Found My Perfect Hideaway
The day after the rain was a day like magic itself.
The scent of damp earth mingled with warm sunlight, gently cradling the body. Slipping in through the window, the rays of sunlight found me sprawled on the sofa.
“Kyauu…”
I was already plenty comfortable, yet I couldn’t help wondering if there wasn’t somewhere even better.
“Wow. The sun is so bright today that the laundry dried so well.”
“Our divine beast’s blanket is so fluffy. Smells nice too.”
The voices of the maids drifted down the hallway.
On the sofa I was lazily swishing my tail, I twitched my nose.
“……!”
This scent… was no artificial perfume. It was the profound, natural aroma of the earth itself.
The deep, dried-wafer fragrance of fabric baked by sunlight. The lingering warmth still clinging to the threads.
My instincts screamed.
It was here. This was my paradise, the place I needed to go.
The maids set the baskets down in a corner of the corridor for a moment and left to drink water.
The opportunity was now or never.
Right now, while Kailian was focused on her duties.
Using my foot jelly, I dropped silently from the sofa.
Light landing. Stealthy steps.
Tail erect, I headed straight for the target.
“Kyauuu…”
The target was the largest laundry basket in the corner of the hallway.
A mountain of white towels and sheets, like a fluffy bed of my own making.
I surveyed my surroundings.
Left and right. Front and back.
Good, no one around.
I leaped in one breath and dove into the basket.
Plop.
Sinking.
No sound of impact at all. It was absurdly soft.
I was sucked into the pile of laundry.
Like a bubble bath, the soft towels wrapped around my body.
Warm…
No, piping hot.
The towels still carrying the sun’s lingering warmth were the empire’s greatest heating mat.
Haa… melting…
I burrowed deep into the basket, squeezing into the narrow gap between towel and towel.
White fur and white towels perfectly hid me.
Perfect camouflage. This was my private hiding cave.
I curled into a ball, nose buried against my front paw.
All noise of the world was cut off. Only softness and warmth wrapped around me.
I fell asleep the moment I hit the pillow.
“Blanc? Blanc, where did you go?”
Kailian, finished with her duties, rose from her seat and gazed at the empty sofa, tilting her head.
Normally, if I wasn’t waving my tail in front of her feet or sprawled across the sofa, something was wrong.
“Under the bed?”
Kailian peeked under the bed.
Nothing. Only dust bunnies.
Behind the curtains?
Nothing.
The closet too was empty.
“……Blanc?”
Kailian’s voice began to tremble. A dire premonition brushed her.
Had she gone out the open window? Or had those Barcan thugs from before kidnapped her again?
Recent intelligence claimed the saintess was hunting for every strand of Blanc’s fur.
Could it be that woman?
Countless wild theories swirled in her head, and panic rapidly turned to terror.
The worst scenario—‘Blanc missing’—played out in her mind.
The instant she thought it might all return to the old days, her mind went blank.
“Hey! Is anyone there?!”
Kailian bolted into the hallway. The princess palace rang with her cries.
“Blanc is gone! Block the entire palace immediately! Control all entries!”
Emergency protocol was declared.
Maids darted about in a panic. Palace guards drew their swords and began scouring the gardens.
“Search the gardens! Check every vent!”
“Could he have gone to the emperor’s outpost?”
“I saw him in the hallway earlier—where did he go?!”
The news spread faster than the wind to the emperor.
“What?! Blanc is missing?!”
In the office, Emperor Karsion snapped the fountain pen he was holding in two the moment he received the report.
Crack.
“Touching the empire’s heart? Release the imperial guard at once! My grandson… no, my divine beast may have been kidnapped!”
Karsion’s eyes turned scarlet, crimson light blazing from them.
“Seal the capital gates! No single strand of beast fur may leave! Wizards, activate detection spells!”
The imperial palace instantly fell into wartime conditions.
Knights chopped through undergrowth. Court mages levitated crystal orbs, tracking mana fluctuations.
Demian even climbed onto the roof, scanning all directions.
“Blanc! I’ll give you snacks, so come out! Salmon! Top-grade salmon!”
Completely forgetting his dignity, he stood on the roof shouting Blanc’s name at the top of his lungs.
“Come out! If this is hide-and-seek, I lost! Please just come out!”
No answer came back.
---
The head maid Marian maintained perfect composure even amid the chaos.
She carried the laundry basket left in the hallway corner and entered the princess’s room.
Outside, the world had gone upside down in pandemonium, but laundry had to be done.
Moreover, the princess had wrecked the bed while searching for the divine beast, so it needed straightening.
Just in case, so that when the divine beast and Her Highness returned, they could rest immediately.
“Oh dear, where on earth has our divine beast gone? Her Highness is crying like this.”
Marian clicked her tongue and placed the basket on Kailian’s bed.
With her practiced hands she pulled out towels one by one and began folding them.
Tap, tap.
The sound of folded towels rang cheerily.
One by one the towels diminished until the basket bottom appeared.
“Eh? What’s this?”
Marian’s hands encountered a heavy, warm bundle of fur.
She had mistaken it for a towel, but the texture was different.
Softer… fluffier… a tiny, pounding heart?
Marian lifted the white mass with a bewildered expression.
“……!!”
Marian inhaled sharply.
In her hands was an adorable being wearing a white towel like a nun’s veil, rubbing its eyes and yawning lazily.
“Mya…?”
Huh…? Why wake me up?
I was still half-asleep, groggy from waking.
A towel draped over my head like a nun’s veil. My body was limp and warm from the heat.
My vision was blurry. Where am I? Is it dinnertime?
“Found him!”
Marian screamed.
Her powerful voice echoed off the walls, shaking the windows.
Clatter!
The door burst open and Kailian, the emperor, and Demian all rushed in at once.
“Blanc!!”
“Where are you?! Are you safe?!”
“Kidnappers?! I’ll cut them down with my sword!”
Sweat-drenched and glaring, they charged into the room and simultaneously froze.
On the bed, amid a mountain of laundry, I sat with the white towel still on my head, dazed.
The towel’s edges hung down like ears, and my white fur and the towel had become one, blurring the boundary.
“……A fairy?”
Demian muttered dumbly, his sword hand loosening.
“No, a spirit?”
The white towel enveloped his face, so only Blanc’s round eyes, pink nose, and twitching whiskers were visible.
The sight was so sacred and adorable that all three of them forgot their anger and stood frozen.
The emperor’s mouth hung open, unable to close.
“Kyau?”
What are you all doing? Why are you staring so intensely? It’s embarrassing.
I tilted my head. The towel slipped off and draped over one ear.
“Ugh…”
Kailian let out a strange moan and clutched her chest before sinking to the floor.
“You… are truly… ahead of everyone when it comes to surprising people…”
Tears glistening, she crawled over to me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Kyaut!”
Butler… hide… you’re stuck in my chest… breathe.
I was wondering where I went! If I sleep in the laundry basket, won’t I get flattened and turn into a mouse?!
The warm scent of laundry mixed with Kailian’s body heat. I licked her cheek, confused.
Why are you crying? I’m right here. It’s warm, I’m sorry.
Her tears soaked my fur.
I go out for food and she freaks out.
To calm her, I nuzzled her face vigorously.
Karsion, his legs finally giving out, collapsed onto the sofa. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Hohoho… in the laundry… my divine beast was sleeping in the laundry…”
He laughed hollowly with relief.
The divine beast the empire’s entire army had mobilized to find had been taking a nap in a laundry basket.
It was absurd, yet he felt no anger.
Rather, the sight of my stupid, peaceful expression made him laugh.
“Look at that brazen face. He doesn’t even know what he did.”
“Since he’s so cute, please forgive him this once, Papa.”
Demian approached and tugged the towel from my head. My ears popped back up.
He poked my cheek.
“Look. You really are the laundry fairy. You smell so fluffy. Like sunlight.”
Demian tried to bury his nose in my belly and sniff.
“Big brother… stop.”
Kailian stopped him with a stern glare and snatched me away.
Well done, butler. A man poking your belly is a bit much.
Still, I’ll let you pat my front paw.
“Kyuu.”
To Demian’s pout, I extended my front paw.
“You rascal…”
Demian rubbed my foot jelly enthusiastically and smiled with satisfaction.
“Next time, definitely tell me before you go to sleep. My lifespan has shortened by ten years already.”
Karsion approached and stroked my back. His touch carried deep affection.
He no longer hid it even in front of his subordinates.
“You naughty divine beast, teasing the empire’s emperor.”
He gently pinched my nose, then let out a long sigh.
“From now on, the laundry basket is designated the divine beast’s private bed.”
The emperor issued the decree with solemn gravity.
My bed was not for the empire’s sake.
“Kyauuu…”
From that day on, a fluffy towel-filled basket always sat in a corner of the princess palace.
Of course, a sign reading “Divine Beast Sleeping—Absolute Serenity” hung in front of it.
The commotion ended. Peace returned to the room.
I yawned widely once more and burrowed back into the basket.
Kailian draped a soft blanket over me.
“Sleep well, you mischievous divine beast. Don’t run away in your dreams.”
Lulled by her whisper, I closed my heavy eyes again.
Outside was noisy, but in the fluffy laundry basket I could sleep as long as I wanted.
