171 Teacher Cat and Morion, Fully Satisfied
In the depth of night within the mansion, in this room filled with classical charm, Morion sat quietly under the surrounding lamps, head bowed as he watched Teacher Cat write a story for him on a piece of paper.
One human, one cat, they communicated without a word, yet efficiently.
The quiet room was filled only with the soft rustling of pen on paper, alongside Dekan and Cornelia’s gentle, steady breathing.
No one knew how much time had passed.
“So this is the story so far, meow.”
Teacher Cat, having written the final stroke, laid sprawled on the table.
Morion nodded.
A look of deep satisfaction appeared on his face.
And he was very much looking forward to what came next.
He glanced back at Dekan and Cornelia sleeping soundly on the bed, like infants, and felt reassured.
Morion would confirm every now and then that the two hadn’t awakened.
Because he was worried that while reading the story, Dekan would suddenly appear behind him, staring at him with a terrifying expression.
Morion believed Dekan was fully capable of such an act.
But fortunately, no such thing happened.
Perhaps because Dekan and Cornelia could both sense the presence of the other, even in the most perilous place in this Sixth-Rank Shadow World, they were unusually at ease.
Morion took the pen from beside Teacher Cat and, like Dekan, gave Teacher Cat’s head a rub as he wrote on the paper:
“Teacher Cat, I’ve had a question since the very beginning. Why do you always add ‘meow’ at the end of what you write?”
Morion had been curious since the start of the night but had refrained from asking.
However, upon seeing Morion’s question, Teacher Cat immediately flailed its front paws, snatching the pen from Morion with apparent irritation.
“Meow! Meow! It’s none of your business! It’s my habit, meow!”
Teacher Cat vigorously scribbled these words on the paper with the pen.
It seemed quite upset about Morion’s question.
Morion chuckled helplessly, trying to once again ruffle Teacher Cat’s head.
But this time, Teacher Cat dodged.
Not letting him touch.
At the slight commotion, Dekan wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed.
Taking advantage of Dekan’s still drowsy state, Morion and Teacher Cat quickly agreed to hide all the papers on the table.
“Huh?”
Dekan looked at them with a puzzled expression.
(Aren’t you two critiquing me?)
Dekan stared slightly disdainfully at the desk, whispering.
Teacher Cat and Morion both shook their heads.
(Hmm.)
Based on their slightly exaggerated reactions, Dekan was certain they had been making critical remarks about him.
But Dekan didn’t care much.
As long as they weren’t gossiping about him like schoolgirls, he didn’t mind.
Shifting his gaze from the troublesome cat and the old fox, Dekan looked at the clock hanging on the wall.
It was still early, but not far from the middle of the night.
(How about we switch shifts?)
Morion asked softly.
Dekan shook his head, glancing toward Cornelia who was still sound asleep.
(Let her rest a bit longer.)
“!”
Seeing the warmth in Dekan’s eyes and tone, Morion couldn’t help but pick up Teacher Cat, who then became particularly energetic, flailing its limbs.
“…”
Dekan frowned, looking at the one human and one cat.
Do you mean to express opposition or agreement?
And are you happy or sad?
Dekan felt that ever since Teacher Cat and Morion had grown close, they sometimes acted like they had lost their minds entirely.
Dekan: (You must have a grudge against me, right?)
Teacher Cat: (No, meow.)
Morion: (How could we? Those who bear grudges against you have either gone to the netherworld or are probably in line.)
…
Thus, the three of them chit-chatted quietly for a while until Dekan decided it was time.
Dekan approached the other side of the bed and gently patted Cornelia’s slender shoulders.
“…”
Cornelia opened her eyes, ready to enter battle at any moment.
But seeing Dekan’s expression, she relaxed at once.
Even her drowsiness seemed to return.
(To the sofa. Go back to sleep if you’re still tired.)
Dekan said.
Cornelia nodded and quickly rose from the bed, then quietly walked over to the sofa and sat down.
Later in the night.
Teacher Cat and Morion quickly went back to bed to rest, while Dekan and Cornelia sat together on the sofa, keeping watch.
In fact, both Morion and Teacher Cat were at a disadvantage.
After all, there was no telling when Countess Lislinna might knock on the door and report her task’s completion during the later hours of the night.
But as Teacher Cat was a night owl and could rest during the day in Dekan’s shadow, and since Morion had kindly decided to do the same without any apparent reason, Dekan saw no reason to investigate.
These two undoubtedly just wanted to gossip nastily about him together.
Time passed slowly.
The room was quieter than ever before.
Cornelia still seemed a little sleepy, and having only just woken up at midnight, it was easy for her to drift back off to sleep.
Leaning against the sofa and almost dozing off, she slowly slumped and found her head resting on Dekan’s shoulder.
Dekan simply sat still, unmoving like a chess piece.
He stared at a painting on the wall as if lost in deep thought.
“…”
Perhaps it was some kind of intuition.
Dekan felt as though someone were watching him.
His gaze swept through the room, and before long, he realized—
Morion and Teacher Cat, lying in bed, were secretly paying attention to him!
Dekan: (You two aren’t asleep?)
Teacher Cat & Morion: (Going to bed…)
Dekan: “…” (What nonsense.)
…
The gray light of dawn crept through the window.
Although the sky was still gloomy, it already marked the approach of dawn.
“Knock, knock.”
The sound of knocking finally came from the bedroom door.
Then Countess Lislinna’s voice was heard outside:
“Lord Marquis, I deeply apologize for managing to capture only three people tonight.”
Not long after, Morion opened his eyes, but there was no sign that he intended to get up.
He replied:
“You’ve done well. It’s almost daylight, go rest. Let your minions take my minions to question these humans.”
Sitting on the sofa, Dekan, upon hearing Morion’s reply, couldn’t help but frown and look toward the lying Morion.
Morion had already closed his eyes and continued sleeping.
Your meaning is…
you’re not planning to come?
You intend to sleep all day and let Cornelia and me do all the work?
Although it was reasonable for a noble vampire marquis to avoid daytime activities,
Still, Dekan felt that Morion might be exploiting their team’s labor?
This person absolutely deserved it!
Good for nothing but to have been beaten to death by his own father!
