104 The Mansion (6)

The next morning, Iris was woken up by a light breeze down her back. Wide-eyed, she jumped to her feet, fearing the worst, but the sight in front of her eyes calmed her down. If she could see Kyro's dark eyes while standing on her feet, it could only mean that she was still a fox.

He gently stroked her fur again, and she lay down on the bed. 'You scared me,' she accused him, but her words didn't have any edge to them. She was just happy her worst nightmare didn't come to be once more.

"What are you doing here?" Kyro asked, scratching her behind the ear. "I thought I left you in Queen's old room downstairs."

Iris whined at that and turned on her side, and it was then that pain rushed down her back leg. She winced and went to sniff the bruised place. It wasn't bleeding, and as far as she could tell, it wasn't that much larger than her other leg.

"What happened?" Kyro asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position. With all sleep instantly chased away, he lightly touched the leg she had been sniffing. It hurt, so Iris snapped at his fingers, warning him not to do that again.

He retrieved his fingers and just looked from the distance. "Did you get hurt while escaping? That leg is swollen a bit, isn't it?"

It wasn't like she could refute his observations, so she just nodded absentmindedly, wondering if she would need a cast. 'Wait, do they even make them for pets?' She couldn't remember seeing one on a cat or a dog.

But no, her situation shouldn't be that bad. She hadn't checked what it was like at night, but currently, the swelling wasn't too bad. It might be just a minor strain that would get better after a day without moving much.

Kyro didn't get up right away after noticing her predicament. He returned to lying on his side, then with warm eyes that were really close to her face, he said, "Did you get hurt just to get back to me? Should I take responsibility for you now?"

Iris made a grab for his noise with her teeth, but luckily for him, she didn't want to move too much, so she didn't reach him. 'You've been very ambiguous lately,' she told him with narrowed eyes. 'Don't play games with me.'

"What? You don't want me to take care of you?"

That question wasn't worth answering with their current statuses, so Iris closed her eyes and pretended to go to sleep. If she could rest for the whole day, maybe her leg would get better and she could actually explore this huge house in daylight.

"Mischievous child," Kyro murmured with a laugh, caressed her head, and then rose from the bed.

There was a shower adjacent to the bedroom. The moment Kyro disappeared in it, Iris looked up, suddenly remembering that this must be his childhood room. There was no way it wouldn't contain some material from his younger days she could use against him.

But when she glanced around, all she saw were neutral objects. There was not a single item to give character to the room and prove that someone ever lived here. It was tasteful in colors and design, but there was no personal touch in anything. It looked just like a guest room.

'Does he actually not have a room at his parents' house? Or did he move out of it when he grew up, leaving it somewhere around as a memento, but not returning there to rest when he's back?'

While she considered all that, Kyro came out of the shower and swiftly dressed up. He didn't put on a suit, and Iris was surprised. Did that mean he wasn't going to work today? Wasn't it a bit too easygoing from someone important?

"Why are you looking at me with such a judging stare? Don't worry, I'll bring you along downstairs."

It wasn't what she had been thinking about, but he touched upon an important thing, too. What in the world was she going to do throughout the day without gong numb with boredom?

For the moment, though, Kyro scooped her up, and they went to the kitchen below. It was a bright and airy room, and his mother was already making pancakes there. They smelled heavenly.

"Why do you have the fox with you?" mother asked upon turning to face Kyro. Her face scrunched up, and she waved at him with the ladle. "You actually went to say good morning to it before your mother?"

Kyro smiled and went to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I found her in my bed. The little devil must have escaped somehow and went looking for me at night."

"It's scared of the dark?" mother asked with a smile, all her fake anger gone.

'Certainly not,' Iris answered her, but no one believed her.

"Maybe. I'll bring its bowl first and give it breakfast, then sit down at the table. Where's dad?" he asked while leaving the room.

Mother turned back to the frying pan. "He's not feeling well, but it's the usual. No need to worry."

"Mhm…" Kyro didn't look convinced, but he didn't question more.

Swiftly, he went to Queen's old room and collected the two bowls which he brought to the kitchen. He then placed some insects into one of them, and changed the water in the other.

The difference in his own meal versus that of Iris was an obvious one, but she just ate her share and didn't' say anything. If this was meant for her, then hopefully it would help her get better faster. The leg wasn't unusable, but it pained her to put any weight on it.

After breakfast, Kyro picked her up again, and they went into what looked like a study. He brought out a laptop and started working on it while she napped on his knees. It wasn't the way she had thought to spend her day, but it wasn't too bad. Especially when Lucifer came along and complained that she had taken up his spot.

Kyro apologized to him, but said that the little one was hurt and Lucy as a senior should not make trouble because of that. Those words did not make the cat happy, and the black giant jumped on the desk to lie down beside Kyro's right hand.

"Why am I suddenly reminded of that cat lady we've lived near before?" Kyro muttered to himself.