Kazahana Koyuki looked at the burning charcoal, remembering the blaze on the night her father died.
Suddenly, she had the urge to knock over the brazier.
Normally, a mere brazier would not have affected her like this.
But when Mami Mizuta had frozen her, it had awakened the psychological trauma buried deep in her heart for years.
The flames consuming the city, the bone-chilling ice, and her father lying in a pool of blood!
Kazahana Koyuki's breathing grew increasingly rapid. She sat up in bed and reached out to overturn the brazier.
"I advise you not to do that."
A small white cat stopped her.
A cat? Why was there a cat here? Did someone keep it?
No, wait!
"Were you the one who just spoke?"
"Who else could it be besides you and me?"
"Did you come to capture me?"
The white cat leaped onto the table, crouched down, and tilted her head.
"What made you think that?"
Kazahana Koyuki's heartbeat quickened slightly.
Honestly, the white cat's adorable appearance had completely melted her heart.
She held back the urge to scoop the cat into her arms and give her a thorough cuddle.
"Then what did you come here for?"
"We'll talk about that later."
The white cat sprang hard from the table. Her nimble body cleared the brazier and landed on Kazahana Koyuki's lap.
Then, under Kazahana Koyuki's puzzled gaze, she crawled beneath the blanket and curled into a ball.
From the outside, no one would have noticed that a small cat was hiding beneath the blanket wrapped around Kazahana Koyuki.
"What do you mean?"
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Then Asama Santa entered, carrying a large bowl of hot soup.
"Princess Koyuki, you should drink this soup while it's hot to warm yourself up."