Anis looked at him, the hostility in her eyes completely undisguised.
‘These guards really are eyes and ears monitoring my every move.’
“I want to go up to see the proxy head. Is that reason not good enough?”
“My apologies. These are the family head’s orders. I am merely a servant executing commands, so I ask for your understanding.”
Anis did not miss the detail: as the guard spoke, his hand tightened around his weapon. He wasn’t giving her any face at all.
“Hiss — “
Mimi, curled up in her arms, clearly felt that her master’s safety was threatened. She hissed at the guard with a fierce expression.
“Tch, where did this Sword Cat come from?”
The guard glared at Mimi with great dissatisfaction before turning an annoyed look back toward Anis. “Lady Anis, please do not make things difficult for a servant like me. Your range of activity is limited to certain areas of the first floor. These are the orders of the family head.”
Seeing that negotiation was impossible, Anis’s gaze turned cold. “Fine then. If the Frost family’s reputation is damaged because of this, and the proxy head comes looking for someone to blame, you will take full responsibility.”
After saying that, Anis held her cat and left without looking back.
The guard glared resentfully at the girl’s departing back and muttered under his breath, “You’re just a tool adopted into the family to risk your life. You really think you’re a noble just because you carry the family name?”
“What did you just say?”
The crisp, youthful voice was exceptionally pleasant to the ear, but to the guard, it sounded as cold and stinging as an ice needle piercing his chest.
He quickly turned around and performed a knight’s salute to Sherry, the proxy head. “I greet the proxy head.”
“Drop the useless formalities. Repeat what you just said about Sister Anis.”
Sherry took a step forward. Despite her height of only one point four meters, her presence felt like it reached two meters, making the fully armored knight tremble.
“I-I am truly sorry!”
What kind of say did a knight paid to watch a door have? Bowing and apologizing was the only correct decision!
But Sherry remained relentless. “Am I the person you should be apologizing to?”
“B-but Lady Anis has already gone back…”
***
On the other side, Anis had returned to her bedroom. She buried her face into the top of the cat’s head and took two greedy sniffs.
“Meow?”
‘It’s fine. I won’t get depressed over such a small thing.’
Anis shook her head with a smile and used two slender, smooth fingers to scratch the cat’s chin. “Besides, my best healing potion is Mimi.”
She met Mimi’s lifted little head with her own chin, and the human and cat nuzzled affectionately.
While the room was filled with warmth, a familiar voice sounded from outside. “Lady Anis, please accept my apology.”
“Just push the door open. It’s not locked.”
Anis held the cat with both hands and sat sideways in her chair.
The visitor was indeed the guard from before. From the expression on his face, it was clear he had just been harshly scolded by a certain little girl. He looked dejected, though there was still a hint of defiance in his eyes.
He took a step forward, but Anis simply shielded her cat and said nothing.
However, when he took another step and stepped onto the threshold of the bedroom, Anis spoke coldly. “I said you could push the door open. I didn’t say you were allowed to enter.”
“…”
The guard’s advancing foot retracted. He stood at the door, straightened his posture, and bowed ninety degrees.
“I am truly sorry! Please forgive my previous rudeness!”
“Mmhmm. I’ll be very obedient from now on and won’t do anything that crosses the line. After all, you’re the one taking responsibility, aren’t you?”
“You can certainly — “
“Go back. I want to be alone.”
The guard wanted to say more, but Sherry’s voice interrupted him. “Get back to your post. Also, your salary for this month is gone.”
“Yes.”
While the family head was away, Sherry was the one in charge of the household. The guard dared to act up with Anis, but he absolutely did not dare to talk back to Sherry.
The knight slunk away, and Sherry’s petite figure appeared at the doorway. “Anis, I’m coming in.”
She didn’t care whether Anis agreed or not and stepped straight into the room.
Anis tilted her head and looked up at her. “Should I say thank you?”
“There’s no need. I heard that you wanted to come upstairs to find me, right? Is it about the lack of food for the commoners during winter?”
Her gaze fell upon the cat in Anis’s arms, and the corners of her mouth twitched a few times.
‘This little Sword Cat is actually leaning against Sister Anis’s chest pillows! And it’s looking at me with those innocent eyes!’
‘I’m so jealous!’
‘Damn it!’
‘I dream of lying on those soft things for a night!’
“That’s right. Food is a very important matter, and I don’t think it should be delayed. So… what’s wrong with you?”
Anis protected the cat leaning against her chest because, for a while now, Sherry’s gaze had been fixed on her kitten.
‘Was I mistaken? Why does it feel like… Sherry is jealous of the cat?’
“Meow — “
Mimi also let out a long meow, as if protesting Sherry’s rude behavior.
“Ahem, it’s nothing. Where were we?”
Sherry quickly pulled herself together. “Oh, right. You’ve been keeping us in suspense since yesterday. What exactly is your plan to solve the food problem for the commoners?”
“Well… you’ll understand once you look through this.” Anis handed over the stack of papers she had written.
She had originally wanted to explain her grand blueprint to Sherry, but doing so would inevitably bring them closer, giving Sherry an opportunity to make a move. That was absolutely out of the question.
Constantly holding the cat was part of the same defensive strategy. The cat hated Sherry and loved her; it was her first line of defense!
“Hmm… this really is a novel idea I’ve never heard of before.”
Sherry browsed through the pages repeatedly before finally asking Anis, “I can get the glass needed to make the glass greenhouses, but what about this ‘Constant Temperature Barrier’ you’ve conceived? I’ve never heard of this kind of magic, let alone where to find a mage related to it.”
“You just need to help me get the glass. I know the Constant Temperature Barrier magic.”
Anis spoke nonchalantly. “Besides those things, I also need an authorization.”
“What is it?”
“The authority to freely enter and exit the manor’s courtyard. At the same time, you need to give me a piece of land for testing.”
Sherry said without hesitation, “That’s no problem. As long as you can help the commoners solve the winter food problem, I will not only give you permission to enter and exit the courtyard, but I’ll also allow you to come to the second floor to find me in my bedroom. From now on, the situation with guards blocking you will never happen again.”
“It’s a deal.”
Having obtained what she wanted, a faint smile appeared on Anis’s face.
Right in front of Sherry, she joyfully nuzzled the cat, completely immersed in the world of one person and one cat.
However, Sherry, who had received the solution to the problem, showed no smile. She silently left Anis’s room, the unease in her heart growing exponentially.