IGWL 02

Chapter 02

The words that Hugo blurted out were not an answer to Neya’s question, but something else entirely.

Neya blinked in confusion. Seeing her expression, Hugo said in a choked voice.

“It might be dangerous. Of all places, it has to be the Hartless ducal family.”

“…Ah, you mean I’m being adopted?”

Only then did Neya realize what he was talking about.

But while Neya herself had only just heard that she would be going to a ducal family, Hugo already knew the name of the household she was being sent to.

“Hartless?”

Neya tilted her head at the unfamiliar name.

The Hartless ducal family.

They had long been in opposition to the Lopez ducal family, but after the Lopez family formed ties with the Imperial Family, the outcome of their rivalry had already been decided.

Above all, due to some incident, the prestige that had once soared to the heavens had been severely damaged. Now, everyone in the Empire pointed fingers at and insulted the Hartless ducal family.

Of course, Neya, who had never taken even the slightest interest in high society, had no way of knowing this.

“It can’t be that bad. It’s the place Father chose, after all.”

“It can’t be bad?!”

Hugo shouted sharply.

Startled for the first time by Hugo’s raised voice, Neya flinched.

“You don’t know. You have no idea what kind of scum those people are.”

“…Scum?”

“I mean it might be dangerous, Neya.”

Hugo clenched his fists tightly. There was even a hint of sorrow in his violet eyes.

“Hugo…”

Neya looked at him worriedly.

But what came next was something shocking to her.

“Neya, let’s run away.”

“What!”

Neya jumped up immediately in shock. She was so startled that her tail and cat whiskers popped out.

She hurriedly rubbed her cheeks to hide the whiskers and shouted in confusion.

“What are you talking about?! If we do something like that, Father and my sisters will be sad!”

“I never cared much about it before either. I didn’t particularly mind being ‘sold off.’”

Hugo spoke in an almost desperate voice.

“But… it’s different if you’re not even going to be treated normally.”

“……”

Neya knew that if she agreed right now, they could leave immediately. Hugo’s magical abilities were that exceptional.

But she did not give him the answer he wanted.

“…No.”

Her voice was already trembling.

“I promised Father. I promised I’d be a good Catsha who doesn’t cause trouble…”

“……”

As if he had expected that answer, Hugo gave a bitter smile.

Neya had always been an obedient, good Catsha. Unlike Hugo.

“…Then, Neya.”

Meeting her eyes, Hugo spoke firmly.

“Just endure it a little until I grow up more. I’ll come for you soon.”

“Huh…?”

Endure? Neya couldn’t understand what he meant.

“…!”

Before she could ask further, she heard the faint sound of staff voices coming from the corridor. Neya quickly turned around.

“Anyway, I’ll come again tomorrow. Don’t use magic and behave yourself!”

“…The staff are right about you, Neya.”

“Got it, it’s a promise!”

With those words, Neya quickly left the corridor.

That night, Neya couldn’t fall asleep easily. She was worried about Hugo.

Tossing and turning, she eventually got up from bed.

“Just endure it a little until I grow up more. I’ll come for you soon.”

Hugo’s words kept echoing in her mind. His expression when he said them was definitely different from usual.

“Should I just go see his face for a moment…?”

She would definitely get scolded if she was caught sneaking out at night, but Neya decided to break the rules just this once. Her concern for Hugo outweighed everything else.

Transforming into a cat, Neya moved as quietly as possible and headed toward the corridor where the solitary confinement rooms were located.

“Huh?”

But the closer she got, the noisier the corridor became.

It was late at night, and it wasn’t a place people usually went to.

Feeling something was wrong, Neya returned to her human form and peeked around the corner.

There, she saw Alex and several staff members standing in front of Hugo’s cell.

Strangely, the cell door was wide open.

But Hugo was nowhere to be seen.

“He really caused trouble on an important day…”

Alex muttered in exhaustion.

A staff member asked him,

“Shall we call a mage and use a tracking spell?”

“No need. It’s right to discard a product we can’t handle. Even if we find him, once he’s developed resistance and rebellion, he’ll just keep running away. The cost of tracking him would be far higher.”

Alex gave up on Hugo so easily. He even looked like he had expected this outcome from the beginning.

“…Product?”

It was a word Neya had never heard in her life.

Alex let out a deep sigh.

“We shouldn’t have brought in a mixed-blood in the first place. Just wasted money.”

Unlike when he spoke to Neya, his expression was cold and detached.

He turned to the staff waiting beside him.

“Focus only on Neya for now. Hugo might have spilled unnecessary things before escaping, so keep a close watch on her.”

“Yes, understood.”

After hearing the response, Alex loosened his tie in irritation.

“The Catsha race is extremely good at escaping, so we need to handle things carefully. If they run after adoption, we’re the ones who have to pay compensation.”

“……”

After hearing that, Neya immediately ran in the opposite direction.

Her mind was in chaos.

Hugo ran away? And Alex had so easily given up on him.

Neya ran without looking back, filled with complicated thoughts.

A few days later, Neya’s adoption day arrived.

“How exciting~! Into a ducal family?”

“If Neya wears a dress, she’ll definitely look like a princess!”

Her friends around her showered her with congratulatory words full of envy, but Neya’s expression remained dark.

“Hugo still hasn’t come back.”

Was she never going to see Hugo again? Since that day, her mind had been completely filled with thoughts of him.

Even though she had dressed up nicely for the adoption and wore her most cherished dress, her mood did not improve at all.

Following a staff member, Neya went to the largest room in the Cat Shop. It was usually the room Alex used to meet guests.

When she entered, Alex was already speaking with someone else. She caught fragments of their conversation.

“You’ve worked hard taking care of that girl, Shane.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

At Alex’s words, the man named Shane smiled faintly, though he looked displeased about something.

Then, noticing Neya, Alex smiled.

“Neya.”

Shane’s gaze also shifted toward her.

Unlike his earlier expression, he smiled gently when their eyes met.

“Hello, Neya. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He was a man with neatly tied long green hair. Behind his angular glasses were gray eyes—the same color as Alex’s.

“I am Shane, a butler from the Hartless ducal family. I look forward to serving you.”

Even with his polite greeting and handsome appearance, clearly designed to make a good first impression, Neya said nothing and remained silent.

Alex then spoke to her with a smile.

“Neya, you must behave yourself and live well once you get there, alright?”

“……”

The old Neya might have smiled and replied to that.

But the current Neya couldn’t help but feel doubt.

If I don’t behave… will I be discarded too?

Just like Alex did with Hugo—would she be so easily abandoned as well? A vague fear filled her.

“?”

Seeing her silence, Shane looked puzzled.

She must be scared because she’s going to a strange place.

Or perhaps she had already heard the rumors about the young lady.

Shane smiled gently again.

“You’re Neya, right? That’s a pretty name.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t worry too much. Would you like me to hold your hand if you’re nervous?”

His voice was kind and reassuring.

Neya, who liked holding hands, did not refuse and took his hand.

It was warm.

Friends and staff she had grown attached to—Neya said her goodbyes to all of them, but her heart remained heavy. Even after boarding the carriage with Shane, it did not change.

Silence filled the carriage the entire way.

“……”

Shane glanced at Neya sitting across from him and spoke quietly.

“You’re a bit different from what I heard. I’ve never heard of a Catsha with such a gloomy expression.”

It was meant as a light joke to ease the mood, but there was sincerity in his words.

Neya was supposed to be lively and bright—that was how he had been told she was.

But now she hadn’t smiled even once and had kept a gloomy face the entire time, which made him curious.

“Are you sad about being separated from your friends?”

He understood the Cat Shop had a fairly good environment.

But Neya shook her head slowly.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

“Actually… my friend disappeared a while ago.”