The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 4 - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Banquet

The Church of God’s Light had been dealt with, the castle had been repaired, and it was now the day before Ruri and the others were set to return to the Nation of the Dragon King. Heat’s long-awaited banquet with a hundred different beautiful women was underway.

The fleet of attractive women was composed mostly of castle employees. Ruri had walked around the castle, carefully picking out beautiful girls for the lineup. Arman’s wives also said they wanted to participate, so by adding them to the mix, they managed to assemble a hundred girls.

It seemed that Heat’s penguin form hadn’t been well received. He was back in his human form with a new set of clothes. Based on his dopey grin, he didn’t have any complaints about the girls in attendance. In fact, he seemed to be utterly delighted.

Next door, Ruri’s farewell banquet was underway. Since it was a banquet to send off the visitors of the Nation of the Dragon King, Joshua, Ewan, and the others were also sitting in front of the selection of food and liquor. Although they could hear Heat’s occasional loud chortle through the wall, everyone was enjoying their food and drink.

Ruri refused to touch the easy-to-drink wine Celestine had laid out, trying to avoid the same pitfall as last time, but Celestine took notice and shuffled up to her. Her face seemed somewhat red; it was possible she was already drunk. And when she was drunk, she became unpleasant. Ruri had a bad feeling about this.

“You don’t seem to be drinking at all. I’ve prepared so much of this wine for you, Lady Ruri.”

“I’m very grateful, but I’m not in the mood for another hangover.”

“‘Hangover, shmangover! This is a banquet to see you off, Lady Ruri. What’s the point of our guest of honor abstaining from drinking?!”

“No, but, um...” Ruri stammered.

Celestine pouted at her with glassy eyes. She was definitely drunk.

“Are you trying to say you can’t drink the wine I’ve prepared?!”

“No, I’m not, I’m just saying—”

“Then, drink!”

“Yes, ma’am...” Ruri felt forced to agree now that Celestine was in full-blown confrontational drunk mode. She obediently took the glass that Celestine held before her.

Celestine’s personality took a drastic turn when she drank. Ruri wondered why no one stopped her before she got to this point. She turned to Arman, the one person capable of reining her in. However, he was engaged in a friendly chat with Jade, partaking in wine himself, so he was paying no heed to the situation on Ruri’s end.

Without any other recourse, Ruri took tiny sips from her glass. She would probably be fine so long as she didn’t drink a lot of it. She made sure not to over-consume the sweet, delicious liquor.

This seemed to satisfy Celestine. With that out of the way, she turned her attention to Jade. “Master Jade?” she addressed him as she took a seat next to him. She wrapped her arm around his and slid herself closer.

Jade didn’t show much in the way of resistance, but he did smile awkwardly. “Celestine, are you drunk again?”

“The hell? You’re already drunk?” Arman asked. “For someone who likes to drink, you’re terrible at holding your liquor.”

Jade and Arman had seen this song and dance before. However, Ruri was less worried about Celestine and more about Jade, who Celestine was drunkenly hanging on to. Jade was practically letting Celestine have her way with him, allowing her to press up against him with no objections.

What was the big idea here? Ruri was sitting right next to him, yet he was getting all handsy with another woman. She started to question whether what he gave her was actually a dragonheart or not.

“...Well, Jade-sama, you seem to be enjoying yourself,” Ruri muttered with a hint of sarcasm, a bemused look in her eyes.

Jade felt her icy glare descend upon their group and, flustered, he tried to explain himself.

“Oh, uh, no, wait, don’t get the wrong idea, Ruri,” Jade said. He tried to pry Celestine’s hands off of him, but her grip was firm and she wasn’t letting go. This was a complete 180 from the situation with Heat earlier.

“Let go of me, Celestine.”

“I don’t want to.”

As Jade argued with Celestine, she drunkenly giggled and clung to him even tighter. Their back-and-forth looked nothing short of flirtatious, which only upset Ruri more and more.

“Well, you seem to be having a ball, all things considered,” quipped Ruri.

“Oh my. Well, Master Jade has said that he prefers women who are more physically attractive.”

“I did not! I certainly did not!” Jade said, desperately shaking his head as he tried freeing his arm from Celestine’s clutches yet again. However, Celestine’s slender arms were stronger than they appeared and he couldn’t break free. That wasn’t to say that Jade couldn’t pull her off if he went full strength as a dragonkin, but he couldn’t bring himself to be that rough with her, so he was left with little options.

As she remained latched to the struggling Jade, Celestine held her head high, boastfully. “Master Arman is always saying that’s just how men operate.”

Ruri turned her cold glare over to Arman.

“Hey, don’t wrap me into this,” Arman said, rushing to his own defense. He knew he was being used as a scapegoat here because Jade also shot him a look—one that chided him for his careless remarks.

“Celestine, I don’t pick my partner based on their looks. No matter how beautiful you may be, I don’t need any other woman. There is only one person I need,” Jade said, telling her the facts straight.

Celestine’s eyes started to water and her lip quivered. Jade winced, but then Celestine covered her face with her hands and wailed, “Weeeeeh!”

Not even Jade could remain calm in front of a crying girl, no matter how drunk they were. He found himself at a loss and panicked.

“You’re terrible! How could you say that when I love you so much?!” Celestine said.

“Terrible!”

“Fiend!”

“Heartless~!”

The spirits by Celestine’s side joined the fray, each of them hurling abuse at Jade.

“Even the spirits... Arman...” Jade said, earnestly pleading for help.

But Arman couldn’t really do anything either. “Give her some booze and have her drink herself stupid,” he suggested.

Following his advice rather to the letter, Jade held out a glass filled with strong liquor to the sobbing Celestine. Celestine weepingly tossed back the drink, and it wasn’t long before she was off to slumberland.

Arman smirked as he saw Jade breathe a sigh of relief. He placed Celestine’s head on his lap and covered her with his own cape in a display similar to an older brother caring for his younger sister. Given that Celestine had been living in this castle since childhood, Arman probably was an older-brother figure to her. He was a lady-loving guy on par with Heat, but it seemed Arman assumed the role of Celestine’s protector rather than a love interest.

Jade took a swig from his glass and heaved a sigh before turning his attention to Ruri. They both shot each other amused smirks. The pause they shared was calm and gentle, a moment neither had felt for quite some time. Although it was natural given their long separation from one another, things felt almost nostalgic—and somewhat embarrassing.

“Just so you know, I truly don’t have eyes for Celestine,” Jade commented.

“Yes, I know,” Ruri said. She hadn’t meant what she said before. “I just got a little jealous seeing you two so close.”

“So I see,” Jade said, happily grinning.

“...Celestine-san really does adore you, doesn’t she, Jade-sama?”

“Celestine isn’t a woman to me; she’s like a sister. It might be because I first met her when she was still just a child. That will never change. I should probably be more firm in turning her down, for her sake, but it’s not easy.”

“You don’t want to hurt her feelings, I’d assume.”

“She may try to sway my opinion from time to time, and I’m not romantically interested in her, but I will say for certain that I do care for her.”

The way that Jade looked at Celestine very much mimicked Arman. It may have saddened Celestine, and there wasn’t one iota of romantic affection in it, but he undoubtedly considered her a very important person to him. Celestine must’ve known that and couldn’t bring herself to give up on Jade.

On the other hand, Ruri noticed someone staring at Celestine with passion. Someone else noticed it too—Joshua.

Ruri and Joshua looked at each other and grinned deviously. They then slowly approached the person intensely gazing upon the sleeping Celestine. It was none other than Ewan. Ruri and Joshua looked ready to tease the daylights out of the boy.

“Say, Ewan?” Ruri started.

“Yeah?” replied Ewan.

“You surprised us by leaving Finn-san’s side to come with us to the Nation of the Beast King, but how has it worked out since then?” she asked.

“Worked out? What do you mean?” Ewan questioned. He didn’t catch Ruri’s drift.

“Oh, you know. Right, Ruri?” Joshua said, patting Ewan on the back.

“Yep, yep,” Ruri concurred, shooting him a suggestive smile.

Out of the loop, Ewan stared blankly at them.

“Come on, we mean Celestine-san. You have eyes for her, don’t you?” Ruri suggested.

Ewan turned bashful and blushed. Finn, sitting nearby, was nonchalantly listening in on the conversation, hoping to hear about his brother’s love life. He was most likely intrigued about this as well.

Ruri leaned in, brimming with intrigue herself. “You had a ton of chances to talk to her, didn’t you? How did it go?”

Ewan had followed along, foregoing his massive brother complex to travel away from his brother for an extended period of time. He wouldn’t have done that if his feelings were superficial. Ruri was giddy to hear what kind of juicy story Ewan had to share.

“Yeah, I managed to talk to her on a few occasions. I also questioned some of the people who attend her.”

“Huh? Questioned?” Ruri asked, confused as to whether questioning was necessary. She thought maybe he’d been asking about Celestine’s likes, but she soon found she was completely off.

“As a result, my intuition ended up being right!” Ewan said, fist clenched. “No other girl is worthy enough to stand by my brother’s side! She is the only one to be my older sister!!”

“...Older sister?” Ruri repeated.

“Why your older sister?” Joshua added.

Ruri, Joshua, and Finn were at a loss as Ewan confidently elaborated, “She is noble, refined, beautiful, and anyone you ask praises her as being a superb individual. She’s a tad brash, but a timid woman wouldn’t serve my brother. Isn’t that right, Brother?!”

Ewan’s eyes twinkled, but Finn was just confused. How was he suddenly involved in any of this?

“Um, I think it’s safe to assume he doesn’t know what you’re talking about, right, Finn-san?”

“...Ewan, I thought you had fallen in love with Lady Celestine and that was why you traveled here to the Nation of the Beast King. Is that not correct?”

“No, I didn’t come here for myself. I came here for you, Brother. I thought a person as flawless as her would be fitting for your mate, and I came here to confirm it for myself!” Ewan said with a look of the utmost confidence.

Ruri, Joshua, and Finn, on the other hand, looked utterly taken aback.

“Um, so, that may be your hope, but did Finn have any say in this? Has Finn said even once that he wanted to make her his mate?” Joshua asked, stating the obvious.

“Yeah, really,” Ruri agreed.

“Finn-san, if you don’t spell it out for him, then our resident brother-complex boy will keep going off the rails. He’s likely to confess in your stead and get rejected by her all on his own.”

Finn heaved a deep sigh. He had been a tad hopeful that this would end Ewan’s brotherly ways. Unfortunately, his brother complex was the whole reason he was here.

“...Ewan, Lady Celestine is in love with His Majesty.”

“It’s all right. I’m sure she’ll fall for your charms soon enough.”

It was a wonder where this confidence even came from. A boy with a brother complex was nothing but trouble.

“I’m sure it’s the same for Lady Celestine, but I have no attraction to milady. She simply couldn’t be my mate.”

“But she is such a superb individual. I think she would be perfect for you,” Ewan argued, still not willing to accept the facts.

In an attempt to reason with him, Finn brought up a realistic issue, saying, “The Nation of the Beast King would never let go of Lady Celestine in the first place. She is their only Beloved. You must understand the benefits a Beloved bestows upon this nation from your stay here, don’t you?”

“That’s right!” Joshua interjected. “So on the off chance they did become mates, Finn would have to come to the Nation of the Beast King instead. Would you be fine and dandy with the two of you split apart like that?”

“Huh? No, I wouldn’t...” Ewan stammered in shock. Apparently he hadn’t thought that part through. For someone who loved Finn as much as Ewan did, he would never approve of living apart.

Joshua nodded. “Just give it up. The only way you’d keep Finn in the Nation of the Dragon King is if you brought a new Beloved here. And actually, Finn himself isn’t even up for the idea in the first place.”

“I know you usually go out of control when it comes to Finn-san, but Finn-san likely has his own tastes in women to explore,” Ruri added.

“Right. You’re right...” Ewan said, slumping. Disappointment set in and the twinkle in his eye vanished.

Was he really that interested in Celestine? They hadn’t really interacted much, but was it sort of like love at first sight?

Ruri and Joshua started to whisper to themselves so Ewan couldn’t hear.

“He said he was doing all this for Finn-san, but Ewan basically likes Celestine-san, right?”

“Looks it. Saying he wants her as his big sister is pretty well, I dunno, just like him? Not sure why he won’t just admit he wants to make her his mate, though.”

“Do you think it can develop?”

“Psh, not at this rate it won’t.”

It wasn’t clear if Ewan would realize it or not moving forward, but it was clear he had interest in Celestine. And even if Ewan did pick up on it, he was dealing with one tough customer. He would probably have a difficult time winning his way into her heart.

“Finn-san will find a good woman even without you getting involved. Cheer up,” Ruri said.

“Yeah, pull yourself together and drink, drink, drink!” Joshua suggested, offering booze to help lighten his mood.

Just then, Ruri heard the sound of Heat yelling angrily.

“Brat! What is the meaning of this?!”

The abrupt shouting made Ruri shudder in surprise. She looked for the source and saw Heat angrily stomping her way.

“What’s the matter, Heat-sama? Why are you shouting? I thought you were having fun drinking with all the beautiful girls?”

“You didn’t uphold the bargain!” Heat protested.

“Which part?” Ruri questioned.

“You said there would be a hundred here, but I’ve counted a dozen times and only found ninety-eight. Where are the other two?!”

Heat made a thorough count after all... His adamance for women was absurd—and annoying.

Ruri thought that ninety-eight was fine since it was only two off, but true to his initial words, Heat wasn’t letting a single girl go unaccounted for and he was furious. But Ruri had anticipated him throwing a fit if he realized the numbers were off, so she made sure there were one hundred ladies there.

“What are you talking about? There are one hundred exactly. Are you sure you counted right?”

“I counted repeatedly, but you’re still two short.”

Ruri scanned over the ladies sitting around where Heat had been and then looked over to the sleeping Celestine.

“Did you count Celestine-san?”

“What?”

“She’s a pretty woman, is she not?”

Heat looked over at the unconscious Celestine and nodded in agreement. “Hmm, indeed. I had overlooked that. But that still leaves one...”

Ruri smiled sweetly and nudged her finger at herself. “Why, it’s m-e.”

“Uh, come again?”

“I just told you, it’s me! I’m the hundredth!” Ruri spelled it out, glaring at Heat.

Heat immediately grimaced. “Pardon me?! I said I wanted beauties, not brats. You do not fall under the category of the prior!”

“How rude. I’ll have you know, my mother is regarded as beautiful and I’ve been told I look like her!”

“Hmph, as if your parents surmount to anything.”

“Aah! You’re badmouthing my parents now? My mother is a beautiful woman and that’s a fact!”

“If she is, then saying you bear resemblance is mere platitude at best. Humans are creatures who thrive off of empty platitudes and compliments. If you all lived as honest as us spirits, then such misunderstandings would never come to be.”

“Grr, you’re still saying that?”

On bated breath, everyone watched Ruri and Heat butt heads. That was when Jade stood up and placed his hand on Ruri’s shoulder.

“You needn’t worry, Ruri. You’re more lovely than any woman here.”

“Jade-sama...” Ruri’s face instantly lit up as she embraced Jade and glared sharply at Heat.

“Well, Heat-sama, why don’t you learn how to be a gentleman like Jade-sama?”

“Don’t compare me to some man who’s so blind he thinks you’re the most lovely in the room. He is in the minority. Now, bring me the last beauty this instant.”

“Quit being unreasonable. It took us so much work to get this many together; there’s no way we could bring you another just like that.”

“Hmph, well then, introduce me to a beauty when I go to the Nation of the Dragon King. I’ll call things even then.”

“You’re coming with us to the Nation of the Dragon King?!”

“I am.”

Ruri was shocked. Heat declared this like it was a natural progression of the conversation. She thought that since he was so fond of Celestine he would stay here in the Nation of the Beast King, but he went against the grain...

“I object, I object! I firmly object!” Ruri strongly opposed this idea, mainly for the sake of her own sanity. She could just hear his smarmy remarks every time they crossed paths.

“It doesn’t matter if your ‘object’ or not. I go wherever I please.”

“But what about Celestine-san? Didn’t you have eyes for the girls of this castle too?”

“I’ve talked with almost all the girls here. That’s why it’s time to move on. Dragonkin are an attractive race, after all. I’ll be getting to know some of the Nation of the Dragon King’s local ladies.”

“Whaaa?”

Arman looked relieved to hear Heat would be leaving as that meant he would be getting his wives back. The dragonkin in attendance, however, were all grimaces. This was what was coming to the kingdom. No one knew what kind of commotion he would cause at the castle.

No one wanted him to come along, but no one was brave enough to look a supreme-level spirit straight in the eyes and tell them no like Ruri had. They were thinking it really hard in their minds, though—in their minds and definitely not aloud. Kotaro and the other spirits were no problem since they were obedient to Ruri, but Heat wouldn’t listen to her at all. In other words, there would be no one around who could stop him if need be, which put the nation in a predicament.

Ruri looked over to Kotaro and Rin for help, but they both collectively shook their heads. Once a spirit made up their mind, that was it. Even if one of their own interjected, they wouldn’t change it. Heat’s visit was practically set in stone.

Ruri slumped in disappointment. She had no other recourse but to give up and accept fate.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

A day had passed and it was time for Ruri and the others to return to the Nation of the Dragon King. Ruri was up bright and early, preparing for the trip back, and Celestine—hungover and groggy as expected—gave her a hearty supply of her special wine.

“Thank you very much for this, Celestine-san.”

“Make sure not to drink too much at one time now,” she said without a hint of irony as she battled her own hangover. Ruri thought it was advice better saved for Celestine herself, but she nodded her head regardless.

Once that was done, Celestine suddenly extended her hand. Ruri hesitantly reached out and grabbed it, thinking it was a farewell gesture, but Celestine’s grip was so tight Ruri’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m hopeless. I can’t control my emotions when Master Jade is before me. I don’t see myself giving up on him for quite some time. Even now, I wonder why I wasn’t the one.”

“Hahah...” Ruri nervously chuckled, not knowing how to reply. She could almost feel a bit of animosity in Celestine’s grip.

“Well, at this point, I’ll just have to try my darndest until I can’t any longer. It seems you two aren’t an item just yet, so I’d suggest you try your best to keep me from snatching him away,” Celestine said, boldly declaring war on Ruri in a move that reflected her prideful nature.

She stared at Ruri, fiercely and without reserve. Not wanting to be outdone, Ruri also upped the intensity of her stare.

“Yes, I’ll certainly try,” she said.

Celestine smirked confidently in the face of Ruri’s powerful gaze. If it weren’t for Jade, the two girls might’ve gotten along surprisingly well.

“Ruri, it’s time to head out,” Jade said.

“Coming~! Okay, Celestine-san. Till next time.”

“Yes, safe travels. Till we meet again, Lady Ruri,” Celestine said with a bow.

Ruri ran off toward Jade and the others. She tried to ride atop Kotaro, but Heat and Chi were unfortunately occupying his back. She would feel sorry for Kotaro if she made him carry any heavier of a load.

“May I ride on you, Jade-sama?”

“Of course, I don’t mind.” In fact, Jade seemed pleased that Ruri had come to him.

Jade and the other dragonkin transformed into their dragon forms one after another. After Jade had transformed into a black dragon, Ruri settled herself on top of his head. Once he took to the skies, the other dragons soon followed.

Ruri gave a big wave to Celestine and Arman, both waving below them, as she departed the Nation of the Beast King.

Sitting on Jade’s draconic head, Ruri thought to herself as she gazed vacantly into the passing sky—thinking to herself about what Celestine had said.

“Um, Jade-sama?”

“What is it, Ruri?”

Ruri began to speak but stopped herself. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn’t sure how to phrase it, so they disappeared back down her throat.

“...Ungh, unghh~ On second thought, never mind.”

“What’s gotten into you? Heh, heh, heh,” Jade chuckled.

Ruri wanted to ask about the dragonheart—whether Jade gave it to her with designs on her being his mate as Rin told her—but she stopped herself before she could. She wasn’t quite ready to get to the big question just yet. In fact, she wasn’t sure what she should even say to begin with. She could cut straight to the chase and ask if he liked her. Or maybe it was better to verify whether what she had was a dragonheart.

Maybe it actually was a simple good luck charm, something that she mistook for a dragonheart all along. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. After all, Ruri didn’t know the way dragonkin operated. If she asked if he liked her and she was mistaken, she wouldn’t be able to live with the shame. And if that happened, she wouldn’t be able to look Jade in the face ever again either. She would probably have to run back to Chelsie’s house in the forest.

She contemplated all of this, nervously wondering what she would do if she was under the wrong assumption. She’d finally caught on to Jade’s feelings. If she were wrong about this, it would rock her to her core.

She wished she hadn’t caught on had she known it would be this stressful. She might be able to maintain how things had been so far, but she felt as though she would worry over Jade’s every move from now on.

Did Jade really like her romantically? Since when? Why? Since Celestine and Rin were the ones to tell her that and Jade hadn’t confessed to her in clear terms, she had no idea what the answers were. A variety of thoughts circulated through her mind, confusing her.

(What should I do...?)

There were eyes all around them. Telling herself that now wasn’t the best time to ask Jade questions, she decided to put the matter aside, waiting to talk until after they returned to the Nation of the Dragon King.

To be continued...