‘Cute.’

A mischievous smile blossomed on Elaine’s lips as he left the training ground. She felt a little jealous because Cadis seemed to like Rowaine so much, so she impulsively kissed him.

‘How much time did they even spend together in Blois to be so smitten with Rowaine? Hmph.’

Did Rowaine save his life?

At that thought, she remembered that she, too, had opened her heart to Rowaine after just a few days spent with her.

‘Well, Rowaine is pretty nice.’

Since she also liked Rowaine, Elaine didn’t want to be mean to her just because Cadis liked her. That would be too childish and uncool.

‘That’s not my way of doing things.’

She preferred a more direct and certain approach over such indirect methods. Besides, now that she had done ‘that,’ he would think about her more than Rowaine. With a kiss, she firmly planted her presence in Cadis’s mind.

Wasn’t there a joke that the first to mark their territory got to claim it?

‘My cute puppy.’

No matter how hard anyone tried to catch his sight, Cadis had been hers since long ago.

“Lulu, lululu.”

Up until this point, Elaine had no idea what consequences her actions would bring.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

As soon as Elaine left, Cadis slipped away from the wall and returned to his place, absentmindedly touching his lips the entire time.

‘What was that?’

It was a very brief moment, but it was a very pleasant sensation. The sensation lingering on his lips wouldn’t fade easily.

‘I understand why this is a way to mark territory with someone you like.’

Since he felt this good, he thought that if he did something like this to someone he liked, it would make both of them very happy.

Just then, one of the supervisors gestured to Cadis, who was standing on the side.

“Hey, number 136. Come here.”

“Yes!”

There were still a few minutes left of free time, so he found it odd to be called already. Still, he dashed out briskly without even thinking about raising questions. Hounds weren’t allowed to have free will anyway.

Cadis ran quickly and stood in front of the supervisor, his posture rigid with determination.

“Number 136! Did you call?”

“His Majesty is calling for you.”

Apparently, according to his comrades, the Emperor was in the Golden Hall, where the party was in full swing. It was strange, calling hunting hounds to a party.

Cadis’s expression darkened as he followed the supervisor.

…Calling a hunting hound to a party.

A forgotten memory from the past came to mind. He remembered being abused as a spectacle in front of people by another Rowaine, not Eunsoo.

His heart raced madly with anxiety.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

At that moment.

I slipped away from the party hall with Dimitri and moved to a quiet garden. As soon as I was alone with him, memories of the morning slowly came back to me.

I swallowed dryly and glanced briefly at him.

‘…That man is Blue.’

Even though I knew, the match didn’t fit well. Dimitri—with a cold and haughty face—the one who commanded people with his charisma, was that cute and playful Blue.

‘Blue has been visiting me since the first day I came to Blois.’

Did he just come to visit me? He comforted me when I was crying and also showed me affection.

The cute sight of him carrying a cherry tomato in his mouth or joyfully playing hunting games with a cat toy I made was vivid. The voice that meowed so adorably and the way he cuddled with a pillow was playful.

‘Why on earth… did he do that?’

All of that was Dimitri. Blue, who was overflowing with cuteness, was Dimitri.

…I really couldn’t believe it.

‘Anyway, Dimitri doesn’t want to show his cat appearance to others… let’s not bring up the story first.’

Thinking like that, I spoke to Dimitri casually, as if I didn’t remember anything.

“I thought you weren’t coming today.”

“Oh. Something came up, I apologize for being late. I sent someone to explain the situation to the mansion, but Rowaine had already left.”

As he spoke, Dimitri slightly distanced himself from me.

Was it just my imagination that he felt a bit colder compared to how affectionate he was at the party hall?

“What happened?”

“I’ll explain when we get back to the mansion.”

His tone was as friendly as usual, but somehow it felt different.

‘…What could it be?’

I tilted my head, feeling a strange sense of uneasiness.

“Dimitri, are you feeling upset because of what happened earlier?”

“Not really.”

I approached him, feeling suspicious.

As I got closer, he unconsciously moved away and asked me with a gesture that didn’t seem intentional.

“What’s going on?”

“Dimitri.”

I took another step closer to him as if testing him.

“….?”

As I approached, he moved away from me.

“Just a moment. There’s something I need to check right now…”

I slowly lifted my hand and placed my hand on top of his to confirm. Instantly, he reflexively withdrew his hand from under mine.

I was convinced by his reaction.

“Are you upset with me?”

Dimitri flinched, then quickly flashed an empty, hollow smile and denied it.

“What could I possibly be upset with Rowaine about?”

“Then, why are you avoiding me?”

“Me? That couldn’t be.”

He shrugged his shoulders, denying it.

I thought it would be better to show through actions rather than words, so I quietly took a step closer to him. However, then he reflexively took a step back from me.

“You’re keeping your distance from me.”

There was no doubt this cat was keeping a distance between us.

Otherwise, Dimitri, who usually allowed me to be close… No, who simply tolerated my presence, always staying near me without conscious effort, now unconsciously pushed me away, which meant I had made him uncomfortable.

Feeling like I knew why, I asked him first.

“Is it because of what happened this morning?”

“….”

Although Dimitri didn’t say anything, I could see a meaningful change in his pupils.

‘I must have been rude.’

I kept picturing his naked body, so I ran away when I saw him. At the thought, I admitted my mistake and apologized to him earnestly.

“I was being so childish earlier because I was embarrassed. I was startled and reacted that way. If it upset you, I apologize, Dimitri.”

Dimitri stared at me silently for a while, then asked in a low voice.

“Did… you hate that sight?”

It was a surprising question. Would someone who had just shown their own naked body usually ask such a question?

I didn’t hide my awkward expression and spoke as carefully as possible.

“Part I don’t like… I suppose it’s okay to say that everything is good, but wouldn’t it be a bit difficult for me to like that?”

However, Dimitri seemed very disappointed.

“I thought Rowaine would like that. Do you really hate it because it’s me?”

Did he really think I liked other people’s naked bodies…?

“You thought that? It’s a bit shocking. Where did you get such a misunderstanding about me?”

“In every aspect?”

“What do you mean?”

My mouth dropped open in shock.

‘What kind of image does he have of me?’

What have I done? Did I come across as some kind of pervert?

It was confusing.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I don’t like that kind of thing.”

When I spoke firmly and with a straight face, Dimitri’s face hardened.

“Is that so.”

I was genuinely taken aback by his obvious change in expression.

Was it really that disappointing to hear that I didn’t like looking at other people’s naked bodies? Feeling unjust and bewildered by this strange conversation, I was momentarily stunned and then blurted out to him.

“Are you hoping that I’m a pervert who enjoys looking at other people’s naked bodies? What on earth did I do to create such a misunderstanding? Why would you think of me like that?”

“Yes…?”

Dimitri looked puzzled, as if he had just been insulted in a foreign language he didn’t understand.

“What do you mean, a pervert who enjoys looking at naked bodies?”

“….?”

Seeing his bewildered expression, I became even more confused.

“Dimitri just asked me if I hated seeing you naked…?”

He tilted his head. Blinking innocently, he looked at me with a gaze that was both naive and repulsive, asking silently, ‘When did I?’

There was no doubt that something was wrong.

When I was speechless and faced Dimitri with the same expression on my face, he parted his lips.

“I was asking if you didn’t like the sight of me turning into a cat.”

“….!”

At that moment, I realized what I had misunderstood, and my face flushed red. It seemed Dimitri only now understood the situation as well.

“Were you… thinking about your body?”

“N-No, um, uh, that, that’s…”

“It wasn’t that I turned into a cat?”

“Well, um, I was thinking about that too…”

“The part that impressed you was the naked part?”

“….”

I didn’t want to commit the same rudeness again, but…

‘I want to die—!’

I fled from Dimitri once again, leaving him behind.

“I need to use the restroom for a moment!”

 
—