‘Where are they taking me?!’
Having failed in his plan to bolt away, Juan was picked up effortlessly by Elton. Naturally, he tried to escape from Elton’s arms, but this overly prepared guy had even brought a cage and quickly locked Juan inside.
“Let me out……!”
“Let you out?”
About to shout ‘Let me out,’ Juan hurriedly changed his words upon hearing Elton’s questioning tone filled with doubt.
“Meow-meow-nyang meow-meow-nyang”
“……You really cry in such a peculiar way, don’t you?”
Phew, thank goodness Elton is ridiculously clueless. Juan sighed in relief, pressing his tiny paw against his pea-sized heart.
Meanwhile, Elton peered into the cage, his chestnut-colored eyes gleaming. Despite his bandit-like build, his eyes looked surprisingly kind for a human. He grinned suspiciously wide.
“Oh my, oh my, how can you be this cute? Who do you take after to be this adorable? Oh my, oh my, oh my.”
‘Ugh, take after who? Probably its mom and dad! And gross! Don’t talk like that!’
Though he wasn’t sure, it seemed Elton was a total cat fanatic. After all, yesterday Leonard had said, ‘So you’re trying to pick up another cat.’ Moreover, Elton had mentioned already having rescued cats.
Putting all these things together, it was clear that Elton genuinely loved cats.
Still, it was somewhat fortunate to be picked up by someone who liked cats. That is, if you ignored the fact that he was a subordinate of the mad duke, Leonard Abrams. The problem was that this fact was far too significant to overlook.
Juan, anxious about where he was being taken, peered outside with wide, dilated pupils. This darn cage was so sturdily made that there seemed to be no way to escape.
Juan desperately hoped this path wouldn’t lead to Leonard.
* * *
“So, you’ve brought it.”
“……Meow.”
Facing the human before him, Juan let out a despairing cry. Leonard stood with his arms crossed, arrogantly looking down at Juan in the cage.
His pitch-black eyes, like an unfathomable darkness, pierced through Juan. Out of fear, Juan drooped his ears and warily stared at Leonard with wide, dilated pupils.
“Oh dear, my little kitty must be so scared.”
“I wanna get out!”
“Wanna get out?”
“Meow-ow…… meow-ow-myaow.”
Having accidentally said ‘I wanna get out,’ Juan glanced around nervously and cried again. Elton tilted his head, finding it strange.
Unaware that Leonard and Elton knew he was a feline humanoid and that it was natural for him to speak human language, Juan planned to keep up the act of a weirdly crying cat for a while.
“Anyway, my lord! I placed the litter box in the bathroom since the sand might scatter.”
“Fine.”
“Also, this kitty seems like it’ll bolt the moment a door opens, so please be careful when opening and closing doors.”
“We’ll need to set up something to prevent escapes. Elton, have someone look into it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Oh, and for food, I brought a few types that my cats at home eat, just for now. Finding the right food for cats isn’t easy, you know. Still, since my cats settled on these after some trial and error, I thought they might suit this kitty too.”
What is this? They’re seriously talking as if I’m a real cat! I’m not a cat, you idiots!
Juan swallowed the words rising from his core and alternated his gaze between the two. But Elton, oblivious to Juan’s feelings, kept chattering to Leonard about snack cans and food portions, completely at ease.
“Oh, and I forgot the most important thing.”
“What’s that?”
As Elton brought up something important, one of Leonard’s eyebrows arched. He tilted his head slightly, as if to say, ‘Go on, speak.’
“We need to give it a name.”
“A name?”
Leonard furrowed his brow as he repeated the question. It was something he hadn’t considered at all. Having to name it felt like an annoying hassle.
“Is that really necessary?”
“Of course it is! This cat is just ‘meow,’ and that cat is just ‘meow’! But my cat is special because I gave it a name.”
“Tch. What a bother.”
Due to Elton’s passionate insistence, veins popping on his neck, Leonard clicked his tongue.
Elton was efficient and loyal, but he had one flaw: he lost his mind when it came to cats. Leonard could never understand why he went so crazy over mere cats.
“Then, Yellow.”
“……You’re naming it Yellow just because its fur is yellowish? Isn’t that too much? You can’t just name it carelessly like that. At least pretend to think about it. Naming this pretty little kitten with a name you came up with in three seconds?!”
“This is utterly tiresome.”
Whether a name was thought up in three seconds or three hours, as long as it rolled off the tongue, wasn’t that enough? Leonard wanted to argue, but it seemed Elton, already crazed over cats, wouldn’t even listen.
When it came to cat matters, Elton was completely unreasonable. In fact, the only reason Leonard allowed this cat into the duke’s estate was because he knew Elton’s disposition well.
Leonard pondered for a moment, looking at the cat. The creature, unsure of what was wrong, had its ears drooped, pupils wide as fists, trembling all over.
“……Yellian.”
“Yellian?”
“Yeah, Yellian.”
For a name that just popped into his head, Leonard thought it was pretty decent. He answered Elton’s question confidently. At that, Elton’s face brightened.
“Oh, that’s nice. Yellian. Derived from Yellow, right? It suits perfectly. Yellian, from now on, your name is Yellian. Say something, Yellian. What do you think, do you like it?”
“Meow.”
“Wow, my lord. Yellian must be a genius. It already understands and responds. It seems to know when it’s being called. Every time I say Yellian, our eyes meet.”
“That’s probably because you’re sticking your face so close to the cage, Elton.”
“Oh, is that so?”
At Leonard’s apt remark, Elton scratched the back of his head awkwardly and pulled away. Watching him, Leonard shook his head in disbelief.
Having suddenly gained the exotic name Yellian instead of his native Korean name Juan, he glared at Leonard and Elton with discontent.
“This little guy’s gaze is quite insolent.”
“Well, it’s a cat. Isn’t that part of a cat’s charm?”
“I’ll need to train that out of it.”
“What?!”
“What?! ……Oh, didn’t I just speak?”
Startled by Leonard’s menacing words, Juan-no, Yellian-quickly shifted his wide eyes away, pretending not to notice the gaze on him while adjusting his voice.
“Wha-meow…… meow-nya…… meow…….”
“Tsk……. My lord, no matter how I look at it, Yellian seems to be speaking human words.”
“Hmm……. Let’s observe a bit longer.”
“Meow-meow, meow-meow-ong.”
Yellian felt a chill run down his spine but pretended not to notice, crying like a cat. At this rate, he might not survive long.
But whatever happened, it was better than being caught by a mad duke and subjected to experiments for being a talking cat. He had to hold out without revealing he could speak until the very last day he could endure. Yellian resolved firmly.
“Alright, Yellian, I’ll let you out now. From now on, you’ll live here. Got it?”
“Meow.”
The moment Elton opened the cage, Yellian planned to bolt wherever he could. Though the windows and doors were all closed, he intended to hide under the bed. His goal was to stay hidden until he spotted an opening to escape when a door opened.
“Okay, Yellian, come out……. Where are you trying to go now?”
Yellian’s plan failed spectacularly. He had overlooked one thing: his body wasn’t fully recovered yet. As Yellian tried to dart out of the cage, Elton, who was waiting in front, scooped him up into his arms.
“My lord, since Yellian seems very anxious, please be patient with it. Here, take it.”
“Meow!”
Elton handed Yellian over to Leonard’s arms. Suddenly finding himself in the mad duke’s embrace, Yellian cried out in panic.
At that, Leonard glared at Yellian with cold eyes. Meeting his gaze, Yellian swallowed dryly in fear.
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