Imuel stared blankly at Bai Yu, the urge to cry still caught in his throat. He opened his tear-blurred eyes, his beautiful lake-blue pupils dilating as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

'Doctor? Why is the doctor here?'

'...Is it a dream?'

The palm supporting him was steady and strong, easily lifting him from the damp ground and pressing him into an embrace. Warmth transferred through the clothing, keeping the bitter cold at bay. The doctor's slender fingers stroked his stiff back in a comforting gesture.

Imuel's mind was in a chaotic blur. Subconsciously, he reached out his little paws and clasped Bai Yu's fingers.

Then, his drooping tail curled up, naturally wrapping around the doctor's wrist.

'...Is this a dream?'

Imuel thought in his daze, rubbing his cheek against the doctor's palm.

'Even if it's a dream, that's fine.'

Bai Yu sighed softly.

The kitten was sobbing and twitching, tear stains wetting the corners of his eyes. His tail and ears drooped weakly, and his body spasmed slightly from pain, looking completely devoid of energy. Yet even so, his claws held onto Bai Yu with a death grip, as if afraid he would run away.

Bai Yu cradled him, rubbed the kitten's head, and coaxed, "Stop crying, okay?"

To be honest, Bai Yu didn't know how to comfort people. He hadn't cried since middle school. But the dumpling in his hands was so tiny, its fluffy tail wrapped tightly around him, looking as though it had suffered a heaven-shattering grievance.

Crawling all alone into the dark, damp underground while sick, cold, and starving—of course he would feel aggrieved.

It would have been fine if he hadn't coaxed him, but once he did, the tail wrapped around his wrist tightened even further. Imuel rubbed desperately against his chest, his short little paws stubbornly wrapping around, clinging to Bai Yu like a giant dragon guarding its treasure.

No... a mini dragon.

And Bai Yu was the treasure that was several times his size, yet he insisted on hoarding anyway.

The doctor shook his head slightly, unable to stifle a laugh. He practically indulged Imuel, letting him wet a patch of his chest with tears. As the kitten's cheek was buried against his chest through a thin layer of fabric, he tapped its head and coaxed again, "Imuel, stop crying, alright?"

...

'What?'

Imuel's groggy mind cleared for a moment. He blankly raised his eyes, stared fixedly at the doctor, blinked, and even let out a soft hiccup.

'What did the doctor call him?'

'...Imuel?'

'Imuel?!'

Bai Yu only ever called him dumpling or kitten. Imuel was the name of the Grand Duke of Illyria. How could Bai Yu know? And why would he call a kitten Imuel?

This identity was the Duke's most deeply hidden secret, and the fatal weakness that could be easily exploited to control him.

His throbbing head couldn't think calmly yet, but in an instant, it was as if a carefully buried landmine had suddenly detonated. Shock, unease, and fear surged up one after another.

Imuel's fur stood on end all over his body. He subconsciously shifted his weight backward, creating distance between himself and Bai Yu. He struggled violently, flailing in blind panic like he was drowning. Bai Yu almost couldn't hold onto him. Finally, with a miserable yowl, the kitten tumbled straight down from his arms—

In Imuel's chaotic mind, only one sentence remained: 'No, I can't, I can't let anyone know! I'll be looked down upon! I'll be hated! I'll die!'

Even though slavery in Illyria existed only in name, slaves offered as tribute from foreign states were still the lowest of the low. They were considered lowly, unclean, and could be played with or even executed at will. This identity was his deepest scar, his most unspeakable hidden pain. It was still rotting and festering, having never healed. Just a light touch was enough to make him wish he were dead.

Imuel didn't dare to gamble.

'...The doctor knows he is the Grand Duke, but the person the doctor hates the most is also the Grand Duke.'

'The doctor has always wanted Grand Duke Imuel dead.'

The moment this thought appeared, Imuel's lake-blue eyes misted over again. A sense of grievance spread and lingered in his heart.

He had only stayed in the doctor's arms for two minutes, hadn't even managed to rub the doctor's scent onto himself, yet his identity had already been exposed.

'Why couldn't he be allowed to rub against him a bit longer?'

The fall felt longer than ever before. Weightlessness and terror made the kitten squeeze his eyes shut, but the violent impact never came—Bai Yu reached out and gently scooped him back up.

He was resettled back into the embrace.

Before the fear could fully spread, the doctor's faint, bitter scent steeped into his body first, soothing his taut nerves.

Bai Yu sighed. "Imuel, stop moving, I can barely hold onto you. Such strength for such short little legs."

The kitten was still scared and wanted to hide, but Bai Yu protectively pulled him back and draped him with his coat. He shivered inside the coat, wrapping his head up, refusing to come out no matter how Bai Yu called him, trying his hardest to convey a message to the doctor:

—No, I am not Imuel, you are mistaken.

The warm coat made the stressed kitten temporarily quiet down. The doctor rubbed his forehead with a headache. "Finally willing to listen?"

Imuel curled up in the coat, shrinking himself into an even tinier ball. He took a long time to mentally prepare himself before poking his head out, looking left and right. Imitating other kittens, he affectionately rubbed against the doctor to curry favor, pretending to be an innocent little cat: "Meow—"

—I'm really not Imuel.

The doctor sighed again.

Bai Yu had lost count of how many times he had sighed today. Feeling exasperated, he poked the kitten's head and reprimanded him with a hint of a smile, "Imuel, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"...?"

'What?'

The Platinum Dumpling showed a bewildered expression, looking utterly blank as he began to play dumb.

When he was at Bai Yu's house, he often got away with things like this.

Bai Yu let out a laugh and said with an unclear meaning, "You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, will you, Imuel? If you want to ask me, I'll tell you how I found out."

He started listing them one by one: "The Duke fell into the water, and I picked you up by the river. The Duke was stabbed in the abdomen with a sword, and you also have a wound on your abdomen."

"The day you left, a ruby appeared in my house, one of excellent quality and exorbitant price."

"Later, when I went to the Grand Duke's Mansion, the Duke acted bafflingly, accommodating me in every possible way."

"Then the Duke went to stay at his mother's house for a short while, and you showed up at my home."

"Moreover, the two times I couldn't find my glasses, I saw you, didn't I?"

"Once in the wine cellar, right after I saw the cat, you immediately appeared. Once in the small building, after the cat meowed, I found my glasses. Is this a coincidence? Hmm? Imuel, tell me, is this a coincidence?"

"..."

The doctor's tone was calm, yet it made the fur on the Duke's tail stand on end. Imuel shrank back into the doctor's coat and covered his ears with his paws.

—I'm not listening, I don't know anything.

Relying on the kitten's cute appearance, he completely disregarded the deportment of a Grand Duke.

Bai Yu chuckled out of sheer amusement. He wasn't going to indulge this. He peeled Imuel out, pinned down his paws, and forced him to listen. "Piece by piece, so many flaws, did you really think I couldn't guess it?"

Bai Yu had been aloof since childhood, seeing through everything but not saying a word. Even if he had suspicions, he wouldn't easily pierce the window paper unless he was absolutely certain. Back then, when Bai Yu heard the cat meow in the small building and then found glasses with the exact same prescription, his initial sixty percent suspicion abruptly skyrocketed to one hundred percent. Yet, Imuel truly thought he had hidden it well, handing him wine and sending him out of the city. Bai Yu had repeatedly requested an audience, attempting to have an open and honest talk with Imuel, but he avoided him, playing Bai Yu for a fool.

Imuel: "..."

Even though the doctor was still holding him securely, Imuel inexplicably felt that the gaze behind Bai Yu's monocle was cold, sharp, and extremely dangerous, as if saying the wrong thing now would bring about uncontrollable consequences.

Imuel shrank his neck in fear, making the kitten's already short neck disappear completely. Then, he looked up sheepishly, feeling guilty and trying to please: "Meow—"

'No, no I didn't.'

But strangely, amidst the doctor's continuous questioning, his floating heart settled back down to reality and silently found peace.

The doctor had confirmed his identity. He had been exposed a long time ago. The doctor had countless opportunities, but the doctor hadn't killed him.

'...Perhaps the doctor isn't that loyal to the Black Robe Society, doesn't loathe Imuel that much, doesn't want the Grand Duke dead that badly, and the situation isn't as terrible as I thought?'

The kitten tentatively stretched out a paw and once again grasped the doctor's fingers.

After the initial terror passed, he raised his eyes to look at Bai Yu's expression and finally realized that there was not a hint of disgust or impatience in the doctor's eyes.

The doctor knew he was Imuel, but the doctor didn't hate him.

Thus, the kitten's tail also tentatively coiled up. Nuzzling inch by inch, Imuel nestled his way right into the doctor's embrace.

Like a small animal that had found its familiar territory, he buried himself in contentedly.

The cold faded, and the pain lessened. The doctor held him in his arms, offering silent comfort.

As a result, all those years of depression and grievances were shut out. A long-lost sense of security surrounded him. Imuel felt like he was back in the doctor's house, lying on the sun-drenched windowsill. Unable to help himself, he took a deep breath.

—I like this.

He didn't know how long had passed—long enough for Imuel to completely settle down in the embrace, long enough for his body to feel somewhat comfortable, and for him to lazily want to sleep—before Bai Yu lifted him to eye level, a half-smile on his face: "Have you calmed down now?"

"..."

Imuel couldn't help but shrink back: "Meow..."

Bai Yu: "Since you've calmed down, let's settle our score. All those times I wanted to see you before, why did you refuse?"

He was referring to the time at the small building.

At that time, he had guessed about eighty or ninety percent of the truth. However, guessing that the Duke was a kitten wasn't something he could just say out loud to an interrogator or a butler. He could only request a private meeting with the Duke himself. If only Imuel had seen him just once, it wouldn't have caused so many incidents afterward.

Imuel: "Meow..."

He started feeling guilty again.

But then he saw Bai Yu, who was supporting him, suddenly raise his hand and deliver a neither light nor heavy smack to the kitten's butt.

A strange numbness exploded from his tailbone. The tip of his tail trembled twice before suddenly going stiff. The shockwave traveled up his tailbone, causing half his body to go soft. Imuel abruptly widened his eyes, staring at the doctor in disbelief.

'He already knows I'm the Duke! And he still hit me!'

'Where is the dignity of the Grand Duke?!'

His fur stood on end everywhere. He instinctively turned his head and opened his mouth, wanting to bite, but Bai Yu pressed against his head and pushed it back: "In the future, when something like this happens, you must discuss it with me. Don't let your imagination run wild by yourself, understood?"

Bai Yu had no idea what Imuel had conjured up in his head to make him so certain that the doctor would harm him if he knew his identity.

Imuel flailed his short little legs, wanting to charge over again to defend the Duke's dignity, but Bai Yu held onto him: "Alright, little cat, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"

The underground was damp and piercingly cold. The kitten was still sick, and without food, he would likely suffer terribly.

Imuel slightly tilted his head: "Meow?"

'Food?'

Bai Yu: "We have to stay here for two days. What do you want to eat? Beef paste?"

Right now, they were a kitten whose identity couldn't be discovered, and an already 'dead' traitor, still being hunted by the Black Robe Society. If caught, they would meet an end without a complete corpse. Currently, Bai Yu couldn't go home, nor could he stay in a hotel. Even places like spaces under bridges were usually occupied by homeless people. Looking at it this way, there was almost no place for them to hide in Illyria.

However, the Duke's Mansion, a forbidden area that no one approached, was a pretty good hiding spot.

Previously, Bai Yu had wondered why, since it was a forbidden area, there were no guards, allowing him to enter so freely. Now it seemed that the kitten, afraid of being discovered, had deliberately removed the guards and emphasized the title of "forbidden area" to prevent anyone from coming. Now, this ended up being quite convenient for him.

Bai Yu looked around. "This underground space doesn't look small. With the token of a guard from the Duke's Mansion, I can go out to buy supplies. With a little disguise, I can bring back some cushions and food to make the next few days more comfortable."

Imuel: "Meow?"

Bai Yu: "You stay here for a moment, I'll be right back."

Imuel's body instantly tensed up.

His pupils dilated, looking at the doctor with near helplessness.

'...Wait for a moment? But how long is a moment?'

The current kitten was incredibly clingy and didn't want to be separated from the doctor for even a second.

But Imuel also knew that a sick kitten was a burden. Going up with the doctor would only drag him down. So, he languidly tucked his paws back in.

Bai Yu turned to look at him.

Imuel was lying weakly on the only table in the underground room. His large tail swept back and forth against the tabletop, his eyelids drooping, and his eyes completely devoid of light.

—The kitten surely didn't know how pitiful he looked right now.

The doctor's heart softened once again.

When it came to Imuel, Bai Yu's heart always softened easily.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll take you with me. But I have to climb up, so how should I carry you?"

The stairs to the basement consisted of a vertical rope ladder. The footholds were wooden planks, damp for years and covered with a layer of slippery moss. Even someone as agile as the doctor had to use both hands on the sides to go up and down.

But if he did that, he wouldn't have a hand free to hold the kitten.

Bai Yu looked up and down at his own outfit, sighing, "Alright, this is the only way."

Imuel tilted his head suspiciously: "Meow?"

The next second, he was picked up by the doctor.

The uniform of the Duke's Mansion featured a cinched waist. The doctor tightened his belt a bit and buttoned his trench coat tightly. As a result, the space between the belt and the coat's collar formed a pocket similar to a kangaroo's pouch. Then, he lifted Imuel and slipped him inside.

Imuel: "!!!"

'What?!'