IVBITR ~ Episode 3

That cat with pure white fur is scary.

With long feet like white socks, long whiskers, and a lot of hair. Felt like there’s something unapproachable.

It is an unreachable force, is he a prince? or not?

"Between these two cats, who could it be?"

Among these, I don't know which one is Catelesia, the one that Marquis Salame will take.

Ashtelin glanced at the ten cats inside the cage.

A tuxedo cat and a white cat. There are two cats that fit these requirements.

When she was sitting in a chair in front of the cage and staring at the cats.

The tuxedo cat pricks its ears and approaches the iron bars.

He seemed to be a cute dog-like cat. Waving his tail softly and looking at Ashtelin with a wistful look. Her heart dropped with a thump.

It is so cute

"Cu, cute..."

"Meow."

Whether the cat knew her heart or not, the tuxedo cat was eagerly licking the iron bars with its prickly tongue.

‘The cat is so cute that I feel like my heart is going to stop.'

The man standing beside her whispered carefully.

"Well, Lady Ashtelin Paradis. May I ask what kind of prisoner you're going to choose."

She doesn't know which of the two cats that will ruin the world, but the answer was simple.

"Do you need a choice? I……."

As Ashtelin opened her mouth, she heard an urgent step and she listened carefully.

She opened her eyes at the sound of footsteps coming from outside.

A strange sound began to be heard inside the iron cage.

The unfamiliar sound she heard was the growling of a cat.

The white cat that she just made eye contact with before ran out to her.

To the front of the iron bars!

And then, the cat pushed the tuxedo cat away.

'What, what is it?'

Ashtelin approached the front of the cage like she's possessed and  reached out her hand.

"Meow."

A cat with a lot of force stretched himself straight. And beat her hand with a fluffy cotton bat. A fluff shot out of the iron bars, hitting her hand.

Pang! pang!

Her hands touched by it, fell down like a jelly.

"Wow, cu, cute....."

As expected of cats!

Ashtelin almost confessed her love unknowingly. Without knowing, she grabbed the cat's cotton bat and took it off.

Then, the white cat flinched and fell from her.

It was a sign of contempt. No. Rather than that, is it disgusting?

'Somehow he looked at me with a very distasteful look. It's my misunderstanding, right? No way.'

Ashtelin tried to smile. No way a cat would do that. Yes, yes!

It was when Ashtelin was focusing on the cat for a while.

“Ehm, ehm.”

Someone coughed in the back.

"Well, there was a preceding visitor."

"Ah yes."

The merchant who saw Ashtelin's face answered.

The merchant looked carefully at Ashtelin's eyes. As if he thought he was in a dispute between the nobles, his expression was embarrassing.

The man whispered to the merchant.

"The Marquis Salame has already decided to buy the most beautiful pet prisoner for Lady Clemence. He said it would be good if it’s a prisoned-cat.”

As soon as she heard that, Ashtelin opened her eyes wide.

This!

In <The Clemence's Mistakes>, it is really important dialogue!

'Wow, I really came at the right place and time'

It would be a big problem if she only stayed in bed for one more day.

Ashtelin slowly turned back and looked at him.

The man was looking down at her with an obvious glance soon ignore Ashtelin.

He was as arrogant as the Marquis Salame.

But it doesn't matter how arrogant he is!

Ashtelin said refreshingly.

"The prisoned-cat that the Marquis Salame wants, shouldn't it be a kitten?"

Ashtelin gave him some kind advice.

'These cats are my masters!'

She was snorting inside, but her expression didn't show much.

The appeared man, who is a low-ranking person  under orders by the Marquis Salame, flinched. A consideration seems to come to his head.

'Since she was told that she’s a frugal lady who imitates Lady Clemence, would she buy a little cat?'

He gently smiled and nodded.

"Then, after purchasing all the prisoner pets that the lady wants, please tell me. Anyway, the ones here are cats, so the price will be expensive..."

"Hmm, it must be very expensive..."

Ashtelin pretended to be a little worried.

Her worries made the man's expression more energetic.

"Yes. Anyway, buy it and tell me. I'll choose from the others, whichever it is."

Looking at him with dignity, Ashtelin asked seriously.

"You said you would choose the remaining prisoner to buy, can you swear to God in this world?"

"Yes?"

It looked like he had to swear to God for something like this.

When there was no definite answer, Ashtelin asked again.

"I asked you, can you swear to God."

“……Yes, yes. I swear.”

"Yes, I understand. Take it, the prisoners."

Ashtelin replied gently.

At her words, the man's expression turned strangely.

She soon laughed and said.

"If there are any remaining prisoners.”

That means, she's going to buy all the prisoners here.

Luckily, Ashtelin had a lot of money.

The merchant, who was staring at the feud of the aristocrats from the side, opened his mouth wide as soon as he heard her declaration.

He has never been hasty in the words of aristocrats in his life. But now he had to bring it up at this time.

"What? Are you sure you want to buy all the prisoned-cat here?"

"Yes, and there's another one."

"What, what is it?"

Marquis Salame's man asked…...

He didn't seem to understand her words exactly yet.

Ashtelin turned her head coldly.

After all, she was concerned about the inhumane treatment in the Viscount Phelperney’s prisoner pet market.

And more than that this man who came by order of Marquis Salame was ugly.

So, she decided.

The only thing she has anyway is money, but it won't be obvious even if she spends a little.

"Listen carefully."

"Yes?"

The merchant looked at her and flinched.

"I'm going to buy all of the prisoners on The Viscount Phelperney’s prisoner pet markets. So, bring Viscount Phelperney."

"........ What? Are you going to buy all of them?"

"Uh huh."

Except for Ashtelin, everyone in the place opened their mouths wide open.

Even the knights who follow her.

Everyone looked as if their jaws were going to fall out, so Ashtelin shrugged.

"Lady Ashtelin Pharadi!"

"Are, are you serious?"

"Yes, and I think your saliva is flowing, so shut your mouth."

Watching the merchant wipe his mouth in a hurry, Ashtelin turned her head toward the cat.

‘This is the base amount of fortune I can use.’

The Viscount Phelperney's prisoner pet market was small. And Ashtelin was still a member of the Duke of Pharadi. So, the amounts of cash she can use in the name of the Duke of Pharadi must be quite high!

Even if she buys all the small pets in the prison markets that are run by Viscount Phelperney, it wouldn’t hurt her wealthy inheritance.

"The, The, The Viscount Phelperney is absent right now."

"Really? Then tell him to send the contract to the Duke Pharadi."

In the original story, The Duke Pharadi was indifferent to Ashtelin's consumption habits.

Therefore, it is clear that he will pay without seeing it.

In this unrealistic situation, the man couldn't be patient and put up a words.

"No, are you serious? You pretended to be frugal, but you're jealous of Lady Clemence right? Ha."

He was angry and answered to her as if he couldn't stand it.

It’s already been known in society circles how Marquis Salame loves Lady Clamance very much. The Marquis Salame came to buy a prisoner pet for the woman he loved. But Ashtelin, who is rumored to be copying Clemence, bought it all. 

Everyone would think that way.

'But I didn't know he was going to bring it up and hold onto it.'

Ashtelin swept her head up.

"I'm the princess of the Duke Pharadi. Aren’t you talking too much?"

An incompetent figure who is couldn’t be able to hold the ‘Duke of Pharadi's Coming-of-Age Ceremony‘. So maybe in the future, she wouldn’t be recognized as an aristocrat.

It was Ashtelin’s image in society.

But there was a fact that everyone overlooked.

Obviously, Ashtelin still has the name of the Duke of Pharadi.

It was a pretty good shield.

"........Lady Ashtelin, I mean!"

“Why don’t you go to the Marquis Salame and tell him that I already bought everything here?"

" But you haven't written the contract yet."

"Yes, I did. But didn't you swear to God earlier? You said you’ll buy the remaining of the prisoners. Is that a blasphemy?"

Ashtelin looked up at him with a double eyelid. The man was trembling.

“Ha…….”

It's literally a dilemma.

The man sighed as if he had nothing to say.

Breaking the confrontation between the two was vainly the sound of a cat crying.

“Meow.”

Two cats crying in front of the iron bars.

Ashtelin whispered, relentlessly looking at the cat.

"Let's stop debates.”

‘It's a waste of time to have an argument with a cute cat in front of us.’

Ashtelin looked at the cat with a pleased face.

She gave Marquis Salame’s vassal a good shot and also saved all the prisoned-cat.

'Okay, perfect. The cats are also cute, right?'

Ashtelin had a lot of money. As much as she had a lot of money, she had a lot of time and relaxedly called in a merchant.

"Open the cage."

".... yes, Lady."

The merchant strangely became humble and picked up the answer.

"Meow."

A charming tuxedo cat approached her and rubbed its pink jelly toe.

Ashtelin grasped the heart. Her heart ached terribly. She thinks she has to go home soon. Before she suddenly died of a heart attack.

"I'm going to pay for these two cats right now and take them. Tell Viscount Phelperney. Send the contract to the Duke's Centium villa as soon as he arrives. Tell him that I want him to improve the treatment of the prisoners here before I sign the contract."

The man opened his mouth at Ashtelin's declaration.

But Ashtelin smiled regardless of whether she had a jaw joint abnormality that dropped saliva because her mouth was too wide open.

'There are humanitarian issues, and maybe the other prisoners here are a threat to world peace. So I must improve their treatment.'

After speaking, Ashtelin glanced at Marquis Salame’s vassal. He still couldn't speak with his mouth open.

Instead of Salame's vassal, the merchant was quick to speak.

"Oh, okay. Then, first of all, I'll tell him right away..."

"Yes."

The Marquis Salame’s vassal came to his senses and shouted.

"You have insulted the Marquis Salame, and you'll regret this."

"The one to regret is you who dare ignore the Duke of Pharadi, is that right, sir Grizel?

"Yes, this is Grizel. Lady Ashtelin."

A knight standing next to her whispered.

"I'll take these two cats first to the Centium villa. The cat looks tired and can't bound the leash, so hug it carefully so they don't get stressed out. Have you ever held a cat?"

"Of course."

'People in the world wouldn't have had a chance to see a prisoner, what is it?'

What weird is weird, anyway.

Sir Grizel held a charming tuxedo cat. Fortunately, the cat looked comfortable.

Ashtelin also embraced the white cat skillfully. The cat seems shaking and trembling.

'It seems like it’s trembling with anger, but it must be my illusion. It must be because of the cat being nervous.'

She was once a can opener for cats and a skilled butler.

Ever since the cat she was raising crossed the rainbow bridge and went to the stars, she has often volunteered at the abandoned cat center. It means she's the master of hugging a cat.

Is that why?

The cat's trembling in Astein's arms gradually subsided.

'Whoa, how painful it must have been to be here. I'm sure that's why you're shaking! What a wicked market.’

For world peace, she can never overlook the existence of inhumane markets that abuse animals!

It was because the cat was so cute, nor because it was angry with the Marquis Salame or Ashtelin who loved it so much.

Right, by the way.

Ashtelin clenched her teeth and hugged the cat slightly.

By the way, the cat in her arms is so cute. Ashtelin carefully stroked the cat's head.

"Meow!"

The cat took her hand off.

'Are you really despising me? No way, isn't it?'

By the way, is it being too anxious? Her heart ached because they were so lovely.

On the other hand, unfortunately, the cat in the arms of Ashtelin Pharadi, For some reason, was forced to polymorph* Dragon, Ferdnan, as a cat.(*different morphologic kinds occurring species) 

He was very embarrassed.

He pushed the woman's hand sharply, but that was because he couldn't believe that the female human touch was thrilling.

Strangely, her arms were so comfortable.

'This human being..... what weird magic did she use?'

It looks like there is no mana detected. Her arms were so warm and calm.

‘What sense does she have that makes me feel like I'm going to melt away when her hands touch me?’

Forgetting that the cotton bat struck a punch earlier, the tough Dragon Fortnen fell asleep in her arms. Without even knowing it.

'I'm getting sleepy again. Once I get to sleep, I need to find out more how to get out of this damn cat body.'

He glared at Ashtelin with a harsh gaze, then slowly closed his eyes.

The first meeting between the great Dragon Ferdnan and the rich woman Ashtelin was so trivial.

However, it was going to be a great step soon.

***

The man, who was unexpectedly disturbed and unable to buy a prisoner pet, turned to the Marquis Salame with an urgent step on the same day.

"....... That's why I couldn't buy one on the prisoner pet market."

"What?"

The Marquis  Salame blasted off. His beautiful face burned brightly.

"Fo, forgive…....."

"That cheap mouth of Viscount Phelperny made a strange rumor!"

"Yes?"

"You're losing to Ashtelin Pharadi, and I've got a spotty flaw in my move! I don't want to hear any more!"

Clank!

Marquis Salame threw a crystal glass against the wall.

‘How dare you interrupt my plan, being arrogant and insignificant?'

The existence of Ashtelin Pharadi was precious to him.

Ashtelin Pharadi, she was like an accessory to make Clemence stand out.

But the accessory seemed to rise up in revolt, not knowing her subject!

Anger surged up. At this moment, he felt like he could shoot a long wind through his nose.