I extended my claws and dipped the sharp tips into the black ink. Then I wrote out the characters on the torn piece of paper.
[I W I L L H A V E M Y R E V E N G E]
The letters were crooked and uneven, but they’d be legible enough. If anything, the fact that it looked like some genuinely unhinged person had written it drunk made it feel even more chilling.
If Aria saw it, she might spiral, so I’d have to hide it carefully and only show it to the male lead tomorrow.
Once I’d tidied up the scene, I folded the paper twice with my front paws and held it in my mouth.
I quietly made my way back down to the first floor and leapt up to the windowsill where I usually liked to sit. Then I tucked it underneath the cushion.
Phew. This way, the male lead will understand how serious things are.
I settled onto the cushion with some measure of relief, sitting in a loaf, when—
[ต^._.^ต Hi there!]
Something suddenly appeared before my eyes. The pink-glowing hologram window was exactly the same as the hologram screen I’d seen back in the afterlife — just smaller.
[ต^._.^ต Can you see me?]
“Mya mya myak?”
Could it be Kami?
I jumped to my feet and called out, and the text inside the hologram window rapidly changed.
[ต^._.^ต Yes! It’s me, Kami. Rohun, how have you been?]
It really was Kami! My mouth stretched wide open with delight.
“Mya mya mang mya yang?”
Have you and Coco been doing well too?
[ต^._.^ต Yes!]
[ต^._.^ต ㅕㅛ나어ㅇ녀ㅓᅟᅥᆼ]
……? What’s this?
[ต^._.^ต ㅈㅇ애ㅣ; Sorry! Coco just stepped on the keyboard… Looks like she wanted to say hi too!]
I clutched at my white chest fur.
“Myaaak!”
Coco!
I’ve missed you like crazy too! I thought of that adorable little fluffy body of yours.
Someday, once Aria becomes a duchess and things are better off, I’ll absolutely adopt a lovely cat just like Coco. I reaffirmed that resolve once more.
[ต^._.^ต I’m sorry. There’s been some interference with the connection… It took a while to get through.]
Another message came through from Kami. I could picture it clearly — a little black tuxedo cat standing on two legs, tap-tap-tapping away at a keyboard.
[ต^._.^ต You must have been so uncomfortable suddenly being placed in a cat’s body.]
“Maong?”
A little?
I’d gotten fairly used to living in a cat’s body by now.
[ต^._.^ต Originally, we had intended to place you in a human body, but we couldn’t find a human body in this world that was compatible with your soul! ㅜㅜ]
Ah, I see.
[ต^._.^ต So I thought I’d provide you with some updated features — the latest version — that might help you get by as a cat!]
“Mya ang?”
Features?
[ต^._.^ต Yes! As you’ve probably already noticed… there are parts of the story that are starting to change because of your involvement.]
“Mya a. A u yok ma u ung.”
Right. I’d actually been feeling uneasy about that — scenes that don’t match the webtoon have been cropping up.
[ต^._.^ต Since you’re not human right now, you’re more vulnerable to potential danger than you would otherwise be.]
[ต^._.^ต So I’ve put together some small but helpful new features. I’ll update you right now!]
[ต^._.^ต ……Updating 12%]
[ต^._.^ต ……Updating 23%]
A pink progress bar filled slowly. I felt warmth spreading through my whiskers and the pads of my paws. I flipped my left paw over to look — the little pink toe beans were glowing faintly.
[ต^._.^ต ……Updating 99%]
[ต^._.^ต ……Update complete nya!]
The light faded. An inexplicable sense of elation rippled through me from head to tail.
But what exactly had changed? Everything felt the same.
I was flexing and curling my front paws, trying to figure out what was different, when the pink hologram window appeared before me again.
[ต^._.^ต The first feature is a danger-detection function! If it seems like you’re about to be in a dangerous situation, your whiskers will detect it and alert you!]
Oh, that’s actually useful.
[ต^._.^ต The second feature is a paw-pad teleportation technique. I heard you like wuxia novels, so I tried making one for you…!]
Are you serious.
Teleportation — now that’s cool.
“Mya hyong mya u ong? Yang, o a ong mya ung!”
Do I have to cultivate inner energy in my core like a wuxia master before I can use it? Great, I’ll start training hard starting today!
My blood was singing. I clenched my white, cotton-soft front paws into a fist.
[ต^._.^ต No, no training required! You can use it instantly by chanting “Shrink the Earth, Inch by Inch — nyanyanya!”!]
“Myak?”
There goes all the cool factor.
[ต^._.^ต One thing to keep in mind — this ability can’t be used indoors. And if there are any living beings nearby, they could get swept up in it, so you’ll need to use it somewhere with no one around!]
“…Mya mi myang. Mya a a nya nya nyang a ong?”
…Kami. I genuinely love this, but does it really have to have that nyanyanya in it?
[ต^._.^ต Yes! There’s a chance you might activate it by accident… think of “nyanyanya” as a double lock! ㅠㅠ Are you… not a fan?]
She made it for me out of kindness, so I can’t exactly say I hate it…. Fine, whatever, I’ll just chant the nyanyanya. How hard is it to say three extra syllables?
I extended my dewclaw and raised it like a thumbs-up.
“Wow, wa ung!”
Wow, this is actually super easy and great! You worked hard on this, Kami — thank you!
[ต^._.^ต Hehehe, yes! I’m so glad you like it!]
[ต^._.^ต That’s everything I had to share with you! If any additional features come up, I’ll let you know! If you experience any inconvenience while using them, please □□□□]
[ต^._.^ต □□?]
[ต^._.^ต Rohun! There’s been an error with the conne□□]
[ต^._.^ต So sorry abt ths! I’ll contact u □□ nxt time]
She must have made typos rushing to type with cat paws. How cute. I gave the hologram window an affectionate little blink of goodbye.
“Roro. Why have you been meowing like that? Hmm?”
A few minutes after the hologram window disappeared, Aria came over from the kitchen. She stroked my head and smiled warmly.
“Was there a bird outside or something?”
I gave a casual stretch as if nothing had happened, and gazed out the window.
“Roro, sleep tight.”
Aria, dressed in her pajamas, offered a gentle goodnight.
You too. I let out a soft “maong” in reply and climbed into my hideaway house.
The lights soon went out, and complete darkness fell. I watched as Aria walked to her bed, then fully tucked myself inside the hideaway house.
I curled up into a round ball in the cozy space. Drowsiness gradually pulled my eyes closed, and I had just slipped into a deep sleep when—
Bzzzz—. A trembling ran through my whiskers.
What the—?! I startled awake and sat up. I thought someone had yanked on my whiskers, but there was no one there.
In the pitch-black darkness, the sound of Aria’s steady, even breathing reached me. It was clearly a quiet, peaceful night — and yet, strangely, an uneasy feeling was creeping up through me.
Could it be — the danger detection…?
The conversation I’d had with Kami that afternoon came back to me. She’d said my whiskers would warn me if I was about to be in a dangerous situation….
I burst out of the hideaway house. Then I went to the closed door, stood up on two legs, and gripped the door handle. I quietly opened the door without waking Aria, then shut it again behind me.
My whiskers were still trembling faintly without stopping. I went straight down the stairs to the first floor. I was scanning the inside of the shop when I turned my head toward the window—
There was a dark silhouette standing outside the window. For a moment, I thought I was watching a horror movie.
It’s that bastard!
That sickening straw-colored hair was unmistakable. The man stood outside the window, blocking out the moonlight, doing something.
He hadn’t noticed me yet. I silently crept toward the base of the windowsill.
Then it happened. A thin rod slipped in through the gap in the window. It moved back and forth, and in an instant, it had undone the latch.
This crazy bastard — he’s trying to break in!
The man silently pushed the window open and climbed up onto the windowsill. My cushion fell to the floor, and the moment his feet touched the ground—
“KYAHYAAONG!!”
I launched myself at him. He clearly hadn’t dreamed I’d be right there on the floor — he let out a shriek and stumbled backwards.
Not wasting the opportunity, I slashed at his face. Even in the darkness, I could make out his jutting cheekbone, and I raked my claws across it as hard as I could. He cried out in pain and swung his fist.
But a cat’s reflexes were nothing short of extraordinary.
I dodged the punch in a flash, then sank my teeth hard into his arm.
“You… fucking—!”
He grabbed the scruff of my neck with his other hand and hurled me at the wall.
He must have expected me to crash into it and go down, but I kicked off the wall with my powerful hind legs and landed cleanly on the floor.
He, on the other hand, was bleeding from where my teeth and claws had torn into him.
Well, that’s what you get for breaking in.
“……That little shit of a cat, fucking… I’ll kill you…….”
He muttered darkly, his eyes rolling and wild. I responded by mockingly pretending to gag.
“Urk! Urk! Uurk!”
Bleurgh — I actually almost threw up for real, so I stopped quickly. He came stomping toward me, arms outstretched, clearly trying to grab me.
Now’s my chance!
