The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 21

Helion thought nothing was as agonizing as life. And he had every reason to feel that way—everyone wished for his death.

From a very young age, he had wanted to die. He had merely survived by chance, clinging to life like a living corpse.

His mother had passed away from an illness caused by giving birth to him, and his father was indifferent toward him.

They said indifference was even more terrifying than hatred. To his father, his existence was less significant than a bothersome mosquito.

Helion’s mother had been his father’s political marriage partner. Like most arranged marriages, it was loveless. Moreover, the emperor already had a mistress at the time—a woman he loved with all his heart but couldn’t make empress due to her lacking status.

One year after Helion was born, the mistress gave birth to a child. The child, who resembled her, instantly captured the emperor’s heart. How could he not adore the child of the woman he loved so dearly?

The mistress, having borne a healthy prince, eventually became empress despite her insufficient standing. It was only possible because she wasn’t the first empress—the emperor had a deceased former wife, a fact that ironically worked in her favor.

That was when it began. Everyone started wishing for Helion’s death. To the emperor and empress, who wanted their second son, Damian, to become crown prince, the first prince Helion was nothing but a nuisance.

Helion should have died. Specifically, when he had been sent as an envoy to the kingdom.

“My mother used to say this—Surviving means you’re strong. And in this world of survival of the fittest, being strong means you can survive again.”

That day, the person who saved him taught him a reason to keep living.

No one had ever told him that before—that he was strong, and that was why he would survive again.

In those words, Helion found meaning in his existence. He gained the hope that he could—and must—keep living.

“Let’s grow stronger. Strong enough to survive even longer.”

However, this did not mean the will of those who sought to kill him had weakened. Even now, the emperor and empress continued to wish for his death.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass pierced the air sharply. But Helion didn’t even turn his head. Those who made such a racket were never skilled—at best, they were cheap mercenaries from the back alleys.

“Your Highness!”

It was Katie who reacted in shock to his nonchalance. She lunged forward, intercepting the assassin mid-air.

The speed at which she moved was beyond what a lowly mercenary could react to or evade. The assassin collided with her and was sent crashing straight into the wall.

Only then did Helion lift his head. The sound of impact was impossible to ignore—as if the wall itself had been shattered.

“…Hm?”

For a moment, Helion doubted his eyes. The very thought that had crossed his mind moments ago had materialized before him.

That is to say—a person had slammed into the wall with enough force to break solid stone. Naturally, the mercenary embedded in the wall was coughing up blood before losing consciousness.

“…What in the world?”

Helion wasn’t the only one stunned. Cheche’s eyes bulged, his mouth hanging open so wide it seemed every orifice in his body had been flung open in shock.

Even Katie froze in place, startled by her own strength. Against an enemy she hadn’t expected, she had unconsciously unleashed her full power.

‘Don’t panic now. Act like it’s nothing.’

Fortunately, Katie was an accomplished spy who had completed all of the kingdom’s covert training. She schooled her expression into one of indifference and hoisted the unconscious assassin over her shoulder.

Blood pooled in the assassin’s mouth before spilling out in thick rivulets, staining the floor. It seemed his organs had ruptured from just a single shoulder check. Then again, if the wall had shattered, that said enough.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I’ll fetch the chamberlain immediately.”

Her attempt at acting composed had apparently come off as far too casual. Helion stared at her, momentarily speechless, before suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Unbelievable. I thought I’d adopted a kitten, but it turns out to be a tiger.”

“Pardon?”

Katie flinched, not understanding his meaning.

A kitten. Come to think of it, Helion had been calling her “Kitty” for a while now. In the empire, changing someone’s name like that was a form of dismissal—You’re so insignificant I don’t even need to remember your real name.

She had assumed Helion was doing the same. Since Damian had been overly familiar with her, she thought Helion saw her as someone beneath notice.

Now that I think about it, he also called me “kitty” back in the warehouse…

At the time, she’d been too out of it from her heat to process it, but now that she thought about it—it was strange.

Don’t tell me he’s figured out I’m a beastfolk?