Su Zhao feigned surprise: “Sister, you are back!”
“The noise Sister heard just now might have been…”
Su Zhao swallowed nervously, supporting the little kitten by its two front legs, and thrust the completely tense, straight-as-a-board cat stick right in front of Cynthia.
She tried hard to put on a serious tone: “I was fighting with the cat.”
Of course, the context of the fight wasn’t serious at all.
For a cat, having its belly completely exposed while dangling in mid-air probably lacked any sense of security.
The Saintess didn’t seem to care much about her image. When she transformed into a kitten, it appeared she had also inherited some of a cat’s natural instincts.
Right now, she struggled instinctively, her kicking hind legs flailing wildly in the air.
She nearly kicked the bending Cynthia right in the face.
Su Zhao: (She remained silent). It was hard to say she didn’t do that on purpose.
Su Zhao struggled to hold up the disobedient little kitten. Cynthia tilted her face slightly and took a half-step back, nimbly dodging the attack.
Her expression made it difficult to discern her joy or anger: “So it is a little wild cat.”
She leaned in, casually grabbing the cat by the scruff of its neck, and asked Su Zhao, “Where did it come from?”
The scruff of destiny had fallen into the hands of a nemesis.
Both Su Zhao and the cat froze.
“Well…” Su Zhao stammered, staring at the sharp, gleaming white canine teeth the cat had suddenly bared.
“I picked it up near the window…”
Before she could finish, a sharp pain shot across the back of her hand. Su Zhao hissed, knowing this was Evelyn’s warning.
The words at the tip of her tongue took a sharp turn, and without a single stutter, she spilled them out in a rush.
“It was so coincidental by the window, I happened to run into the Holy See envoys who gave it to me! It is not a wild cat! It is my cat!”
Cynthia frowned imperceptibly, sizing up the cat’s appearance with a displeased expression.
“No wonder it reeks of the foul stench of Holy Light.”
The cat bared its teeth so fiercely they nearly reached the back of its head.
Su Zhao held her up with trepidation, her eyes glued unblinkingly to those teeth as she continuously estimated the distance between the sharp fangs and Cynthia’s wrist in her mind.
Would Evelyn get so furious she would take a bite?
Never mind anything else, just looking at Evelyn’s arched back was telling enough.
Su Zhao had already given up hope on whether she still possessed human rationality or not.
If she didn’t bite Cynthia, there might still be a sliver of room to salvage the situation.
But if her combat power exploded and she actually bit the noble Crown Princess, regardless of whether this was a house cat or a wild cat, owned or stray, this little kitten probably wouldn’t walk out of the Summer Palace in one piece today.
The cat struggled too violently. Cynthia narrowed her eyes, sweeping her gaze over the cat’s angrily wide, vertical pupils.
“The eye color of this little thing actually resembles that annoying Saintess quite a bit.”
The Persian cat’s gaze turned icy cold. A sweet, sticky purr rumbled from her throat, yet her claws quietly unsheathed from their paw pads.
Sensing Evelyn’s magical elements surging beneath her fur, Su Zhao hastily used her cuff to cover the cat’s glowing tail tip.
She explained hurriedly.
“The Holy See envoys probably thought this little cat shared some similarities with the Saintess’s temperament, which is why they decided to leave it.”
Simultaneously, she deliberately shook the collar around the cat’s neck, making the bell chime crisply in an attempt to drown out the spell incantation threatening to escape from the cat’s throat.
Cynthia seemed to sense danger. Her pupils contracted slightly as she reacted swiftly like a fierce beast detecting prey, the faint glow of detection magic sparking at her fingertips.
The Persian cat let out a sharp hiss.
Seeing this, Su Zhao panicked. Taking advantage of a bending motion, she shielded the cat tightly within the shadows and turned to glare at Cynthia.
“Sister, if you hate Evelyn, then you hate her. Why must you pick on a little kitten?”
She couldn’t help complaining: “Even if you hate her, must you extend your anger to an animal that resembles her but has absolutely no relation to her?”
Sure enough, the glow extinguished at the sound as Cynthia closed her palm.
“Nonsense.”
Cynthia raised her chin slightly. Light and shadow climbed up the cold side of her face along the hem of her cloak.
The Crown Princess spoke, cold as frost: “I have always held respect for Her Eminence the Saintess.”
The proud Crown Princess would never allow herself to fall into an undignified situation.
She casually adjusted the folds of her collar, her tone flat as she looked down condescendingly at the person and cat on the bed.
“Much less vent my anger on a cat.”
The obediently sitting person and cat exchanged looks with her.
Cynthia’s hand was still holding the cat by the neck with a look of disgust.
“However…”
Cynthia paused for a second before changing the subject. She suddenly released her fingers, letting the cat drop into Su Zhao’s arms.
Cynthia began covering her own tracks.
“I heard that a certain noble Earl recently lost a spiritual pet.”
Cynthia let out a light laugh. With a push of her left thumb, her sword slid three inches from its scabbard. A cold gleam flashed as the blade pressed against the cat’s throat, the steel reflecting Su Zhao’s abruptly widened eyes.
“The fur color and markings are an exact match. I believe this little creature looks exactly like the pet she described.”
Su Zhao felt the cat in her arms tense up instantly. As Cynthia’s blade hovered near its throat, she smiled.
“Why don’t you hand it over to me, little sister? I imagine this lovely little kitten can reunite with its poor owner tonight.”
Cynthia wasn’t stupid.
Given Evelyn’s series of abnormal actions, it was only natural for her to be suspicious.
What should she do? What should she do?
Burning with anxiety, a flash of inspiration hit Su Zhao. She suddenly threw her arms wide open, enveloping the cat entirely in her embrace, and raised her head with impassioned fervor.
“Dream on, give it up!”
“This is my cat! Once she falls into my hands, she belongs to me. Even though today is our first time meeting, my feelings for her have already taken deep root.”
“She is my cat in life, and my ghost in death. In life and death, she will follow by my side; not even death can separate us!”
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Cynthia: (She remained silent).
The hovering sword was a bit dangerous; the tip trembled uncontrollably and nearly grazed Su Zhao’s cheek.
She silently sheathed her sword.
The cat in Su Zhao’s arms grabbed onto the hem of her clothes, burying its entire face into her embrace. The long whiskers left exposed twitched slightly.
The lingering echoes of her words still reverberated through the room.
“Your cat in life, your ghost in death?”
Cynthia tapped her fingertips twice against her scabbard, suddenly letting out an extremely light sneer.
She looked at her, speaking with profound meaning:
“My dear sister, do not forget that if anything from the Holy See remains in the palace and is discovered by Mother, she will fly into a towering rage.”
Su Zhao realized this problem belatedly.
She couldn’t help lowering her head and petting the cat’s head.
She admitted it was her cat and established ownership. No matter how domineering or possessive Cynthia was, she wouldn’t disregard her wishes and dispose of her little pet behind her back.
But what about later?
The cat would only appear in front of them this one time. Once Evelyn left, the cat would disappear. If Cynthia wasn’t an idiot, she would realize something was wrong.
She had to handle the aftermath properly.
Conveniently, Cynthia had just handed her a ready-made excuse.
Su Zhao stared into the cat’s eyes, her brows knitting together tightly, and looked at it for a very, very long time.
Finally, she reluctantly pushed Cynthia’s hand away and hugged the cat tightly.
“…We cannot make Mother unhappy.”
She stroked the cat’s body reluctantly, a layer of tears gradually welling up in her eyes as her voice choked: “Then… then I will send it away tomorrow.”
From conflict to pain, from hesitation to the tragic resolve of making a decision, Su Zhao’s facial expressions changed incredibly naturally.
She gripped the cat’s hind legs tightly, stopping its attempts to jump up and attack Cynthia.
Looking at Cynthia with teary eyes, she made her painful resolve: “I have already caused Mother so much worry; I cannot make her angry again.”
Cynthia: “…Alright.”
Su Zhao’s words were fake beyond belief. Judging by Cynthia’s expression, she didn’t believe a single word of the excuse about fearing their mother’s anger.
“Sent away tomorrow.”
Cynthia’s shadow just happened to shroud Su Zhao’s tearful eyes. She spoke very considerately: “Would you like me to dispatch the Royal Guards to escort your precious darling?”
Su Zhao couldn’t help gripping the cat’s tail tightly.
The cat lifted its head from her embrace, its ice-blue eyes flashing with human-like concern.
Feigning ignorance, Su Zhao rubbed her tear streaks against the cat’s ear. When she looked up, a precarious teardrop still hung from her chin.
“No need to trouble Sister, I want to see her off personally.”
Cynthia’s gaze lingered for a moment on the cat’s fluffed-up tail before she suddenly straightened up and nodded: “Very well.”
Since it was destined not to stay, Cynthia couldn’t be bothered to waste any more energy on it, turning her attention to patrol the rest of the room instead.
Su Zhao: (She remained silent).
Where is the trust between people?
Obviously, she didn’t even believe her opening statement.
It had to be said that compared to the simple and easily fooled Saintess, the deeply scheming Cynthia was on a level more than just one tier above her.
The difficulty of capturing her was also several tiers higher.
Su Zhao couldn’t grasp her thoughts at all, only feeling that this person was capricious and unpredictable.
What she liked, what she hated, she hid it all incredibly deeply. So much so that even if Su Zhao wanted to put effort into pleasing her, she felt somewhat at a loss.
Su Zhao sadly held the Saintess’s little paw pad, staring into its ice-blue eyes. The cat in her arms was just about to lunge, but she pinched its scruff and pressed it down into the soft pillow.
The hair on the cat’s tail puffed up completely. Its arched back didn’t relax in the slightest; it glared fiercely at her before locking onto Cynthia like a wild beast eyeing its prey.
Such a troublesome little thing.
Su Zhao couldn’t help sighing.
So tiny and cute, completely oblivious to the massive size difference between them.
Didn’t she know Cynthia could crush her with a single step?
Su Zhao lifted her little paw, pressed it to her lips, and leaned close to comfort her: “Be good, precious baby, if you are good, Mommy will give you a kiss.”
The Persian cat’s back stiffened. It seemed some semblance of human reason still lingered in her mind as she couldn’t help looking back at her, eyes wide with utter disbelief.
Before Cynthia could look over and notice anything amiss, Su Zhao immediately hugged the fluffy head and planted a fierce kiss right on her forehead.
“How can a cat be this smart?”
Su Zhao’s voice was so low it was practically a breath as she leaned close to her ear: “Sister, you cannot act too human.”
Acting in front of a smart person like Cynthia was exceptionally painful.
Any tiny abnormal detail would be infinitely magnified in her eyes, capturing any oddity with sharp acuity.
She circled Su Zhao, slowly pacing around the room. Like a beast patrolling its territory, testing to see if the scent of an intruder lingered.
Even though her icy gaze only swept over occasionally, Su Zhao couldn’t help growing nervous, pinching the cat’s little paw pad to relieve stress.
The cat’s sharp claws retracted and extended.
Under Su Zhao’s persistent comforting and petting, the little kitten gradually relaxed. Yet its body remained tense.
It curled up in Su Zhao’s arms without moving an inch, its eyes still watching Cynthia warily.
“As soon as I returned, I heard a commotion from the room afar and worried you had been attacked again.”
After inspecting everything, Cynthia’s cold expression finally eased and softened slightly.
Her fingertips casually brushed against the doorframe, her tense shoulder line relaxing slightly as a smile finally reached the bottom of her frozen eyes.
“It seems I misheard.”
“…I made Sister worry.” Cynthia’s return had been too sudden. Su Zhao stroked the fluffed-up fur of the kitten in her arms, remaining silent for a long time.
In short, they had all been thoroughly spooked.
Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she still felt a guilty conscience akin to nearly being caught in bed with a lover.
“What has Sister been doing these past two days? You are acting so elusive every day.”
Still lingering in fear, Su Zhao scratched the cat’s chin.
“The envoy delegation from the Eastern Empire has arrived.”
Amused by her childish actions, the corners of Cynthia’s lips curled up slightly.
“Those old men in the parliament have been arguing endlessly about how to treat them. Mother can’t be bothered with these trivial matters, so she dumped it all on me.”
A sudden gust of night wind poured into the bedchamber, lifting Su Zhao’s falling strands of hair. Cynthia abruptly caught a whiff of an exceptionally faint scent of snow lotus, and her eyebrow twitched immediately.
Her gaze fell back, her hand idly resting on the sword at her waist as she sized up the cat in Su Zhao’s arms.
“Little sister, isn’t your cat a bit too fierce?”
She noticed the white scratch marks on the back of Su Zhao’s hand from the cat’s kicking. The skin was slightly broken, and by now, blood had slowly begun to seep out.
Cynthia placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Little sister, excessive leniency only leads to taking miles when given inches. This is especially true for beasts; they must be educated with a whip to learn obedience.”
The little kitten in her arms curled into a tiny ball, roughly the length of two palms. Su Zhao raised her hand, measured its length, and fell silent for a moment.
One strike of a whip, and this beast would probably vanish into fragrant oblivion.
“Does Sister not know? Animals are best at discerning human hearts. They acutely detect who is harmless and who is dangerous.”
The cat leaned obediently against her, gazing at her with incredibly innocent eyes that practically melted Su Zhao’s heart.
“Obviously you made it feel threatened, which is why it is so fierce toward you.”
Su Zhao unconsciously scooped up its fluffy front paws, pressing down on the soft pink paw pads.
In an instant, sharp claws popped out, gleaming coldly in the dim light.
Su Zhao held up its little paw and waved it cheerfully at Cynthia.
“Look, see how well-behaved it is with me.”
Su Zhao’s tone was full of bragging. Toward the end, she hugged the kitten’s head and gave it a hard kiss.
She smiled against Evelyn’s tense face: “Come here, precious baby, let Mommy give you a good kiss.”
“Precious baby?”
Cynthia’s grip on her sword tightened involuntarily. Pacing over, her gaze felt nearly tangible as it drifted back and forth between the person and the cat.
Su Zhao scratched the cat’s chin with a bent finger and looked up with a smile amidst its uncontrollable purring.
“What, is Sister even getting jealous of a little kitten?”
Right as she looked up, she suddenly saw a flash of silver light in the vanity mirror. Su Zhao’s gaze swept across the vanity table, catching an anomaly through the mirror opposite it.
Right beside her foot, lying quietly in the shadows at the foot of the bed, was a gleaming pearl button.
Round and beautiful, it was clearly top-tier goods.
Su Zhao’s pupils contracted sharply.
The hand holding the cat paw froze.
Her thoughts flowed automatically, and she suddenly remembered that this was the very button she had personally torn off while checking Evelyn’s wound earlier.
Cynthia walked toward her, her robes shifting and stirring the air in the room.
And so, Su Zhao smelled it too.
Amidst the dense fragrance of roses filling the room, this faint hint of snow lotus scent was like throwing a handful of cilantro into a boiling, spicy hotpot.
It was a bit too obvious.
Help me.
Su Zhao’s heart groaned.
Before one wave settled, another rose.
The cat in her arms struggled violently. Evelyn’s cat paw swatted the back of Su Zhao’s hand, leaving three reddened scratch marks behind as if trying to warn her.
The pain jolted Su Zhao awake.
Right at that moment, Su Zhao noticed Cynthia’s gaze wandering faintly around the area under the bed.
She hastily stepped on the button.
“I certainly do not compete with pets for favor.”
Cynthia had already arrived before her. Suddenly kneeling on the edge of the bed with one knee, she swept her gaze over Su Zhao’s panicked pupils, slowly lifted the ends of her hair, and asked leisurely.
“My dear sister, please enlighten me. Why is there a lingering aura of Evelyn inside my bedchamber?”