Chapter 17

“Is it true that His Majesty called a tailor for Lady Emma?”

A noble lady who looked slightly older than Emma widened her eyes as she asked.

Emma lightly covered her lips with her gloved hand and blushed.

“Not long ago, Her Majesty Princess Michaela also called a tailor for me, so I’ve ended up indulging in luxury without meaning to.”

Her tone sounded almost regretful.

The story of the ruined dress had already vanished.

After passing through the lips of a duchess steeped in high society, the small accident caused by a cat was easily wrapped up as the Emperor’s favor.

Eyes filled with expectation and jealousy sparkled here and there.

“I heard His Majesty even allows the sacred creature into his private residence. Does that mean Lady Emma is allowed to enter as well?”

Emma’s face flushed brightly as if startled, and she raised her voice.

“Enter the private residence? Of course not! I only go to deliver the sacred creature to His Majesty’s chambers around the time he retires!”

“Oh my, at that hour? Then have you confirmed whether the rumors are true, that His Majesty wears a longsword even in his residence?”

Emma laughed as if amused.

“A longsword? His Majesty wears nothing but comfortable linen sleepwear in his residence.”

You liar…

Emma had never once seen Klaus in his sleepwear.

Klaus only changed clothes right before entering his bedroom late at night, and after that, no guest was allowed into the residence.

Not even Michaela had ever committed such a breach.

Of course, I was the only one in the room who knew that.

The young ladies all gasped in admiration, envying Emma.

“The lovely sacred creature is playing such a charming messenger role.”

What are you even saying?

Wow, I really couldn’t take it anymore.

I leaped out of the basket by the fireplace in Emma’s quarters.

“Sacred creature, would you like a snack?”

Emma asked in an even sweeter voice than usual.

So she thinks she’s benefiting because of me?

Hiss!

I lowered my body again and threatened her, and only then did Emma hesitate.

The effect of scratching earlier worked quite well. The timid girls shrank back in surprise, watching nervously.

Taking advantage of that moment, I slipped quickly through the open door.

“Sacred creature! Sacred creature!”

I could hear the maids shouting and running after me, but I didn’t stop.

I ran and ran.

I dashed down the long corridor and raced down the servants’ stairs.

At last, I reached the first floor exit that led outside the castle.

A fierce wind was howling outside.

I hesitated.

I had barely even stepped into the garden before, let alone outside the castle.

At that moment, a familiar voice rang nearby.

“Have you seen the sacred creature?”

My feet moved on their own.

Sitting in that room as Emma’s accessory was far worse.

If I stayed missing within the castle for even a single day, wouldn’t Emma have to pay some price?

The Emperor had forgiven me even when his own sister could have been hurt.

There was no way he wouldn’t search for me over something like this.

So what if it was Emma Schmidt’s dress?

The moment I was certain, I ran straight for the gate.

After running for a long time and getting far from the main castle, the guards’ gazes became indifferent.

At last, I had encountered people who didn’t recognize the sacred cat.

Maybe they didn’t even know a sacred cat existed in the palace.

With a strange sense of freedom, I stepped onto the freezing winter ground.

Even as I ran across the drawbridge with its iron gate raised, I felt exhilarated.

What sacred cat?

I was so focused on wanting that spoiled girl to get in trouble that I failed to think even one step ahead.

How far the village was, whether anyone even lived outside the castle, whether the road was safe, whether people hated cats.

I considered none of it and only cared about leaving the castle.

While living in the palace, looking out the window had been part of my routine.

From the castle, I had seen small buildings and chimneys in the distance, but once outside, all I could see were empty winter fields.

Worse, large animals like cows and pigs roamed freely there.

Gasp!

If I got stepped on by one of those huge pigs, I’d die without even making a sound.

Should I go back now?

I turned back to look at Herera Palace standing behind me in all its grandeur.

Seeing the massive castle from afar made me think of its owner.

…Would His Majesty be worried?

But the next moment, the face that came to mind was that fake Emma Schmidt.

I flicked my tail sharply and turned away again.

There were only barren winter fields around me, but at least my white paws were on a paved road.

The wide path of white stones gave me a strange sense of security.

Avoiding the animals, I carefully walked along the center of the road.

On the white road, my white fur acted as camouflage.

Yet no matter how long I walked, the scenery didn’t change.

Does no one live outside the palace?

But Lydia said her mother and younger brother lived outside.

Then there should be a village somewhere.

How far is it?

My fearful steps grew smaller and smaller, and perhaps because of that, the village refused to appear.

Maybe I should really go back.

Just hiding somewhere in Herera Palace would already be enough to trouble Emma.

Just as my resolve began to waver, houses finally came into view.

People pulling carts passed by, busy with their own lives, not a single one paying attention to me.

It suddenly felt like I had become a stray cat.

In the temple and the palace, I had only been loved. What if people here hated me?

Even if someone tried to harm me, I couldn’t say I was a cat under the Emperor’s protection.

As I walked with those thoughts, the fields disappeared from view.

Tall buildings began to appear, and an entirely different world unfolded.

Buildings four stories high were common, and I quietly realized I had underestimated how developed Kella was.

Before I knew it, I had wandered into a marketplace.

The crowded streets were filled with butcher shops, bakeries, grocery stores, taverns, even a large inn.

Where the tightly packed buildings briefly opened up, there were always street stalls.

The sight of vendors ringing bells to attract customers reminded me of markets I knew.

For a moment, I forgot the cold and looked around.

Even in the busy market, no one noticed such a tiny cat.

…Was my presence really this insignificant?

Then I stopped at the strong smell of food.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten in quite a while.

As I looked around for something to eat, a child standing in front of a grocery store shouted.

“A rabbit!”

M-Me?

Startled, I stepped back in confusion, but the child ran toward me without hesitation.

Behind me was a hard, tall stone wall.

I hurriedly tried to change direction, but another child appeared and reached out suddenly.

“A rabbit! I caught it!”

What are you talking about?

Are all of you blind?

Kids, I’m not a rabbit… I’m clearly a cat.

I decided to prove my identity with the only sound I could make.

“Me-ow.”

They were very young children.

Like preschool age.

The reason I couldn’t struggle when they picked me up was because of my very modern mindset.

I never expected to hear that right after being held in those short little arms.

“Wow! We’re having rabbit meat today!”

Oh my god…

No, this can’t be happening.

I can’t go from being a cat to becoming rabbit meat.

I struggled to break free, but the child held me tightly as if I were his lifeline.

“Meow! Meow!”

I started shouting at the top of my lungs.

Klaus! Lucas!

If only they could hear me…

They were certainly a powerful Emperor and a capable Prime Minister, but they weren’t psychic.

If I had to end up in a fantasy world, couldn’t I at least have gotten a superpower?

To be reborn as a cat that couldn’t even speak, only to end up as “rabbit” meat…

“Meow! Meooow!”

I cried in desperation, but the children just giggled excitedly.

“Wow, we haven’t seen fresh meat since the first snow!”

“It’s so clean! But it’s too small, right? Should we raise it first and then eat it?”

“Meeeow!”

I screamed and struggled, but I couldn’t escape the grip of a child who looked about six years old.

Ah, I really was such a useless cat…

And now I would be taken to their home, fattened up like Hansel, and turned into rabbit meat.

The children, about three or four of them, seemed to be siblings.

They rushed upstairs together, led by the child holding me, and stuffed me into something like a cage.

“Meeeow!”

I finally gathered my courage and scratched the child, but it was useless.

Unlike Emma, he didn’t even blink at my claws.

I was completely trapped.

Despite planning to fatten me up and eat me, they didn’t give me any food and left again.

Alone in the empty house, I was left to battle fear and hunger.

The front door opened again just when I had started to miss even that awful Emma.

“Father, it’s this cat!”

The kid said.

The very one who had dragged me here and shoved me into this cage.

Wait, so you know I’m not a rabbit?

Trapped inside the cage, I glared fiercely at him and hissed.

The man called father entered carrying a bunch of things and busily moved around.

Only after finishing did he approach me and sneer.

“What kind of blind cat would let itself get caught by someone like you…”

You mean to say I got caught?

That’s because I hesitated to scratch your kid bloody, mister!

I hissed at him too, baring my anger.

You! You know I’m a cat, and you still plan to eat me like I’m rabbit meat?

But as he examined me, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He turned to his son, startled.

“Damn it. You brat, where did you catch this cat?”