The Northern Grand Duke and the Cat Are Not So Different

Chapter 23

Before his mistaken belief that he had turned the Duke into a were-cat, Ruan had perceived Dietrich Reinke as an extremely flat character, created solely with the attribute of “the fearsome Northern Duke.”

This was partly due to the rumors Ruan had heard after becoming Ruan Daen, but it was also largely due to how “Tales of the Sirah Empire” portrayed Dietrich Reinke. The novel described him simply as the violent and cold-hearted Northern Duke.

Like a typical reader approaching the novel’s narrative, Ruan completely trusted that description. As a result, he naturally viewed Dietrich Reinke as the person described and treated him as such.

If his perspective hadn’t been radically changed by the misunderstanding that the Duke had become a were-cat, it probably would have continued that way.

‘But in fact, “that terrifying Northern Duke”… was a cat were-animal?’

The fact that the Duke wasn’t originally “that terrifying Northern Duke” who suddenly became a cat overnight due to some fantasy power, but had been a cat from the beginning. The fact that the cat had just been behaving like a cat all along, but humans wearing the “terrifying Northern Duke” filter had been perceiving it distortedly. While these realizations were shocking enough, the shock Ruan felt as a person who had possessed the character was even greater.

‘Then, the things I thought “must be true because the novel said so”… maybe I shouldn’t blindly believe them after all?’

Originally, Ruan’s feelings towards “Tales of the Sirah Empire” were close to disappointment that the information he needed wasn’t described in the novel. After all, matters closely related to Ruan’s life were all disconnected from the main story of “Tales of the Sirah Empire,” so despite being a possessor, he wasn’t feeling the benefits of being one.

But now, he began to doubt whether he could fully trust the knowledge acquired through the novel’s narrative.

There’s more than one way to overturn people’s perceptions. The parts that aren’t described can influence the reader’s perception as much as the parts that are. When trying to instill a certain perception in someone, sometimes it’s enough to simply exclude certain facts.

Just like how politicians and media cunningly erase important premises or potential counterarguments, or connecting points, to play word games.

He had thought that in two years, when Reinke would be entangled in that catastrophic main story, he would actively use what he knew… But now he began to feel a sense of crisis that the “known information” might distort his perception and lead to wrong choices.

‘Come to think of it, even how Erich, the husband of the protagonist Louise, truly felt about Louise was never revealed in the novel until the end, leading to a flood of comments asking if Erich was keeping secrets from the readers too… The more I think about it, the more I feel my trust in the novel’s content is diminishing.’

While Ruan was lost in thought about how to treat the “original work” as a possessor,

“For now, you’re the only human who knows that the direct lineage of the Reinke family are cat were-animals.”

The Duke’s words brought Ruan’s consciousness back from its wanderings.

So not only the possessor who had read the novel where the were-animal setting wasn’t described, but even the people in the novel didn’t know that cats had been guarding Reinke’s walls as its leaders for generations?

‘Well, it would be impossible to be so afraid and spread such ominous rumors about a cat family protecting me from terrifying monsters. Hmm. How could humans do that? It’s because they don’t know.’

An image of a cat family standing proudly on the vast northern walls flashed in Ruan’s mind.

‘They’re really cute…’

No, that’s not what’s important right now. He almost lost his reason for a moment, but Ruan quickly regained his senses and asked the Duke,

“Was it originally a secret that the Duke’s direct lineage are all were-animals?”

At Ruan’s question, the Duke’s gaze, which had been looking at his own thigh that he had been grooming, turned to Ruan. It was a look as if he was seeing someone asking about something obvious.

“That’s how it is for now, but in reality, who would think there’s such a thing as were-animals unless they directly saw the transformation?”

From this statement, which carried a nuance of “why is this guy saying such things,” Ruan gleaned a lot of information.

‘It seems were-animals aren’t common beings here either.’

Moreover, it seemed they weren’t just uncommon… They appeared to be such shocking existences that people wouldn’t believe it just by hearing about it, requiring direct demonstration to prove it.

‘Is that why he showed me his transformation right away?’

Was it like an unbelievable setting in a fantasy novel? While thinking ‘So there are things considered fantasy even in a fantasy world,’

“Is it alright to tell me such things…?”

He knew that both the Duke and the cat had been trusting him all this time they’d been together.

But even so… Seeing the Duke readily tell a secret that no one else knew made worry start to grow.

‘In a world where even the novel’s narrative can’t be trusted.’

After all, Ruan was just a subordinate employee who had been hired only a few months ago. Yet, the Duke was telling such a fantastical secret to someone who was just that.

Is it okay for a cat to trust a person so easily? Shouldn’t cats be more cautious?

‘This cat… Isn’t he too pure to live in this harsh world full of spies and conspiracies?’

Come to think of it, Duke Dietrich Reinke in the novel only played the role of being pushed around by the protagonists, being used, and suffering losses. Could it be that all of that was… just an innocent cat being deceived and bullied by malicious humans?

He knew that the protagonists of “Tales of the Sirah Empire” weren’t exactly good people, but how could they be so evil? Suddenly, Ruan felt incredibly sorry for the Duke in the novel.

Feeling complicated by the fact that he too had seen this cat as cold-blooded, Ruan asked with concern, and the Duke, with his usual impassive face, answered as if stating an obvious fact.

“You’re a member of my group, aren’t you?”

And as if that wasn’t enough, he immediately added in a serious voice.

“If not you, who else would I tell?”

At the Duke’s calm answer, Ruan realized.

The fact that the cat Ruan had been fervently loving was the Duke meant that the Duke was that very cat he had been showering with fervent love.

Some might say this sounds like something a certain Japanese politician who likes steak would say, but… to Ruan, the former and the latter had clearly different meanings―of course, that politician might say the same about his own statement.

Until now, Ruan had only considered “my cat was actually the Duke” as “the shocking truth that the core of the cat I had been showering with all sorts of affection was actually my workplace superior, the Northern Duke, at every moment.” But with the Duke’s recent statement, he realized that this shocking truth also meant that “the actions of the Duke with the impassive face” were all “the actions of his cute and lovable cat.”

Therefore, the current Ruan had essentially received a confession from his cat saying, “You’re part of my group, so I can trust only you.”

Dogs perceive humans as different creatures, so when dealing with humans, they use a separate language, not the means of communication used among dogs. But cats didn’t have such a thing. Cats were animals that always stubbornly used the language of cats.

Ruan had always claimed that “even such a ‘my way’ attitude is cute and precious”… but the experience of receiving a verbal affirmation of affection and trust from his cat in human language was truly…

“Your Grace… To think you regard me in such a way…”

It was indescribably moving.

In that whirlpool of emotion, Ruan made a vow. That he would protect this innocent, loving cat.

In Ruan’s heart, a sense of responsibility for the cat before his eyes began to burn brightly.

This was a different feeling from the responsibility he had felt until now, which stemmed from the misunderstanding that he had caused the perfectly fine Duke to turn into a cat.

Ruan gathered all the sincerity within him and said,

“Your Grace. I will truly do my utmost to assist you.”

Pleased with those words, the Duke lightly wrapped his fluffy tail around Ruan’s leg. That action was like pouring fuel onto Ruan’s determination.

Ruan was truly serious about his resolution.

He was so serious that… he forgot everything he had originally intended to ask, and all the things he should have thought about upon learning that his cat was actually the Duke.

Ruan realized this fact a moment later, when he spoke to the naked Duke who showed no intention of getting off Ruan’s bed, and the Duke replied with a puzzled expression that he would sleep “as usual” in Ruan’s bed.