Chapter 22

It had been a few days since the reunion with the cats. One early morning, a carriage stopped at the Stewart family mansion.

Uncle Urban, who was supposed to be in the capital, got out of the carriage, barely able to stand. He was a born scholar and the most knowledgeable person in the family. Despite the Stewart family's distinctive golden hair and purple eyes, the exhaustion on his face was evident.

At the gardener Imoko's instruction, the apprentice Jack hurried to wake Leonardo. Jack, who had been newly hired just a month ago, called out to Leonardo in a loud voice that was unbecoming of a noble's mansion, waking up the entire family. They all gathered to welcome Uncle Urban.

"Uncle Urban!"

Woken by Jack's voice, Emma, still in her nightgown, rushed out of her room and ran to the front entrance when she saw her uncle. Georg and William, rubbing their sleepy eyes, followed shortly after, surprised by the sight of their uncle. Urban, with a sweet face different from his brother's, became even sweeter the moment he saw Emma and picked her up.

"Welcome back, my sweetie. You've become even more beautiful than a goddess in my absence. Georg and William look well too."

The Stewart men are generally doting on Emma, but Uncle Urban is exceptionally and intensely sweet. He is so affectionate that it seems as if sugar is spilling from his mouth every time he talks to Emma. Despite his long journey, he prioritized picking up Emma, showing his niece obsession rather than just being doting.

Father Leonardo, also surprised by his brother's sudden return, hurriedly put on a robe over his nightgown and came out of his room. After all, it takes a full 15 days by carriage from the capital to the Palace territory, and a round trip would take a month. It's not a distance that can be easily traveled.

"It's been a while, brother Leonardo. I'll tell you the details later... but... by the way... those cats? Aren't they a bit too big?"

Emma, of course, has been sleeping with Komai every night since then. Each of the other cats has a room of their own. The cats, alarmed by Jack's loud voice, had also come out of their rooms.

"Uncle! Let me introduce you. This is the calico cat, Zhuge Kongming, also known as Komai."

"Meow~"

The cat introduced by Emma greeted him.

"And Komai's daughter, Liu Bei, known as Liu, and Liu's son, the black cat Guan Yu, and the white cat Zhang Fei... Kanchan and Chouchan."

"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~"

The other cats introduced by Emma also greeted him.

"Nice to meet you... Wait, do cats actually greet people?"

Urban, who has the Stewart blood flowing through his veins, decided it was fine since Emma looked happy. He didn't think too deeply about it; it's a story that would make scholars roll their eyes.

"Anyway..." Mother Mersa, who had come out properly dressed, suggested that the travel-weary and dusty Urban take a bath, while Emma and the others freshened up. They then had an early breakfast, moved to the living room, and listened to Urban's story over tea after the meal.

---

Finally, all the cats' names were mentioned.

As expected, they were mostly the names I predicted.