The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Signs of Romance

The skies were clear and the weather was fair, the perfect conditions for travel. As the sun shone overhead, the wide terrace of the castle was packed with people ready to go forth to the Nation of the Beast King and those ready to bid those people farewell.

They would be traveling to the Nation of the Beast King by air. Many of those who came from the Nation of the Beast King were winged beast people. Anybody who lacked wings and couldn’t fly had to ride on the soldiers coming from the Nation of the Dragon King. Flying by way of magic was also an option, but a long flight to somewhere as far as the Nation of the Beast King could drain one’s mana and send them crashing down before they could reach the end, so no one dared to try that method. Ruri had enough mana to ensure that wasn’t a problem, but she planned on riding on Kotaro’s back all the way.

“Ruri, are you all ready?” asked Jade as he approached her. He was there to see her off. Finn and Claus were behind him, most likely having come to see both Ewan and Joshua respectively.

“Yes, I’m good to go at any time,” Ruri replied.

“Make sure to take care of yourself,” Jade advised.

“I’ll be fine. I have the spirits, Joshua, and Ewan with me,” Ruri responded cheerfully.

That didn’t help wipe the worry from Jade’s expression, however, as his face practically screamed that he wanted to accompany Ruri if he could help it.

“I’ve already asked Arman to handle things, so if something happens with Celestine, go to him.”

“What happens?”

“Um, well, you know? Something.”

Ruri scratched her head at Jade’s vague wording. She couldn’t help but be equal parts curious and concerned over what Jade was implying.

That was when Celestine arrived. “My, you needn’t worry, Master Jade. I will be responsible for Lady Ruri and show her the utmost hospitality during her stay,” she said with an elegant smile.

Jade looked at her with a rather sour expression. “Celestine, I implore you, I beseech you not to go out of line,” he said, giving a heavily emphasized warning.

Celestine looked somewhat surprised. “Why, I’m not going to take and eat her. However, I will say that compromising on many long years of affection is not an easy task, Sire.”

Seeing the tinge of sorrow on her face, Jade found himself at a loss for words. His brow turned upward apologetically, and he said, “If that will satisfy you, Celestine, I hope you have a nice, long chat with Ruri.”

“Yes, I shall.”

Watching Celestine and Jade’s exchange, Ruri felt her heart drop into her stomach. She wondered if she was going to be bullied around in the Nation of the Beast King.

Possibly displeased with the extremely nervous look in Ruri’s eyes, Celestine asked Jade, “But...you wouldn’t mind if I’m a little mean, now would you?”

“Huh?” Ruri replied, confused.

“Well...” Jade started, “only if it’s in moderation.”

“What?! Why are you giving her permission, Jade-sama?!” Ruri asked, shocked that he would sign off on something like that considering that she would be the one getting bullied.

“It’s fine. Celestine wouldn’t do anything insidious to a Beloved...I think.” Jade didn’t seem confident enough to state this with certainty.

“You think?!”

“Tee hee hee. I simply jest,” Celestine said with a giggle.

However, from Ruri’s perspective, Celestine’s uninviting eyes seemed to paint a different picture—something that Ruri wished was just a figment of her imagination. She was starting to think her trip to the Nation of the Beast King was a bad idea.

“Um, I think you might be mistaken, so I assure you Jade-sama and I are...”

“Your Majesty, preparations are in order!”

Ruri was attempting to clear up the confusion about her being Jade’s mate while she had the chance, but Ewan and Joshua, who had finished scrambling to make their final travel preparations, interrupted her to give a status report.

“Very well,” replied Jade.

Once Ewan’s eyes fell upon Celestine, standing by Jade’s side, his face turned red and he hurried to move his sights elsewhere—while still looking at her out of the corner of his eye. It was a reaction that not only Ruri noticed with curiosity but Claus and Finn as well. Even Jade could feel something was amiss, but he decided to introduce the two to Celestine for the time being instead.

“Celestine, this is Ewan and Joshua. They’ll be accompanying Ruri to the Nation of the Beast King. I assume Joshua needs no explanation. However, Ewan is Finn’s younger brother.”

“Hello, it has been quite some time,” she greeted Joshua, apparently having a degree of familiarity with him. She then turned to face Ewan, presumably for the first time, and smiled sweetly. “This is not our first meeting. I don’t believe we exchanged words, but we have met before, have we not?”

She was talking about the time Azelda barged into Sector One of the castle. It was basically Finn’s job to accompany Jade as a bodyguard during his trips abroad. While Ewan went to other nations, his path would never intersect with Celestine. And though she had visited the Nation of the Dragon King in the past, despite being in the military, Ewan performed a lot of clerical work, meaning he wouldn’t be assigned to bodyguard duty for royal guests. Because of that, he would never meet face-to-face with Celestine. As a result, while this was technically their second meeting, it was the first time they actually exchanged words. However...

“Y-Y-Y-Yes! My name is Ewan. Very pleased to make your acquaintance!” Ewan stammered, blushing and tremendously flustered.

“Come now, don’t be so tense. I’m sure this will be the first of many chances we have to chat, so I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, the pleasure is all mine!” Ewan said as he glanced at Celestine. He looked hot and bothered—like a boy in love.

Ruri looked at Joshua, and she could tell from his expression that they both had the same idea, which caused them both to grin devilishly.

“I never thought I would see the day. Look at Ewan, the little card...” Ruri said.

“Well, now I know what I’m looking forward to on this trip. Maybe I should keep an observation diary,” Joshua commented.

“Finn-san, Ewan might just be out of his brother complex phase,” Ruri said, thinking that Finn would be happy that his clingy younger brother was starting to stand on his own. Finn, however, looked like he had mixed feelings, and Claus, standing by his side, seemed the same. “You’re not pleased?”

“Err, well, I wouldn’t say I’m not pleased, but his target of affection being the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King makes things a little, err...”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“She has always been smitten with His Majesty. She still is, in fact. I can only imagine him being rejected even if he tried.”

“Oh, good point,” Ruri replied.

“And that isn’t all,” Claus remarked from beside Finn. “Ewan is incapable of seeing spirits. And because of that, his devotion in the spirits is low in comparison to others. I cannot imagine someone like him being an apt fit for a Beloved born to the most devout spirit-religious tribe in a nation already as devout as the Beast King’s domain. Also, she is a Beloved of that very nation. Even if she were to become his mate, she most likely couldn’t come here. That would mean that Ewan would have to go to her. But do you think Ewan, of all people, would part ways with Finn to go there?”

Ruri agreed with that quandary. If Ewan went to the Nation of the Beast King, he would rarely get to see Finn anymore. It was hard to imagine someone with a brother complex like his being able to endure that.

“But Ewan is a dragonkin like us. Of course he’ll prioritize a mate more than his brother, no matter how much he adores him,” Joshua added. Among dragonkin, finding a mate reigned supreme. Joshua looked at Claus and Finn, both remaining silent, and started to lose a bit of his assuredness. “Hmm, but this is Ewan we’re talking about...”

Ewan’s devotion to Finn was unmatched, so both Finn and Claus had similar doubts.

“Well, I wouldn’t think that he would ignore finding a mate, being a dragonkin, but...” Finn trailed off.

“But he does come across as the type to forgo finding a mate completely if it meant staying with you, yes?” Claus said, finishing the thought.

Ruri added, “This is going to end up being an issue whether Celestine-san is who he’s after or not, right? If he’d rather cling to his brother than a mate, any future wife of his is going to have a tough time. It could lead to divorce if he’s not careful.”

Divorce for dragonkin, a race known for loving their mate for life, was unheard of, but given Ewan’s track record, he was on pace to be the very first case—a true milestone. Ewan’s future seemed to be a cause of concern for Finn as he racked his head over it.

“Well, nothing is set in stone just yet, so I don’t think you need to brood over it too much, Finn-san,” Ruri assured.

“A-Aye, you’re right. He isn’t in a romantic relationship with the Nation of the Beast King’s Beloved just yet.”

“Yup, yup. Besides, this might be his chance to quit being so dependent on you, Finn,” Joshua said with a teasing smile, seeming to enjoy the current state of affairs.

Claus shot a quick, dismissive stare at Joshua for being so flippant about the situation before turning back to Finn with a consoling look. “Well, this is the first time that Ewan proposed to leave Finn by going to the Nation of the Beast King. I would say that he has grown somewhat. All we can do for the time being is watch and wait, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, a fair point,” Finn agreed.

“We’ll observe Ewan’s behavior and report in from time to time. Won’t we, Ruri?”

“Yes, leave it to us, Finn-san! We will help Ewan realize his love while we’re at it!”

“Um, no, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t intervene,” Finn said, quickly stopping Ruri, who was raring to play cupid.

“Aww, really?” Ruri said in disappointment.

“If you were to get involved, I feel things would just get complicated,” Claus said, knowing that disaster awaited if this developed into a national dilemma. Joshua and Finn nodded in agreement.

“Keep an eye on him in secret. We’re just gonna observe him and run in to stop him if he goes out of control,” Joshua said.

“Yessir. Sure thing...” Ruri said, complying in dissatisfaction with a pouty expression.

Jade then interjected, “Ruri, it’s about time to go.”

“M’kay. Let’s go, Joshua.”

“Right-o. All right, I’m off, Dad,” Joshua said, giving a short wave goodbye to Claus.

“Make certain that you protect Ruri,” Claus replied.

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder,” Joshua quipped.

Ewan came running over to Finn. “Brother, I’ll be going now.”

“Right, do your best out there,” Finn replied, rustling Ewan’s hair.

It made Ewan so happy you could almost see an imaginary tail wagging from his rear end. After their exchange was done, he joined the rest of the departing party.

Finally, Ruri gave Jade her send-off. “Okay, I’ll be off too, Jade-sama.”

As if not wanting her to go, Jade instinctively gave her a hug. “I’ll make sure to repair the castle as fast as possible, so just be patient.”

“I’ll bring you back a souvenir, okay?”

“Yes, I look forward to it.”

Ruri then stepped away from Jade and made her way to Joshua and the others.

As the farewell party prepared to leave, Joshua and the other dragonkin bound for the Nation of the Beast King started to transform into their dragon forms one after another. Ruri’s field of view was instantly taken up by the gigantic dragons encasing the area around her.

Once she placed Chi on Kotaro and Rin on her shoulder, Ruri straddled Kotaro’s back. “All ready,” she said.

“Move out!” signaled Arman, riding a carriage being pulled by several winged beastmen. This prompted all the members of the departing party to file in line to take to the skies.

Ruri waved to Jade and the others standing on the terrace below as she traveled onward toward the Nation of the Beast King.