CATBP~69

Chapter 69

……Was there a cat in the mansion?

A question mark seemed to descend on top of my head.

‘If it’s a feline, then there probably is.’

After all, a black panther is technically a member of the cat family.

Was he that eager not to lose to Raphael?

‘So childish, really.’

I looked at Lucas with a helpless expression. Raphael’s gentle eyes sharpened, and he glanced sharply up at me.

“Lady Helen, you prefer dogs, right?”

“All small and cute things are fine….”

Of course, even big ones are cute in their own way.

“But among them, dogs are the best, right?”

If I had to choose, I’m more of a cat person… I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet.

Lucas seemed to notice my hesitation, and he pouted, hugging Milky tightly.

“So you prefer cats, I see.”

Lucas muttered quietly with a raised corner of his mouth. Really, acting like this with a child…? I thought, annoyed, and pressed down on his shoe with my heel.

After arriving at the Angora tavern, I handed Raphael over to the staff. I told them that Michael would come, so please wait here for a moment, and Raphael replied cheerfully.

Following the staff’s guidance, I went to Michael. The moment he saw me, the expression on his face showed his surprise—it was clear even through the cloak.

“That… happened?”

After hearing everything, Michael put his hand on his head.

“I’ve been wanting to go to more places and had more questions lately as my health improved.”

With the profits from my investments, I had been supporting him, and he had enough funds to continue purchasing the medicinal herbs I had donated previously.

“But I didn’t expect you to follow me all the way to my workplace.”

Michael’s voice trembled; it was something that had never happened before.

“Talk properly with Raphael next time.”

“Yes, of course. But the person beside you…”

Michael seemed to recognize Lucas and glanced at him. After all, he was the Guildmaster of the Information Guild, so it wouldn’t be unusual for him to know.

“He just said he’d stay beside me.”

Though Michael still seemed wary of Lucas, he proceeded with his regular report.

Lucas kept his promise to me and didn’t utter a word while we spoke. Occasionally, when he glanced at Michael, there was something unusual in his gaze.

He only spoke after we left the Angora tavern and climbed into the carriage.

“I wondered what money you were using to buy gifts for Pay each time without touching the maintenance funds.”

I looked at the buildings disappearing through the window and then turned to him.

“I wanted to use my own money for Pay’s gifts.”

His golden eyes quietly shone between long eyelashes.

“The maintenance funds assigned as the Duchess’s share are also yours, Helen.”

“That’s true, but….”

I trailed off. If I spent Igaluk’s wealth on gifts, it wouldn’t feel like my money.

“Even if it wasn’t to offer gifts to Pay, I still had to earn money.”

I shrugged.

“I have to think about when I’m no longer the Duchess.”

Although I had already saved quite a bit, I wondered how much would be left when it came time to leave.

I smirked at my “body-swapped” luck that gave me wealth bigger than any gold or diamond spoon.

‘Why is he suddenly silent?’

I realized that Lucas had gone quiet.

I told him I was earning money to subtly show my harmlessness.

“…When you’re no longer the Duchess…?”

Lucas looked as if he had just been hit in the face.

The carriage speeding toward the mansion was filled with silence.

Helen occasionally glanced at Lucas in the suffocating quiet, flinching each time their eyes met. Eventually, she fixed her gaze outside the window.

Lucas’s golden eyes, however, remained focused solely on Helen.

<I have to think about when I’m no longer the Duchess.>

Veins stood out on his intertwined hands.

It was a line drawn invisibly through Helen’s words.

The moment he heard it, it was like getting hit in the head.

Getting hit in the head might have been less shocking.

Lucas had thought Helen was conscious of him, seeing her blush when avoiding eye contact—just like him.

Even if their relationship had started as thin as a sheet of paper, it had clearly changed.

So he had thought there was no need to worry too much about the contract.

‘…Was I wrong?’

That she liked him.

Lucas felt a surge of intense, indescribable emotion rising inside him.

Back at the mansion, Helen handled her duties as Duchess and spent pleasant time with Pay.

As soon as she returned home, she went to see Pay. The child groaned weakly, “The stork shouldn’t come at night…” For a moment, she wondered if she should go back out, but fortunately, Pay soon regained energy.

After finishing her preparations, she drank tea that Sally had brought, which helped her sleep well.

Suddenly, she remembered the envelopes Michael had asked her to check.

‘He said I really need to look at them, didn’t he?’

The terrace door was open, letting a cool breeze brush past her.

Helen pulled out the papers from the envelopes.

The first page seemed to be a summary written by Michael: Widro Baalz is using more funds for gambling than what he receives from the Marquis’s household, possibly involving illicit money. The source was still under investigation.

He had hurriedly written it, as the ink had smudged. Helen realized she had probably brought this information while worrying with Lucas earlier.

He’s considerate.

She went through the detailed contents, sipping her tea like a cat drinking water.

“Helen, are you in there?”

She put the envelopes in a drawer and ran to open the door.

“Come in.”

Lucas entered, looked around, and sat in front of the table with the teacup.

Helen’s hair fluttered in the breeze. Should she close the terrace door? She looked out at the quiet summer night with the chirping insects.

“Where did you put the contract?”

“It’s there.”

I gestured to the small drawer next to the bed. The lowest drawer was locked with a key.

“Can I have it for a moment?”

“Why do you need mine?”

“To check something.”

“You already have one, don’t you? Are you going to compare them?”

“That’s right.”

You shouldn’t hand over a contract casually. But if it’s Lucas… maybe it’s okay. But what would he do with it?

‘Didn’t he already check everything when writing it?’

Seeing my silence as refusal, Lucas rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his hands.

“If I get the contract…”

Moonlight slanted onto the terrace.

“I’ll let you touch it.”

I blinked slowly.

‘He’ll let me touch it?’

…Touch what?

<Even if there are no dogs, there are cats.>

The memory suddenly came to me, and the tea on my fingers spilled.

I snapped back to reality and forcefully denied it.

“No! It’s fine!”

My face burned so much that the summer breeze couldn’t cool it.

I fumbled to find a handkerchief with my dry hand, and Lucas handed it to me.

‘Ah… that’s…’

It was the hot pink handkerchief with polka dots I had made Pay buy to tease Lucas.

I felt guilty.

“Here. Thank you.”

After using it, I handed it back but couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Should I just let it be used?

It’s Pay’s gift, after all. But seeing it as the result of my misunderstanding made my chest heavy.

Lucas placed the handkerchief on the table, and a crease remained when his fingers let go.

“But you really won’t touch it?”

“What… what would I touch?”

Lucas smiled faintly.

“The cat.”

Just as I expected. He intended me to touch it by transforming into a familiar!

I opened my mouth to refuse, but Lucas turned his head toward the terrace.

“I know you like cats. I know where a stray cat the gardener takes care of is raising her kittens.”

“…Kittens?”

I stared blankly at the Duke. His clear golden eyes looked far from impure.

What was I thinking about the Duke just now?

I felt self-conscious.

“The mother cat will dislike it if you touch the kittens.”

I hastily took the contract out and handed it to Lucas.

I had no mental energy to argue.

Just… please leave for now.

……Please.