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Chapter 40
Uh… it’s moving.
The little furball is moving!
Startled, I stomped my feet.
“Meow~ Gyaung.”
I didn’t understand what it meant, but it sounded like it was saying, “I’m cute.”
Among the purring fluff, a tiny face suddenly popped out.
Pointed ears sticking up. Eyes still sleepy, barely open.
A pale pink nose and an adorable little mouth shaped like the Korean “ㅅ.”
“Oh my god.”
My expression went soft as I welcomed the awakened fluffball.
Then it happened. The baby cat, still surveying its surroundings, slowly opened its eyes.
And…
Through the white fur covering its eyelids, a vivid purple iris was revealed.
“…Baby?”
Wait a minute.
I couldn’t believe it, so I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again.
“Purr?”
Even so, the white furball was staring at me with brilliant purple eyes.
“Purple eyes… this is definitely a monster.”
“Yes. It definitely had purple eyes, and it was a monster. Alive, apparently… that’s what it seemed to say.”
Hearing the emphasis on “purple” in the conversation of skepticism, I silently picked up the cat.
Those eyes are purple, right?
Front flip, back flip—still purple, right?
I held the fluffball in my hands, deep in thought.
“…You’re a cat, right?”
“Nooo~”
“Nooo? Does that mean no? You can speak English?”
“Yaa~”
“…”
Was that… a yes this time?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t interpret cat language, so I just tilted my head.
Whatever it was, one thing was certain: I had picked up something strange.
Twinkle-twinkle—
It seemed like a sparkling gaze was following him from behind.
Nox, walking down the corridor, turned his head.
“…….”
The owner of the sparkling eyes was Aisha.
Far away, peeking out from behind a pillar, the little chick was staring at Nox.
Her mouth formed a little triangle, as if silently asking for attention.
But—
“No one’s there.”
Nox walked past, pretending not to see Aisha.
“!”
Panicked, she hurriedly stepped out from behind the pillar and began chasing after Nox.
‘…….’
Nox stopped walking and quickly turned around—
This time, Aisha was hiding behind a pedestal displaying expensive pottery, only peeking her face out to watch him.
Twinkle-twinkle—
Her blue eyes, beaming sparkles, craved attention.
But.
“How strange. I feel like someone’s following me.”
Yawning, Nox muttered and turned his head.
“Aah~ Nox!”
Eventually, Aisha lost the strange staring contest and trudged out.
“I’ve been staring at you for a while—why didn’t you speak?”
“I’d call it the side effect of the bell stunt.”
“Ah, why~!”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to pay attention to Princess Aisha’s childcare for a while. The aftermath of the bell stunt and corpse game was too much.”
It wasn’t exactly that it was physically exhausting—it was more embarrassing to even lift my head.
This was trauma.
The moment the white pajama hood lifted, revealing the ceiling full of knights and Mai’s faces…
Even Nox, who usually didn’t care about others’ gazes, had been caught.
A 24-year-old man lying in pajamas with monster patterns—people had seen him like that?
‘It’s more embarrassing than trying to climb the wall to reveal the princess’s identity.’
At least his own backside was decent-looking.
But lying in the corridor… that was a total dark moment in history.
“Then, I’ll be off.”
Nox bowed politely and continued walking.
“Ah, N-Nox.”
Flustered, the princess followed him persistently, finally revealing her true intention.
“T-There’s also a cat-type monster?”
“?”
Nox stopped walking at the sudden question.
This wasn’t about refusing or pretending not to know—he had simply never heard a stranger question about monsters in such a way.
“What do you mean by that question?”
Only then did he show interest. Surprisingly, Aisha didn’t seem happy.
She seriously looked around to make sure no one was watching and asked again in a suspiciously serious tone.
“You’ll keep it a secret, right?”
No.
“Yes.”
Nox coolly lied.
“Promise?”
No.
“Yes.”
“Ugh.”
Aisha felt a bit uneasy at the mechanical answer, but in the end, she decided to trust him and approached.
Nox bent over slightly for her, and tiptoeing, Aisha whispered to him.
“When I saved Lucas oppa, I also rescued a baby kitten.”
Was that so?
Nox, who wasn’t interested in animals, just nodded vaguely. But then…
“The kitten’s eyes are purple.”
The princess’s words made Nox’s eyes narrow in disbelief.
“…Excuse me?”
“The kitten I saved has purple eyes, and since you’re a monster expert and the president of Masamo, you must know what it is, right?”
Of course, Nox didn’t know.
Cats are animals, and animals and monsters are strictly different species.
Monsters are born beyond the edge of the world, where humans do not live.
How they were born and what their ancestors were remains a subject of research, but animals and monsters are definitely separate.
Nox frowned in confusion.
“…First of all—”
“Yes?”
“First, show me the actual thing.”
“Follow me.”
As expected from the ex-spy princess. She always brings big news wherever she goes.
A little later.
The princess brought him to her bedroom and held something wriggling on the bed.
“Is this the purple-eyed cat?”
“Yes. Ah, so cute, so cute.”
Aisha’s five-year-old-like voice doting on someone was rare.
Nox observed the rare sight, witnessing the fluffball in Aisha’s arms opening its eyes.
“…….”
He swallowed hard.
It was true.
The cat, no bigger than Aisha’s hands, had perfectly purple eyes.
“…This is something.”
Thump-thump.
The monster-loving heart of Nox began to pound like a drum.
Flustered, he even took off his monocle and cautiously asked,
“May I hold it?”
“Yes, of course.”
He reached out to take the fluffball, but—
“Kyaa!”
The cat, lying languidly, suddenly bristled its fur in defense.
It flipped away from Nox, ignored him, and burrowed back into Aisha’s arms.
Aisha opened her mouth, disappointed.
“Ah. I got permission from me, but you didn’t get it from the baby.”
“Can’t be helped. That’s fine.”
Nox pursed his lips.
“By the way, purple eyes are a symbol of monsters… truly fascinating.”
“Right? That’s why I actually want to raise this one…”
The little princess’s shoulders slumped, hesitant.
“Raising it secretly in the palace… that wouldn’t be allowed, right?”
Hmm.
I actually want to raise it myself.
‘An excellent research subject.’
Nox thought for a while.
“…It wouldn’t be allowed, right?”
“You can keep it secret. Let’s raise it here for now.”
The unexpected answer made an exclamation appear over Aisha’s face.
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. We’ll bring this cat to the Masamo gathering (a club that loves monsters so much they want to kill them).”
