CSTB Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

“Wuak-uek-ong!”

Startled out of her wits, Roze let out a strange sound she herself didn’t even recognize, leapt into the air, and came crashing back down.

‘Wh-what! What was that just now!’

Clutching her heart that was pounding as if it would burst, she turned around…

‘Oh, for crying out loud, it’s just a cat. Nearly scared me to death!’

In front of Roze stood a large black cat, its whole body rippling with muscle.
Judging from the looks of it, it must have been walking along the wall nearby before leaping down.

[What! Why! What’s your deal!]

Trying not to show how startled she was, Roze barked first, but the black cat only shone its golden eyes at her without a word of response.

‘Here we go again. Why is it that whenever I’m outside, someone always pops up out of nowhere wanting to fight me like some ghost?’

That unblinking, intense stare cats gave each other was a form of standoff.

Relieved that it wasn’t a ghost, Roze puffed up her chest, refusing to back down.
Even though the cat looked nearly twice her size, she was more confident than ever.

[Hey. This is my territory. The emperor himself is my human, you know!]

This was Roze’s turf, after all.

She kept yowling, “Get lost, my human is scary!” but the black cat remained still, simply staring at her.

‘Huh? Maybe we used to be friends?’

It hadn’t been long since Roze possessed this body, but the cat Roze had already lived here over two years.
It wasn’t impossible that this stray might have been her friend.

Just in case, she flicked her tail as a friendly gesture—only for the black cat to snicker at her.

‘Did it just… laugh?’

It seemed absurd for a cat to laugh, but Roze was sure it did—mocking her as if she were pathetic.

Anger flaring, she glared—and in that instant, the black cat lunged straight at her.
Roze lifted her paws in an X to block, but she lost her balance and collapsed flat on the ground.

‘Oh, come on! Without any warning?’

When she lifted her head from her undignified tumble, the black cat smirked again.

‘That jerk! Laughing at me again!’

So it was a fight!
She puffed up her body as much as she could, but the black cat simply leapt back onto a tree and vanished.

“Meooow! Oooong! Meow! (Hey! You’re not coming down? Let’s fight!)”

No way was she going to let herself be mocked for no reason!

Even though she was outmatched in size, Roze had once beaten cats bigger than that.
So she yowled furiously toward the branches where it was hiding—when she suddenly heard soft footsteps from another direction.

‘So it’s coming from over there instead?’

Unsheathing her claws, Roze turned—and froze at the sight before her.

[Tuxedo? What are you doing here!]

It was Tuxedo, the second-in-command cat who had once been under Roze before she returned to the palace.
But before she could be glad to see him, her eyes caught on someone else.

[Oliver?]
[Oh, Cat Lord!]

It was Oliver—clutched in Tuxedo’s jaws.

Five minutes later.

[I, Oliver von Grande Sachsen Coburg-ta Battenberg, hereby swear my life to serve Lady Roze!]

Roze was now receiving a loyalty oath from Oliver, who was sprawled flat on the ground.
How did it come to this?

―Aaaah! Cat Lord! Spare me!!!

It was because she had saved Oliver from Tuxedo’s jaws.

She had questions for him, and letting him die would be inconvenient. His belly was bleeding from the bite, and with those pitiful eyes pleading for his life, she couldn’t ignore him.

So she rescued him—and Oliver loudly declared he and his descendants would serve her forever.

‘Wait… this mouse has a surname?’

Never mind having one—what a ridiculously grand one at that.

Either way, a field mouse wasn’t exactly an impressive subordinate. But still, maybe he could be useful.

[Wherever you call, I’ll appear like an arrow!]

Unexpectedly gaining a subordinate, Roze also regained her old one at the same time.

[So… Tuxedo, why are you here?]
[Why else! I heard the boss got dragged into the palace, so I came to rescue you!]

Completely unnecessary, of course, but… she was a little touched.
Usually, when the leader disappeared, the second-in-command took over the territory. For him to come chasing after her instead—it was loyalty.

[And didn’t I say I’d take responsibility for finding you a mate? There are some really cute tomcats around here…]
[Forget that already!]

His reason for coming was useless, but still—she was glad to see him.

[By the way, boss, how have you been? You look… heavier than before?]

Hey, buddy. Even if you’re a cat, you don’t talk about a lady’s weight!

[I found out I was actually an emperor’s cat! I live with the emperor now!]

She said it louder on purpose, hoping that black cat—if it was still listening—would get the message and back off.
Tuxedo’s eyes widened, shining.

[Really? That explains it! People said your fur gleamed differently, like nobility itself!]

Exactly. In her past life, and now too, Roze wasn’t just any ordinary cat!

[Anyway, don’t eat this mouse from now on.]
[Yes, boss! Well, there’s plenty of food in the palace gardens anyway.]
[Ugh… so there was food, but you… ate me…]

Oliver whimpered from behind Roze after hearing that.
Of course, it was clearly another act.

Still, better to have one ally than none. He might dig up some useful information.
That said—

[So there really is someone stealing food!]

Unfortunately, Oliver didn’t know who the thief was.

[But I do know who the new servants from six months ago are!]
[Who?]

At least he had one useful piece of intel.

[A coachman named James, a delivery boy named Mark, a kitchen maid named Lily, and…]

He rattled off the names of those who had joined six months ago.
Conveniently enough, it lined up with when things had started getting serious. That narrowed the suspects.

[Oh, and there’s Lady Green—the noblewoman who took charge of palace household affairs around that time.]

One name Roze recognized immediately.

[Lady Green…?]
[Yes! A noble widow—lost her husband when young, recently married off her son. I heard the head maid quit recently, so she’s handling that role too until a new one’s hired.]

It was Lady Green. Roze had thought of her as just a head maid, but she was apparently in charge of palace household management—quite a high position.

[Do you know where Lady Green is now?]

It was far too convenient that the head of palace supplies arrived exactly when the shortages began.
And with the head maid gone, conditions for stealing food couldn’t be better.

Roze didn’t even need a messenger between Jonathan and Lady Green. With her position, she could speak to him directly.
So it wasn’t hard to guess she had intercepted the maids’ requests about food.

[At this hour, she should be at the east palace gate, checking the incoming supplies!]
[Then let’s go, Oliver! Tuxedo! See that open window over there? Come find me later—I’ll sneak you some good food!]
[Yes, boss!]

Got one!

Excited, Roze told Tuxedo they’d meet later, then sprinted off after Oliver toward the east gate.

At the same time Roze was dashing through the gardens to catch the food thief, Noah was chasing a bear in Mount Harwin near the capital.

“Drive it that way! Be careful not to let it charge!”
“Argh! It’s coming this way!”

As if the drought wasn’t bad enough, the empire had also been suffering from bone-chillingly harsh winters for years.
With food stores already low, now came reports of bears descending from the mountains to prey on livestock.

Knights had been dispatched to the nearby villages, but after two weeks, still no word of success.
So Noah himself had taken the royal knights to deal with it.

“What a mess.”