Meanwhile, that cat was receiving an unexpected dose of affection.

During a rest break on the pilgrimage, a crowd gathered around Kyle, who had poked his head out of the bag.

“Oh my, he’s so adorable.”

“He doesn’t seem nervous at all despite the situation. Look how dignified he is.”

Though everyone was cautious enough not to pet or touch him carelessly, the collective attention focused on Kyle was enough to make him flustered. Kyle stared at me with slightly trembling golden eyes.

[‘Kyle’ appears uncomfortable.]

[‘Kyle’ needs a helping hand.]

Even though everyone was only showing affection, he seemed troubled. That somehow made my heart ache.

‘Kyle isn’t used to being loved.’

If he were more accustomed to it, he would have enjoyed all the attention and admiration. I bowed my head deeply and cried out:

“I’m sorry, Kyle! This is all my fault!”

“Meow?!”

When I suddenly bowed and apologized loudly, Kyle meowed in a high pitch, seemingly startled. I clasped my hands together and apologized to Kyle with all my heart.

“I should have shown you more affection. I should have praised you enough to satisfy you. Then you might have enjoyed this attention instead of feeling uncomfortable.”

“Meow meow…”

Kyle meowed softly. Seeing this, my eyes welled up with tears.

“Kyle, are you trying to comfort me? Even now?”

Our cat is not only beautiful and handsome but kind-hearted too!

Looking at Kyle with moved eyes, I hugged him tightly. Then I started boasting about Kyle to everyone who had come to see him.

“Do you know how smart our Kyle is? He even knows exactly where his room is!”

“…”

Kyle’s marble-round eyes narrowed. His inner thoughts resonated.

[‘Kyle’ has fallen into a state of resignation.]

Don’t give up! Accept how cute and lovable you are!

We continued chatting enthusiastically about Kyle for quite some time. We kept talking about how cute Kyle was until he wore an expression of stoic endurance.

I stroked Kyle’s back and smiled faintly, “If I had known everyone would accept me like this, I would have told them much sooner.”

Hearing my words, the nun sitting beside me opened her eyes wide.

“There’s no reason for anyone to dislike it. It’s just one tiny cat, after all.”

“But I still broke the rules.”

“Holy Maiden.”

The nun took my hand. Her hand was slightly smaller than mine, but her body temperature was higher.

“The things forbidden by the order are meant to prevent us from loving anything more than God. But that also means that other people naturally have something they love more than God. You, however, truly kept nothing in your heart. I found that both admirable and somewhat sad.”

Like a grandmother speaking to her granddaughter, the nun spoke to me kindly in a gentle tone.

“God won’t reproach you for having one small cat in your life.”

“…Thank you, Sister.”

Feeling tears welling up again, I bowed my head deeply. The nun, sensing my emotions, said, “I’ll go help the others then,” and stood up.

I kissed the forehead of the cat in my arms.

“This is all thanks to you. Thank you, Kyle.”

At my kiss, Kyle narrowed his eyes, seemingly ticklish. While I was rubbing his nose bridge with my index finger, God became excited.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ asks, me?]

“Of course I’m grateful to you.”

There was nothing more to say about God. It was entirely thanks to Him that a skinny girl like a stick had grown into an adult without any problems.

And if my life until now had merely been “existing,” now I found life enjoyable. That was a feeling I would never have discovered if I had died from the curse.

“I feel like I’m finally learning about life these days. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

As I bowed my head, God seemed extremely embarrassed.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ feels awkward.]

Just as I was smiling contentedly,

“Holy Maiden, the bridge on our route has collapsed, so we’ll need to camp here tonight.”

Though there was still time to walk, it seemed there was a problem on the path ahead. Since we would be camping, we needed to prepare sleeping arrangements and meals, so I stood up.

“Oh, then I’ll help too.”

Right at that moment, Kyle jumped out of my arms. Then, making a pitter-patter sound, he ran off into the forest.

“Huh? Kyle, where are you going?”

When I called out, Kyle glanced back at me briefly before running off again. I was biting my nails with worry, wondering if I should follow him, when the knight who had called me spoke in a gentle voice:

“Cats naturally prefer to be alone. With all this attention, he probably wanted some space.”

“You think so?”

“He’ll come back to you, Holy Maiden. He seems like a very intelligent cat.”

“That’s true.”

Our Kyle is a very clever cat who even followed me down to the basement.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ says he clearly went to poop.]

God pointed out the bathroom issue that I hadn’t even considered. For the sake of Kyle’s dignity, I pretended not to hear.

“What should I do? Should I prepare vegetables?”

“Holy Maiden, you should…”

Today’s camping menu was curry.

* * *

Taking advantage of Cioranne’s loosened arms, Kyle slipped away from the group and moved quite far. Only when he was certain no one was around did he let out a long sigh.

“What am I even doing?”

The sudden shower of unexpected praise nearly turned Kyle from a panther into a squid. From his birth until now as emperor, he had never received so much praise.

‘And it was all about being cute, smart, lovable…’

His ear, where Cioranne’s fingers had been intertwined, still felt ticklish. As Kyle touched his ear with his finger, God mocked him.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ ridicules you, asking why you got into the bag in the first place.]

He had no response to that. If Cioranne had left him behind, he could have simply gone to Noel. Perhaps that would have been more comfortable for him.

‘But in that moment, I couldn’t think of anything else.’

Some incomprehensible will had moved his feet. Since Richard had conveniently distracted Cioranne, sneaking into the bag wasn’t difficult at all.

He could have stayed comfortably in the room, but at that moment, it felt like something terrible would happen if he didn’t follow Cioranne.

After furrowing his brow and pondering why he had done such a thing, Kyle let out a long sigh.

‘Right. This is to break the curse. I need to stay close to that woman to break the curse.’

How long would he live in this powerless child’s form? Rather than staying comfortably for a month and delaying the breaking of the curse, it seemed better to stick with Cioranne, come what may.

Having rationalized his actions, Kyle belatedly added a tiny bit of his true feelings:

“She’s such a foolish woman, so I’m worried about her…”

A foolish woman who couldn’t even take care of herself.

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t go even if pushed. I would have stood my ground with arms crossed.’

What would happen if the Pope and Holy Maiden had a conflict? Could they take away her holy power or expel her from the Holy Maiden position?

‘If the situation were that serious, the Pope would have thrown a tantrum and gone himself.’

Of course, given Cioranne’s personality, that rotten Pope was able to have his way.

‘So I need to be tactful.’

She might jump into danger without hesitation, but she wouldn’t do so without him.

‘She said I’m the most precious to her.’

If nothing else, Kyle was certain that Cioranne would prioritize him in any situation.

Just as Kyle sorted out his feelings:

“Huh?”

A dazzling light emanated from Kyle’s body. With an excited expression, Kyle stared at the light enveloping him.

‘Could it be that the curse is broken?’

Though he didn’t know why it would break now, he was completely grateful!

‘I’m free! Now I don’t have to get tangled up with those annoying temple people anymore!’

Tangled up? The moment he returned, he would lead his army to raze the temple to the ground. No matter what the Pope or God-believing humans said, he wouldn’t let it slide.

Just as Kyle was filled with anticipation:

[Too bad!

Curse removal progress: 50%

Keep trying!]

Seeing the message that appeared, Kyle let out a fierce howl.