“Somehow. I was drawn to you the moment I saw you. So your name is Sig.”
Romiya beamed as she looked at Sigmund. Sigmund flinched and folded his ears, already feeling guilty. He feared that Romiya might discover his true identity at any moment.
At that very moment,
“!”
Something completely unexpected happened.
“Let me formally introduce myself again. I’m Romiya.”
Romiya impulsively kissed the cat’s front paw.
When the startled Sigmund froze, she giggled bashfully and, emboldened, even nibbled on the tiny paw!
Sigmund, stunned by this display of affection he couldn’t have imagined as a human, let out an involuntary meow.
“Nyaang!”
Romiya burst into laughter.
—
When Heinz first appeared before Romiya, he was brimming with anticipation.
He dreamed of thoroughly enjoying the sight of Sigmund in distress.
A dragon who could do nothing but suffer indignities—impossible to imagine in the past. He’d preserve it with magic and replay it endlessly if he could.
‘Just wait. I’ll tease you until you beg me with a meow!’
Of course, he had no intention of actually revealing the truth. Even Heinz, as reckless as he could be, knew there were lines not to be crossed.
Romiya was Sigmund’s greatest weakness. If, by any chance, a rift formed between Romiya and Sigmund, the aftermath would be unbearable. Sigmund might torment him endlessly until he left the mortal world—or even beyond that, using any means necessary.
‘So I’ll make a deal!’
Sigmund wasn’t in a state to make rational judgments. He was entirely preoccupied with the fear of Romiya discovering that he was merely pretending to be a cat.
When Sigmund’s anxiety reached its peak, Heinz planned to strike a deal with him away from Romiya’s eyes.
‘For example, demand some of the jewels from his lair?’
That greedy dragon had stashed an enormous amount of jewels in his lair—enough to build a 200-story cat tower, surely. Just imagining a diamond-studded cat tower made Heinz’s heart race.
‘It should also come with a magic tower function.’
Sadly, Heinz’s sweet dream didn’t last long.
He looked at the blissfully dazed Sigmund with a sour expression.
‘I really can’t stand this.’
When Heinz first appeared before Romiya, Sigmund had been visibly tense.
But everything changed ever since Romiya expressed joy at seeing a cat with the same name as her lover.
Right after she nibbled his paw, Sigmund meowed in surprise, but after a few more kisses, he suddenly snapped out of it and began cozying up to Romiya. He clearly didn’t care what happened next, as long as he was happy in the moment. He even seemed to be considering turning into a cat periodically.
Enraged, Heinz wanted nothing more than to immediately reveal the truth to Romiya. But he couldn’t act rashly, fearing the consequences. The more Sigmund enjoyed himself, the more Heinz held back.
In the end, his bold approach backfired, and he ended up shooting himself in the foot. All he’d done was give Sigmund a good time.
“When was Sig born? Is his mother cat as cute as he is?”
Romiya’s eyes sparkled with affection as she asked, her love for the cat Sigmund evident. Feeling that love, Sigmund grew even giddier, while Heinz responded with a sour expression.
“He’s not very old (about half a day), and as for his mother cat, well, it depends on your taste (since I can just brew one to your liking).”
“I see. She must be cute since Sig is so adorable.”
“Meow~.”
She was complimenting the cat’s appearance, yet Sigmund seemed overjoyed, meowing with excitement.
Heinz was frustrated. No one seemed to care about his mood, whether it was fortunate or not. Neither Romiya nor Sigmund. They were entirely absorbed in each other.
Sigmund had always been crazy about Romiya, but Romiya, too, was utterly smitten with Sigmund. The cat Sigmund’s appearance was undeniably captivating. Even Heinz had to admit it was cute, despite getting swatted by Sigmund’s jelly-like paw.
‘Why, of all things, did I have to turn that ill-tempered lizard into a cat?’
Being dragged along on a date—though calling it a “date” was a stretch—watching the two create memories together, Heinz felt as though the weight of the world’s melancholy had descended upon him.
At that moment.
‘That’s it?!’
Heinz spotted a way to break out of this situation. Quickly, he grabbed Romiya’s sleeve and pointed in a specific direction.
“That’s great. I was actually thinking of asking Lady Kailas to look after Sig.”
Romiya beamed at the fortunate coincidence. Sigmund, intoxicated by the overwhelming affection that was practically at a toxic dose, was slow to react. His mind blared with warning signals, yet he was so delighted that he wanted nothing more than to stay buried in Romiya’s embrace forever. Heinz added,
“Lady Kailas really loves cats—uh, I mean Sig. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see him.”
—
“…This cat’s name is Sig, you say?”
“Yes. You know him, right?”
Heinz asked confidently, but Kailas’ expression faltered.
“Ah… I think I might… or might not…”
With a trembling voice, Kailas set down her bag and gestured for them to sit.
Today, she was supposed to visit the capital city of Genos to check on Mano’s health.
It was a day she always looked forward to, as it was one of the rare chances to see Julios, even from a distance. If she was lucky, she might even share a tea break with him. Not that she ever showed her feelings, of course.
Kailas always maintained a firm wall around herself. To an outsider, it might even seem like she was uncomfortable around Julios.
There was a long story behind why Kailas built such walls, but for now, the strange situation unfolding before her was the bigger issue. At the center of it all was an unexplainable creature that had seemingly fallen from the sky.
“Meow.”
A black kitten with piercing golden eyes—it was called Sig.
Though it was her first time seeing the kitten, the energy it emitted felt familiar. More than familiar—it was unmistakable.
‘This is Lord Sig’s energy.’
Having spent years by Mano’s side, Kailas was naturally attuned to Sigmund’s energy.
After all, the power of Gilliard was a gift from Sigmund to humankind.
‘So this kitten… is Lord Sig?’
It wasn’t just the name; the kitten itself seemed to be Sigmund.
It was hard to believe, but the unique energy of a dragon couldn’t lie. Kailas, being the Wing of healing sensitive to energy, was even more certain.
The moment the kitten entered the clinic, the intricate and vibrant aura unique to the Black Dragon filled the space.
And with every passing moment, that aura grew stronger.
There was no doubt about it. The kitten was Sigmund.
‘Why on earth is Lord Sig in this form, nestled in Lady Romiya’s arms?’
It was baffling enough that Sigmund had turned into a kitten, but even more absurd was that Romiya seemed completely unaware that the kitten in her arms was Sigmund.
“They said this kitten is one of the cats you’ve been caring for, Lady Kailas. So we came to return him. Or… is he not?”
“You’re… returning Sig… to me? Not Lord Sigmund, but the cat Sig? Lady Romiya, to me?”
Who was returning whom to whom? Romiya was Sigmund’s lover.
‘Lord Sig, stop glaring at me and say something! What in the world is going on?’
Meanwhile, Sigmund was busy shooting daggers at Kailas with his eyes, trying to intimidate her.
The only saving grace was that Kailas was quite perceptive. If she had been any less so, an accident would have occurred long ago.
Kailas, forcing words out of her reluctant mouth, decided to defend Sigmund.
“Not long ago, some stray cats gave birth near the clinic, and this kitten must be one of them. The hospital’s been so busy lately that I can’t recall every detail exactly. Haha.”
Even so, Kailas’s confusion only deepened. Sigmund’s behavior had been wildly inconsistent.
When he glared at her as if warning her to keep her mouth shut, he resembled a wildcat straight from the depths of hell. But the moment Romiya stroked his head, he melted like cheese.
‘…This is completely beyond me.’
If other more resourceful Wings, like the brazen Banessa or the clever Ahwin, had been present, they might have been able to handle Sigmund’s mercurial temperament and resolve the situation.
However, Kailas, despite her quick wits, lacked the flexibility to deal with a catified Sigmund.
‘But I can’t just sit here doing nothing.’
She decided it might be best to try speaking directly with Sigmund. With that resolve, she began to speak…
“Well, let me check if this cat is one I know. Could you hand him to me for a moment…”
She couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Trying to reconcile Sigmund—the great dragon—with this kitten nibbling Romiya’s fingers and meowing, was utterly impossible.
The more she tried, the more confused she became.
Finally, Kailas made a decision.
She would forget everything that happened today. Erase it from her memory forever. Pretend she never saw the kitten Sigmund.
‘That’s a cat. A cat I’ve never seen before. Lord Sigmund is a dragon. I know nothing.’
To do that, she first needed to send Romiya and Sigmund away. Whether Sigmund chose to reveal his identity or not was up to him.
“Now that I take a closer look, this isn’t a cat I recognize. I’m sorry. I must have been mistaken.”
Heinz quickly interjected.
“That can’t be! Look again—it’s definitely a cat you know. Isn’t it, Sig? Right?”
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