Seeing the cat shivering, Leo was in full-blown panic, his eyes looking at Ayla and Butler with a pleading expression.
"What happened to him?" Ayla moved toward the bed, her brows furrowed over this sight.
First the butler, now the cat. Is it a new disease? She thought to herself.
"I don't know; I suddenly woke up and saw him shivering hysterically." He said, sitting up straight in the bed.
"Butler, can you do something to heal him?" Ayla asked, her eyes looking straight at me.
My lips curled up into a smile, and I nodded and took a seat beside them on the bed. Leo's eyes widened as he looked at me strangely; I shook my head at his clear bewilderment.
'Sorry, Franz, but please hold on for a moment.'
This moment was perfect to test why I had felt better after hearing Ayla's words. It was not the best moment morally speaking, but better now than never.
I ignored the cat's hisses of pain and shivering body and looked up to see both kids' worried expressions. I smiled at them and said in a soft voice. "Do you want to see magic?"
Ayla frowned and turned to look at the cat, then again at me.
"Magic? What kind of magic?" Leo asked.
"Butler, now is not the time for this…" She wanted to say some more things, but seeing Butler's amused expression, she stopped.
"Do you have something in mind to help him?" She asked in a small voice.
"Really?" Leo added.
"Yes, I can heal him… But I will need both of you to help me." I said, patting the cat to soothe his pain. The grey cat fur was soft like feathers; my hand melted inside it. If only he was not shivering, I would have liked to continue doing it a little more.
"Yes, we will help, right, Sis?!" Leo's face lit up instantly as he looked back at Ayla with a beaming smile. Ayla nodded without even thinking twice. She shared a worried look with me, but I reassured her with a small nod.
'Okay, Asher, now today you will either be a magician or a clown. Let's hope it's not the latter. I thought to myself and prepared to say the most random lie I have ever come up with. "The magic will heal Mr.Nits in the blink of an eye; this is a family secret technique passed down every generation…" I paused, my eyes darting to look at them one by one.
Seeing their focus completely on me, I said with a bit of hesitation. "The moment I touch him, he will be completely fine…"
Leo nodded his head frantically; I can already see stars shining in his eyes.
"Please tell us, how can we help?" Ayla asked.
I nodded.
"You two just need to close your eyes and repeat what I said, 'Mr.Nits will get healed by Butler.' Do you both understand, for this to happen, you will need to believe me."
"Y-yes, we do, right, Big Sis?" Leo hesitated seeing my serious face and asked for Ayla's confirmation.
I looked at them once more; Ayla and Leo seemed ready. I took a deep breath, letting my nerves calm down. At the same time, a mysterious force tried to push me back as I laid my hand over Franz's body. But it was under my expectations that I would, at the very least, get forced to stop my act and lose my control.
But the rewards are worth taking such a risk.
I grinned at such thoughts and gave both kids a last glance before saying,. "Let's start."
They both nodded. Ayla was the first to close her eyes, followed by Leo. Somehow they both clasped their hands as if praying to a god and said out loud,.
"Mr.Nits will get healed by Butler."
"Mr.Nits will get healed by Butler."
I ran my hand through the grey fur of the lazy-looking cat, and he stopped shivering.
'So, it works after all.'
I leaned toward his ears and whispered. "Okay, Franz, now stop being dramatic. I will explain everything later."
It was going to be an arduous task to explain everything, so I secretly hoped he could understand even some small details on his own. And maybe reach a conclusion I myself have not reached.
The cat struggled to stand up, his voice still weak and small, but he looked better than before, at the very least to me.
I could understand the pain he was feeling right now; the white flames had not just given us pain, but something else as well. Something I can't describe by words, the aftershock of surviving it, was so brutal and so sinister that my heart seemed to wretch at just the thought of remembering it.
However, at the same time I realized that the sickness we felt was not a trauma from death, since we are still alive; it means that death was not a true death but rather a cheap copy of it. The trauma originated from those flames; it was like a kind of mental attack but at a level that could not only kill a living being physically but also rob them of their sanity, leaving no chance for survival.
Sigh…
At least now we know that those flames were not from suicide. Who would even want to die from such tyrannical flames?
I looked at Ayla's and Leo's faces; they still had their eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer. But the target of their prayer was not a god but rather myself. I scratched my cheeks in embarrassment while hearing them repeat, 'Mr.Nits will get healed by Butler.'
"Mr.Nits has been healed; see, he is already doing better." I grabbed Franz by his neck and raised him in front of them.
"Meow…?" He purred in confusion; even as a cat, I could certainly read his expression.
His face was clearly saying, 'Where am I? Who am I? Why am I still alive?'
I chuckled upon seeing his stupid reaction.
Leo opened his eyes to see the grey cat hanging on the butler's hand; his face immediately lit up with a blissful expression.
"Mr.Nits!" He yelled and hugged the cat, strangling him in his embrace.
"Ah, he doesn't look sick anymore!" Ayla smiled upon seeing them, her hands moving down to embrace both her brother and the cat.
"Hehehe… Thank you, Butler, you are the best!" Leo giggled, his laughter contagious.
"Your magic is amazing." Ayla nodded, her finger petting the cat's head.
I smiled at them and then added, giving them other subconscious thoughts about me.
"I have more magic… I will show them later."
This proved my theory that whatever the kids think is bound to happen here. For this reason I had subtly changed my approach to them; by creating a mysterious background for myself, I have made them believe I had a magic that could heal anything, and now that they have seen it happen, while not with their own two eyes, a pure and manipulative description has been etched in their minds: that the butler has magical abilities.
"Thank you…" Leo repeated, melting in the warm embrace of Ayla and the grey fur cat.
Ayla smiled and turned to look outside, her brows furrowed as she mumbled.
"It looks like there is still some time before Father comes."
'What?'
I stood up and walked toward the window, making sure Leo's and Ayla's attention didn't break from the cat.
Looking outside, I saw that no one had arrived yet, but this was odd. In the last loop, Owen arrived the moment Leo dressed up.
No, wait a moment… Is everything related to key moments, not the time itself?
Sigh…
'It's then actually a good thing; I can have a lot of time this way to plan things.' I rubbed my chin with my free hand and thought about what should be done next.
The best thing to do right now will be to find the source of those white flames, or at least how they started. My eyes went to look at Ayla, who had made the cat sit on her lap and played happily with him alongside Leo.
'Should I ask them?'
I quickly shook my head over this thought; it was obvious they don't have memories of the previous loop. And I also don't think staying here for too long will be good for either of us.
"Young master, you should get ready… Lord Owen may arrive soon." I reminded them.
"Oh, also let me borrow Mr.Nits for a moment." Walking toward the bed, I grabbed the confused-looking cat once again by the neck and held him like a bag.
They both looked up in surprise. Leo tried to say something but realized that the butler was correct.
"Okay…" He sulked and stood up from his bed.
Ayla stood up and looked at both the butler and the cat hanging like a ragged doll, her lips curled up at this comedic sight, and she ended up laughing.
"Hahaha…" She rubbed her right eye as a tear formed over it, then said with a sweet smile. "Let me help Leo… And you can… Um, do what you wish to do with Mr.Nits."
"Ah, thank you, Ayla…" I quickly left the room, not wishing for her to change her mind.
Leo tilted his head in confusion, his brows wiggled up and down as he tried to understand what just happened, and then he pouted before saying,. "Not fair…"
*****
"Do you understand what I mean…" I asked while looking at the cat.
Franz was dumbfounded, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
'How in the goddess' name did so many things happen in so little time!'
His expression was priceless, but there were several things to be done.
"Meow…?!" Franz voiced out in surprise as Asher suddenly bit his hand; a metallic scent of blood entered Franz's nostril as he took a step forward to look at the wound Asher had inflicted on himself. The blood started to trail down through his hand.
Drip—
Drip—
'Has this guy finally gone mad?' Franz thought to himself.
I frowned as the pain seeped into me. Keeping my breathing in check, I touched my wound; it slowly vanished as if it never existed. My gaze went down to see the floor where the blood had fallen, and surely it had vanished as well.
"It works after all." I smiled softly after seeing my plan had worked out; now I have a healing ability in this world.
I looked down to see Franz opening and closing his mouth several times to say something, but sadly he is just a cat.
"What? Do you want to say something?" I asked with a grin.
"I do…"
Blink
I closed my eyes and rubbed my ears, thinking I had hallucinated, but then again, it was not impossible for this cat, or more like Franz, to be able to talk right now.
'Oh, wait, he is more surprised than me, right?'
Franz brought his paws over his mouth in surprise, his eyes so wide open that it was laughable.
"So you can talk now, I guess…"
He looked up and said in a small voice. "I guess so…"
I somehow felt the peace I had till now was about to vanish. I leaned back and crossed my arms.
"Do you have any ideas on how to get out of this situation?" I had no hopes, but I still asked.
The cat sat on the ground, his tail not moving anymore.
"I can finally feel Lyra…"