Gamja was running around well. It was a relief that it had energy. It didn’t seem to be seriously hurt or in pain anywhere.
“Meow, meow!”
“Want food? Hold on, there should be some cat food I used to eat around here somewhere…….”
Yellian couldn’t understand any other meows, but they could amazingly pick up on the sound of Gamja asking for food.
Yellian found this ability of theirs surprising. Was it because they were part of the K-nation, where food is the most important thing?
“Found it!”
Lost in silly thoughts, Yellian was overjoyed to find a bag of cat food placed in a corner of the room.
Though it was a bit heartbreaking that the source of this food was what they themselves used to eat, at least they could feed Gamja, so it was fine.
“Meow. Meeeow.”
“Just wait a bit.”
“Mew.”
Perhaps due to impatience, Yellian struggled to untie the knot Elton had carefully tied to keep the cat food from getting damp.
Meanwhile, Gamja, perhaps having smelled the food, clung to Yellian’s leg and hung on. At this rate, it looked like it might climb up their leg, so Yellian hurriedly untied the string holding the food.
“Nya-nya-nya-nyang. Nya-nya-nyang.”
When Yellian poured a generous amount of food into the bowl they used to use, Gamja, seemingly delighted, made strange noises and buried its nose in the food, eating frantically.
Seeing this, a pang of pain struck Yellian’s heart again. How much must it have gone hungry to love eating this much? Whether it knew Yellian’s saddened feelings or not, Gamja was too busy eating to care.
“Nyaaa.”
Having eaten its fill, Gamja stretched out long and lay down flat by the sunny window. It looked completely at ease, as if it were at home.
[Kyuu! Kyuu!]
Geumdong, perhaps wary of Gamja, or warning it about its territory, or maybe wanting to play with Gamja, circled around it while crying out.
It was loud enough to warrant a glance, but Gamja just closed its eyes and fell asleep comfortably, ignoring everything.
[Kyuuuung.]
Looking at Geumdong, who seemed to be crying to Yellian as if asking them to do something about this intruder, Yellian couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Both Geumdong and Gamja were just too cute.
“Sorry, Geumdong. I can’t chase Gamja away. You’ll have to bear with it. By the way…… what am I going to say to Leonard…….?”
The problem wasn’t Geumdong. The real issue was whether Leonard, the owner of the house where Yellian and Gamja were currently living, would accept Gamja. They couldn’t just bring Gamja in without the homeowner’s permission.
“……When I was alone, I could just run away, but now that I have family to take care of, I can’t do that either.”
That’s right. If it were the old Yellian, they would have been busy plotting to escape while Leonard was away.
But for some reason, they couldn’t bring themselves to leave the estate now, especially with Geumdong, who strangely followed them everywhere. And now with Gamja added to the mix, the problem had grown even bigger.
Running away alone and leaving Gamja and Geumdong behind was unthinkable. But leaving the estate with a cat and a dragon in tow, with nowhere to go, was equally insane.
For various reasons, Yellian, now stuck at the duke’s estate, clutched their head as they thought about the bleak future ahead.
* * *
“Arghhhh! Aaaah!”
Despite the man’s screams, Leonard placed the torture tongs down with an expressionless face. The tongs, which had just pulled out the man’s fingernails, were wet with blood.
“Please, s-stop……. stop, I was wrong. I’ll t-tell you everything…….”
“Speak now.”
“Th-that’s…… ugh, mmph, mmph, ugh, mmph, mmph!”
For the first time since entering the torture chamber, a crack appeared on Leonard’s unchanging face. The man’s behavior was bewildering.
The man, who had clearly said he would reveal everything about those behind him, seemed to change his mind in just a few seconds, making strange noises.
“N-no, this isn’t…… ugh, mmph, mmph-mmph, mmph, ugh! Damn it! Please, please spare me. I really want to talk. I really do…….”
Eventually, unable to bear the frustration, the man slapped his own cheek.
Even so, the name of those behind him still didn’t come out of his mouth. Instead, whenever he tried to speak the truth, it was as if someone was forcibly shutting his mouth.
“My lord, what I said about something being strange…… this is what I meant.”
Elton approached Leonard and whispered in his ear. Leonard scanned the man thoroughly with sharp eyes. The man was still suffering, making stifled ‘mmph’ sounds.
“This is driving me insane. Really. I’m not lying……. Why would I lie at this point……. I want to speak, but ugh, mmph, mmph-mmph!”
It definitely didn’t seem like an act. It appeared the man wanted to speak about those behind him but was unable to. Judging by the situation, it could only be concluded that those behind him had placed a silencing spell on the man.
The problem was that while there was suspicion, there was no evidence. Leonard glared at the man with cold eyes before finally speaking.
“Did that person cast a spell on you?”
“Mmph, ugh, ugh-mmph, mmph!”
“You can answer with a nod.”
Only then did the man show a relieved expression and tilted his head slightly. Seeing this, it became clear.
“He doesn’t even know he’s under a spell.”
With this, it was confirmed that the man was under a spell. If he were faking it, he would have nodded when asked if he was under a spell. That would have been easier to act out.
Though not widely known, a silencing spell, despite its name, prohibits all forms of expression, including nodding. Therefore, if he had admitted to being under a spell, it would clearly have been a lie.
Of course, even if he had shaken his head to deny it, the likelihood of it being true was still high. If he didn’t know he was under a spell, he might think he wasn’t.
Regardless of the detailed circumstances, now that it was confirmed the man was under a silencing spell, there was only one thing left for Leonard to do.
“Lock him up again. Don’t kill him; we might need him.”
“Yes, understood.”
While Elton relayed the message to the guard, Leonard left the torture chamber.
Having been in a windowless room filled with the stench of blood, his head throbbed. Leonard suppressed his rising irritation and began climbing the stairs.
“My lord, if that person really cast a spell, they’re no ordinary foe…… Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
It was only after leaving the prison that Elton cautiously brought up the topic.
Leonard was well aware of this point. There weren’t many in the empire who could wield magic. Not only was magic itself rare, but even if someone could use it, casting spells required permission from the imperial palace, making the act of using magic extremely difficult.
Unless they were insane, the few magicians managed by the imperial family wouldn’t dare attempt to assassinate Leonard, a duke. There weren’t many suspects to begin with, so they wouldn’t take the risk of getting caught.
That meant someone without the imperial family’s approval had cast the spell. In that case, the list of suspects was endless, and there was no way to gauge the extent of the opponent’s magical abilities.
“……If they’re targeting me, they’ll send another signal.”
Leonard replied plainly. Though he currently knew nothing about his opponent, if their target was indeed him, the solution was simple. He just had to wait for them to target him again.
“Let’s head back.”
With that short remark, Leonard mounted his horse. Elton also got on the horse he had ridden. The two horses kicked up dust as they galloped off.
* * *
“What in the world is this…….?”
Leonard muttered to himself as he looked at the bedroom, which had turned into a mess…… no, a dragon and cat chaos zone.
Feeling as though a headache was coming on, Leonard’s dark eyes quickly scanned the room. Noticing a bulge under the covers on the bed, Leonard approached without hesitation.
“Get up.”
“…….”
“Yellian.”
Yellian was asleep. Their long eyelashes cast shadows over their closed eyes. As Leonard quietly gazed down at Yellian, who was sleeping with steady, rhythmic breaths, he unknowingly smiled and sat beside them on the bed.
Their sleeping figure was incredibly endearing. When awake, their constant grumbling and chattering had its own charm.
Of course, there were times when it was annoying. But even that was endearing in its own way, and their sleeping face had a unique appeal of its own.
Yellian probably didn’t know, but Leonard woke up earlier than them in the mornings to watch them sleep, and at night, he went to bed later, gazing at them as they slept. For now, quietly watching was his own familiar way of showing love.
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