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Chapter 16
It was well past working hours.
Rosalyn knocked on the doors of Cassis’s residence with a bright smile.
“Good evening, Sir Cassis.”
At the sudden visit, Cassis’s voice came out stiff.
“What business brings you here?”
“On my way home, I stumbled across this little kitten. Looks like its mother abandoned it. Poor thing.”
His cold blue eyes dropped to the bundle cradled carefully in Rosalyn’s arms.
“Pyaek.”
…Do kittens normally cry like that?
The tiny creature, no bigger than a fist, let out thin squeaks. Cassis blinked. In that brief pause, Rosalyn swiftly thrust the kitten toward him.
“Since I found it right at your doorstep, I’m sure the two of you share a special fate. Don’t you think the goddess Azra herself decreed that a man like you, the very model of knighthood, should take in this poor motherless creature?”
Her eyes softened in feigned pity.
“If you don’t accept it, it’ll surely die out there in the streets.”
Yet Cassis said nothing, only staring at her.
“Pyaek.”
His gaze lingered on the frail, white ball of fur. Finally, he spoke.
“Couldn’t you take it in yourself?”
“I already have so many mouths to feed.”
“It’s just a small kitten.”
“Precisely. Since it’s just a small kitten, it shouldn’t trouble you to raise it either, right?”
“I’m often away. I can’t keep a pet.”
“The servants will be the ones feeding it anyway.”
“Taking responsibility for a life I cannot care for is—”
“Sir Cassis, commander of the Iron Knights, can it be you’ve found a life you cannot protect?”
Every attempt to refuse was countered. Cassis clamped his mouth shut. His gaze toward Rosalyn chilled, but she knew better by now. That was simply how he looked when thinking, not when angry.
Rosalyn drooped her brows in sorrow.
“Looks like rain tonight. If you don’t take him in, this poor little one won’t survive until morning.”
Cassis glanced at the sky. A halo circled the moon—sure sign of rain.
“…Very well.”
“See? As expected of the empire’s exemplar knight!”
Rosalyn, all smiles, naturally tried to step inside, only for Cassis to stop her.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
“Do you know what kittens even eat? I thought I’d lend a hand.”
He could hardly deny it—truth be told, he had no idea what a newborn kitten required. And was it not a squire’s duty to aid her commander?
Thanks to his insistence on principle, Rosalyn walked into his residence unchallenged.
“Wow! Your place is amazing.”
Unlike noble houses lined with paintings and expensive ornaments, Cassis’s home was austere. Dark-toned walls and carpets, with swords, shields, armor, and medals as its only decorations.
Rosalyn strode in as if she owned the place, Cassis following in silence. His sharp gaze burned into her back, but she pretended not to notice.
‘Step one: infiltration, success!’
The next step: finding a chance to strip him of his clothes. Smiling sweetly, she tucked away the wicked thought.
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
Her gentle tone earned only a cold look in return. But Rosalyn was not one to falter.
“At our guild, we usually share stew for dinner. A giant pot cooked in the kitchen, everyone gathered in the hall—guild master, officers, counter clerks, even the cleaners. No rank, no divide.”
It was a Hyde Guild tradition Rosalyn herself had started, believing all work was equal, no matter the title.
“If you ever stop by in the evening, you must join us. Annie’s stew is divine.”
Who in the empire would dare invite a viscount’s heir and knight commander to share a commoner’s table? Yet before Rosalyn even offered him a seat, Cassis lowered himself onto the sofa.
“Sit beside me.”
Rosalyn beamed. The moment she sat, she plopped the kitten into his lap.
“Ta-da.”
Unbothered by his frosty gaze, she demonstrated, petting the tiny creature.
“They’re delicate. Stroke gently, like this.”
She looked up at him expectantly.
“Now, your turn.”
Cassis studied her, then the kitten. As she had guessed, once he accepted the creature into his home, he committed himself fully.
Clad in gloves, his hand hovered awkwardly before resting stiffly atop the kitten’s body.
“Like this?”
The motion was so clumsy and rigid Rosalyn nearly burst into laughter.
‘I knew this would work, but gods, it’s hilarious. The man born with a sword in his hand, reduced to fumbling over a kitten!’
She bit her cheek to keep from laughing aloud.
“Gentle, as though stroking a feather, without breaking it.”
The hand moved slowly, cautiously—until a tiny cry froze it.
“Pyaek.”
“…Did I do something wrong?”
His hand went utterly rigid. Rosalyn smiled warmly.
“No. I think he’s just talkative.”
A taciturn man paired with a chatterbox kitten—Rosalyn pictured the little one following Cassis everywhere, meowing endlessly, and couldn’t help but grin.
“Pyaek.”
The kitten rubbed its head against Cassis’s hand.
“Oh my, he must like it.”
“My hand?”
“Yes. I think he enjoys your touch.”
So clever, already recognizing its master. I’ll have to bring plenty of treats later.
While Rosalyn schemed over the kitten’s welfare, Cassis silently let the creature nuzzle his palm.
Who could imagine this careful, tender man was the same “reaper of the battlefield”? He touched the kitten as though it might break, his expression serene.
“Give him a name.”
Cassis’s eyes narrowed at her. She explained, calm as ever.
“Even a lowly creature knows its master and learns its name. Now that you’ve taken him in, you must be the one to name him.”
He stared at the squirming bundle on his knee before finally speaking.
“Snow.”
The word fell softly, like a lone snowflake descending.
“….”
For a moment Rosalyn forgot to breathe. Those cold blue eyes gazing down at the kitten… his expression…
‘He looks… lonely.’
The young viscount and knight commander, always surrounded by people—how could he possibly be lonely? And yet…
Cassis’s voice pulled her from the thought.
“Is it falling asleep?”
She blinked. Indeed, Snow’s eyes were drooping shut.
“Warm indoors must be making him drowsy. Let’s put him to bed.”
“And where does a cat sleep?”
So he truly knew nothing about animals. Rosalyn answered without hesitation, utterly shameless.
“With its master, in the bedroom!”
