How strange.

The cats nodded as if they understood Rere.

“Meow!”

“Meow!”

The cats, who had been running back and forth for a long time, rubbed their tails against Rere’s feet as if they were tired.

“Ahem, this is all mine. From here all the way there.”

Of course, it didn’t belong to Rere.

But Rere proudly claimed ownership.

Then Renee suddenly turned around to look at me as I had been following behind her.

“…Why?”

“Huh?”

“I feel like Big Bunny is looking at me negatively.”

“No. I’m just looking.”

“…I-I told the cats that everything is mine here! That, uh…because what belongs to my daddy belongs to me, anyway! Do you understand?”

“Of course, I understand.”

Rere had gotten all worked up by herself and then got offended by herself, then walked ahead with a smile as if satisfied with my answer.

“Then let’s go to my room next time.”

“Meow!!”

So I followed Rere as she returned to her room.

“My gosh…M-Madam. Young Lady. Where have you been?”

By the time we arrived at the room, the nanny and maids rushed to us with pale faces.

“We went out to greet you when the carriage arrived, however, we were surprised that you weren’t there.”

However, as if the cats were more important than their mental state, Rere casually passed by those who were worried about her.

Then she ran into her room and said, “Welcome! This is my room!”

“Meow!”

“Meoow!”

Of course, those who were watching her were frozen in place.

The cats were already busy following Rere and trampling over the dolls.

“I am sorry for making you worry.”

“No. You don’t need to apologize. Thanks to you, I was able to meet the old butler.”

The nanny smiled faintly.

“Ah, we’ll be living together from now on.”

“I’m glad. I am really glad.”

“It’s all thanks to the nanny.”

“Not at all, but that cat…”

“These cats used to live with the old butler. Rere must like them so much…”

“Did the master…give you permission?”

The nanny couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Yes. Because now he does what Rere wants.”

“That’s great!!”

“Then let’s go in, too. Ah, May, I need to talk to you so follow me, and Roze, can you please get water and food for the cats?”

“Yes!”

“And Nanny, please watch after Rere for a moment.”

As they each went to do their own tasks, I followed Rere into the room.

I wondered how excited she was. Rere, who had been longing for friends but told that they couldn’t raise animals, might have acted this way because it was her first time to play with friends.

She couldn’t play this freely with me, the maids and nanny.

“Do you have anything to ask me…?”

In the meantime, May approached me.

May’s gaze was filled with surprise and bewilderment as she looked at me uneasily.

“May.”

“Yes…”

“Do you remember the woman you met at the Imperial Palace?”

“The woman?”

May tilted her head as if it was the first time listening to it.

“The woman you said resembled me.”

As if she just recalled, May clapped her hands and nodded.

“Ah! Yes! Of course I remember.”

“Do you remember anything else about her?”

“Let’s see. She resembles you a lot…I just saw her briefly passing by, so I don’t remember much. Just…”

“Just…?”

“I remember she wore a unique ring.”

“What do you mean unique?”

A ring was not what I had anticipated; instead, I had anticipated something along the lines of the dress she was wearing, her hairstyle, or what business she seemed to have there.

“A ring? How unique was it?”

“It was a big and clear ring, and it turned red temporarily when she passed by me.”

“..Huh?”

“I was surprised and looked back, but the ring returned to its transparent color. Other than that, I don’t really remember anything.”

“Did you check if anyone was with her?”

“I think there was a woman in white robes that reminded me of a priest.”

I was even more puzzled by her remarks. All the priests in the empire were men.

I didn’t see a single woman every time I went to the temple. But why did she say it was a woman?

“And…um…I couldn’t think of anything right now.”

“How old did she look?”

“Um…she seemed to be the same age as the nanny, um. She was probably in her 40s.”

At that moment, I recalled what the High Priest had said.

-Was it a woman? And she was in her 40s?

And she was probably dead.

I got goosebumps on my arms when I heard her say the same words as the High Priest.

‘They are the same person.’

The woman that I didn’t see. And the things that the High Priest told me about that woman.

No matter how much I thought about it, I was convinced that they were the same person.

“Do you want me to find out more? I got close to a servant who took the royal maid exam with me, should I ask her?”

“I’d appreciate it if you did.”

“Alright. I’ll get in touch with my friend and ask her about that woman. Please don’t worry too much.”

She nodded with a grin.

“Thank you.”

“I was nervous when you called me separately, so I’m relieved now. Then I’ll help you as much as I can!”

“I can only trust you, May.”

“Yes!”

Meanwhile, Roze, who scurried outside to do the errands, returned.

“I don’t know what cats eat, so I asked the chef to make it first in a hurry. I heard that cats generally like meat.”

“Thank you.”

Perhaps because they were hungry, the cats were busy emptying the bowl as soon as it was laid down in front of them.

The nanny smiled as she watched the cats next to Rere.

“I never imagined that I would see animals in the family. It’s hard to believe that my master allowed it.”

“Nanny.”

“Yes?”

“Can I have all the information about the chefs in the family?”

“Of course! Where do you want me to start? They varied from chefs who only cook to chefs who prepare ingredients. Do you want to know about all of them?”

“Find out about those who prepare ingredients and cook the food and beverages. Especially if it’s related to Ian.”

She wondered why I asked for this, but I didn’t want to tell her the reason. I mustn’t say anything about the duke who kept insisting about strange things, and that he probably wasn’t in his right mind.

Mainly because it could be his weakness.

“Speaking of which,”

“Yes~”

“Do you have a record of the duke’s servants’ personal leave?”

“Um, there’s nothing like that. From generation to generation, the duchy allowed the servants to go out freely.”

“Is that so…”

“Um…instead, we record the items they bring in and out which we consider suspicious. Should I bring it to you?”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Although there was a good chance it wouldn’t make much of a difference, at this point I would take any help I can receive, even if it comes from the cats.

The family, that on the surface seemed to be in top condition, needed to have its credibility questioned.

Meanwhile, Rere lay down next to the cats with a piece of paper and wrote something down.

“What are you doing, Rere?”

“I’m naming the cats! I should give them pretty names since they’re girls!”

“But how are you so sure that they’re girls?”

“Oh..! Their crying voices are weak!”

“R-Really? But they could be boys?”

After eating, the cats lay on their stomach next to Rere.

“No, they’re girls.”

“Why?”

“They look pretty!”

“Would you hate it if they’re boys?”

“Huh? Yeah! I want to be an older sister! So I don’t like boys!”

The black cat, gracefully stretching its legs upward and licking its important member, stopped for a second.

Then the cat lowered its legs slowly.

Thanks to this, the cat’s walnut-shaped important member wasn’t visible anymore.

“R-Really…?”

“Yeah! I like Unnie better than Noona!”

[TL : Noona is how a male addresses an older woman.]

Now matter how much I looked at it, the cats seemed to understand Rere. He stopped grooming himself after hearing Rere.

‘It’s very suspicious.’

But it’s not like I could point to the cats and say, ‘You understood human’s words!’ so I turned my gaze to Rere’s paper.

“…But, Rere…Is that the cats’ name?”

“Yeah! What do you think? This is the name of the black cat, and this is the name of the white cat.”

“Blackie and Whitey. Spotty and Bow! Meow and Nyaa…”

None of them had ordinary names.

“Which one do you like, guys?”

Rere wrote down that kind of name for a long time. In an instant, nearly thirty names were written on the paper.

“Teddy and Bear. Kit and Ten. Bokshim and Boksun.”

“I like that the most. Bokshim and Boksun!”

“Yeah. Isn’t that very sophisticated? You have to name it like this for them to have a long life. Here! Then it’s all done. Guys, I wrote down all your names, so you decide on your own.”

Rere raised the cats and put them on top of the paper.

But the cats struggled as if to avoid choosing their names.

They were swaying their legs as if they were dancing. It seemed like they didn’t want to accidentally step on one of the names.

“Oh my gosh. You like them all? I see that you like the names I gave you. But you need to pick one. Do you want me to pick one for you? Then your names are Bokshim and Boksun from today!”

“Meooow!”

“Meow!”

Why did the cats’ hair stand on end when they heard their names? Hahaha.