Yellian reaffirmed its determination to escape. Living under constant threat to its life didn’t seem right no matter how it thought about it. So, Yellian was resolved to flee the duke’s estate at the first opportunity.
Of course, there was no need to reveal these thoughts to Leonard. Yellian quietly dreamed of escape in its heart.
“Sleep here.”
“Huh?”
The place Leonard pointed to was his bed-more precisely, his pillow on the bed.
Yellian was puzzled as to why it had to share a pillow with Leonard. No matter how much it pondered, no plausible answer came to mind, making it clear that Leonard had lost his marbles.
“Why……?”
Unable to find a proper answer, Yellian cautiously asked while subtly gauging his reaction. Leonard, in a stiff tone, mimicked Yellian’s words.
“‘Why?'”
“Never mind. I was talking nonsense.”
Under the thinly veiled threat, Yellian quickly flattened itself and waddled toward his bed on its short legs.
Despite its stubby legs, Yellian nimbly hopped onto the bed and stomped on Leonard’s pillow while circling the spot. The thought of having to sleep with Leonard made it uneasy.
“But what if I roll onto you in my sleep?”
“You die, obviously.”
“I’ll make sure that never happens!”
Yellian loudly retorted at the blunt, curt reply. It was unfair how Leonard could invite it to sleep together yet show zero mercy.
But what could it do? He was the mad duke, and it was just a powerless feline humanoid.
Speaking of which, it wondered why it still hadn’t transformed into a human despite being a feline humanoid. Of course, it had never actually transformed, so it wouldn’t know how it felt.
“Good night.”
Since it couldn’t transform right now anyway, overthinking was pointless. Yellian curled up after a brief greeting. Leonard, who had been silently watching the balled-up figure, lay down beside Yellian, resting his head next to it.
Purr purr.
Soon, the pleasant sound of purring softly filled the air. Leonard, with his eyes tightly shut, wore a faint smile.
* * *
“…….”
Leonard gritted his teeth at the short leg stretched across his forehead. The owner of the ridiculously short limb was Yellian, blissfully unaware as it slept.
Exercising immense patience, Leonard tapped Yellian’s leg with his fingertip. Contrary to his expectation that it would move, Yellian defiantly placed another leg on his face. With both hind legs now on his face, Leonard let out a deep sigh.
“Move your legs.”
Purrrrr.
Despite Leonard’s murderous tone, Yellian kept purring happily, lost in deep sleep.
Finally fed up, Leonard grabbed Yellian and shoved it under his face. Though the sudden movement should’ve woken it, Yellian remained deep in dreamland, unfazed.
Exasperated, Leonard glared at the sleeping Yellian. Its fluffy belly protruded temptingly.
Staring at the round belly, Leonard poked it with his index finger.
The elastic belly didn’t even seem fazed by the pokes. Poking the plump belly felt oddly satisfying. He didn’t know why, but it gave him a strange sense of peace.
Poke, poke, poke.
No matter how many times he poked, the squishy belly remained adorably inflated. Plus, the fur on its belly was exceptionally soft, making it irresistible.
‘……What the hell is wrong with this lunatic?’
Meanwhile, Yellian was going insane. It had actually woken up when Leonard moved its legs off his face. But pretending to sleep was the only way to avoid certain death at Leonard’s hands.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Leonard seemed to believe Yellian was truly asleep.
The problem started then. Leonard began poking its belly out of nowhere. It didn’t hurt, but it felt weird. Most of all, Yellian was curious why he was doing this.
Yellian fell into deep contemplation. How long should it keep pretending to sleep while being poked? Maybe it was time to fake waking up.
But timing was tricky. A poorly acted awakening might reveal it had been awake all along. So, Yellian had to carefully plan the perfect moment for its performance.
“……Ugly thing.”
Excuse me?!
Yellian wanted to argue back at the sudden insult, but it couldn’t while pretending to sleep. Even if it were awake, picking a fight with Leonard was out of the question.
Just as Yellian was about to open its eyes in frustration-
“Cute.”
What?!
Yellian doubted its ears. Did Leonard just call it cute? To it, of all beings?
Of course, Yellian knew it was cute. All cats were cute by nature. Though it wasn’t a real cat but a feline humanoid, its appearance was close enough.
Ugly-cute cats, pretty-cute cats, cute-cute cats, funny-cute cats…
The adjectives varied, but the conclusion was always ‘cute cat.’ And Yellian objectively fell into the cute-cute cat category.
So, being called cute wasn’t surprising. But coming from Leonard, it was a different story.
Could the cold, merciless Leonard actually feel something as warm as ‘cuteness’? Though, admittedly, this body was irresistibly adorable.
It was an unanswerable question. In the end, Yellian decided its ears must’ve malfunctioned. Even if feline humanoids had enhanced hearing, it was easier to believe it misheard.
But Leonard, oblivious to Yellian’s mental gymnastics, muttered again.
“Definitely…… cute.”
‘You lunatic, what’s wrong with you?!’
Swallowing its unspoken scream, Yellian desperately kept up the sleeping act.
Leonard lifted Yellian’s paw, put it down, then started pressing its paw pads repeatedly.
It was only natural to be drawn to squishy cat jelly. Yellian understood the sentiment perfectly. But again, the fact that it was Leonard made it uncomfortable.
Why was this man acting so out of character, doting on it and even playing with it? Sure, it was cute, but that didn’t mean it liked this.
Finally deciding it had endured enough, Yellian stretched and yawned loudly.
“Huaaam.”
“……Awake?”
“Did you sleep well?”
When Leonard narrowed his eyes and asked, Yellian politely greeted him. The sight of a cat bowing 90 degrees was comical, but Leonard just turned his head away with a stiff expression.
Though Leonard’s attitude was a complete 180 from before, Yellian was relieved he was back to his usual self.
The thought of receiving affection from Leonard, the maddest of mad dukes, sent shivers down its spine.
“If you’re awake, go wash up. You’re filthy.”
“Huh…….”
Yellian was indignant. Sure, Leonard’s cold attitude was easier to handle, but that didn’t mean it wanted outright rudeness. How dare he call a cat filthy to its face?
Hurt, Yellian glared at Leonard with disrespectful eyes before hopping off the bed. It then trotted to the mirror and stared at its reflection.
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