Chapter 3 …
The next day, Seria woke up to sunlight so bright it seemed enough to drench the curtains.
‘That’s right, Yuel.’
The thought that popped into her mind the moment she awoke made her spring upright.
Fainting was nothing new to her. But fainting in front of Yuel was a first.
‘He must have been shocked, right?’
Seria anxiously climbed out of bed.
Yuel was already easily startled, so seeing her collapse must have been a considerable shock for him.
Up until now, Seria’s rare illness had been an unspoken secret.
Of course, since she hadn’t participated in society even at the age of ten, everyone suspected her health wasn’t good. But no one dared to openly say it.
Or rather, they couldn’t.
After all, what was known about Seria in public was merely: “Her growth is a little slow, and since the duke and duchess treasure her so dearly, they rarely show her outside.” No one who valued their position would dare dig up what the family wished to hide.
‘What if he says he won’t play with me anymore?’
Naturally, the Ricard Marquisate—Yuel’s family—knew the truth well, since they often visited the Duke of Kester’s household.
But Seria’s illness wasn’t something that could be avoided with mere caution, so the Marquis and Marchioness had surely kept it from Yuel on purpose.
That way, he could play with her as any child would.
Yet now, of all times, she had fainted right before his eyes. He must have been deeply shaken.
‘I’ve been fine lately, so why now of all times!’
In the month she had spent playing with Yuel, she had never once collapsed in front of him.
But yesterday, she suddenly lost consciousness. The first-time experience left Seria restless.
‘Well, even though he always says he doesn’t want to play with me…’
He never really meant it. But what if now, he truly avoids her?
Her worries spurred her feet into motion.
She shoved open the large bedroom doors and darted out in a hurry.
Her hair was a mess, she was still in her nightclothes, but for a ten-year-old girl, such things hardly mattered.
Or at least, they didn’t matter to Seria.
“Ah, young lady!”
As she was trotting down the central staircase on her short legs, the head maid spotted her from afar and rushed over at alarming speed.
“Eek!”
Where did she pop out from?
If the head maid caught her now, she would never make it outside. Seria quickly transformed into a cat.
With a soft poof, she became a cat, leaping away and leaving her crumpled nightgown on the floor.
Though Seria disliked her cat form—having been unable to turn human for the past eight years—she couldn’t deny how light and nimble it felt.
“Oh, my lady!”
The head maid’s exasperated cry echoed behind her.
Seria only answered with a quick “Meow!” before scampering away on four legs.
But with her pink fur, she stood out anywhere. And there were simply too many servants in the ducal estate.
“Myaaa! (Let me go!)”
Before long, Seria was caught. She flailed her paws and hissed sharply, but the butler who held her only chuckled warmly at her fluffy punches.
“Now, let’s wash your face first, and then you must eat. Would you please return to your human form, young lady?”
“Nya! (Hmph!)”
“Well then, I’ll just have to inform Young Master Yuel that you won’t be able to see him today.”
Poof!
“You wouldn’t dare?!”
“Oh, goodness!”
Instantly changing back into a human, Seria glared with puffed-up cheeks.
The maids, startled, quickly circled around to cover her up.
“You mustn’t change form in the middle of the hall, my lady!”
“But you told me to change back, so I did!”
Her stubborn insistence left the poor maids wiping nervous sweat.
After all, while Seria was only ten, that still meant she was far too old to go around naked.
‘What are we going to do with this personality of hers?’
The head maid sighed inwardly.
And she wasn’t the only one. Even the duke and duchess sometimes worried aloud: “When will our daughter finally learn to be proper…?”
In short, she might be human again, but she was still far from acting like one.
At times, it even made Yuel—who always stayed by her side—seem admirable.
Everyone who knew Seria knew the truth: she needed both education and Yuel.
After being forced to eat an early lunch and changing into something more practical, Seria went straight to find Yuel.
“Yuel!”
She waved her hand energetically with a bright smile. Yuel flinched, then snapped his head away. Same as always.
Seria’s face instantly lit up.
Yuel, you’re still the same! If you suddenly acted kind, I would’ve been hurt.
But then, another thought crossed her mind.
‘Didn’t my brothers tell him?’
Relief was quickly followed by confusion.
Could it be they hadn’t said anything?
But no—he had seen her faint right before his eyes. There was no way he didn’t know.
“Yuel, you saw yesterday, right?”
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Seria asked directly.
As always, Yuel was flustered, but he forced down his cat ears and asked calmly, “Saw what?”
“Me collapsing.”
“Of course I saw. You fainted right in front of me.”
“Then… do you know I’m sick?”
“…Yeah. I heard.”
His short reply came with his usual avoidance of eye contact.
“How do you feel about it?”
“…What?”
“Now that you know I’m sick, how do you feel?”
Her persistent questioning made Yuel let out a deep sigh.
Then, unusually sharp for him, he answered coldly:
“It has nothing to do with me.”
His curt words ended with eyes that betrayed no emotion.
Yuel only hoped he was keeping his expression under control.
He had never tried acting so brazenly before, but telling himself it was for Seria’s sake made lying surprisingly easy.
“Wow, you’re unbelievable.”
Apparently, his acting was rather good.
Completely fooled, Seria let out a disbelieving laugh.
She even teased, “Yuel Ricard, you really must hate me,” but inside, she felt relieved.
“Yuel, you’re really the same as ever.”
“…And you still don’t like it?”
“Why would I? But if I say I like you, you’d just hate it again.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Then?”
“…I don’t know. I hate it.”
“See!”
Seria burst into laughter.
So distracted was she by his grumpy reply that she didn’t notice—at least not right away—that unlike before, Yuel wasn’t suddenly running off or hiding anymore.
“Ah, Yuel. Come here!”
Seria spotted a tea table being set up nearby and dashed over.
Her illness came suddenly without any clear cause, so running wasn’t particularly dangerous.
But Yuel, remembering vividly how she had collapsed mid-run yesterday, shouted in panic:
“D-don’t run! Go slowly!”
“Huh? Why?”
“…Because I get tired.”
“What?”
His awkward excuse made Seria blink in confusion.
But after a moment of staring, she decided she understood.
‘Well, Yuel is small and looks weak.’
His pretty features only made him seem more delicate. Of course he would lack stamina.
Instead of arguing, Seria stopped in place and waited as Yuel slowly caught up to her.
“Do you want ice cream?”
“Ice cream?”
She pointed to the tea table, where servants were setting out various desserts—including ice cream.
Normally, such tables were prepared for the duchess or for Seria.
But even if the sweets were for the duchess, Seria was always free to eat them. So in the end, they were prepared for her.
“I want that.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Two. Both of them.”
Taking both ice creams, Seria handed one to Yuel.
But a mischievous spark suddenly lit in her eyes.
“Here!”
“Wha—Seria!”
She shoved the ice cream toward his face.
She had meant to feed him, but he reflexively dodged, and the ice cream smeared across his cheek instead.
“Oops, that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Honestly…”
Groaning, Yuel fumbled in his pockets for a handkerchief, only to realize he had left it behind that morning.
“Um—”
“Yuel.”
Just as he turned to call a servant, Seria stopped him and leaned forward.
“What?”
Before he could react—
Lick.
…Lick?
Something soft and wet touched his cheek. Not just once, but again and again.
“W-what are you doing?!”
His face flushed crimson as he tried to push her away, but yesterday’s memory of her collapsing froze his hands. He couldn’t bring himself to shove her.
“What do you mean? I’m cleaning you.”
Seria answered innocently as she continued to lick the ice cream off his cheek.
The problem was… she was licking it with her tongue.
‘S-Seria is a cat…’
I’m a cat too. Cats clean each other with their tongues. This is natural.
‘But we’re also human, aren’t we?’
Yuel stood frozen, unable to do anything. No matter how he tried to reason, it only confused him more.
‘Seria just isn’t socialized yet… That’s all.’
Yes.
Yes, it’s fine. Don’t think of it as weird.
“Yuel, should I clean the other side too?”
“N-no!”
Struggling to stay calm until now, Yuel finally broke down at Seria’s shameless words.
