Everyone’s gaze turned toward the sound, something not of human origin.

And then—something soft, like a tiny paw, gently brushed against the hem of my skirt…

Oh, my.

“Oh dear, this little one has followed me all the way here.”

The creature that was tugging at my skirt, as if trying to get my attention, was a cat.

The gardener, delighted, picked up the cat.

“Oh my, a calico.”

With a white body beautifully adorned with tawny and black patches, the cat let out a soft meow and looked around.

The memory of when I first met Angie resurfaced—I had wondered if she was a cat. The thought made me feel oddly fond.

“So cute!”

“She—she lives at the Meldorf estate, but she sometimes follows me all the way here.”

“Ugh.”

The Meldorf estate.

But I couldn’t reveal my bad history with Baron Alterman in front of the gardener, so I merely furrowed my brow slightly.

‘Well, it’s not like the cat did anything wrong.’

I gently scratched the top of the cat’s head, trying to suppress my resentment toward her owner.

Her small head, fitting snugly in my palm, had a different kind of cuteness from Angie’s.

“She’s quite a beauty, isn’t she? And so clever! When I called out, ‘Meow, meow,’ she actually told me her name.”

“She told you her name?”

“Well, among the seed samples I had laid out—lemon tree, fringe tree, four o’clock flower—she went and pointed at each one, one by one.”

“Lemon, fringe, four o’clock…”

“Yes! Which means her name is Raven.”

“Haha, what even is that?”

I burst into laughter at the gardener’s absurdity.

“Oh, come now, be reasonable. You just picked a fine name yourself, didn’t you?”

“I swear it’s true.”

As if agreeing, the calico fixed her teal-green eyes on me and slowly blinked.

“Did you really?”

“Meow.”

Well, I suppose there is a baby who, at four months old, already seems to understand the strict voice of her biological father. So maybe a cat that tells you her name isn’t all that far-fetched.

As I cooed at the calico and scratched her nape, a voice suddenly called out,

“Raven?”

Cedrion, who had been silently observing, finally spoke in a tone of disbelief.

“Surely, you didn’t name a cat that.”

“Because she’s black…?”

Come to think of it—does English even exist in this world?

“Well, the thing is…”

He cast a sideways glance at the cat, still nestled in the gardener’s arms. Perhaps sensing the shift in atmosphere, the cat immediately looked as if she were about to cry.

‘Hmph. She’s not even wearing boots, and yet… This world sure has some unusually perceptive cats and babies.’

As I mused to myself, pouting my lips, a shadow suddenly loomed over me, and a warm breath brushed against my ear.

“They say names of black animals belong to demons. That’s why people don’t give such names to anyone—neither humans nor animals.”

A deep, resonant voice sent a shiver down my spine.

Reflexively, I looked up—only to meet the face of a breathtakingly handsome man, lips curled into a smug smile.

It was the kind of smile that said, See? I did well, didn’t I?

‘R-right. You’re just diligently following the contract, huh?’

That clause where he promised to answer all my questions sincerely.

But even so, could he at least consider my poor heart’s well-being?

Of course, he knew nothing about my condition, but still—doing this with that face? That couldn’t be good for anyone’s heart.

“Now that I think about it…”

Cedrion straightened up and raised his voice slightly so that the others could hear.

“There’s a rumor that a certain intelligence guild, which holds complete control over Belvo’s underworld, is called ‘Raven.’ What a coincidence.”

All the while, Cedrion’s golden eyes remained fixed on the cat.

I could almost swear her slit-pupil eyes wavered slightly.

It wasn’t even her real name, but the man was wasting his charisma for no reason.

The sheer menace in his aura and the overwhelming weight of his presence were terrifying enough that…

I firmly grasped Cedrion’s hand, protecting the calico.

“Stop intimidating an innocent cat, hmm?”

Yet, Cedrion and the calico continued their silent staring contest.

The calico seemed to have taken a liking to the Grand Duke’s castle on her very first visit.

Even when the gardener returned to Meldorf after finishing his survey, she refused to follow him and chose to stay behind.

“She’s so elusive that even back at the estate, they don’t mind if she disappears for a few days.”

Whenever the gardener tried to pick her up, she would wriggle free, scratch him, or even climb up onto his head.

After much struggle, he finally gave up on taking her back.

With his face now marked by visible cat scratches, he looked quite dejected.

“Well then, I’ll return tomorrow with the workers. If you wish, my lady, I can bring some work clothes reflecting the latest fashion in Belvo.”

“Sure, bring them along.”

At my words, the gardener beamed and vanished through a spatial portal.

It seemed that selling an extra item or two was worth getting scratched by a cat.

With a snap of Cedrion’s fingers, the portal disappeared without a trace.

“Now then, as for you—”

“I have to go see Angie.”

I had met the gardener after lunch, and now the sun was already sinking low.

Today, Angie had let me go without fuss, but by now, even I was starting to feel uneasy whenever I was apart from her for too long.

It felt like my heart was beating faster than usual, like my breath was shorter than normal…

“Since coming to Norhart, Angie has learned to be apart from me. She seems to like it here.”

“…Even so, don’t even think about leaving her with just me for twenty-four hours yet.”

Cedrion recited the clause from our contract in a chilling voice.

The look on his face as he spoke made it seem as if, should I ever attempt such a thing, he would torment Angie just to prove that she couldn’t do without me.

‘How could someone like this have ever been described as kind in his childhood?’

I shuddered, recalling what the head maid, Margaret, had told me this morning.

“I’ll walk you back. I might as well visit my daughter while I’m at it.”

“Aren’t you busy? Just a while ago, Viscount Nielsen—”

“Why are you more concerned about Franz than about me, your fiancé?”

Why? Because, as a former “extra” in my past life, I can’t help but empathize with him.

But I couldn’t say that out loud, so I simply followed Cedrion’s lead without protest.

By the time we arrived at my quarters, the baby crib Cedrion had ordered for Angie had already been delivered.

Wait—he ordered it last night, and it arrived this afternoon…?

‘He must have pressured them, radiating that menacing aura of his.’

I shivered again at the thought of my temperamental contract fiancé, who only pretended to be gentle with me.

“Mauma!”

“Angie! Your sister is here. Do you like your crib?”

Considering Angie’s rapid growth, the crib was quite large for a baby.

To prevent her from rolling out accidentally, cushions were placed all around it, propped against wooden rails.

And she—

“Oh my, look at her bouncing up and down with excitement now that you’re here.”

—was actually jumping up and down.

Didn’t the nanny find this strange?

“The moment she heard your footsteps, she sprang up right away.”

Even Mila, grinning widely, didn’t seem to find anything odd.

Was it normal for babies in this world to start standing and jumping at four months old?

As I stepped into the room, still processing my confusion, Angie, who had been beaming at me, suddenly turned her gaze past me.

“…Ma!”

Her round eyes widened in shock, and she stretched out her chubby arms, shouting.

“Mma! Gaa!”

Me? She wants me to go?

Has Angie ever babbled so clearly before?

But her anxious gaze wasn’t directed at me.

Her tiny fingers repeatedly pointed past me, so I turned to see—

“Myaaang…”

—The calico cat, who had somehow followed us all the way here, was now backpedaling at the entrance.

“Hmm? Angie, it’s a cat. You’ve never seen a cat before, have you?”

“Kooh! Shii, shi…!”

Angie stomped her little feet—yes, the four-month-old baby was stomping her feet in a tantrum.

I turned to Cedrion in alarm, but he merely observed his daughter calmly, unmoved by her outburst.

As for the other two, they were so bewildered by Angie’s reaction that they just stood there, gaping.

“Shii, shii! Ao! Juu, juu!”

She thumped her chest in frustration and kept yelling at the cat.

Snapping out of my daze, I hurried over to scoop Angie into my arms, patting her back and trying to soothe her.

“There, there, Angie. It’s just a cat. It’s not scary. It’s cute. Look at its soft fur, isn’t it fascinating? So colorful, right?”

“Shii, shii!”

I deliberately turned her away from the cat, but Angie stubbornly twisted her body to keep yelling at it.

The calico cat, startled by the commotion, was now frozen at the entrance, unable to move forward or escape.

“There, there, Angie. Calm down. Calm down.”

“Shii, shii! Hnn, hnn… Hwaaah…! Noo… hwaaah!”

Angie finally burst into loud, wailing sobs.

This was the first time she had cried even though I was right here with her—except for that time when she was wary of Cedrion.

‘But even then, she didn’t cry this much…!’

As her wails rang in my ears, I felt myself slipping into a panic. Even with Angie in my arms, my heart pounded, and my head spun.

Noticing my distress, Cedrion finally stepped forward. His timing suggested that he had been watching for signs that I wasn’t doing well.

“I’ll soothe her.”

I didn’t expect him to actually succeed at calming a baby, but I had no other choice.

Angie was crying so hard into my ear that I couldn’t think straight.

“Oh dear, miss. Are you all right?”

“I’ve heard that babies sometimes see ghosts.”

“But that’s just a cat, isn’t it?”

“…Could there be a ghost following the cat?”

As I slumped onto the edge of the sofa, nearly collapsing, the nanny and Mila rushed to wipe the cold sweat off my face and massage my arms and legs.

I must have looked deathly pale.

Then, as if sensing the tension in the room, the calico cat cautiously approached me, trying to nuzzle against my skirts.

Just as it was about to rub its cheek against the fabric—

“Kkoyoo!”

Angie, cradled in Cedrion’s arms, shrieked as if having a fit, flailing her arms wildly.