The Northern Grand Duke and the Cat Are Not So Different

Chapter 3

Working under constant surveillance by your boss? That’s already the worst.

But what if that boss… is the Northern Duke who could kill an insignificant subordinate with a flick of his wrist if things go slightly wrong? And on top of that, there are rumors that this Northern Duke once suddenly beheaded one of his subordinates?

Ruan Daen could perfectly understand the eight predecessors who had resigned and fled. In fact, at this moment, his empathy was reaching an all-time high in his 26 years of life.

Because that very Northern Duke was glaring at him as if he could burn holes through his temples.

Unable to bear that gaze, he slightly raised his head…

And immediately locked eyes with the Duke who was staring at him intently.

Those beast-like golden eyes were watching Ruan’s every move without the slightest waver.

‘Why on earth is he acting like this?’

Ruan felt like he was going to go crazy.

From the moment he first arrived at work until the end of the day, the Duke had been staring at Ruan’s every move without missing a single moment.

And with such a menacing face that made Ruan wonder, ‘Did I do something wrong?’

‘I wish he’d just tell me what I did wrong and how to fix it…’

But the Northern Duke was as reticent as the rumors said, and while he kept glaring at his subordinate with an intimidating expression, he never said what exactly was displeasing him.

‘Am I supposed to figure it out and correct it on my own…?’

What does he expect from a newcomer who couldn’t even get a proper handover because the predecessor just ran away?

But Ruan wasn’t in a position to ignore or act bold just because the other side was acting like that. That Northern Duke might suddenly decide ‘I still don’t like you’ and kill him at any moment.

‘According to the rumors I heard just before being appointed as an aide, the fifth aide was actually found unconscious in the office.’

Ruan couldn’t even imagine what that terrible boss had done.

Anyway, in such a situation, there was only one thing a powerless new aide could do.

Constantly stay on edge and endlessly self-censor, wondering if he was doing anything wrong.

Ruan had to work all day feeling like he was hugging a time bomb with its remaining time hidden, staying extremely tense and conscious of even his breathing.

After spending a day like that, it was only natural that both his body and mind would be in tatters by the time he got home.

As a result.

‘Sigh… I want to quit…’

Just five days after starting work, Ruan Daen was longing to resign.

However… like many office workers who yearn for retirement, Ruan Daen, who had been transported to this fantasy world, couldn’t actually quit.

‘Well, everyone in my family works here.’

The Daen family all worked for the Duke’s territory – his father as an administrator, and his mother, brother, and sister as knights.

And this was a medieval fantasy world where modern common sense didn’t apply. There was a real possibility that the cruel Duke might suddenly impose collective punishment if he got upset.

‘That Duke would really do it.’

Of course, the Daen family members didn’t really feel like family to him…

But he couldn’t let those who cared for him, despite him not actually being their son, come to harm.

Therefore, no matter how much stress he was under, Ruan Daen had to continue going to work every day in that office with the ruthless Duke.

Even in another world, work was still stressful, retirement was still far away, and he still had to go to work tomorrow.

‘Life really is hopeless.’

Wasn’t everyone supposed to bloom when they went to another world? Wasn’t isekai supposed to be a life reset service that came along with a truck?

Why did he end up in a black company even in another world?

For five days since his first day at work, he had been repeating the same routine – going home like a wrung-out rag after work and collapsing on his bed, barely breathing.

Ruan suddenly made a decision.

He couldn’t live like this anymore.

Although he had uttered such a serious line, Ruan couldn’t quit or change the mind of that scary Northern Duke… After filtering out various fundamental but unrealistic solutions, the only option left for the ordinary citizen Ruan Daen was to build up his physical strength.

Thinking that this kind of thing should be acted upon as soon as it’s thought of, Ruan jumped out of bed and went out for a night walk right away.

…Unaware of the repercussions this walk would bring.

* * *

The Duke was observing his new aide.

It wasn’t to assess his danger level as usual. That had already been done on the first day the new aide arrived.

The new aide was so weak that he would die if struck once with a front paw, and he didn’t seem to have the guts to risk danger for ambition.

In the long term, it was unclear how he might change, but for now, the Duke judged that he couldn’t harm the Duke or his territory.

Yet the reason the Duke was persistently watching the new aide was… to figure out how to prevent him from running away.

The Duke couldn’t let another aide run away.

Because there was no one left to make an aide.

If this aide ran away, he’d have to work without an aide for a while, which would hinder his ability to protect his territory. For a cat, to whom territory wasn’t just a space but life itself, this was an extremely serious matter.

But the problem was… he didn’t know what to do or how to do it to prevent the aide from running away.

The Duke had never tried to make humans do anything in his life, so this was an unprecedented challenge.

For five days, the Duke had been intensely pondering this problem that seemed to have no answer.

‘It might be easier to catch and bring back the ones who ran away, but…’

Based on his attempt with the fifth one, those who were caught after running away were useless, just trembling and fainting.

So he had to prevent them from running away in the first place… But no matter how much he observed, he couldn’t find an answer, and with each passing day, the new aide was getting more gaunt.

The Duke knew from experience that such aides soon ran away.

As he was pondering what to do…

The answer came from an unexpected situation.

One of the Duke’s important daily routines was to patrol his territory every evening at a set time. As the owner of the territory, he had to carefully check every day without fail if any changes had occurred in his domain.

In cat form, of course, as the human form was rather cumbersome.

But… while patrolling as usual, he discovered the new aide.

“Oh, a cat.”

Unlike in the office, the aide didn’t tremble when encountering him outside. Well, he was still looking a bit weak-kneed.

Anyway, it was quite refreshing to see the guy who always glanced nervously and cautiously at him looking relaxed as if he was a cat resting in his own territory.

So as he kept watching, the aide seemed to misunderstand something.

“Ah. Are you being wary of me right now?”

Muttering that to himself, the aide slightly turned his head and avoided eye contact.

In the world of cats, it was unthinkable to take your eyes off a potential attacker. If one did so, it meant they had no intention to fight, even if attacked.

Seeing this, the Duke realized.

Unexpectedly, the new aide was a rare, polite human.

As the Duke was admiring this, the aide discreetly turned his gaze to check on him and…

“Oh. Not yet?”

He slowly closed and opened his eyes while maintaining eye contact.

Closing one’s eyes in front of a potential attacker was an extreme expression of trust for a cat.

Of course, his wariness had long since disappeared, and he had no intention of attacking the weak aide anyway… but the aide’s polite and humble behavior was quite pleasing.

The Duke, in a good mood, gladly blinked back.

“Ah. He blinked back at me.”

The aide, seemingly touched by the Duke’s generous gesture, slowly lowered his body with leisurely movements.

He was being considerate, allowing the other party to confirm his movements and react at any time.

Of course, no matter what he did, the aide would be finished with one swipe of the Duke’s front paw… But such a polite attitude.

Isn’t it admirable?

The Duke began to like the new aide a bit, whom he had previously assessed as ‘not an immediate threat’.

Therefore, when the aide took out a pen that he had been carrying all day and was reeking of his scent, the Duke approached without hesitation and sniffed it. Honestly, he would have done the same if the aide had offered his hand directly, but the weak aide didn’t seem to have that courage yet.

As he had thought from the beginning, this aide’s scent wasn’t too bad.

With a scent like this, it wouldn’t be unpleasant to keep him around.

The Duke liked this aide more and more.

‘But it’s all useless if this guy runs away.’

As the Duke was more seriously considering how to prevent him from running away…

“Sigh… I have to go to work again in a few hours. I really don’t want to go to work.”

These shocking words came out of the polite aide’s mouth.

He doesn’t want to go to work? Does that mean he’s going to run away?

The last potential aide who is not only polite and quite admirable but also smells okay?

The Duke, his ears flattened back in displeasure, began to consider whether he should bite this guy’s scruff right now and take him back to the Duke’s castle to lock him up.

Before the Duke could put his thoughts into action…

The aide spoke again.

“Kitty… I wonder why the Duke is acting like that towards me…”

‘What exactly did I do?’

The Duke swore he hadn’t done anything to the aide. If anything, he had been thinking hard about how to prevent him from running away.

So why was this guy talking as if the Duke had done something to make him not want to go to work?

“You think so too, don’t you, kitty?”

What exactly am I supposed to think?

Even as the Duke looked at him with puzzlement, the aide, lost in his own thoughts, didn’t recognize him.

And then he said,

“Come to think of it, your color combination is really similar to the Duke’s? Black fur with golden eyes?”

This was such an obvious statement. Of course the colors wouldn’t be that different, given that he was the Duke himself.

But that wasn’t the important thing.

The important issue for the Duke right now was whether he should start running with this guy’s scruff in his mouth to prevent him from trying to run away.

But the aide, not knowing what was obvious and what was important, just looked at the Duke’s appearance with curiosity, thought about something, and then let out a deep sigh.

And then…

“Sigh… I wish the Duke were a cat…”

He uttered an incredible statement.

‘You wish I were a cat?’

The Duke, who was already a cat, perked up his ears.

Seeing this, the aide chuckled and said,

“If my boss were a cat, going to work wouldn’t be painful, it would be enjoyable. Right? Don’t you think so too?”

‘If I were a cat… going to work wouldn’t be painful but enjoyable?’

So if I openly act like a cat, you won’t run away? Can I keep this unusually polite and nice-smelling aide by my side without having to bite and lock him up?

The answer to this problem, which seemed unsolvable and had been pondered day and night for 5 days, was closer than expected.

The Duke was confident he could satisfy the new aide and prevent him from running away.

He was actually a cat, and acting like a cat was his specialty.