CHAPTER 08
Minerva collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut as soon as she returned to the picnic spot and quickly fell fast asleep.
Aslan looked at her and shook his head with disapproval.
“Mom’s stamina is way too weak.”
He sat next to her and tried to shake her awake.
“Mom, get up.”
“…”
“I said, wake up.”
“…”
But Minerva didn’t budge an inch. Clearly, waking her up now was going to be impossible. Aslan puffed out his cheeks in frustration.
“Hmph. Mommy is such a sleepyhead.”
She promised to play with him, and after just a little bit of fun, she’s already knocked out.
“I should’ve wished for something else. Like for Mom to have tons of energy to play.”
In Aslan’s opinion, Minerva definitely needed to build some stamina.
Maybe because she was so weak, once she fell asleep, it was nearly impossible to wake her. Giving up, Aslan headed toward the swing.
Peep, peep.
Even as the sound of her chick-shoes faded, Minerva stayed sound asleep.
“Mom’s the one who made me wear these, and she’s the one who’s not waking up.”
She’s totally like a little kid.
While swinging by himself, Aslan stared at Minerva for a while, then glanced over at the gate leading outside the estate.
‘Mom still doesn’t trust me.’
The overprotectiveness, the constant anxious glances — it was all too obvious.
What bothered him most was that she didn’t smile as often anymore since he became human.
‘Would she be happy if I went out and caught a big prey for her?’
Maybe she’d even praise him and say he was amazing!
The very thought made his little shoulders rise with excitement.
‘Mom said it’s dangerous outside and told me not to go… but I’m a big kid now. And if I go out quickly and come back before she notices, it’ll be fine!’
With his mind made up, Aslan jumped off the swing and headed toward the entrance of the estate.
Pop-pop-pop.
The sound of his chick-shoes became busier.
Luckily for Aslan, the gatekeeper had stepped away for a moment — there was no one in sight.
“Upsy-daisy.”
He stuck his face between the iron bars. His chubby cheeks got a bit stuck but not enough to stop him from squeezing through.
At last, Aslan took his first step outside the estate.
“Outside…!”
His eyes sparkled.
What kind of prey would he find out here? He had to bring back something cool for Mom. Excited at the thought, Aslan dashed off into the world beyond.
Outside the estate, Aslan couldn’t keep his head still.
Everything was fascinating. The air was filled with delicious smells, and there were so many moving things catching his attention.
Among them…
Sniff, sniff.
“Hmm? Little lady, do you want this?”
“Yeah.”
He was drawn to a grilled chicken skewer.
When he was a cat, he would’ve swatted it away with his paw, but the meat covered in bold sauce strangely stirred his appetite.
Gulp.
Without realizing it, he swallowed his saliva. The vendor, noticing, held out a skewer.
“Here you go.”
“Can I eat this with my hands?”
“Huh? Well… yeah, that’s how you’re supposed to eat it.”
A noble little thing, isn’t she? the vendor thought as he extended a hand.
Aslan looked puzzled.
“Three shillings.”
“What’s that?”
“…You don’t have any money?”
“What’s that?”
No matter what he asked, Aslan just replied, “What’s that?” The vendor smacked his forehead.
Damn. No money. This kid.
Reluctantly, he waved his hand dismissively.
“You’re supposed to pay, but just this once, I’ll give it to you.”
“I don’t know what that means, but okay.”
Geez. Not even a thank-you? Nobles, I swear…
“Wowww, this is super tasty! I’ve never had anything like this before!”
But the vendor let it slide — the kid’s pure joy while devouring the skewer was too precious.
He took pride in his food, so seeing someone love it so much made his chest puff a little.
Aslan took small but determined bites, getting sauce all over his mouth.
Then the vendor noticed something strange and asked,
“By the way, where are your parents?”
“She’s napping at home.”
Nom nom. Aslan answered while munching away.
The vendor mumbled in defeat.
“She’s a runaway…”
Damn. No wonder she was wandering around by herself. He asked,
“Do you remember where your house is?”
For the first time, Aslan’s bright face froze.
“My house…?”
“Yeah, your house.”
“…”
She looked away shyly. The way her eyes darted around said it all — she had no clue where home was.
The vendor clicked his tongue internally while giving Aslan a once-over.
She wasn’t wearing jewelry, but her clothes were fine and her silk shoes pristine. Her hair and skin were well-kept too.
‘That kid… she must belong to that house.’
The grand estate that moved into the village five years ago — she had to be from there.
Well, there goes today’s business. Still, if he brought her back, maybe they’d reward him.
Just as he got up to do so—
“I guess I’ve got no choice. Kid, let me take you—”
“Ah! A bird!”
A bird suddenly came into Aslan’s view.
“Hey, wait! Kid!”
“No! I have to catch that!”
Her first prey had finally appeared.
Still clutching her skewer, Aslan dashed off full speed after the bird.
The vendor held his head in his hands.
“Oh, dear… I’m going crazy here.”
She was so tiny but so fast — there was no way he could catch up. He rubbed his neck and sighed. But he wasn’t the only one sighing.
“This is absurd…”
“Huh?”
A tall man with a hood also let out a sigh. Judging by his jawline and outfit, he was clearly a noble.
The vendor asked hopefully,
“Uh, excuse me, sir… are you her guardian?”
“I’m not.”
Then what are you? The vendor narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but before he could speak again, the man tossed something at him.
“Anyway, I’ll pay for what she ate.”
“Huh? W-wait, this is a gold coin!”
Does he not understand money? A stranger who claimed not to be the kid’s guardian paid for her skewer with a gold coin — and disappeared before the vendor could stop him.
“Man… what a bunch of weirdos.”
The vendor stared blankly at the quiet street, fingering the gold coin in disbelief.
Gasp
“When did I fall asleep?”
When I woke up, the sun had already started dipping past its peak.
“Aslan.”
I immediately called out his name by habit. But…
“Aslan?”
He was gone. Nowhere around me, not even in the distance.
Maybe he’d gone to the swing while I was napping? I rushed over to check, but it was empty.
“No… no way.”
A terrible thought crossed my mind.
“No, it can’t be. Even when he was a cat, Aslan was afraid to go outside. He wouldn’t have left.”
I tried to think positively and listened for the sound I had prepared for just in case.
Aslan had been wearing shoes that made chick-like peeping sounds.
But no matter how hard I listened, I couldn’t hear them.
That’s when I realized this was no time to stay calm.
“Aslan! Where are you?!”
“Milady? Is something wrong?”
“Aslan’s gone! Search everywhere!”
At my command, the mansion erupted into chaos.
As all the servants scrambled to search the entire estate, the sky began to darken.
And that’s when we realized—
“Search outside the estate! Look for Aslan!”
—he had left the property.
“Aslan!”
As soon as I found out Aslan had gone outside, I rallied all the household staff and ran down to the village.
“Aslan, young miss!”
“Miss Aslan, where are you?”
With a group of nobles and servants shouting her name through the streets, the villagers naturally turned to look at us.
But I didn’t care if people figured out I had a child — finding Aslan came first.
“Aslan! Where are you?! Answer me!”
I ran until my heels were raw, desperately searching for her. But I didn’t find even a single hair of hers.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Where did you go…? Please, don’t tell me something bad happened.”
Even if this country had better child protection laws than Korea, this was still a rural area.
In a closed-off village like this, awful things could happen and be covered up easily.
What if Aslan had already—
My imagination spiraled into the worst-case scenarios.
That’s when someone called out,
“Excuse me… are you the owner of the estate on the hill?”
