“That scarf is the same one you have,” I said. “You told me your mother knitted it before you two were separated…”
No two knitted items were exactly the same. It looked slightly different in the picture, but I was confident that such a unique scarf had no other duplicate.
“Leeds, is ‘Ulysses Cheshire’ your real name?”
“And if I said that it wasn’t? Would you believe me?”
I wouldn’t.
Maybe he had some sort of explanation, but my intuition was telling me otherwise.
I was silent. Leeds threw one end of his scarf over his shoulder.
“It’s a strange last name, no? Everyone called me ‘Cheshire Cat’ because of it. That really takes me back. I spent so many days here finding blackmail on the students to climb my way up to the role of prefect.”
The person in front of me, lost in memories of his past, looked like a stranger now.
“Why do you use a fake name?” I asked.
“When a new owner takes in a stray cat, they always change its name.”
“I’m not your owner. I’m family!”
“If only all my owners said things like that to me.” Leeds took his eyes off the painting and smiled at me fondly. “My lady, there’s a lot of kittens who have to do bad things to get by in this world. Some are lucky and get taken into the Liddell family like the twins, while others have to come up with fake names, cheat, and fight just to get a day’s worth of milk. That’s the kind of kitten I was…”
His sad-sounding words made me realize my thoughtlessness.
Leeds had factors in his life that made him have to lie to get by. It was arrogant of someone who’d lived a privileged life to call him cowardly or unbelievable for that.
I hung my head. I was one of the people blessed with a good life. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry for saying something so cruel.”
“It’s no worse than what I’ve done. I’m glad you’re such a good girl, my lady.” He laughed it off with a gleeful smile.
Leeds was still a precious family member to me, even if that wasn’t his real name. His past didn’t matter now. All I needed to know was the Leeds who’d become my family member.
I was coming to an understanding. But his next words made me go stiff.
“I’m glad you’re such a fool too.”
“Huh…?”
I was doubting my ears when Leeds leaned close and whispered into them.
“You will forget everything about Ulysses Cheshire.”
“!!”
My earlobe started to burn.
His voice vibrated my eardrums, and electric currents surged to my brain through my nerves.
Leeds had used his “Liar’s Tongue.”
My mind was starting to get hazy. I couldn’t move a single muscle by my own will.
“L-Leeds…”
I looked up at Leeds through the fog in my head. The way his eyelids were half-closed, I could only really see the smirk on his face.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be your ‘Leeds’ again when you wake up.”
Will you really? Can we really be family like we always have once I forget the truth?
“So goodnight, my lady.”
When he touched my forehead, I was overwhelmed with lethargy.
He took me in his arms before I could collapse. My senses slipped away from me until I finally lost consciousness.