The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 20

“Hah—!”

A choked breath burst free, followed by violent coughing. Katie wheezed and shuddered for a long moment.

“Damn it, again…”

She wiped her sweat-drenched neck with her hand. It had been quiet for a while, but the dream had started once more.

It was a horrific nightmare. If she saved the child, war would break out. If she didn’t, she’d become an accomplice to murder. No matter what she chose, she was doomed to be a sinner.

If only she hadn’t stepped outside that night. If only she had never met that child.

But what good was regret now? She had met the boy that day, and that fact lingered as a nightmare, still tormenting her.

Right. A nightmare. A monstrous, absurd horror where Helion—who deserved to resent her—instead blamed her…

Wait. When did I even fall asleep?

The sudden thought made Katie’s eyes fly open. Damn it. How could she have completely forgotten after falling asleep like that yesterday?

Helion had reached for her pants, and then—s**t.

“Why the hell did I do that?”

She yanked at her tangled hair as hard as she could. She knew why. Every action yesterday was because of her estrus cycle, her hormones in full bloom.

But even so—how could she have moaned like that in front of her enemy?!

If the Katie from yesterday were in front of her now, she felt like she’d strangle her just to knock some sense into her, just like in the dream.

“You’re insane. You’re absolutely insane, Katie!”

She writhed in shame, agonizing over it for a long while. Only after a handful of hair came loose in her grip did she finally snap out of it.

Now that she thought about it—how had she gotten back to the dorm?

The place she’d woken up today was her usual dorm room, where she always opened her eyes. At the very least, it was a relief she hadn’t woken up in that bastard’s bedroom.

“Right. Like he’d let me sleep there.”

It wasn’t even something worth worrying about. What must’ve happened after she passed out was obvious even without seeing it. Helion had probably ordered someone to remove her. There was no reason to let a woman—who wasn’t even his fiancée—spend the night in the crown prince’s bedroom after just one encounter.

Besides, Katie hadn’t even truly slept with him. All they’d done was that bizarre, obscene act—just thinking about it made her skin crawl.

There was a reason she was so disgusted by what had happened yesterday.

In the world of beastfolk, there was no such thing as human-style foreplay. When estrus cycles came, both men and women’s bodies naturally prepared for intercourse. All they had to do was mate like beasts, pushing in and grinding until it was over.

So to Katie, Helion was a complete anomaly. In some ways, even more perverted than Damien.

But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she’d ever have to see him again anyway.

This whole incident was just a minor mishap caused by Arnin’s little stunt. If she kept her head down for a while, Helion would completely forget about the mid-tier knight who had wandered into his bedroom.

However, less than half a day later, Katie realized just how wrong she was.

“…What? Where did you say I’ve been assigned?”

Katie’s eyes widened as she muttered in disbelief. She had just returned to the Dawn Palace after morning training. But before she could even start her shift, Cheche blocked her path.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Cheche—who had come to escort her—looked apologetic.

“You’ve been reassigned to the Dusk Palace. I’m sorry for the sudden notice, Lieutenant. I know it’s not easy to change postings overnight, but starting today, you’ll need to report there instead.”

“Since when is this how things work? Is this because of what happened yesterday? Am I being demoted?”

Katie was floored. Arnin was the one who had caused the incident. And now she was facing disciplinary action? She knew his family had influence, but this was downright unfair!

“Demoted? If anything, it’s closer to a promotion.”

“What kind of nonsense—!”

Katie was about to retort but quickly shut her mouth. Though she was known for speaking her mind without reservation, she wasn’t reckless enough to badmouth the Dusk Palace to the face of its own guard captain.

Yet Cheche seemed to already understand what she wanted to say.

“I get why you’d want to stay here—with His Highness Damian being the likely heir. There’s no reason a knight can’t have ambitions for power.”

“…My apologies. I didn’t mean to insult His Highness Helion.”

“It’s fine. It’s already an open secret that His Highness has fallen out of His Majesty’s favor. But I meant what I said—this is practically a promotion. Starting today, Lieutenant Katie, you’ll be serving as His Highness’ personal guard.”

“Excuse me?”