IJEBPSCLB 5

chapter 5

The bathtub I saw from above was extremely wide and deep. Without exaggeration, it looked big enough to fit not only a tiger, but even a hippo.

Well, if a tiger was going to bathe comfortably, it probably needed a tub large enough to fit a hippo. A tiger might even be able to splash around and play in it.

If the tub is too cramped, you can’t wash comfortably.

Marie carefully lowered me—dangling from her hand—onto the bottom of the tub.

I wandered around inside it.

It was so wide that, being alone in it, I felt like someone stranded on a deserted island.

Marie, who had set me down, skillfully turned on the water.

Shhhhhh—

Water began filling the huge bathtub.

Even though it had already risen past my ankles and up to my waist, Marie still didn’t stop the water.

If this tub fills up… I’m going to drown.

My eyelids twitched.

She wasn’t accidentally filling it to the brim, right? No, that can’t be it. Ever since I came to this mansion, I’ve had way too many unintended near-death experiences.

“Marie, Marie. Turn off the water.”

I’m not the same species as you.

I frantically splashed the water with my front paws and looked at her.

Splash, splash. The sound echoed as I hit the water.

It was a desperate SOS signal for survival.

Marie smiled brightly.

“Are you enjoying your bath?”

This isn’t playtime! It’s not!

I despaired internally.

How did a survival signal turn into “having fun”?

Turn off the water!

I kept splashing desperately and stared at her with pleading eyes.

But Marie only looked at me with a gentle smile, her lips curved upward.

So this is how it ends. After 19 years, dying like this—so meaningless.

Will my tombstone say: “Cause of death—drowned while taking a bath”?

Fortunately, she didn’t actually intend to kill me. Marie soon shut off the water and began washing me.

Ordinary cats would have thrashed around and caused a scene, but I wasn’t an ordinary cat. I simply surrendered my body to her hands and drifted into thought.

Honestly, I was too exhausted from everything I had experienced over the past two days to even struggle.

How did I end up in the Cadelion mansion…

North: Cadelion.
South: Serdihan.
West: Ashila.
East: Marcos.
And the central free city.

The continent was divided into these five regions.

After the age of chaos ended, beastkin grew tired of endless wars and agreed to be governed by representatives of each region.

Thus, the strongest families became rulers of their regions. Except for the central region, which was jointly governed by four leaders without a single head, the continent was divided into North, South, East, and West.

The system for determining rulers was simple.

The ruling family governs the region for generations. If someone disagrees, they kill the current ruler—like a rebellion against an emperor.

But such cases were extremely rare since the first rulers were established.

Recently, though, rulers have changed a lot… twice in just over ten years.

Until now, only the North (Cadelion) and South had maintained the same ruling families without change.

The Cadelion family, where I currently was, was called both the Shield and Spear of Ice.

Their official title was “Guardians of Ice.”

They earned this title for defending the northern mountains from monsters.

However, most people preferred to say, “Because the Cadelions are absurdly strong and, more importantly, terrifyingly aggressive,” rather than the official name.

“Are you alright?”

While I was lost in thought, Marie gently massaged the back of my neck. Her skill in loosening tight muscles was exceptional. This was talent.

Mm. Very nice.

I purred contentedly and nodded.

When I became human again and had money, I might even repay her kindness by opening a massage shop for her.

Anyway, Ian Cadelion—the heir of the current Cadelion head family—is one of the strongest among all past heads.

Those who saw him on the battlefield all said he didn’t feel like a beastkin at all.

In the book, he was described like this:

“Wielding a golden healing pheromone, he slaughtered his enemies in brilliance, creating an overwhelming presence unseen among beastkin.
Countless enemies were swept away like ants in a tidal wave. His wounds healed instantly as they formed, and all who saw him—friend or foe—were in awe.
He was like the god of war who briefly descended into reality out of boredom, annihilating his enemies.”

But there’s a saying: strength and sanity are inversely related.

Ian Cadelion was exactly that type of person.

The male lead of this story was insane. And not just any insane person—an extremely powerful one. The novel even said he was one of the most unhinged Cadelion heads in history.

So it was true what they say: give power and intelligence to a madman, and there’s no saving it. Who would think of imprisoning the head of one of the most powerful merchant guilds on the continent?

No, a bit higher. Yes, there. Perfect.

I relaxed under the massage and continued thinking.

The heroine of this dark novel, “Chloe,” was the head of a merchant guild.

A very large one—famous across the continent.

Was it top ten? Top seven? Something like that.

Either way, Chloe’s guild was enormous.

That was why she was even able to attempt escaping from the Cadelion mansion. At times, she even came close to succeeding.

In the original story, she tries to escape with help from many beastkin—but every attempt fails.

Especially the time she tried to escape with help from a snake—it almost worked.

After she fails, Ian calmly explains in detail how her escape attempt was thwarted and what happened to everyone who helped her.

Cruelly, he even says: If you had done this, you might have succeeded.

As if mocking her: Try succeeding next time.

There’s no need to be “helpful” like this.

As Chloe’s escape attempts continued, one day he completely destroyed her guild—the very thing that meant everything to her—without even lifting a finger.

Then he smiled brightly while tossing the severed heads of her guild members at her, who had been waiting for help.

And he said:

The guild was gone.

Chloe broke down in despair and begged him through tears to spare the guild members. Watching her, he cheerfully explained the entire process of the guild’s destruction.

Even how each person had been dealt with.

In the book, he looked like a child excitedly waiting for Christmas presents.

And the guild’s end was utterly brutal.

A chill ran through me, and I shuddered. Water droplets scattered everywhere from my fur.

“Are you done with your bath, kitty?”

Despite being splashed, Marie calmly wiped my body with a towel. Seeing her soaked clothes made me feel slightly guilty.

But she didn’t seem to care at all and continued drying me.

Wow. That’s refreshing.

Her towel-drying skills were also exceptional. Marie really should open a massage shop. Even though I had just met her, I already liked her.

After drying me off, Marie lifted me up.

Ah… I really hate this…

I’m never being carried like this again. Ever.

I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself as I had done more than ten times since arriving here.

And then suddenly—

My body was lifted into the air.

Hey! At least give me time to prepare!

So unfair.

“Eek… it’s too high…”

Being lifted felt like a rollercoaster just before the drop.

From a kitten’s perspective, the ground looked terrifyingly far away. My trembling paws clung tightly to Marie’s hands like a lifeline.

I’m developing a fear of heights at this rate…

I already had a bit of it, but still.

I shut my eyes and tried to think of something else.

One sheep… two sheep… five sheep… no, that’s not it.

Chirp chirp, peep peep, quack quack… wait, quack? That’s wrong. That’s a dog sound. I’m losing my mind. Thinking of barking makes me think of Ian Cadelion. He’s not a mad dog—he’s a tiger.

Right. I’m in that tiger’s mansion.

It suddenly hit me how ridiculous my situation was.

A baby cat in a tiger’s mansion.

I never expected—or wanted—this.

What am I supposed to do now?

My mind grew foggy like mist. After the bath, my body felt warm and heavy. Sleepiness crept in again.

Even though I had supposedly slept 25 hours, I still felt tired.

I slumped against Marie and drifted off again.

To my relief, life in the Cadelion mansion for the past week was peaceful.

Imprisonment? What nonsense. The male lead who brought me here was always too busy working to even show his face.

And honestly, that was great.

So I lived a lazy, carefree life—sleeping early, waking up late.

Marie even said I seemed to spend more time asleep than awake. That said it all.

Ah… the happiness of being unemployed…

The pink cushion sank deeply under me.

At some point, things began appearing in my room one by one. Slowly, it turned into a cozy, drug-like space you couldn’t escape from.

It started with this extremely soft cushion.

Then came a ridiculously fancy food bowl, a cat house too luxurious to even enter comfortably, and even a tower-like structure inside the room that looked like something out of The Wizard of Oz.

Soon, it felt like I could start filming “The Adventures of a Baby Cat Hero.”

“Kitty.”

While I was lazily stretched out, someone called me.