“Muah! Gaeyang-ah?” 

When I returned from the garden, Angie was wide awake.

Her golden bell-like eyes widened as she saw me being carried in by Cedrion, but she did not burst into loud cries.

As if she knew that I wasn’t truly sick.

“Oh dear, my lady! Are you alright? I told you to rest.”

“I-I’ll go bring Dame Gwendolyn!”

Instead, it was the nanny and Mila who were in an uproar. Mila, who was always quick to act, swiftly exited the Grand Duchess’s parlor.

As Cedrion gently laid me down on the long sofa, the nanny, holding Angie, approached and perched on the armrest.

“No, it was nothing serious.”

“It doesn’t seem like you collapsed, but why did he insist on carrying you? You two look lovely together, but still…”

The nanny asked with a knowing look, but neither Cedrion nor I responded. We merely glanced around awkwardly, avoiding each other’s eyes. When our eyes finally met, my face flushed with heat.

I-I could understand myself, but why was Cedrion blushing too?

At that moment, Mathias, who had been watching the situation, carefully spoke to his mother.

“Well, His Highness the Crown Prince was at the garden.”

“What? His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Immediately, the nanny’s face hardened.

She probably assumed I knew nothing, so she couldn’t voice her thoughts explicitly, but there was an old, deep-seated anger in her expression.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything major.”

Although Michael had indeed intended to harm me, I waved my hand dismissively for the sake of the nanny’s mental well-being.

“He must have been curious about me tending to the garden. It seemed like he wanted to confirm whether I was genuinely doing such work, rather than just pretending to have reformed.”

Michael hadn’t actually said that, but it wasn’t entirely wrong to assume that was part of his reason for coming.

“Why would he care about what my lady does as a hobby?”

“More importantly…”

I rolled my eyes, surveying the room. Ever since I entered in Cedrion’s arms, the Norhart maids standing by the door had been watching with sparkling eyes.

“It seems he was extremely curious about whether Cedrion and I truly love each other.”

“What?”

“It was like a surprise inspection.”

As I spoke nonchalantly, the Norhart maids exchanged glances and giggled. This was the moment when today’s gossip among the castle’s servants was decided.

“Ah, so that’s why you two came back looking so affectionate? For His Highness to see?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince was glaring so fiercely! Well, it’s too late for regrets now.”

The nanny and her son, who clearly held no fondness for Michael, chattered excitedly. Even Angie smiled brightly.

But Cedrion’s face remained cold, his expression unwavering.

‘He said His Majesty recognizes only him. If he was merely acting maliciously to forget his guilt, his hatred wouldn’t be this deeply rooted.’

I had tried to probe whether Cedrion knew anything about the source of Michael’s malice, but he seemed genuinely unaware.

Either way, given how much more hostile Michael was than Cedrion had expected, Cedrion had every right to be angry.

Whatever his exact feelings, Cedrion had cherished the Odelia he had met as a child.

‘Moreover, even in terms of etiquette, it was unacceptable for the Crown Prince, no matter who he was, to treat the future Grand Duchess of Norhart in such a manner.’

Did he think that since I was terminally ill, he could treat me however he pleased?

Just as a short silence settled in as everyone in the room became lost in thought—

Knock, knock, knock.

Without waiting for permission, the door suddenly swung open, and Mila entered with a bright expression.

“My lady, I brought Dame Gwendolyn!”

She looked quite pleased with herself for having fetched Dame Gwendolyn immediately. And in Mila’s arms…

“…Hush.”

“Yaang.”

Upon spotting the calico cat cradled in Mila’s arms, Angie suddenly let out a deep sigh.

Yes. Ever since I had accepted that Angie was no ordinary child, I had also come to terms with the fact that she sighed.

Fortunately, she no longer seemed on the verge of bursting into tears at the mere sight of the calico. Instead, she simply watched it with a serious expression…

“This little one showed up again. I remembered that His Grace had taken it to Meldorf last time, so I brought it back.”

“…I see.”

Cedrion’s gaze darkened as he looked at the calico. When its emerald-green eyes met Cedrion’s sharp golden ones, the cat appeared flustered and quickly averted its gaze.

“Angie.”

Without taking his eyes off the cat, Cedrion called out to Angie.

“You said you wanted to spend time with that cat.”

Excuse me?

“You were so startled before that all you could do was cry like a baby, but now that you’ve lived for over a hundred days, you said you’d observe it calmly.”

“…Uung.”

Did she really say that?

I looked back and forth between Cedrion and Angie in confusion, but their golden eyes, though of different shades, remained firmly fixed on the calico.

Angie’s reaction toward the calico had indeed changed. Instead of responding with cries and screams, she simply observed it quietly.

Our baby was finally showing interest in adorable animals…!

That was what I wanted to believe, but Cedrion’s words were far too ominous for me to brush off lightly.

“Would it be alright not to send the cat back to Meldorf?”

“Isn’t it a cat that often goes for walks anyway? It stayed here for a few days last time too. Since Angie has taken an interest in the cat, letting her play with it for a day or two might be a good idea.”

At Cedrion’s dry remark, the vertical pupils of the calico cat seemed to tremble slightly.

“And didn’t you say it would be good for Angie to interact with a non-human living creature?”

“Hmm, I just thought it might help with her emotional development…”

Meanwhile, the calico cat had already leaped down from Mila’s arms.

“The cat really is pretty.”

“How does it keep coming from so far away?”

“Did it sneak in with the procession of His Highness the Crown Prince yesterday?”

Everyone in the reception room focused their attention on the calico cat. Mila, who had brought the cat, Dame Gwendolyn, who had hurriedly followed Mila but was relieved to see I was fine, and even the maids—all of them couldn’t take their eyes off the cat.

Perhaps burdened by the attention, the cat raised its tail high, cautiously stepping backward while scanning its surroundings…

“…Meow.”

“I’ve noticed before, but the cat seems to really like you, my lady.”

It suddenly jumped onto the sofa where I was lying and settled at my feet. Just like before, it rubbed its cheek against my ankle, slightly lifting the hem of my dress.

“Meow!”

But before it could fully press its cheek, Cedrion grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it. His expression was stiffer than ever, as if he were angry.

“Angie. Keep a close watch to make sure your mother doesn’t interact with the cat.”

“…Sigh.”

Even as Cedrion dangled the calico cat right in front of her, Angie only let out a deep sigh.

No, but what does he expect Angie to do to monitor the cat?

***

‘…This is driving me mad.’

After leaving the Grand Duchess’s chamber, Cedrion strode away as if fleeing.

‘Why am I being so sensitive about the cat?’

Last time, when Angie had reacted so strongly to it…

“Soon, the heir of Arcadia will visit this place. His purpose is to keep an eye on Odelia. The demon you spoke of will likely come along as well. At times like these, acting childish will only hinder our communication and endanger Odelia’s safety.”

The words Cedrion had whispered to Angie had proven effective, and since then, she had been very cooperative.

Thanks to that, they had successfully demonstrated in front of Michael that they were preparing to form a harmonious family as Odelia had wished. At the same time, Angie was keeping an eye on the cat she had identified as a familiar, ensuring it didn’t cause any trouble.

‘I never expected it would actually come along… But since Angie said she can handle it, I suppose it’s fine to leave it to her.’

With that thought, Cedrion recalled the placement of the shadow knights stationed around the east wing. Would that be enough? Should he increase security?

‘But more than that… that cat. Is it really a demon?’

It was said that demons’ original forms were not so different from humans.

If so, was it male?

Was that why it kept hovering around Odelia?

Each time the cat appeared, its teal eyes gleamed as it watched Odelia, which irritated Cedrion immensely.

‘Even a demon knows good taste, it seems.’

Yes, having eyes meant it couldn’t help but be drawn to Odelia, unable to look away, constantly clinging to her.

After all, who could lay eyes on that ethereal and enigmatic woman even once and not become captivated by her?

Whether in a good way or a bad way.

Lately, Cedrion felt like he had become someone else. More precisely, his heart was behaving erratically, leaving him bewildered.

It had started… yes, perhaps at the moment when he had stood with Odelia at the gates of the Grand Duchy to receive Michael.

He had escorted Odelia countless times before, but this was the first time they had linked arms.

‘It’s just an act… right?’

Odelia had only been putting on a show to avoid arousing Michael’s suspicion, yet the mere fact that their usual distance had been significantly reduced left Cedrion incredibly flustered.

And when Odelia had stood on her tiptoes and whispered something into his ear, saying that Michael’s guards might be watching them…

His heart had unexpectedly raced in a way that caught him off guard.

This wasn’t a battlefield. There was no looming fear of death. He wasn’t overcome with anger at the fall of young Ode or the suspicious deaths of his parents.

‘And just now, again…’

The sensation of that moment still lingered, making him restless.