KYAAA~
OH MY GOODNESS!
WHERE DID YOU FIND A CAT, BUTLER?!
IS IT A KITTEN?
NO. I THINK IT'S JUST SMALL BECAUSE IT HASN'T EATEN WELL.
OH DEAR, WE NEED TO FEED IT WELL!
RIGHT, WE HAVE DRIED CHICKEN BREAST IN THE KITCHEN, SO TAKE SOME ALONG.
Ch-Chicken breast!
THANK YOU. I'LL COME BACK DOWN LATER.
HUMAN! NO, BUTLER!
THERE IS NO "LATER"! LET'S GO DOWN RIGHT NOW!
LOOK AT YOU, AREN'T YOU LUCKY WITH FOOD? JUST WAIT A BIT.
Meow! I can't wait!
AS EXPECTED, CAN OTHER PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S SAYING?
CONSIDERING IT'S TALKING LIKE A HUMAN, YET NO ONE SEEMS EVEN SLIGHTLY SURPRISED.
WHAT IS IT, MEOW?
WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN UNDERSTAND THIS THING?
BUTLER!
MR. PATRICK!
PATRICK GARDENER OF THE BALLOTE GRAND DUKE'S MANOR
YOU'RE HERE! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!
WHAT HAPPENED THAT MADE YOU RUSH OVER LIKE THIS?
I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW RIGHT AWAY!
THOSE POISONOUS WEEDS I MENTIONED BEFORE—I'VE CLEARED THEM ALL USING THE WEEDING METHOD YOU SHARED!
OH, ALREADY? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK!
THANK GOODNESS.
BECAUSE THE MAGIC TOWER SENT THE WEEDING METHOD FASTER THAN EXPECTED,
IT COULD BE DEALT WITH EARLY.
YOU HARVESTED THEM CLEANLY, TOO.
I'VE STORED THE REST JUST AS YOU INSTRUCTED, BUT...
WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU PLAN TO USE THESE FOR?
SINCE IT'S A POISONOUS WEED I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, I THOUGHT IT'S BEST TO KEEP SOME JUST IN CASE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK, MR. PATRICK.
YOU'VE DONE A GREAT SERVICE.
NOT AT ALL, IT'S MERELY MY DUTY.
NO, TRULY.
BECAUSE THESE POISONOUS WEEDS...
...ARE POISONOUS WEEDS USED BY THE TENASIS EMPIRE TO SOW DIVISION WITHIN CADEA.
"WE PLAN TO USE THESE POISONOUS WEEDS TO MANUFACTURE A DISEASE.
FOR NOW, AS SOON AS THE EXPERIMENTS ARE CONCLUDED,
LET US SPREAD IT AMONG THE NOBLES WITHIN THE CADEA EMPIRE FIRST.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, IT WILL THROW THE INTERIOR OF THE CADEA EMPIRE INTO TURMOIL, AND OF COURSE,
WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO BRING DOWN THE LEADER OF THE MILITARY, GRAND DUKE BALLOTE."
15
SIGH...
SO THAT SICKENING OPERATION HAS BEGUN...
THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON THE GRAND DUKE BY A MEMBER OF ARIAD A FEW DAYS AGO.
AND THE PROBLEMATIC POISONOUS WEEDS DISCOVERED NEAR THE GRAND DUCHY TERRITORY...
SERHIN MUST HAVE BEGUN MAKING HIS MOVES IN EARNEST TO TEAR CADEA APART.
IF I AM TRULY A KNIGHT OF TENASIS,
IT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR ME TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO THIS.
BECAUSE THAT SERVES MY MASTER.
BUT HARMING INNOCENT PEOPLE
AND WITNESSING THE GRAND DUKE'S DISHONORABLE DEATH...
IS SOMETHING I CANNOT CONDONE AS A KNIGHT.
NO, THIS IS COMPLETELY WRONG.
NOT FIGHTING FAIR AND SQUARE LIKE THIS...
GOES AGAINST A KNIGHT'S DUTY!
...I'M SORRY, SERHIN.
IT SOMEHOW FEELS LIKE A BETRAYAL TO YOU.
EVEN SO,
TO TAKE BACK MY HEAD,
I HAVE TO DO THIS.
I WANT TO BRING DOWN THE GRAND DUKE WITH MY OWN HANDS.
YES, RIGHT NOW I'M SIMPLY FULFILLING MY DUTIES AS THE BUTLER OF THE BALLOT GRAND DUKE'S MANOR...
WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU TALK TO YOURSELF A LOT, BUTLER!
THE FORTUNATE THING IS, THE FACT THAT POISONOUS WEEDS ARE ONLY JUST STARTING TO APPEAR ON THE ESTATE GROUNDS...
MEANS THEY HAVEN'T SPREADANYWHERE ELSE YET.
EVEN IF THEY DID, IT WOULD AT MOST BE TO HOUSE GISIN, WHO VISITS FREQUENTLY.
I CAN STILL STOP THAT PLAN.'
...THEN IS THIS MY BIGGEST PROBLEM?
THIS ACCURSED THING IS SHACKLING ME!
I NEED A WAY TO RECEIVE NEWS AND ANY RUMOR CIRCULATING OUTSIDE,
BUT IF I ASK THE MANOR STAFF, THESE PEOPLE WILL INEVITABLY FIND OUT...
You could just ask us directly~
FREYA SURVEILLANCE SQUAD
NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
NYAHAHA~ FEELS SO GOOD!
BUTLER! SCRATCH A LITTLE MORE, MEOW!
THIS IS ABSOLUTE PARADISE!
WAIT,
COULD THIS GUY PULL IT OFF?
HEY, FURBALL.
...MEOW?
BAD BUTLER! WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME FURBALL AFTER GIVING ME A NAME, MEOW?!
MY NAME IS BYEOL! I'M NOT A FURBALL, MEOW!
COME ON, AT A GLANCE YOU LOOK JUST LIKE A FURBALL.
SPEAKING OF WHICH, YOU'VE STARTED CALLING ME BUTLER, HAVEN'T YOU?
AHEM, THAT'S WHAT THE OTHER HUMANS CALL YOU TOO, ISN'T IT?
I'M SMART ENOUGH TO NOTICE THAT MU—
W-WAIT A SECOND!
BUTLER! CAN YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING, MEOW?!
TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH TO NOTICE.
HOW, HOW?! MY FORMER MASTER WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD UNDERSTAND ME, MEOW!
JUST AS I THOUGHT, OTHER PEOPLE REALLY CAN'T UNDERSTAND HIM.
... IT'S DEFINITELY STRANGE. WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN UNDERSTAND HIM?
saved him?
WELL, IN MY CURRENT SITUATION, IT ACTUALLY WORKS OUT GREAT!
It means whatever I talk about with him won't leak out.
ALL RIGHT! THEN...
HEY, FURBALL.
I TOLD YOU, IT'S BYEOL!
LET'S MAKE A DEAL!
TIME TO BRIBE HIM!
A DEAL... MEOW?
YEAH, A DEAL.
I MEAN, YOU CAME TO THIS SOFT, COMFY MANSION FULL OF DELICIOUS FOOD,
SO YOU AREN'T JUST PLANNING TO SIT AROUND FREELOADING, ARE YOU?
NYAAH?!
NONSENSE! CATS ONLY NEED TO BE CUTE!
DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT ENTHUSIASTIC REACTION EARLIER, BUTLER?!
THAT IS THE VERY REASON WE GREAT CATS EXIST...
...NOTHING IN THIS WORLD COMES FREE, MY CUTE AND GREAT CAT.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS CLEAN ROOM, YOUR DELICIOUS TREATS...
THEY ALL COME FROM SOMEONE'S LABOR!
As expected, you know what's what.
Cough, cough! The dust is making me cough...
WHICH MEANS YOU'LL NEED TO PULL YOUR WEIGHT IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN MY ROOM.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A HUMAN EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM A CAT, MEOW...
WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU WANT FROM THIS GREAT CAT, MEOW?
NOTHING MAJOR.
JUST BE MY EYES AND EARS FROM TIME TO TIME.
WHENEVER YOU WANDER AROUND THE GRAND DUKE'S MANOR,
JUST BRING ME WORD OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN PLACES I CAN'T REACH.
HOW ABOUT IT? IF YOU DO A GOOD JOB, IN RETURN...
I'LL GET YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT TO EAT, WHETHER IT'S CHICKEN BREAST OR ANYTHING ELSE.
NYAH?! WHY DIDN'T YOU LEAD WITH THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!
I'LL DO IT, I'M IN! LET ME DO IT, HUMAN!
THERE, THERE.
WELL, LOOK AT THAT. THAT WAS WAY EASIER THAN I THOUGHT.
GOOD. NOW I CAN GATHER INTEL WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT RAISING SUSPICION...
THIS PRESENCE... IS IT UPSTAIRS?
JUDGING BY THE PRESENCE OF MORE THAN ONE PERSON, ED MUST BE WITH HIM.
JUST WHAT IS UP THERE THAT THEY'RE KEEPING IT SUCH A SECRET?
...WELL, WHATEVER.
MAYBE THIS TIME, EVEN THE SECRET OF THE 5TH FLOOR, WHERE I CAN'T GO,
MIGHT FINALLY COME TO LIGHT.
While the butler feeds the small cat he found with dried chicken breast from the kitchen, he realizes the cat speaks like a human; he is the only one who can understand it. The gardener Patrick reports that he has cleared the poisonous herbs. The butler realizes these herbs are connected to the Tenasis Empire's plan to use a plague to throw Cadea into chaos, and he is torn between his knightly honor and his loyalty to his master. In the end, he makes a deal with the cat named Byeol to be his eyes and ears in exchange for food.
