Ciela rested her chin on her hand, frowning as if she didn’t understand.

“Why should I stop someone who wants to leave?”

“That’s because…”

“Unless you want me to say goodbye? Then goodbye. Even if our destination is the same, let’s never see each other again…”

She cut him off mid-sentence, even waving her hands from side to side for emphasis. Turbin stuttered, unable to lift his feet from the ground. Desperately, he parted his lips to speak.

“If I go, it’ll be bad for you. Are you really not going to stop me?”

“Why should anything bad happen to me? I have nothing to hide and no reason to feel guilty.”

Ciela replied confidently, shrugging her shoulders for good measure.

“Ha, but you urged me to tell the truth about my time with Lilia and promised to help me if I did!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you’re so sure, why don’t you just go to Marquis Arcel?”

“…”

Ciela tugged at the corners of her lips as she looked down at Turbin. His trembling eyes, the cold sweat on his brow and the lump in his throat betrayed his discomfort. A hypothesis flashed through her mind.

‘Maybe he’s been there.’

It was just a guess, based on his behaviour, but even if it were true, it didn’t really matter.

‘There’s no evidence that I’m the culprit, but there’s plenty to suggest that Turbin is.’

In the end, his claims could not be trusted.

So, goodbye. And let’s make sure we never meet again.”

As Ciela moved to close the carriage door, Turbin clutched desperately at it, his sweat-slicked palms threatening to slip. He clenched his fingers tightly around the edge to hold on.

‘I was so sure it would work!’

Damn it, damn it. He cursed repeatedly in his head, biting his lip in frustration. Having already been cast aside by the Marquis, his situation would remain hopeless if he failed to get Ciela on his side. Thinking furiously, his eyes widened as a new idea struck him.

‘The Marquis! Yes, the Marquis is the key!’

Turbin straightened his posture and spoke with renewed determination.

“Let me make you an offer! I’ll tell you what Marquis Arcel is hiding from you, but in return you must pay my debt!”

“Not interested.”

“It concerns the late Marquis Arcel. Are you sure you don’t want to hear about it?”

The grip of her hand on the carriage door loosened slightly.

“It is said that the late Marquis held you in special regard. It seems you can’t just ignore that.”

Seeing her reaction to his words, Turbin’s grin widened. Ciela, however, remained silent, studying his expression carefully.

‘He’s not lying.’

She remembered the countless times he had lied during his affair with Lilia – his pretence then had been completely unconvincing.

‘I had suspected something was up when I learned that the Marquis had paid off his debts.’

That information had been a gift from Uncle Ken. At the time, she had assumed that Marquis Arcel was determined to marry her off at any cost.

With her reputation tarnished by the malicious rumours and her history of a broken engagement, no eligible heir from a central noble family wanted to marry her. For the Marquis, desperate to send her away while maintaining the family’s dignity, the Turtlik would have seemed an ideal match.

But now…

‘A story about the late Marquis that the current Marquis is hiding from me?’

There was nothing she could make of his words.

“If you agree to my proposal, come to the inn where I’m staying tomorrow nigh.”

He said, giving her the location of his lodgings before adding, 

“If you miss this chance, you’ll never know the truth. Think carefully.”

Sure that she would turn up, Turbin left with a victor’s smile on his face.

‘It seems the gods have not forsaken me after all.’

To think that he had remembered his earlier conversation with the Marquis just in time – it felt like divine intervention. Turbin believed that the gods had taken pity on him and thrown him a lifeline.

‘There is no way someone like me, a scion of the Turtlik family, can stay like this forever.’

Tomorrow would be the end of his debt. The thought made his steps feel light as feathers, a stark contrast to the bitterness he’d felt earlier when Marquis Arcel had coldly cast him out.

Turbin stopped abruptly and turned his head, his gaze fixed on the spot where the carriage had been. His eyes were dark and threatening.

‘But if you think this is the end, you’re sorely mistaken, Ciela.’

It was because of her that he had ended up like this. He would stop at nothing – no matter what means or methods – to extract more money from her. He had lost everything now, but there had been a time when he had enjoyed gambling, drinking and socialising with friends.

“Heh heh heh.”

The vile schemes he had once heard in those circles swirled in his mind, sending a chill through his shoulders.

“Ack!”

A thud landed on his shoulder.

“Meow.”

A yellow cat had leapt onto his shoulder and then landed gracefully from the wall to the floor, its movement as light as a butterfly.

* * * 

In the peaceful southern village of Prochi, sunlight streamed through a cosy two-storey house with a welcoming exterior. Inside, a man in a white coat was assessing the condition of a patient.

“It looks like you’ve almost made a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! It’s all thanks to you, Doctor, that I’ve recovered so quickly.”

“Just in case, I’ll give you medicine for three more days. Please make sure you take it in the morning and evening.”

“You take such good care of me and yet I can’t even pay the full fee…”

“It is all right. A patient’s health is what’s most important, not money.”

The sunlight streaming through the window illuminated the man known as the Doctor. Although the light was bright enough to be blinding, he didn’t seem to mind and maintained a gentle smile. The patient, moved by his kindness, struggled to speak as tears welled in her eyes.

“One day I’ll repay your kindness…”

After the patient left with his prescription, the doctor’s assistant approached him.

“Mr Theodoro, a letter has arrived.”

“Hmm? Please give it to me.”

Theodoro, who had been checking a patient’s file, took the letter. The envelope bore the seal of the Arcel Marquisate.

“This is from the Marchioness of Arcel.”

With a delicate touch, he opened the envelope.

Unfolding the letter, he noticed that the handwriting, though familiar, was less neat than usual, the words pressed firmly to the paper.

[“Her health is improving.”]

That shouldn’t be possible.

Theodoro’s lips tightened into a firm line. The sunlight hitting his monocle reflected sharply, creating a glint as hard as his expression.

“It seems I’ll have to make a house call. Please make the necessary arrangements.”

“Understood.”

Theodoro removed his glasses and stood up. There were things he needed to do before he left for the house call.

He went up to the second floor and entered a room. Quietly, he checked on the children, who lay peacefully as if in a deep sleep since early in the day. He moved about the room with practiced efficiency.

—

In his cat form, Calix perched on the wall surrounding the Arcel Marquisate. His sunlit cat eyes were intently focused on a single path – the one that all carriages bound for the Marquisate inevitably took.

“…”

The sharp hearing of a cat worked in his favour. Every time he picked up the distant sound of carriage wheels, his ears twitched and his eyes scanned the road, but no carriage arrived.

-“It seems you’ve taken on your cat form. Has the future Duchess noticed yet?” 

The thought lingered, as if a playful yet worried voice echoed in his mind.

The bell on the necklace swayed gently as Rune’s voice echoed through it. Using the enchanted artefact, he sent a telepathic message from afar.

 “Yes.”

– “That’s unfortunate.”

 “I’ll check later when I return.”

– “I meant it’s unfortunate that you couldn’t continue your date. However, it’s fortunate that you will be able to return to your human form more quickly after consuming the fairy apple.”

There were no other telepathic messages.

Calix lowered his body into a reclining position. As he shifted, the bell swayed slightly but made no sound. Then the sound of rolling wheels reached his sharp ears again. Perking up, he looked down the road and saw a carriage approaching.

‘It’s Ciela.’

His sunlit eyes gleamed, and as his gently swaying tail began to rise, he froze.

‘Why is that guy there?’

Ciela’s former fiancé stood directly in front of the approaching carriage, blocking its path. Calix’s fur bristled instinctively before his tail dropped in annoyance. Glancing around, he jumped onto a tree and then another section of the wall.

 “Rune.”

– “…”

 “Don’t pretend you don’t hear me when you clearly do. If you’re not interested in a serious conversation, don’t bother.”

– “You called, my lord.”

“Come to the Arcel Marquisate immediately.”

He approached the area where the carriage had stopped. The cat’s keen hearing picked up every detail of their conversation. As he continued to observe the situation, he followed Turbin, who was walking away, along the top of the wall. Finally, with swift and agile movements, he leapt down and landed on Turbin’s shoulder with the force of a bee sting.

“Ack!”

Turbin clutched at his burning shoulder as if he’d been scalded, moaning in pain. He lifted his head and glared at the cat that had attacked him. His expression darkened further as his eyes fell on the familiar bell hanging from the cat’s neck.

“I thought it was just an unlucky cat, but it seems to take after its owner.”

“Meow.”

‘Unlucky?’

Titi unsheathed the claws hidden beneath her soft paws. Her eyes gleamed with a cold light as she leapt quickly and slashed Turbin’s cheek with a sharp slash.

“You wretched cat!”

Turbin yelled furiously, reaching for Titi. But no matter how hard he waved his arms or ran after him, he couldn’t catch him.

“Hah… hah…”

‘What kind of cat is that fast?’ 

Turbin put his hands on his thighs, gasping for breath that seemed to reach the tip of his chin. His chest heaved heavily and his head throbbed dully. Just as he was about to give up on catching the cat, Titi approached.

“Meow.”

Titi waved her graceful tail and sat down, as if inviting him to catch her effortlessly.

“Meow.”

The mocking tone in her voice was unmistakable, and Turbin’s face crumpled like a piece of paper as he glared at the smug cat. 

“That little…!” 

If he caught him, he wouldn’t let him go so easily. Seething with rage, Turbin gritted his teeth and tensed his legs before lunging at Titi with all his might.

“Stay there!”

But Titi easily avoided him. Each time he tired, she would approach him mockingly, letting out a taunting meow, only to scamper away with agile movements when he tried to grab her. This game of cat and mouse continued until they found themselves in an empty alley.