Chapter 14
No matter what the reason was, what Azure had done was something that could never be excused. And the same went for Shane, who had followed her.
“Neya didn’t come here of her own will, but from the moment you choose to follow someone like that and call her your mother, Neya will also suffer considerable harm,” Shane continued, his voice stern enough to feel harsh.
“Don’t think of someone like that as your mother.”
“……”
Neya couldn’t answer at all. She only lowered her gaze, her expression dark.
No matter how fiercely they fought, a little time would pass and things would fade away as if nothing had happened. That was why the fights between Shane and Azure never lasted long.
A few days passed like that.
Early one morning, an unfamiliar envelope was sitting on the table. It looked like a maid who had come in for work had left it there.
“We even get letters here now,” Azure said.
The place where Azure lived was hidden by magic, and its address wasn’t known, so they had never once received a letter before.
“It’s probably from the Duke,” Shane said.
“Say something that makes sense,” Azure snorted.
Ever since Azure had been exiled, the Duke hadn’t sent a single letter.
“…?”
But when Azure checked the name of the recipient on the envelope, her expression turned puzzled.
“Shane. This letter’s for you.”
“What?” Shane reacted awkwardly.
Like Azure, Shane hadn’t had any reason to receive letters since coming to the countryside. Taking the letter, he checked the sender and let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s from my second older brother.”
“Oh, him?” Azure burst out laughing.
“He sent it because of Neya, right?”
“Probably. I thought he was the type you couldn’t even prick without drawing a drop of blood, but I guess he has some affection after all.”
Listening to their conversation, Neya blinked.
“Shane, you have a family too?”
“…Of course,” Shane replied, sounding incredulous.
“I have parents, and two older brothers.”
“Wow!”
“Hey, kid. One of my brothers is someone you know pretty well,” Azure said with a mischievous smile.
Someone I know well?
Neya looked at Azure, confused. She had grown up entirely in the cat shop, and even after being adopted, the people she met were limited. So she couldn’t easily guess who Azure meant.
“The cat shop owner is Shane’s older brother.”
“…!”
Neya’s eyes widened. To think Alex and Shane were brothers! They didn’t look alike at all, so she’d never imagined it.
“Dad and Shane were family?”
“Yes, well… I’m not very close with him,” Shane replied.
From a young age, Shane had never been able to get along well with his brothers. Still, thanks to Alex, he had been able to meet Neya, so he no longer felt as uncomfortable toward Alex as before.
More than anything, seeing this, he does seem kind of human, in his own way.
Shane stared at the letter in his hand. Neya was lovable by nature, so even someone as stiff as Alex might feel the emptiness of her absence.
“If you want, should we go visit him together sometime?”
Knowing how attached Neya had been to Alex, Shane spoke up first. And since Alex had even sent a letter, he seemed to want to see Neya too.
“Ah…”
But Neya hesitated at his words. Old memories surfaced.
“No…”
At the noticeably darkened look on Neya’s face, both of them tilted their heads in confusion.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Well, before… I heard Dad saying bad things about Hugh.”
This was the first time Neya had talked to Azure about Hugh. Just like on the first day she’d met Shane, she told them about Hugh.
Hearing it, Azure let out a scoff.
“That really sounds like him.”
Knowing Alex fairly well, Azure could only laugh. Shane felt the same.
Shane already knew that Hugh had run away. Neya had told him, and Alex had occasionally mentioned Hugh as well. Sometimes, when the family gathered, Shane would hear updates from Alex about running the cat shop.
And every time, Alex always said the same thing.
He talked about “one catsha who causes endless trouble.”
Talented in magic, but never listened to a word anyone said—always breaking walls whenever he got the chance—so he complained about all the losses piling up.
Though he felt sorry for Neya, Shane sympathized more with Alex. Someone lively and lovable like Neya was one thing, but imagining a catsha you couldn’t handle no matter how much you coaxed them was exhausting just to think about.
“I miss Hugh…”
To Neya, Hugh was a good friend, so she still longed for him.
“I wish I could at least send him a letter. I wonder what Hugh is doing now?”
“What are you asking for? Wherever he is, it’s probably hard for him to be doing fine,” Azure said bluntly, without a trace of sugarcoating.
Neya’s eyes wavered at her words. Beside her, Shane began to panic.
“Why—why not?” Neya asked urgently.
“Why else? He’s a catsha. If someone were going to catch him, they would’ve done it already.”
The cat shop Neya had lived in was the only one legally operated in the Empire. Its catsha could only be adopted by nobles, and the environment of the adopting household was regularly inspected. Various documents were required throughout the process.
Because of that, the catsha staying at the shop were treated well.
But catsha outside of that didn’t live in such good conditions. And if they were caught by an illegally operated shop, their fate was basically sealed.
“Especially him—he’s a mage, right? And isn’t there a civil war going on in the neighboring empire? He’ll probably be sold off there.”
“Lady Azure…” Shane finally tried to stop her, unable to watch any longer.
But Azure looked at him boldly, as if asking what the problem was.
…Could Hugh really be in danger?
Anxiety welled up again in Neya’s heart. She’d believed Shane and reassured herself that Hugh would be fine.
But after hearing Azure, she felt restless all over again.
“It’s okay, Neya. Nothing will happen,” Shane tried to comfort her, but his words didn’t reach her ears.
Normally, the maids handled the shopping, but Shane took Neya out under the pretense of going to the market. He wanted to help lift her spirits.
Usually, she would be bouncing with excitement, thinking about buying a toy every time they went out.
But Neya still looked listless.
Unsure how to cheer her up, Shane kept her by his side and headed to a vegetable stall.
There are a lot of people today.
Growing bored, Neya glanced around. It was usually a quiet village, but perhaps because it was market day, the area was quite crowded.
Then, a certain remark caught her ear.
“I know what that is. It’s a catsha, right?”
“…?”
At the mention of “catsha,” Neya turned her head toward the voices. Two women were talking nearby.
“I’ve seen one around here too. I was going to visit a friend in the next village, and there was a child wandering around alone. When I got closer, they turned into a cat and ran away.”
“Oh my, so people like that really exist. How fascinating.”
Catsha were famous, but since commoners rarely got to see them, such sightings were unusual in small villages like this.
“I heard from my friend that they’ve been showing up around the neighboring village too. Maybe they’ve settled there…”
All the rumors were pointing to one person.
The moment she realized that, Neya walked up to them.
“Um.”
At the sound of a child’s voice, the women looked down at her.
“Is it true? About a person turning into a cat?”
Seeing Neya’s wide, sparkling eyes looking up at them, the women’s expressions softened.
“Yes. Why do you ask? Are you curious?”
“No, I’m a catsha too.”
Neya took great pride in being a catsha. So she said it boldly, without hiding it—though the women still looked surprised.
Neya continued without minding their reaction.
“I was wondering if it might be my friend. Did you see anything else, besides them turning into a cat?”
Thinking it could be Hugh, Neya’s heart raced.
Perhaps sensing her urgency, one of the women tried hard to recall.
“I only saw them briefly, so the only thing I remember is…”
“What about how they looked? Don’t you remember their appearance?”
“Their appearance? Hmm…”
After a moment of thought, the woman raised her index finger horizontally and held it near her bangs.
“Their bangs were neat like this, and their eyes were purple, I think. Oh, and their hair was jet black.”
“…!”
It perfectly matched Hugh’s appearance.
