While the catgirl maids bustle around downstairs, tidying and sorting and making the mansion feel alive, Eris and I slip away to our bedroom.
Our new bedroom.
Our giant bedroom.
And we're doing something very, very important.
Jumping on the bed.
"Wooooohhh!" I squeal as I bounce up into the air, the mattress springing me higher every time Eris throws her weight down beside me.
"This is so cool!" I gasp between giggles, my hair flying in every direction. "I can't wait to sleep on this thing!"
The bed is huge. Ridiculously huge. The mattress is soft and springy—like it's made of clouds. The pillows are plump and marshmallowy, and the thick blanket sprawled across the top feels velvety and warm, with the faintest scent of vanilla and lavender.
Just being here makes my body want to melt into the sheets and never get up again.
Eris does a few more jumps—grinning like a kid at a festival—before flopping onto her back with a dramatic sigh.
"Yeeaaah… I never wanna leave this bed too," she groans, stretching out with a slow, luxurious motion. "This is the best thing we've ever owned."
"I know," I say, breathless, collapsing next to her.
We lie there for a moment, laughing, catching our breath, caught in a moment of pure, simple joy.
Then Eris turns her head and holds out her hand.
I take it without thinking.
Her fingers lace through mine gently, and she gives me that smile, a soft, relaxed smile, the kind that says I'm happy right here. It does something to me. It warms me from the inside out, like butter in a warm skillet, and my thoughts just… melt.
Peaceful.
That's the word.
This is peaceful.
My eyelids start to droop, heavy and slow.
"Hey… don't fall asleep yet…" Eris murmurs, but then. "Aahhhh~" she yawns
And I yawn right after her, instinctively. "Ahhh mhmhhh~"
My body rolls instinctively toward her, curling against her warmth. Her arms wrap around me without hesitation, pulling me close. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Then, with a sneaky little move, her legs hook around mine and lock me in place.
"You're mine now," she mumbles into my hair.
I giggle. "Oh no! Don't eat me!"
We lay like that for a long moment, quiet and close, just breathing, no one saying anything.
And then I whisper, breaking the silence.
"Ahhh… it's so quiet now…"
"Yeah…" Eris replies, her voice just a breath.
Too quiet, actually.
Back at the Gilded Horns, there was always something going on.
Footsteps creaking up and down the wooden stairs. Neighbors chatting just outside our door. The clink of glasses and laughter drifting up from the tavern downstairs. And sometimes, a drunk bard outside would sing something absolutely ridiculous in the middle of the night.
We'd always end up laughing about it under our shared blanket.
But here…
It's different.
There's no one else.
Just us.
Only the soft brush of wind against the windows… the quiet rhythm of our breathing… and the slow, steady movement of Eris's fingers as they comb gently through my hair.
And if I really, really focus, pushing all my senses into my twitching cat ears… maybe I can catch the faint, distant steps of the maids moving around downstairs.
But still, it's not the same.
It's quieter, softer.
Different.
Yes, much diffrerent than what we used too.
And I guess… maybe this is what our new life sounds like now.
Maybe this quiet is part of it. A different kind of rhythm. A slower melody we haven't quite learned how to move to yet.
Yeah…
It's going to take a little time, isn't it?
To settle in. To belong to this stillness.
"…Eris," I murmur, my voice barely a breath, her name slipping from my lips like a sigh.
Her arms tighten around me just a little. "Yes?"
"…Can you sing?" I ask, eyes half-lidded, already drifting. "Just a little… I wanna hear you sing again…"
There's a pause.
And then: "Of course."
Her chest rises gently beneath me.
"Alright," she says gently, "This one's about two little Furrens living in a tiny house deep in the woods…"
"Oooh?" My ears perk slightly. "Just like us?"
"Yeah…" She chuckles, tucking her chin atop my head. "Just like us."
And so she sings.
Her voice is warm and dusky, like honey left out in the sun. The melody is simple, childlike, even, but there's something soothing in it, something that wraps around my heart and pulls it closer.
It's a song about two little catfolk building a life in the forest, sharing meals and blankets, fighting off wild raccoons, and dancing under moonlight like the world would never end.
Her fingers comb gently through my hair as she sings, and before the second verse, my eyes start to flutter closed.
The world grows heavy and soft.
-----------------------------
Moments later…
Well, technically, a little nap later.
I dozed off so quickly after Eris started singing. Her voice was just too soft, too warm, it pulled me under like a lullaby meant just for me.
I don't even know how long I've napped.
But when I open my eyes again, everything still looks the same.
The room is quiet, the light hasn't changed. It's still that same color of soft crimson outside the window.
Right…
This is Noctis Sanctum, where dusk never fades, where the sky outside stays caught between night and not-quite-night, like time itself has forgotten how to move forward.
We will definitely need to put a big clock in our bedroom, otherwise, we would easily loose track of time.
I take note mentally. I will let Eris know that.
Now, I sit up slowly, still half-dreaming. My hands rub at my eyes as I blink away the lingering warmth of sleep. The blanket slips off my shoulder, and I pull it back without thinking.
That's when I see her.
Eris is already up.
She is in the corner of the room, crouched beside an old chest I don't remember noticing earlier. One of those heavy ones, reinforced with metal bands and locked shut with a thick padlock.
But it's open now.
And in her hands…
She's holding something I've never seen before.
Eh? A coat?
I sit up a little straighter, squinting through the soft haze of sleep. From here, I can make out the shape. It looks like a long, dark trench coat, heavy and worn, the fabric has already faded to gray at some part, its color washed out with time.
"Eris… what's that?" I ask, my voice low and scratchy from sleep.
She glances over her shoulder when she hears me, her expression softening.
"Oh, this?" she says lightly. "Nothing special. Just my old guild uniform."
Guild uniform…?
My heart skips.
"You mean… Shadow Fang?"
She nods, brushing her fingers across the shoulder of the coat, scattering a little dust into the air.
"Yeah. I found it tucked at the bottom of the chest. I used to wear this every day back when I was still a Pillar."
Her voice trails off.
She doesn't say anything else at first. Just stares at the coat in her hands, fingers curled gently around the fabric, too gently.
Almost like she's afraid it might fall apart.
Her touch lingers longer than it needs to.
There's something in her expression, something faraway, something a little too quiet, a little too sad.
And suddenly, I remember.
I still don't know the full truth.
Why did she leave the Shadow Fang?
Why does she still hide her identity, even now?
Even though we're… this close. Even though we're lovers. Even though I've seen her laugh and cry, bleed and fight—and she's kissed me, held me like I'm her entire world…
There are still parts of her past I've never touched.
Now it's just us, alone in our new mansion. There's no one to overhear, no one to interrupt.
If I want to ask her, now is the time.
"Eris…" I murmur.
She turns to me with that gentle, curious smile. "Yes?"
Come on, Felicia.
Ask her!
You've been wondering for so long. You want to know. Don't you?
"C-can I ask you… um…"
Her head tilts, her smile softening. "Hm?"
I open my mouth.
I try.
But—
Badump. Badump. Badump!
My heart is pounding.
Why am I nervous?! What the hell is going on???
My hands are trembling. My tail is fluffed for no reason. I feel like my throat is dry.
I take a breath—one deep breath—and then:
"C-Can you… uhm…"
She leans a little closer. "Yes?"
"C-Can you…"
…Come on.
Say it!
"…wear that uniform? I wanna see!!!"
…
…
…
AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!
WHAT THE HELL, FELICIA!!
I slap both hands over my face and scream internally.
Why.
Why couldn't I just ask the real question?!
But to my surprise, Eris just chuckles. "Sure!"
She brushes off a bit more dust, then unclasps the coat.
And in one fluid motion, she changes, right there in front of me, slipping out of her house clothes and into the uniform of her past.
The coat fits her perfectly. Long and sleek, it hugs her figure with clean, precise lines. And just like that, her whole presence shifts.
Now, she's sharper, colder, more composed, like she's stepping back into the role of a commander! A version of herself I've never seen before.
The old Eris.
And all I can do now… is stare.
Because even though I just blurted out the dumbest thing ever—
I still got to see something real.