Perhaps from being alone in the cold for so long, Cioranne’s fingers were ice cold. After embracing Kyle for the first time in a while, she carefully rubbed her face against his fur.

“…So warm and soft.”

“Meow.”

Of course—how could this magnificent body have anything but perfect texture? How many humans have had the chance to hold a baby panther? Kyle calmly accepted Cioranne’s touch with an expression that said “do as you please.”

Inside, however, he was seething.

‘Fool, idiot. Being kind is one thing, but this is too much. How is this different from enjoying self-torture? You ache over others’ pain, yet why don’t you ever look after yourself?’

With such powerful holy power, couldn’t she create allies within the temple? Yet Cioranne had thoroughly chosen to remain under the Pope’s authority.

‘The backdrop is just the temple instead of the imperial palace, but it’s the same political arena. In politics, staying still means being torn apart until only bones remain.’

It’s not that cold-hearted people become politicians; politics makes people cold-hearted. There’s no such thing as a graceful exit in politics. Relinquishing power after retirement only invites retaliation from successors. It’s no wonder imperial succession often ends in death.

Kailas was the same. He hadn’t stopped at merely exiling all his half-siblings but had taken the emperor’s head as well—because if he hadn’t, he would eventually face retaliation.

And ultimately, that was defensive behavior born from concern for his own safety.

But Cioranne showed no sign of such thinking. Despite having the power to stand at the temple’s pinnacle, she spoke politely to everyone and treated them kindly.

That behavior didn’t look entirely admirable to Kyle.

‘Why doesn’t she love herself?’

She seemed determined to mistreat herself.

‘Everyone loves the story of a strong lion waiting for a weak mouse to pass by. But only if they don’t know the lion.’

Kyle was the same. When he had no connection to Cioranne, he didn’t care how she lived. He simply thought, that’s just how she is.

But the more he learned about her, the more frustrated he became.

He shouldn’t have mocked the knight who was hopelessly in love with her. When the knight held Cioranne’s hands and passionately said, “Please take care of yourself,” Kyle shouldn’t have watched from a distance like it was none of his business.

She was truly a terrible person. She might be angelic to others, but to those who loved her, she was unbearably cruel.

“Meow, meow meow, meow, meow.”

Irritated, Kyle squirmed and threw a tantrum. Since Cioranne couldn’t understand his words anyway, he meowed freely.

Cioranne startled and held Kyle tightly. Then she whispered to him:

“Shh. Shh, Kyle. If His Holiness comes, you might be in danger too.”

“Meow, meow meow…”

Let him come. I’d rather he did.

‘If the Pope tries to kill me, wouldn’t Ran finally take my side?’

How would the Pope feel if the holy maiden he believed was absolutely loyal rebelled because of one insignificant cat?

‘I’d love to see that.’

Pope Incensino. A disgusting snake of a man with the face of a gentle lamb.

‘I won’t give him a clean death.’

Instead of simply ending his life, Kyle would make him feel every kind of despair.

‘But first I need to break this curse.’

Once again, everything circled back to the curse. Frustrated, Kyle twisted his body and cried meow-meow-meow.

Seeing Kyle like this, Cioranne tilted her head and smiled brightly.

“Are you worried about me?”

‘As if.’

Kyle snorted with an indifferent expression. Though she could surely see his expression, she planted a small kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you. I’m happy.”

‘Don’t smile, you fool.’

Kyle pressed his tiny cat paws against Cioranne’s cheeks. This woman had absolutely nothing about her that he liked.

‘If you’re sorry, just heal yourself. Just stop making me worry.’

Why did she have to make him so concerned? His head was already pounding from the curse.

Kyle was pushing her away out of annoyance, but Cioranne found it amusing and laughed brightly. She kissed his little paw pads and stroked his head.

“His Holiness never extends punishment beyond five days. He’ll release me by tomorrow morning. I’ll return soon, so don’t worry. While I’m gone, eat well and play quietly in the room. Understood?”

She carefully set Kyle down. Suddenly deprived of her warmth, Kyle felt strangely empty and looked back.

Behind him, Cioranne was smiling and waving.

But what good was that smile? Her hair was stained with patches of blood, and her face was pale and haggard from five days of suffering.

Even a sewer rat would look better than that. Kyle snorted and turned away sharply.

‘What a truly foolish woman.’

Muttering this, Kyle walked away with heavy steps but turned around again at a loud “thud” behind him.

The small body that had just held him had collapsed to the floor, as if embracing him had used up all her remaining strength.

Kyle blinked, then let out a deep sigh. He padded back and curled up on Cioranne’s chest.

‘I’m nice and warm. I’m just staying by your side so you can hold me like a heater.’

Pouting, Kyle tightly shut his eyes. Despite the unfamiliar and cold place, sleep came easily.

Only then did Kyle realize that since Cioranne had disappeared, he hadn’t been sleeping properly either.

* * *

How long had he slept? Kyle’s eyes snapped open at a faint sound. Someone was clearly approaching from a distance.

‘I need to get up.’

But the embrace was so comfortable that he simply couldn’t open his eyes. Even the light scent of wildflowers that tickled his nose was sweet.

As Kyle was nuzzling his face, his eyes suddenly flew open.

‘Wait. What am I holding onto?’

Given a panther’s physical structure, embracing someone would naturally mean clinging to their shoulders. But he was now lying on his back on the floor.

A moderately heavy arm was holding his waist tightly. His head didn’t feel like it was resting on the stone floor either.

When Kyle opened his eyes in shock, his vision was filled with none other than Cioranne’s white face.

‘W-what is this!’

Had he ever been this close to another person? The soft breathing escaping from her small lips tickled his cheek.

‘No, I did curl up next to her to share warmth, but!’

When had he transformed into a human?

Lifting his hand, he saw fingers as small as maple leaves. He had definitely transformed into a human. And Cioranne, in her sleep, was holding him tightly.

‘This is crazy, absolutely crazy. Am I now changing between human and panther without control? Is this part of the curse too?’

Moreover, he was so comfortable that he was even using one of her arms as a pillow. Shocked by this unexpected situation, Kyle struggled with his whole body.

‘I need to get up. I need to…’

Thinking about it, he could simply transform back into a panther, but he was so flustered that he couldn’t think of anything except escaping this situation.

As Kyle struggled to remove Cioranne’s arm, she stirred slightly and pulled him even closer.

“Kyle… you can sleep more…”

As she said this, her head gently rubbed against Kyle’s face.

The problem was that Kyle, startled by Cioranne waking up, had lifted his head to look at her.

Cioranne’s lips lightly brushed against Kyle’s. His face instantly turned bright red.

‘…?!’

It felt like his mind exploded. Kyle covered his mouth with both hands. In that moment, his body changed back into a baby panther.

Suddenly deprived of the warmth she had been holding, Cioranne narrowed her eyes. Meeting the gaze of the cute baby panther with fluffy black fur, she smiled brightly.

“Kyle.”

Damn it, why did she have to say my name so sweetly? Anyone listening would think sugar was falling into their ears like snow.

‘How can a word like “strait” (Kyle) sound sweet?’

Kyle bit his lip hard. Though unlikely, he felt that if he opened his mouth, his heart might leap out.

Only one thought filled his mind:

‘This is insane! A kiss! And in such a ridiculous way!’

A kiss from turning his head wrong while sleeping. It was so absurd he could only laugh in disbelief.

“Kyle, did you stay by my side?”

Oblivious to his inner turmoil, she smiled with crescent moon-shaped eyes.

“I’m happy.”

“…”

He was in serious trouble.

That thought kept circling in his mind.