“Hmmm…….”
Objectively, I look pretty ugly.
Yellian thought this while looking at its face in the mirror. Brown gunk was crusted around the corners of its eyes, making it look quite shabby.
Yellian quickly wiped its face with its fluffy paw, doing what could be considered a cat’s version of washing. It wasn’t that it didn’t want to wash refreshingly with water, but for some reason, ever since becoming a cat, water felt oddly uncomfortable.
This was likely another change from becoming a feline humanoid, though Yellian didn’t want to admit it readily.
“Ah, what’s that on your belly?”
“My belly?”
“Whose belly would it be, mine?”
“…….”
To be so prickly even when asked a genuine question, this human truly had an impressively foul temper.
Yellian shot Leonard a resentful glance, irritation bubbling up inside.
Truthfully, it had meant to glare, but Leonard’s eyes were so fierce and intimidating in that brief moment of eye contact that Yellian quickly looked away, unintentionally ending up with just a fleeting sideways glance.
Anyway, Yellian looked down at its belly. Seeing nothing but fluffy fur, it tilted its head in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about those pimple-like things. Is it a skin disease?”
“Pimple-like…….”
Yellian stared intently at its belly. Pimple-like, pimple-like. What on earth was he referring to?
As the confusion grew, Yellian suddenly noticed something and froze. It then looked at Leonard with suspicious eyes.
“Could it be…… you’re talking about the six protruding bits of flesh on my belly?”
“Flesh, you say?”
“……I think they’re my nipples.”
At Yellian’s response, Leonard’s expression crumpled unpleasantly. He seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking again.
“Those are nipples?”
“Yes. They’re nipples.”
“Why do you have six of them?”
“Yes……?”
Caught off guard by the unexpectedly novel question, Yellian was momentarily at a loss for words. It has six nipples because it has six nipples; why would there need to be a reason for that?
“I’m asking why you have six nipples when you don’t even use them. You’re a male, aren’t you?”
It was an unusual approach. The logic that a male cat, not using its nipples, should have fewer than a female cat was certainly unique.
Yellian, wondering how there could be such an oddly foolish person, still tried to respond as politely and cautiously as possible.
“Well…… my lord, you also have two even though you don’t use them, don’t you……?”
“……What?”
“Ah……. Do you use them, perhaps? If so, I apologize. I must have been too prejudiced.”
At Leonard’s menacing question, Yellian hurriedly added. Leonard looked at Yellian with dumbfounded eyes, as if at a loss for words, but from Yellian’s perspective, it was the best response it could give.
What better answer could there be than this? Having an open mind about the utility of Duke Leonard Abrams’ nipples was no easy feat.
Whether or not Leonard understood Yellian’s sentiment, he seemed utterly stunned. Earlier, while poking at Yellian’s belly, he had accidentally touched what he thought were pimples. Wondering why there were pimples on its belly, he parted the fur and found a total of six identically shaped bumps.
Naturally, he hadn’t considered they might be nipples. Thinking about it now, even as a man, he had nipples himself, so why hadn’t he thought a male cat might have them too? It was a mystery.
Realizing belatedly how ridiculous his thoughts had been, Leonard let out a couple of awkward coughs.
“……Anyway, wash up.”
Embarrassed, he urged Yellian to wash again before quickly leaving the room.
* * *
“What a hassle.”
Leonard seemed to be reading a parchment brought by Elton before narrowing his brows.
Curious about what was wrong, Yellian glanced at him before shifting its gaze to the discarded piece of parchment. Naturally, it was filled with unfamiliar characters, so Yellian couldn’t read a single word.
Yellian irritably swatted at the parchment with its soft paws. Only after venting its frustration did it feel a little better.
“What’s wrong, my lord?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Despite mustering the courage to ask, the response was cold. Yellian pouted discontentedly and furrowed its brows. It seemed unaware that frowning with a kitten’s face wasn’t the least bit threatening.
“Ah, I’ll explain. It’s an invitation to the annual hunting competition.”
Seeing Yellian’s sulky expression, Elton suppressed a laugh and kindly explained.
A hunting competition wasn’t exactly something Yellian would be interested in. Losing interest quickly, Yellian lay down flat on its belly, stretching out, before a sudden thought struck it, making it jolt upright.
“My lord, my lord! Are you going to the hunting competition?!”
“Of course. As long as His Majesty the Emperor is there, my lord must attend.”
“Tch.”
Elton answered on Leonard’s behalf to Yellian’s question. Yellian’s eyes sparkled as it looked at Leonard. Its tail stood straight up and trembled slightly, a sign of its excitement.
“Why are you acting like this?”
Leonard asked with a suspicious expression. In response, Yellian quickly propped itself up on its hind legs, stretched tall, clasped its front paws together, and earnestly declared its ambition.
“I want to go too!”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“But! But!”
“A kitten like you has no place there. Besides, if it gets out that you’re a feline humanoid, it won’t be good for anyone. You’re so careless, you’d probably cause all sorts of trouble if you went.”
“That won’t happen! Please trust me!”
Despite Leonard’s firm words, Yellian didn’t give up. At first, it hadn’t been interested when it heard about the hunting competition, but a sudden memory of the original story made Yellian determined to attend.
In the original story, Leonard realized his feelings upon seeing Abigail get struck by an arrow. From then on, all his attention was focused on Abigail.
In other words, if things proceeded as in the original story, Leonard would be so preoccupied with Abigail that he would completely forget about Yellian. That would be the perfect moment to escape.
Moreover, though Yellian wasn’t entirely sure, the hunting competition would likely take place in a vast outdoor area. If it managed to slip away there, it was certain Leonard wouldn’t be able to catch it again. There was no way it could let such a golden opportunity slip by.
“Just stay at the estate.”
“……If you leave me alone, I’ll end up going astray.”
“Can you go any more astray than you already are? At this point, you might as well come back to normal.”
Yellian tried to threaten him in its own way, but it didn’t work at all. It had underestimated Leonard. However, Yellian wasn’t one to give up easily. If it missed this chance, who knew when another opportunity to escape would come?
The security at the estate was stricter than expected. Though it wasn’t specifically to prevent Yellian’s escape, from its perspective, with so many watchful eyes, running away was difficult.
On top of that, the doors had cat-proof barriers installed all the way to the ceiling, making escape through them impossible. The windows were no different.
So even if Leonard left the estate for the hunting competition, escaping would be nearly impossible. Therefore, Yellian had to find a way to leave with him no matter what.
“Please, I’ll behave. I won’t let anyone find out I’m a feline humanoid. I’ll stay quiet. Just let me come with you. Please!”
The tiny kitten mewled pitifully, clinging to the hem of Leonard’s trousers.
Leonard quietly looked down at Yellian, who was hanging onto his pants. He pondered what to do with this small, annoying creature so fixated on the hunting competition for reasons unknown.
He could simply ignore it, but since this creature was a feline humanoid capable of thought, it must have some reason for wanting to tag along to the hunting competition. Yet, he couldn’t quite guess what that reason might be.
Thinking about it, he realized he knew very little about Yellian. Aside from the fact that it was a feline humanoid, had six nipples, and liked human food, he knew nothing about where it came from or why it had appeared in the middle of the city.
Leonard felt the need to learn more about Yellian. As a starting point, he thought he should figure out what ulterior motive Yellian had for wanting to attend the hunting competition.
Surely, Yellian had some intention behind wanting to participate in the hunting competition. If he could uncover that, perhaps he could also reveal something more about what Yellian was hiding.
“……Fine. But you must behave. If it gets out that you’re a feline humanoid, it will cause all sorts of trouble.”
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