The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 139.1
The Crown Prince’s knights searched every corner of Count Byweiner’s estate.
Kailos looked toward the annex with a suspicious gaze. Following his eyes, Leslun soon looked in the same direction.
“That’s…”
His short murmur already carried certainty.
Kailos sprinted toward the annex. Leslun, hurrying after him, suddenly caught sight of a shadow reflected in the window and gasped.
“Blue.”
It was unmistakably Blue.
The cat hung halfway out of the window frame with a graceful, feline poise. Its golden eyes flashed briefly before vanishing. Without hesitation, Leslun quickened his pace.
When Kailos entered the annex, Cal, who had been carrying something out, froze in shock. What he held dropped to the floor with a dull thud.
His fingers trembled. His gaze flickered instinctively between Leslun and Kailos.
“What are you doing here?”
Before even greeting the Crown Prince properly, he snapped first at Leslun. It was an unexpected reaction for both of them.
Cal’s words were laced with thorns. Leslun stopped in place and calmly looked down at what Cal had dropped—a small package. Inside were dried treats for cats.
“I came to find His Highness the Crown Prince’s companion.”
Cal barely straightened his body. He didn’t even try to pick up the dropped treats.
“I didn’t capture it. I—I was only ordered to watch over it.”
Cal drew a sharp line, his expression openly displeased as he glared at Leslun. It was the look of someone staring at a persistent irritant.
“This is your last warning. Once you return to the academy, never show yourself before me again.”
Without a word, Kailos brushed past Cal and went further inside.
Cal blinked several times, as if unable to believe what had just happened, before his face paled. He turned and quickly ran off. Leslun watched his retreating figure for a moment, then hastened his steps after Kailos.
Kailos stood at the doorway, not entering the room.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
Instead of answering, Kailos gestured with his chin toward the inside.
Leslun followed his gaze—and found himself at a loss for words.
“…”
Blue was wedged awkwardly into the narrow window frame, fast asleep. Its body was folded at strange angles, an uncomfortable position for any normal creature, yet it seemed utterly content, its blue tail swaying lazily as it breathed softly.
“I should be glad he’s safe, but somehow it’s irritating.”
Kailos muttered under his breath and stepped aside, giving Leslun room to enter.
“Go ahead.”
After a brief pause, Leslun stepped into the room.
“Blue.”
At his call, one of the cat’s eyelids slowly lifted. It opened its mouth wide in a long yawn, revealing sharp white fangs, and a faint purr rumbled between them.
Blue stretched out its body, tail flicking upward in a fluid motion. When it leapt down from the window, the soft carpet absorbed even the sound of its landing. Its paws made no noise at all, each step smooth and silent.
As Blue approached, its body seemed to grow larger with every stride. By the time it stopped before Leslun, it was noticeably bigger than when he had last seen it.
“What on earth happened to you?”
Leslun scratched gently under Blue’s chin.
[There were those who wanted to experiment on us.]
Blue’s golden eyes gleamed as its whiskers twitched.
“I know. That’s why I thought you’d been kidnapped.”
[Something like that.]
Blue gave a short affirmative and began to lick its paw, looking utterly unconcerned.
[But I let myself be caught. Kan had no strength left to escape.]
Blue tapped the small, cramped cage it had been confined in.
[And I wanted to see where they planned to take me.]
Leslun’s face hardened. It meant Blue had willingly made himself bait.
[We have to root them out completely. We can’t let those who tried to experiment on us remain.]
This place wasn’t the core of the corruption, but it was one of its rotten branches. For the empire to heal, such places had to be purged.
Though Blue was undeniably a cat, the expression it wore was just like Kailos’s. Watching it, Leslun let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Do you know how hard Prince Cassian searched for you?”
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