Chapter 348

It was a comfort very much in Kishiar's style.

And in some ways, Yuder felt a confidence in those words as if he could handle whatever clumsy act Yuder might perform. A somewhat subtle feeling arose in him as well.

'It's more comfortable to gather my thoughts, thanks to that.'

After all, the reason he accepted this role and resolved to do his best was entirely because of Kishiar. No matter how he looked at it, the fact that Kishiar would turn the situation upside down on his own if left alone, and that things would end that way, remained unchanged. So, even if he couldn't do well, he intended to do as much as he could.

'As I keep doing it, anything will improve. Just as always.'

He sorted out his thoughts and was scanning the surroundings while staying by Kishiar's side when, all of a sudden, a small ornamental tree not far from them rustled abnormally.

"Commander, be careful."

Reacting reflexively, Yuder stepped forward to use his abilities but stopped and froze his movements a moment later when he spotted a cat peeking out from between the leaves.

'A cat...?'

"How touching. You would even try to protect me from such a small cat. It was thrilling, but please remember that your body has not fully recovered," Kishiar said with a slight chuckle, while the cat looked at them for a while and then slowly approached, twitching its nose. Its chest and belly were white, but its face and back were tinged with red, and it had long, yellow fur.

"I apologize. I thought even someone like Nahan would be at Tainu, so I was a little... overly cautious."

While he was replying, the cat drew closer to Yuder's feet and brushed against his leg. When he looked down, it brushed against the other leg too.

"It seems to like you."

"...I think it's just hungry."

The existence of the cat itself somehow felt different, perhaps because of the story he heard from Pruelle the day before. But Pruelle's younger sibling wouldn't wander around a place like this, and they would meet them at the estate soon anyway. Yuder shifted his step to avoid the cat that kept rubbing against him. But the cat did not go its own way; it continued to follow Yuder.

"..."

"Judging by its clean fur, it is probably a domestic cat. We should tell the estate servants to find its owner."

As Kishiar bent down and reached out his hand, the cat retreated, appearing cautious. But when Yuder reluctantly lowered his hand, the cat approached again as if nothing had happened.

"That's a cat with a distinct taste."

Amid Kishiar's laughter, Yuder ended up carrying the cat to the estate instead of Kishiar.

But upon arrival, the estate's atmosphere was markedly different than usual. There were many servants wandering around the building, and the vibe was somehow anxious.

"Your Highness Duke Peletta! What brings you here?"

"We were out for a walk. But... I see more people here than usual; what has happened?"

"That is..."

The servants exchanged awkward glances as if they thought Duke Peletta would be displeased by the situation. But a moment later, someone spotted Yuder, who was standing a step back, and yelled out, forgetting the situation altogether.

"Wait. The cat! That's the cat!"

"The cat! We've found the cat!"

The surrounding servants all rushed toward Yuder. The cat's fur bristled, and it hissed in discomfort, but it calmed down again as Yuder stepped back.

"What on earth is going on?"

"You've found the cat? Where?"

Kishiar's eyes narrowed as he asked the question, his voice filled with urgency. From behind him came a desperate cry. The one who had run up to him was a familiar stranger with red hair, the same one he had seen yesterday.

As soon as Pruelle saw the cat that Yuder was holding, he looked overjoyed and squeezed his eyes shut before taking a deep breath and bowing to Kishiar.

"I present myself to Duke Peletta... I am Pruelle van Tain."

His hair and clothing were in complete disarray, incomparable to what he had looked like the day before. Even though he seemed flustered, he did not forget to act formally, as they were technically meeting for the first time. Kishiar smiled faintly at this.

"Ah, The first child of Tain. I heard you were coming. Is this cat yours?"

"...I regret to appear in such a state before you, but yes."

The moment that what was assumed to be untrue was revealed as fact, Yuder felt as if the weight of the cat in their arms had suddenly become incredibly heavy. Even though Yuder knew that transformation into an animal didn't affect behavior or habits, the cat looked so much like a regular cat that it was hard to believe it had once been human. Yuder had heard that it was more comfortable in cat form, but this was unexpected and slightly confusing. Kishiar also looked at the cat for a long time before turning his eyes back to Pruelle. A significant exchange of glances occurred between the two.

"So that's what happened. How did you lose it?"

"My cat is very skittish and afraid of people. When a servant opened the door to bring breakfast, the cat got startled and escaped through the gap, and we couldn't find it until now."

"Hmm... But the cat seemed to like my company. We met while I was taking a walk, and it refused to leave me. It was quite a struggle, but it was good that I brought it to find its owner."

Pruelle looked at Yuder, who was holding the cat, with a complex expression.

"So that's... what happened."

Yuder handed the cat back to Pruelle. The cat, which had not made a sound until then, let out a soft cry for the first time. Pruelle stroked the cat with trembling hands, repeating words of gratitude several times.

"I cannot just let you go without thanking you properly for finding my cat. Would you like to come up and have some tea?"

The situation had changed slightly from what had been planned, but the answer was already decided. Kishiar replied nonchalantly that he had no other obligations, and he headed to the guest room in Pruelle's residence with Yuder. After dismissing the servants, Pruelle put down the cat, exhaled the breath he had been holding, and looked at it affectionately.

"Oh, Nipollen."

His once stiff and dignified appearance had vanished like a mirage.

"This is not our home; I told you to be careful. It's fortunate that the Duke found you, but what would have happened otherwise...!"

The cat, as if acknowledging its mistake, looked away and licked its paw. Kishiar, who had been watching the scene with interest, spoke up as he sat down.

"Is that cat really your younger brother? It's hard to believe even after seeing it."

"Yes. It's true. This is my younger brother, Nipollen van Tain."

"Can he not turn back into human form here? I have some questions I'd like to ask him directly."

"After calming down a little, I will speak. As I told you yesterday, Nipollen was born with a disease peculiar to the family lineage, so he does not communicate freely with others."

"It doesn't seem to be a physical problem... Is it a mental issue?"

"Yes. That's correct."

After saying this, Pruelle petted the cat for a long while before finally explaining more about this 'disease peculiar to the family.'

"In the Tain family, there are very occasionally those born who, despite being physically sound and conscious, close their mouths and refuse to communicate with others, living their entire lives like this. Since most of their time is spent submerged within themselves, they either ignore unfamiliar external stimuli or become fearful of it."

Pruelle guessed that this condition was a symptom manifested in those who were born with a strong tendency of the universal trait in the Tain family to obsess over one thing. With that thought, he considered that the difference might only be whether the trait was stronger or weaker, and that if so, all the people of the Tain family might not be very different from Nipollen.

In Nipollen's case, the symptoms were not very severe, so he occasionally communicated with others and even directly revealed his intentions, but only his siblings recognized it.

"If you meet him in person, you will see that he is a lovely child with no problem living together even though he has the disease, but his parents never visited him."

Pruelle said it was far better for someone to be interested in themselves than only interested in gambling. One could see where Pruelle's words, 'You don't know unless you see it,' came from.

Pruelle brought a small bowl of water for the cat. While the cat was drinking water and licking its fur to calm itself, the three began the conversation they originally needed to have.

"Last night, after returning as I was, I met with Baron Willhem. Based on what I know about the family, I questioned him, and he easily provided information about the secret trade. Fortunately, he firmly believes that I will be the next duke."

Baron Willhem was someone who faithfully followed the Tain family, but it was not from true loyalty. He was mindful that he could lose his place as lord of Tainu without the mercy of the Tain family. Therefore, he naturally showed weakness in the words of the first child, Pruelle, who had a high probability of becoming the next duke of the Tain family.

"According to the Baron, the three knights who died in the Great Sarain Forest were apparently tasked with eliminating information related to my father's new investment business at the base there. I thought this investment business was the 'secret trade' that you mentioned, and proceeded accordingly. Then..."

Pruelle's guess was not wrong. The new investment business that Duke Tain had been conducting for over a year, keeping it a secret even from most family members, was made up of vile and nauseating plans.

"My father seems to have invested a lot of money in bringing in things that were originally not importable, joining hands with powerful figures in a country to the west. According to the Count, there was talk of hardship in opening a new base about a year ago to bring these things in more covertly."

"What kinds of things were being brought in? Did he mention?"

"It seemed to be more than one or two things, but the most troublesome part... was people," he had said.

A dark shadow flickered over Pruelle's dark red eyes.

"I couldn't hear more details due to time constraints, but among the Baron's acquaintances, there are those I have known personally since childhood, and I have made contact with them. I should be able to tell you more by tomorrow."

Kishiar slowly nodded his head. There was nothing entirely new in the information that Pruelle had provided, but that very fact made it all the more trustworthy.

'He passed the test.'

"Thank you. It mustn't have been easy to find out that much in such a short time, risking suspicion. You've worked hard."

"Not at all."

As Kishiar praised him with a smiling face, Pruelle quietly bowed his head.

"The fact that Your Majesty mentioned the secret trade that even I was unaware of means that you already knew this much. Therefore, I cannot accept that I have worked particularly hard for this."

"Aren't you upset?"

"Why would I be? Rather, I am very pleased, as it confirms that my choice was correct."

Pruelle smiled silently and then rose from his seat. He approached the cat that had been sitting quietly, crouched down, and whispered softly.

"Now, you can return now, can't you? Nipollen."

At that, the cat's body puffed up while still sitting, swelling and growing larger. Moments later, a small and frail-looking child revealed himself in its place.

In contrast to Pruelle, who had ordinary features, Nipollen had an unblemished white complexion and an appearance that made it difficult to easily guess the gender. If it were not for their similar hair color and eye color, it would have been hard to believe they were blood-related.

"How old are you, child?"

"I turned 13 years old just after my recent birthday."

Being 13, Nipollen was older than Jimmy, the youngest member of the Cavalry. However, looking at the physique alone, it did not seem that way at all.