The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 75

“Katie, that worthless girl!”

Damian kicked the bed in frustration. Despite the dramatic motion, the effect was minimal. The feather-stuffed mattress barely swayed before settling back into place.

He delivered a few more kicks, then accidentally struck the wooden bed frame. Grabbing his throbbing toe, he groaned in pain.

“Argh! Damn it all! Nothing goes right for me!”

His motor skills were abysmal—the absolute worst. Though he couldn’t ride a horse, shoot a bow, or wield a sword properly, Damian refused to consider these as weaknesses.

An emperor was meant to rule, not prance around on battlefields. Menial tasks were for subordinates; his role was to use his mind, not his body.

Of course, this didn’t mean his mind was particularly sharp—but he remained blissfully unaware of that fact. Everyone around him was too busy flattering the future emperor to point it out.

“Your Highness. Are you alright?”

One of his knights approached with concern. Damian glared and barked at him.

“Do I look alright to you?! Fetch a doctor, now!”

“Yes, right away!”

“That idiot. If he saw I was hurt, he should’ve sprinted to the infirmary without being told. Useless unless given direct orders.”

Sighing, Damian slumped onto the sofa. Immediately, the rest of his guards swarmed around him.

“Your Highness, shall I massage your foot until the doctor arrives?”

“Ugh, no. It hurts like hell—what good would a massage do?”

“Then perhaps your legs? You exerted yourself today—your muscles must be shocked.”

“Please, as if this little strain even counts.”

Despite his dismissive words, Damian obediently lifted his leg. The knight standing nearby quickly knelt and supported it, looking appropriately reverent.

The massage, admittedly, was quite satisfying.

Damian resolved never to kick anything again, no matter how angry he got. Physical exertion was simply too dangerous. As the future emperor, even the slightest strain on his precious muscles could spell disaster.

“This is all Katie’s fault.”

Lately, his temper had been flaring. It all traced back to that female knight he’d seen days ago. Katie, originally assigned to his palace, had been temporarily reassigned elsewhere while he wasn’t paying attention.

“That insolent little wench. She acted all high and mighty when I showed her attention, but in front of him, she’s like this?”

The day Katie had entered Helion’s chambers drenched in water, Damian had assumed it was a surprise visit—for him.

After being unceremoniously thrown out of Helion’s room, Damian had rushed back to the palace to confirm Katie’s status. That was when he received the shocking news: her assignment had been changed.

Even more shocking was the reason for her transfer—s****l harassment in the workplace. A polite term for what was, in reality, attempted r**e. And the perpetrator? Someone he knew all too well.

Damian immediately headed to the underground prison. In the empire, r**e was a capital offense, but the culprit, Arnin, was the eldest son of a powerful count. There was a high chance he’d been imprisoned rather than executed.

Yet, what awaited Damian in the prison wasn’t Arnin—but news of his death.

“This makes no sense! There’s no way the Count would let his son die! Are you telling me they actually carried out the execution?!”

The jailer calmly replied to Damian’s outburst:

“It was suicide, Your Highness.”

“What? Arnin?!”

“He was a rapist, wasn’t he? Must’ve been too ashamed to live with the disgrace of his own crime.”

It sounded plausible, but Damian didn’t buy it.

Arnin had been a senior knight—one Damian had been acquainted with. And the Arnin he knew wasn’t the type to take his own life over something like this.

This was Helion’s doing. Knowing Arnin’s father would intervene, Helion must have moved first and had him killed.

Now, everything made sense. Katie had given her heart to Helion—the man who’d avenged her.

No, if it were just her heart, that would’ve been bearable. But she’d undoubtedly given him her body, too.

“How could she just switch sides like that?! After everything I did for her?!”

Damian gritted his teeth so hard they creaked.

“What does she even see in him besides his face? That stupid girl. She’ll regret betraying me.”

“It’s all because Katie’s a commoner. She never got proper education—probably doesn’t even realize power is what truly matters when choosing a man.”

“If she bothers you this much, why not just bring her back?”

The knight massaging his leg ventured cautiously. Damian irritably shook his leg free, dislodging the man’s hands.

“You think it’s that easy?! As if my dear brother would just hand over his personal guard to me! If she were just any guard, maybe—but you know exactly what’s going on when he sneaks her into his chambers every night!”

Damian had planted several spies in Helion’s palace. They’d reported that Helion’s bed had never once shown signs of intimacy—until recently.