The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 8

The Empire’s social hierarchy was exceedingly rigid. This system was equally applied to the ranks of knights.

There was an enormous gap between apprentice knights and junior knights, between junior knights and intermediate knights, and between intermediate knights and senior knights. Not only did their treatment differ drastically, but the disparity in their abilities was also immense.

Especially senior knights—they were skilled enough to join the Imperial Guard, directly protecting and serving the royal family. They were not opponents an intermediate knight could dare to challenge.

Yes. That was how it should have been. For an intermediate knight to boldly challenge a senior knight to a duel—it should have ended in a humiliating defeat, so pitiful that they’d feel ashamed just for attempting it.

“No, what in the world…”

But something unexpected happened. The senior knights stood with their mouths agape, staring at the center of the training grounds. In the middle of the circle formed by the surrounding knights, Katie was tossing aside the shattered remains of a wooden sword.

“D-did you see that?”

“Are you talking about the moment Katie smashed Arnin’s skull? If so, then yes, I saw it clearly.”

“I couldn’t even follow the speed! More importantly, how does that even make sense? The wooden sword shattered!”

The wooden sword Katie had swung down on Arnin’s head had splintered apart with a sharp crack. It was baffling. It hadn’t just snapped—it had shattered into pieces, scattering wooden fragments like crumbs from a crumbling cookie.

Just how much force had she put into that strike? It was like the power of a bomb. For a moment, there was genuine concern that Arnin—who had collapsed with his eyes tightly shut—might actually be dead.

Katie shook her hand with a satisfied expression. Wooden splinters from the sword clattered to the ground.

‘I should’ve challenged him to a duel sooner.’

Until now, she had endured this unfair treatment out of fear that causing trouble would get her expelled. She also didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention by making a scene. An exceptional knight inevitably attracted notice—and for a spy, nothing was more burdensome than that.

But upon reflection, there was no real reason to fear attention. Becoming a senior knight would grant her access to more information. It might even be better to get promoted quickly and become Damian’s guard.

“Why is everyone just standing there? Am I that entertaining?”

Katie brusquely shouted as she hoisted the unconscious Arnin up—not by carrying him properly, but by grabbing the scruff of his neck and lifting him.

Honestly, she wanted to just leave him there and walk away, but that wouldn’t be proper etiquette toward an opponent she had crossed blades with. Katie was a knight who, though a bit rough around the edges, understood duty. Dragging Arnin along, she approached the crowd of knights.

“Move aside.”

“Huh? Oh—yeah. Of course.”

The senior knights who had been mocking her just moments ago flinched and quickly cleared a path. Katie trudged forward through the opening they made, Arnin’s limp legs scraping trails in the dirt behind her.

“Was Katie always this strong?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. She was always diligent in training… Now that I think about it, she won quite often in sparring matches.”

Katie scoffed inwardly at the murmurs behind her. If she had fought seriously, it wouldn’t have been quite often—it would have been every time. She had only held back to avoid drawing attention.

Spies from the Kingdom entered the palace before the age of ten, honing skills in deception and assassination from then on.

Katie had been the top of her class. With her natural physical prowess and exceptional talent, she graduated ahead of her seniors and infiltrated the Empire even before reaching adulthood.

No ordinary human could hope to match her—even beastkin struggled against her. Arnin’s defeat had been inevitable the moment Katie decided to duel him.

Then, in that instant—a sudden chill crawled down her spine.

Katie stopped mid-step and turned her gaze upward.

A man lounged against the window of the knights’ quarters overlooking the training grounds, watching her.

Disheveled black hair, a lazy smile. Half-lidded eyes gazing down.

To an outsider, he might have looked drunk—his posture was so relaxed. But his eyes alone were razor-sharp.

Golden pupils that seemed to pierce right through a person. The moment Katie met that gaze, her body locked up as if bound by invisible chains.

The man’s lips parted, and he mouthed a single word, his tongue clicking lightly against his teeth as it rolled out.

“Kitty.”

Katie finally snapped out of her daze and lowered her head.

‘Kitty?’

It was a ridiculous name, the kind you’d give to a pet. If Katie were an ordinary person, she might have thought he was deliberately mocking her by calling her something else. But she had far too many secrets to take it so lightly.

‘…Did he figure it out?’

Her heart pounded uncomfortably in her chest. She reads Helion’s face carefully, but there was nothing particularly suspicious about his expression. Soon, she came to a conclusion.

‘No. There’s no way. If he’d noticed anything, he wouldn’t be standing there so casually just watching.’

Gritting her teeth, Katie dragged Arnin along and kept walking. First, her eye color had been exposed to Helion, and now her name—had he really uncovered that too?

Was it the surging hormones of her approaching heat making her chest churn with unease? The sensation left her restless.