“You sleep a lot.”

I opened my eyes to find Killian lying at an angle, propped up on one arm, staring down at me impassively.

What is the probability of encountering someone alive who is obviously impossible to see in real life?

I felt somewhat devastated and looked up at him blankly.

“…….”

When did he wake up? His eyes were languid and static as if he’d been up all night.

His white blouse fluttered in the breeze, as his healthy-looking black hair swayed,

I could feel a refreshing and deep scent coming from him.

A person like this has such a dazzling face even in the morning.

“……?”

What did I just admire?

I woke up and stretched my back, feeling an unfamiliar sensation on my feet.

It’s a ribbon wrapped around one of its hind paws and a long piece of string.

“I don’t want you to run away.”

He said wistfully as if he knew where I was looking.

It took some time to understand because the tone was so casual as if he was telling me the breakfast menu.

I mean, how do you make such a dreaded word sound so elegant and classy?

“Mmm?”

I move my eyes along the ribbon and realize it’s connected to the inside of Killian’s sleeve.

I climb up his shirt to see how far it goes and stick my head out to look inside.

I could vaguely hear him frowning and laughing.

Sure enough, there was a ribbon wrapped around his wrist.

“Breakfast.”

Killian ordered breakfast to be brought to the bedroom, and as soon as everyone left the bedroom, he placed me on a table with a generous amount of food on it and said,

He can’t possibly be planning on staying up all day, is he?

Struck by an ominous feeling, I stuck my head out to see what was on the plates.

“Milk.”

As he spoke, pouring milk into an empty plate, he placed a small piece of freshly baked, warm bread on another plate with an expressionless face.

A sweet, appetizing scent caught my eye, so I walked around the table, stopped looking at the dishes, and approached him.

With a blunt but sincere hand, Killian cut the crispy grilled steak into smaller pieces than fingernails and served it with eggplant and asparagus.

The same with the fruits.

The look on his face as he looked down at the knife and cut it was very elegant.

Now that I think about it, unlike yesterday, he has now served me everything I wanted to eat. What’s wrong with him?

I couldn’t figure out what his intentions were, so I looked around and walked to the plate containing the steak.

 If I only ate milk like yesterday, I’m sure I won’t have energy all day, so I’m targeting the meat first.

“You want meat first?”

He asked, and I didn’t answer, just put my front paws on the plate, grabbed a piece of steak, and put it in my mouth.

I could see his long eyes deepen deeply as he looked down at me.

“Eat slowly.”

He made eye contact as he cut the steak into smaller pieces on my plate.

“You must be hungry.”

“Mmm.”

“I gave you too little yesterday, did I.”

“Mmm.”

“I’ll feed you more from now on.”

From now on? I tilted my head and looked up at him.

Is he planning on raising me?

“You want more?”

Interpreting my stare as a request for more, Killian placed the fruit in front of me and held up a teacup of hot tea.

As I stared at the unexpected kindness, a memory of yesterday came back to me.

I could smell blood on him yesterday, is he feeling better?

Yesterday it looked pretty sharp, so I didn’t dare take a look, but today it looks a little loose, so I’ll check to see where the cut is.  

“……meow!”

Immediately as he was putting down the teacup, I climbed up the back of his hand and jumped down into his lap.

Shocked, I slid down to his chair and stuck my head into his blouse as he pried his back off the backrest.

“……!”

When I put my head inside the fluttering soft blouse, I saw dark red scars littering my cracked back like pieces.

“What are you doing?”

My paws instinctively flailed in the air as he hastily pulled me out of the blouse.

“Meow.”

Oh my god. It was too much. How dare he beat someone like this!

“Meow!”

It was said that Killian was the best in the empire, not only in fighting but also in swordsmanship, but was that of no use?

There was not even a trace of defiance in his body. Why?

As I continued to wriggle in his hands, Killian slowly put me down with a short sigh.

A dark shadow was cast under his gaze as he looked down at me from the table.

“You want to look.”

Who cares who sees your back now?

I can’t believe that the emperor, who was called the strongest in the original work, was so foolishly patient when he was the crown prince.

Even the protagonist of an impoverished novel must endure such unfortunate circumstances.

How can he live in peace with this?

At first glance, his ears turned red and I thought he was embarrassed, but he soon returned to his expressionless expression, so it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

After all, what human being would be embarrassed to be found injured by a cat?

“Eat your fruit.”

Killian put down the fruit on the plate, speaking calmly as if he was used to this kind of thing.

“Mmm!”

But I wasn’t done yet.

I raised both front paws high in the air and slammed them down on the table in a sign of seriousness.

At the same time, one of his eyebrows arched up.

“What are you doing?”

“Meow!”

I tapped the table with my front paws again and again.

As he watched my behavior, a strange look of amusement crossed his face and he smirked.

“Your angry that I got hurt……. This is a problem that requires everyone to take action, is that what you mean?”

“Meow!”

I’d read in the original story that he’d spent an unjustified amount of time in silence as a crown prince to avoid arousing the suspicions of his father, Emperor Adolf.

But I didn’t know it was this bad.

I was so thirsty from the heat that I quickly drank a sip of the water on my plate.

The corner of Killian’s mouth seemed to slightly rise as he looked down at me, but it was hidden by the teacup he was holding up.

“You have a way of letting your frustrations out.”

As I was wiping my face with my front paw to wipe the moisture from my fur, his finger came closer and touched my mouth.

Sheesh, someone would think you were talking about someone.

Such a nonchalant face.

“It’s weird. You seem human.”

Setting down his teacup, he propped his head at an angle with one hand and spoke slowly.

“Or like you really think you’re a cat.”

Oh, did I just go too far?

You have to be reasonably polite because acting like a human might actually have the opposite effect.

I shuffled back toward my plate, pretending to focus on the leftovers.

“Are you fooling me? Don’t you know something? … .”

I could feel his fingertips brushing through my fur in thought.

* * *

“Don’t put your paws on the window. Get away.”

I tried to put my front paw on the window sill, but he quickly pulled me toward him, giving me a stern warning.

Killian and I were currently riding a carriage on our way to Crowd Town.

“Meow.”

I turned to Killian, who had given me attention, and made a loud noise as if I understood

When our eyes met, he squinted his long eyes and gave me an excited look, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward.

People walking busily passed by the windows one by one, and buildings with steep spires slowly appeared.

We had entered Crowd Town, the capital’s most prosperous street.

“We have arrived, Your Majesty.”

The carriage stopped, and the chamberlain’s voice was heard from the other side announcing the arrival.

As Killian got off, I slipped into the pocket of his jacket and took a seat.

Soon I could feel him leisurely step out of the carriage, followed by the sound of jingling bells.

“The glory comes, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince!”

Did he get in?

When he entered and was greeted like a gift with a flurry of praise.

Killian maintained a gentlemanly attitude, choosing to smile rather than answer, and seemed to quietly wait for time to pass.

“What is this.”

Killian asked, picking something up.

“Those are props for the masquerade ball at the palace, Your Highness. They’re still being made, and when they’re all finished, they’ll be on display.”

A masquerade ball at the palace?

In the original story, the masquerade balls hosted by the imperial court were said to be more lavish and full of surprises than those hosted by any other family.

“…….”

But it’s safe to say there’s zero chance of me ever seeing it. Hmm.

I sighed quietly as I curled up like a ball, losing my appetite.

“I’d like to see it alone.”

Killian said in a calm tone, and I was soon alone as the owner quickly left the room.

“Look.”

At Killian’s words, I clawed at the lining of his jacket and poked my head out of it to see rows and rows of dresses on mannequins and hangers.

Next to it, high-quality silk and expensive jacquard fabrics that were difficult to find were displayed at an angle so that they could be easily seen, and applique fabrics with delicate embroidery on lace were also stretched out.

Ah, a boutique!

“This is. Cumbersome.”

Hey, you said you’d see it sometime.

I didn’t get a chance to look as Killian rushed past the dresses and gowns, not really taking a good look.

“This might be better.”

He soon stopped at a place where the flowing chemises were hung and spoke.

These? What are you looking at?

I had no idea what he was going to use this woman’s chemises for.

As I watched Killian drop the thin chemise straight down with one hand, I wondered who he was going to give it to, and one name popped into my head.

Could it be Lady Gisela?

Killian said that he had never shown interest in women until he became emperor.

If that was the case, the only people I could think of to whom he could give women’s chemises were his mother Empress Elyse, and Lady Gisela.

As for a chemise for his mother, he didn’t see her often enough to give her a nightgown that a girl like her would wear.

And Madame Gisela? She’s three years older than Killian, so a design like that would be appropriate.

But why did he treat her so coldly yesterday?

Because Killian had been eating Madame. Gisela’s black magic powder all this time, even though he hadn’t eaten yesterday?

Because he has a soft spot in his heart for her for taking care of his meals?

Yeah, if that was why he’d bought all those chemises, it made some sense.

“Is this enough?”

At his question, I looked up from staring at the pile of chemise on the floor.

Would these be enough?

“Should I pick more?”

More? This crown prince doesn’t realize how scary she is! Talk about big trouble!

“Meow!”

I quickly grabbed his hand with my front paw to stop him.

A mysterious light appeared in Killian’s red eyes, and he looked down at me as if he was unexpected.

“Don’t buy it.”

“Meow!”

“You really don’t want me to buy it……?”

He kept his gaze locked on me, and when he tried to move his hand once more, I impatiently bit down on his finger.

“Aw.”

Killian smiled without blinking despite the sharp pain and slowly lifted me up to his nose.

“It seems that you really don’t know …….”

Watching me dangle from his fingers, he wrapped his other hand around me in a supportive embrace.

“If you don’t know”

Something inexplicable flared in his eyes like a red flower bursting open.

“I’ll keep …… to myself.”