MFTR 89

Chapter 89

If the Princess Would Just Get Jealous, I’d Have No Other Wish

Kardine, never once imagining that the cat on his lap was actually Anette, spoke with a mocking tone.

“I probably won’t even be able to show you this room to the end….”

At that very moment, Anette, provoked by his words, smacked him in the chest with her front paw.

“Mya! (Why on earth!)”

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Kardine looked down at the cat.

Her tiny paw, small enough to rest neatly on the tip of his finger, looked softer than a cotton puff, yet it surprisingly carried a wild streak—its impact was far from negligible.

No, it’s more than just “not negligible,” isn’t it?

Rubbing the sore spot on his chest where he suspected a bruise might form, Kardine burst into laughter at the sight of the glaring cat.

“You look gentle, but your temper’s rotten.”

“……”

“I thought you resembled the Princess… but now I see you’re completely different. My Princess is an angel, you see.”

Even to a cat, he bragged about her like some lovesick fool. Anette looked at him with a sour expression.

Should she show him another taste of her temper for calling her ill-tempered? Or should she be grateful he saw her as an angel? She hesitated for a moment.

But soon she shook her head and glared at Kardine all the fiercer.

She had confessed all her weaknesses to him, and yet he refused to be honest with her—how infuriating.

“Myaang! (Why are you doing this!)”

The cat’s eyes seemed to scold him, and Kardine, recalling the wine he’d just drunk, wondered if he might be tipsy. He muttered as if to excuse himself.

“No matter what side of the Princess I see, I’ll always find her lovely. But the Princess won’t feel the same.”

Because she doesn’t love me.

Anette froze at his next words.

“I don’t want her to see me as some creepy, twisted man who decorates a room like this and sits around admiring it. I’d rather look cool, if possible.”

“……”

“Of course, I know it’s pathetic and childish….”

His hushed confession, heavy with the soot of his burnt-out heart, pinned her still.

“The Princess would never understand me being jealous, either.”

Kardine let out a weary sigh, followed by a smile tinged with resignation.

Anette shook her head.

That wasn’t true. She wanted to say she understood everything.

But all she could do was let out a cat’s meow, which frustrated her. Unconsciously, she reached out a paw toward his face.

“I’d have no greater wish than if the Princess were jealous of me.”

“……”

“If only she’d scold me, question me, snap at me, pester me….”

Freeze.

At his wistful murmur, Anette stopped in her tracks.

She gulped and slowly withdrew the paw she had extended.

“Myaaa….”

Sorry, but I don’t think I can understand that part.

Turning her head awkwardly, she tried to hide her unease.

Meanwhile, Kardine went on, still whining about wanting the Princess to cling to him and restrict him.

It was far from the dignified image he had wished to show.

But contrary to his own fears, he didn’t look creepy or pathetic.

If anything… he might look kind of cute.

Anette nearly laughed and resolved quietly to herself:

When I return to human form, I’ll tell him.

That just as he saw worthless little me as grand and lovable, I saw him as wonderful and lovable no matter what he was like.

Now she finally understood why Kardine hadn’t been honest with her, and why he had hesitated to show her the fifth-floor room. He was a fool, but a pitiful one, too.

She had thought she’d expressed her feelings plenty, but it was clear now how little he had understood.

But in truth, hadn’t she been the same? Watching how he went to such extremes for her, yet doubting his sincerity, unable to trust it fully?

I’ve no right to call him a fool.

Feeling guilty for smacking him earlier, she moved close with a show of affection and pressed her round, soft paw against his chest in comfort.

From smacking him one moment to kneading like a kitten the next—it was like giving him both poison and the cure. Kardine chuckled helplessly.

If not for this tiny creature, tonight might have been unbearably miserable.

Petting the cat who had unexpectedly comforted him, he smiled in relief, unaware of her thoughts, while Anette flicked her tail and turned her head.

Just then, something inside the nearest display case by the door caught her eye.

“……?”

She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the unfamiliar object.

“Then let’s go.”

Kardine suddenly stood up.

“Myang? Myaang! (Where? Where are we going now!)”

Rumble—crash!

The weather, which had started turning gloomy that afternoon, broke into a downpour after sunset.

Outside, the black night was lashed with heavy rain. The violent wind rattled the windows, and thunder cracked in the distance—echoing the turmoil in Anette’s heart.

Kwarrrung!

A lightning bolt lit up the view outside, flooding everything with white.

Kardine quickly lit the lamps inside the room.

“If turning off the light earlier wasn’t a coincidence, but a ploy to stop me from finding you, then that was a brilliant move.”

He couldn’t even tell anymore if the time he spent with this cat was due to drink, or just a dream. With a wry laugh, Kardine reached for her.

Anette, cornered, slipped away at the last moment, agile body saving her from capture.

The strange chase resumed—hunter and prey. She clicked her tongue inwardly, regretting the light.

It was easier to escape when the lights were off and my night vision gave me the edge.

Poking her head out from under the bed, she watched him raise both hands in mock surrender.

“All right, I give up.”

Her eyes went wide, but Kardine only shook his head with a rueful smile.

“Never thought you’d hate baths this much.”

“……”

“You’ve no idea how big a decision it was, wanting to wash you myself instead of calling a servant.”

Anette was dumbfounded by his tone, as if he were offering her some great favor.

The place Kardine had brought her after leaving the fifth-floor room was his own chamber.

Though she had toured the Grand Duke’s castle with Larisa, this was her first time in Kardine’s private quarters. The fifth-floor room had been surprising enough—but to be brought here right after left her stunned.

Only then did she realize he intended to bathe with her in the adjoining bathroom, and she bolted in panic.

How could she possibly bathe with him, even if she was in cat form?

No way. Not before we’re even married!

Flustered, she shook her head furiously, not even realizing where her thoughts were headed.

Meanwhile, Kardine, returning from the bathroom with a damp towel, beckoned to her.

“Come here. I can’t let you stay all grimy and give you to the Princess. I’ll just wipe your face and paws.”

“Myaang! (Grimy?!)”

Anette protested angrily—she wasn’t dirty, nor did she hate baths. Her tail lashed the floor in furious thumps.

Kardine found it amusing, chuckling at her antics before tilting his head.

“It’s like you really understand what I’m saying.”

Startled, Anette blinked rapidly and quickly looked away.

Fortunately, he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he motioned for her again.

Feigning ignorance, she tilted her head in confusion while watching him approach warily. Then—

“Got you.”

She allowed herself to be caught naturally in his hands.

Thankfully, Kardine seemed to have abandoned the idea of bathing together. With patient care, he wiped her head, muzzle, and paws with the wet towel, then left for the bathroom without further fuss.

Granted, he had taken an awfully long time rubbing the sensitive jelly pads of her paws, which made her suspicious—but at least he hadn’t carried her into the bath, so she sighed with relief.

Just then, the sound of running water echoed from behind the closed bathroom door.

Anette stiffened, trying to calm her oddly unsettled heart.

It’s only because I’m a cat now, sensitive to loud noises.

She ignored how the storm’s roaring winds and rain had long ceased to register in her ears.

Her thoughts kept drifting toward the bathroom. She even wondered, half-ashamedly, if she should’ve just followed Kardine in. Flustered by her own shameless imagination, she shook her head violently.

She turned her eyes elsewhere to distract herself, and luckily, the novelty of Kardine’s bedroom caught her attention.

His spacious chamber, complete with a terrace overlooking a well-kept garden, was draped with deep navy blackout curtains. Furnishings were simple: a bed, side table, full-length mirror—only the essentials.

Compared to Larisa’s room, crammed with dainty decorations, it seemed almost barren.

She had expected Kardine’s room to be as lavish as his striking appearance. The contrast left her a little dazed.

But the plainness also reminded her of her own once-empty office, and strangely, it comforted her.

Gathering courage, Anette approached the mirror to see her reflection.

So… my eyes have turned gold.

Still a cat, she felt disappointment—but also wonder at the sight of her eyes no longer a bloody red.

She pressed her paw against the mirror, gazing as if entranced.

How long had she stood there like that?

Click—

The bathroom door opened, and out stepped a man with damp hair.

“……!”

Her pupils trembled like a storm-struck sea.