Chapter 87
She Looks Like Our Princess
‘Hated? No way! That’s not true at all!’
Thanks to her excellent hearing as a cat, Annette didn’t miss even Cardin’s faint murmur and jumped inside with frustration.
It wasn’t that she wanted to avoid him—circumstances had forced her hand. Normally, she would never have done that.
Feeling guilty for upsetting Cardin, Annette grew heavy-hearted.
Meanwhile, Samuel, who had been staring blankly at the sight of a beautiful man with a sorrowful face sitting with a cat—a picture-perfect scene—suddenly snapped back to his senses.
“Could it be that Her Highness the Princess found the talking doll amusing and pressed it out of curiosity?”
He had just brought up again Annette’s action that had, a moment earlier, boosted Cardin’s confidence.
Cardin remained silent, as though at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Samuel wore a smug expression, which only made Annette’s chest tighten with frustration.
Sure, she had been curious about a magic tool she’d never seen before, but she wasn’t a child—she hadn’t pressed it just for fun.
Unable to explain herself, irritation started to rise within her.
‘When your master is downcast, a proper aide should be comforting him, not teasing him…’
Yet Samuel was doing the opposite, even mocking him.
It was so infuriating that Annette thought something she had never once considered before when Cardin teased her.
‘…Should I smack him once?’
If she just tapped that annoying mouth with her little paw, her chest might feel lighter.
While kitten Annette’s eyes gleamed fiercely as she waited for her chance, Samuel remained oblivious to the impending danger right in front of him.
“That’s enough chatter. Go home for the day.”
Cardin, eyes shut as if weary, gave the order.
Realizing that his master was on the verge of exploding, Samuel abandoned his thought of giving more romance advice and quickly bolted to his feet.
He dashed out of the office, leaving Annette clicking her tongue in disappointment—when suddenly, a heavy warmth pressed gently on her head.
She tilted her head up to glance at Cardin.
His large hand, warm and gentle, completely covered her small head, yet his face looked a little sad.
Naturally, Annette’s mood also sank.
‘This is all because I rashly went to see Martin…’
It didn’t matter if Samuel teased him—the real reason for Cardin’s disappointment was her.
Feeling guilty, she swallowed her regret and leaned her head into his palm to comfort him.
Maybe because the cat, who normally avoided his touch with sass, had suddenly changed her attitude, Cardin’s eyes widened briefly in surprise, then softened into a smile.
He chuckled and said,
“You have to behave this sweetly even when you go back to the princess, alright?”
“……”
Was she really the only thing in this man’s head?
Embarrassed, Annette wanted to pout, yet her lips curved up in spite of herself.
“But it would be nice if you at least grew attached to me, so the princess won’t even think of leaving here.”
His next words quickly smothered any warm feelings.
‘Leaving?’
“Meeow! (I’m not going anywhere!)”
She protested without thinking, only to startle at the desperate cry that had slipped out of her own mouth.
“I get it, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll get you something right away.”
Misinterpreting her cry as a plea for food, Cardin began cutting a thick salmon steak into small pieces.
After hearing from a servant about her earlier that evening, he had ordered wine instead of dinner—along with the fish.
“Here you go.”
He pushed the plate toward Annette once he was done.
Her empty stomach growled, her nose twitching at the delicious smell.
Though tempted, Annette forced herself to look away from the dish and fixed her gaze on Cardin instead.
Why did he think she wanted to leave?
‘Where else would I even go…?’
She had no place to return to. Even if the engagement were broken now, she had no intention of going back to Heyworth Kingdom.
‘Because that was never my home.’
Not once, not even for a moment, had that place been her home.
And he, of all people—the one who had shown her this truth—was now talking about her leaving? That made her feel both hurt and wronged.
“What’s wrong? Is it because you’ve never had it before?”
Cardin misunderstood again.
She had held back her hunger and resisted the food, and yet he thought she was afraid of new things…
“You’re quite the coward. Just like our princess.”
“…?!”
Annette’s eyes went wide.
She didn’t even have time to be offended at being called a coward.
She had thought she’d hidden her dislike of unfamiliar food well—but how did he know?
‘How on earth…’
“From the very beginning, you reminded me of our princess.”
“……!”
Cardin fondly stroked her forehead, as though she were unbearably precious, then slid another dish in front of her.
“Here, then. Have some milk.”
Annette recoiled.
She couldn’t possibly shove her face into a bowl and lap it up like an animal with her human dignity still intact… gurgle.
Right. She hadn’t had a proper breakfast or lunch with Cardin today—just picked at a few bites.
Her belly growled again. The rich smell of milk teased her nose.
After a brief struggle, she gave in and tentatively stuck out her tongue.
Soon, she was gulping the milk down in earnest, while Cardin watched with content amusement, sipping his wine elegantly.
“……”
Annette, struck by an indescribable mix of emotions, looked up at him with a conflicted expression.
He chuckled at the sight of her whiskers and mouth all stained with milk, pulling out a handkerchief—then froze.
Two handkerchiefs came out of his pocket.
One was his.
The other was Annette’s, the one he had taken from Larisa.
“…Come to think of it.”
He stared at her handkerchief for a moment, his eyes softening.
“Well, since I’ve taken it, I should keep it safe. Why don’t we go together after dinner?”
Annette, her nose wrinkling at the milk dripping on her fur, froze at his words, a forced smile fading on her face.
‘Go… where?’
She held her breath.
‘Don’t tell me…’
After Annette abandoned her human dignity for a while and finished her meal in a hurry, Cardin gently wiped her mouth, then carefully held her in his arms.
Quietly, he left the office.
As Annette had feared, he headed upstairs to the fifth floor.
Her heart pounded wildly.
And sure enough, Cardin stopped at the room at the very end of the hall.
He pulled out a key and unlocked several bolts one after another.
Annette was stunned at the heavy, meticulous security—her anticipation swelled.
‘Just what kind of priceless treasure could he be hiding…?’
Click.
At last, the final lock gave way, and Cardin opened the door.
Lights flicked on one after another, filling the room.
Annette’s eyes widened in shock.
‘Wh-what is this?!’
The pupils of her eyes quaked violently.
The enormous chamber, larger even than the grand reception hall in the main estate, had been arranged like a treasure vault.
But upon closer look, most of the items in the glass cases weren’t treasures at all.
‘This is… a junkyard?’
Scraps of cloth, faded hair ribbons, old shoes, empty ink bottles, a dented canteen…
‘Wait—is that a rock?’
Why on earth was an ordinary stone displayed under a gleaming magical light as though it were precious?
As confusion swirled, memories began surfacing one by one.
Her breath caught.
No wonder—everything looked vaguely familiar.
‘These… these are all mine.’
So this was what he had been hiding away so carefully…
‘All of this…?’
The gold-framed cases and pristine glass displays probably cost more than the worthless things inside.
While she shook her head in disbelief, Cardin walked casually to the center console.
Annette’s eyes rounded again.
Inside a glass case sat documents she knew very well.
‘Our engagement contract—and the temple’s certificate!’
She remembered Cardin insisting he’d keep them safe, and she had agreed at the time.
‘And next to them… letters?’
Heavens. If she’d known he’d preserve them like this, she would have written them more carefully!
“Stay still.”
Startled, she struggled, and Cardin slipped her into his pocket, leaving only her head sticking out.
Wearing white gloves he had prepared at some point, he opened another case with great care.
“Meow!”
Annette, unable to see inside due to her height, squirmed helplessly, standing on tiptoe within the pocket.
Only after finishing his delicate work did Cardin close the case and smirk.
He removed the gloves, tucked them away, and lifted the wriggling Annette out again.
“Alright, I’ll hold you.”
“……”
Yes, she wanted to be held, but the way he phrased it made her… self-conscious.
Blushing as though she weren’t a cat, Annette turned her head away—then froze.
She finally caught sight of the items in the glass case he had opened earlier.
After seeing him snatch her handkerchief from Larisa, she had suspected it…
‘But those really are my handkerchiefs!’
The ones she had lost in the carriage ride to the duchy, even the bloodstained one from the imperial palace… all of them.
Samuel had joked about Cardin being an obsessive collector, but now she was seeing the truth with her own eyes.
Annette was at a loss for words when suddenly—
“…!”
She instinctively raised her paw to cover her mouth, stifling a gasp.
