Chapter 1: Prologue

Sometimes, miracles come without a sound.

The sky just after a long-awaited rain was clear and pure. Willows left untended, their branches hanging loose, and bare deciduous trees swayed hard in the crisp wind.

To the black beast, the vast forest was like death.

Each time it forced its heavy eyelids open, beyond the unfamiliar grass it saw a terrifyingly blue sky. Ssshhh. Even at the sound of willow leaves and wind raging violently, the beast trembled with fear as if it were suffocating.

Then, suddenly, something rushed over without a sound.

It cast a large golden shadow over the beast’s head.

“Young Master Lindsay! Young Master Lindsay!”

A woman in an old bonnet craned her neck and peered around, calling desperately for someone. A bright blond boy, huddled tightly among the weeds and watching the scene, curled himself up even more and hid in a corner.

“Young Master Lindsay! ”

When the woman came close and shouted, the boy gasped and covered his mouth and nose with his small hands. He was worried that even his breathing might be heard.

Of course, Rosa was a good nanny who cared for him. But she cared too much, and that was the problem. Under Rosa’s watch, he could not even touch dirt with bare hands or put his feet in a stream.

It was his first outing in almost ten days. How could he sit still on a narrow picnic mat and just admire the scenery? Because of the fickle weather of the Kaidre estate, days when he could go outside like this were extremely limited.

Time was gold. He could not waste such a hard-won outing sitting still.

Lindsay watched Rosa with his mouth tightly covered. If he hid like this for a while, Rosa would call other servants to find him. Then she would go farther to search.

When Rosa’s voice grew distant, Lindsay poked his head out, checked around, and stood up. Pat, pat. The hand brushing dirt off his bottom was fair and plump.

“Rosa, sorry.”

Lindsay muttered toward the direction Rosa had disappeared, stepping backward. As if Rosa were actually in front of him, he lowered the corners of his eyes and made an apologetic face at the empty air. Then he turned and ran off at full speed.

The Mandella forest just after rain was wonderfully fresh and fragrant. Lindsay’s hair, fluttering in the cool breeze, was dazzling as if sunlight had settled in it. In sunlight it looked white as pearl; in shadow it took on a warm golden hue.

It was beautiful hair.

Lindsay pushed his hair out of his face and ran wildly. Perhaps that was not enough, because he kicked off his shoes one by one while running. He even tore off the silk socks Rosa especially liked, and his fully exposed feet were small and white.

His soft clean feet soon got stained with grass and dirt, but he did not care. He ran across the green grass until he was out of breath, then suddenly stopped.

“Whoa…”

His body, unable to overcome its own speed, tilted dangerously forward.

Lindsay barely steadied himself and looked down at the beast squirming at his feet.

“…Hello?”

A strange light gleamed in his green eyes as he looked down at the beast.

“Meow.”

The small snout opened and closed in a diamond shape as it made a weak sound. Tiny fangs, like specks, peeked out and vanished.

Lindsay bent his knees and sat in front of it.

A fluffy front paw stepped back.

“Oh my…!”

‘So cute!’

Lindsay covered his mouth with both hands, eyes wide, and looked down at the beast. He held back the urge to rush over and hug it, pressing a hand to his pounding chest to calm down.

“…Where’s your mom?”

He calmly looked around the empty area.

Usually in times like this, the mother should be nearby…

Lindsay sat at a distance, crouched, quietly meeting the beast’s eyes and passing the time.

When quite some time had passed, with only the chilly wind and sunlight filling the silence between them, Lindsay saw the beast trembling slightly and tilted his head.

“Are you alone?”

“Meow.”

As if answering him, the small mouth opened and closed. A bright red tongue peeked out, licked its nose, and slipped back in.

“…Want to come with big brother?”

Lindsay slowly approached. The beast, smaller than seven-year-old Lindsay’s upper body, seemed to have no energy to run and was caught helplessly in his hands. Lindsay slipped his hands under its armpits and lifted it skillfully, then looked over the neat front paws in front of his eyes and the face above them, which stared back at him with bewildered eyes.

The beast was like a black ball of cotton. Its golden eyes, set in that black fluffy face, shone like the universe. The golden irises rippled slowly, closing vertically and opening again.

“Your eyes are so pretty.”

He did not know if it was answering his compliment or crying to be put down, but Lindsay was completely charmed by the cute voice and hugged the black beast tightly.

“Young Master!”

Rosa’s voice came from behind him. It sounded angry, but mixed with relief.

Lindsay turned his head, still holding the beast tightly.

“Where have you been! I told you not to step on dirt with bare feet!”

Rosa was holding his shoes and socks. Ah, only then did Lindsay look at Rosa, who was crouching in front of him, with an oops expression. She must have tracked him by following the shoes and socks he had dropped one by one along his running path.

He should have hidden those thoroughly too, but he had been so excited to be outside after so long that he forgot.

“Huh!”

Rosa, who had been brushing dirt off Lindsay’s small feet with her hands, finally noticed the beast in his arms and fell backward in surprise. Lindsay pushed the beast right up to Rosa’s eyes with a proud face.

“Isn’t it pretty? I’m taking it home.”

“Again? There are already so many animals at home!”

“But there’s no cat.”

“Why is there no cat? Then are Roton and Pigi tigers instead of cats?”

Lindsay shrugged casually at Rosa’s words.

“There’s no black cat.”

“Young Master, what did Priest Amel say would happen if you brought home another animal?”

Lindsay’s lips immediately jutted out. His curly hair, which Rosa had brushed so carefully that morning, was already a tousled mess from how hard he had run. He lowered his eyes and spoke in a subdued voice.

“He said he’d double my history lessons.”

Rosa smoothed his hair and asked gently.

“You hate history lessons more than death, don’t you, Young Master?”

Lindsay nodded reluctantly.

“Then put it down quickly. A big cat like that has already lived in the wild for a long time, so it can’t be kept indoors.”

“No, it’s still a baby.”

Lindsay pushed the beast in his hands even closer to Rosa. Look, its paws and ears still look like a baby’s, the fur is all spiky, it does not even know how to groom itself yet, and it seems to have no mother… He mumbled at Rosa with a desperate face.

“Do you want to take history lessons for half a day straight?”

“I heard today you’re reviewing from the first chapter of ancient history again…”

His plump lower lip puckered with a groan.

Ancient history was Lindsay’s least favorite subject. He could not understand a word of it, and during certain chapters, Priest Amel tended to lose his reason and run classes hours overtime.

How many dessert times had he missed because of that?

That was the one thing he truly could not bear…

Lindsay looked at the black back of its head nestled against his chest. Its small pointed ears twitched as if listening to his and Rosa’s conversation. The spiky fur flattened and rose again.

“…Hmm.”

Lindsay let out a deep sigh uncharacteristic for his age. He agonized for a while with a face carrying all the worries in the world, then nodded again and again with a determined expression and answered.

“…I’ll listen!”

“Really? Even though you’ll have to memorize the entire chapter?”

“…Yes, yes…! Then can I take the baby home?”

Lindsay asked, gently stroking the top of the beast’s head in his arms. Even if it meant doubling his history lessons, he was determined to take this baby home. At his resolute words, Rosa let out a heavy sigh.

“Fine, I suppose… You’re the one who’ll suffer, not me.”

With a resigned face, Rosa put the rest of his shoe on his left foot. Then she looked up and found Lindsay beaming down at her. She could not help but smile back.

Whenever Lindsay, whom Rosa served, smiled, the corners of his eyes drooped. She always surrendered to that smile. And his platinum-blond hair, warm as if sunlight had melted into it, made Lindsay look even kinder and cuter.

Of course, the Heslem family loathed this hair, and it was also why Lindsay lived almost confined in the mansion, but Rosa loved everything about him.

“I swear, you’ll be the death of me, Young Master.”

“You can’t die. Let’s live together for a long, long time, okay?”

“Okay? Okay?” Lindsay tilted his head side to side playfully, meeting Rosa’s eyes. Rosa put a hand on her waist and let out a laughing sigh.

When Priest Amel saw the beast in Lindsay’s arms after the walk, his face froze in shock.

“It’s a bit big, isn’t it? I think it might be an adult cat. I know you already have many animals, Young Master, but I thought one more wouldn’t hurt…”

Rosa hid Lindsay behind her with a troubled face and made excuses. Priest Amel signaled to Rosa with his eyes.

‘Does that look like a cat to you, Miss Rosa?’

‘The Young Master insists on bringing it home. What am I supposed to do?’

Lindsay noticed the silent argument passing between their eyes and poked his head out from behind Rosa.

“I begged her. Don’t scold Rosa.”

Only then did Amel look away from Rosa and let out an awkward sigh.

“That thing…”

The old priest’s gaze fixed on the beast in Lindsay’s arms. He forced a kind smile and said,

“I don’t think that’s a cat, Young Master.”

“What?”

Lindsay lifted the beast with both hands to look closer. It had been sleeping with its chin resting on his arm, and now, suddenly awake, it blinked sleepy eyes and sniffed at Lindsay’s scent as Lindsay leaned his face close to its nose.

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