/
It wasn’t until dawn that she barely managed to shake off her nightmare, waking up drenched in sweat.
However, barely waking up, she soon fell back to bed soon after.
“Ugh… heuk…”
For some reason, she had no energy.
A feeling of extreme helplessness swept over her. It was because her energy was stolen by the devil, but there was no way for Cayetana to know now.
As she sweated profusely and was very thirsty, she couldn’t come to her senses and was seized again.
The fear of the dream demon was that it could lead to the death of humans due to the mental shock caused by nightmares. Even if they safely endured the nightmare and woke up, a human who had been deprived of their spirit could die from sleep if there were no one to take care of them.
Cayetana had many employees to take care of her so she wouldn’t die, but for a few days, to regain her energy, she would have to fight the demon without even knowing.
ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ
“Sleeping in late… As far as I know, Madam Elbas never overslept. I’m sure her pride was hurt, so she’s shutting herself in because of what happened yesterday.”
Agwen spoke sharply, knowing that Madam Elbas hadn’t woken up and didn’t show up for breakfast. Nonetheless, my thoughts were a bit different.
‘I thought you’d show up with a casual face. It’s surprising.’
As far as I know, Madam Elbas was a shameless person. Still, it was so trivial that such a person skipped breakfast though I didn’t want to bother with that.
I changed the topic and asked Agwen.
“But, why did Dimitri close off the east corridor on the fourth floor?”
“Well, the rat shapeshifters appeared overnight!”
“A rat shapeshifter?”
“Since it turns into a rat and passes through the drainage channel, it’s said that the Imperial Palace went into a frenzy before as well. It could be anywhere. However, after the Duke returned from the battlefield, all the rats, let alone the rat shapeshifters, disappeared from this mansion…”
I heard something similar when I went to hunt the rat shapeshifter’s nightmare demon with Coco before. That was why we had to go all the way there to find the rat shapeshifters.
“Looks like they haven’t heard rumors that cats are holding out in Blois.”
“I hear rumors travel fast among rat shapeshifters, but it doesn’t seem like that. Anyway, they said the eastern hallway was closed for disinfection, but Madam Elbas got caught.”
In the eastern hallway on the fourth floor, Madam Elbas was currently staying.
“If she doesn’t feel uncomfortable, she could continue to use it, but if she feels uncomfortable, she’ll move.”
There were many rooms in the mansion, so if she wanted to move, she could move anytime. It wasn’t a big deal, either.
‘It’s a waste of attention.’
After time and energy were wasted, I decided to put aside thoughts about Madam Elbas and sat down in front of the mirror.
“My skin is much better than yesterday, don’t you think so?”
“It still looks painful…”
Agwen smiled awkwardly as if she couldn’t agree. Still, her agreement wasn’t that important, so I shrugged and got up before leaving the room.
“I’m curious about what Coco and Sasha are doing, so I’m going to go to the annex.”
For me, who suffered from ‘cat separation anxiety,’ as I would become anxious when separated from cats, seeing Coco and Sasha was a must for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was a mental problem, a chronic disease that couldn’t be cured even with my healing ability.
‘Anyway, that’s right. Let’s go, I need mental healing through cats.’
However, in the front yard of the annex, there was someone who came before me.
“Dimitri?”
“Rowaine.”
Dimitri glanced at me while saying something serious in front of Coco and Sasha.
“What are you doing?”
As I approached with a question, Dimitri’s expression when he saw me was strange. For some reason, he twitched his face with the corners of her mouth raised unnaturally…
‘Does my face still look bad?’
He had an expression of seeing something he couldn’t see. Yes, that expression was certain.
‘…Still, the blisters have subsided a lot, and the spots have improved.’
The effect of the treatment was quite good even though my face wasn’t treated with my healing ability but was left to heal naturally with the treatment given by Tyra.
“Is it very bad?”
When asked sullenly, Dimitri shook his head with a cold face.
“No.”
“…Your expression can’t lie.”
“I’m smiling.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.”
It was because while he was smiling as he said, he was still avoiding his eyes and keeping a stiff face.
“I’ll get better soon. In four days or so, it won’t even show.”
“What if you just treat it?”
“Then, wouldn’t people think it’s strange?”
“The rate of recovery varies from person to person. Tell them that you have a constitution that heals quickly.”
“There’s a degree, though.”
At my words, Dimitri stared at me.
As the glass-like eyes stared at me as if they were going to pierce me, I became nervous. Originally, it was scary when a cat stared at you like that. Then, he suddenly frowned as if he was scornful after staring at me for a while.
‘No, is this person frowning at someone else’s face?’
His mouth poked out in disappointment.
“Is it that terrible?”
Dimitri, who was staring at me as if he didn’t want to answer the same question, sighed and spoke in a high-pitched voice.
“You look sick, Rowaine, sick… Can’t you just heal it faster? After doing that, even if it’s a four-day vacation away from the public eye…!”
Unable to finish his words, he stared at me with a teary face.
I opened my mouth and looked at him like that.
‘A face that looks like he’s about to cry…’
Even though there were no tears, his big, sad eyes and pursed lips looked like a child holding back tears. I was embarrassed and couldn’t think of what to say after seeing that face. However, Dimitri bit his lips and apologized as if he thought I was angry after not knowing what to say.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry.”
He was angry?
‘He doesn’t know what kind of expression he’s making right now?’
The muscles in my face started to twitch, and soon, the corners of my lips twitched wildly. Somehow, the sadness that had accumulated overnight had melted away like spring snow.
“Although I was sick yesterday, today, it doesn’t hurt that much. Only my face was like this, but all other areas were treated. So, don’t worry too much.”
“Then, why are you smiling?”
“Smiling? I’m not.”
“Isn’t your face smiling?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
At that time, the audience, whose existences were forgotten, expressed their dissatisfaction and stuck their nails into the trunk of a tree.
“What are you two doing together?! Can’t you see us?”
“Look at me. Look at me…!”
It was a rebellion of domesticated cats whose patience was at its limit.
ﾟ･ : * ✧ * :･ ﾟ
“So, what were you doing?”
Dimitri, who seemed to be in a better mood, explained with a haughty face.
“I was thinking about teaching these guys how to make a contract with the devils. They need to know how to protect themselves, so there won’t be any trouble like this time again.”
There was a glimpse of hatred towards someone on his face. He must have been thinking of Madam Elbas. He seemed to suspect that Madam Elbas had deliberately brought in the lilies to harm Sasha. Meanwhile, Coco and Sasha’s ears perked up at the words that they would teach them how to make a contract with the devil. So did my ears.
“Any cat can do that?”
If Coco and Sasha could make a pact with the devils to become as strong as Dimitri, then I was all for it.
When I asked with sparkling eyes, Sasha raised her hand and interrupted.
“Sasha can do it! I’m a strong cat! But he can’t since he’s weak.”
When she pointed at Coco as if to tease him, I quickly stopped her from doing that.
“You can’t do that to Coco. He’s also strong when it comes to strength.”
“Right! There’s something I’m good at, too. I was the one who helped Rowaine a lot!”
Coco immediately shouted with a face that felt unfair and climbed up on top of my head. His eyes were droopy for a cat, so it seemed as if he was pouting slightly. Nevertheless, his expression of resentment was more prominent.
‘Aw, he’s upset. Aigoo~’
He looked just as cute to me.
I glanced at Dimitri, trying hard not to show affection for the upset Coco. It was meant for him to severely intervene between them. However, he scoffed at Coco and Sasha because of how he interpreted the look in my eyes.
“Kids.”
“….!”
“Even if you make a contract with the devil, a kid is just a kid.”
The next moment, he arrogantly looked down at the cats, which was really astounding. I glared at him with the intention of not discouraging the children, but he proudly ignored my gaze.
“Of course, a child who made a contract with the devil can become a little stronger… if only you could make a contract.”
Coco, who sat with my head in her arms, surprisingly didn’t say anything. Only Sasha asked excitedly.
“I can do it! What should I do?”
Dimitri answered calmly.
“You can risk your life.”
I knew that in this world, feline shapeshifters made contracts with demons with their lives as collateral. Still, I couldn’t quite imagine how that would actually work.
I asked lightheartedly, feeling the trust in Dimitri’s calm expression.
“It’s not dangerous, right?:
“Don’t you know what it means to risk your life?”
He tilted his head, asking back.
“…You mean literally?”
…The trust has been broken.