I recalled the attachment Isaac had shown me during my stay here. I thought he simply liked me the way children like animals. But I might have been wrong.
During my stay here, no one had meaningful conversations with Isaac. Also, Isaac spent most of his time with me. That meant he was always alone before I came. What did a cat mean to a lonely 8-year-old child?
Others despised me as an unlucky black cat, but Isaac’s eyes only showed interest towards me. For the first time in my life as a cat, I heard the word ‘luck.’ The luck that had come into Isaac’s life.
“…Meow.”
I unknowingly slipped out from behind the display case and approached the iron bars.
Isaac’s eyes widened when Isaac heard me crying.
“Mia?”
“Meow.”
Isaac looked incredulous.
I needed to find a way to escape, but was this really okay? However, I couldn’t just ignore Isaac who was crying.
Isaac hurriedly approached the bars. “Mia, how did you get here?” His eyes were filled with joy.
I squeezed my body through the bars. Once inside, I nestled into Isaac’s arms. I could see tears welling up in Isaac’s eyes.
“Mia, I… I missed… you so much… I’m so happy you came…”
Tears streamed down Isaac’s cheeks. I rubbed my cheek against Isaac’s to wipe away the tears.
Yes, I need to find a way to escape, but I’ll stay with you for a few days. This night is too long, and this place is too dark to be alone.
“But Mia, how did you find me?”
How could I explain? I just meowed once.
Isaac stared at me and muttered. “Did the maid leave the door open…? I’ll have to scold her later. What if you had run away…”
His tearful eyes reflected me. Just a moment ago, Isaac’s innocent face now showed a hint of madness.
“Mia, if you run away… I’ll kill you…”
So, who? Me? The maid? No, either way, it was a problem. I had to escape from here…! Despite really liking me so much, would Isaac really end up killing me…? I even began to worry that if I tried to escape and got caught, I might end up dead.
Isaac fell asleep holding me. The warmth of his embrace was so comforting that I too, drifted into a drowsy sleep.
* * *
Half a year passed. To cut to the chase, I failed to escape this time as well.
“Meowww—!” I flopped onto the bed and cried loudly.
How could there be no escape route in this house…?!
I had wandered around the garden for half a year looking for an escape route, but in the end, I couldn’t get out. The walls were too high. They seemed to be at least 4 meters tall, and the top was lined with sharp spikes. The main gate was also a large, thick iron door with no gaps to slip through.
I mean, what kind of house is this that it’s built like a fortress…? It seemed as if they were extremely wary of any intruders.
Come to think of it… Isaac’s special training did seem a bit odd. This house seems to be connected to something strange. Just like in the main game…
“Mia, what’s wrong?”
As I buried my head in the pillow and cried, I heard Isaac’s gentle voice. He spoke while gently stroking my back.
“Are you hungry? Want some milk?”
“Meeeeew…”
In the meantime, Isaac became even kinder to me. And also more clingy. Now, he even took me with him when he bathed.
Oh dear… You shouldn’t like me this much… I’m planning to escape before you kill me…
Still, for half a year, Isaac never harmed me. He never called me a bad child either. Instead, his evaluation of the servants towards me became harsher. Many maids and servants started getting injured.
Am I really bringing misfortune with me? Sometimes Isaac got hurt too, but he never blamed me.
“Mia, cheer up. I brought you a present.”
…A present? What kind of present? Maybe he brought something tasty.
I lifted my head and looked at Isaac while still crying. Isaac, with a childlike innocent face, looked at me and suddenly held something out.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
I gaped at the present Isaac held out. It was because of this…
It was a collar. The same one I saw in the game.
“I asked father to make it this time. Look, it even has your name on it.”
The small metal tag had the name Mia clearly engraved on it.
This is driving me crazy. Isn’t this my death flag?
“Come here, Mia.”
“Meow…!”
I quickly ran away, bristling my fur and being on guard.
Absolutely not! I won’t wear that!
As I backed away, Isaac’s eyes glowed white once again. The boy muttered in a low voice. “Mia, why are you doing this? Are you… a bad child? A bad child is…” He started mumbling again as if a strange switch had been flipped.
Agh, this is driving me crazy!
I thought things had been quiet for a while, but now I wondered what Isaac would do this time, so I approached cautiously. When I came closer and rubbed my head against his hand, Isaac’s eyes finally regained their light.
The boy smiled gently and said, “Good, Mia. Good girl…”
The feeling of a collar being fastened around my neck was quite unsettling.
Sniff… Is this really okay…?
While I was crying inside, Isaac just looked happy. Just as Isaac hugged me and laughed joyfully, there was a knock on the door, and a maid entered. She bowed her head and said,
“Milord, it’s time for your lesson in the annex.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Isaac stood up reluctantly. Then, he kissed the top of my head and said, “I’ll be back soon, Mia.”
“…Meow.”
Going to the annex for lessons again, huh.
Ever since I first witnessed Isaac’s special lessons, Isaac had often been called to the annex. And most days, he didn’t come back. He would go straight into solitary confinement.
Whenever those nights came, I would often go find Isaac and spend the night with Isaac or bring him something to eat. Knowing that a child was locked in solitary confinement, I couldn’t just ignore it without feeling guilty.
I wondered if Isaac would be locked up again today. Sometimes, he wasn’t…
Anyway, I thought I should take the opportunity to find an escape route while Isaac was at the lesson. Just as I was about to sneak out through a mouse hole, someone came in. It was the maids. …Well, I guess I’ll have to wait for a bit.
While I was waiting, the maids frowned at me.
“…How can those eyes be so scary? Like a demon…”
“Exactly. I wished it would just disappear… Let’s just start cleaning.”
The maids ignored me and began tidying up the room. One maid, changing the sheets, said, “By the way, aren’t we supposed to clean the annex? I heard we’re not allowed to go near it.”
“Haven’t you been told yet? You’ve been here for a week.”
“No…”
One of them seemed to have joined recently.
The senior maid, diligently sweeping the floor, said, “Never go near the annex, no matter what sounds you hear. That’s the rule.”
One of the things I had learned over the past six months was that not everyone in the Marquis Dias household knew what happened in the annex. Some thought Isaac was locked in solitary confinement simply because he was misbehaving. No, that’s not normal either. Everyone is so indifferent…
I glared at the maids while sitting by the window.
“By the way, how did you end up here? Nobody wants to work here.”
“Ah, the pay is good… But it’s not as scary as the rumors say.”
Huh? Rumors? What are they talking about now?
