This favored confidant of the Emperor only ever looked so forlorn when Ethan Gray was present.
The Dark Lord actually had him knocked out, causing him to fail in his duties! Glancing at the Emperor's inscrutable face, he sighed inwardly. Every time he encountered the Dark Lord, he felt on edge—he had to guard against the aftermath of their clashes and be prepared to bear the Emperor's wrath, which, of course, was always misdirected.
He sighed again. Every time, the Emperor was so furious with the Dark Lord that he practically jumped up and down, yet he always went out of his way to provoke him, claiming the palace life was too dull. Honestly, he suspected the Emperor was a masochist!
Yuna tilted her head, stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly nodded in realization and exclaimed happily, "I know, he's a eunuch!"
After she spoke, she didn’t even glance at the eunuch whose sore spot she’d hit; instead, she lifted her chin proudly and looked at Ethan Gray, her gaze clearly saying, Hurry up and ask me how I figured it out!
Ethan Gray glanced at the even more dejected eunuch, then, following Yuna’s cue, asked, "How did you guess?"
Yuna pursed her lips, "Because his voice is so strange."
Ethan Gray chuckled and praised her, "Clever kitten!"
Yuna wasn’t humble at all. "Of course!" Her tail was nearly sticking straight up with pride.
Ethan Gray was never in a hurry, and now that everything was settled, he had even less reason to rush. Since His Majesty didn’t mention returning to the palace, Ethan didn’t press him. He knew Emperor Augustus would try to reclaim his advantage, but Ethan wasn’t worried at all.
His only weakness was the kitten, but after so much time together, he’d come to realize Yuna wasn’t really a weakness at all. She might seem scatterbrained, but she was especially sensitive to ill intentions— even Hua Qianyu hadn’t gotten the better of her. Clearly, she was hard to fool, so he never worried about her being tricked. The only time she’d ever been duped was when he coaxed her back to the manor.
Besides, Yuna was strong—he wasn’t worried about Emperor Augustus trying to use force. If he dared, he’d soon learn that Yuna was far stronger than he was!
So, Ethan Gray carried on as usual. When Yuna finished eating and wanted to go for a walk, he didn’t stop her. As always, after about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he went looking for his cat.
But this time, Ethan Gray made a mistake.
He’d searched the entire inn, even the front courtyard, but there was still no sign of Yuna. Given her terrible sense of direction, she couldn’t possibly have left the inn on her own.
So, Yuna had disappeared!
Yuna thought the Emperor was a bad person—the worst!
She pawed at the ground a few more times, then rubbed her rumbling belly, growing more and more aggrieved. "Wuwu... Big Bad, I’m being bullied..." Sadly, the one radiating cold air couldn’t appear instantly, but surely he wouldn’t be far behind.
Sensing the chill from Ethan Gray growing ever colder, Ling Yi sighed inwardly—he was in for trouble. Even though it wasn’t his fault, when the prince was in a bad mood, no one had it easy. Still, he felt a little thrill, knowing the great Emperor would be in for even worse!
Just as Yuna was nearly sprawled out from hunger, someone finally found her, sparing her from starving to death.
At the dining table, Yuna dug in with both paws, her eyes repeatedly glaring at the cheerful Emperor Augustus. She swore that once her powers returned, she’d send him flying!
She really was unlucky. Originally, breaking free of this wretched cat’s body and fully transforming into a human should have been a good thing. But during that process, she had no strength at all— and of all times, that damn Emperor chose now to kidnap her. Wuwu… If she’d known, she wouldn’t have gone out for a walk that day. She should’ve just stayed by Big Bad’s side.
But there’s no buying hindsight with gold. She hadn’t known she’d lose her powers right then, nor that His Majesty would be bold enough to kidnap a Divine Beast. Sometimes, when luck runs out, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth!
Just as she was thinking this, Yuna suddenly froze, clutching her mouth with her paw, eyes brimming with tears—she really was unlucky, even managed to bite her tongue while eating. Wuwu… She missed Big Bad so much!
Emperor Augustus watched her with great interest. His curiosity about this Divine Beast had grown beyond the legends; now, he wanted to know what made this little wildcat so special that Ethan Gray treated her with such tenderness. After years of knowing Ethan, he’d never seen him show such gentleness—not even with Ruoxi, whom he merely treated with mild warmth. But with this little wildcat, he was different, and Augustus couldn’t help but wonder. That was why he’d kidnapped Yuna—to study her and to get back at Ethan Gray for his schemes.
After observing her, he found this little wildcat was actually kind of cute.
Naturally, Emperor Augustus hadn’t returned to the palace—heading back would be too obvious. He knew that with Ethan Gray’s skills, he couldn’t hide for long, but at least making Ethan worry a bit gave him a small victory.
He’d brought Qi Xinyue along as well. Ethan Gray probably already knew everything about her, but since Augustus had dumped all the responsibilities on him, he’d kept his silence out of spite. Qi Xinyue alone wasn’t much of a threat—Augustus had plenty of beauties in his harem, and the beauty trap wouldn’t work on him. Besides, Ethan wouldn’t let the Emperor be too badly schemed against—not out of kindness, but because if anything happened to the Emperor, Ethan’s troubles would multiply, and he hated trouble.
Yuna shot Emperor Augustus a fierce glare. "What are you looking at? Never seen a Divine Beast before?"
Emperor Augustus raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "No, I’ve never seen a Divine Beast before—especially not one that bites its own tongue!" The teasing in his eyes was unmistakable.
Yuna snorted, then stopped eating altogether. She quietly crouched in the corner, not saying a word. Her dejected look made Emperor Augustus a bit worried—apparently, the little wildcat hadn’t eaten much these past few days, and often skipped meals. If this kept up, would she end up malnourished? If he really starved her, would Ethan Gray come after him with a vengeance?
Thinking this over, he couldn’t help but urge her, "Little wildcat, your favorite chicken leg is here—aren’t you going to eat?"