Sparkle, sparkle—
A gaze charged with a peculiarly glittery intensity seemed to trail along directly behind him.
Knox turned his head as he walked down the corridor.
“……”
The owner of that sparkling stare was Aisha.
Far down the hall, a little chick had poked her face out from behind a pillar and was staring at Knox intently—with her lips pursed into a tiny triangle, as if begging to be noticed.
But—
“No one there.”
Knox pretended not to see Aisha and continued on his way.
“!”
At that, something startled and scrambled hastily out from behind the pillar and gave quick chase.
‘……’
Knox stopped again and spun around swiftly—
This time, Aisha had ducked behind the display pedestal bearing a very expensive porcelain vase, peering at him with only her face peeking out.
Sparkle, sparkle—
Those blue eyes, shooting beams of pure longing, were pleading silently for attention.
But.
“How strange. I could have sworn someone was following me.”
Knox yawned and muttered to himself, then looked away.
“Ahh, Knox!”
In the end, the young lady—who had lost this peculiar standoff—came trudging out from her hiding place.
“I’ve been openly staring at you for a while now. Why won’t you talk to me?”
“Consider it the side effects of bell-and-run tactics, my lady.”
“But why~!”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend to Lady Aisha’s… nurturing for the time being. The aftermath of the bell-and-run incident and the feigned-death episode proved rather difficult to recover from.”
More accurately, ‘difficult’ was a generous word—he had simply been too mortified to show his face in public.
It was a trauma, plain and simple.
The moment that white nightcap had been swept aside—and from beneath the ceiling, the tide of knights and the face of Mai had come flooding into view—
Even Knox, who claimed to care nothing for the opinions of others.
A twenty-four-year-old man, caught lying spread-eagle on the floor in a pair of pajamas printed with Creature illustrations?
‘More humiliating than when I was scaling the wall and wiggling my bottom trying to expose the young lady’s true identity.’
At least, he conceded, his backside had been rather shapely.
But being discovered sprawled in the corridor—that was a catastrophic stain on his personal history that he could not begin to scrub clean.
“That will be all.”
Knox gave a polite bow and was about to move on, when—
“A—no—Knox.”
The young lady, flustered and relentless, continued to follow him and at last revealed her true intention.
“Are there—do they—have cat-type Creatures?”
“?”
The out-of-nowhere question stopped Knox for the third time. This time, it was not to ignore her or to refuse. The question was simply the strangest one he had ever been asked in the context of Creatures.
“What is the point of the question?”
He asked at last with genuine curiosity—and unexpectedly, Aisha did not look pleased.
On the contrary, she glanced around to make sure no one was near, then asked back with an almost suspicious level of gravity.
“Will you keep it a secret?”
No.
“Yes.”
Knox answered coolly—with a lie.
“You promise?”
No.
“Yes.”
“Ugh.”
The mechanical responses left Aisha clearly unsatisfied—but in the end, the trusting young lady decided to believe him and stepped closer.
Knox graciously bent at the waist, and Aisha rose on her tiptoes to whisper to him.
“When we rescued Lucas, I also rescued a kitten.”
Oh, had she?
Knox, who had no particular interest in animals, gave a vague nod. But then—
“The kitten’s eyes are violet.”
At the young lady’s words—which made him question his own ears—Knox’s gaze sharpened to a narrow line.
“…I beg your pardon?”
“The cat I saved has violet eyes. And you’re the Creature expert and chairman of the Creatures Anonymous—or whatever the club is properly called, right? Do you know what that would mean?”
Of course Knox did not know either.
A cat was an animal, and animals and Creatures were strictly different species. Creatures had been born beyond the far edge of the world where no human dwelled. How they came into existence, what their ancestors were—all still the subject of ongoing research—but animals and Creatures were categorically, unambiguously distinct.
A rattled Knox furrowed his brow.
“…First things first.”
“Yes?”
“Show me the actual creature.”
“Follow me.”
As expected from a former-spy young lady—every entrance she made came without fail with breaking news.
A short while later.
The young lady led him to her own bedchamber and lifted the something wriggling about on the bed.
“Is that the violet-eyed kitten?”
“Yes. Oh, oh, oh—look how precious she is.”
It was rare to hear Aisha coo over something with a voice that genuinely sounded five years old. Knox took in the unusual spectacle and watched as the ball of fluff nestled in Aisha’s arms slowly opened its eyes.
“……”
And he swallowed.
It was real.
The kitten’s eyes—the creature no bigger than both of Aisha’s palms cupped together—were unmistakably, perfectly violet.
“…Good heavens.”
Thump. Thump.
The heart of the Creature enthusiast began to beat like a war drum.
Flustered enough to pull off even his monocle, Knox asked carefully.
“Might I hold her?”
“Of course, please go ahead.”
He reached out to receive the little fluff—
“Hsssssss!”
The kitten, which had been lounging with a drowsy expression, suddenly bristled all over with alarm. Then it flipped itself over, turned away from Knox entirely, and burrowed back into the depths of Aisha’s arms.
Aisha said, sounding a touch apologetic.
“Ah. I received her permission—but it seems you haven’t received permission from the baby herself.”
“Nothing to be done. I don’t mind.”
Knox pressed his lips together.
“That said—violet eyes are the hallmark of a Creature. Truly extraordinary.”
“Right? So, actually, I would like to keep her—but…”
The young lady’s small shoulders dropped hesitantly.
“Keeping her secretly inside the duke’s estate… that’s not really feasible, is it?”
Hmm.
Personally, I’d very much like to keep her myself.
‘A most excellent research subject.’
Knox fell into thought for a long, quiet moment.
“…Is it really not feasible?”
“Keep it a secret. Raise her here, for the time being.”
The unexpected answer made an exclamation point practically materialize above Aisha’s head.
“But there is a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. Bring this kitten to the Creatures Anonymous gathering.”
(Creatures Anonymous: a society for those who love Creatures so fiercely they could beat them to death.)
* * *
