Chapter 29

I looked down at my kitten and smiled:

“Don’t worry. The monster finally left. It’s just the two of us now. You are safe.”

As if he had understood me, the kitten started purring. It was so cute that I reached for my phone by reflex. Feeling nothing in my pocket, I felt dumb. As if he wanted to rub salt in the wound, the kitten rubbed his head against my stomach and started meowing. It was so cute that I thought my heart would explode. I was so immersed in the scene that I didn’t realize how much time had passed since Ephraim had left.

The kitten heard the door open before me and he suddenly curled up against me, worried. I immediately shielded him and frowned at the newcomer. What I didn’t expect however was that it would be Arora.

“Dad?”

I quickly lost my frown and smiled:

“Hi there. What brings you here?

-I heard that the Duke visited your quarters… Are you okay?”

Was she worried about me? Arora really was a sweet child. In some ways, she reminded me of the kitten. Speaking of the kitten, Arora suddenly noticed what I was holding and her eyes turned shiny:

“Dad? What is that?”

I straightened up and came closer to her slowly, so as to not scare the kitten. Seeing the fur ball, Arora raised her hands to her mouth:

“Oh my…”

She reached towards the kitten multiple times before retracting her hands at the last second. She looked really eager but her hands just stayed in the air, too scared to hurt the baby.

“You can pet him gently.”

Arora seemed to take my words way too seriously. She touched the kitten so lightly that he didn’t even seem to feel it. I was about to tell her that she didn’t have to be so gentle but held back when I saw how happy she looked. Her head suddenly jerked up towards me and she beamed:

“I touched him! Did you see dad?”

She couldn’t control her emotions anymore and she continued staring at the kitten with huge eyes. I couldn’t help laughing. She was exactly like me. However, Arora suddenly pinched her lips and looked up at me:

“If it isn’t troublesome, could we please keep him for today? I promise that I will find him a good family afterwards.”

I frowned:

“Why would we find him another family? He already has us.”

It was Arora’s turn frowning:

“Are we keeping him?

-Yes.

-Really?

-Yes.

-But… I thought you didn’t like cats.”

I suddenly remembered my conversation with Ephraim about the subject and sighed:

“I changed my mind. I fell in love with this baby.”

Arora immediately got fired up:

“He will be the happiest cat in the world! You won’t regret it I promise. I will take care of him.

-If you say so.”

We continued petting the kitten for long minutes and slowly he got used to us. He started climbing on top of me and walked around my shoulders before stretching towards Arora. The latter didn’t dare take him away from me and I had to put the kitten into Arora’s arms.

After long happy minutes, the kitten finally started paying attention to the room he was in. He started dipping his head down and Arora slowly lowered him onto the ground. The kitten needed a few minutes to make sure that he was safe but afterwards, he started jumping up and down the furniture. After the kitten, it was our turn getting anxious.

Both Arora and I followed the kitten, worried that he would slip and fall. He seemed totally fine but we still reached out every time he jumped somewhere. Our job was getting harder and harder because the kitten started pushing everything he found off the shelves. I had to reach out while jumping away from getting hit by a book or a vase.

The kitten quickly forgot that he was supposed to be wary and he started playing and eating everything he saw. I was already exhausted after ten minutes. This was way worse than a child. But every time I wanted to get mad at the kitten because he almost knocked me out with a sculpture, I looked at his adorable face and smiled:

“Aw…”

After the fifth vase that exploded on the ground, Eulisses came in with a frown:

“Is everything alright?”

He looked at me as if waiting for an answer. I frowned:

“Why are you asking me that?

-Dad, watch out!”

I quickly jumped out of the way and a jewelry box found itself at my feet. Eulisses looked up and he finally noticed the fur ball.

“Is that what it was? I didn’t know that you liked cats, Mister Sliske.

-One: I changed my mind and like them now. And two: what did you think was going on?”

Eulisses didn’t answer but I could understand without it:

“Did you think that I was the one breaking things? Is that why you looked at me?”

Eulisses raised his hands in the air:

“I am not judging you, Mister Sliske. Everyone can make mistakes.

-I am not clumsy!”

Eulisses nodded but he didn’t seem convinced:

“How the hell could I break ten things in two minutes?

-Mister Sliske, I am not here to ask questions but to assist you.”

I didn’t have time to feel shocked that I had to avoid another missile. Seeing our state, Eulisses came to the rescue. He grabbed the kitten and took him off the shelf. The kitten wasn’t happy and he scratched Eulisses’ hand. Both Arora and I flinched but Eulisses on the other hand didn’t move an inch.

“Don’t do that.”

I never heard Eulisses so serious and even I didn’t dare move. The kitten tried running away but Eulisses was stronger and he carried the baby to the table. There he grabbed a sheet of paper and made a ball out of it before throwing it and letting go of the kitten. The latter seemed to love that new game and brought the paper ball back again and again like a dog.

“Good boy.”

Thanks to Eulisses, things got a bit more peaceful in the room despite random kitten attacks and we played with the baby for long minutes.

“Where did you find him, dad?”

I froze. Should I tell her that Ephraim gave him to me? Wouldn’t that make her sad? She never received anything from Ephraim before. Naturally, the gifts that he sent me and I gave Arora saying that it was for her didn’t count.

“I found him on the streets.”

Ephraim found him and then he brought him to me but that was just a detail.

“You are so generous, dad…”

Arora looked so admirative that I felt bad. It was too late to tell the truth now and I let her look at me as if I was a hero. I comforted myself knowing that I would have saved the kitten if I had seen him in the streets anyway.

“What did you call him, dad?

-Bob.”

Both Arora and Eulisses stopped what they were doing to look up at me:

“Bob?”

I frowned:

“Yes.”

I didn’t understand what was wrong with that name.

“Bob?

-Yes, Bob. Why?”

Arora quickly smiled:

“Nothing. That’s a very good name, dad! Well done.”

I wasn’t convinced by that answer…