The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 10

“Good heavens, Katie. What on earth happened?”

Wayne came out to greet her with a startled expression. He was a spy from the kingdom who had infiltrated the empire a year earlier than Katie. As an herbivore beastman, his combat skills were lacking, but his expertise in herbal medicine was exceptional, allowing him to work as a doctor in the infirmary.

“I’m not feeling well. Give me some medicine.”

Katie dropped the man she had been dragging along and spoke bluntly. Wayne moved the man sprawled on the floor onto a bed before approaching her.

“Where are you hurt? Your forehead is drenched in cold sweat.”

“I’m not injured…”

Katie bit her lip mid-sentence. The duel had ended in an instant. With a single strike, she had defeated Arnin—there had been no opportunity for her to get hurt.

Her discomfort stemmed from something else entirely.

Her condition had been perfectly fine until the duel. She had felt slightly off, but that was all. She hadn’t been feverish or sweating like this.

Wayne quickly pieced together the situation when Katie couldn’t bring herself to speak.

“It’s because of your heat.”

“That’s strange. My last estrus cycle ended not too long ago.”

“This is only your second one, isn’t it? It’s normal for heats to be irregular when you’ve just reached adulthood.”

Wayne walked over to his medicine box and took out a round pill.

“Relying too much on medication isn’t good. Try to handle it on your own if you can.”

“…On my own?”

Katie looked at him with puzzled eyes. Wayne suppressed a groan at her innocent gaze.

“I mean, well…”

What on earth had Katie’s parents been doing, failing to give her even basic s*x education? He had noticed it the first time she came here during her heat—Katie was alarmingly ignorant about such matters.

Then again, she had entered the royal palace at a young age and been trained as a spy. Perhaps there simply hadn’t been time for her parents to teach her those things.

“Still, how is it possible that at twenty years old, she still has no experience whatsoever?”

Wayne let out a deep sigh but opened his mouth to give Katie some basic s*x education—better late than never.

“If you try to suppress your heat with just medicine, you’ll suffer for a whole week. But if you engage in that act, you’ll be fine in just a day.”

“That act…?”

But his explanation couldn’t continue. The door burst open, and a flood of senior knights poured into the infirmary.

“Arnin!”

“Good heavens! His forehead is swollen like a melon! Doctor, is Arnin going to be alright?”

Katie clicked her tongue at the unwelcome intrusion and quickly tucked the medicine into her pocket. Before the noisy crowd could surround her, she swiftly made her exit.

Wayne watched her retreating figure with concern. But with the senior knights bombarding him with questions, he had no choice but to turn his attention away from her.

* * *

Wayne’s herbal medicine was always effective. Arnin, who had been knocked unconscious by Katie’s single strike, woke up before half a day had even passed.

“Arnin! Do you have any idea how shocked we were, thinking something had gone terribly wrong?”

“I swear, that brute of a female knight. How the hell can someone hit hard enough to do this to a person?”

The senior knights clicked their tongues in disbelief as they helped Arnin up. Having finished his treatment, he was leaving the infirmary and heading back to the knights’ quarters.

“Even if it was a duel, there are limits. These days, aren’t most duels just for show anyway?”

“Yeah, exactly. The rules say whoever lands the first touch on their opponent wins.”

This was a new rule that had emerged as the number of knights available for war dwindled. It was a measure to prevent further reduction in their already declining ranks.

This was also why rapiers, traditionally used in duels, had been replaced with wooden swords—less risk of serious injury.

“Everyone, shut up! Are you mocking an injured man now?”

Arnin, who had been silently hanging his head, finally snapped and roared.

“Huh? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“You’ve all been insulting me this whole time!”

Deep down, Arnin knew these words were meant to console him.

But his wounded pride was the problem. Every word they said twisted in his ears, grating against his shattered self-esteem.

With a furious huff, he shoved away the knights supporting him.

“Get out of my way! I’ll walk on my own!”

“Honestly, what an ungrateful mess.”

The knights helping him clicked their tongues in disbelief. Arnin gritted his teeth and strode forward, but whether it was due to the concussion or not, his legs trembled, making it hard to walk straight. The senior knights sighed deeply and moved to support him again, looping their arms around him.