At those words, a strong conviction filled me.
The person behind me was definitely Cat.
I had often worried about how he had been after everything that happened in the maze.
“Cat, I’m glad to see you’re safe!”
“Don’t start pretending to be kind now. It’s disgusting.”
Cat snapped at me.
There was anger and hatred in his voice.
‘I can’t blame him for being angry at me.’
He had every right to feel resentful.
“I’m really sorry about what happened back then. But I had things I needed to protect, too. I didn’t even know who the client was. If I followed you without question, my family back in my hometown could’ve been in danger…”
“…Family?”
His voice wavered slightly.
But, as though to compose himself, he pressed the cold, sharp blade at his waist closer.
I spoke cautiously, trying not to provoke him. I tried my best to only speak the truth.
“…You know, Cat. I was captured in Hamillon as an assassin for the Emperor. But honestly, I was framed by someone else. I didn’t deserve to be in that situation.”
“What new lie are you trying to feed me this time?”
“I swear this is the truth. I would stake my life on it.”
“Because of you… I lost everything I had worked so hard to build. I didn’t want to work with someone like Jay either! But what could I do? My little siblings were starving! What else could I do?!”
His voice was filled with emotion, and hearing that, I felt my heart ache as well.
“Do you have siblings?”
“Yeah, I have plenty.”
“I have one too. Not once did they ever listen to my requests, no matter how many times I asked.”
Looking back, I had fought with Cherry Bell a lot. We had countless arguments over trivial matters, both of us stubbornly sticking to our own beliefs.
“But still, I would do anything for that kid. I understand how you feel, Cat. If you have to kill me, then… I have no choice.”
But even so, there were still things I hadn’t finished yet.
“But not now. If I find the real culprit… then, please, kill me then. Once everything is sorted out, I’ll come find you myself.”
He fell silent, deep in thought.
Then, Perry, holding a tattered piece of clothing, returned.
She glanced between me and Cat before quickly assessing the situation. Then, she bared her teeth angrily.
“I thought I smelled a sewage rat scent from somewhere… So it was you?”
Cat didn’t back down either.
He shot back just as fiercely.
“You’re making a rat feel bad. Where did you crawl out from, street cat? Your attitude really shows you weren’t raised right.”
Perry quickly drew two daggers from her belt.
Her pupils glinted like a predator eyeing its prey.
Even I couldn’t help but feel a shiver at her cold demeanor.
At that moment, Cat let out a laugh and warned her.
“If you know what’s good for you, you should put those down now.”
But Perry didn’t move a muscle. Cat sighed deeply.
“Yeah, you’re fast. It’s obvious that a cat beastkin would be quicker than a rat beastkin. But I’ve already been cornered, with nowhere left to run.”
Cat’s voice hardened, and his words carried more than just a threat; they were filled with a determined resolve.
“If you take one more step forward, I will kill you with everything I’ve got.”
The blade at his waist was now aimed directly at my throat.
If he exerted even the slightest force, I might lose my life in an instant.
Perry bit her lip.
Her gaze shifted between me and Cat, then, after a moment, she set the dagger she was holding down onto the ground.
“Alright, fine. I did as you asked. But if you even think about trying to kill her, I’ll follow you to hell and tear your soul apart.”
But there wasn’t a trace of despair or defeat on Perry’s face.
She was too competitive to accept such a situation so easily.
‘Why is she like this?’
For a brief moment, Perry’s eyes shifted to something beyond me and Cat.
‘Wait… Could it be…’
Earlier, Sir Walton had said something in my room.
“By the way, there are so many eyes and ears around us. There must be at least ten people watching us.”
Even if they were watching me in my room, could the Emperor really have trusted only Perry to let me move freely?
She was strong, but compared to Sir Veratri, she still had a long way to go.
“…Perry, tell the others to stay away.”
“What…?”
“Aren’t there people standing behind us? The ones who said they would be watching me, not you.”
For a moment, Perry’s eyes wavered. A scream escaped her lips.
“You…! You idiot, why would you say that?!”
That’s when Cat seemed to finally turn around.
His voice, however, was unexpectedly calm.
“Looks like we’re going to die here, after all. But… this is something I prepared for when I took on this mission.”
There was an undeniable sadness in his voice. I truly didn’t want him to die here.
“Cat, what’s the point of you dying? That’s not what your siblings want…”
Cat remained silent, but Perry glared at me, her eyes filled with betrayal.
“To Cat… I did something wrong. I’m sorry. I ruined the mission you were assigned to protect me.”
If I died, it could put Perry in a difficult position.
But once again, I didn’t want to deceive Cat and put him in danger.
“If I end up dying… tell the Emperor that I acted like a fool. It’s not your fault.”
At those words, Cat gritted his teeth.
His voice, filled with anger and resentment, came from behind me.
“You piss me off.”
“…Cat?”
“Maybe this is just another way for you to trick me and stab me in the back, but even if I know that…”
The pressure from the blade against my neck lessened.
Cat’s voice, once filled with tension, grew faint like the wind.
“If I kill you now, I’d be such a disgrace to my siblings.”
With that, the knife was completely withdrawn.
I turned to look at Cat, my face full of surprise.
He, too, looked just as confused and conflicted as I felt.
“When everything’s settled, let me know. I’ll come back to kill you then. But in exchange, help me get out of here safely.”
I was at a loss for words after hearing the unexpected response.
All I could do was blink at him in confusion, and then he made an offer.
“If you agree, I’ll give you a clue about the client.”
“…You know something about the client?”
“Well, I’m not completely sure. I could have misinterpreted it. But this will definitely be helpful to you.”
This might be my only chance to approach someone who has been unreachable until now.
I turned to Perry, who was seething with anger, and pleaded with her.
“Perry, you heard that, right? Tell them not to attack Cat. I need his information!”
But her response was as sharp as a blade.
“Why should I do that?”
“This is something the Emperor wanted too! We could find out who holds a grudge against the Emperor!”
Perry glared at me with eyes full of dissatisfaction before throwing her dirty clothes on the floor.
“Ugh, so annoying!”
After kicking the ground in anger for a while, she placed her hand in her mouth and whistled a sound.
At that moment, the people in black clothes behind us disappeared with a soft rustle.
Cat, confirming this, spoke in his usual calm tone.
“I’ll give you the information about the client when I feel safe. It will be through a friend of mine.”
“Alright. I’ll wait for you, Cat.”
As he swiftly darted into the underbrush, he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Afterward, Perry stomped toward me, still furious.
“You idiot! What was that back there? It’s a good thing that guy’s softer than he looks, or you might have been dead by now!”
Perry continued to pour out her anger, but underneath it, I could feel her genuine concern for me.
“I’m sorry, Perry. But… I owe Cat a debt of the heart.”
Perry, still fuming, shot me a glare before shouting at me with a growl.
“You make me so mad! I shouldn’t have taken on this stupid mission from the start. I’ll do things my way from now on, so don’t even think about talking to me!”
***
A few days passed.
The day of the hunt festival was approaching, and during that time, I went through the same routine as before.
I had breakfast with the Emperor, visited the royal knights’ training ground, and then returned to my room—just a monotonous day, as though it was all set in stone.
During this time, there was both good and bad news.
The good news was that I had finally completed the gift for Lord Kerif, while the bad news was that I hadn’t been able to properly talk to Perry since that day.
‘She’s probably still angry.’
Every time I tried to speak to her, she would bite her lip and give me an uncomfortable look.
Seeing her expression made it difficult for me to say anything.
As the servants helped me prepare for the hunt, they chattered even more than usual because of my gloomy mood.
Then, unexpectedly, one of them asked me a question.
“Have you prepared a gift for the Emperor this time?”
“A gift? What kind of gift?”
“Usually, when lovers go off to the hunt or war, they tie a charm or a handkerchief to their sword hilt for a safe return.”
The Emperor had clearly said that hunts were just a waste of noblemen’s time.
But now that I thought about it, that was just his personal view.
‘Could it be…?’
“Could you tell me more about what the hunt is actually about?”