“Alright. I’ll spare you.”
‘Thank you.’
I lived! I did it—I actually survived the male lead! Inside, I raised a toast in celebration.
‘Goodbye! It was terrifying meeting you—let’s never meet again!’
I waved my front paw in farewell, unable to hide the twitching corners of my mouth or the tail trembling with joy.
Then, without even looking back, I tried to slip out through the dog hole—
—but my escape ended as nothing more than an attempt.
Before even half my body could pass through, a large hand grabbed me.
That big hand held me firmly, though not tightly.
Caught in its grasp, I struggled desperately to break free.
But no matter how much I flailed my front and hind legs, my body didn’t budge at all—only my limbs moved uselessly inside that enormous hand.
…Is this what a fish feels like, flapping helplessly in a net?
Eventually, I gave up trying to escape and turned my head back.
And I couldn’t hide my dumbfounded expression.
‘What… is this…?’
Why are you here?!
I kept glancing back and forth between the man’s face and his hand.
His hand was blocking me from escaping through the hole.
Seeing my stunned expression, the male lead lifted me up and brought my eyes level with his.
Normally, I would have admired those mysterious blue eyes—but now, they only filled me with a sense of betrayal.
‘Hey! You said you’d spare me!’
My whiskers trembled indignantly.
‘You said you’d let me go!’
I protested with my short little limbs. You said you’d spare me, so why are you stopping me? Weren’t you letting me leave…?
You said you’d spare me.
Was that just false hope?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
‘Do you know how hard I worked for this?’
Dying like this would be too unfair… too sad.
At least out of spite, I refuse to die like this.
My vision blurred as tears welled up.
It felt like the slightest touch would send them rolling down my face.
The male lead, who had been watching me intently, curved the corner of his eyes slightly.
“I said I’d spare you. I never said I’d let you go.”
He gently wiped the tears gathered in my eyes.
…Was it just my imagination, or was there a hint of mischief in those cold eyes? I really hoped it was my imagination. Because I had a terrible feeling something I couldn’t handle was about to happen.
There was no way I could deal with someone like him.
Even the heroine couldn’t handle him.
I lifted my chin and looked straight at him.
‘Then what are you going to do with me?’
Tears still clung to my light green eyes.
After meeting my gaze, the male lead spoke to the people who had gathered around him—likely his subordinates.
“Take this one with us too.”
…This… lunatic…
‘Hey!! Why are you taking me with you!!!’
Did he eat something weird? What is wrong with him?
I was so shocked I couldn’t even close my mouth. The tears that had been about to fall disappeared instantly. Honestly, there’s probably no better way to stop crying than this.
‘You can’t just pick things up and take them home!’
My green eyes practically shot out laser beams.
‘Didn’t anyone teach you not to pick up random things when you were a kid?!’
But my opponent was a tiger—
—and I was just a tiny kitten dangling in his hand.
I could say without even a second’s hesitation: if this ferocious tiger in front of me simply closed his hand a little tighter, my life would be over in an instant.
And this wasn’t just any tiger.
He was a completely unhinged one who had just casually killed a beastman right in front of me.
Very unhinged.
And he was still holding that sword, dripping with blood.
Unlike a reckless kitten, I knew how terrifying a tiger was. So in front of him—especially while he held that blood-dripping sword—I was too scared (even if I hated to admit it) to make a sound.
He gently closed my still-open mouth for me.
As if he had truly decided to take me along, he placed me on his palm.
‘There’s no way he’ll let me run anyway…’
With nothing I could do, I quickly accepted reality.
I settled onto Ian’s palm, adjusting myself into the most comfortable position I could find.
Unfortunately, none of my internal screams of protest were understood.
To get straight to the point—I’m thankfully still alive.
Yes.
I didn’t die yesterday.
The problem is…
…I slept way too well.
‘How did I end up sleeping on top of someone who tried to kill me?’
Well, he did say he’d spare me, but still.
‘I didn’t even wake up once. I slept like a log. Am I out of my mind?’
After he placed me on his palm, I don’t know if it was because of the warmth I felt for the first time, but my tension melted away.
I started nodding off like a sick chicken… and then completely collapsed into sleep.
I mean, I’m not usually like this.
‘Maybe it’s because I’ve been shivering all the time like my heart was frozen…’
That warmth—something I had never felt in this world before—completely disarmed me.
‘…I should just bang my head.’
I don’t even remember when I fell asleep.
I vaguely recall hearing a faint chuckle above me, but at the time, my heavy eyelids mattered more than anything.
And so, focusing only on fighting off sleep…
…I ended up falling completely asleep.
And now—
When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
‘Ah… I thought I’d wake up to a familiar one…’
If only all of this had been a dream.
Still groggy, I lay there blankly, staring up at the ceiling.
Stretching out, I lazily wiggled my paws.
‘What exactly about me caught Ian Cadelion’s curiosity?’
This situation never happened in the original story—nor was it anything I had expected.
Not once did I think my actions were strange enough to pique his interest.
…Well, at least I slept warmly. That’s something, right? Maybe that’s good enough. I don’t know. My brain isn’t working after waking up.
Still lying down, I rolled my eyes around and looked at the room.
‘Why is this room so big and luxurious? Even the bed is huge.’
Surprised by how spacious it was, I stretched my body.
“Meooow—.”
Even after all that sleep, I was still sleepy.
No matter how much I sleep, I’m still tired. Is this the mystery of a cat’s body?
Knock knock.
With a knock, a slightly excited voice came from outside.
“Kitty, I’m Marie, your personal maid. May I come in?”
“Meow…?”
Half-asleep, I responded vaguely, and a young woman in a maid outfit entered, pulling back the curtains.
“Kitty, are you awake?”
“Meow…”
Ugh… I hate sunlight…
As she drew the curtains, bright sunlight flooded the room, stabbing at my eyes.
Judging by the brightness, it was probably around lunchtime.
‘Honestly, choosing sleep over food isn’t so bad.’
Back when I lived with the Simond family, that was a choice I made often—staring at food that was worse than garbage.
Frowning, I moved to escape the sunlight. I thought I heard something tear slightly, but it must’ve been my imagination.
I burrowed under the pillow, where the light felt dimmer.
Ah… much better. Darkness really is best after waking up.
But that bliss lasted only about ten seconds.
“Kitty, it’s been a full day and an hour since you fell asleep. Are you going back to sleep again?”
Marie gently lifted the pillow, asking with concern.
No, I’m not sleeping—I just hate the light!
To express myself, I slowly shifted from lying down to sitting and covered my eyes with my paw.
When the tiny kitten lazily covered its eyes, I heard someone gasp softly.
Marie seemed to understand what I meant and blocked the sunlight with the back of her hand.
With the shade now cast over me, I felt much better and lowered my paw.
Then I saw her face right in front of me.
With her blueberry-colored hair tied high, Marie looked more like a knight than a maid. The kind of knight who could cut down enemies without emotion—calm, rational, and cold.
But when our eyes met, a faint blush spread across her face.
She lowered her head shyly and spoke softly.
“Kitty, shall we go take a bath?”
Wait—why are you suddenly acting like a shy girl in love?
Was I wrong about her being cold and rational?
Startled, I took a step back, my pupils shaking.
“Kitty, don’t you want to bathe? Ian said you went through the dog hole to pick flowers the other day. You fell asleep without properly washing…”
Her voice and expression were strangely downcast.
No, let’s go. It’s just that you suddenly blushed earlier and caught me off guard.
I stepped toward her again.
Her mood brightened instantly, and she picked me up.
“Then shall we go bathe?”
‘Ahhh!’
She lifted me effortlessly.
Hey! I didn’t say you could carry me! I can walk! I have legs too!
I struggled in her grip.
One experience of being grabbed like that was more than enough.
…Then I looked down.
Wait. Isn’t this way too high?
If I fall from here, I might actually die.
‘If I fall, I’m definitely dead.’
For a tiny fluff ball like me, this height was terrifying.
I stopped struggling and, trembling, placed my paw firmly on her hand.
Right now, all I could hope was that she wouldn’t suddenly let go.
‘I never want to experience this again. Never.’
And so, dangling helplessly in Marie’s hand…
…I was carried all the way to the bathroom.
