This is about assassination attempts

30 June 422

"Are you sure that this is what Captain Marcus meant with keeping a 'close' watch over me?" I found myself questioning in that incredibly-confusing instance I was subjected to.

Felix didn't reply as he continued to rest his head on my shoulder, nuzzling a little while purring in quite the loving manner. We were staying by one of the various living rooms within the palace, with me and the cat-eared young man sitting together in one of the long couches while Reinhard was quietly seated on the couch standing right in front of us.

The Sword Saint had been a surprise to find around after just the kind of day I had to face yesterday, but I certainly didn't voice any of the questions about the sudden need to keep an eye out for me.

Either I had given some 'wrong answers' to the past day's inquiry from both the King and McMahon or there was some serious worry that someone had infiltrated the palace.

Considering the company I had, I was partly sure that it had to do much more with the latter than the former possibility.

The Captain of the Knights wouldn't have never let two 'compromised' subordinates to take action in such an important mission if it was truly something against me.

"Sir Ferris is quite affectionate towards you, I guess it has to do with what had happened after the events back at the Argyle Mansion," Reinhard commented mirthfully, blue eyes vibrantly enjoying the entertaining scene unfolding before him. "But our presence here is related to some royal orders that sadly we can't disclose."

I blinked at that, curious over the reason behind the quality guarding and the secrecy, yet I decided to bid my silence over this topic and shifted my attention to the Demihuman himself.

"To be fair, he isn't overbearing about it," I admitted while lifting one of my hands to start to caress a little some of his hair, eliciting some surprised twitch from his cat-like ears before he resumed with his quiet purring. "It's just that I didn't expect this much company without much notice."

"Y-You are surprised, Johnyan?" The half-feline fellow asked with a teasing tone. "Weren't you expecting Ferris to come and visit ya?"

"I expected you to be by Lady Karsten's side now that her father has reached the capital," I replied politely. "Couldn't see why you would miss that opportunity, Felix."

He hummed, glancing at Reinhard with a curious glint and causing the redhead to sigh calmly.

"We were ordered to keep you safe and away from any dangerous encounter until later today," The overpowered knight explained with a careful tone. "We aren't truly aware of why, but the King was insistent to keep you away from any threats until some event will be happening."

Not truly something that offered me more insight over the matter, but I was starting to suspect more and more that it had to do with what had happened yesterday.

While King Randohal had looked quite genuine about the fact that the final offer had been just a ploy to verify my moral integrity, both he and the sage giving him advice hadn't said anything about the purpose behind such a complicated interrogation. I couldn't just accept it as an attempt to gauge my personality... as a friend to Fourier.

It wasn't made as a friendship test and... hopefully, I wasn't going to deal with some crazy stuff anytime soon.

The quicker I was out of this castle, the better my chances are going to be of having a chat with Satella over the true nature of Pandora.

I knew that the insane girl had been close to the Witch of Envy before her personalities split in two, that she had known Flugel and that he was somehow responsible for how her power worked... and was also the cause of her dreadful intents.

I needed details, some of those surely going to be difficult to get because of how painful the memories attached to those were going to be with Satella but... I had to still give it a try and verify that some of my assumptions were either correct or not about Pandora.

The final enemy, the ultimate obstacle to peace...

Or maybe the key to unlock something far worse. Her box was the secrets she was holding.

"Shouldn't Fourier receive some higher guarding than me?" I pressed over the whole debacle once again. "Once again, I'm not trying to ask for any secretive subjects but-"

"His Majesty is currently busy with a royal meeting," The Van Astrea interjected with a minor frown. "An important noble-lady just recently reached the capital and wanted to spare some words with the Prince about the chances of an arranged marriage contract."

My eyes widened in surprise and I felt Felix tensing up as he interrupted his purring.

"I wasn't... aware of this situation," The Demihuman commented softly, eyeing the fellow knight with a quizzical look.

"It was something that happened without much notice," Reinhard continued with an uneasy tone, drawing quite some nervous predicament the more he gave details over the topic. "I would find it difficult to say this myself, but I guess it was her luck that warranted this kind of opportunity."

"Luck generally can't get an encounter with an unmarried prince with the King being ill and-"

I froze on the spot as the words of the Sword Saint finally sunk within my brain and... I started to connect dots over the horrible predicament unfolding not too far from now.

It was a slow crescendo as I remembered that only one character had the kind of 'luck' that allowed her to gain these kind of circumstances, someone that was supposedly going to be a thorn in Fourier's rear if not treated with extreme attention and 'proper care'.

Then I started to bring up in my head all the information I had over such a character, someone with the same ego as Gilgamesh, some non-negligible cleavage and the distinct ambition of ruling over the world 'because it was her right'.

But I didn't jump in action while the realization started to wrap over my brain, still unsure that it was actually this character or maybe we were dealing with someone less important than I thought.

"I know that it might sound strange to ask you this, Reinhard," I mentioned with an uneasy smile. "But perhaps the lady that is engaging some discussion with Fourier may be... Lady Pendleton?"

The knight was quiet, his eyes still showing some surprise at the sudden inquiry and I could feel Ferris alternating to stare both at me and at his companion, a little confused over the question.

"I'm not aware of anyone with that name-"

"That is... correct."

Fuck, double fuck- no, triple fuck!

The timeline was already getting screwed beyond recognition.

I was quite aware of that after the whole Agryle Mansion ordeal going differently than Canon, but to see the results of such change already coming to bite my butt so quickly was... horrible.

Priscilla shouldn't have been coming here in Lugnica, at least not this soon in the timeline and not without the Royal Election happening for her to have a chance of getting a kingdom out of it.

She was still not married with the plotter that was Leip Barielle, but I was partly certain that the man had to be responsible somehow for this unexpected encounter and-

I stood up from my seat, Reinhard and Felix following my example and-

"Mayor- John, I ask of you to not try anything stupid right now," The red-haired swordsman said with an half-plead, making me pause just a moment. "Whatever you are planning to do, Lady Pendleton is well-guarded and she is considered a ward of the kingdom as per order of Lord Barielle-"

"Which is why this is problematic, Reinhard," I intervened with a tight voice, making just two steps towards the door only to be stopped by the Sword Saint. "Lord Barielle-"

"Lord Barielle is the one responsible for the Dragon Tablet. His loyalty to the kingdom is assured by difficult tests that show how much of a devote subject he is for the-"

"The chance of getting to steal the kingdom for himself if he plays his cards accordingly," I interrupted again, this time my irritation flaring at his opposition. "The Tablet has a prophecy about a Royal Election, which would only happen when all the heirs of the Lugnica Clan are dead or have resigned their duties as Crown Princes and... who would have the best chances to win an election, if not someone that was married to the former heir to the kingdom?"

"That sounds way too... complicated for it to be the case," The knight pressed on. "Even a spy network like yours wouldn't be able to know the content of the Dragon Tablet, the security being far too high for anyone unknown to infiltrate such an administration."

...That was actually a fair point. While a majority of the kingdom was still easy to access for a spy, something as ancient and immensely important like the Dragon Tablet had magical barriers that made it impossible to spy upon without being already connected to the group assigned to guard it.

I blinked, feeling a little stomped by the fact I did just brain-fart here but I was also glad that Reinhard was somehow quick to dismiss my theory as an elaborate and complicated mess without a proof rather than getting suspicious over the precise summary of what might be happening right now.

It would fit well for Leip, the plan would see Fourier die because of the 'royal illness' and thus prompt the beginning of the Royal Elections while giving Priscilla, someone that would have a 'contract' with some arranged marriage, the chance of having an easy competition.

Ultimately, the bald bastard would then marry the woman during the competition, offering his riches and his lands as resources to make some aggressive but victorious campaigns.

I could already see a major flaw in that 'foolproof plan', which was the BS luck the blonde was renowned to have and that could in the end see the young woman obtaining the throne alone and without any dangerous conspirators damaging her new kingdom.

I huffed, grunted even, as I forced my arm out of Reinhard's hold, marching back to the couch and... slumping over one of the corners, engaging in what many observers could describe as a clear case of deep irritated-induced pouting.

I was quiet, Felix looked surprised at my lack of strong response at that final obstacle, but still followed me back to the couch and so did the redhead.

Time passed, ten or so minutes that began silently and then returned to some friendly bantering between the two knights about the recent developments.

Reinhard would still give me some intrigued glances, confused over my sudden defeat and how 'quick' it had been compared to what he was mostly accustomed to at this point.

I huffed once in a while, my eyes glancing briefly around the room and giving no response whatsoever at the conversation both guards were having with each other.

Ferris seemed to have lost his own surprise by going deep with his news about his mother, the woman having arrived at Erindor and having already started to have quite the curious discoveries by dealing with both Fritz and Hans.

From what the demihuman was aware of, the twins had been skeptical of the old woman's role in the household but they soon started to grow a little more trusting when she decided to prepare for them some apple pie after lunch.

While many could easily think that I had thrown the towel and I was already killing my mind by thinking at the aftermath of this horrible scenario, the reality of my predicament was quite the opposite.

I hadn't accepted defeat, I had merely decided to switch tactics to something a little more unpredictable.

It was time to be a little smarter than usual, I needed to adopt a plan that best worked for my current limitations.

I couldn't approach the door, nor I could ask to go to the bathroom without having both following me around; making a run for it would result with me getting caught and possibly tied down as to not be able to commit myself to another of these attempts.

Knowing these two major details, I was offered a grand hope in the form of the large window set right by one of the deepest corner of the room, the further part from the main doors.

It was half-open as to allow some wind to enter inside, the climate offering little mean to cool down the warmth created by the chimney installed in this room and...

I did play Assassin's Creed more than enough to know how to move around that predicament and I was fit enough to pull some cool maneuvering if given the proper time to think beforehand.

I pondered over the floor we were currently standing in this room while also creating a crude map of the overall castle we were in. I hadn't seen many of the rooms there, but if I had to take a wild guess from the general disposition of the quarters, I felt like I could think of a proper planimetry of the major building.

I blinked, slowly shuffling up from my current seat in utter silence, gaining Reinhard's full attention just for that moment...

As I started to stretch up and yawn.

"I need to go for a walk... around the room," I muttered tiredly, my body indeed requiring some genuine stretching after staying in that draining position for that long. "And away from the door."

The last detail got a curious look from the Sword Saint, the man trying his best to see if I was telling the truth or not.

In the end, he sighed and gave a nod to which I replied with my own sigh before going for a walk around the place and... right towards the big 'window of opportunity' I had for my little escape.

I could hear the discussion had resumed behind me, giving me just enough of a distraction to begin move out of the room via the opening.

Just as both legs had stepped over the small section of the wall, carefully settling by the decorations just outside the window and... I heard the distinct noise of two panicking knights making their way towards me-

But it was already too late as I started to cautiously descend from that unpleasant circumstance to the others that preceded me from reaching my last goal.

I was nimble, I was quick, but my name wasn't Jack and I didn't know anyone called Jill~.

Two floors below and after 'enjoying' some aching hands and toes, I was granted relief in the form of an open window that got me to charge inside... into a completely empty room.

Not good, but also not too bad as I still had some chances of reaching the scene just before anything serious could happen from this maddening plot.

I didn't pause for too long in that empty space, just enough to take notice of the section of the palace I had ended up into and... then I bolted without any restraint over my sprint.

Lungs going for some overwork, I dashed through the hallways with only two thoughts in mind.

The first was that Fourier might be in serious danger if I didn't move too quickly and-

Two, I had Reinhard now surely going to hunt me down with the intention of possibly tie me down back to that 'safe room' while giving me some lecture over his duties as my bodyguard, the importance of keeping me away from danger and... something about justice.

He would be right, he would be correct... but then again the situation warranted some drastic and unpleasant decisions considering the horrible odds staked to me right now.

Seriously, why there was an assassination attempt right after the whole insane thing with the Argyle Mansion and-

I turned the corner, rushing through the secondary staircase with the intention to reach Fourier's room, ignoring any strange noises that might distract me along the way to make the difference.

My breathing got labored, my face reddened and after two minutes of straight running around the place and ignoring the glances I was getting from the various nobles and guards wandering around, I finally reached my destination.

I took just a few seconds to get my breathing back to normal, the little marathon bringing up quite the adrenaline running through my body, and then knocked thrice at the door.

I waited patiently for some sound or noise, anything that could bring me relief of the fact that I was just in time to-

"Please enter," Fourier allowed with a slow but confused tone of voice, enough of a sign for me to slowly open the door and... be presented with quite the odd scene.

Fourier's red eyes widened in recognition, surprise swelling in his face while Crusch looked merely confused over my presence there.

It took me just a moment to realize that while Fourier was sitting in front of a younger Priscilla Barielle, beside him was the Duchess Karsten herself...

And between the two couches, right where the small wooden table was supposed to be, there was an unconscious bald man tied down over the now broken mini-table.

I blinked. "Oh... so I was right."

"Mayor Bukharin," A certain purple-haired knight spoke with a hint of surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought that Reinhard and Felix-"

At the mere mentioning of the two knights surely hunting me down in that very moment, I decided to carefully enter inside the room and close the door behind me.

"Are supposed to be guarding my well-being, yes," I interjected with a half-whispered tone. "But I had to check here because I knew something was off."

"W-Who are you?!" A furious feminine voice finally broke through the silence and I snapped my attention right at the angry-looking expression of a certain light-orange-haired young woman. Priscilla looked as gorgeous as she was in Canon, maybe a little bit younger than that considering that she had to be 16 in the current timeline as displayed by her shorter height.

"John Bukharin, Mayor of Erindor," I introduced myself quickly and curtly. "Currently trying to avoid making amend for doing something not that bad, but also not nice towards some kind people."

Fourier frowned. "You are running from Felix and Reinhard?" He asked with some nervousness. "You are running from Ferris?"

The repetition dedicated to the cat-eared boy instead to the strongest of the two knights was more than enough to put a perplexed look on my face.

"Yes?" I stated with some uncertainty before turning back to Julius. "By the way, can you please tell me what exactly happened here?"

The knight frowned but gave a polite nod. "Lord Barielle tried to use poison to assassinate both His Highness and Lady Karsten, the attempt was foiled when my spirits confirmed of the illicit action perpetrated in their cups."

"Then Cru- Lady Karsten's used her gift to gain a full read on Lord Baldhead-" "Barielle, your Highness," "Yes, him, and he got restrained for attempting at our lives." Fourier concluded with a huff. "Now Lady Pendleton is still demanding an arranged contract when-"

"I am merely asking for something that is rightfully mine," The orangette stated with a serious voice, narrowing her blood-red eyes at the blond. "You are mine, Prince Fourier."

Crusch blinked at that statement and then sighed tiredly before turning her attention right at me.

"Considering the current circumstances, I still think that your own issues are far greater right now, Lord Bukharin," She said with quite the pitying tone, way too genuine to allude to some jesting.

Why were these two afraid of an angry Felix?

I know that he was pretty rough with Subaru in Canon in certain occasions, but I couldn't see the cat-boy be much of a problem when-

My thoughts died when I heard the sound of a snort coming right behind Priscilla, the young woman turning her incensed attention right at a certain one-harmed and helmeted fellow trying to hold back himself from laughing for some reason.

"W-What are you doing? You aren't supposed to-"

"Forgive me, hime, but I find the name of this fellow quite... familiar as ironic considering the title attached."

My eyes widened as I knew whom we were all looking at right now.

So... Al was making an early cameo?

I was partly confused by the his presence, but considering that it hat been Leip in Canon to bring him as one of the 'knights' for Priscilla, it was possible that the bald man had decided to hire him earlier for this occasion.

"Truly?" I piped in with a fascinated tone. "Is perhaps a certain Soviet writer that gave off the reference?"

His chuckles lessened and he seemed to appear even more curious. "What if I did, Johnny?"

I hummed. "Then I would be elated to find someone that understands references," I replied mirthfully. "You are... Japanese, your accent is a dead giveaway and... how long have you been wandering around?"

He tensed up at the mentioning. "I've been here for... almost two decades now," He muttered carefully, then he nodded. "By the way, my name is Al."

I smirked at that opening. "Like a certain 'Weird Al'-"

"He is still around after so long?" The one-armed knight interjected with some fascination. "Is he still making parodies?"

"He is, but he is also doing his own songs and other projects."

Al nodded happily at the news but our little conversation was interrupted by a certain annoyance.

"T-That's enough!" The young woman exclaimed harshly. "I will not allow this mockery to continue any longer!"

Priscilla aimed her index at her knight. "You will desist from annoying me."

And then she moved her attention to me. "And you, John Bukharin, will accept to become my-"

"Not interested."

...

"It wasn't a request-"

"Nor it was a demand since you don't have any leverage on me, don't you?" I interrupted with a tired sigh. "You may offer me whatever 'I desire', from riches to favors, but in the end your offer isn't just endearing as it could be to any normal individual."

She blinked, shock spread on her beautiful face. "What?"

"Lady Pendleton, you are resourceful and ambitious, you have an absurd luck by your side and you certainly don't lack the intelligence to understand that not everyone can just submit at your whims because you want it," I started to explain with a dull tone. "I could spend endless hours to unravel the kind of individual you are, but I think I can summarize it all in a single sentence: I detest your personality, but I understand where it originates from."

I glanced at her with a blank expression, her jaw dropping a little at my words. "It was a wrong nurturing, one that got you stuck in the greedy aspect of survival... despite being far from the conditions you were facing just a few years ago," I muttered tiredly. "Consider what I will offer you right now as the best bet right now, ignoring your luck as it wouldn't work against me, and merely accept this."

I gestured at the document in her hands.

"That is a magical paper, I can feel some magically-enforced clauses on it and from my understanding it can accept a single drop of blood as the signing of one of the two parts, right?" I asked quietly, keeping silent until I saw her give a slow nod at this, her eyes narrowing once more in interest about what I was referring about.

Gone was the uneasiness she briefly displayed, now her usual personality was back in control.

"Then you could just do this with Lord Barielle here," I suggested with a hum, glancing down at the still-unconscious bald bastard. "He is quite wealthy, his lands are extensive and you would have a higher chance to aim at your 'world-conquest'."

Priscilla snorted. "And let go of the chances of gaining my rightful title as-"

"You would want to go in a war that could see the entire world plunged in chaos only to try and become the foreign Queen of a nation that is in regression?"

My inquiry got her to stop with her attempt, enough for me to continue. "Your luck can preserve you, can have you survive, but then you would be alone with dust and ashes... again."

Her features hardened at the little allusion to her childhood, her irritation kept at bay by the strong sense of self-preservation she had.

Ultimately... she was forced to concede.

"B-But why would you want to marry an old man?" Fourier blurted confused, causing the orangette to scoff back at him.

"Maybe you should ask him why," She quietly snapped back, causing Crusch to appear quite irritated by such response.

"You best hold your tongue from disrespecting his highness in such a manner, Lady Barielle," The Karsten glanced back at me with a skeptical look. "I still don't see why you would want to trade such an important chance for-"

"She knows she wouldn't win in a serious 'fight' between herself and us," I interjected quietly, ignoring the angry look coming from the young woman. "But I think it's best to not create enemies without reason and Priscilla wouldn't mind waiting some little more if given something to do in the mean time."

Plus, I wouldn't be forced to compare Erina Pendleton with Priscilla with their same surnames.

Her face turned red in fury. "H-How dare you consider me a child- A-AND I DIDN'T GIVE YOU THE PERMISSION TO SPEAK ME WITH SUCH FAMILIARI-"

She froze as I took some steps toward her, stopping right to lean close and look at her face with a curious look. "You know, you have some pretty eyes there."

...

A blink, then two and... the blush turned into one of embarrassment at the sudden compliment.

Instead of retaliating with another indignant shriek, the woman merely turned her attention back to get a drop of blood from the man's undefended thumb and sealed the deal for the contract.

Just as I felt that I had finally resolved quite the insane debacle and prepared myself to think how I was supposed to leave this place without getting caught by my two active 'hunters', I felt... my entire body go numb and... my sense of touch and balance vanished without notice.

I tumbled backward, a groan stuck in my throat as my lips weren't willing to part and make way to the pain-induced sound.

I was awake, but my body was disabled as... I spotted a certain smug-looking cat-eared knight looking at me with some amusement.

"Johnyah, I found yah~!"

...Oh God.

"Good job, Ferris," Reinhard slowly entered in my limited line of sight, the young man giving a full look at the room with a certain sense of sheepishness. "Apologies your highness and Lady Pendleton-"

"Barielle, Sword Saint," The young woman corrected with a sigh, her attention drawn to my unmoving body. "But I will forgive this slight since you have provided quite the entertaining scene."

Fuck you.

"Reinhard, I found him first," Felix whined quietly, his smug smirk deepening in something quite menacing. "Do you remember the bet, don't nyah?"

Why was the redhead shivering, why was one of the strongest being in this world trembling at Ferris?

Before I could deduce what was going on, I noticed much to my dismay that the demihuman had already began lifting me up standing and... pulled me out of the room and somewhere I was unaware about, the saddened glances from Fourier and Crusch giving me the worst of dreads.

W-Where was he taking me? W-What was the adorable-looking soon-to-be 'torturer' going to do to me?!

... Hi, I'm Bob the intermission.

Omake 4: The 'Torture'

I was shocked by how extensive Felix's thought had been over the punishment he had planned for me.

Or rather, what Fourier and Crusch considered something worth of being a true punishment.

I blinked with some uncertainty at the little steam created by the heat rising from the bathing area, one of the few rooms within the castle that was mostly used like a sauna of sort and that resembled a lot like the Japanese Onsens.

Since this very one was currently lacking any previous occupant it was a must for a certain giddy-looking demihuman to claim it as the proper setting to exact his planned torture.

Felix was humming happily as I carefully used a sponge-like object to spread over his exposed back with some soapy water, the cat-eared young man giggling as I took the nearby water-filled wooden bucket and released its content well over his head, washing away all the soap off from his body.

"That's just... nice~," He commented with a smile before starting to purr at my hands going to carefully fix the hair getting stuck near his animal ears. "Ya know, Johnyah, I didn't expect ya to be this much helpful about this."

I frowned at these words, but I shrugged nonetheless as I realized whom was saying this.

Felix was someone which didn't have as many limitations in terms of physical contact compared to other individuals, the closeness he shared with those he cared for was a result of the distrust born from his childhood to his family.

Friends were now his new family and that didn't stop him from being quite the intimate-seeker with those that gained his full trust.

"This isn't the first time I help someone with bathing," I pointed out carefully, unsure if bringing this up would be beneficial to my current predicament or not. "I did try something with Fourier but he was quite the pest."

Felix nodded. "The prince is quite the little child when he is bathing, especially when around a friend."

"You are making it sound like you did share a bath with him," I said, only for the cat-boy to nod at the case proposed and... it urged me to think about something suspicious about the matter, something about a certain young woman. "But you certainly didn't bathe with Lady Karsten since she is-"

"She is reserved about it and very limiting over my means to help her around," Ferris interjected mirthfully. "But there are still some times where she just outright refuses my presence."

I blinked at this explanation, surprised that even a woman like Crusch, despite her lack of major traits that would push her away from pursuing such a close bond with these guys, would actually accept the demihuman as a help during baths.

It had to be embarrassing, quite so, but while the young Duchess was still keen to reject some of these instances, Ferris seemed completely unaware of the predicament he was discussing about so calmly.

"But isn't it a little... nerve-wracking? To bathe with someone of the opposite sex?" I inquired carefully, feeling like these very questions were fairly delicate with someone like the demihuman.

He merely shrugged. "Just... a little," The knight admitted quietly. "I guess not many would see the circumstance as normal or-"

"It's just unexpected. Surprising even," I interjected, trying to avoid any souring of the current conversation. "There are instances were siblings use to bathe together, I guess you could compare it to those cases."

His cat ears twitched at the word 'sibling'. "Thinking of Fourier and Lady Crusch as... my brother and sister?" The brunet mused quietly and distractedly. "I guess... that would be a little odd."

I frowned, huffing at him. "You mean because you got an 'adorable pair of cat ears and a tail', you are odd?" I pressed him with a faux-annoyed voice, causing him to turn his head to glance at me with a curious look. "As far as I'm concerned those are some pretty perk to have, especially when you are trying to find some ladies' attention."

Felix blinked. "Why would ladies want a demihuman- uh?"

He tensed suddenly as I carefully reached for his ears and started to scratch the area between them. He let out a suave purring, delighted by the mindful touch and... I nodded.

"That is what I'm talking about, Ferri," I mentioned with a twitchy smile. "Ladies dig the affection you could give them with purring while cuddling with them."

Ferris gave a slow nod as I retracted my hand away from the top of his head. "I guess girls do love this... but I don't think I will interest myself with any romantic relationships just yet."

I hummed at this decision. "You don't feel ready for a serious commitment?"

"Something like that," He replied quietly. "I just feel like... I should first find my balance with my life here and now rather than try to jumble in something new."

"You are doing a good job right now."

"Only because I've some nice people helping me when I need help," Felix admitted happily. "Even when... I try to make it seem like I don't need any."

I blinked at the allusion to his little fear and I nodded. "It isn't wrong to seek help, you are still a limited being... or maybe you are confirming your suspected role as God of Fluff."

A giggle left his lips. "I wonder if I should sign down this title, the... God of Fluff," The demihuman smirked mirthfully at the words and then gave a pleased sigh.

"Ya know, it's quite the nice experience and..." There was a little pause and then... he smiled even more. "Would you mind if I wanted to do this again in the near future?"

I blinked at the request, the cat-boy turning his head once again and giving a pleading look, to which I sighed and gave a tiny smile. "I don't see why not."

"Yay, Johnyah is the best brother ever~!"

My smile froze at that word, my head tilting to the side in confusion. "Brother?"

He looked embarrassed at being caught so suddenly about this. "I-I didn't mean to-"

"Why? Just explain, I'm not angry or weirded out."

A blink, then two and... he spoke once more. "I just thought that, since you said that my demihuman's traits don't matter much and since your hair is a color just a darker shade of mine that, well, we could pass like siblings. Like you said about... siblings sharing baths together."

I hummed at the logic and gave a nod to him. "I see what you are referring too and..." I shrugged. "I wouldn't mind to have a little brother."

His eyes widened in glee and, without much notice, I found myself falling on the floor courtesy of tackling from Felix.

The cat-eared knight was smiling eye to eye as he nuzzled his head close to my chest, his purring intensifying to a new degree and... thank God we had some towels covering ourselves from giving each other too much of an exposure.

My soul would never forgive me in being witness of something so awkward after such a meaningful moment.