Through his teary, blurred vision, Raphel saw the cat approaching him.
“Kitty…!”
As the cat got closer, Raphel wailed even louder.
He was so happy and grateful that the cat came back.
“Meow.”
The cat stopped a few steps away from Raphel and stared very intently at the crying child.
It looked like he was thinking deeply about something.
Its wide pupils, reflecting the darkness, were trembling slightly as they looked at Raphel, who was crying sadly like a child who lost his parents.
“Sniff… Kitty, don’t go. Please…”
Raphel rubbed his swollen eyes with his tiny hands.
No matter how much he wiped, the tears kept flowing, leaving his eyes red and puffy.
“Meow.”
The cat, which had been watching Raphel, moved.
It approached and climbed onto Raphel’s lap, licking the area around his eyes that were shedding hot tears.
It seemed as if he was comforting Raphel by telling him not to cry or telling him that it would hurt if he rubbed his eyes so hard.
“Sniff… Sniff…”
Raphel held the cat in his arms.
The cat no longer resisted, staying in Raphel’s arms and continuing to lick his tearful eyes.
“Don’t go, Kitty.”
“Meow.”
Was it Raphel’s voice pleading not to go that stopped the cat?
Or was it a memory that had been buried deep in its heart?
The cat remained still, nestled in Raphel’s arms, soothing him until his tears stopped.
Meanwhile, while Raphel and the cat were nestled together outside, the mansion was being turned upside down.
“Find him. Now!”
Chase’s angry voice rang loudly throughout the mansion.
The child had gone missing from his room, and no one had seen him leave.
The entire household was thrown into a frenzy, all the servants had to go looking for Raphel.
From the 1st to the 4th floor. Stairs, warehouses, kitchens and even the basement.
The servants searched all over the mansion, and the knights searched throughout the garden.
An hour later…
“Found him!”
A knight’s shout echoed through the mansion.
Chase immediately headed to the garden.
As he reached a secluded area where people rarely visited, he was able to see Raphelion being held in the knight’s arms.
When he saw his nephew safe, his heart filled with relief.
“Raphelion.”
“Uncle…”
Raphel held the cat in his arms and looked at Chase.
His tears had mostly stopped, thanks to the cat’s comfort.
“Come here.”
When Chase opened his arms, Raphel nestled into his embrace.
“What should we do with the cat?”
“Take it away.”
At Chase’s command, the knight reached for the cat in Raphelion’s arms.
“No! No, stay kitty!”
However, Raphel stubbornly refused and hugged the cat in his arms even tighter.
The cat had lost the opportunity to run away and was unable to escape Raphel’s arms, putting it in an awkward position.
“Raphelion. Let go of the cat.”
From the first time he saw the cat, he thought there was something strange about it. No matter how good a cat’s jumping ability was, it wasn’t possible to reach such high places, and it was annoying how much attention it was getting.
Also, Raphelion, who suddenly disappeared, was found with the cat.
It was very suspicious.
“No! I want to keep kitty! Lizelle is gone, so I need kitty!”
Raphel buried his face in the soft cat fur and swallowed the tears that threatened to burst out.
Lizelle left, he didn’t want the cat to leave too.
“Sigh…”
Chase couldn’t win against his nephew’s stubbornness.
Since he was already so heartbroken over her leaving, it seemed to be fueling his obsession with the cat.
Pushing the matter would only cause him to rebel.
“What should we do?”
“Take him to his room first.”
He decided to make an exception for his nephew.
He just barely found his nephew and didn’t want to be so strict from day one.
“Return to your respective positions.”
After ordering the servants to disperse, Chase returned to his room holding Raphel.
“Young master!”
Tia, who was waiting in the room, saw Raphel and hurriedly ran over.
“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried.”
Tia’s face was white with guilt because Raphelion had disappeared while she was away for a while.
She had a duty to take good care of the child.
If Raphel got hurt or sick, it was clearly her fault.
“I’m sorry, Duke. It’s all my fault. I’m really sorry.”
Tia repeatedly bowed to Chase and apologized.
“It’s okay Tia!”
“Young master…”
Raphel was in a much better mood after returning to the room with the cat.
So, he patted Tia’s lowered head with his small hand as he was held by Chase.
“It’s okay!”
Tears welled up in Tia’s eyes at the comfort.
She vowed to protect Master Raphelion no matter what happens in the future.
At that moment, Raphelion gained a loyal follower.
“We’ll discuss this later.”
Chase spoke coldly and handed Raphel to Tia, then whispered something to Rohan.
“There should be at least one.”
Rohan responded immediately after hearing what Chase said.
“Bring it right away.”
“Yes.”
When Chase gave the order, Rohan quickly left the room.
Chase confirmed that the door and window were tightly closed and observed the cat nestled in Raphel’s arms with a sharp gaze.
“Young master, Lady Wilhazelle asked me to tell you that she will definitely return soon.”
Tia spoke in a gentle voice as she placed Raphel on the bed.
“…Lizelle?”
“Yes. She promised she would come back and that you’d see her again very soon.”
“Really?”
Raphel, looking as if he might burst into tears like an overinflated balloon, whimpered with anxiety.
“Truly! She made a promise. She even came to see you sleep before leaving”
At Tia’s words, Raphel’s eyes widened with a mix of emotions. He immediately turned to look at Chase standing behind him.
“Uncle…”
Unconvinced by Tia’s words, Raphel demanded confirmation from Chase.
“It’s true. The young lady will return soon.”
Chase nodded as he replied.
Only then did Raphel feel at ease.
His uncle would never lie to him.
“Tell her to come quickly! Raphel is waiting!”
Raphel was happy and excited and rubbed his face against the long white cat fur.
“Kitty, do you miss Lizelle too?”
“Meow.”
Raphel chuckled, enjoying the body temperature of the cat in his arms.
The sadness that had overwhelmed him earlier dissipated like rain clouds parting after a storm.
“I brought it.”
Rohan, who had left the room, returned.
Without delay, Chase gestured toward the cat’s collar with his eyes.
If Raphel was going to keep a suspicious cat by his side, precautions had to be taken.
“Young master, would you like to see this?”
Rohan slowly approached Raphel, as if he had something to show him, and attached a small object to the jewel on the cat’s collar.
“Meow!”
“Ugh…”
The moment it was attached, the fierce cat scratched Rohan’s hand with its claws, but he succeeded.
The cat used its paws to try to knock away the black object covering the ruby on its collar.
“Kitty?”
Raphel was shocked by the cat’s sudden movements.
“Hissss!”
“Kitty!”
The cat jumped out of Raphel’s arms and thrashed around the room, trying to remove the black object covering its jewel.
It bit at the object with its sharp teeth and even rolled around on the bed to try to get the collar off, but to no avail.
“Hissss!”
The cat was so angry that it lashed out at Chase.
However, Chase merely crossed his arms and met its odd-colored eyes with an unyielding gaze.
“Uncle! Kitty doesn’t like it!”
When the calm cat suddenly lost its temper, Raphel began jumping up and down in distress.
“It’s okay, it will get used to it soon. Without this, the cat cannot stay by your side.”
The black object newly attached to the cat’s collar was a magic device.
It was a magic-restricting artifact.
Once attached to the target, it completely suppressed their ability to use magic.
The finely crafted artifact detected even the slightest magical fluctuations or the target’s emotions. It not only suppressed magic but also prevented the target from engaging in any threatening behavior if murderous intent was detected.
There was even a movement restriction function that prevented the wearer from going beyond a set radius, making it impossible to leave the mansion at will.
This versatile artifact was impossible to remove without a special key.
Although it came at a steep price, it was nothing compared to the concern Chase had for his nephew.
Even if the suspicious cat was just an ordinary cat, Chase couldn’t afford to take chances.
Since no leads had been found on the culprit behind the carriage accident, there was no harm in being careful.
“Hissss!”
The cat continued to bare its sharp teeth at Chase, attempting to remove the artifact.
Chase chuckled as if the cat was amusing.
Then, a smirk crept across his face.
‘Ridiculous…’
The cat thought to itself that it wanted nothing more than to slash that smug face with its claws.
