MFTR 84

Chapter 84

 Could it be… my lady?

How much time had passed?

Perhaps from nervousness, or perhaps from excitement, Annette felt her heart pounding.

But I don’t feel any heat in my chest, nor that sensation of blood surging…

She remembered how Martin had reacted so dramatically when she once confessed such symptoms to him, and so she carefully checked her own condition. But nothing like that was happening.

Just as Annette tilted her head in puzzlement—

“……!”

Suddenly, a pain like her heart would burst gripped her chest.

Before she could even let out a groan, her vision went black and the strength drained from her entire body.

And yet, strangely, her body felt languid, her mind hazy, and she couldn’t so much as lift a finger.

This was the first time she’d experienced anything like it, and as she lost focus, she collapsed where she stood.

Thud.

Something dropped heavily to the floor.

“……?”

Half-lidded eyes fluttering, Annette realized her pitch-black vision had turned pure white.

And… heavy.

Why did she feel heavy?

She should only have had a single towel draped around her body.

Tilting her head in confusion, Annette reached out absently.

And then—something in her sight made her doubt her own eyes.

She was staring at a trembling paw.

Wh-what is this?!

“Meow!”

Annette froze in shock at the sound that escaped her.

The fact that soft fur now covered her hands was the least of her problems.

Jerking upright with a flash of clarity, she tore away the white towel covering her.

Though her movements felt oddly strange, she stubbornly dismissed it as imagination and slowly stepped toward the mirror.

Then—thud.

“Ae…o…? (A cat?)”

Annette muttered in dazed disbelief.

In the mirror, a tiny red-furred kitten sat with its bottom planted on the floor, letting out a small cry.

Her lips felt parched; instinctively she licked them, only to feel her rough little tongue brush against furry lips.

The shock was incomparable even to the time she had turned into a child. Her heart, now in a body barely larger than an adult’s fist, pounded as though it would burst.

Unable to endure, Annette fainted.

Meanwhile, Zeon, who had just finished his bath and was buttoning his shirt, paused at the noise outside.

He finished fastening the last button, opened the window, and saw the same carriage from before pulling up hastily in front of the annex.

His eyes narrowed.

A short while ago, he had missed the chance to confirm who the carriage belonged to.

On the grueling journey from Heyworth to the imperial capital, then straight on to the Grand Duchy without rest, Luke had grown weary and kept pestering him with questions about what they should do next. Annoyed, Zeon had kicked him out of the room—only to miss the moment someone had boarded the carriage. He’d only seen the back of the figure as it sped toward the main residence.

It couldn’t possibly have been Annette inside, yet he had felt an odd pang of disappointment watching it leave.

But why has it come back?

Though he didn’t know the reason, he resolved not to miss the opportunity this time, watching keenly outside.

Just then, the carriage door burst open, and a brown-haired maid leapt out clutching something in her arms.

She dashed into the annex, her face grim and resolute, as though she were a soldier announcing the outbreak of war.

Zeon knew he was exaggerating, yet the urgency of the maid’s movements was impossible to ignore.

Even if he confronted her, as a mere guest she would never confide in him.

Still, the urge to rush out of his room overcame him.

Then he saw a rider set out from the main residence.

Though the distance across the gardens was great, the distinctive mask made the figure instantly recognizable.

“Duke Harzent.”

The Duke was galloping urgently toward the annex.

“Th-this… how could this possibly happen…!”

“Sir Magician, there’s no time to panic! Pull yourself together and do something! What are we supposed to do about my lady!”

Martin’s laboratory was in utter chaos.

“Meowwww!”

“My lady, please don’t cry… sniff.”

Larissa dabbed away the tears of the kitten cradled tenderly in her arms.

Moments earlier, she had been nervously waiting while Annette was inside the dressing room.

The antidote should have taken effect by now, yet no sound came from within.

At last, unable to stand it, Larissa had knocked several times. When no answer came, fear overtook her and she rushed inside.

But there was no grown-up lady, nor even the child version of her mistress.

Only a tiny red-furred kitten lay collapsed on the floor.

…Could it be my lady?

She had denied it instantly, but on a hunch she called out. The kitten shivered and, upon waking, let out a cry toward her.

The sound was so sorrowful that Larissa’s eyes filled with tears. She asked again:

“Is it truly you, my lady?”

“Meow…! (Yes!)”

“Good heavens! How could this happen?!”

Though Annette had resigned herself to not being recognized, the fact that Larissa had seen through it immediately moved her.

But being thus confirmed as a cat also made her eyes sting with tears.

As Annette began to sob, Larissa snapped back to herself. “I—I must tell the master at once…!” She sprang to her feet.

Annette instantly stopped crying, grabbed at Larissa’s skirt with her tiny claws, and cried out anxiously.

Larissa, quick-witted, understood: Annette did not want the Duke to know.

After all, it was Annette herself who had insisted they keep the antidote a secret, to surprise him later.

But this situation was far too overwhelming, and Larissa was at a loss.

Then Annette struggled, pointing toward the empty vial of antidote she had just taken.

Catching her meaning, Larissa hardened her face and whispered, “My lady, forgive me,” before lifting Annette gently into her arms.

She bundled her close, concealed beneath her cloak, and hurried back by carriage to the annex—

—where she now stood, gripping Martin by the collar as he flailed helplessly.

“How could you say you don’t know why this happened! Turn her back at once!”

“I—I’ll examine the cause first! Once I know that, I can quickly make a potion to restore her to human form!”

“How long will it take?”

“At least two days…”

“What!?”

Larissa’s brows shot up in disbelief.

Annette too, who had just regained a sliver of relief knowing she wouldn’t be stuck as a cat forever, now burst into fresh tears at the thought of not changing back right away.

“My lady…”

She had always insisted she never felt pain, never mind tumbling down stairs. But seeing her mistress weeping like this, her tears wetting Larissa’s hand, made Larissa’s fury explode.

“Sir Magician, what will you do! Do you think the master will sit quietly if he learns of this?”

At that, both Annette and Martin froze in terror.

“Meow! Meowww! (No! His Highness mustn’t know, ever!)”

“Please, don’t tell the Duke! If he hears I turned the princess into a cat, he’ll kill me for sure!” Martin pleaded desperately.

Seeing Annette’s frantic protests, Larissa deliberately pressed him: “See how angry my lady is? Should I go straight to the master right now?”

“No, please, don’t! I beg you!”

“I’ll give you one day. If by tomorrow my lady is not restored, I’ll tell him everything. Understood?”

“Y-yes! I swear!”

After fixing Martin with a sharp glare, Larissa turned back to Annette, her voice softening with pain.

“My lady, please endure it just for one day.”

In response, Annette gently tapped Larissa’s hand with her soft paw.

The plush fur and squishy paw pads sent an unexpected shiver through Larissa.

Only now, in the midst of this crisis, did she notice how unbearably adorable the little kitten was.

Even as an animal, how could my lady be so cute…

Those tear-brimmed eyes gazing up at her stirred in Larissa a dangerous urge to stroke her small round head or scratch under her chin.

Forcing herself to resist, she clenched her trembling hand—when suddenly Annette began patting her head insistently with her tiny paws, blinking her round eyes.

“Your Highness, why is she doing that?” Martin stammered.

But Larissa, wholly focused on Annette, clapped her hands.

“My lady wants her fur and eye color changed!”

“Meow! (That’s right!)”

Overjoyed, Annette thumped the floor with her paws in delight.

Martin gaped in disbelief but scrambled to prepare a transformation spell.

At that very moment—

Knock knock.

A voice came from outside. A voice that had no business being here.

“Martin. Open the door.”