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Chapter 7
There was nothing I could be sure of except his words—just a promise made of words alone—but I didn’t think Linus would lie.
Even if he were actually the kind of liar who treats promises like trash, I had no other option anyway.
What was I going to do, kill this sweet man to shut him up?
Since I had decided to trust him, I had no choice but to trust him.
“Thank you, Linus.”
“To think it’s a secret between just Irisbet and me… how thrilling.”
If you smile like that, I’m the one getting thrilled.
I reflexively smiled back at his snow-melting kind of smile, then suggested our next walk.
“If you’re okay with it, let’s go for a walk again sometime. Next time I’ll guide you around the garden of the Duke of Titania’s estate.”
“I’m available tomorrow as well, Irisbet.”
Linus answered immediately before I even finished speaking, and I ended up laughing.
It wasn’t just that he was my type—this man might actually make me like him.
Linus Pictian was a name I’d never heard before, so he was clearly a background character.
Which meant he probably wouldn’t get involved in the complicated events to come—and more than anything, how could I not want to get close to someone this sweet?
After all, my goal in this second life was to live comfortably and enjoy the good things.
After finishing the pleasant walk and returning home, Ruby was still standing in the same place, in the same posture.
Her face was still full of worry, so I tried to lighten the mood with a joke out of guilt.
“Ruby, don’t tell me you’ve been waiting here the whole time?”
Unlike usual, when she would have dramatically insisted that of course she had, she spoke instead with a slightly tense expression.
“The Duke is looking for you, young lady.”
“My father?”
“Yes. He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
“Why?”
I asked with widened eyes, and Ruby lowered her voice to a whisper.
“It seems he’s displeased that you visited the Pictian Duke’s estate.”
That was an unexpected answer.
I could understand him worrying that I went out alone—but to be displeased?
It wasn’t like I went out with a stranger. I went to the house of my friend’s son.
If my usually unreadable father was showing clear displeasure, then I must have done something wrong.
Maybe I wasn’t yet familiar with the etiquette of this world and had made a serious mistake without realizing it.
Thinking I might get scolded, I trudged toward my father’s office.
After knocking and entering, my father—who had been sitting behind a large desk—stood and gestured toward the sofa.
When I sat down cautiously, stealing glances at him, he silently looked at me for a moment.
Just as I was nervously rolling my eyes around, unable to read his expression at all, he finally spoke.
“Your partner will be taken in as a live-in husband.”
“…What?”
“That body of yours—how could you manage in a foreign place? As long as I live, stay under my protection.”
I thought I was going to be scolded, but what kind of tear-jerking fatherly devotion was this?
In other words, he didn’t want to see his fragile daughter suffer after marriage.
His words, completely unlike his expression, were so warm that I looked up at him.
In his violet eyes—just like mine—I could feel carefully hidden affection.
My body is perfectly fine, but I wouldn’t mind a live-in husband either, Father.
Although I had only become Irisbet Titania recently, I had grown very attached to the people of the Duke’s household.
I had decided I would happily enjoy this life here for a long, long time.
And I also wanted to become closer with my father, even if we weren’t very familiar yet.
Just as I was about to respond emotionally that I would do as he said, he continued.
“However, don’t grow too attached to the Duke Pictian.”
This was an unexpected turn.
Just earlier, I had decided to include Linus in my grand “honey farming” plan.
It seemed the reason my father had been displeased about my outing was because it involved Linus.
“Is it because he can’t be a live-in husband?”
“That’s part of it… but also…”
My father trailed off unusually, not giving a clear answer.
So there was another reason beyond the fact that he was a duke?
What could it be?
Linus didn’t seem to have a single flaw—even if I searched with a magnifying glass.
Both my father and the Pictian family seemed to be misunderstanding him.
He was handsome, kind, gentle… basically a honey-like person.
But it felt strange to defend Linus so openly, so I just rolled my eyes silently.
Fortunately, my father didn’t pursue the topic further and changed it.
“The engagement announcement that was postponed yesterday will be held next week.”
“I see.”
I quickly agreed, avoiding the uncomfortable topic.
From his words, it seemed that even after two days of meetings, they still hadn’t figured out what the black hole was.
Well, it made sense—it was a gate.
The Emperor likely decided that the Crown Prince’s marriage to Lariénne was more urgent than the gate itself.
Unlike the ominous unknown hole, the empire’s internal political tension was a clear and immediate danger.
“His Majesty will be holding a banquet for the announcement, so we will attend together.”
“Yes, Father.”
Just when I thought things were changing due to the gate, it seemed the story was still following the original plot.
No matter how things unfolded, the people of this world would handle their own affairs.
All I needed to do was find the talking fat cat as soon as possible and stop it from messing with this world any further.
Once I entered the palace, I planned to search the entire “butterfly garden” during the banquet.
Maybe I should even build a trap…
Lost in thought, it was already deep into the night.
After Ruby left, pouring out her worries as always, I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes.
Then the window quietly opened—and a soft, fluffy white ball of fur slipped inside.
A well-groomed mackerel-striped cat with a neat 5:5 parted hairstyle poked its face in and spoke to me.
“Yo.”
It was him. That fat cat.
“You!”
I kicked off the bed and grabbed him by the neck—no, by what I assumed was his fluffy scruff.
“Kegh! Let go, meow. It hurts, meow.”
The cat flailed its tiny white paws.
Even if this guy was a nightmare who ruined my sweet reincarnated life, animal abuse was still off limits.
So I let him go and closed the window first.
After sealing all escape routes, I glared at him sharply and asked.
“It’s you, right? You’re the one behind it, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about, meow?”
“The gate. That dungeon yesterday—you created it, didn’t you?”
“What nonsense, meow? Himon didn’t do anything like that, meow!”
“Don’t lie! If it wasn’t you, why are dungeons appearing in this world?”
“That’s exactly what I want to ask, meow!”
The fat cat—who claimed his name was Himon—stomped his paws in anger.
I had no idea a cat could even make expressions like that.
He looked genuinely wronged, glaring at me as he raised his voice.
“Do you know how much trouble I got from my supervisor because of that dungeon, meow? Does everyone think I’m an easy target, meow? I should just quit this job, meow—it’s disgusting, meow!”
Is this really something a cat is saying?
I was too stunned to respond.
What came next was even more ridiculous.
Himon even showed me the back of his head, claiming he had developed stress-induced hair loss.
Trying to calm down the distressed “office worker cat,” I spoke carefully.
“Who said you’re an easy target? I was just asking, why are you so angry?”
“Irbet, try putting yourself in Himon’s position, meow.”
“What position? And wait—who exactly are you? What is this ‘supervisor’?”
After a moment of rage, he finally calmed down slightly and answered in a subdued voice.
“Himon is an agent from the Dimensional Management Bureau, meow. I was dispatched after detecting anomalies in this dimension, meow.”
It sounded like a proper explanation, but I understood even less now.
Dimensional Management Bureau?
What kind of place is that—using cats as employees?
No, wait… was this really the time to be worrying about animal labor issues?
