After Bella finished her report, she quietly left the room. Luo Wei walked over to the chair and reached out to stroke the little cat’s messy head.

  The cat seemed fast asleep, not reacting even when she touched it.

  Luo Wei stared at the tangled fur on its head, her fingers itching. How could such a nice little cat have fur sticking up in clumps, going every which way?

  After a few moments, she couldn’t resist. She decided to tidy it up. “Chris, bring me my brush.”

  Chris returned promptly with a fine-toothed comb, perfect for grooming the cat’s dense, short fur.

  Luo Wei settled into the chair beside the cat, holding the crescent-shaped comb. She gently ran it over the top of the cat’s head.

  The rounded tips of the comb teeth scraped softly across its scalp. The cat tensed, flattening its ears and digging its claws into the cushion. But after a few strokes, it relaxed, its body melting into the chair as a low purring sound escaped its throat.

  Luo Wei patiently worked through the tangles, combing out a small pile of grass bits, fuzzy dust, and other debris from the cat’s fur.

  She paused, staring at the comb. It was covered in soft fur and black grime.

  “How could such a tiny head hide so much dirt?” she muttered, incredulous.

  She even found a few chicken feathers tangled in the fur!

  “Are you skipping steps when you wash your face? You’re supposed to bring your paws over your ears, you know.”

  Luo Wei pressed down lightly on the cat’s now-smooth head. “I know you’re pretending to sleep. If you don’t speak up, I’ll start brushing your back.”

  She moved the comb to the cat’s back. The cat jolted as if it had been electrocuted. It let out a startled “meow” and opened its eyes, nudging her hand with its head.

  “Meow~”

  “Don’t want me to brush you? Alright then.” Luo Wei withdrew the comb with a hint of regret.

  “Meow meow~” The cat stood up, tail raised high, and gazed at her with wide, amber eyes, meowing twice.

  Being thanked by a cat gave Luo Wei a strange, indescribable feeling.

  “No need to thank me. I summoned you, so I’m responsible for taking care of you.” She reached out to scratch under the cat’s chin. Not only did the cat not dodge, it closed its eyes contentedly, purring louder.

  “Purr purr…”

  Luo Wei chuckled. “Come to think of it, I still don’t know your gender or your name.”

  The cat opened its eyes and lifted its head from her fingers. “Meow meow, meow, meow meow meow~”

  Luo Wei tilted her head. “You’re saying you’re a girl and you don’t have a name?”

  The cat sat down properly, front legs together, speaking very seriously. “Meow meow meow, meow meow, meow~”

  “You want me to name you?” Luo Wei thought for a moment. “Yolk. How about Yolk?”

  Hearing this name, the cat froze, looking as if it had been struck by lightning. Its voice was weak and disbelieving. “Meow?”

  “Yolk. Like the yolk of an egg. Don’t like it?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Meow!” The cat meowed loudly, shaking its head.

  “Alright then, let me think. Yuzu? Orange? Little Tangerine?”

  “Meow!”

  “Still no? What about Tart? Cookie, Muffin, Little Puff, or Pudding?”

  The cat hesitated, its ears twitching nervously. Why were all the names desserts? Weren’t there any proper names?

  Luo Wei issued an ultimatum. “If you don’t like any of those, then I’ll call you Big Orange. Big Orange doesn’t have the—”

  “Meow!” The cat’s eyes lit up. “Meow meow meow, meow~”

  This one’s perfect! It sounds imposing, not small and cute like the others.

  Luo Wei blinked. “…cuteness of the others…”

  She never expected the cat’s taste to be this bad!

  It actually liked the most ordinary name—Big Orange!

  She looked at the cat with a complicated expression. “…Fine. Big Orange it is, as long as you’re happy with it.”

  That said, given this cat’s weight, it could certainly live up to the name.

  After dinner, Luo Wei played with Big Orange for a while. When they were tired, she held the cat and sat by the window, watching the stars.

  The night sky was stunning, filled with glittering stars and even the faint glow of distant nebulae.

  Luo Wei was waiting—waiting for the raven to return with a letter.

  She needed Count Wesley’s reply before she could proceed with the next step.

  Around nine o’clock, a dark shadow appeared in the sky above Star Luo Residence.

  “Caw—”

  The raven’s cry pierced the night, startling everyone on the ground.

  “Don’t be afraid. That’s my messenger, Luke.” Luo Wei stroked the bristling cat, set her down on the chair, and walked out of the living room.

  The raven flapped its wings, descending with a purple-red copper tube clutched in its claws.

  “Caw caw caw—”

  [Hahaha, gorgeous! I’m back!]

  Luo Wei paused mid-step, her brows furrowing. Suddenly, having the mermaid pearl to understand animal speech didn’t seem like such a great idea.

  Shy creatures like Big Orange spoke relatively normally. But ones like Luke—the moment they opened their beaks, they sounded like arrogant, spoiled brats. And their voices were particularly grating.

  Also, why could she understand Luke’s caws as full human sentences, but only get the meaning of Big Orange’s meows?

  Could it be that Luke was smarter than Big Orange?

  “Caw caw caw, caw caw caw?”

  [Gorgeous, whatcha thinking about?]

  Luo Wei snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the raven hovering before her. Its pitch-black beady eyes stared at her curiously.

  She extended her hand. “Thanks for your hard work, Luke. Give me the letter. Pick whatever you want from the kitchen.”

  “Caw caw, caw caw caw!”

  [Starving! I want beef!]

  The raven released the copper tube into her hand and flapped its wings toward the kitchen.

  Luo Wei pulled out the letter and read it under the dim yellow light of the wall lamp.

  Count Wesley wasn’t as stubborn as she’d thought. He agreed to her proposal and expressed his gratitude in the letter.

  He’d also realized that Vina’s letter had been written under duress. He knew his daughter’s personality—she didn’t have the brains to write a threatening letter.

  He agreed to change his faith for two reasons. First, out of love for his daughter. Vina had been raised too naively. Without her father’s support, she’d suffer greatly in the future.

  Second, for the sake of his family and the people in his territory. If he lost the battle, the citizens would be captured by the foreign army and turned into slaves.

  In this dog-eat-dog society, Count Wesley was a rare conscience among the nobility. Though he wasn’t exactly a good person—his compassion for the common people was just to preserve his family’s honor.

  It was nearly time for the academy gates to close. Luo Wei rolled up the letter, hurried upstairs to her bedroom, and teleported back through the array.

  In the living room, Big Orange finally jumped down from the chair, her alert eyes darting left and right. Taking advantage of the empty room, she quickly ran to the window, crouched, gathered her strength, and leaped.

  She landed in the garden, pressed against the wall, and swiftly escaped Star Luo Residence.

  Luke, flying out of the kitchen with beef in his beak, saw her escape. He couldn’t even be bothered to eat. With a flap of his wings, he gave chase.

  He had to see what was going on—how could she roll away like a barrel come to life?

  Chasing her outside the courtyard wall, Luke’s sharp eyes saw the yellow barrel stop in front of a rock. He folded his wings and landed on a tree, craning his head to watch.

  The yellow barrel scratched at the rock a few times. Suddenly, white light flashed across the stone, and the barrel vanished.

  Vanished!!

  Luke was so shocked he dropped his beef. His pitch-black beady eyes couldn’t get any wider. He spread his wings and dove toward the ground, landing beside the rock.

  He stretched his neck, examining the rock from every angle, pawing at it with his claws. He even mimicked the barrel’s movements, scratching at it a couple of times, but the rock refused to glow.

  Luke cawed anxiously. After staring at the rock for a long time, he decided it must be some kind of treasure. Finally, he struggled to grab the rock in his claws and carried it back to the courtyard.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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