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Chapter 7
Artipe always looked at me with eyes filled with hostility.
It wasn’t as if I had chosen to oppose him politically. If anything, I was a victim too.
Before, whenever someone mentioned the Duke of Redmond, I’d just curse and move on. But after spending only a single day under the same roof with him, I couldn’t help feeling wronged and bitter.
Still, my fleeting sympathy vanished the moment he opened his mouth with his usual nonsense.
“You’re my cat. I’m your master. That means you have to sleep with me.”
—I belong to myself. I’m grateful you’re letting me stay here, but surely I have the right to decide where I sleep.
“I don’t know what you’re saying, but no.”
Artipe was being completely unreasonable. Even a child wouldn’t throw such a tantrum.
Exhausted from arguing, I tried to ignore him and jump down from the bed—until his next words froze me in place.
“It seems you don’t need a master at all. In that case, from now on you’ll be eating the same food scraps as ordinary cats.”
—Y-you shameless man!
“The choice is yours. Sleep with me and eat veal steak, cut and fed to you with a fork… or sleep alone and eat garbage, without one.”
I remembered the rich, juicy taste of last night’s steak. At the same time, an image of myself burying my face in the pile of food scraps Allen had given me flashed across my mind.
How despicable—threatening me with food.
‘Petty. Absolutely petty.’
But I knew him. Artipe wasn’t someone who changed his mind once he’d decided on something.
—You really are a horrible man.
In the end, I turned my back to him and lay down, clinging to the very edge of the bed.
“You’ll fall like that.”
—So what? You’re the kind of merciless human who threatens a powerless cat with food.
“Ha… what kind of cat is this stubborn?”
I shut my eyes, pretending not to hear.
“If that’s the case, I’ll have to carry my cat everywhere from now on. Even when I work, even when I shower—since I can’t let you out of my sight.”
The word shower instantly brought back the image of Artipe earlier, half-dressed in loose clothes. Heat rushed up my face.
Unable to endure it, I wriggled closer to the inside of the bed.
“Pfft… hahaha!”
At the strange noise, I peeked over my shoulder. Our eyes met, and Artipe burst into loud laughter.
I crouched low, belly nearly scraping the floor.
‘One, two, three!’
With all the strength in my hind legs, I launched upward.
—Got it!
After endless practice, I finally managed to cling to the doorknob. My eyes stung with tears. Who knew even cats could build calluses?
‘If I can just open this, I’ll finally be free.’
I steadied my pounding heart and shifted my weight onto the handle. It dipped slightly but didn’t open.
How was I supposed to pull the door?
I thought fast. My grip was already slipping on the smooth metal.
‘Right, I’ll try using momentum.’
I swung my body back and forth, giving the handle a rattle—but it still wouldn’t budge. My paws grew weak.
And then, with a sudden drop of the handle, I slipped.
‘I-I’m falling…!’
I curled into a ball, bracing for impact.
“Shasha!”
At the very last moment, Artipe strode into the room and caught me midair.
‘Haa… I’m alive.’
Clutching my wildly beating heart, I looked up. His crimson eyes were wide in shock.
“Are you alright?”
He pinched my tiny arms between his thumb and forefinger, lifting me high and turning me this way and that as if inspecting every inch.
—Thanks for saving me, but I’m going to be sick if you keep spinning me like this.
“You… unbelievable.”
After that humiliating inspection of my bare little body, Artipe tucked me into his arms and carried me to the tea table.
Resistance was pointless. Experience had taught me that escaping his muscular grasp was impossible.
As he sat down, a maid followed in and set two teacups on the table. One filled with tea, and one—milk, clearly meant for me.
Once the maid left, Artipe spoke.
“Were you trying to escape?”
His crimson gaze flashed sharply.
—No! Absolutely not.
“Caught red-handed, and still you deny it. Shameless.”
—…So what?
I turned my head away with defiance.
—Am I supposed to stay trapped in this room forever?
No sane person raised a cat like that.
“I never meant to keep you locked up here forever.”
Sighing, his tone softened as he set me down beside him.
“I was going to talk to you about it today. If you just run out recklessly, you’re bound to cause trouble.”
I wanted to retort, but the memory of nearly hurting myself at the door kept me quiet.
“Today I’ll have a small door made at the bottom of this one. Something you can pass through.”
I blinked at him in shock.
This was the Duke’s bedchamber. The doors were thick and reinforced, designed to keep threats out and secrets in.
‘And he’s planning to cut a hole in it?’
Truly insane.
—Just give me my own room instead. Keep that open. Why take such a risk?
“You don’t need to thank me. As your master, it’s my responsibility to care for you.”
—I’m not grateful. I just think you’re ridiculous.
“Come. You’re far too tiny to sit on the sofa and drink milk.”
Artipe placed a cushion on the table and set the milk-filled teacup before it.
I hopped up at once. I might’ve preferred the tea, but who knew if cats could drink it?
Steam curled from the surface as I dipped my lips into the milk.
‘Delicious!’
I’d never realized milk could taste this good.
As I drank, Artipe watched in silence, then spoke again.
“You must already know—I’m not a good master.”
I looked up. He smiled faintly, wiping milk from my fur.
But then his expression grew heavy, nothing like the blank mask I’d seen before.
“For half of every month, I cannot stay by your side.”
—Half a month? Why? Are you traveling to your territory?
I had always thought he simply hated society and avoided gatherings. But maybe there was a reason.
“And even during the other half, I’m drowning in work every day.”
—But you’re already always working. How could you still have backlogged duties?
I leapt from the table to the sofa. He reached out to stroke my back, and strangely, I didn’t push him away this time.
“Still, when I am here, I’ll do my best to feed you myself. If I truly cannot spare the time, I’ll have someone else do it.”
—The maids could always feed me, you know.
It was absurd. He delayed his own meals just to feed me first, sometimes rushing off with nothing more than a sandwich.
‘What a fool.’
Perhaps it was guilt, bringing me here but failing to look after me properly.
“But whether a maid is feeding you, or you’re wandering freely, there’s one thing you must remember.”
—What is it?
His crimson eyes locked onto mine, as if piercing straight through me.
“You must never let anyone realize that you can understand human speech.”
My heart plummeted. Terror swallowed me whole, stealing my breath.
He knew.
But since when…?
Panic surged uncontrollably inside me.
If he knew I was human—if he knew I was the daughter of the Retel Dukedom—
He would stop at nothing to force the truth from me. To use me. To grasp the Imperial Family through me.
Because I am the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
