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chapter 30
‘If I can’t even humanize, what’s the point of pheromones.’
I rejected Louise’s suggestion and, as usual, headed to the library, trudging between the bookshelves while looking for a way to achieve humanization.
‘It really was a good opportunity, though.’
In the book, Louise appeared as an exceptional knight. She was a prominent warrior defending the North by hunting monsters.
The Gatekeeper of the North.
That was the title given to Louise Cadellion.
In the original story, she was mentioned only briefly, but she was praised as using swordsmanship as elegant as a rose among flowers.
Beautiful but brutal swordsmanship.
You couldn’t afford to look away, and the moment you did, death would strike mercilessly.
That was Louise Cadellion’s swordsmanship.
‘Even thinking about it again, it’s impressive.’
No wonder she was the object of admiration for all knights.
‘But handling pheromones is something that comes after humanization. Humanization is more urgent.’
First, I had to succeed in becoming human. Nothing could be done in this cat body.
Absolutely nothing.
Whether it was saving money to set up a house in case I left the Cadellion estate, or learning self-defense to protect myself, anything required being human first.
There were plenty of books about pheromones, but sections explaining humanization were extremely rare.
‘Please, let it be here.’
<Stories About Pheromones: So Interesting You’ll Read All Night>
It seemed boring to anyone else, but I didn’t have time to be picky. I opened the book.
**“CH.5 Easy for Anyone, But Hard to Describe in Writing: The Method of Humanization
- Extend your front paw.”**
‘If I punch, it’ll probably work.’
Everyone knew this. In Korea, going to a taekwondo school was practically mandatory.
‘Even though I look like this, I’m a 3rd-degree black belt in Taekwondo.’
I might not be great at forms, but
‘I’m confident in my punches.’
Probably. My kicks are better, though.
I extended my front paw sharply, like a taekwondo punch.
“Then, focusing the ki inside your body into your fist as if you’re shooting a ki blast, direct it to a single point. The transformation will vary depending on the pheromone.
This is the step anyone can do.
This is called pheromone utilization.”
‘…Ki? Is there ki?’
Oh! There was ki!
I could feel foreign energy moving around in my body.
Keeping my paw extended, I gathered the energy circulating inside me into my fist.
‘Hah!’
Then, I shot it at the book in front of me.
…And nothing happened.
Wow. How could nothing happen at all?
The room was quiet, and my body was exactly the same as usual.
Not a single page of the book had turned, even though a gust of wind could have easily flipped one.
‘It said the pheromone would activate, though…?’
Of course, historically, controlling ki was part of Chinese martial arts, not Taekwondo.
‘Is there more explanation below?’
“Repeating this process allows anyone to easily humanize.”
‘Damn.’
But as the title suggested, the very “friendly” book offered no real explanation.
What’s friendly about this?
‘Hoo… let’s try a few more times.’
Not wanting to waste the section I had found on humanization, I tried the motion a few more times.
Swish. Swish.
My paw cut through the air.
“Cat, let’s destroy the mansion. At least the library.”
Then, Lea’s voice came from behind, sounding like a screw had come loose somewhere.
I flinched at the suggestion of destruction and turned around.
Please, stop breaking things…
Why are you always trying to smash stuff?
If you had broken everything you’ve mentioned, the Cadellion mansion wouldn’t have lasted long.
And every object had morphological significance. You wouldn’t understand.
If you destroyed it, the head butler would clutch his neck and collapse. But I wouldn’t stop you. I could pretend not to see if you wanted.
The book had said using pheromones would cause changes in the surroundings, but it seemed Lea had already been affected.
I turned away from Lea’s panicked expression and tried again as the book instructed.
Of course, I could hear the mumbling behind me, something like, ‘Should I smash it? I should. The master would understand…’ but I ignored it.
“Lately, the wooden training dummies at the practice grounds have been mysteriously shattering.”
“Maybe it’s because the knights are training?”
“No, it’s not that. The commander is troubled by it, too.”
“The culprit hasn’t been caught yet?”
“No. It’s a dangerous world. Don’t wander carelessly. At any moment, boom! We could be shattered too.”
Why did I suddenly remember the maids’ conversation this morning?
Lea isn’t the culprit, right?
She usually is, but… no. She couldn’t be.
I glanced at Lea again, who wore an innocent expression as if she hadn’t suggested smashing the mansion at all.
Ignoring the uneasy feeling I sensed, I began training.
‘Alright. Gather energy from the lower dantian…’
‘And direct it to the paw.’
Swish. Swish.
My front paw slashed through the air again.
Still, nothing happened around me.
The paper’s unwavering presence, holding its place against my attempts, was almost touching enough to bring tears.
‘It said anyone could do this stage and, by repeating, anyone could humanize.’
Hmm. I’m clearly not in the “anyone” category the book mentioned.
Who said “anyone” could do it, anyway?
Should I argue with the author?
‘Trash this book.’
I closed it with my paw and pushed it away.
“Now you’re inventing new martial arts too. As expected of the cat.”
Lea’s voice sounded playful or sincere—I couldn’t tell.
But looking into her eyes, which seemed as if a shooting star might fall from them, I couldn’t believe she was lying.
It was full of sincerity.
“I told you, from the moment I first saw it, it was extraordinary.”
A soft and elegant voice spoke from behind.
It was Louise.
‘Tigers…!’
What on earth do they think of me?
Could they stop giving me such bizarre evaluations…?
Why does meaningless punching lead to creating new martial arts in their eyes?
Is my image okay like this?
I need my image back.
‘…You must have had an image to maintain from the start, right?’
A voice pulled me out of useless daydreams.
“Go ahead, you in front.”
‘Why… Lea?’
Before I could wonder, Lea bowed and left the library.
Why did Louise send her out just to talk to me?
‘Do I have something profound to discuss with her?’
Unexpected words came from behind.
“You want to know how to humanize, right? Isn’t that what you’re looking for?”
Louise slowly scanned the corner of books where I was and tapped on them.
Tap. Tok.
A steady sound of her tapping on the books.
“Humanization happens naturally and easily, which makes it tricky to study. There aren’t many books on it. That’s why researchers aren’t keen on it.”
The tapping stopped.
“I’ll teach you. I did it quite late myself—humanization.”
Seeing my hesitant expression, she added:
“Unlike your busy master, I have plenty of time.”
It was an irresistible and enticing offer from the greatest knight.
Documents stacked on the desk were illuminated by candlelight.
It was the only light in the otherwise dark room.
In the dimly lit room, the only figure visible was a tall man sitting leisurely on a sofa.
Knock. Knock.
The quiet room echoed with a knock.
“Come in.”
He spoke slowly, swirling a teacup as if he had expected them.
The tea inside wobbled precariously but didn’t spill.
Click.
The door outside closed.
Hesitant footsteps entered.
Once they arrived, he asked directly:
“How did you handle it?”
He spoke respectfully but in a tone that suggested he neither fully respected nor disrespected them.
It clearly showed that their ranks were similar but hierarchies existed.
“We failed… sir.”
“Failed, huh.”
The man sneered slightly. Shadows in the room flickered, as if the candlelight might be swallowed.
Nothing is a success unless it’s perfect.
And failures must not survive.
They couldn’t leave even a single clue.
A quiet stillness filled the room.
“You should have removed the weeds blocking your path completely, roots and all.”
Now that the tail was revealed, they would find out eventually.
If anyone could, it would be them.
“I’ll try again.”
The man poured tea into an empty cup without a word.
Drip. Drip.
Tea splashed in the cup.
‘Could this be a success?’
At the fleeting thought, he finally spoke.
“…It would be best to capture failures alive, if possible. Again.”
It wasn’t bad to check once more.
If it was a failure, it could be discarded immediately.
If it had potential, it could be contained and made into a success.
“Also check on that maid. Everything else proceeds as before.”
He knew a small mistake could trigger a deadly butterfly effect.
Especially in matters like this.
Every detail required attention.
The start had to be delayed until sufficient preparation.
The servant must be the one to draw the bowstring, not the adversary.
“Yes, sir.”
The ones who entered gripped their sweating hands.
They understood.
He had granted them a single mercy.
There must be no more mistakes.
No one knew the fate of that cat,
what ripple it would cause,
not even the cat itself, nor Ian, who had picked it up.
