Chapter 143

The noblewomen hesitated, then closed their mouths and fell silent for a moment. Their faces were embarrassed as if they hadn’t expected Dimitri to cover and protect me so unconditionally, even though I had beaten someone.

Dimitri, who seemed pleased with the silence, finally smiled and acknowledged the noblewoman who had been protesting to me.

“Countess of Cologne.”

The Countess of Cologne looked a bit surprised that he recognized her, but she forced a smile.

“Yes, Duke Blois.”

“As a matter of fact, the Count of Cologne visited not long ago.”

“I-Is that so?”

“He seemed very worried, saying the damage from the dream demons in his territory was severe. How is the situation? The Count didn’t look well.”

“Ah… yes, th-that’s right. The situation is very bad.”

“Is that so? I can’t tell you how troubled I was to have to turn away the Count of Cologne when he so earnestly requested my wife’s mercenary group.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Unfortunately, the mercenary business is my wife’s, so I don’t have the power to decide in the matter. From what I hear, they are overwhelmed with requests. Isn’t that right, Rowaine?”

Dimitri looked at me, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a smile.

I finally realized why the noblewomen had come to see me.

‘They came to ask me a favor.’

The ladies, who were trying to complain to me about Sienna, suddenly looked at me and smiled awkwardly. It seemed they had just remembered what they had come here for.

I looked at them and smiled back.

“Ah, if it’s about the mercenary group, you’ve come to the right place. As you might have seen at the party, a few requesters have dropped out, so there are some vacant spots.”

At those words, the ladies’ faces lit up.

“Shall we go to the drawing room and discuss the details?”

“Shall… Shall we?”

“Y-yes, let’s go.”

The noblewomen quickly followed behind me instead of rushing to Sienna, and afterwards, no one mentioned what had happened a moment ago.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

After letting the guests into the drawing room, I stood in the corner of the hallway for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

Instead of going off to do his own work, Dimitri, who had been watching me, came up to me and asked. I took another deep breath and ran my hand through my hair.

“I’m so angry.”

“You hit her a lot, but you haven’t got all our anger out?”

“Part of me wants to pull out all her hair. I wanted to throw her away so she could experience the same thing.”

I was very worried about how Sasha must be feeling.

As I started fuming again, Dimitri whispered seductively.

“I think there’s a way to relieve your anger.”

“What is it?”

“Without anyone knowing…”

I covered Dimitri’s mouth with my hands without listening further.

“It’s okay.”

He was probably going to say something like killing them without anyone knowing, or making them disappear without anyone knowing, or something along those lines. The reason why I covered his mouth was because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation if I listened anymore.

Dimitri shrugged and then kissed the hand that was covering his mouth with a smacking sound.

“What, what are you doing?!”

He smirked as I pulled my hand away, startled.

“You did well earlier. It was cool. It made me feel quite satisfied.”

I pursed my lips and looked up at Dimitri.

“Dimitri always tells me that even when I act recklessly.”

Perhaps because my emotions were so stirred up, I was on the verge of tears. As Dimitri gently held me and patted my back, I leaned into his embrace like a child.

‘This feels good.’

It was so reassuring to have someone on my side, no matter what I did. Besides my mother, there was no one else who took my side like this.

Even when the cats I cared for died from eating rat poison and I reported it to the police, I was scolded for being a nuisance for what they deemed a minor issue. Because of that, I was someone who had resolutely shut myself off from expecting anything from others, convinced that I had to handle everything on my own and that no one would ever be on my side.

But what about now?

‘…Is it okay to let this man keep seeping into my heart like this?’

His warmth was undeniably sweet.

“It might become difficult for you in social circles. I’m sorry for acting so recklessly like this.”

He chuckled at my whisper.

“Difficult? I suppose you haven’t heard how arrogant the Duke of Blois is.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

His reputation in society was as low as Rowaine’s.

Dimitri looked at me playfully.

“Are you saying that it’s true?”

“Well, you did say it yourself.”

“Isn’t it different when I say it myself and when others readily agree?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really know.”

We glared at each other playfully and soon burst into giggles.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel much better now.”

I clenched my fists.

“I think I know what I should do with those people.”

Dimitri had said something in the carriage on our way to the capital.

“The hilt of the sword is now in Rowaine’s hands, so if you want to do something, feel free to do whatever you wish. Anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything. For example… exercising influence in enacting laws that benefit Rowaine.”

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

A few days after the day when prominent ladies from high society visited Rowaine, the ‘Cool Cat Mercenaries’ were mentioned at the National Assembly.

“I’ve been hearing a lot about the Cool Cat Mercenaries’ activities recently, Duke Blois.”

The attention turned to Dimitri, who was sitting crookedly and watching the nobles quarrel over their interests. He thought to himself that Rowaine would be happy to know that in this gathering of the empire’s great nobles and the Emperor, people kept mentioning the name ‘Cool Cat Mercenaries.’

“Is that really that effective?”

“Several lords have said that the dream demons have disappeared from their territories.”

“I’ve heard that the cat shapeshifters are being released to wreak havoc in the territories.”

Some people looked displeased, while others glanced at Dimitri desperately.

“With the country in such a difficult state, as a vassal, shouldn’t the Duke of Blois provide equal help to the various fiefdoms?”

Dimitri shrugged.

“My wife’s mercenary group isn’t part of the imperial army. Do they have such an obligation?”

“It is an obligation, indeed. Isn’t the country facing a great crisis? As a vassal, you should…!”

At that moment, someone else interjected.

“You can’t make that an obligation.”

At first glance, it seemed like he was defending Dimitri, but in reality, that wasn’t the case.

“Although it’s a mercenary group, it’s an armed force fighting demons. How is that different from private soldiers? It’s almost the same as stationing another lord’s private soldiers in my territory.”

“That’s right. I believe the Duke of Blois’s mercenary group needs to be sanctioned.”

These were the arguments of those who were wary of the mercenary group’s military power.

As Dimitri listened quietly, those who had initially pretended to be somewhat cautious became more outspoken. Some argued that restrictions were needed to control the mercenary group, while others, given the current situation, called for the mercenary group’s voluntary assistance.

The only ones remaining silent were Emperor William, who was glaring intensely at Dimitri, and Dimitri himself.

William raised his hand to silence the commotion in the room.

“To form an organized group of cat shapeshifters. I was under the impression that cat shapeshifters don’t form groups.”

This was a rather sensitive issue for William, who had consolidated his power by using a military force of shapeshifters.

The imperial family, having gained immense strength with dog shapeshifters, had continuously attempted to tame and militarily train various types of shapeshifters, though they had repeatedly failed. There were no shapeshifters as cooperative and easily trained as the dog shapeshifters.

Dimitri, sensing William’s displeasure, slowly opened his mouth.

“There are some misunderstandings here.”

He pointed out leisurely.

“First of all, the mercenary group belongs not to me but to the Duchess of Blois. I’m sure everyone here knows that according to imperial law, even spouses can’t interfere in each other’s property and business without consent.”

The nobles who had been interfering with how Dimitri should manage the mercenary group fell silent.

“Additionally, although the Cool Cat Mercenaries are called a mercenary group, none of them are armed. They don’t even carry the usual armor or blades the size of my palm.”

Dimitri looked straight at William.

“This is because they are neither a military force nor an armed group. Rather…”

Then, he made eye contact with several nobles.

“There have been a few instances where members of the mercenary group have been attacked by the territory residents who weren’t knights because they were shapeshifters in the course of carrying out a request.”

Those who made eye contact with Dimitri quickly looked away. This was an incident that occurred despite the fact that the lords had promised to protect the shapeshifters during the request as part of the contract, yet failed to handle it properly.

“My wife is very worried about this. It seems she’s reluctant to send out the mercenary company unless it’s to lords who can assured of their safety.”

At those words, the nobles who had no particular interaction with Blois shifted uncomfortably, frustrated. The damage from the dream demons had spread uncontrollably, and the collected taxes amounted to only half of what was usual.

Dimitri parted his lips again after calming down the distracted atmosphere for a moment.

“Therefore, I’d like to establish regulations here to prevent abuse towards shapeshifters.”

His firm voice clearly pierced everyone’s ears. Dimitri looked around at the people and recalled what Rowaine had said.

“I’ve obtained promises from those requesting requests from the Cool Cat Mercenaries.”

Saying so, she placed several stacks of contracts in front of him.

“When I told them I would drive away the dream demons, they all showed their tokens of friendship, agreeing to support the establishment of the shapeshifters protection law.”

Tokens of friendship!

“I learned something good from Grandmother Rosanne.”

Rowaine said this with a very bright smile on her face.

 
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