La Luna and Black lay sprawled across the table for ages before they finally came around. Then they immediately backed away from the box and the leaf fragments inside. That stuff was basically the cat world’s cigarettes and alcohol, and it hit about as hard as some illegal drugs—even if it only affected cats.
But I am a cat!
At least it isn’t addictive. Next time, I just have to stay away from that smell. This was my first time encountering it, so I never expected my body to react so strongly. Next time, I’ll have to control myself!
The catnip incident suddenly made La Luna think of something she absolutely couldn’t accept about her current situation…
All cats go into heat… Just like I couldn’t control my body a moment ago… But I’m a female cat…
And if she followed that train of thought, it led straight to some terrifying possibilities…
“Meow!”
(Hell no!!)
Even though she’d turned into a cat, her soul was still male. Just imagining herself losing control, running off to mate with a tomcat, then coming back pregnant with a whole litter of kittens… It was way too embarrassing… In a panic, La Luna smacked Black, who was lying beside her, with one paw. Black toppled right off the table.
“Meow, meow??”
Black had only just recovered from the catnip’s effects. He stared at La Luna with wide, confused eyes, unable to understand why she’d suddenly gone nuts and smacked him away.
But La Luna wasn’t in the mood to pay Black any attention. She was frantically trying to figure out how to avoid the awkwardness of going into heat.
(Magic! Magic has to be able to solve this!)
In a flash of inspiration, La Luna remembered the ultimate trump card she still had: magic, an ability that defied the laws of physics and biology!
La Luna immediately emerged from the shadows of her worries and set herself a small goal.
(At the very least, I’ll use magic to get rid of the embarrassing heat cycles I’d otherwise have for the rest of my life!)
Using magic to turn herself human was probably impossible. Nine hundred and fifty years was just too long to wait. By then, even Earth would be unrecognizable. But using magic to make the most of this life of hers shouldn’t be too difficult.
La Luna was full of confidence again now, nothing like the listless cat she’d been a moment ago.
Then she noticed Itefeil sitting off to one side, looking utterly dejected—just like La Luna had when she’d lost all hope a little earlier.
“Meow?”
(Hey, hey, what’s wrong with you, missy?!)
The catnip had short-circuited her brain for a while, so La Luna hadn’t noticed the conversation between the Countess and Itefeil. Naturally, she had no idea why Itefeil looked like this.
(Could it be that this girl’s run into the hardest problem of her life, too?)
That was what La Luna thought. And she wasn’t wrong. Itefeil was still agonizing over how a commoner like her was supposed to get involved in a romance between the nobility and royalty…
There’s no way I can solve this!!
Itefeil was panicking inside, but fortunately, the Countess had set her a very low bar: she only had to pass along the Countess’s concerns about the matter to Feilin, indirectly pressuring her to give up on her love.
After turning it over in her mind again and again, Itefeil made a bold decision.
A best friend’s happiness should be in her own hands! What business was it of hers to stick her nose in?!
Itefeil firmly decided not to try to talk Feilin out of it. But then she thought about how that little brat Feilin had been seeing some guy for months without telling her. Hm? What a little sneak. Just wait—she’d give her a proper talking-to later.
Having made up her mind, Itefeil finally snapped out of it. Then she saw La Luna tilting her head and patting her own face with a paw.
“Meow, meow.”
(Hey, buddy, wake up. You dreaming over there?)
Itefeil grabbed La Luna’s pink paw pad and gave it a good squeeze.
“Feeling better, little one? You were lying here looking completely listless a moment ago, hmm?”
Faced with Itefeil’s questions, La Luna chose to exercise her right to remain silent.
“Itefeil!”
Just as Itefeil was sitting bored in the courtyard, rubbing La Luna’s little belly, Feilin finally came out of the count’s residence. She was delighted to see Itefeil.
“Feilin.”
Itefeil sat in the chair with an utterly cold expression, holding La Luna and petting her fur.
“Sit down. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Feilin’s smile froze. Her expression gradually turned neutral.
“Okay. I’ll sit. What is it?”
Feilin seemed calm on the surface, but Itefeil immediately noticed her nervously twisting the edge of her sleeve. She secretly chuckled to herself. The Countess had just hit her with a huge twist and surprise—so how should she repay Feilin in kind?
Suppressing her laughter, she put on a stern face, as if interrogating a prisoner, and asked Feilin,
“Feilin, have you had a man you liked over the past few months?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Feilin twisted her fingers even more nervously.
“Actually, the Countess just talked to me.”
Feilin suddenly looked up and met Itefeil’s cold, merciless gaze.
“I-is that so…? I knew you all felt that way.”
Feilin was heartbroken. Her family was against her relationship, and now it seemed her best friend had betrayed her, too. She felt like a lone sailboat pitching in a storm, and her voice trembled with the beginnings of a sob.
“Maybe… maybe it’s all my fault!”
Feilin fought back the ache in her nose, trying to keep the tears from spilling out. But they wouldn’t listen to her. Her eyes welled up, and in the end, tears slipped down her cheeks.
“But he’s the first person I’ve ever loved…! Even if all of you are against it… I still love him!”
Itefeil was instantly defeated by that wave of tears. This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go! She’d thought Feilin would quietly listen to her explanation, and then she’d spring a big reversal afterward. But she hadn’t even finished what she was saying before Feilin burst into tears—what was going on?!
