Chapter 19
If I go to the Crown Prince’s palace like this, they’ll find out I escaped.
Still… it’s better than being completely trapped in the Princess’s palace.
‘Should I just run away before we even get there? Then this guy won’t be able to confirm that I was the weasel from the Crown Prince’s palace.’
While I was busy scheming, we had already moved quite far from the Princess’s garden.
Just as the scent of greenery faded, a strange smell tickled my nose.
‘Huh? This is…’
As the fragrance of flowers and grass disappeared, a familiar animal scent faintly lingered.
My sense of smell is sharper in animal form, but even as a beastkin, I can pick up scents others can’t.
For example…
‘A beastkin.’
Is there another beastkin nearby?
In truth, it’s extremely difficult for beastkin to completely erase their scent and blend in among humans like Head Maid Agnes. Most do their best to hide it to survive, but sometimes, even a small slip reveals their presence.
‘Don’t tell me there’s another beastkin here?’
But no matter how much I looked around, there wasn’t even a shadow of a person, let alone an animal.
‘Was I imagining it?’
Just as I started to doubt myself, a gust of wind blew past.
The scent I noticed became stronger.
‘…!!!’
I turned to look at the man holding me.
At that exact moment, his gaze dropped onto me.
“……”
“……”
He stopped walking, and an odd silence fell between us.
“You’re not an ordinary animal.”
It seemed he had noticed my reaction.
His eyes turned cold.
As if he had realized that his identity as a beastkin had been exposed.
‘If someone finds out… what do they usually do?’
It depends, but if it becomes a problem… would he silence me?
They say you can’t trust people in this world.
But from my perspective, you can’t trust beastkin either!
“Squeak!”
I scratched at the hand gripping the back of my neck and struggled to break free.
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Caught off guard by my resistance, his grip slipped.
“Ugh—”
I swiftly dropped to the ground.
Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt.
But just as his identity had been exposed, mine was now at risk too.
There’s no way either of us would be happy about this situation.
“A beastkin, huh.”
Damn it.
Seriously, you can go a whole year without seeing a single beastkin outside—so why are they crawling all over the imperial palace?!
Does this even make sense?
Why am I meeting the most beastkin in the most dangerous place?!
It felt like the world was playing some kind of prank on me.
“Can’t you change forms?”
Since I was still in animal form, he seemed to assume I couldn’t turn into a human.
In crowded places, staying as an animal is far more dangerous, so it made sense he’d think that.
‘This is a strategic transformation, you know.’
Not that he’d understand my situation.
“Squeak!”
“Since we’ve both had our secrets exposed, how about we talk openly?”
After checking that no one was around, he spoke.
Good thing there were no people nearby.
“What are you?”
Fine. At this point, what’s the point of hiding anything?
I asked bluntly.
He asked in return,
“More importantly, why did you infiltrate the imperial palace?”
With our safety on the line, neither of us could easily reveal our intentions.
Besides, if he reported me to the Crown Prince…
‘Well, he’d expose himself too.’
Reporting each other now would basically be mutual destruction.
“I’m looking for something in the palace. You?”
I crossed my tiny arms and glared sharply, trying not to look weak.
“……”
Look at that.
I answered honestly, so why is he keeping his mouth shut?
That’s not fair! Secrets are supposed to be exchanged equally!
‘Just look at his gloomy face. He must have quite the story.’
I examined him more closely.
His copper-colored eyes looked strangely familiar.
‘Why do those eyes feel familiar?’
As I tried to recall, something flashed through my mind.
‘Zen!’
Those were the same eyes as the cat in all of Princess Terea’s paintings!
“You… don’t tell me—you’re Zen?”
The moment I said the name, his body flinched.
His expression betrayed him.
‘That’s definitely him.’
Even if he didn’t admit it, his reaction said enough.
“What’s your relationship with the Princess?”
It wasn’t related to my jewel at all, so I didn’t really want to get involved—but the emptiness in Princess Terea’s eyes lingered in my mind.
And honestly, I was curious.
After a pause, he finally spoke.
“I am the Zen you’re talking about.”
“If you are, just say so. What kind of answer is ‘probably’?”
“There are certain rules for beastkin living among humans.”
“What rules?”
“If you stay in animal form, you can’t remain by someone’s side longer than that animal’s natural lifespan.”
“…?”
“If you stay too long, people will grow suspicious and discover you.”
Now it made sense.
He was talking about beastkin who live as animals, unlike me.
If a cat lived unnaturally long, people would definitely question it.
So they leave once they reach the species’ natural lifespan.
“I stayed by the Princess’s side for 17 years. I couldn’t remain any longer.”
“That makes sense… Then as ‘Zen,’ you’re considered dead?”
“That’s right. When I disappeared, it was concluded that I died.”
“Well… animals dying of old age is normal, isn’t it? Then why is the Princess in such a state?”
Losing a pet can be devastating, but to be that broken…
I couldn’t fully judge someone else’s grief, but how deep was their bond?
“There’s a reason for that.”
“A reason?”
“The Princess was born with a rare madness that appears in the imperial bloodline.”
“Madness? What do you mean—”
“It’s a hereditary disease passed down from previous generations. Some call it a curse.”
“A curse…”
This was getting complicated.
“Since childhood, the Princess has suffered from nightmares.”
“Nightmares…”
It might sound trivial, but sleep is essential for all living beings.
If you can’t sleep properly, you’ll eventually lose your mind.
“My food is dreams.”
“Your food is human dreams?”
I was stunned.
I had heard that some beastkin feed on intangible things like emotions or memories—but seeing it firsthand was something else.
“Yes. The more vivid and emotionally intense the dream, the more satisfied I feel. When I met her, I thought I’d found the perfect source.”
“Wow. That’s quite the soulmate combination.”
A princess plagued by nightmares and a beastkin who feeds on them.
“When I consumed her dreams, she stopped suffering from nightmares.”
“That really is perfect.”
A flawless symbiotic relationship.
“But when the time came for me to leave, the problem started again.”
“…Ah.”
So that was it.
Her worsening condition was because ‘Zen,’ who consumed her dreams, had disappeared.
‘That’s why she said she didn’t want to dream.’
Everything clicked into place.
“Then why did you come back in human form?”
“……”
He stayed silent.
But I could guess.
After spending over a decade together, of course he’d grow attached.
Even I felt sorry for her—how much more must he?
“You want to help her, don’t you?”
“If I can.”
He answered immediately.
Sigh… so that means my jewel is a lost cause, and all I gained is a tragic story.
“Then how did you manage being a knight at the same time? Whose knight are you?”
I became curious.
If he stayed by her side all day as a cat, how did he manage a double life so perfectly?
