The Cat That Wanted Nothing to Do with Me
With a loud yawn and a stretch, Charlotte lifted her eyelids to the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
The vast, open room beyond the window showed nothing but endless blue sky. Though she remained completely nude beneath the blanket, the fabric kept her warm, and thanks to yesterday’s recovery, her skin still gleamed with a soft, healthy shine.
A gentle smile curved the corner of Charlotte’s lips just as she sensed a presence from the side.
“……Oppa?”
“……”
Of course the source was Isaac, yet his expression looked rather strained.
Charlotte tilted her head in confusion and asked.
“Why do you look so gloomy, oppa.”
“……”
“Want me to check your chest?”
She spoke the words playfully, then lifted the full mound beneath her, making the two plump swells bob lightly.
Isaac’s gaze was briefly stolen by that gentle sway, yet he still showed no intention of reaching out. He gave a low sigh, and only then did Charlotte realize her mistake and blink in alarm.
“Why…… is that so? Is there really something wrong?”
“……No……”
“It doesn’t sound like no……”
She crawled off the bed and made her way to the edge where Isaac was already seated.
While stroking her hair with unusual gentleness, he stayed stubbornly silent.
How could he speak now? Last night he had wanted nothing more than to finally satisfy his desire, but he had fallen so completely he hadn’t even managed that.
He simply couldn’t bring himself to voice the words.
In the end, with a sigh heavy with unspoken meaning, Isaac rose to his feet.
“It’s really fine. Let’s just go eat. Elena already found us a good restaurant.”
“Eh? I see, but oppa, why are you—.”
“I’ll head out first……”
“Oppa? Oppa??”
Isaac moved with surprising speed, slipping out of the room before Charlotte could even grab his arm. He closed the door behind him without a sound.
Left alone in the suddenly quiet room, Charlotte blinked in bewilderment.
“……What the hell.”
She puffed out her cheeks and let out a genuinely disappointed voice.
She genuinely had no idea why her brother was acting this way.
Last night the aftermath had been handled quickly by Isaac, but Charlotte had still gone to the bathroom to wash herself briefly before stepping out.
While drying her light-blue hair with a towel, she began to think.
“Mmm……”
Well, whatever. She had to eat, after all. Isaac’s strange behavior was one thing, but she had to eat.
For the time being she decided to enjoy the time she would share with Elena and the others. After all, she wanted to be called “sister,” and she was the only woman who could be considered close to Isaac.
“……”
While taking out her underwear from the bag, Charlotte’s expression suddenly turned cold.
In other words, the mysterious woman Isaac had casually slept with without even asking yesterday was nothing short of a villain.
‘Who could she be?’
She didn’t need to think long. She knew why Isaac had come to the academy so early, even though the entrance ceremony still had time left.
To meet the academy principal—
The Green Dragon, Tiamat.
“Hmph.”
Charlotte’s lips twisted with fury as her crimson eyes blazed like burning embers.
‘I’ll tear her apart.’
It was a phrase she usually reserved for Isaac, yet this time she meant it with absolute sincerity.
Whether the dragons could defeat Tiamat was irrelevant. The issue simply didn’t matter to her.
She hadn’t told Isaac because she didn’t want him to worry, but her instincts had already awakened to the limit.
The crimson bloodlust surging through her veins felt like an extension of her own hands and feet.
She simply hadn’t matured enough to use it at full power, but if she did, even against a dragon she wouldn’t lose.
“——!”
Just then the door opened and Isaac poked his head in.
“Loti, still here?”
“……”
Charlotte felt her heart thump wildly, but luckily she managed to suppress the bloodlust in time.
If Isaac had witnessed the terrifying aura she was radiating, who knew what kind of reaction he would have given her. She had no desire to find out.
Charlotte let out a small sigh of relief and turned back with a bright smile.
“Oppa, the lady is changing. Who would enter a lady’s room without knocking?”
“……Huh?”
“Without knocking at all. How rude.”
She had only been wearing one piece of underwear, so the excuse was somewhat valid, but Isaac’s expression remained utterly unreadable.
“……I already saw everything there was to see—.”
“……”
Isaac was hopelessly clueless. Charlotte secretly sighed and simply threw the bra she had been holding straight at his face.
“Thud!”
Isaac, who had been struck right in the face by the bra still on the desk from yesterday, staggered back in surprise.
Charlotte quickly finished dressing and stood up.
“There. Let’s go, oppa. I’m fully ready.”
“……No, look at that. You can dress so quickly, yet you’ve been teasing me the whole time.”
“Just be quiet, oppa……”
Ignoring Isaac’s bewildered stare, Charlotte walked out first and headed down the stairs.
“Good morning, Elena.”
“Ah. Good morning, sister.”
After greeting the waiting Elena on the first floor, Charlotte thought to herself.
She would simply watch for now. She couldn’t act rashly against the dragon, after all. There were rules to this game.
She was still secretly repeating Isaac’s favorite words in her mind.
She didn’t want to simply leave Tiamat, the woman who had dared to mix with Isaac, untouched, but she also had no desire to cause her brother any unnecessary trouble.
Since she hadn’t even faced the dragon directly, she would simply observe from a distance.
That was her simple, straightforward conclusion.
“……”
They were enjoying a meal together—Charlotte, Loti, and Elena—at a traditional eastern restaurant that perfectly suited their tastes.
I was happily wielding my fork when something unexpected happened.
“Mew.”
A stray cat suddenly appeared. Its snow-white fur and bright blue eyes sparkled as it approached my leg and rubbed its head against me.
Since it was an outdoor table, the wild animal had no trouble approaching.
“Wow, it’s so cute.”
Elena, who had been eating thin slices of ham, suddenly lit up with excitement.
She reached out to pet it, but the white-furred creature completely ignored her, focusing only on me.
I looked down at the cat, then realized Loti’s eyes were growing increasingly serious.
“……Hold on. Wait.”
Her expression was definitely not friendly. It had started as a light smile, but her gaze was narrowing.
“Oppa, that cat……”
She twitched her nose slightly, about to say something to me.
“Clank!”
I slid my chair back and stood up at once. Both girls startled at the sudden movement, but there was no other choice.
“……There can’t be a hairy animal at a dining table.”
“Mwo? Mew?”
The moment I grabbed the cat’s scruff, it reacted and ran off the table.
“Oppa? Eh, where are you going!”
Loti called after me in panic, but I pretended not to hear.
It wasn’t the time to stop.
I quickly left their field of view and slipped into a nearby alley before tossing the cat aside.
“Nyaaang?!”
The cat let out a sharp cry but landed safely on its feet.
I glanced back to make sure Loti wasn’t following and let out a small sigh.
Then I turned to the cat and spat out the words.
“You damned cat.”
“……”
“I saved you. Do you understand?”
No answer came. Of course, since the creature was a cat, it was only natural.
“Flash!”
A golden light exploded right in front of me—the same light I had seen once before.
I quickly raised a hand to shield my eyes, and when the brilliance finally faded, a beautiful woman stood before me.
Her waist-length white hair and jet-black eyes looked exactly like the false body I had seen before, yet she was completely nude.
Leaning against the alley wall with a bored expression, she crossed her arms.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Suddenly grabbing me and throwing me into a dark alley, then claiming you ‘saved’ me? What exactly are you trying to do?”
“……Hah.”
Of course. I had known she wouldn’t understand. I had expected it, but the chill still ran down my spine.
I took off my outer jacket and casually tossed it to her.
“Oh, you really do have some caring side to you, Lord Havertz.”
Wrapped in the coat, the Secretary of the Sephirot, Vana, looked at me with a faint smile in her flickering eyes.
“It’s been a while, friend. We’re meeting earlier than the prophecy suggested.”