“What’s wrong?”

Madame Gisela asked, forcing a smile at Killian’s behavior, who hadn’t even had a drink yet.

Her eyes were fixed on Killian’s hovering hand.

He is a crown prince who thinks she wants the position of empress, but if he slowly becomes addicted to the black magic potion in the food, he will have no choice but to become paralyzed in his mind and his objective judgment will become clouded.

Emperor Adolf was already suffering from severe poisoning and hallucinations.

He was suffering from fear because he did not want this fact to be revealed and had no choice but to rely on her, who was the only one who noticed it.

He had no idea how his father had become addicted!

Killian will gradually become like that in the distant future.

In order to keep Killian, the next Emperor, under her command and manipulate him to her will, she must poison him by feeding him food containing a black magic potion once a day.

Lady Gisela’s eyes lit up like flames as she stared at his hand, gritting her inner molars.

“As Your Highness said, I will go as soon as I see you eating.”

She smiled warmly and waited for his hand to move.

Just as unhealthy food tastes good, a dish containing black magic will taste sweet on your tongue.

Just have one drink. Just one drink!

“……!”

Killian set his utensil down nonchalantly as he held his breath.

“Majesty… … ?”

“Go away.”

Killian said with a dismissive glance, then took a sip of the wine beside him.

Lady Gisela froze caught another glimpse of Killian’s scowling demeanor and took the food which was still untouched.

“Your Highness, however, this dish is…….”

“I can see that your ladyship has taken great care in preparing it, but I don’t think it’s your place to interfere with my diet.”

Lady Gisela’s eyes drooped as she caught the lie.

“… … Highness. Even if you don’t feel like it.”

“Of course not, but your majesty is…….”

“Since you did it, does that mean I have to eat it?”

The crown prince’s mouth curved into a crooked grin that would make a general in the thick of battle no longer dare to attack.

She knew he was a difficult person to please, so she tried to annoy him and get him to do what he wanted.

“I understand your point, Your Highness.”

Lady Gisela gritted her teeth, grabbed the hem of her dress, and turned around.

If her method doesn’t work, she’d have to use the Emperor.

* * *

“You see ……?”

Killian asked, showing me the back of his hand.

He tried to comfort me from the outside, eventually, he reached into his pocket to grab me and calm me down, but my heart was anxious and I had no choice but to bite his hand with all my strength.

I hung on his fingernails for tens of seconds.

I thought I had weak teeth because I was a kitten……

The back of his hand and the knuckles of his fingers greeted me with droplets of blood.

I didn’t bite him to bite him, but was trying to help him.

“Meow…….”

I felt bad for biting so hard, so I put my hand on his wound……, or rather, my front paw.

It was still difficult to guess what was inside Killian’s eyes as he looked down at me impassively while tilting his head with one hand.

Well, even if the cat apologizes, how could he possibly understand it as an apology?

It’s probably his first time seeing a cat.

Should I have just let him eat that and tried to figure out a way to save him?

Uh, no, but I can’t stand by and watch people get addicted to such a scary drug.

I should probably stay away from Madame Gisela’s food for the rest of my life.

But the crown prince doesn’t have the eyes of a hawk or the nose of a dog, so how could he possibly pick out Madame Gisela’s food from the daily table and not eat it?

In the original novel, he was already addicted to her black magic potion.

Hmmm.

“…….”

I glanced up, looking at Killian, who was still unrealistically handsome.

I was a cat, a criminal wanted all over the country, and even if I left Killian’s side here, there was a good chance I’d be killed as soon as I was discovered by others.

With that rich crown prince at my side, I’m pretty much guaranteed a living.

The problem is, I don’t know if I’m just a cat, or if I’m possessed by a human in cat form.

For the time being, wouldn’t it be better to act like a clever cat and survive, find clues to my existence, and figure out a way to escape?

I’d have to figure out my own way out of this since he’s the kind of guy who’d leave everything behind if the female lead showed up.

“Meow.”

However, if I read too much into it, it might be considered more ominous or bad luck, so let’s take a look at the atmosphere and decide on a route.

As I gathered my thoughts and organized my plan, Killian’s other hand came up in the air.

I instinctively flinched as his hand landed on the top of my head.

Then he touched my chin.

It felt relaxed and somehow serene.

“Maybe you were surprised that I put you inside my pocket.”

He made his own interpretation of me biting his hand and unconsciously reached out to where the dishes were placed.

From the other side, I could smell an incredibly hunger-inducing odor that stood out from the rest of the deliciously aromatic food.

Wait, is that possible?

“Meow!”

I immediately clung to his arm.

He stopped and looked down at me.

“Meow!”

I shook my head with all my strength and struggled with my legs in the air.

“What are you doing?”

One eyebrow arched and pulled me away from his outstretched arm.

I started running straight for the smell that made my mouth water.

It was a savory, sweet smell that worked up an appetite I didn’t have.

I run past the dishes, chasing after the strongest aroma wafting through the colorful tableware.

That’s it!

Arriving in front of a deep, wide bowl, I stepped on the edge of the plate with my front feet and stuck my head out to look at the dish.

I was greeted by a cubed lamb, just as she had described.

“Mmmmm.”

Wow, this was a dish that not only looked amazing,  but the smell just made me want to lose my mind and taste it.

“Meow!”

I said firmly, standing back in front of my plate and looking up at Killian.

I could see his brows narrow as if he didn’t understand.

“Meeeooww!”

As I tapped harder and louder with my front paw, Killian frowned even more and glanced at me and the food one by one.

Ah, how do I tell him he can’t eat this?

Frustrated by my inability to express myself in human language, I began to scratch the floor in frustration.

“Meowww!”

It was a last resort.

I raised my claws as hard as I could and started scratching the table as if I was disgusted.

As he watched my actions, I saw him stiffen like someone who had encountered something strange.

This is it!

I scratched harder, digging my front paws into the table like a cat trying to bury something dirty.

Killian, who had been watching me like a statue, dropped his gaze and pursed his lips in confusion.

“Don’t eat it…….”

Yes! I suddenly raised my head and nodded as I heard Killian’s voice ringing in the air.

“Meoww!”

“I should eat it.”

“Meeow!”

I made a gesture of kicking it away with my back foot, indicating that it was food that should be completely buried.

He glanced down at me, then raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“……I think my head is a little weird right now.”

After a long pause, he looked at me again.

“Point to something I shouldn’t eat. Can you do it?”

As soon as he finished speaking, I barely managed to put one front paw on the plate that Madame Gisela had brought.

Killian looked at me speechless, then stood up from his chair and lifted me up.

“You’re saying this food is not meant to be eaten.”

“Meow!”

“Why?”

Uh……. If you’re asking why……. I’m embarrassing myself.

Killian started pressing his temples together in frustration.

“……This is crazy.”

Killian sighed and stared at me.

“What’s going to happen to me if I eat this…… thing?”

He asked with a stern look on his face, as if he didn’t want to admit that he was talking to me.

“Meow.”

I nodded and tapped his hand with my front paw to get him to focus on me.

“Chop-chop-chop.”

As I pretended to eat the food, he looked at me as if he had spotted a meat-eating elephant.

“Kyaak!”

I made a choked sound.

“Piyuu.”

I finished as my body sagged in his hands, telling him that if he ate it, he would die.

At the same time, his rigid eyes flinched.

Did he get it?

I glance up at him, and a smile escapes Killian’s red lips.

“If you eat it.”

“Meow.”

“You collapse. You get sick. I mean, like, like, poison.”

When I nodded and opened my eyes wide, Killian touched his forehead as if he was shocked.

“This doesn’t make sense.”

He sighed and set me down on the table.

He stroked my hair, then brought the plate closer to me as if to say finish your milk.

Then he ran his fingertips down my back, looking intrigued.

“Is this possible that I can understand a cat?”

No. It’s more like a human in a catsuit.

However, due to Killian’s slow touch, my eyes naturally began to narrow and I almost let out a groan, so I had to suddenly keep my mouth shut and come to my senses.

Am I really a cat?

What if I’m a cat with no chance of becoming human?

An ominous sense of foreboding washed over me, but I refused to give up hope until I had more information. I decided to focus on survival.

“Myaaahhhh…….”

I approached cautiously, like a cat worried about the wound it had inflicted on Killian.

There’s nothing wrong with the cuteness of a white and fluffy kitten, so I’m going to buy his heart.

As his red eyes followed my movements, I placed my front paw near the wound on his hand and gently touched the surrounding area.

Touching the wound would introduce germs.

I glance up at him, offering the best comfort a cat can.

I looked at him, but he didn’t seem to have any reaction.

“Meow.”

I stroked the back of Killian’s hand once more and stuck my head out to look up at him, squinting slightly.

He watched me with a wistful gaze, then burst out laughing.

“This is funny.”

Oh, he laughed.

I noticed that one corner of Killian’s mouth was up at an angle.

It’s the kind of face that breaks out in laughter when something trivial and strange catches your eye in the midst of boredom.

The smile that appeared at first glance was so cool that it was a bit surprising

And……. It doesn’t look bad.

“Eat.”

Killian pushed the plate with the milk in front of me again.

I obeyed him and drank the milk, rolling my eyes again.

Okay, first I’ll find out if I can become a human, and then I’ll find out if I can’t.

If I become human, I’ll get the hell out of this empire before I get caught up in any complications, and if I stay as a cat, I’ll find a way to get out of the empire, while keeping the crown prince’s nose to the grindstone and getting in and out just enough to help me get ahead.

Chop-chop-chop-chop!

I gulped down my milk like it was fueling my willpower and looked up.

I heard footsteps in the distance.

I heard the gatekeeper at the front of the banquet room saying something.

“Shhh.”

Killian must have sensed it because he put me inside his pocket.

This time the sound was slower and heavier than high heels.

Soon the footsteps stopped and there was a moment of silence.

“Your Highness Crown Prince.”

A man’s voice.

“Your Highness the Emperor has ordered you to quickly enter the second study.”