“What’s wrong with this crazy cat?!”
Yellian bit down on Francois’s leg and clung to it. The man looked clearly flustered, showing signs of panic. Yellian, determined not to let go even if it meant death, dug sharp claws into his pants.
“This crazy……. Fine, I have no choice. Come here, you stupid dragon brat!”
Francois grabbed Geumdong, who was too scared to approach, and shoved him into a large sack. When the startled Geumdong resisted, Francois pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small bottle.
“Eat it, I said eat it!”
Forcing Geumdong’s mouth open, Francois poured the contents of the bottle into it. Having ingested the unknown substance, Geumdong soon went limp, losing all strength.
Seeing this, Yellian almost called out Geumdong’s name but barely managed to hold back.
The man stuffed the unconscious Geumdong into the sack. Yellian still clung to him, refusing to let go.
Even though the claws piercing through the pants must have been stabbing into his skin, Francois seemed unfazed. Yellian, growing desperate, started scratching at Francois’s leg with hind paws.
“Ah, ow! This little……!”
Unable to bear the pain any longer, Francois tried to shake Yellian off. Despite Yellian’s resolve to never let go, the strength of an adult man pulling hard was too much, and Yellian eventually fell off helplessly.
Even so, Yellian wasn’t one to give up. The moment Yellian gave up, Geumdong could be lost. Losing Gamja had been so hard-there was no way Yellian wanted to go through that again. With claws raised, Yellian leaped high.
“Aargh!”
The man clutched his eyes and collapsed to the ground. It was because Yellian had scratched at his eyes.
It happened so suddenly, and in such a frenzy, that Yellian couldn’t tell whether the eyeball or the eyelid had been scratched, but as long as it bought some time, that was enough.
Francois writhed in pain for quite a while. It seemed Yellian had landed a proper scratch.
While the man was in agony, Yellian desperately tried to wake Geumdong. Yellian bit at Geumdong, who was halfway inside the sack, and even swatted at him with soft paws. But whatever he had been fed, Geumdong remained unconscious.
“You damned cat, I’ll kill you.”
Meanwhile, Francois gritted his teeth in anger. The eye Yellian had scratched couldn’t even open properly. Even in that state, the man reached out to grab Yellian. Yellian nimbly dodged.
Being a cat, when determined to escape, Yellian was so agile that even Leonard couldn’t catch up. Against an opponent who couldn’t even open one eye properly, it went without saying.
“Damn it! This cursed cat!”
Missing Yellian time and time again, Francois spat out curses.
Honestly, Yellian didn’t mind dragging things out like this. Of course, running without a break was physically exhausting, but if it meant protecting Geumdong, Yellian was willing to do it as long as needed.
“Damn it……. I have no choice.”
However, Francois didn’t play along with Yellian’s plan. He glanced at the time, then stuffed the unconscious Geumdong fully into the sack. Dragging the sack behind him, he moved to leave the room.
Seeing this, Yellian grew frantic. Quickly, Yellian chased after him.
Yellian wanted to scream at the top of their lungs to call for help, but since they couldn’t risk revealing their identity as a feline humanoid, Yellian couldn’t act rashly. For now, there was nothing to do but follow Geumdong.
“Got you, you annoying little cat.”
“Hiss, hiss!”
Yellian had only meant to follow Geumdong, but in the end, it was like walking right into Francois’s hands. With a sinister smile, the man grabbed Yellian.
Yellian twisted their body and swung clawed paws in resistance, but Francois was a breeder. He knew well how to handle animals.
Grabbing Yellian by the nape, he quickly shoved Yellian into the same sack as Geumdong.
“Stay quiet in there. I’ll make sure to kill you myself.”
With those chilling words, the world went dark. It was because Francois had tied up the opening of the sack.
Yellian scratched frantically in all directions to escape, but the sack, made to hold heavy things, didn’t tear no matter how much Yellian clawed at it-only a few threads came loose.
And so, Yellian was dragged off to somewhere unknown. Unable to see ahead, Yellian couldn’t be sure what was happening, but from the sound of a door opening and closing, it was clear they had left Leonard’s room.
If they left the duke’s estate like this, it felt like something truly terrible would happen. Yellian gathered strength in their belly and cried out with all their might.
“Miyaaaaaoooow!”
“Damn it, shut up!”
“Aewoooooo!”
Yellian’s sudden wailing left Francois at a loss for what to do. In the end, not knowing how to handle it, he quickened his pace while carrying the sack.
Inside the sack, Yellian could also feel the increased speed. Refusing to give up, Yellian began to cry out desperately once more.
“Miaaaaaaoooow! Nyaaaaaaaah! Aewoooooo!”
“What kind of noise is this?”
“Damn it!”
As Yellian wailed with the intent to be heard, a voice came from a distance. Francois, sounding flustered, let out a short curse.
Then, the force dragging the sack disappeared. Yellian, trying to assess the situation, heightened their guard, claws raised, and froze in place.
“What’s this?”
A familiar voice was getting closer. The voice belonged to Butler Thomas. Yellian began to wail again at full volume.
“Weuuuuuuuow!”
“Is that sound coming from the sack? Open it up!”
“Yes!”
It seemed Thomas wasn’t alone, as he gave an order to someone. It was likely a servant or maid.
Yellian waited anxiously for the sack to be opened. Finally, the tightly tied sack was undone, and light seeped into the darkness inside.
“Aeow.”
“Th-these are my lord’s cats! And even……. a dragon…….”
“What?!”
The servant stammered in surprise, and Thomas, equally shocked, questioned back. He seemed to pause in thought for a moment to grasp the situation, then his expression hardened.
“Send both the cat and the dragon back to my lord’s room. It seems someone tried to abduct my lord’s animals, so guard the door and let no one enter until I return with the guards.”
“Yes, understood!”
Only after hearing Thomas’s words did Yellian feel a sense of relief. Perhaps because the tension eased, the pain from earlier collisions with walls and kicks started to surface. Yellian groaned softly while being carried back to the room by the servant.
Upon returning, the room was a mess. In the earlier frenzy to escape Francois, Yellian had darted around every part of the room, using anything as support, causing the bedside table to topple over and the curtain to tear. The bedding sprawled across the floor went without saying.
Yellian, though determined to catch Francois, lay limply, exhausted. Honestly, Yellian also knew that in a cat’s body, there was little that could be done.
The servant who brought Yellian and Geumdong back to the room stepped outside. As Thomas had instructed, they seemed to be guarding the door. Yellian, still worried about Geumdong’s unconscious state, dragged their aching body to hover around Geumdong.
It was only after a long while that Geumdong woke up. Still dazed, he blinked his eyes and staggered as he walked. Yellian looked on with concern as Geumdong, unable to walk far, collapsed back in place.
“What’s going on?”
“Butler Thomas ordered that no one is to enter the room until my lord arrives!”
“Thomas……? Alright, I understand. Step aside.”
How much time had passed? From beyond the door came the voice Yellian had been desperately waiting for. Overwhelmed with relief and sadness, Yellian felt tears welling up. The places where Francois had struck still ached.
“Yellian!”
Leonard rushed into the room urgently. The moment Yellian saw Leonard’s face, a wave of relief washed over them. And then, the world started spinning.
Words Yellian wanted to say lingered in their mouth, but not a single one could be spoken. Yellian had lost consciousness.
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