IBTBD 22

chapter 22

‘What on earth did he mean by that?’

He said it looked like he had seen me?

Which “me”?

I racked my brain over it, but I couldn’t find a clear answer.

That was because, after leaving only that cryptic remark, Koenig had walked out of the bedroom.

[Didn’t go to work today?]

At the table laid with a late breakfast that doubled as lunch,

Sevi munched on neatly prepared pieces of fig as he asked.

“Chit.”

Guess today’s a holiday.

“Lady Cherry, for the next few days it would be safest if you remain inside your chambers. The castle itself is not entirely secure.”

That was what Gerard had said as he left the room.

Normally I would have welcomed the chance to laze about and sleep in as much as I wanted, but for some reason today it left me feeling uneasy.

But it was already out of my hands.

No matter how much I worried now, it wasn’t as if I could turn back time.

So I decided to focus on what I had to do.

But first, I needed to fill my stomach.

‘By the way, Sevi, did you check what I asked?’

I said as I stuffed a cheek full of peanuts.

[……Greedy squirrel.]

‘Answer the question first, gluttonous lizard.’

I gave him a side-eye.

It feels a little hypocritical for me to say it, but lately Sevi was starting to look more and more like a sausage.

Thanks to eating three square meals a day, he had successfully finished his shedding.

His skin shone like polished porcelain, and his leopard-like markings glimmered more brilliantly than ever.

And I was no different.

Under the devoted care of Black Dragon Castle, my entire coat of brown fur gleamed with a healthy gloss.

‘The fact that the dye is gradually fading is a huge problem, though.’

That would have to be dealt with later.

When I turned my gaze back, Sevi gulped down the last piece of fig in one bite.

[I already checked twice.]

‘Koenig and Gerard are at the training grounds, Ria is on assignment. That hasn’t changed, right?’

[That’s right.]

That was why I was left alone in the bedroom.

Since the staff had been reduced recently, Ria had been dispatched on a special mission:

To shadow Erzin Astrahan.

‘They said she’s one of Black Dragon Castle’s knights specialized in surveillance and tailing.’

Her swordsmanship and martial skills were beyond question.

Which meant—

Koenig, Gerard, Ria.

All of the most vigilant ones were out on their duties.

And that left me with an opportunity.

A chance to uncover the truth.

I stopped swinging my feet from the special chair I was sitting in and asked Sevi my final question.

‘The target?’

[The Golden Walnut is in his room.]

Sevi’s bright yellow eyes gleamed slyly.

Codename: Golden Walnut.

That was the nickname Sevi and I had given Erzin Astrahan.

Sevi, despite being sharp-witted, was terrible at remembering names. He would often substitute them with things he could eat.

Apparently, Erzin’s wavy, flowing blond hair looked to him like a luscious walnut.

And, well, it did resemble one a little.

“Chit—!”

All right, time to get started.

I stretched my stiff body and got to my feet.

While no one was around, I would use this chance to meet Erzin Astrahan.

[Only Sevi comes with you.]

Naturally, Sevi was my guide.

I followed him and wedged myself into the corner of the ceiling.

But—

Something felt wrong right from the first obstacle.

“Chiu, chiuut…?”

H-huh?

Was this hole always this tight?

‘Sevi, give me a pull.’

Had I eaten too much just now?

No matter how I wriggled, I couldn’t squeeze through.

[You’re just a plump chestnut now.]

‘W-what?!’

At once, an image flashed through my mind—

A perfectly ripened chestnut I’d seen on an autumn day, its rich brown shell plump and ready to tumble to the ground.

Was… that how I looked now?

No way!

I tried to deny it, but in Sevi’s obsidian-bright eyes I could see reflected nothing but a very round chestnut.

‘From tomorrow on, you’re eating all the snacks.’

[Really? Plump chestnuts are the best though.]

‘……’

Sometimes, innocence can cut like a knife.

That’s exactly how it felt.

Like I’d turned into a bristling hedgehog.

[So heavy…… plump chestnut.]

‘Enough, just pull harder!’

And so, with Sevi tugging at the front and me kicking with all my strength from the back—

“Chuaaah—”

I almost died there.

But I finally made it through.

The journey afterward was smooth.

All I had to do was follow Sevi, the best guide in Black Dragon Castle, as he led me across the tangled rafters.

I had no idea how long we crept along like that, when—

[Just ahead.]

Sevi suddenly stopped.

And the blunt tip of his finger pointed toward—

‘Huh? That’s a walnut?’

Indeed, it was a pale, golden-tinted walnut, looking almost good enough to eat.

Was that marking Erzin’s room?

[The Golden Walnut is definitely haunted.]

Sevi scrunched up his face as he declared it.

‘…H-haunted? What are you talking about?’

I turned to him in confusion.

Sevi, as if demonstrating, reached out cautiously beyond the walnut.

Slap—

The moment his sticky palm touched the brick-and-cement frame—

Rustle.

The faint sounds from below stopped instantly.

For a moment, a strange hush fell.

Like a predator holding its breath, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Then, when Sevi drew his hand back—

‘Huh…?’

The tense prickling in my fur melted away like snow.

So that walnut was a kind of marker, a warning stone.

Like a sign reading: “Beware, a tiger with sharp senses resides here.”

Maybe my gluttonous lizard was a genius after all.

[Ahem.]

Sevi puffed up proudly at the new respect in my gaze.

I’d have to bring him something truly special for a snack today.

Warning noted.

I pressed myself flat against the floorboards and peered down into Erzin’s room.

Through the narrow crack, I could just make out the inside.

‘So the Golden Walnut’s room is right above the guest chamber door, huh.’

I discovered a new detail as I shifted my view.

The layout wasn’t all that different from Koenig’s bedroom.

A canopy bed stood by the sunlit window, and in the middle of the room there was a table and sofa for resting.

And sprawled limply across the sofa cushions was a man—

Shimmering golden hair, scattered messily.

Erzin Astrahan.

Even in his own room, this lazy tiger was the same.

From what I’d observed these past few days, Erzin showed no drive, no motivation at all.

At least, not during the day.

‘At night he turns into a completely different person and targets Koenig.’

An infuriating tiger.

I clicked my tongue before I even realized it.

And at that moment, his languid eyes suddenly turned—straight toward me.

‘W-what?! Did he notice?’

But the sound I’d made was barely more than the whisper of a leaf brushing against a window.

My heart thumped so loudly against the floor I felt like the entire castle could hear it.

But Erzin only stared blankly at the ceiling, making no move.

He even rolled over to face the other side, as if dismissing it.

Phew. Lucky.

‘He looks like an oaf, but he’s sharp in strange ways.’

It had been the same in the audience chamber when he met Koenig, and again in the garden a few days ago.

Erzin seemed to sense my presence like a ghost.

‘Is his perception unusually sharp?’

Cat-folk often had sensitive nerves.

I’d have to be extra careful.

I lay low and continued watching his every move.

But his lazy motions grew slower and slower until his breathing evened out into soft snores.

‘Just as expected.’

This lazy tiger spent most of his day like this—

Lounging where the light was best until he dozed off.

And this was exactly the chance I had been waiting for.

‘Sevi, stay here.’

[Are you really going down there?]

Sevi tried to stop me, worried, but I only gave a firm nod.

‘There’s something I absolutely have to confirm.’

The mark of brainwashing.