chapter 9
As she looked at the head butler with trembling eyes, he finally opened his mouth, speaking in an oddly excited tone about the mansion.
“This Cadelion Estate is living proof of the Beastkin Empire’s history. It is a beautiful structure that contains the history of both the beastkin and House Cadelion throughout its many halls. If I were to describe the unique beauty of this estate, there would be no end….”
If there’s no end, then maybe we should just skip it….
I swallowed the words that had almost reached my throat.
‘I’d really prefer to skip this kind of guided tour….’
“Hoho. I’ve gotten carried away. Shall we take a look around together?”
Since I had wanted to see the mansion, I ended up reluctantly touring it with the unwanted “teacher.”
‘Wow. This place is huge.’
Despite the guide’s explanations, simply looking at new rooms made my heart flutter.
It felt like going on a little excursion.
My chest swelled warmly with anticipation.
For the past few weeks, all I had done in this mansion was—
“Meow!! (Mary, let’s eat Shu!!)”
—eat.
“Cat lady, you’ve been sleeping for days.”
—sleep.
“Meeooow!! (Mary, water, water is on! I’m going to die.)”
—bathe… and after that, let’s just leave it to privacy.
Anyway, because of all that, I hadn’t been able to properly explore the mansion at all. Even when I was carried around by Mary, I was too focused on whether I’d survive to look around properly, so I barely knew what was around me.
‘I probably know the color of the floor better than anyone.’
Now that I was finally touring the mansion properly, I looked around more closely. Everything—from the furniture to the ceiling—was clearly crafted by master artisans.
Honestly, the scent of money was everywhere. Of course, nothing shouted, “I’m expensive!”
But truly expensive things never announce themselves.
The truly expensive ones just look subtly elegant and beautiful.
Everything I had admired for a long time or touched out of curiosity turned out to be artisan-made pieces.
‘Oh, this is pretty.’
“Cat lady, this piece is by the artisan Michela Shu. It was auctioned for about 300 million gold. Its historical significance includes….”
‘Wow. Is this a dressing room? This dress is gorgeous.’
“This dress is one of Madame Hela’s masterpieces… each diamond embedded like starlight was individually polished by named artisans. It gained great attention… It is a one-of-a-kind dress made for the previous head’s wife….”
‘Oh, what’s this?’
“Cat lady, this bowl is the work of artisan Dorzas Giyu… a genius who defined an entire era… valued at approximately 500 million gold….”
‘This is amazing!’
“As expected of the cat lady. This water-colored jewel box is a collaboration between master artisans Namua Bana and Etia… representing the pinnacle of architecture and design… estimated to be worth an entire island….”
There were countless items worth the price of an entire mansion.
Some were even worth an entire island.
Right—this was the Cadelion Estate.
Hearing the butler’s teddy-bear-like explanation, I almost dropped the bowl I was holding, which apparently cost as much as a house.
After that, my paws were shaking so much I couldn’t dare touch anything else in the mansion. If I did, it would be the price of a house—what if I scratched it? I didn’t even want to imagine it. These things were probably worth far more than my entire body.
Shaking my head as I walked, I began to wonder—
‘What if even the floor I’m stepping on is an artisan’s masterpiece?’
No way. Probably not.
‘Haha.’
But even the floor I always glared at might have some deep meaning. So I kept walking, stepping carefully on the floor I usually stared at.
“Cat lady, are you interested in the floor as well? Most people don’t pay attention to such small details. You are indeed very perceptive.”
The head butler continued.
“This floor represents perfect morphological beauty… it contains the history of Cadelion… and was admired even by the first lord of Serdihan….”
So it was one of those cases where “the unlikely thing turns out to be true.”
Right. Even the floor was extraordinary.
‘It contains the history of Cadelion… so the floor is actually the most important thing.’
I had been stepping on Cadelion’s history every day.
Realizing this, my paws felt suddenly unworthy of touching it.
To think I was stepping on the legacy admired by the first lord of Serdihan.
I was literally walking on the same floor he had once admired.
‘The feeling of having Cadelion’s history beneath my feet…’
Unsettling.
But wait—let’s ask a fundamental question.
Why would anyone engrave history into a floor? And why would the first lord of Serdihan admire someone else’s mansion floor?
“…Do people normally admire floors in other people’s houses?”
Beastkin must be missing a screw somewhere.
‘I should only be carried from now on. I won’t touch anything here again.’
I silently vowed to be carried by Mary at all times. There must be a reason for it after all. If I walked around and scratched something, I might damage Cadelion’s priceless heritage.
It would be safer not to walk at all than to risk breaking anything and destroying an entire fortune.
Is there anything here that ordinary people can actually use? How do the servants even clean and maintain this place without fainting?
‘I definitely can’t do it.’
Even one mistake wouldn’t just cost money—it would ruin lives.
Even the tower from something like Wizard of Oz might actually be a masterpiece here…
A pointless thought crossed my mind.
‘I’m never going back up that tower again.’
I added another vow.
As the saying goes, “even a stone bridge should be tested before crossing,” but could anyone even say that here?
If you tapped a stone bridge here to test it, it might collapse—and that could also cost an entire mansion.
At that point, it might be better if I just fell into the water instead.
‘Have I… broken or damaged anything since I got here?’
I suddenly reviewed my entire life here.
Thus, the terrifying mansion tour—where every object, every piece of furniture, every wall and floor came with its history, value, and artisan background—was nearing its final room.
Of course, most of it didn’t even register anymore due to the shock of the prices.
‘Finally… the last room….’
Please, let there be nothing terrifyingly expensive inside.
Now I wasn’t looking forward to it—I was dreading it.
Click.
‘What… is this?’
Inside the room, Ian Cadelion was sitting in a chair, casually waving at me with a bright smile.
Behind him, his aides had dark circles hanging down to their cheeks.
But what stood out most was the hot-pink cushion next to Ian’s desk.
Just the right size for me to lie on.
‘Why are you guys there…?’
My expression instantly soured.
Was this an illusion room? There must be some artifact here causing hallucinations.
‘Beastkin are said to have better abilities than humans… so this must be that.’
Even hallucinations? Though I didn’t want to believe it.
‘But… is this even a hallucination?’
It didn’t feel like one.
‘It’s too real to be fake.’
Ah. This wasn’t an illusion.
It was reality.
Realizing that, I froze like stone.
Ian Cadelion—the white tiger—his face was glowing. Silver hair slightly tousled, sharp jawline, and those mysterious blue eyes… He looked unreal, like an angel had descended. If this were a hallucination, it wouldn’t shine like that. No, it was real.
I turned my head away from that face and tried to ignore reality.
‘I saw nothing.’
I turned and ran as far away from the room as I could.
‘Ah—don’t scratch the floor!!’
I ran carefully, tiptoeing so as not to damage anything, fur flying behind me.
From inside the room—
“Puhahaha!”
A loud laugh echoed.
“Allen.”
Ian spoke as he watched the black fluff sprint away.
“Yes, Lord Ian.”
“What should you do now?”
“You don’t mean I should bring the cat lady back, do you?”
“…”
“…If I bring her back, I might be killed. I’d rather not be hated. Being liked would be fine, though.”
Allen said dramatically, though it didn’t look particularly tragic.
“Look at how fast she runs,” Ian said, twirling his pen.
“She’s like a horse beastkin… or maybe a cheetah.”
Allen sighed. “If I get hit by that pen, I’m dead.”
With the survival instincts of a ten-year veteran aide working under a terrible boss, he finally decided:
‘Better just go.’
He vanished after another sigh.
“If you’re not giving me a bonus, I’m resigning.”
A flutter of Ian’s hand served as an answer.
