Chapter 98
Sia, who had been quietly staring at Louis, responded with a practiced, professional smile.
“Then I shall stake misfortune.”
“…What?”
“You touched me, a black-haired woman, so Your Highness will face a great misfortune within this year. When that happens, don’t go blaming me for it, alright?”
“You insolent little—”
“It would’ve been better if you avoided me the way you did Lord Nox. Like I was a bug, you know, sidling away bit by bit like this?”
Sia openly started to sneer. Smiling, she mimicked the Crown Prince’s behavior from back then, the way he had avoided Nox. In truth, she was a little worried. She knew that stirring up something like this could have a negative impact on Nox, yet the anger boiling inside her wouldn’t settle.
Right. People who had lived their lives conforming to this world would never dare pull something this crazy against royalty. So she decided she would fool around freely in Nox’s place. As for what came after, she chose to leave it to the God who had brought her here.
“…I did that?”
“You scuttled sideways like a crab, and it really didn’t look dignified. That’s probably why it stuck in my memory so vividly.”
“Haha…”
“Of course, it was wrong of me to peek at the time, but well, it’s still better than a ruler despising his vassal for such a trivial reason.”
“……”
Louis’s mouth, which had been letting out faint scoffs all along, snapped shut. He had never experienced such rudeness in his life, and he found himself unable to continue the conversation.
“I think the power of my misfortune is stronger than Lord Nox’s. Not just my hair color, my eyes are pitch-black too. Just being this close to me already might mean… it’s too late.”
At her words, Louis reflexively stepped back, then flushed. Dylan felt embarrassed as well.
“I’ve been deliberately avoiding people lately. I was worried I might make them unhappy without realizing it. So maybe my misfortune gauge has piled up pretty high by now. Hmm… shall we try an experiment?”
“Honestly! Where did the Duke even find such an outrageous female?”
Though he might have shouted at Cedric for daring to be insolent toward royalty, Louis instead snapped at him with a voice mixed with confusion and curiosity. Catching that difference, Cedric quickly stepped in.
“Your Highness, there are many people watching. Would it not be better to go inside first and calm yourself?”
“Huu…”
Only then did Louis realize that he was still outside. That was how thoroughly he had been swept up by the woman’s words before him. Frustrated by that fact, he bit down hard on his lip.
Sia glanced to the side. Belated worry made cold sweat bead on her skin, but honestly, she felt immensely refreshed inside. Well, why did you have to mess with her dear Lips so carelessly?
Thinking of the adorable, wonderful cat she cherished so dearly, and of Nox, who was still wonderful and adorable even though his size couldn’t compare to when he was a cat, Sia smiled softly and added,
“If you put some distance between us even now, Your Highness probably won’t be filled with misfortune. I can go back now, right?”
“…Fine. Withdraw.”
As he spoke, Louis cast a meticulous glance at Sia. Caught by the brief instant their eyes met, he stared as if spellbound, unable to move until Sia bowed politely and disappeared from his sight.
In the imperial palace’s secret archive, he had obtained some information about human appearances. At the time, he had thought it useless. It was the kind of hint that meant nothing unless you encountered it in person.
Humans were said to look no different from beastkin on the surface, but their teeth, the shape and texture of their tongues, and finally the shape of their pupils were different. Reading it as text, he hadn’t understood it at all, but now that he had seen it firsthand, he couldn’t help but know.
Round pupils that could never be found among their own catfolk or any other race.
Though they were too dark to judge with absolute certainty, she seemed to possess round pupils, one of the defining traits of humans. Louis squeezed his eyes shut as a thrill shot up from his toes.
At last…
But he had to confirm it more clearly. Louis stared long at Sia’s retreating back as she disappeared into the distance.
* * *
Driven by a single-minded desire to end this battle as quickly as possible, Nox cut down every wolf tribe warrior he could see invading his territory. His movements were more aggressive than usual, and the surrounding knights were influenced by him, charging forward without hesitation.
In the midst of it, the knight commander, Dennis, drew close to Nox and spoke.
“Your Grace, there are more wolf tribe soldiers than usual. Would it not be better to request reinforcements?”
Nox agreed with Dennis’s assessment. Not only were their numbers greater, but today the wolf tribe seemed to have come fully prepared, responding tenaciously and refusing to retreat.
That struck him as deeply strange.
Normally, the moment they were pushed back even slightly, the wolf tribe would retreat without hesitation. At times, they would even show a lack of motivation despite being the ones who had invaded first.
But today was clearly different. They clung on stubbornly, driven to inflict even the smallest wound, as if possessed. As if failure meant nothing but death.
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