“Kitty!”
Celoia let out a small gasp. Bracing his hands on the floor, he scrambled up and squatted carefully in front of the black cat. He reached out a finger to lightly poke the cat’s soft paw pad. Startled by the wonderful, velvety texture beneath his touch, he couldn’t help but cheer again.
The black cat elegantly licked its fur, its deep gaze fixed on the child. It raised a paw and gave a firm—but not too heavy—swat to Celoia’s hand as he reached out again to pet its fur.
“Little cat, what are you doing here? Are you lost?” Celoia didn’t feel upset by the cat’s rejection. He naturally withdrew his hand, folding his arms in front of his face and resting his chin on the back of his hands. His voice was light and cheery.
The black cat glanced at him, lifted its paws, and walked into the room with light, graceful steps. As it passed Celoia, its long, thin tail brushed ever so lightly against his cheek, leaving a soft, ticklish sensation.
Celoia froze, raising a hand to touch the spot on his cheek.
After a moment, he reacted to the massive surprise. He hopped a few times and trotted to the bedside, clutching the sheets. “Little kitty, are you going to sleep with me?” he asked excitedly.
The black cat gave a lazy meow, its eyes squinting drowzily. It pressed its head against the pillow, nuzzling it unconsciously.
Completely smitten by the cat, Celoia stared from the edge of the bed for a long while. It wasn’t until the cat meowed several times in a hint of impatience that he reluctantly ran to the door, laboriously dragged the blanket he had dropped earlier back to the bed, and obediently settled in for sleep.
The room was still vast and empty, but this time Celoia didn’t feel lonely or afraid. He lay flat for a while before peeking out of one eye to make sure the black cat’s eyes were closed. Only then did he pretend to roll over casually toward the right.
His chubby cheek pressed into the soft cat fur. Celoia took a deep breath, feeling immensely satisfied.
The black cat lay motionless, appearing to be in a deep sleep.
Celoia maintained this position, observing for a while longer. He began to slide his hand up from his side, seemingly wanting to place it on the cat. But before he could succeed, the black cat suddenly opened its eyes.
Those violet eyes sparkled with light, devoid of any sleepiness. Clearly, the cat had been faking its slumber.
Startled, Celoia hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut and let his hand go limp. To make it more convincing, he even let out a few soft, fake snores.
The room fell silent. Celoia’s heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst. His breath was shallow as he held it, ears straining for any sound from the bed.
He thought he heard the black cat let out a sigh.
Following that, a furry weight emerged from the covers. The black cat walked a few steps further onto the bed and lay down right next to Celoia. Its tail curved up, gently and rhythmically patting Celoia’s back, as if urging a naughty child to go to sleep.
Celoia closed his eyes, gripping the corner of the blanket. Under the steady rhythm of those pats, a wave of sleepiness finally washed over him.
He let out a long, lazy yawn and finally fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, the Demon Realm welcomed a long-awaited bit of good weather. The red light shifted in tone, casting a warm orange hue onto the curtains, bringing a touch of coziness to the room.
Celoia yawned sleepily, awakened from his dreams by the light. The room was quiet, with no sound to be heard; it seemed to be very early.
He sat up with difficulty, slowly coming to his senses. His eyes were misty with physiological tears that had just welled up.
His soft blonde hair was a mess after a night of tossing and turning, sticking out in every direction. Celoia rubbed his head vigorously, trying to smooth it down, but it only made the unruly tufts stand up even more wildly.
His cheeks and lips were flushed red. Having slept so soundly, he was still radiating the warmth trapped by the heavy blankets.
He looked left and right, his sluggish brain slowly processing information. Seeing the empty space beside him, he let out a confused “Huh?”
“Where’s the kitty?”
Celoia slid off the bed, squatted to put on his shoes, and washed up. Only then was he fully awake.
He opened his bedroom door and poked his head out, but he still didn’t see anyone. Tugging at the hem of his shirt, he called out timidly, “Is anyone there?”
“Of course, my little treasure. Do you need my help with something?”
A deep, slightly stiff voice suddenly echoed near Celoia’s ear, scaring him so much that he slammed the door shut with a thud.
His heart raced. Celoia blinked rapidly, taking a good while to control the urge to scream. “Where are you?” he asked weakly. “I can’t see you.”
“I’m on the wall. Open the door and look to your left. That is my body. I’m terribly sorry for scaring you; I should have been more careful when greeting you.” The voice sounded helpless but very gentle.
Celoia was quickly mollified. He was an adventurous child at heart; once he was certain he wasn’t encountering a ghost, his courage returned.
He quietly pulled the door open a crack.
Celoia pressed one eye to the gap, peeking to the left of the door. He had returned too late last night and the light had been poor, so he hadn’t noticed the secrets of the walls. Along the hundreds of meters of the long corridor, rows of figures were intricately carved. Each one was so lifelike it seemed they could step out of the wall at any moment.
The one who had greeted Celoia was the one closest to his door.
Even though the carved pattern didn’t move, Celoia could keenly sense a soul locked within the figure—and this soul was staring directly at him.
He shivered slightly and gathered his courage. “H-hello. Have you seen a black cat?”
“You mean the black cat?” the man’s voice rose slightly. The statue on the wall suddenly lit up with a brilliant glow. He sounded quite excited. Simultaneously, other statues along the wall began to glow faintly. Though they didn’t speak, they had all awakened and were quietly eavesdropping.
Celoia nodded, not understanding the reaction.
A statue on the right lit up, and a cheerful male voice chimed in. He urged, “Quickly, tell us! What did that black cat do? Did he bully you? Tell your big brother here, and I’ll teach him a lesson for you.”
Faint, low laughter echoed from other parts of the hall.
Celoia’s eyes widened and his cheeks puffed out. He snapped back unhappily, “You shouldn’t guess if you don’t know what happened! The cat didn’t bully me at all. He… he let me pet his fur, he slept with me, and he patted my back with his tail to comfort me. You’re not allowed to slander him!”
“Huh?” the cheerful voice responded blankly, sounding incredulous and a bit mischievous. He giggled, “That cold-faced Demon King actually knows how to comfort a child? That’s a first in a hundred years. Hahaha! I have to write this down. Next time he tries to lecture me, I’ll bring this up. He’ll definitely…”
Before he could finish, a person walked leisurely from the end of the corridor and stopped in front of the statue.
The newcomer seemed very interested in the topic and asked, “He’ll definitely what?”
The cheerful voice replied gleefully, “He’ll definitely be fly into a rage out of shame! Everyone knows he’s just a…”
The voice grew smaller and smaller. The surrounding area had suddenly become deathly silent, as if no one had ever been there. But it was too late to stop now; the last two words popped out of his mouth.
Tsundere.”
Deroville let out a cold sneer. His well-defined fingers tapped lightly on the statue. As the statue’s light rapidly dimmed toward total disappearance, he threw out a sentence: “We’ll settle the score when you return from your honeymoon.”
Celoia shuffled over to Deroville one step at a time, habitually hugging the man’s calf. He looked up and asked curiously, “Dero, who are they? Why are they inside the statues?”
Deroville naturally leaned down and scooped Celoia into his arms, turning to take him to breakfast.
“They are my subordinates. For various reasons, they aren’t physically here right now. In the Demon Realm, we seal a portion of our souls within the palace. This way, no matter where we go, we can return at any time. If there’s danger, we can communicate more quickly. it’s a defensive strategy.”
“However, their ‘vacation’ won’t be much longer. You’ll see them soon.”
Deroville pinched Celoia’s cheek. Seeing the boy’s face full of wonder and expectation—mixed with a hint of timidness—he thought for a moment and promised, “I will personally introduce you to them when the time comes. Don’t be afraid. They are all good people.”
Most of the time, Deroville was an exceptionally capable adult. He didn’t lose his temper and rarely refused to answer a child’s questions, instead guiding them patiently. This gave Celoia a profound sense of security.
At least for the current Celoia, Deroville was truly his favorite, favorite, favorite person.
The boy nodded heavily and gave a firm “Mm!”
Of course, at the dining table, Deroville transformed back into a very uncompromising dictator.
He pushed a fresh plate in front of Celoia, his voice flat. “Celoia, this is your breakfast. You must finish it all. No wasting.”
Celoia was so startled he gripped his utensils tightly, not knowing where to begin. He looked completely at a loss.
Crystal-clear fruits glistened appetizingly, and a glass was full of fresh milk—those weren’t the problem. But why… why was there something that looked like a worm?
Celoia’s face crumpled in conflict. He poked the unknown object, unable to bring himself to open his mouth. He thought about it over and over, finally gathering the courage to try and bargain, but he suddenly locked eyes with Deroville.
He thought to himself with a start: Dero’s eye color is exactly the same as the black cat’s.