Chapter 44

Chapter 44

When he sees Rowaine, he would get drunk with her scent and feel good. Because of that, he wondered if there was a perception that Rowaine herself was willing. When it came to her, any critical thinking of his was paralyzed.

Dimitri was increasingly confused as to whether he liked her scent or if he liked her.

‘…It’s not like I can tell her to get rid of her body scent.’

For a moment, he thought then about the perfume that Rowaine had accidentally got. He wondered what if it had been the magical perfume that also affected cat shapeshifters, too…

‘Well, even so, it would have been meaningless.’

Besides, it would be too much of a waste to have to cover up that good scent with magic perfume.

Even if she thought about it, he wondered what he should do. While he liked her body scent, he was confused as to whether it actually made him happy with her or if it was just an illusion… Nonetheless, he could not tell her to get rid of the body scent, and he does like it even if there’s actually a way because he wants to enjoy it…

Dimitri quickly organized his thoughts.

It was simple.

‘I can keep her by my side until I get tired of it.’

Having gotten a clear answer, he hummed and recalled the forgotten Coco. As he continued to hum, Dimitri smacked Coco’s wheat-brown head with his fist.

“Aaak…!”

Coco, who was beaten out of nowhere, up at him in bewilderment. Meanwhile, Dimitri spoke nonchalantly without a change in expression.

“From next time on, don’t hang around when Rowine sleeps. If you sneak into a sleeping person’s room without permission, I’ll break your neck and bury you in the mountains behind here.”

“Ueunng—!”

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

After dealing with Sasha’s problems, I changed out of my sweaty clothes from the horse riding and went to see Dimitri. The butler said that he was already waiting for me in the dining room.

‘…What if he’s very angry about Sasha?’

I went down worriedly, I could see Dimitri was sitting with Coco in the dining room.

‘Ah, Coco!’

Sasha alone was not enough, Coco was now also in the main building. When I glanced at Dimitri in embarrassment, he had a surprisingly calm face.

“Why are you standing like that, Rowaine? Please come and sit down.”

At his words, Sasha suddenly appeared from behind me and sat down at the table.

“I’m hungry!”

Why is she so bold…

‘…Why is everyone so indifferent?’

Was it a dream that Dimitri said he would draw a line between the main building and the annex to separate Coco and Sasha’s territory? I was confused.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“…Oh, no.”

“It looks like the employees were struggling to take care of these guys while you were away.”

‘Heuk. There was no way he could just let this slide…’

My shoulder shook slightly as I was wondering if Dimitri was angry while still wearing a calm face. This was even more frightening if he was blatantly angry. Thinking that, I decided to open my mouth to apologize before he got any more upset.

“I’m s…”

“I’ll try to find someone to take care of these guys quickly. Don’t worry too much.”

…Yes?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

As I stared at Dimitri to observe his intentions, he was just enjoying the appetizers leisurely. With his chin, he then gestured to Coco and Sasha, who were fighting head-to-head over a large plate of meat.

“We can’t just let them act like savages with no manners like that.”

“Well, yes…”

“Or, are you going to teach them one by one? I’ll follow the way the Madam wants them to be educated.”

“No! I don’t know how to teach shapeshifters, so it’d be better to leave it to professionals.”

“Is that so? I saw earlier that you had some tricks.”

“….!”

Dimitri was also there when Sasha was agitated?

‘He didn’t hear what they said… did he?’

It was that the employees were saying that I must handle Dimitri well since I was good at dealing with cat shapeshifters…

Looking at his expression, the moment I thought he had not heard it, he chuckled.

“Oh… Come to think of it, the maids of Rowaine were excited, saying that you drained my soul* every night.”

[ T/N: drain someone’s spirit/soul (정신을 쏙 빼앗아 어지럽게 만들다.) means ‘to fascinate someone and make him/her feel dizzy.’ ]

‘Arrghh…!’

I screamed inwardly.

Even though I wanted to keep Dimitri’s mouth shut, I could not, so I put my hand here and there, thinking of what to say.

“Oh, uh… I’ll make sure, ah… the maids wouldn’t do that again. I’m sorry to make you hear something strange. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Dimitri smiled softly and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t care.”

Well, if it was not something he cared about—

“I’m just curious. Can you really drain my soul?”

“….!”

What is he talking about now…!

When I stared at him blankly in amazement, he slightly lowered his head in the same way he was slicing meat.

‘Is he… smiling?’

He seemed to think it was a funny joke. Somehow, seeing his playful reaction like that made my heart flutter.

“I can see you laughing.”

“Oh, excuse me.”

“I can still see it!”

I glared at Dimitri before pulling away Coco and Sasha, who were holding each other’s hair and fighting.

‘I guess it’s okay for these guys to come to the main building?’

I thought so because Dimitri was throwing a joke like this while having a meal together casually. Even though I was puzzled, what was good was good.

The next moment, I paid attention to taking care of the little cats’ meals.

“How much water did you guys drink today?”

“Water…?”

“I told you to drink five times a day.”

Coco and Sasha shrugged slyly.

“I said that if you don’t drink water often, you will get sick, didn’t I?”

It was the same no matter where, if your cat does not drink water. When caring for a cat, water is the most important and intensive thing that you have to pay attention to. If they did not drink enough water, they would often have bladder problems. And, if they have kidney disease, their condition would worsen quickly and die.

Since those were the most serious diseases for cats, I was teaching Coco and Sasha to pay special attention to the amount of water they drink.

“Come on, let’s drink one cup at a time.”

I have known from my experience that they would drink better if I poured warm water because of cats’ preference for warm food. When I filled Coco and Sasha with warm water just enough to drink, I then glanced at Dimitri.

“How about Dimitri?”

“….?”

“Water. Have you drank enough yet?”

“…Hmm.”

Seeing Dimitri covering his cup with his hand and hiding it under the table, I poured water into my cup and kindly handed it to him.

“Dimitri, make sure to drink at least five cups a day from now on.”

Dimitri’s eyes, staring at the glass of water in front of me, became a triangle*.

[ T/N’: ‘Eyes turned into a triangle/triangle-like shape’ is an expression that means ‘became angry or mad.’ ]

It was a peaceful meal.

Satisfied, I picked up the freshly baked, steaming bread and cut it in half. The bread baked in the oven made a very delicious cracked, crispy sound. The inside was surprisingly moist. Then, I spread butter and jam on the fluffy stuffed bread.

As I took a bite, I could see the young cats staring at me and gulping their saliva. It was then I noticed that the bread was placed only in front of me.

I whispered softly to Dimitri, who was still staring at the glass of water.

“…Do cat shapeshifters also like bread, too?”

If it was a normal cat, it would never have been given bread because it could not digest carbohydrates well due to the nature of carnivores. However, I thought it would be all right to give Coco and Sasha because they were shapeshifters.

Dimitri answered, looking away from the glass of water.

“According to their preferences.”

Taste and whether it was okay to eat were a different matter.

“Then, can I feed them?”

Dimitri nodded his head.

“It’s like junk food to us. So, even though it makes us bloated, it’s not a big deal.”

As he said that, his eyes greedily turned towards the basket of bread. Nonetheless, he soon managed to take his eyes off the bread with difficulty and continued, “Instead, it only accumulates on the body and becomes belly fat. Belly fat is terrible.”

Saying so, his hand was somehow stroking his stomach.

After all, cats tend to gain belly fat easily.

‘Even a person with such a good body takes care of their body…’

…No, was it not because he was in good shape because he took care of his body?

In the end, I quietly called the servant to remove the bread basket from the table.

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

The next day, I asked Dimitri if I could take care of the hounds he had caught yesterday.

“What do you mean, Rowaine? You’ll take care of the hounds?”

“Literally what it meant. I want to take care of them until they return to the Palace.”

Dimitri shook his head as if that was not a good idea.

“You’ve no idea how dangerous hounds are. You might think of them as just cute shapeshifters like Coco and Sasha, though they are different from Coco and Sasha.”

“How can I not know that? I’ve been trapped in their barriers twice. That alone was enough to give me a sense of how terrifying they are.”

“Then, why do you want to take care of those who attacked you?”

​​

…Because it would be a chance to be nice to the original male lead, Cadis! Then, at least I would not be treated like a villain and be punished in this world.

‘Also, wouldn’t it be good if you could look good to the main characters?’

Since Dimitri and I were both destined to be villains, if we want to get away from that vicious fate as far as possible, should you not be able to make an effort like this?

‘As long as they are hostages, I can’t let them live a luxurious life while thinking of other people’s opinions, but I can make their life here to the extent that it isn’t too painful.’

Still, I have already made a good deal with Dimitri.

“It happened because of me, and you brought the hounds at my suggestion. So, I don’t want to let it go and leave it all to Dimitri.”

“Regardless, keeping an eye on the hounds is a matter of the knights.”

“That’s natural. I just want to be in charge.”

“….”

“I have decided to take 70% of the damage compensation to the Emperor, so I’ve got to do something.”

“It’s 60%.”

Sheesh. He would not let this pass.

As I was about to grumble inside, Dimitri saw my expression and smiled, “If you try to cheat just because the negotiation is difficult, you would be in trouble, Madam.”

I raised my head, pretending that I did not hear his words.

“Anyway, now that you know. I’m busy, so I’ll get going first.”

At that, I hurriedly left his office.

‘Good, that was natural.’

__