Chapter 07
“Nonsense…?”
“Yeah. You’re not some kind of monster.”
“……”
“You’re just you.”
Kyr muttered blankly.
“I’m… me.”
“Mm-hm.”
“Then… you won’t throw me away?”
“Of course not. Why would you even think I would?”
“If I do something wrong… you might change your mind.”
“Hmm. In that case, wouldn’t I just scold you?”
“Then… it’s really okay for me to be here?”
His endless questions sounded as if he needed reassurance that it was truly okay.
Emilina gave a helpless smile.
“As long as you want to, you can.”
Kyr fell silent for a while, then asked quietly:
“Even if I make you unhappy?”
“That’ll never happen. And even if it did, that would be the result of my own choice—it wouldn’t be your fault.”
Emilina patted Kyr’s head, as if to comfort him.
“So you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Kyr’s clear gaze fixed on Emilina.
His expression looked… shaken.
Why is he looking at me like that? Emilina was about to ask, puzzled—
—when she saw his golden eyes, like burning flames, glistening with tears.
And she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.
‘Is she… pitying me?’
The words had slipped out without thought. He was just sick and tired of being abandoned.
The constant strange stares that followed him. The cold words of rejection.
And when he did receive kindness mixed with pity, it always ended with people avoiding him anyway.
But Emilina acted as though none of that mattered.
‘Why?’
Why could she be so unaffected?
To Kyr, it was an unfamiliar reaction. He couldn’t understand her attitude.
Why had he been suppressing his power all this time?
It was to protect the peaceful daily life he clung to.
Because everyone feared him simply for being “the black beast.”
He didn’t want the girl who had shown him kindness to discover the truth.
More than that, he was terrified of seeing horror or disgust in her eyes.
But Emilina was only gentle.
Even after seeing his strange form, she treated him no differently.
There was no lie in her warm touch.
“Kyr. Someday, people will appear who accept you just as you are.”
Words from his mother he had never once agreed with.
Kyr had always believed such people could never exist.
He was certain of it.
And yet—
Plop.
Drop.
For the first time, he thought maybe his mother’s words could be true.
Kyr felt relief in the comfort he hadn’t received for so long.
Not just relief that he hadn’t been pushed away—he felt consoled.
‘Maybe… it’s a good thing I didn’t reveal my full name.’
Kyrzen Ditrio.
That was his name, but he had a small, selfish wish to be seen by Emilina as just an ordinary boy.
In the end, Emilina never got any sleep until the sun rose.
She had spent the night comforting Kyr as he cried, and before she knew it, time had flown by.
She had many questions but decided not to ask.
The boy seemed to have many secrets. Unless Kyr spoke first, she didn’t want to pry.
Better not to open a Pandora’s box and get dragged into trouble.
Still, she couldn’t avoid asking at least some things, like where he lived or how old he was.
“T-ten years old?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s impossible!”
Emilina looked at him in disbelief.
Kyr answered awkwardly.
“I really am ten…”
“Huh…”
He was so small and frail—it was hard to believe he was ten.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t Kyrzen about this age too?’
No. No. Don’t start comparing.
Emilina shook her head vigorously.
Still, she had assumed Kyr was at most eight, and she frowned.
His growth seemed far too slow. It made her think unpleasant thoughts.
Could it be he had been abused?
“Um… your parents?”
“They died in an accident two years ago.”
Kyr’s mother and father. Emilina felt guilty for having suspected otherwise.
She cleared her throat awkwardly, as if caught.
“Then… did you live in an orphanage?”
“No.”
“Hm?”
“I lived… alone.”
Emilina’s eyes widened.
He had lived without guardians? That shocked her.
“Then what about food?”
“Huh?”
“Food. Did you eat properly?”
Kyr stared at her, dumbfounded.
Food? That was such a sudden question.
“Food…?”
“Yeah. You didn’t eat properly, did you?”
Even as she asked, Emilina was already half-convinced.
His scrawny frame spoke for itself.
“I just… ate as much as everyone else, I think.”
Lies. Emilina didn’t believe him for a second.
The world was harsh. How could a child survive alone and manage meals?
He must have gone hungry countless times.
It looked like he was lying to stop her from worrying.
Feeling a pang of pity, Emilina hugged him tightly.
‘I’ll take good care of him.’
From now on, she would make sure he ate well and slept well, so he could grow strong.
So that he wouldn’t think of himself as a monster anymore. So that no one would dare look down on him.
Strong and proud.
Kyr, completely unaware of her thoughts, only felt awkward.
He couldn’t tell her the truth, so he had dodged the question with vague answers.
But it seemed Emilina had gotten the wrong idea.
‘Is food really that important?’
Looking at her serious expression, it almost seemed like it was a life-or-death issue.
Kyr felt a strange emotion.
No one had ever worried about him like this.
But…
‘It doesn’t feel bad.’
No—it actually felt good.
He wanted Emilina’s concern for him to last.
Even if it was born from a misunderstanding or pity.
At that moment—
“Ah!”
Emilina let out a small exclamation and released him from her arms.
Kyr felt a pang of disappointment but didn’t show it.
She spoke with a serious tone.
“Kyr. We have a problem.”
“A… problem?”
“Yes. A very serious one.”
Gulp. Kyr swallowed nervously without realizing it.
Judging from her atmosphere, it wasn’t a trivial matter.
What could it be? He watched her anxiously.
With a grave look, Emilina finally spoke:
“So…”
“Yes?”
“It’s…”
“Uh-huh?”
“It’s that…”
“C-can’t you just say it already?”
Kyr urged her impatiently.
She carefully continued.
“You… can you turn back into a cat?”
“I’m not a cat…”
“Huh? What was that?”
“N-nothing. But why?”
“Well, if you go out of this room like this, my parents will be shocked.”
Emilina frowned in thought.
Right now, Kyr was in human form.
A strange boy she had never introduced suddenly walking out in her clothes?
Her parents would be completely dumbfounded. No doubt about it.
They needed some kind of cover story.
They could tell the truth—that a cat had turned into a person—but…
‘If I’m lucky, I’ll just be treated like a lunatic.’
A kind lie would be safer.
Not that her parents were bad people, but… No.
She remembered how they already disliked the cat—no, Kyr.
If she spoke the truth, they might drive him away, calling it ominous.
For Kyr’s sake, it was better to keep it secret.
He seemed to agree, giving a small nod.
“Can you do it?”
“No. Sorry. I can’t control it yet.”
“Yet? Then that means someday you will?”
Emilina’s eyes lit with curiosity at his words.
Given this was a fantasy world, it wasn’t all that surprising—but seeing it with her own eyes was still amazing.
Feeling pressured by her sparkling gaze, Kyr shifted back slightly.
“Yeah, since I’m a beastkin.”
“Ah, beastkin. So that’s what it’s called.”
“Weird, right?”
“Not at all.”
“O-oh.”
Her firm response made Kyr feel embarrassed.
“Still… it’s a problem.”
Emilina sighed deeply, troubled.
To make it seem natural for Kyr to be here, he had to leave the room once and re-enter.
But if he just walked out like this, they’d definitely catch on.
While she was wracking her brain for a solution, Kyr spoke timidly.
“Um… I think I can handle it if I’m alone.”
“Emilina.”
“Yes?”
“My name. It’s Emilina, not ‘hey you.’ You knew that, didn’t you?”
She corrected him, frowning.
Kyr thought it wasn’t really important right now, but replied in a small voice anyway.
“…Then I’ll call you ‘noona’ (big sister).”
