UDBL~32

CHAPTER 32

“It’s a quick sale, you know. I’m already giving you a good price.”

“….”

Riana clenched her jaw.

It was a line she’d heard again and again all morning as she went around trying to exchange her belongings for cash.

Buyers were never in a rush—only the seller was. No wonder every deal she made was a huge loss, but she didn’t have a choice.

She couldn’t take everything with her, so she had to sell as much as possible to secure money for her escape.

“I lost so much—so much!”

Ugh!

Grumbling, Riana returned to the office on 11th Street.

The place looked empty now. Most of the decorations were gone, sold off earlier. Only a few pieces of furniture were left.

Riana put her hands on her hips and looked around with a sour face.

“I barely covered half my paycheck…”

This was all Duke Veloci’s fault.

If he hadn’t recognized her, she wouldn’t have needed to run away like this.

No—if he hadn’t mistaken someone else for his destined woman in the first place, she wouldn’t even have to avoid him!

Riana’s eyebrow twitched.

Now that she remembered… didn’t he send her a letter?

‘Might as well read it.’

Whatever nonsense he wrote.

Even if it wasn’t nonsense, she was fully prepared to mock every word!

She didn’t actually care what it said—she just wanted to argue with it.

“Where did I put it?”

“It’s in your bag.”

Riana jumped and looked toward the window. The cat was perched on the windowsill again, having somehow snuck in without a sound.

It wasn’t new. The cat always startled her like this. Riana just accepted it and spoke casually.

“I knew you’d find me. You see what’s going on, right? I’m leaving tonight.”

“You left the Droche estate completely?”

Riana answered as she summoned magic to her fingertips out of habit.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I have my reasons. You don’t need to know, kitty.”

Oh right, she was about to look at that letter that caused all this.

Still feeding the cat magic with one hand, Riana reached for the bag she brought from the estate.

“I’ve been so busy selling stuff I didn’t even unpack…”

She pulled the bag closer and mumbled. The cat, as usual, licked the magic off her fingers with a bored look.

But then—crash!—the bag spilled open all over the floor. The cat paused its licking.

“Ugh, seriously. Nothing is going right.”

Riana canceled the magic on her fingers and crouched to gather the spilled items.

Among them was the letter from Duke Veloci.

But something else caught her attention first.

“Huh? Isn’t this…”

A small, shiny yellow vial—about the size of a finger.

It was the one Cecilia had dropped.

She had picked it up to return it later… but accidentally brought it all the way out here.

Riana stood up, holding the bottle.

Sunlight poured through the half-open curtain, making the yellow vial sparkle in her hand.

What is this?

She raised it to eye level to examine it.

The glass bottle had smooth curves, but the lid was oddly sharp and spiky—like golden thorns, almost shaped like a crown.

As she stared, almost entranced by its shape, the cat’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Do you even know what that is?”

Riana’s fixed gaze shifted to the cat.

“…Do you?”

“…”

So he does know.

They’d known each other for years. Riana could tell the cat was reacting to this little vial.

And in turn, the cat could tell something too—Riana had no idea what it was.

“….”

So the cat chose to stay silent instead of explain.

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Say it.”

“….”

“Ha!”

She was really getting annoyed now.

She had already been forced to quit her job, sold everything at a loss, and nothing was going her way. Now the cat was being difficult, too?

Feeling frustrated, Riana made a decision.

She was going to drink it.

Literally.

Pop!

The lid came off with a cute sound. Riana brought the bottle close to her lips, teasing the cat with it.

“If you won’t tell me, I guess I’ll just have to find out myself.”

“Don’t do it, Riana.”

“It looks like a special potion. I’ll know once I taste it!”

There’s no way Cecilia would carry poison around, right? Not that Riana trusted Cecilia’s personality—it’s just that poison was expensive. No way a maid could afford it.

She assumed it was probably one of the healing or enhancement potions sold by Droche & Co.

And potions like that are only supposed to work for the happiness of the user, right?

So, she tilted her wrist.

This kind of thing? You chug it all in one go.

“Don’t!”

“Hm?”

Riana had already closed her eyes and tilted her head back—but nothing entered her mouth. Her eyes opened.

The yellow vial stood straight, unmoving.

She hadn’t done that. Someone had grabbed her wrist.

A human hand.

“I said don’t.”

A human voice. It was familiar, but the feeling was completely different.

Usually, when the cat spoke, the sound echoed in her head. But just now, the voice had come into her ears.

“…You.”

Riana turned to where the cat had been—and her eyes shook.

The cat was gone.

Standing in its place was an unwelcome man.

The room felt completely different. It wasn’t like when a cat was with her—it was like the air itself was heavier.

Riana felt like she couldn’t breathe, but forced out a voice.

“…Duke Veloci?”

The man’s eyes closed gently at the sound of his name. Riana flinched at that tiny motion.

Unlike the light, graceful cat, this man’s every move felt powerful and heavy. Even his quiet breathing sounded like thunder compared to the cat’s.

His silver hair flowed down past his chest, shining like ice. The cursed mark around his eye was still there.

It had been ten years since she last saw this male lead from her original hometown.

Noel Veloci.

“First, let go.”

Riana pointed at his hand, still gripping her wrist.

“….”

Veloci bit his lip. He was clearly not someone who liked talking.

That alone proved he really was the cat.

Annoyingly enough, even in this human form, Riana could still read his emotions.

“I said I won’t drink it. You can let go.”

Finally, he released her hand.

Riana closed the lid on the vial and asked,

“So… it was you all along?”

Her voice was filled with anger.

“….”

His white clothes were just like his cat fur. His bright yellow eyes like a full moon were the same too.

“You came to that banquet because of me?”

“Not entirely. But partly.”

“Ha—”

She had known the cat for over five years. Five years!

Sure, it had been weird how it could talk and eat magic—but she never imagined it was actually a person. Let alone a male lead!

All the effort she’d made to block Killian’s advances, to avoid Deborah, to carefully deal with dangerous Grey—it all felt like a joke now.

Because the biggest threat had been by her side this whole time.

“You really tricked me. I never even guessed. I thought I was the master liar here.”

Turns out, someone worse was right next to her.

“So why? Why reveal yourself now, after hiding so hard?”

Riana raised the vial. The golden liquid sloshed inside.

“What is this, anyway? Huh?”

“Give it to me. I’ll dispose of it.”

Veloci reached out his hand. Riana narrowed her eyes but replied sweetly.

“Tell me what it is first.”

He hesitated… and then finally answered.

“…It’s called a Memory Elixir.”

“Called that?”

The word “elixir” is used for potions made by high-ranking mages. Certified elixirs are designed to only help the user’s happiness.

Come to think of it, all the Droche & Co. products Killian gave her had magic association approval marks.

But this bottle didn’t.

‘So this one’s not certified.’

That meant it could really be dangerous.

Riana shivered at the thought that she had almost drunk it just now.

“It helps people recall faded memories. But those who long for the past often become addicted.”

Ah.

Riana suddenly understood why Veloci had tried so hard to stop her from drinking it.

Until now, she had never clearly explained her past life to the cat—but she had never really hidden it either.

So while he may not have known the details, he probably sensed that she longed for something.

“You were worried I’d get addicted.”

“That’s why you should give it to me.”

His pale hand reached out again.

Riana looked at it for a second—then shrugged.

“Nope.”