“What are you doing here? Oh, it doesn’t matter! I’ve missed you so much!”
“Now that’s a little dramatic, Amy,” Isabelle chided. “You just saw him this morning.”
“Oh no, gentlemen!” said Joshua, sounding slightly exasperated. “My daughter is perfectly fine. You don’t have to worry.”
The scene before them had looked so much like a tiger cub hunting a young girl, the knights there on break had reached for the swords at their waists without a second thought.
“I-I see…” the guards replied.
Although Tigger was meowing at her loudly and rubbing against her with considerable force, Amy stroked his fur and hugged him over and over, eyes sparkling with tears at such a happy surprise. It didn’t seem like she heard her mother’s deadpan joke or her father’s embarrassed explanations.
“I see,” Jahal said quietly to himself, watching Amy smiling at Tigger. “She acts totally different with him.”
Amy buried her hands in the cat’s long, fluffy fur, petting it with adoration in every movement. And the cat—although it was quite large for a cat—looked just as taken with her.
Just as Jahal was wondering (slightly spitefully) whether Amy loved Edward or Tigger more, he was approached by the Earl and Countess of Northland.
“Thank you very much for inviting us today, Prince Jahal,” said Joshua.
“Not at all. I know it was a lot to ask you to bring the cat, but it was very interesting to watch. So this is Tigger. He’s just as big as I’ve heard. They seem to be very close, too.”
“Oh! P-Prince J-Jahal, I’m so sorry!”
It had been a clear violation of etiquette for Amy to have thrown off Jahal’s hand. Amy’s face went pale as she finally came to her senses, but Jahal brushed it off, waving his hand magnanimously.
“It’s no problem at all. Letty told me that would happen.”
“L-Letty…”
The corners of his mouth turned up in amusement, and when Amy tried to hide her reddening face in Tigger’s fur, his smile only widened.
I’ve really done it now! Everyone’s looking at me! This is mortifying!
Initially, everyone else in the room had maintained a safe distance because they had been so shocked by Tigger’s size. But now that they had been charmed by the sight of the girl and her overly large cat, they looked on, smiling.
All they were doing was watching her, but Amy, who was not used to being the center of attention, felt like she was standing on stage.
Not quite sure what to do with herself, Amy huddled closer against Tigger, trying even harder to hide in his fur. However, the closer she clung to him, the more they looked like a cat-human pretzel.
At that moment, the two other members of Jahal’s group that had been left behind in the first-aid room arrived at the viewing room.
“Prince Jahal.”
“Did you complete your treatment?” he asked.
“Just as you ordered, my lord,” one answered. “We apologize for the wait.”
“Oh! Is this the Tigger we’ve been hearing about?” the other asked. “He really is big…and cute, too.”
The two men’s eyes had widened when they saw Tigger, but their surprised expressions were cut with a certain tenderness. The people of Bakr seemed to love all cats, regardless of size.
As Amy saw them watch Tigger with such gentle looks—looks that completely belied their rugged warrior appearance—she instinctively knew they were all cut from the same cat-loving cloth.
“Well, see you later, Amy,” Jahal said suddenly.
“What?”
Jahal simply pointed to the ceiling.
“Letty’s up there,” he explained.
It had totally slipped Amy’s mind that Letizia, the daughter of a marquess, would be in a room on one of the upper floors reserved for high-ranking aristocrats.
“I was supposed to go up there when my match was over anyway.”
“Oh. All right.”
“I wanted to see Tigger at least once. It’s been hard to make time before today. I’d like to pet him if I could, but I heard Tigger’s shy, so maybe I’ll look forward to that next time.”
“Sure!”
Although Jahal was studying abroad, he was still royalty. He was able to act somewhat freely in school and at the royal palace, but he still had homework assignments and official duties to tend to. Like Edward, he was a very busy young man.
Having heard so much about Amy and Tigger from Letizia, Jahal had wanted to meet him, too. But “meeting their cat” was much too personal of a reason for a foreign royal to visit the home of an aristocrat and would have most likely resulted in needless speculation.
For that reason, Jahal had used the tournament as an opportunity to invite Amy’s parents to the staff viewing area and have them bring Tigger along with them.
After lending a hand to help Amy back to her feet, Jahal glanced toward the tournament stage.
“It’s going to start soon. I look forward to seeing who you root for.”
“Prince Jahal?”
Amy tilted her head, confused by the implication behind his words. But Jahal didn’t answer. He only smiled at Tigger, who nestled right against Amy’s legs.
He then squeezed Amy’s hand, which he hadn’t let go of since helping her up.
“…Amy, why don’t you come to Bakr?” he asked in a quiet voice only she could hear.
“What?”
“Letizia’s coming home with me when my studies end here. You should come, too.”
“Wh-What?”
“I promise you’ll be treated very well. I hope you’ll think about it… Oh, and I’m sure you already know, but Bakr has a lot of cats,” Jahal added, one side of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
He swung her hand before letting it go and left the room without another word.
“We would love for you to visit, as well,” said one of his teammates.
“You would be most welcome,” said the other.
The two men saluted in the traditional Bakr fashion and followed Jahal out.
Amy watched the three of them leave in a stupor, unconsciously petting Tigger’s back.
“What on earth was that about?”
Just as Amy started turning Jahal’s words over in her mind, the host announced the start of the next match.
A conspicuously loud cheer swelled up from the audience, and Amy’s mind went temporarily blank.