Chapter 24
“Come to think of it, I have just the thing! Let’s see… ah! Here it is.”
Arin rummaged through the clothing basket and pulled out an opaque veil from the very bottom.
“If you wear this, there won’t be any problem. It’ll completely hide both your hair color and your eye color.”
I placed the veil Arin gave me over my head and looked into the mirror.
At a glance, it looked like a bridal veil, and just as she said, it perfectly concealed all of my distinctive features.
With the veil flowing down from my head to my chest and the pure white dress Arin had prepared, I looked like a mysterious saintess straight out of a novel.
“But if I go around wearing something like this, won’t I stand out even more?”
“Ah… come to think of it, you said you don’t know much about this kingdom yet, right? Veils are commonly worn by noblewomen and temple workers, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“I see.”
“If you ever have any other questions, please feel free to ask me. I’ll tell you everything I can.”
I hesitated for a moment in front of Arin.
But the truth was, what I really wanted to ask wasn’t something she could answer.
Do I really have to keep sharing a room with Suleiman…?
Now that my identity as a human had been exposed, sharing the same bed with him felt even more burdensome than before.
I was debating whether I should ask him seriously about it tonight when I heard a sound from outside.
“This is Aziz. May I come in?”
I gave Arin a quick glance, and she hurried over to open the door.
When Aziz stepped in and saw me in front of the mirror wearing the veil, he bowed deeply.
“I greet the incarnation of Ashtar.”
“…Just call me Ishtar. And don’t use that greeting—it’s embarrassing.”
“What a fine name, perfectly suited to our Lady Cat.”
Smiling with a curled lip, he slowly approached me.
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not.
Unlike the usual sly, smirking Aziz, this different demeanor made me scowl.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, was I being too rude? Hm. Should I kneel, then?”
“Ugh. Please don’t. You’re treating me way too differently, aren’t you?”
When I let slip part of my pent-up frustration, Aziz chuckled and replied.
“As I told you the first time we met, I already knew your true form—your human appearance now. Just because the outside has changed, there’s no reason for me to act differently.”
“Then why are you acting like this now?”
“The goddess’ once unstable aura is now astonishingly clear. Now that you’ve taken on a human form, I can feel it vividly.”
“Ah…”
I recalled the dream where I had met Ashtar.
Was Aziz reacting this way because of the power she had granted me?
“As the lowly servant of Ashtar, I am sensitive to divine power. To me, Lady Cat—no, Lady Ishtar—you are nothing less than the manifestation of the goddess herself. It is hard for me to treat you as I once did.”
He spoke with such earnestness, as though ready to kneel at any moment, that I furrowed my brows.
“I’m still me. Whatever Ashtar is, I’m still the same person.”
“I shall remember that.”
“Anyway… there’s something I want to ask you.”
I cast a glance toward Arin, who stood further away, and cautiously raised my question. Aziz nodded.
“If you’re curious, ask me anything.”
“How long do I have to stay here? Sharing the same bed… no, the same room with Suleiman is embarrassing.”
“The prince’s curse is gradually weakening. Once we manage the occasional seizures, the time will come when it can be lifted.”
“When will that be?”
“Well… by my estimation, within two years at most. But that’s assuming Lady Ishtar remains close to Prince Suleiman.”
“T-Two years?!”
I sprang to my feet in shock.
Does that mean I have to share a bed with him for years?!
Not just a while, but years! To me, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
“I will try to shorten the time as much as possible. We can remodel the small adjoining room in the prince’s chamber so you can stay there comfortably.”
“Even so… we’re both adults, aren’t we?”
“Do not worry too much. You’ll return to your cat form at night, so you won’t actually be spending nights together in human form.”
…That doesn’t make it any easier.
Suleiman’s bluntness itself wasn’t the problem.
But to be around that face and body every day… that was another issue.
Who knows what I might do if I let my guard slip while he was asleep?!
“…This is already hard enough as it is.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“N-Nothing.”
The words had slipped out unconsciously, so I shut my mouth tight.
Recently, I had grown a little too accustomed to Suleiman’s warmth, his comforting embrace, and even his unique scent.
There were times when, even if he wasn’t in the room, I secretly buried my face into the blankets and sniffed them.
Anyone who saw would definitely mistake me for some pervert.
But as a kitten, it was only natural to want to smell one’s caretaker.
He’s even been kinder to me lately.
At first, when he had pointed a sword at me, I had been terrified, but now I wasn’t nearly as afraid.
Well, that was only when I was a cat.
Judging from his personality, he probably didn’t have many people around him.
Like me in my previous life, he must be one of those who soften up only around their pets.
I decided not to think too deeply about it and let out a sigh before asking Aziz another question.
“Then what am I supposed to do here from now on?”
“Once Prince Suleiman leaves for the manor, I will come. I plan to teach you a wide range of subjects—culture, history, etiquette, theology. Later, Iblan will instruct you in basic self-defense as well.”
“…Isn’t that a bit much? Wouldn’t something simple be enough?”
“It is my duty to help you acquire abilities befitting your noble station as Lady Ishtar.”
I was left speechless, letting out a hollow laugh.
It feels like I’ve gone from pet cat to some exalted figure overnight.
When Aziz flashed his mischievous smile again, a chill ran down my spine.
“Well then, shall we begin today’s lesson?”
From that day, my formal education began in earnest.
His teaching was harsh to the extreme, and I struggled to keep up with the pace.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—it hadn’t been long since I had taken the college entrance exams, so my mind wasn’t too rusty yet.
Thanks to that, I progressed rapidly, earning much praise from Aziz.
My days settled into a simple routine: I stayed in the small adjoining room that had been remodeled from Suleiman’s bedchamber.
At night, I spent time with him in my cat form. Then, in the morning, when I awoke as a human again, he would come into my room and kiss me.
After transforming under the safety of blankets, I would change clothes and wait for him to leave.
Suleiman, of course, never spied on me and simply went to work at the manor.
Aziz’s heavy workload of assignments and lessons kept me too busy to even realize how quickly time was passing.
Just as I was settling into that routine, something happened.
On my way to the library with Arin—wearing the veil to borrow books for class—I overheard the maids whispering.
“Look over there! That must be the woman from the rumors.”
“You mean the one said to be Prince Suleiman’s mistress? What could she have done to melt that stone-hearted prince?”
“Exactly. They say ever since she appeared, he hasn’t left his bedchamber.”
“I heard he even had a room built for her inside his bedroom. At this rate, she’ll end up in the harem.”
I was sure they were speaking loudly on purpose so I would hear.
Feeling stung, I stopped in my tracks, and flustered, Arin tried to calm me down.
“P-Please don’t pay attention to that, Lady Ishtar. Let’s just go.”
“Arin, did you already know about these rumors?”
“Yes… I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head in guilt, and I comforted her.
“There’s no reason for you to be sorry. Lift your head. It’s not like we did anything wrong.”
“But it’s so unfair. For someone as noble as Lady Ishtar to be called such things…”
Perhaps she had been bottling it up for a while, because her voice trembled with tears.
I suddenly felt a surge of anger and strode toward the maids.
They clearly hadn’t expected me to approach, because they looked startled.
“W-What? You scared us.”
“It sounded like you were kindly spreading rumors for my benefit, so I came to thank you.”
“We didn’t say anything! Do you have proof?”
“Right. We were just cleaning, that’s all.”
They immediately began pretending to clean, and I snorted.
“You’re quite bold. As you yourselves said, I stay closest to the prince, and he dotes on me dearly. From where I stand, I could easily ask him to deal with anyone who offends me.”
“W-What?! Threatening us with baseless lies… you really must be low-born, just as the rumors say.”
One maid stepped back with a look of disgust, as if I were something filthy.
“Exactly. It wouldn’t be strange for the prince to take a mistress, but since you hide your face from everyone, of course people are suspicious.”
“To be honest, some say you’re a hideous witch who ensnared him with sorcery. Otherwise, someone like Prince Suleiman would never behave this way.”
“That’s right! We only speak out of loyal concern for our prince.”
Ha.
I rubbed my forehead with a sigh of disbelief.
Their guts really are spilling out of their bellies.
I wanted nothing more than to smack each of their heads.
But remembering Aziz’s talk about my “position,” I worried Arin might get into trouble instead.
In that case, there’s only one option.
Strike first. The best defense is a good offense.
That’s been my motto in this tough life.
“I understand your great loyalty. However…”
I boldly stepped closer and lifted my veil.
“Gasp…!”
The maids clapped their hands over their mouths in shock at the sight of my face.
“Your words are wrong. I’m neither a witch nor, as you can see, hideously ugly.”
