036 – It is Easier to Ask For Forgiveness Than Permission

“What kind of b*stard is that?”

Weary of Mihail’s madness, Lucy fled the warehouse.

“Hah…”

Two hundred forty-seven long years, a lifespan humans could only dream of.

Yet, the existence of that absurd, peculiar-eater of a man, a first encounter in all her days, stoked the fires of her fury anew.

“Just you wait, Mihail. I’ll kill you in the most excruciating way imaginable.”

She vowed to inflict the most agonizing death upon Mihail with the dawn.

And in that instant, she craved to taste the pain-laced emotions of Mihail, and the despair of Ella Eloise.

“There were torture devices, surely…”

Myaaong~

Sometime between thought and action, a cat appeared before her, busying itself with grooming.

“What is this trash.”

Already on edge, the sight of the small creature was the last straw.

Seeking a release, she approached it, intending to lightly step on its tail.

*Thump!*

“?”

Suddenly, her head found itself planted firmly on the ground, a bizarre phenomenon.

“…What?”

She scrambled to her feet, desperate to understand what had transpired…

*Tap*…

A tiny, adorable paw settled atop her head.

And with it…

“You dare speak of killing someone? Say that again.”

A voice, so bewitching that even the Succubus Queen herself had to concede its allure.

“…!”

A crushing weight pressed down on her skull.

She instinctively knew, to even attempt to rise would result in that tiny paw punching a hole straight through the back of her head.

“I have no penchant for repeating myself, but as you’ve learned the master’s true name, I shall ask again with a touch of grace. Who did you intend to kill?”

In her two hundred forty-seven years, only one being had ever inspired fear in Lucy.

The Master of the Midnight Auction.

The aura of oppression exuding from this being, reducing even the Succubus Queen to meek submission… Could *this* be ‘him’?

“I am sorry…! But… who might you be…?”

It hardly mattered who the other party was.

Lucy, ever quick-witted, immediately grasped the situation. She bowed her head before the overwhelming power, attempting to salvage her life.

*Crack*…

The cute, small cat immediately crushed the Succubus Queen’s head.

“One must answer when granted the chance.”

After the gruesome deed was done, the cat casually abandoned Lucy’s corpse in a dark alley, as if nothing of consequence had occurred, and sauntered away.

It was simply unfortunate for the Succubus Queen that the existence she intended to kill was… Mihail, the master of Isabella Lilith, the Prime Progenitor.

Of course… Isabella, who had just slain a figure as formidable as a Succubus Queen, was now…

Myaaong Myaong Nyaang~

*(Gotta go see Master right away!)*

As nonchalantly as catching a flying insect, I shifted my feet again, intending to observe my Master.

*

After handing over the woman bought from the human trafficking ring to the Eloise family.

Lady Ella had said she would spend a moment catching up with the family, so:

“Ms. Isabella.”

“Myaa?”

I called out to Ms. Isabella, who was quietly suppressing her presence in the corner of the carriage.

“How long have you been watching?”

“Since Master got kidnapped!”

*Thwack-*

The moment I heard her confident words, I unconsciously slapped my forehead.

“…Why didn’t you help?”

“Oh, I was supposed to help?”

*Thwack-*

As soon as my hand left my forehead, I slapped it again.

“…Never mind.”

“Right?! I knew Master would figure it out just fine!”

For Ms. Isabella, being kidnapped was like a yawn that would be over quickly.

It seemed she didn’t think I was in any real danger.

“…Thank you for your boundless faith.”

“It’s nothing!”

*Purrrrrr*

I stroked the head of Ms. Isabella as she approached me, letting out a soft purr.

Along with that, I carefully considered asking her for personal revenge on the succubus who hadn’t given me kimchi…

“Ms. Isabella.”

“Hm?”

“Would it be possible for you to return to your original form once?”

“You want to see my true form?”

“I am curious, yes.”

“Then! Wait exactly two weeks!”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll hurry and find my way home, sleep there for just one night.”

She tells me to wait two weeks.

“To undo the Animagus magic… do you need, like, that evolution thing?”

“Yeah! About 480 years ago? When I was roaming the human world, I got tired of using aether to constantly maintain the magic, so I just evolved to have it imprinted on my body!”

It seemed that in order for Ms. Isabella to evolve her physique,

She needed to have a restful sleep under specific conditions, not just any old nap.

‘Well, is that a bit of a relief?’

I mean… If I were to help Ms. Isabella fall asleep every night, and her body evolved every time…

It was around the time I became a sophomore at the Academy.

Lady Isabella would be a talking cat who could transform into a flying car robot… wait, what?

‘Come to think of it, that’s kinda badass?!’

Scratch that ‘lucky’ thought.

A flying transforming car robot, you say.

This is totally awesome!

“So, are there any limitations to your power when you’re in cat form?”

Deciding to halt this unrealizable romantic idea right there.

I checked to see if Lady Isabella had any power restrictions while in her cat state, just in case.

“Of course! While I’m an Animagus, I can only use about one-hundredth of my true power.”

“Hmm… that’s too bad.”

Since she unfortunately couldn’t unleash her full strength in Animagus form.

I resolved that I’d avenge the Kimchi myself, if the chance ever arose.

‘I’ll show them what a ten-hit sleep combo looks like.’

“Do you need my power for something?”

“It would be nice if you could but it doesn’t matter that much. Do you remember the succubus who talked to me when I was kidnapped?”

With that slight disappointment pushed aside.

I was about to just casually chat with her until Ella arrived…

“Ah, the Succubus Queen?”

“Yes, yes, that succubus… …wait a minute. …What did you say?”

“Aren’t you talking about Lucy, the Queen of Dreams?”

“Yeah, but…”

“She’s the primordial succubus, born about two centuries ago.”

I received some truly earth-shattering information from Lady Isabella.

‘That muscular woman was the Succubus Queen?’

That explains it..

She was more like a healthy succubus than a seductive one…

I guess if you’re the ruler of all succubi, you wouldn’t really need to go hunting for male essence.

‘One wrong word and I could have been dead…’

I was going to teach her a lesson with a ten-hit sleep combo to her lower bits…

But if the opponent is the Succubus Queen, she’s got to be way stronger than even a True Ancestor Vampire.

It’s probably best not to go looking for trouble.

“But why Lucy?”

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking that vampires are still the best, compared to succubi.”

No matter how strong a True Ancestor Vampire is.

Unless Lady Isabella was a Vampire Queen, or some being called a Vampire Lord.

Taking her on in her true form when she couldn’t do it already when in Animagus form, it would be nothing short of suicide.

Myaaow~

So, to keep her from getting into unnecessary danger, I switched to some flattery.

And started patting the rear of the cat, who was wagging her tail and snuggling into my arms.

* * * *

Pang, pang, pang, pang.

Myaa~♡

I thought, patting Isabella’s bottom like that.

Next time I run into the Succubus Queen, I’ll just cast a sleep spell and run, no question.

Because upper-tier beings, even asleep, aren’t exactly harmless…

“But don’t worry, Isabella.”

Myaa?

“If anything urgent happens, I’ll make sure to take you with me when I run.”

Myaa~ Nyaong~

* * *

I arrived at Mihaen-nim’s dorm and after showering in the bathroom, I found that Mihaen-nim, who said he would wait until I was finished, had already fallen asleep.

Snore, snore…

It was a natural situation.

Mihaen-nim had stayed up all night to somehow save me.

“Thank you, Mihaen-nim.”

I shyly offered my thanks to the sleeping man.

I carefully took out the paper I had been delayed in retrieving from the mansion.

Myaaong?

Mihaen-nim’s cat, with eyes full of curiosity, began to look at me as I took out the paper.

“Curious, are you?”

Nyaaong~

Of course, the cat wouldn’t understand human speech.

“This is something called a pledge.”

It was something I was doing behind Mihaen-nim’s back anyway, but I cautiously decided to tell the cat about the contents of the contract.

“Myaong?”

“What I’m holding is called a marriage pledge.”

“Mya…?”

“I’m going to quickly get Mihaen-nim’s thumbprint on it.”

“?????”

As a token of gratitude for the cat’s quiet listening, I stroked its head a few times.

Then, I took the inkpad I had brought and lightly dabbed it on Mihaen-nim’s sleeping finger, imprinting it directly onto the marriage pledge.

“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, they say.”

“??????????????????”

I wasn’t doing this thoughtlessly.

I remembered that moment when I was kidnapped by the human trafficking organization, when the succubus tried to violate me…

Mihaen-nim, who could only speak the truth, made that choice to save me.

“Kimchi… was it?”

My father would scold me quite a bit.

But if this man wasn’t in my life, in the future I would live, there would be no reason to live.

“If he hears the kimchi story, Father will acknowledge it, too. If his daughter doesn’t marry the man who saved her life so many times, who else would she marry? Right?”

“Meow…”

Of course…

If Father, by some means, were to oppose my relationship with Mihane-nim…

Then I, too, would simply have to find some means to ensure Father had no choice but to acknowledge my relationship with Mihane-nim.

For example, pregnancy.

Pre-marital pregnancy, perhaps.

Or, perhaps…pregnancy from cohabitation…

“Myaa… Meow…”

Having heard all my explanations, the cat, whether it was just my imagination or not…

Seemed to look at Mihane-nim with a slightly pitiful gaze.