“Geumdong, no! Spit it out!”
[Kyuuung. Kyuuu.]
Unlike Leonard’s urgency, Geumdong cried out as if enjoying himself.
Perhaps because he’s a dragon, his growth rate was exceptional. The little guy, who used to reach a person’s knee, now came up to about waist height, which says it all.
Anyway, the well-grown Geumdong often seemed overwhelmed when dealing with Yellian in human form. Still, since Yellian liked him so much, Leonard let it be, but seeing Yellian nearly get eaten made his heart sink for a moment.
Grabbing Geumdong and gently tickling his neck to make him open his mouth, Leonard quickly reached in and pulled Yellian out. Yellian, soaked in Geumdong’s saliva, staggered as if dazed before collapsing on the spot.
“Geumdong, how could you… try to eat your big brother…….”
Filled with betrayal and disbelief, Yellian repeated the same words before suddenly starting to wail.
“Geumdong! How could you do this to your big brother! Didn’t you recognize me as your mother?! What kind of monstrous child eats their own mom! Huh? How could you do this to me! Oh, oh, it hurts so much!”
Since Yellian had turned into a cat, their pitiful crying in a squeaky voice was both heartbreaking and, on the other hand, so cute that Leonard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After a moment of hesitation, Leonard carefully picked up the saliva-soaked, damp Yellian.
“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up first. You’ve turned into a goblin again.”
“Hiss! What did you say! A goblin? You said goblin?! I’m really mad now! Hiss, hiss, hiss!”
Yellian let out a barrage of hisses. It was the strongest expression of anger they could muster in their cat body. Of course, it had no effect on Leonard.
Unable to keep hissing, Yellian even threw a long-lost cat punch or two, but Leonard easily subdued them and headed toward the bathroom.
“I hate water!”
“Are you really a cat? You even hate water.”
“But……. fine, I can endure it. Why? Because I’m not really a cat!”
Watching Yellian mutter to themselves as if making a resolution, Leonard let out a scoff and carefully started washing them.
Though he wasn’t entirely sure, it seemed that when Yellian was in cat form, their feline instincts came alive. That’s why they disliked baths, which they didn’t mind as a human, and why they hissed and such.
Even now, Yellian squirmed occasionally, showing their displeasure at being bathed by Leonard. Still, perhaps because they retained at least a shred of human rationality, they didn’t completely bolt away.
“Ugh, it’s that dreadful drying time again.”
Yellian muttered self-deprecatingly. Leonard was dumbfounded. Honestly, what was Yellian even doing? All they had to do was stay still, and Leonard would dry their fur with a soft, fluffy towel. Thinking how ridiculous they were, Leonard picked up a thick towel.
He carefully wiped Yellian’s body with the towel to remove the water. Yellian occasionally flailed their short legs as if protesting, but they couldn’t escape Leonard’s grip.
“For now, I’ve decided to keep Geumdong separated from you until you turn back into a human.”
“But…….”
“Do you want to get eaten again? This time, you weren’t really ‘eaten,’ but if something like this happens again, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“……Okay.”
“If you’re so upset and dissatisfied, then hurry up and turn back into a human.”
“If only it were up to me, how great would that be.”
Yellian muttered in a sulky voice. One day, they suddenly turned into a feline humanoid cat, and then, without knowing why, became human again.
Just as they were getting used to being human, they turned back into a cat once more. There was no pattern, and they didn’t even know how the transformation worked.
“Ugh, so frustrating!”
Unable to bear the frustration, Yellian threw punches into the air. Tiny cotton-like paws swung back and forth. Leonard turned his eyes away from Yellian and started looking through his documents again.
“Tch, what a hassle.”
“What? What’s such a hassle?”
Just moments ago, Yellian was fighting the air alone, but upon hearing Leonard’s muttering, they scurried over. Leonard held back a laugh at the sight.
Yellian wiggled their hips back and forth before leaping toward the desk…….
“No!”
Leonard shouted urgently, but it was already too late. One of Yellian’s hind paws landed in the inkwell as they touched down on the desk. Startled, Yellian frantically shook their paw, splattering ink everywhere.
“Huff, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…….”
“I should just cut off that ankle of yours. This is unbearable.”
“Ah, it was an accident! An accident, I tell you! If someone raising a cat doesn’t even close the ink bottle properly, what are they thinking! Is this only my fault? This is unfair!”
For a moment, Leonard found Yellian’s tiny, squeaky voice arguing their case amusing, but then he got annoyed at the fact that he had to wash Yellian again after just bathing them. Because of that, his words came out harsh.
“What did you say? You’re going to play the victim now, huh?”
“I’m making a legitimate defense!”
“Stop talking nonsense and come here right now.”
“No way! You’re going to cut off my ankle!”
Yellian jumped off the desk and started darting around to avoid Leonard’s hands. As a result, cat paw prints made of ink appeared all over the room. Leonard had thought Yellian was slow, but they were still a cat, after all. When they were determined to run, there was no way to catch them. Thanks to that, the paw prints kept multiplying.
“Yellian, I won’t cut off your ankle, so just stay still. You’re making more paw prints!”
“Liar! Liar!”
No matter how calmly Leonard spoke, trying to suppress his boiling anger, there was no way Yellian would believe his words sounded sincere. After all, if Leonard hadn’t already cut them with a blade before, it might be different, but since Yellian had that experience, it was hard to trust him.
Of course, Yellian wasn’t exactly comfortable with the current situation either. Running around nonstop required stamina to keep up.
Yellian had been infamous for their poor stamina since their days as Juan. It might not be the same now, but judging by their heavy breathing, it didn’t seem much different.
Finally, Leonard collapsed to the floor, exhausted, and Yellian, hanging from the curtain alongside Leonard, also stopped moving. One cat and one human pondered, ‘What on earth are we doing?’
It was at that moment.
“Uh, uhh?!”
The claw-like hooks hanging on the curtain disappeared, replaced by human hands. Could it be? Had they turned back into a human in this situation? Yellian turned pale with shock.
Of course, Leonard, witnessing this, was also shocked, his already pale face growing even whiter.
“Ahhh, I-I’m falling!”
Feeling their grip on the curtain slipping, Yellian tightly shut their eyes. Falling from the height of the ceiling wouldn’t kill them, but it would probably hurt a lot. Sensing the impending pain, Yellian gritted their teeth.
“……Huh?”
However, there was no bone-shattering pain. Feeling puzzled, Yellian cautiously opened their eyes.
Then, they saw a firm chest. Tilting their head slightly, they saw Leonard holding them. It seemed he had caught them as they were about to fall.
“Just how long are you going to keep causing trouble? I’m on edge wondering what kind of mess you’ll make next today.”
Though his words were scolding, his voice was surprisingly gentle. Yellian, feeling oddly embarrassed, subtly turned their head away.
Leonard, looking at Yellian’s flushed face, felt an unfamiliar sense of calm. Though it was an accident, the fact that Yellian was in his arms felt quite satisfying.
“I won’t cut off your ankle. So there’s no need to be so scared.”
“……Really?”
“Of course, that could change if I find out you’re hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding anything!”
“Then that’s a relief.”
At the soft voice, Yellian glanced at Leonard with a flushed face. As always, Leonard’s face was strikingly handsome. It made sense that someone with a face like his would be the master duke in a novel.
While closely examining Leonard’s face, Yellian soon widened their eyes at the gaze directed at them. Leonard’s face was fully reflected in their round pupils.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Ah, I’m not staring.”
“Fine, let’s say that’s the case……. So, jumping into my arms naked must mean you want to be held, right?”
“Wha-What, n-no, that’s not it……! It was an accident, an accident.”
Realizing belatedly that they were naked, Yellian blushed and didn’t know what to do. Leonard quietly looked at Yellian before speaking in a low voice.
“Then let’s just say what happens from now on is also an accident.”
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