It had been drizzling since morning.
On the windowsill sat a plush cushion that Aria had bought for me. I perched on it and watched the world outside.
In the kitchen, Aria was preparing breakfast. Cream stew today, by the smell of it. I was stretching out a long yawn, nose twitching at the delicious scent drifting over, when I spotted someone walking out from the direction of the forest. From the large build, it looked like a man.
At this hour, probably not a customer.
The man in a robe paused in front of our shop, seemingly to take shelter from the rain for a moment. He had his back to me, but I recognized him immediately.
It’s the male lead!
“Roro, come eat.”
Just then, the female lead came out from the kitchen too. Aria started making her way toward the window where I was, then noticed someone standing outside the door and stopped short.
“…Who is that.”
With that dark, heavy robe pulled over him, it was reasonable to be a little wary. But when the man simply stayed where he was, sheltering from the rain without moving, the female lead seemed to be moved to sympathy.
“He must be cold.”
Aria murmured quietly, then walked toward the door with an air of having made up her mind. The locked door swung open unexpectedly, and the man standing outside turned around in surprise.
“Hello.”
Aria greeted him first. Faced with a beautiful woman with golden hair and soft green eyes speaking to him so kindly, the man must have felt it would be rude not to respond — he pushed back the hood he’d had pulled down low.
“…Good morning.”
The face that appeared beneath rain-dampened navy hair was handsome enough that even another man would have to admit it.
“You don’t look like you’re from this village — are you a traveler?”
“Yes. I was passing through. I apologize for blocking your door. …I’ll be on my way shortly.”
“Not at all. We haven’t opened for the day yet. Would you like to come in?”
“I couldn’t. I have no money on me at the moment. I wouldn’t want to impose—”
“It’s fine, please come in. As I said, we haven’t opened yet. I’m not thinking about payment.”
She smiled lightly and held the door open, and the male lead stepped inside a beat later.
The scene from the webtoon was unfolding right before my eyes. I sat still on the windowsill and watched without getting in the way.
The female lead went upstairs and brought down a towel to offer him. The male lead took it, dried off the rainwater, and sat down without protest at the seat she indicated.
“If you haven’t eaten yet, cream stew would be alright?”
“…No, please. You’ve already been kind enough to let me out of the rain — there’s no need to offer me a meal as well—”
“I accidentally made too much. Please eat, if you don’t mind.”
The male lead refused stiffly like some kind of rigid robot, but our generous female lead cheerfully set out a warm bowl of cream stew for him anyway.
“Please enjoy.”
“…Thank you.”
Look at this one’s expression — he’s already half gone on her.
“Roro, time to eat. Come here.”
At Aria’s call, I hopped down from the windowsill. Only then did the male lead seem to notice my presence — he looked over at me.
Aria pulled out the chair beside her and set down a plate. I sat next to Aria and looked down at it.
The menu was fluffy mashed potato salad and boiled chicken torn into easy, bite-sized pieces.
I want cream stew too!
I jumped up onto the table to lodge my protest, and Aria laughed like she didn’t know what to do with me.
“…Oh.”
Then, suddenly conscious of the male lead sitting across from her, she said quickly:
“I’m sorry — if it bothers you having the cat up here, I can move to another spot.”
“It doesn’t bother me. It’s fine.”
The male lead answered just as quickly. His blue eyes were fixed steadily on me.
“…I was only looking because I found it curious.”
“Is this your first time around a cat?”
“Yes. I’ve never kept one.”
“Myaamalk!”
Hurry up and give me some! I tapped the spoon with my paw, and Aria laughed and picked it up. She scooped out a little and transferred it to a small bowl for me.
“Is it good?”
“Wawung—. Wayokung.”
The stew was rich and smooth with milk and cream — very much my style.
“I’ve never seen a cat steal food from a person like this before….”
The male lead’s bewildered murmur reached my ears.
Of course he hadn’t. As the son of a distinguished ducal house, he’d hardly have had occasion to witness such a lack of table manners.
Hey, and get your words straight. You’re the one stealing — I live here. I’m eating what’s rightfully mine.
“Roro really loves human food. When I’m eating like this, she’ll come right up and cry for a bite.”
I drained the bowl in no time and looked up. More.
Aria noticed stew on my whiskers and wiped them clean with her handkerchief.
“I can’t give too much or it’ll upset your stomach. Now, get down and eat your own food.”
“Myaung.”
Fine. I climbed back down to the chair and quietly ate my share. Meanwhile, the male lead and female lead continued eating and talking.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Raymon.”
“Oh, Raymon. I’m Aria.”
At last, the male lead and female lead knew each other’s names.
I finished eating first and sprawled out on the chair, settling into the comfortable fullness.
Aria brewed a warm cup of tea and offered it to Raymon.
“It’s a tea that helps with fatigue. You looked a little tired.”
“…Thank you.”
Whether he was genuinely grateful, Raymon took a moment before he spoke. Even after the meal was done, the two of them kept up a quiet, easy conversation, and I listened in with both ears pricked.
“…You encountered bandits in the mountains?”
“Yes. They took what I was carrying, and I was in quite a difficult situation. Fortunately, I managed to escape on horseback and make it here.”
The lines from the webtoon I knew played out exactly as I remembered them.
Raymon said he’d run into bandits — but in truth, it hadn’t been bandits at all. He had been attacked by people who had come specifically to take his life.
A male lead with exceptional swordsmanship, he fought off his attackers and barely survived.
His coachman and horses had all been killed in the process, leaving Raymon to walk to the next village injured. There, he’d spent every coin he had on new clothes, a robe, and a horse.
Well — he could hardly explain all of that, so bandits was as good a cover story as any.
While the two talked for about an hour, the rain outside cleared and sunlight began to slowly break through.
“The rain has stopped — I should be on my way.”
“You’re welcome to stay until your clothes are fully dry….”
“I appreciate the thought, but there’s somewhere I need to get to urgently.”
The male lead had been on his way back from investigating a location under a secret imperial order. The attack had delayed his return, so he had no choice but to make haste.
He looked reluctant to part from the female lead — but Raymon, being the male lead who knew when to step back, offered a courteous farewell.
“I won’t forget the kindness you’ve shown me today.”
“I only served up some food that would have gone to waste. I enjoyed meeting you too.”
Aria walked him to the door. I stood beside Aria and looked up at Raymon.
“Raymon, take care on your way.”
“…I’ll visit again before long.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Maong.”
Yeah. Come back.
After the male lead Raymon left, the female lead and I settled back into our ordinary routine.
Perhaps because the spring rain in the morning had brought the temperature down, hot tea sold like mad today of all days.
Aria had to spend a busy afternoon shuttling between the kitchen and the floor for the first time in a while. I gave up my nap and kept watch over the floor, helping tend to the customers.
…Why is today so impossibly long.
Running a business really wasn’t something to aspire to. When it’s busy, you’re exhausted from the rush — when there are no customers, you’re exhausted from the worry.
Watching Aria carefully sweep and wipe down every spot the customers had vacated, all for earnings that didn’t even amount to minimum wage — it made my chest feel heavy. Don’t work so hard!
“Myaaang!”
Aria, is there anything I can do to help!
“Did you come to help? Oh, you good thing.”
A faint smile crossed Aria’s tired face.
“Should we close up a little early today?”
“Myaang!”
Yes! Let’s go upstairs and rest already.
Aria gave my head a few gentle strokes and said, “Cleaning’s all done, so just a moment. Let me go lock up.” — and right at that moment.
Ding-a-ling. The clear bell rang out.
I looked back. The moment I caught sight of that straw-yellow hair, a string of curses erupted inside me.
“Heh heh, came for tea again. The same as last time.”
“…I’m sorry. We were planning to close early today.”
“I’ll drink fast and go.”
The man walked right past Aria and sat himself down in the seat closest to the kitchen. At his brazen behavior, Aria’s brow creased in displeasure — but in the end, she swallowed her sigh.
“Lavender tea, was it?”
“Knew you’d remember. I knew a sweet woman like Aria would….”
The man snickered to himself with a sly, unpleasant smile. Then he turned back to Aria and spoke to her again as if they were old friends.
“Aren’t you lonely? Without a husband, you must get even lonelier… heh heh heh.”
“…….”
“A beautiful woman like you — what a waste. Have you thought about remarrying?”
“…It hasn’t been long since I lost my husband. Comments like that make me uncomfortable.”
“Heh heh, it was just a joke. Why are you being so uptight. Are you going to make the tea or not?”
“…Please wait a moment.”
With that, Aria scooped me up into her arms and retreated quickly into the kitchen.
