CH 21

“Oh my. What is this basket doing here?”

I jumped at the sudden voice I heard and lifted my head.

A pretty maid was looking at me, in other words, she was looking down on the basket I was lying inside. I scrunched up my face and internally grumbled. Crap.

Nyaong—

This is mine.

As I aggravatedly declared my ownership, the maid giggled. I relaxed my mind a bit at her sunny smile. But seeing her laugh like that, she probably hadn’t come to get back the clothes. If she was going to take back the basket I worked my ass off to drag here, I might throw a tantrum and faint.

“Is this yours?”

At the maid’s question I replied, Nyaong.

Yeah. Is mine. Definitely not stolen. Was not the clothes spread out on the laundry lines.

“I’m on my way to the Crown Prince’s palace. I’ll carry it for you.”

At the unexpected words, I waved my tail. Big sister is the best.

It seemed I was born with this luck. That was the only thing that could explain it.

After transporting the clothes safely with the help of the passing angel big sister, the rest was done at great speed. Going out after having hidden the clothes underneath the bed, someone had dropped a pair of shoes, and I gained them without difficulty. Having lost not just one perfectly good shoe, but two, that human must have been quite sloppy.

Anywho, after storing the clothes and shoes under the bed, I couldn’t be more confident. Now I would no longer be naked and shivering with cold. The only thing left was preparing the money, but…

I looked up at the building I had returned to and steeled my mind.

No matter how easy it was, I absolutely couldn’t steal the money of the maids and servants. If I were to steal, I would have to rummage the pockets of some rich noble person.

When I was in elementary school, my homeroom teacher had said something like this.

When you grow up, you can become a doctor and you can become a lawyer; you can become an astronaut and you can become a thief. No matter what you become, dream big. Even if you do become a thief, become a great thief.

I had been a bit moved by those words. So that night, I told my grandpa. When I grew up, I would rob the Bank of Korea. My grandpa laughed heartily, saying his poop puppy was cute, and gave me a thumbs up. Later, I received a few blows on my butt from my mom. Because my butt hurt so much, I couldn’t help but put aside that ambitious dream, but it must have been my destiny. In any case, I was planning to empty the pockets of the nobles.

The place I was entering now was the building where the morning briefings were held. This was not only the place that hosted the morning briefings, it was also the venue where the nobles gathered to discuss state affairs. The only place I had gone into was the briefing room, but there were many other rooms besides that. Thinking about it, other than here in the palace, there was no places that the nobles frequented. In other words, this place was perfect place for Phantom K to run amok.

I checked if the pouch that Julia had knitted for me as a present was securely hanging around my neck, then walked inside. From this moment, I was Phantom K.

***

“Your Highness.”

At the maids’ greeting, I glanced over in the direction of the door. Sugar Prince, who made eye contact with me, walked over in my direction. But I turned my head back sharply and glared at the wall.

“Why are you in a bad mood?”

Sugar Prince asked as he stroked my back. I slapped away Sugar Prince’s hand with my tail.

Sugar Prince, who was still for a moment, picked me up and held me in his arms. Hisss, I complained a fit, but he didn’t take heed of it. Holding me tight in his embrace and gently patting my butt, I felt the anger that had welled up in my heart settle down. Sugar Prince’s hand was a magic hand. 

Sugar Prince, who had scratched the scruff of my neck and stroked my head and back for a long time, suddenly stopped his hand. He noticed the basket off to the side and asked Julia.

“What is this?”

Feeling my anger that had settled down rise up again, I kicked the basket fiercely with my hind paw.

“They are the things that several nobles sent through Duke Richt, asking to give to Butterfly. Your Highness.”

Julia said with a voice full of laughter. I scratched with my paws at Sugar Prince’s chest with sheathed claws.

Don’t listen to her. Don’t listen!!

But even at my desperate request, Sugar Prince asked again.

“Why did they?”

At Sugar Prince’s question, Julia covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, pft, and her shoulders shook. I’m finished. I silently unsheathed my claws and began shredding the bedsheets.

It was all perfect until my break-in.

I could easily find my way into the nobles’ break room.

In the break room, several humans were sitting on the sofas and chatting. I lowered my body close to the floor and found my target, then started moving. My choice of making the breakroom my target was superb. The nobles each took off their coats and draped them nearby. I eyed the outer pockets and slowly drew closer. Then I pushed my head inside the pocket and took out one gold coin with my mouth. But then,

“Is that not His Highness the Crown prince’s cat?”

Fuck-me-lation. I had been caught red-handed by some gramps.

As I was frozen stiff, I was plainly exposed to the gazes of the humans looking at me.

The humans that had slowly gathered around me looked back and forth between myself, the gold coin I held in my mouth, and the pocket I had just taken my head out of. I thought that I should pretend to be another cat and run away. But the humans didn’t just leave me alone like that.

The gramps who had first discovered me laughed heartily and went,

“It seems it needed some pocket money. Here, take my gold coin, too. Hahaha.”

As he said this, he took out a gold coin and slipped it inside the pouch around my neck. And while I was in shock, the other humans got excited and took out gold coins and started to put it in my pouch. The small personal pouch that Julia had knitted for me was soon filled to the brim with gold coins.

Hiss!

Are you crazy?!

I used my paw to slap away the gold coins piled in front of me, took off my pouch, and flung it at the gramps. Then, hiss, I gave them a scare and escaped. How humiliated and ashamed I was. It was to such an extent that as I ran back here, a tear or two squeezed out. Fuck Phantom K.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

When I was cooped up on the bed and humiliated, thinking up ways to die, someone knocked. Julia, who waited on me, had gone out and now brought in a pretty basket. She said:

“I was told Duke Richt said to give this to you. I heard you got pocket money from the nobles? How happy you must be, Butterfly.”

I was knocked down by the basket filled with my pouch and gold coins. The humans must have thoroughly known the best way to disgrace me. My pride broke into pieces and turned into dust.

As I kicked at the basket with all four paws, Sugar Prince laughed aloud. I narrowed my eyes at him.

Are you making fun of me too?

It seemed that Sugar Prince was a bit intimidated when I scowled at him aggressively. He stopped laughing and stroked my head. Because his hand was so full of care, I couldn’t help but decide to forgive Sugar Prince.

“Put this inside the drawer, so it can take it out and use it when it wants.”

Giggling, Julia put the gold coin basket inside a drawer. I hissed and made a fuss, saying I didn’t need any of that money, but it was no use.

I tore at the bedsheets again unleashing my wrath upon it.

Damn humans, just wait until I become a human. I’ll take that basket and throw it in your face! Just wait, I say!