“You want to know?”

Killian asked nonchalantly.

“Mmm.”

I really was curious.

It’s not like there are cameras in this world, and I become human when I fall asleep, so the only way to check on me was to ask Killian.

He looked at me like a man lost in thought and squeezed my front paw, still in his palm, slightly.

There was a haughty, elegant gleam in his squinty eyes.

Hmm, to tell or not to tell.

The squinty eyes seemed to struggle with the question.

“First of all, You’re a man…….”

What?

“Meow?”

I jumped to my feet, startled.

“Not when you’re awake, but when you’re asleep, you’re a man.”

He looked down at me, his face expressionless as he explained.

I’m speechless and my jaw drops.

I wanted to ask him if that made sense, but then I realized that at this point, having been inside a book and possessed by a cat, what could possibly make sense to me anymore?

I quickly wrote on his palm.

‘Then why am I wearing a chemise, that’s for girls.’

After a moment of silence and staring at his palm, Killian said simply, “It’s easier to wear.

“Because they’re easier to put on, and they’re longer.”

“!”

“I’d have to cover up most of it.”

“!”

I flailed helplessly as if pushed by the wind.

My head was buzzing like I’d been hit in the back of the head.

To cover it all up. It’s easy to put on.

Yeah……. The chemise is long enough to go below my ankles, and it covers everything from my neck down.

“Ugh.”

Okay, now it makes sense.

The first night I fell asleep, Killian was so threatening as soon as he found me, for a reason.

Who wants to see the naked body of a complete stranger in their bed out of nowhere?

He must have been surprised. You had every right to be surprised and angry. Yeah. Yeah, right.

“…….”

It would have been nice to have one gender, male or female.

If this is the punishment, then…….

I really killed it. You really did kill…….

Cats deserve this curse for doing something so wrong.

I’m a girl by day and a man by night.

Picturing myself as something I can’t even begin to imagine, I pressed down on the pit of my stomach.

“Time to sleep now, right?”

Regardless of my sobs, Killian said calmly, setting me down near the pillows.

If it were you would you be able to sleep?

“Sleep.”

With an impassive face, Killian forced me to lie down and then had the kindness to pull the covers over me.

“Close your eyes.”

He gingerly placed his hand over my eyes, forcing my eyelids to close.

As I heard him casually make his way to the couch, I suddenly realized I shouldn’t be doing this.

“Myameow!”

Killian may have been sleeping on the sofa because I’ve been sleeping naked, but now that I know this, doesn’t it make sense for me to sleep on the sofa?

Even if I couldn’t think straight, I had something to think about.

“Meow!”

“What?”

“Meow!”

I pointed to the couch first, then to Killian, who was looking back at me, and quickly hopped over to make a show of getting there.

“Meow.”

I pointed at Killian, then back to the pillows on the bed, and pretended to lay down.

“Meowmeorrrmeow?”

Sleep like this. Do you understand?

When I said it out loud, he arched one eyebrow like a man confronted with a bizarre sight.

His red eyes, which closed and opened slowly, stared at me for a long moment before he turned away bluntly.

“No, Sleep there.”

Is he saying no because he understands, or because he can’t understand and is annoyed?

“Meow!”

I watched Killian go to the couch, then got frustrated and patted the bed with my front paws, but he didn’t look this way.

Tsk, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just going to lie down on his stomach.

Even if I ran up to him and grabbed him with my mouth and pulled him, there was no way Killian’s big physique would obey me.

I took one look at Killian, whose eyes were closed, and slipped under the covers.

He was really uncomfortable.

It bothered me terribly that I was occupying the bed when my owner was right there.

“…….”

I poked my head out for the umpteenth time and positioned myself for sleep when I heard Killian’s nonchalant voice.

“I’ll give you a name.”

My ears perked up and my head snapped up.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even known my own name or realized I needed one.

“Miyarr.”

If you name me, I’ll be grateful, but…….

It’s not easy to name something that’s part cat, part human, and somewhere in between.

And since I was becoming a human, I wonder if this body had a name.

But I don’t remember, so, um…….

Killian, lying on the couch, twisted his head slightly to look up at me.

“Are you saying you don’t like it?”

“Meow.”

“It’s okay.”

“Meow.”

“Yeah.”

With a faint sigh, I watched Killian turn to face the ceiling and position himself for bed.

What was that? I felt like I’d just had a conversation.

I felt an inexplicable rush of pride, then a sense of self-deprecation at myself for being so happy about this.

I let out a long sigh as if pushing all my thoughts away with my toes, and the tension in my body pushed away.

It was the end of a day that seemed to never end.

* * *

Killian glanced at the sleeping girl.

‘First of all, You’re a man.’

Why did I say that?

Killian frowned slightly and set his jaw.

He didn’t have to say it, but the cat’s gaping mouth in surprise only made judgment worse.

Tsk-

Killian slowly lowered his gaze and picked up the notebook and pen on the desk.

He walked past the large couch, turned down the lamp, and paced back over.

His other hand held a chair.

Could she really not remember anything?

The cat said yes, but he didn’t fully believe it.

She was a mysterious cat, and at any moment she could vanish from his sight without a trace.

Killian sat back in his chair and picked up his notes.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this.”

His pen hovered over his notes, as lush as his tone.

It’s a small gesture.

A small gift to a cat who can’t even see her own face when everyone else can.

“…….”

As I looked over the note again and again, the girl’s face came into focus.

Everything about her was soft.

The watery hair, the soft skin, the calm breath.

In the brightness of the day and the depths of the night, she was a natural extension of it all.

She was a woman who could have been asleep somewhere in a verdant forest in midsummer, or in a castle bedroom under a blanket of snow in the dead of winter.

It was a strange thing.

Squeak.

As soon as the line was strong enough, I tore the paper out and threw it away.

I must have thrown away five sheets.

By this point, I should be familiar with the girl’s face and be able to capture a similar image.

But the more I drew, the harder it was.

I wasn’t sure of anything.

“……crack.”

Suddenly, a name slipped past his lips.

Killian’s red eyes lingered on the girl’s face.

And slowly, he realized.

The girl hadn’t opened her eyes.

That’s why it’s hard to recognize her face.

What would she look like if she opened her eyes?

The question that had sparked the moment before settled in his mind and wouldn’t leave.

He couldn’t imagine the face of the girl who would make eye contact with him.

He wondered what it would be like if she woke up as a human.

Killian dropped his gaze back to his notes.

He was completing the face of the sleeping girl, but his mind was still stuck on a single thought.

* * *

“That’s good.”

Killian said, placing the chopped pieces of steak on my plate.

I took a bite of the veal he sliced for me and slowly popped it into my mouth.

Yeah, let’s eat hard. Eat and be strong, and you’ll find a way to be a man.

First of all, whether you’re a man or a woman, you shouldn’t be in despair because you have hope of becoming a man.

If I can become human, at least when I’m awake, it will make it easier to help Killian, and it will make it easier to figure out how the empire and the cat are connected.

I replied, turning to Killian with determination.

“Meow!”

Killian’s serene gaze lingered on me for a moment.

“You will be fine.”

“Meow!”

“Alone. Well.”

“Mi-yang!”

Killian’s eyes seemed to lengthen strangely each time I answered aloud with a series of nods,

“Good.”

He said softly, pouring water in front of me.

Sitting elegantly in a white cravat neatly tied to the neck and an elaborately embroidered dark gray jacket, Killian looked even more thorough and unapproachable today.

Even today, the crown prince’s handsomeness knows no bounds.

I scrutinized his complexion and shook my head in wonder.

I detected no after-effects, no shade, in his complexion.

Maybe I have incredible resilience that I don’t know about?

I was secretly worried that he was pushing through the pain, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

In the original story, whenever Killian suffered from an unexplained high fever or visions, Mrs. Gisela would show up like a ghost to help him.

In other words, Lady Gisela was poisoning him with small doses of medicine every day, tormenting him with more black magic than he needed, and weakening him, and judging by his reaction now, he hadn’t reached that point.

Given that Killian had already enlisted Lady Gisela’s help on several occasions before becoming Emperor, it would make sense for her to remain in power after Killian was crowned.

It would have made sense for her to retain power before Killian’s ascension to the throne since she knew that frequent ingestion of more than a certain amount of black magic potions in a short period of time would not produce the desired results, but would result in death.

It is probably around May now, as the violets and poppies at the Baron Duchesne estate were in full bloom.

In the original novel, it is said that he started to eat more than the recommended amount at the age of 19, so he could have already eaten it two or three times, including this picnic.

At this point, I think it would be timely for him to be in pain so that Mrs. Gisela would be willing to help and give him other medicines, and he would gradually open up.

Or is it two months later when Mrs. Gisela starts to accept help?

“Let’s go for a walk when I get back.”

Killian stroked my hair with his thumb and got up from the chair.

He brought me several books to read if I got bored.

I wonder who he’s going to see, all dressed up like that.

Tsk-tsk-tsk.

At that moment, I heard a dull friction sound.

“!”

I turned my head in the direction of the sound and saw a large, pure-white thing floating in the air, its wings flapping slowly.