Cat Princess and Human Knight

On the vast continent, the border between the Starfall Plains in the center and the boundless plateau to the north is known as the Shattered Hills.

This area has numerous small plains and hills divided by mountains. Due to its fragmented geographical structure, it was difficult for powerful forces to politically integrate it, thus becoming the hereditary territory of many minor nobles.

The Huru Viscount's Domain is a small hereditary viscount's domain located in the rubble hills near the Starfall Plain.

This place has plains that mountain dwellers envy, where they can farm, but the uneven hills and insufficient water resources within the territory result in low grain yields, making life here not easy.

At the Catnip Manor in the heart of Huru Territory, the blue cat butler, Green, is furious.

Like all British Shorthair Blue cats, he had a chubby face that looked rather dim-witted, and he glared with his orange-yellow eyes while constantly cursing.

"You guys are just lazy. Don't think I didn't see you. I've been watching you the whole time."

"Her Highness entrusted the estate to me, and I won't just stand by and watch you ruin it!"

Wearing a well-tailored black suit with bulging pockets full of what looked like stuffed inside, Blue Cat, heavily pregnant, kept berating the farmhands who came and went.

Behind him, two white cats whispered among themselves.

"What's gotten into him these past few days? He seems to find fault with everything."

"I heard something happened in the capital, so he's very anxious and upset."

"Huh? What happened?"

"How would I know? I'm not a nobleman."

"What's the difference between what you said and farting?"

The blue cat butler, who was criticized by the cats below for being brainless, pricked up his ears and turned to look at the two white cats who were watching the commotion with an unfriendly gaze.

The white cat gardener lowered its head and each ran off in a different direction to get to work, leaving only the blue cat Green standing there exploding.

"These people are hopeless... We don't even know how Her Highness the Princess is doing. What if something happens to her? What will we do then?"

Green was in a hurry and wandered around, making a mess of the entire catnip farm. He even kicked the little country cats playing in the mud by the roadside and scolded them for being unambitious.

The kitten's cries attracted the old woman, a fierce peasant woman who wasn't afraid of the blue cat butler. She pointed at Green's nose and started cursing.

Just as the blue cat was so angry that its nose was almost crooked, a well-mannered Siamese cat walked in from outside the manor and asked with a frown.

"Green, what's wrong with you again?"

The Siamese cat, with its pointed markings, azure eyes, crystal glasses, and a quill pen clipped to its chest, speaks rapidly and accusatoryly, yet the blue cat butler dares not refute it.

This is the scholar whom Her Highness keeps in the manor. His name is Sass. Although he is of commoner origin, he is proficient in the Codex of Cat Language and is a truly capable cultured cat.

"Blue Cat Green said, feeling wronged."

"The old mother cat is being unreasonable, what should I do?"

Siamese cat Sass gently persuaded the farmer's cat to leave, then turned around and started berating the blue cat with lightning speed.

"As the steward of the entire manor, you spend all your time focusing on trivial matters and arguing with the gossipy women in the village. Do you think this is their problem?"

That's your problem!

I told you long ago, focus on the important things! Your dad's a bit slow, but he's much more reliable than you. It seems each generation is worse than the last!

The Siamese cat scholar looked at the dejected blue cat butler and was truly angry at his lack of ambition.

The Green family of blue cats has served Viscount Gru for generations. They are loyal enough, but they are also genuinely stupid, the kind of naturally clumsy people who can't be taught.

Sass, who had long since given up on educating Blue Cat, sighed and said.

"Lady Goru has returned to her territory and will be entering the manor soon. You should prepare immediately."

Before he could finish speaking, Green looked up and interrupted him with great joy.

"Her Highness the Princess is back? I... I'll go greet her right away!"

The blue cat butler sprinted out of the manor, almost reverting to its ancestral form and running wildly on all fours, which infuriated the Siamese cat scholar, who kept repeating the same thing.

"Each generation is worse than the last!"

---

The warmest part of the afternoon had passed, and the sun was slowly moving westward, casting its rays toward the distant horizon.

Yi Yin gazed at the country cats working in the fields and asked curiously.

"What are they doing? Walking barefoot in this freezing weather, aren't they afraid of getting frostbite?"

Bell glanced at it and said.

"Farming, what else can you do?"

The chill of early spring has just passed, and rain is on its way. After the rain, the weather will get warmer day by day.

"If they don't plant the wheat before the rains, what will they harvest in the fall, and what will they eat next year?"

Yi Yin was shocked.

"Farming? Cats farm too? Aren't cats carnivores?"

Bell said, frowning.

"In ancient times, cats relied on hunting to eat meat, but as society developed, cats gradually began to become omnivorous. How could they possibly support such a large population if they only relied on animal husbandry to eat meat?"

Furthermore, the energy in this world is finite and conserved. If the cat race wants to grow and prosper, it must learn to be flexible and to hoard food.

A powerful figure like the One Who Swore an Oath of Ice and Fire might be enjoying the show, but little does she know that farmers somewhere are about to suffer a disaster.

A hurricane sweeps across the east, bringing several more days of drought to the west; the worst off is the old farmer cat.

Yi Yin stared at the orange cat's big belly, seemingly lost in thought.

"So that's why you're eating so much?"

The orange cat nodded, patted its fat belly, and said.

"The Golden Flame Knights' commandments are to forbid killing cats, not to abuse divine magic, and not to cause trouble for the working class."

If we draw more energy from within ourselves to ignite divine magic, we can lessen the burden on the world. Therefore, we should eat more and accumulate energy regularly.

Yi Yin nodded, looking at the farm cat in the field, and muttered to himself.

"I see."

In the distance, a tomcat in the countryside, bare-chested, with a plow on its paw, is plowing the field.

Behind her, a mother cat with a seeder attached to her tail swung her tail, scattering seeds evenly across the field as she walked.

Watching them with their backs to the sun and their faces turned to the earth, diligently farming, Yi-eun was actually a little moved.

Different worlds, same farmers. Nothing is harder than farming; it's truly hard work.

Unlike Yi Yin, who comes from a modern city, the orange cat Holy Knight, who is used to the hardships of farm cats, no longer pays attention to those country cats doing spring plowing.

He looked at the route and asked the short-legged cat walking ahead.

"Duchess Sophia, this road doesn't seem to lead to Catnip Manor."

Sofia nodded and said in a low voice.

"I'd like to go to the village church first."

Bell clapped his hands together, as if suddenly realizing something.

"Oh yes, the retired Cardinal Milo. His Excellency the Light Speaker is still serving in Huru Territory. Would you like to see him?"

"right."