/
In the end, I couldn’t find any words of comfort and I just honestly expressed how I felt.
“I’m so sad. It’s so horrible, and I don’t even know what to say to you. I’m angry with this world and with such people… I’m sorry, Coco. Sometimes, humans are bad.”
“Why should Rowaine apologize for that? It’s those people who are bad, not you.”
“That’s right. They’re the bad ones and the ones to be ashamed of themselves. Still, Coco feels ashamed of what they did, and that makes me sad as well. I feel sorry for what they did to you.”
“Rowaine is my angel! If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead. You’re my savior, so don’t be sorry.”
I smiled sadly and stroked Coco’s fluffy hair.
“Coco is also my lovely cat. Without you, I would be less happy than I am now.”
“….!”
Coco’s eyes widened.
I started sharing my story that Coco wouldn’t know, wanting him to know how precious he was to me.
“Before I met Coco, I had cats that I took care of.”
Soon, I told him about the cats I had been taking care of for ten years. How well I knew each one of them, their personalities, habits, voices, likes and dislikes… and how much I loved and cared for them.
“When I lost all of the children in an accident, I just wanted to die… they were everything to me.”
“….”
“But then I met Coco. Do you know how much I depended on you? I became happy again after meeting you.”
As his eyes widened as he gazed at me, I gave him a big hug and continued my words.
“I’m happy because of you. I don’t think you’re an embarrassment or shameful. No matter what, you’re my sweet cat.”
“Rowaine…”
His tears, which had formed large pools, soaked into my clothes. Coco cried quietly for a long time as I patted him on the back until her cries subsided. And finally, when his trembling stopped, I whispered.
“Coco, I’m so angry.”
“…What?”
He sniffed and quietly listened to my voice.
“I mean those people… they are doing horrible things, and I’m sure there are lives being born in pain and dying in pain even now because of those slave traders.”
Perhaps sensing the unusual anger in my voice, Coco lifted his wet face and glanced at me.
I said through gritted teeth.
“Shall I get rid of them?”
“….!”
His face went blank.
“Who? Those slave traders?”
“Yes. Do you want me to get rid of them?”
Coco’s eyes fluttered slightly.
“…Are you serious?”
“I’m very serious.”
At my affirmation, his eyes widened a little more.
“Ca-can you do it?”
“I can do it. Do you want to do it?”
Coco’s big eyes widened at my confident face, and he moved away from me a little to straighten his posture.
“You should get Dimitri’s help instead. Dimitri has a high status even among humans, so destroying slave traders is a piece of cake.”
Since I knew the advanced information I already knew from reading the novel, I knew a way to use Dimitri’s power to crush the slave traders and perhaps even give the senior a big blow. The only reason I didn’t use that method was because Coco had asked me to keep what was happening at the slave trader a secret.
I said, hoping Coco would be brave enough to do it.
“…Then, this will be known to the world.”
Even though I knew how to get revenge and had the means, it wasn’t going to be easy for Coco.
It was because everyone he knew would know the secret of his birth, a secret he painstakingly confided in me. No matter how much he was the victim, I understood the feeling of covering up for the perpetrator for fear of revealing the terrible secret that happened to him.
It wasn’t because he didn’t have a deep hatred for the perpetrator but because he was so afraid of how others would look at him if the incident were known. It took courage and determination to face the stares that would follow you in order to settle a score.
Even after repaying the grudge, the victim’s life continues.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine the weight of the courage and resolution that wouldn’t collapse for the rest of my life, so I couldn’t force Coco to do it.
‘…I hope I wasn’t being pushy since I was just making a cautious suggestion.’
“If you want, let’s destroy those bastards together. Still, I won’t do anything for you if you don’t want to.”
Nervously, Coco grabbed my hand.
“I don’t know, I just want to… pretend it didn’t happen. Like it never happened. This may happen frequently in the world, but if I kept my mouth shut as if I hadn’t been harmed…”
With his brow narrowed, he wiped a tear from his eye with the back of his hand.
“…But, like Rowaine just said. Even now, many lives are being born into pain and suffering right now.”
Painful tears kept soaking the back of Coco’s hands.
“If only I had the courage… there would be no children born in the future who would be as unfortunate as me and my brothers, right?”
…Oh, my.
It was only then did I realize I had made a mistake. In expressing my anger, I made him responsible for the other victims. Even if I didn’t mean to do that, in the end, I ended up burdening him, and if so, it was my fault.
“I’m sorry, Coco. Those were words that only the person concerned could have said, but I made a mistake. You don’t have to force your courage because of my words.”
“Nonetheless, I can’t bring myself to feel guilty that I didn’t have the courage to stop it when I knew there would be another victim.”
I closed my eyes tightly. How nice it would be if I could pick the right words and say them to him. It felt like I was asking someone who was struggling with their own pain to take responsibility for the pain of others as well.
How wise it was to know how to comfort others properly. I couldn’t believe I’d created this situation because of my lack of wisdom.
Instead, it was Coco who comforted me as I was feeling devastated.
“Rowaine is right. I’ll pluck up the courage.”
The boy raised his wonderfully beautiful and clear eyes.
“Rowaine told me that you love me even though you know my secret, and that you’re not ashamed of me.”
At that moment, I could tell what he needed to say from the way he was gazing, and it wasn’t a hard thing for me to say either.
“It always will be. Once my cat, always my cat. I’ll always love you the same way I always have.”
The joy in Coco’s eyes was surprisingly clear.
“That’s all I need! You’re also my eternal angel. Rowaine is all I need.”
He put strength into the two hands that were holding mine.
“I want revenge, Rowaine. I want them to be very, very scared. Don’t let them do it again.”
“Of course. I’m not going to let them get away with it, trust me.”
“Ung!”
Coco’s breathing quickened a little with excitement.
˚ ･: * ✧ * :･ ˚
When I went to Dimitri’s office with Coco, he was doing his job with Sasha dangling around his ankles.
Even with Sasha, in the form of a kitten, was clawing at his ankles while screaming, “I want to make a deal with the devil, let me make a deal with the devil!” Dimitri didn’t take his eyes off the papers and just replied, “You have to get Rowaine’s permission,” as he ignored the attacks.
“Waak! Aaak! I hate you all! I hate you…!”
Sasha rolled around on the floor and grumbled. Then, after belatedly discovering me watching me, she shouted, “I hate you!” and sprinted out between my legs like a dart.
Coco clicked his tongue.
“When will she ever grow up?”
When I asked to speak to Dimitri, he got off his desk and sat down on the sofa.
“Have you changed your mind, Rowaine?”
“If it’s about a devil’s contract, absolutely not.”
Dimitri, who nodded as if he knew what I was talking about, muttered, “We’ll just have to give them a personal escort.” Crossing his long legs and sitting back comfortably on the sofa, he had a languid expression.
“Then, what is it?”
“Dimitri, do you remember the last time I told you to trust me about the damages claimed by the Count of Bilbao?”
“What other crazy plans have you come up with?”
“It’s called an ingenious plan.”
“I’d love to hear your ingenious plans.”
I smiled in satisfaction at the quick change of words.
“The slave traders of the Count of Bilbao are inbreeding the shapeshifters.”
Dimitri’s expression didn’t change much.
“It’s outrageous that a slave trader of that magnitude would do something like that, but it’s not something that would overturn Count Bilbao’s claim. It would be socially condemned if it became public knowledge. However, after all, it’s the owner’s right to decide how to use his slaves, who are private property, to increase the number of people.”
Coco glanced back and forth between Dimitri and me with anxious eyes.
It was unexpected that Dimitri would show such a nonchalant reaction. Nevertheless, he was someone who knew more about the dirty things that happened in the shadows of society than most. His life hadn’t been easy, and he had been through a lot of things that other people didn’t have to.
The sentences in the novel that outlined why he was forced to become a villain were very succinct in describing his struggles. Still, I was able to read the hidden content between the lines of how he had been living with dirt and how he survived, so his dry reaction was not too surprising.
There was something really important I wanted to say in the first place.
“Of course, that’s not the end of it.”
“Please continue.”
“What if Count Bilbao was selling the dog breeds produced by inbreeding to the Emperor by manipulating with the pedigrees?”
“Ho?”
Dimitri laughed in disbelief.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t believe what I was saying, but it was a laugh that would be very funny if it were true.