The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 4 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Celestine’s Feelings

In Sector Two of the Nation of the Dragon King’s royal castle, Jade sat in the room serving as his temporary office, locked in battle with the hefty mountain of documents stacked on his desk. He was quite busy. In addition to settling matters with the most recent set of incidents, he had also just received Joshua’s report of their time in the Nation of the Beast King.

“The dead being risen, huh?” he repeated to himself.

“What could the Church of God’s Light intend on doing?” Claus asked, furrowing his brow as he scanned over the report himself. “Their ties with the witches is also concerning.”

“Well, nothing is set in stone just yet. The Church of God’s Light seems to be in the Nation of the Beast King, so we’ll just have to leave it up to Arman to take care of things,” Jade said.

“Yes. It also seems they used the blood already. I believe the report said Ewan was the first to suggest using it,” Claus said. He directed his gaze toward Finn, who was standing near the wall reading over the report as well.

Finn grimaced and Jade looked none too pleased himself.

“And after I gave them ample warning to be discreet about using it too,” said Jade. “I’m glad nothing happened, regardless.”

“I shall reeducate Ewan once he returns to the kingdom, Sire,” Finn said, bowing in apology. “It seems it’s still too early for Ewan to learn our secret techniques.”

Jade gave a single nod. “It would seem so,” he replied.

Making medicine using dragon blood was a dragonkin secret technique. Not all dragonkin knew about it, and several conditions needed to be met before one could learn the ways. Ewan hadn’t fulfilled those conditions yet, so he didn’t know the secret techniques. But after this mishap, he probably wouldn’t gain that opportunity for quite some time.

Between the Church of God’s Light, the risen dead, and the dragonkin who had gone missing in the castle, there were a heap of problems to be solved. With this many headache-inducing issues on the table, Jade was beginning to crave a healing touch as he longed for that soft and fluffy coat of snow-white fur.

“Haaah, I miss Ruri... Are the repairs to the castle still not finished?”

“Everyone is working to the best of their abilities, but it will still be a while before they’re done,” Claus replied.

Jade slumped in his chair. He suppressed his urge to cast his work aside and go to meet Ruri. Instead, he took up his pen, saying, “Well, I just hope she’s getting along with Celestine, at least...”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The next morning, after her all-night drinking party with Celestine, Ruri awoke to a terrible headache.

“Ugh~ My head is splitting~” Ruri groaned, holding her head. She had yet to get out of bed.

“Well, yes, you drank too much,” Rin said as she flapped her arms over to Ruri’s side.

“Ruri, are you all right?” Kotaro asked. He sounded exasperated, but he was peering into Ruri’s face with concern.

Ruri wasn’t sure when she had returned to her room; her recollection was a total blank. She remembered exchanging some heated words with Celestine, after which they randomly decided to have some sort of competition to see who could drink the most. She couldn’t recall a single thing that happened after that. Someone must’ve carried her back to her room once she passed out halfway through.

Her overconsumption had also led to quite the nasty hangover. Ruri didn’t just have a headache; she felt sick in general. A hangover was unavoidable for anyone at that point—especially if they hardly ever drank, didn’t know their limits, and spent a whole night drinking their weight in booze. The pain in her head and the general discomfort prompted her to solemnly swear off alcohol for the rest of her days.

Ruri took some hangover medicine, but she still found it hard to get out of bed. She finally managed to get up some time after noon. With no appetite to speak of, she downed some easy-to-stomach soup, took a moment to regain her bearings, and decided to head to the springs to revitalize her mood.

Once she undressed in the changing room, Ruri hopped right into the bath. That was when she spotted Celestine there as well. Time stood still as neither of them made eye contact. Given how sickly Celestine looked, she was probably just as hungover as Ruri.

Ruri remembered the heated words she exchanged with Celestine last night. Even though she felt awkward about it, she was already too far in to turn back now, so she stayed in the bath. Thankfully, the tub itself was massive, like a public bathhouse, so there remained a bit of distance between the two of them.

Silence fell and the tense air made it difficult to stay in place. Ruri was about to get out of the bath early, but that was when Celestine’s voice rang out.

“...Lady Ruri, when did you fall in love with Master Jade?”

Ruri was at a loss for words. “No, um, err...” she stammered, remembering that the misunderstanding still hadn’t been cleared up. She attempted to say something to finally clear the air once and for all, but Celestine interjected before she could get a word out.

“I’ve loved Master Jade since childhood. It was love at first sight from the moment I laid eyes on him, and my heart has not wavered since. At first, I was wrought with indecision. Master Jade, the Dragon King; I, the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King. Marrying one another would create a great many issues.”

The Nation of the Beast King was mostly wasteland. Cropland was in scant supply, so its harvest greatly depended on the existence of their Beloved. Not only that, but the proceeds the nation received from the extensive sale of Beloved-related merchandise was quite substantial. If Celestine were to marry Jade and join him in the Nation of the Dragon King, it would severely impact the Nation of the Beast King in a number of ways. The Nation of the Dragon King wanted to avoid souring relations with the Nation of the Beast King as well, which stealing their Beloved would absolutely do. It was a union that neither side wished to happen.

“Nevertheless, even though I knew it would cause problems, my heart remained the same. I tried the best I could. I took great care so that my personal appearance would be pleasing, and I learned how to act graceful and refined, all so Master Jade would choose me—all so I could stand by his side. And yet... And yet here I am, with some girl fresh out nowhere snatching him away from me,” Celestine said, glaring daggers straight toward Ruri.

Ruri’s face tightened. Apologizing would come off as strange, so she didn’t really know what to say. Actually, Ruri’s conscience nearly drove her to apologize, but that seemed like a surefire way to hurt Celestine’s pride.

“Up until now, I’ve used my status as a Beloved to eliminate any woman that hung around Master Jade, but I can’t necessarily do that if I’m dealing with another Beloved. I would have long since taken measures otherwise,” Celestine said with eyes that spelled regret and frustration.

Ruri was sweating bullets, thankful that she was a Beloved and not just a normal girl in this situation. She also shuddered to think just how Celestine went about “eliminating” people.

Celestine breathed a sigh to regain her composure and removed her gaze from Ruri.

“...I understand. I understand that Master Jade sees me as nothing more than a friend or maybe even a younger sister. However, while Master Jade always awkwardly turned me down, he never flat out refused me; that is a facet of his kindness that I’ve taken for granted.”

“Celestine-san...”

The normally strong-willed Celestine now seemed faint of heart. She must have really been in love with Jade. Ruri could feel how much her affection was tearing her up inside.

She decided to clear the air about this once and for all as she said, “Um, Celestine-san, you’ve been mistaken. Jade-sama and I aren’t mates at all. Jade-sama just fawns over me because I can turn into a cat and he’s a lover of small animals. Rest assured, he only considers me a pet, so there’s nothing going on between us.”

After saying everything she needed to say, Ruri breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Celestine—to find that she was shooting a somewhat angry glare her way.

“...Why might you be glaring at me, if I may ask?”

“You say there is nothing between you and Master Jade?”

“Y-Yes. That’s correct,” Ruri replied, hesitantly nodding her head in the face of Celestine’s intensity.

But Celestine was not satisfied with that answer. In fact, it only made her even angrier.

“Then what is that necklace about?! Master Jade gave it to you, did he not?!”

“You mean this necklace?” Ruri took the glass orb housing Jade’s scale into her hand. Jade gave it to her as a good luck charm, so she kept it on while in the springs.

“You don’t just blatantly show off something like that if there’s nothing between you and Master Jade!”

Ruri was confused. Why was Celestine getting so upset over this trinket?

“Um, is there something about this charm that I’m missing?”

Celestine glared at her. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Are you trying to feign ignorance to disarm the situation?”

“No, I really don’t know what you’re talking about...” Ruri answered, completely clueless.

“That’s Master Jade’s dragonheart and you know it!”

Ruri cocked her head in confusion. Dragonheart—she felt as though she’d heard that word somewhere before. It was the symbol of courtship that dragonkin bestowed upon their mates.

“No, this is a good luck charm. Jade-sama told me it was when he gave it to me.”

Getting the sinking suspicion that Ruri’s confusion was genuine, Celestine calmed herself and asked, “You received that scale from Master Jade, did you not?”

“I did.”

“And there is truly nothing between the two of you?”

“Yes, nothing,” Ruri said, nodding her head. She maintained direct eye contact in order to convince Celestine that her statement was in no way false.

“Do you know where he pulled that scale from?”

“Um, around his heart, if I remember correctly. I noticed it was the only part of him that was a different color, and when I pointed it out, Jade-sama plucked it out for me, saying it was a good luck charm.”

Celestine winced for a second as if fighting back a sudden pain and said, “That is, without a doubt, a dragonheart. A single scale of different color growing atop his chest—the same color as his eyes. What you are wearing around your neck right now is Master Jade’s dragonheart.”

“His... Huh?” Ruri was about to laugh it off as being preposterous, but Celestine’s face was dead serious. She swallowed her words and slowly looked down to Jade’s scale hanging from her neck.

She was in utter disbelief. However, her mind immediately went toward doubt. After all, there was no way Jade would give her something so important. It made her suspect what Celestine was telling her.

“Master Jade does not see you as a mere pet. If he did, he wouldn’t possibly give you that.”

“Um, I find that hard to believe.”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, seeing as how you weren’t even aware that was a dragonheart, but Master Jade always feeds you during meals, does he not?”

“Yes, he does.”

“That is called ‘partnerial allofeeding,’ which is a courtship custom performed by male dragonkin.”

Ruri’s eyes widened. “No, that was just him feeding his pet...”

“Male dragonkin only personally feed their mates and their children. Seeing that was enough for me to recognize that you were Master Jade’s mate.”

Ruri had never considered there was any deeper meaning to Jade’s actions. She’d always believed he was simply doing something akin to feeding a pet, but her conceptions were shattering at Celestine’s words.

Despite the evidence, Ruri still couldn’t bring herself to accept it. She thought it unbelievable—infeasible.

She might have been unconsciously trying to dance around the subject, feeling that her relationship with Jade might change if she accepted it. There was a part of her that didn’t want to think about it. The times Ruri spent with Jade were gentle and affectionate, but not in any sort of romantic way. They were calm and peaceful times that Ruri adored.

What would even happen if the element of romance were added to their relationship? Wouldn’t it be impossible to maintain the same gentle mood they always shared? Those doubts ran across Ruri’s mind, and she couldn’t rebuff them. She could do nothing other than stubbornly deny what Celestine was telling her.

“No, but...”

“I don’t know how you think of it, but Master Jade has been treating you as his mate, beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“That just can’t be...”

“This might be a prime opportunity for you. Master Jade views you in a completely different light than me. That is how big the gap is between his mate and everyone else,” Celestine said, closing her eyes as if to suppress her emotions. The splashing of hot water accompanied her out of the bath as she left Ruri to sit in a dumbfounded daze.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After Celestine left, it wasn’t long before Ruri started to feel overheated from sitting in the hot water too long. Once she stepped out and returned to her room, she collapsed onto her bed to cool off her flushed body.

Her mind was occupied by one thing: the conversation from earlier. Dragonhearts, partnerial allofeeding—all of these things spun around in her head, driving her up a wall.

“Say, Rin, guys? Did you know? That this was a dragonheart, that is.”

“Yes, we sure did,” Rin nonchalantly answered.

“Why did none of you ever tell me?” Ruri asked, shooting her a rebuking look.

“We knew you’d figure it out eventually.”

“Fat chance! There’s still a lot about how things work in this world that I don’t know. I’ve heard about dragonhearts before, but this whole ‘partnerial allofeeding’ stuff is news to me.”

Celestine said that feeding someone was a form of courtship, but Jade had been doing it for quite some time now. Which would mean that, ever since then, Jade had been treating Ruri as his...

“...Does that mean Jade-sama has feelings for me? You know, not as a pet?”

“Well, he wouldn’t have given you his dragonheart otherwise. A dragonheart is absolutely precious to a dragonkin, after all.”

Ruri didn’t want to believe her ears. It was inconceivable. She had been like a pet to Jade and his fluffy animal-loving ways, which was why he would always fawn over her so much—at least, that was what she thought.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Jade saw her as his mate. From when exactly? He definitely treated her like a pet at first. When did he start seeing her in a different light? None of this made any sense to Ruri.

“Just so you know, you’re the only one who never caught on. All the king’s aides and all the dragonkin knew about his feelings for you. You are the only one who didn’t.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Ruri exclaimed. She sprang up to a sitting position and looked Rin right in the face.

“I’m serious. With him practically doting on you this entire time and partnerial allofeeding right in public, anyone with eyes would notice. While you were overcome with naive joy over receiving the king’s scale as a gift, the king was disappointed you didn’t realize he actually gave you a dragonheart.”

“Really? You say that so matter-of-factly, but remember I’m not from this world. How was I supposed to know?”

“Be that as it may, it clearly showed in his attitude. Male dragonkin only devote themselves that much to one person—their mate. There’s also his attempts to keep you by his side morning, noon, and night. And let’s not forget how he’s always concerned about your whereabouts whenever you’re out of sight. Try telling the dragonkin that work in the castle that there’s ‘nothing between you two.’ Why, their jaws would all drop to the floor.”

Ruri was shocked. Everyone had been forming this assumption right under her nose.

“His aides are the only ones who know you’re not lovers. Everyone else has long since assumed you two are an item.”

“...Am I really that dense?” she questioned, seeing as how everyone around her knew but she was oblivious despite being so close to Jade.

“Quite so, yes.”

“Urghh~ But, but! Jade-sama never said anything to me, not once!”

“I believe he’s said plenty to you. You’ve just been construing it all as talk toward you as a pet, haven’t you?”

“Urk, I suppose that’s true.”

She hadn’t thought Jade saw her as a member of the opposite sex. He often told her that she was “cute,” but she figured it was all directed toward her cat form.

“Well, what now, Ruri?”

“Huh? About wh-wh-wh-what?”

“About the king. If you have no feelings for him, then you need to return that dragonheart, don’t you? However, you should carefully consider before doing so. The king’s future hangs in the balance.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once a dragonkin finds a partner, their dragonheart changes color. And that scale can only be given to the person who caused the color change. If that dragonkin were to get turned down before they removed it, then it would revert to its natural color once they sorted through their emotions. However, once they pull it off, it’s already too late. Should the person who changed the scale’s color refuse it, then the dragonkin will never be able to hold a mate ever again. Dragonkin can also only produce offspring with the person they’ve given their dragonheart to. Accepting one requires commitment.”

“Wait, really?!” Ruri exclaimed. The scale suddenly felt much weightier than before.

Why would Jade hand her this and lie about it being a good luck charm? He left Ruri in the dark and gave it to her without any clear proof she would even accept it. If she returned it now, Jade wouldn’t be able to have a mate ever again. It was hard to tell what his intentions were.

“Ruri, what do you think of the king? From my perspective, you seem to have affection for him.”

“Well... Unghh...” Ruri said with a groan, racking her brain.

If asked whether she liked Jade, well of course she did. As for whether she liked him in a romantic way? That left her unsure.

With his gentle gaze and his professed “doting,” Ruri couldn’t help but feel affection for him. He was also physically attractive and had a great personality. However, she had tried not to think of anything beyond that. She kept telling herself that his conduct was between a man and his pet, not a man and a woman.

Even so, Ruri knew it. She knew that the moment she found herself trying to contain herself—setting barriers between the two of them so that Jade’s views of her wouldn’t get conflated—her feelings for Jade would go far beyond simple, platonic affection.

She had thought Jade never saw her as a member of the opposite sex this entire time. Ruri had said things like wanting a new family and wanting a boyfriend in this world, but the reason she didn’t include any of the dragonkin in that equation was actually because she was being mindful of Jade.

Jade apparently thought of her as his mate, which seemed to make the decision easy—no need for overthinking. But weakness started to rear its ugly head. Doubts started to bubble up to the surface. She questioned why he chose her and whether it was truly all right for her to accept him.

“Aaah, what should I do, Rin?!”

“Well, some calm consideration for starters. You have time to do so.”

And so a problem more troubling than the Church of God’s Light put Ruri through the wringer for several days on end.