begin with, the Grand Duke was expressing all of his intentions without hiding anything. If the Grand Duke hid anything, it would only be his scent and presence when hunting.
So why should he go out of his way to reveal himself by speaking?
Why should he do that?
The Grand Duke, who didn’t feel the need to change his behavioral patterns for something that wasn’t a problem, answered firmly.
“I don’t want to.”
At this curt answer, the aide’s shoulders drooped.
The Grand Duke stared at the aide.
In fact… The reason the Grand Duke didn’t feel the need to express his intentions even by speaking human language was also because of that aide.
“But to clear up the widespread misunderstandings about Your Grace…”
The aide, who was about to express his opinion once more, saw the Grand Duke’s ears folded back and trailed off.
Seeing the aide who understood the Grand Duke’s intentions without him having to speak, the Grand Duke narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
The one who needed to read the Grand Duke’s intentions most accurately was ultimately Ruan Daen, the aide and member of his group. And since the person in question was already reading the Grand Duke’s emotions so uncannily well, it was natural that the Grand Duke didn’t feel the need to do anything more.
Even without having to speak, just swishing his tail a few times…
“Yes… I understand…”
The aide would understand the Grand Duke’s intentions like that.
The Grand Duke was extremely satisfied with the current situation, and if so, there was no need to change anything.
And the Grand Duke knew that despite saying such things, the one who would actually be disappointed if the Grand Duke changed his attitude would be that aide.
‘That guy likes it when I act like a cat.’
He had noticed it since the aide said he wished the Grand Duke was a cat… The aide genuinely liked the Grand Duke’s cat-like behavior. The more the Grand Duke acted like a cat, the more lively and soft the aide’s attitude became, and of course, he would become as noisy as a kitten. If he had a tail, he would probably be trembling it in joy. Even the Grand Duke, who wasn’t good at reading human emotions, couldn’t help but notice that the aide liked the Grand Duke’s cat-like behavior.
So how could he stop acting like a cat?
There were certainly reasons why the Grand Duke openly acted like a cat in front of the aide, such as it being more comfortable for the Grand Duke who was originally a cat, or the aide being a trusted companion with whom he could prioritize comfort when together. But the fact that the aide liked it was also one of the big reasons.
The Grand Duke’s golden eyes rested on the aide who still looked a bit gloomy.
‘That guy always works hard for me, so it wouldn’t be bad for me to do something to please him too.’
Imagining the excited look on the aide’s face, the Grand Duke felt satisfied and turned his attention back to the documents.
The documents in front of the Grand Duke were written in large letters and well-organized in an easy-to-read format.
‘Come to think of it…’
All the documents that came into his hands had changed like this since the aide arrived.
The Grand Duke’s eyes, born a natural hunter, boasted excellent dynamic vision but weren’t suitable for looking at stationary objects. That’s why it was much more comfortable for the Grand Duke to go out and slaughter ogres rather than peering at papers with rows of small, stationary letters.
But the ruler of a large territory, moreover the owner of a territory full of things that needed to be rebuilt after being miserably destroyed, wasn’t a position where one could just diligently cut down monsters. The calamity that had covered the Grand Duke’s domain in the not-so-distant past proved that it wasn’t just monsters beyond the walls that threatened his domain.
The Grand Duke, sensitive to danger, never forgot what had threatened him and his domain. Having learned that claws and blades weren’t the only things needed to protect his domain, the Grand Duke had no choice but to continue the battle with the documents that piled up every day.
Of course, it wasn’t a job that suited him at all.
Still, since it was for his domain, he was struggling through the work, reading letters he could barely see…
The aide who noticed this took action and changed the document format. To reduce the Grand Duke’s fatigue even a little.
‘Come to think of it, that guy is always like that.’
Despite not being a cat himself, the aide knew uncannily well what cats liked and what they found uncomfortable. That alone was actually quite remarkable. The Grand Duke had never seen such a human before.
But that guy didn’t just stop at knowing. The aide even improved every aspect of the Grand Duke’s daily life based on his detailed knowledge of cats.
His skill was so good that the Grand Duke was repeatedly amazed. Sometimes it seemed like he knew better than the Grand Duke, who had lived as a cat all his life, how to make a cat comfortable.
‘How is that possible?’
Without ever having been a cat himself.
Suddenly curious, the Grand Duke spoke.
“How do you know so much about cats?”
At the Grand Duke’s sudden question, the aide, who had been working at his desk, answered.
Without taking his eyes off his desk.
“Well… Because I’m used to cats.”
Used to cats? Why?
The Grand Duke asked back with curiosity.
“You’re used to cats?”
“Yes. Having experienced many cats so far…”
The aide’s mouth, which had been outputting answers as the Grand Duke asked, suddenly stopped. The aide’s hand, which had been moving ceaselessly, did the same.
But the Grand Duke had already heard the answer the aide had blurted out without thinking.
This guy…
‘Has other cats besides me?’
