9 Human Again

"Meow~"

"The day is beautiful today, Young Master. Isn't it?"

Nolan, who had turned into a black cat, stretched its body and yawned, its paws hanging in the air. His butler couldn't resist the urge to pet him and gently rubbed his exposed stomach.

"...meoww." The black cat meowed in a low mewl, purring loudly.

Atticus was sitting on a bench with cat Nolan in his lap, the cat purring contentedly as he stroked its fur.

But after a few more gentle rubs along Nolan's stomach, the cat suddenly bit his hand. Atticus chuckled and stopped his petting, intently gazing at the cat as it shifted and turned.

Nolan crawled out of his lap and sat upright beside him.

"Meow~"

"Are you hungry, Young Master?"

Nolan let out a long meow as he glared at his butler. His eyes turned sharp as his ears turned sideways while his tail swished behind him.

A warm smile spread across his butler's face as he watched the cat becoming annoyed. Atticus raised a hand to pet it again, but Nolan hissed, jumped off the bench, and ran towards the manor.

Left alone, Atticus's smile faded, his expression turning grave as he gazed out beyond the gate. He sighed softly before standing and walking back into the house.

Cat Nolan stealthily slipped into his bedroom unnoticed by the servants. Although it was still early in the day, he felt an overwhelming urge to sleep.

Somehow, he felt too tired to do anything else. Usually, he would spend his days with Elwin studying dark magic. Supposedly, they were to continue their interrupted rituals from the other day. However, with his current state, and how his butler was strangely not even worried about how he turned into a cat, he couldn't do anything.

He leaped onto the bed and stretched his long body lazily, his paws sinking into the soft pillows. Then, he nestled in and settled down for a warm, comfortable nap.

He spent the entire day sleeping, and by the time he woke up, it was already night.

Hunger gnawed in his stomach as he stirred in bed, groaning softly before pushing himself upright. As he sat up, he felt his body heavy. He immediately checked himself and was delighted to realize he had returned to his human form.

"I'm back...!" he gasped in joy, moving his arms and legs.

Suddenly, the door to his bedroom opened. Atticus, who was carrying a tray with a fancy food bowl on it, paused by the door when he saw his master finally turn back into human again.

Nolan quickly threw him a glare when he saw him.

"It's good to see you back, Young Master," Atticus said, obviously disappointed to see his Young Master back in his human form.

Nolan scurried out of his bed and angrily stomped his feet towards his butler. Atticus watched his approaching small figure as he calmly stepped inside the room, his hand closing the door behind him and locked it.

Nolan knocked the tray he was holding, sending its content flying, "You told me you were going to find a way to turn me back to human last night!" He whined angrily.

"I apologize, Young Master. My love for cats held me back to seek help right away." Atticus sincerely apologized, his gray eyes trailing over the naked body of his Master.

Hearing his sincere apologies, Nolan paused, his brows furrowed. He was unable to say anything and just clicked his tongue in response.

He didn't know Atticus liked cats.

"You are naked, Young Master. I will prepare your clothes and have the servants prepare your food, you must be starving."

Nolan glanced at himself and realized he was actually naked. Atticus then walked him toward his bed and gestured for him to sit down for a moment.

"My clothes…" Nolan gasped in realization, "We must have left them behind," he added as his eyes followed his butler to prepare a pair of clothes from his wardrobe.

"I have already retrieved them and made sure to clean and destroy any traces left. Rest assured, Young Master, I have already taken care of everything."

You always have, Nolan thought to himself and walked towards his bed.

Atticus closed his wardrobe and strode towards him with his clothes in his hands, "Now, let's get you dressed so you can eat your dinner."

Nolan raised a brow at his butler, "I'm already 19, I can do it myself."

Atticus stopped in front of him and smiled, gazing down at him. "It is my duty to serve you, Young Master," he said. Then, leaning in closer with his eyes locked on Nolan's, prompting his Young Master to step back slightly. "And if that means dressing you even when you're 70, I will," he added with a somewhat playful tone but his face was serious and sincere.

Nolan felt his cheeks turning hot. He reluctantly pushed Atticus's face away with his hand, feeling a sudden shyness course through him, "Psh. You'll be dead by then."

He took the clothes from him and began changing on his own, unfazed by his butler's intent gaze. Once finished, he turned to him with his arms raised and a slightly smug expression on his face.

"See? I'm not a child anymore. I'm a grown adult." he stated, proud of himself.

"Good job, Young Master." Atticus smiled and stepped closer to him.

To Nolan's surprise, Atticus pulled him closer to him and slid his fingers into the waistband of his pants.

"H-Hey… What are you doing?"

Atticus didn't respond and instead adjusted Nolan's pants, carefully aligning them on his waist before neatly tucking in his shirt. Once finished, his hand slid to his back, giving him a light pat on the butt.

Nolan flinched at his butler's unexpected action, "Hey…!"

Atticus chuckled softly, "That's for doing a good job, Young master."

"Excuse me?" 

"Hnn. Now, allow me to put in your shoes."

Nolan rolled his eyes and paced back to his bed, sitting on the edge. "Hurry up, I'm starving," he said, crossing his legs and lifting a foot toward his butler.

A smile tugged at the corner of Atticus's mouth, feeling so much delight at the sight of his master before he bent down and genuflected in front of him and retrieved a pair of shoes from the shadows.

As Nolan felt the fabric of his butler's gloves on his feet, he felt a slight ticklish feeling and fought the urge to react.

"Hey…" he mumbled and was about to pull away his foot from Atticus's hand, "I...I'll do it myself."

However, Atticus held his foot in place and smiled at him, "This will be quick, Young Master."

And it was. Atticus quickly finished putting on his shoes before he stood up and offered him his hand. Nolan stared at it for a moment before he reached for it and stood up.

"We need to visit Elwin tonight," Nolan said seriously out of nowhere. "I have to check how he's doing."

"Understood, Young Master. Leave the preparation to me."

Nolan's stomach rumbled. Without further delay, Atticus quickly walked him out of his room for dinner.