Chapter 73 Bathing

Chapter 73: Bath

Imuir stepped on the doctor's pants, leaving a dark footprint.

The doctor picked him up by the scruff of his neck.

Bai Yu patted his pants. "It's pretty dirty."

He let the kitten out of the bedroom and turned into the kitchen to prepare the beef. The tabby and tortoiseshell siblings peeked at the door, hesitating about whether to come in.

The platinum kitten unceremoniously occupied the kitchen door, giving the two new kittens a cold glare. "Meow!"

—This is my home! The meat the doctor is cutting is mine!

Tabby and tortoiseshell: "..."

The tiny kitten was no threat at all. The siblings glanced at him, walked around him, and then with a long leap, easily jumped onto the counter, lounging beside the doctor, casually glancing at the platinum kitten.

Imuir: "..."

He was the first to arrive, yet he had no standing in the family at all!

He gathered his strength and pounced fiercely—

His legs were too short; he couldn't jump up.

He pounced again—still couldn't make it.

Bai Yu rubbed his temples, frustrated.

The clattering of Imuir behind him was hard to ignore. He turned around, grabbed the kitten by the belly with one hand, and lifted him up. Imuir's four paws had nothing to hold onto, dangling helplessly in mid-air, and then he was gently placed beside the counter.

He leaned in close to the doctor's hand and sniffed at the plate.

Bai Yu had prepared the ingredients and pushed the plate towards Imuir. "You must've been hungry from wandering outside. Eat up."

Imuir stuck out his tongue and licked lightly.

In his cat form, his taste buds were slightly different from a human's. Raw meat might be bland and bloody to humans, but it was perfect for a kitten's palate. The food on the plate was delicious, but Imuir couldn't eat another bite.

He had just eaten at the Duke's mansion, where the doctor had served him.

Since his injury, Imuir had lost his appetite, forcing himself to eat. Only today, with the doctor nearby, did he manage to eat a little more.

So the kitten nibbled a bit, ate two mouthfuls, and then stopped.

Bai Yu was slightly surprised. He touched the kitten's belly, and Imuir let out a cooperative burp.

Full.

Bai Yu raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you've been doing pretty well while wandering outside, huh?"

Imuir tilted his head, playing dumb.

Bai Yu then took the bowl away from him and placed it next to the eagerly drooling tabby and tortoiseshell siblings. "Here, you guys eat."

Imuir: "!"

He clamped down on the doctor's sleeve with his teeth.

No way! You can't give that to other cats!

Bai Yu sighed, "You need to let your younger siblings have their turn; they're still little."

Imuir refused to let go, even biting tighter, starting to grind his teeth on Bai Yu's sleeve in frustration.

Small? Yeah right, with legs that long, they're not small!

Just then, the tabby and tortoiseshell cats also crowded in. They usually turn their noses up at beef, and hadn't even finished the fish and chicken Bai Yu had prepared for them, but now they were jostling for space, squashing the fur on the platinum kitten's head flat.

For a moment, the three kittens were a tangled mess, wriggling and shoving like a bunch of loaches. Bai Yu couldn't get a grip on any of them.

A vein throbbed on his forehead, and finally, he managed to snag the tabby and tortoiseshell, one in each hand, and hauled them and their food bowls out of the kitchen, saying sternly, "Alright, your brother just got back, so cut him some slack. Dad will whip up something tasty for you tomorrow."

Imuir flicked his tail, sitting smugly by the food bowl, eyeing the two kittens with a haughty air.

See, even with you around, Bai Yu's favorite is still... wait—

Imuir's eyes widened in shock as he looked up at the doctor.

Did the doctor just call himself...?

...Dad?!

Dad?! What the—?!

Bai Yu had just called himself the dad of the tortoiseshell and tabby, and referred to Imuir as their brother, so...

Imuir's mind went blank: '!!!'

The kitten lost his footing, tumbling off the counter and landing belly-first with a splat on the rice jar.

It wasn't a long drop, but Imuir still felt his head spin. He pawed at his head, stunned, his thoughts in complete disarray.

...What on earth?

These days, people who have cats and dogs often refer to themselves as pet parents. Because of his job, Bai Yu had added a lot of pet owners on WeChat, with names like Lucky Dad or Prosperity Mom. Now that he was raising three kittens himself, he saw no issue with calling himself a kitten dad.

Imuir: "..."

As Bai Yu reached out to pick him up, the duke swiped at the doctor's hand with his paw.

The claws were hidden in the pads, not extended, but the force was considerable, the maximum the duke could muster.

Damn it, taking advantage of him!

Just a mere valet, not knowing his place!

Imuir glanced at the doctor, then jumped down from the rice jar with kitten steps, running to the door, trying to push the kitchen door open.

The shock was too great, Imuir didn't want to deal with the doctor anymore, he needed to find a place to calm down.

But before he could push it open, the doctor lifted him up by his bottom again.

Bai Yu sighed, "Stop running around, let's take a bath first."

Imuir slapped his hand again in frustration.

Damn it, don't touch me until the proper form of address is clarified!

The kitten used all its strength, but to Bai Yu, it was just a light slap, not even enough to break the doctor's guard. He carried the kitten to the bathroom and placed it in the bathtub, adjusting the shower's temperature: "Alright, let's take a bath first."

The Grand Duke bathes every day; if he hadn't gone to the roof to see Bai Yu, his fur wouldn't have gotten dirty.

As the Grand Duke of Illyria, being forced to take a bath would be too strange.

Imuir struggled fiercely.

Though small, he thrashed with surprising strength, and Bai Yu momentarily lost his grip. The doctor looked at the little furball outside the bathtub and asked in surprise, "Not going to bathe?"

He hinted, "...But it's dirty, and a little ugly."

"?"

Imuir turned his head to look at the mirror.

"!"

His fur was wet and clung to his body, his tail and belly covered in dust, looking rather scruffy.

Indeed, it was a bit ugly.

Thus, Bai Yu successfully brought the dejected kitten back.

The sink in his home wasn't large enough, and the previous owner had left rust stains at the bottom from washing something. Bai Yu opted to use the bathtub instead.

The bathtub was still too high for the kitten, who clung to the edge, staring at Bai Yu, seemingly a little scared.

Bai Yu reached out to hold him, scratched his little head, adjusted the water temperature and flow, and gently rinsed him. Meanwhile, he parted the fur on the belly to inspect the wound.

Imuir: "Mew."

He clung to the bathtub, kicking his legs uncomfortably.

Having his belly exposed and being stared at felt odd.

Bai Yu said, "Don't move."

The doctor carefully examined the wound, which had healed, leaving a faint, uneven scar hidden under the fur.

Imuir trembled slightly, looking down as well.

It looked so ugly.

When he turned into a human, his belly also bore such scars, the newly formed ones still pale pink and sensitive to the touch. Now, as the doctor traced along the scar, checking its healing, his warm fingertips gradually moved down, further and further...

"..."

Imuir lost his balance and fell into the bathtub. The water wasn't deep, but he choked a couple of times before standing up.

Bai Yu was startled, then laughed, "How did you manage to trip over this?"

He reached out to hold the kitten, but clinging to the edge of the bathtub didn't provide much leverage. After a moment's thought, Bai Yu simply climbed into the bathtub.

Imuir: "!"

The doctor sat cross-legged in the bathtub, and Imuir was placed on his lap.

When he was injured, the Duke often slept on the doctor's lap, the feel of those full, elastic muscles beneath him. He stood there frozen, not daring to move.

The doctor was still wearing the valet's undershirt, which was now completely soaked.

The pure white fabric, wet, clung tightly to his body, and Imuir looked up, through the fabric, faintly making out a hint of red.

The kitten hastily lowered its head.

Imuir had never realized that the valet's uniform in the Duke's mansion could be so alluring. At this moment, he seemed to have instinctively grasped an Eastern saying: "Do not look at what is improper."

Bai Yu washed very gently, perhaps thinking of the kitten’s previous ordeal, occasionally patting the kitten's head to comfort it. Once the washing was done, he carried Imuir out, wrapping him snugly in a towel.

The doctor gently dried him with a towel, then turned the hair dryer to the lowest setting, covering the kitten's ears, and softly dried its fur before setting the kitten down on the floor.

He was incredibly patient and meticulous.

Bai Yu himself was also soaked, so he took a quick shower. Imuir prowled around the clinic with feline grace, and through the window, he spotted someone at the door.

It was a young man dressed like a postman, delivering a letter to the doctor's mailbox.

The man was dressed ordinarily, barely scraping by like any other young man in Illyria struggling to make ends meet, nothing noteworthy; Imuir only gave him a brief glance before looking away.

The doctor came out of the shower.

66 had been powered off while the host showered and slept, and now it restarted, perching on the doctor's shoulder and yawning. "Someone sent you a letter."

Bai Yu paused. "The Black Robe Society?"

"Probably. Besides them, who else would send you letters?"

Bai Yu took out the key, retrieved the letter from the mailbox, and didn’t bother to hide it from the kitten as he sat at the desk and began reading.

Imuir stepped onto the doctor's lap and jumped onto the table, tilting his head to get a better look.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was an advertisement, poorly printed, with inconsistent font sizes, looking normal enough, but Imuir swished his tail, sensing something was off.

Although it was just an advertisement, the doctor spent an unusually long time reading it.

Bai Yu held the advertisement paper, his gaze focused, as if reading word by word.

The Black Robe Society used their usual encryption method—some special fonts bolded, made to look like printer smudges—and 66 quickly scanned the message: "Host, the Black Robe Society reminds you not to forget the gathering and has assigned you a second task. Besides investigating the forbidden area, they want you to mix a powder into the Duke's tea seven days before the Duke summons the ministers."

"Powder?"

"The letter says it's a spice from a foreign land. They still need time to transport it and will deliver it to you through the lady."

Bai Yu nodded.

According to the novel, he should have died long ago. These were plots that had never appeared. The novel required Bai Yu not to actively reveal his undercover identity, meaning the Black Robe Society wanted him to cooperate, so he had to go along with it.

Bai Yu tore the advertisement into irreparable pieces, then flushed them down the drain.

Imuir tilted his head. "...Meow?"

Just an ordinary advertisement—was it really necessary to handle it like this?

The Duke slightly frowned, something flashing through his mind, but before he could figure it out, the doctor had already stood up.

Bai Yu hugged the kitten: "I'm going to take a nap, do you want to join me?"

The kitten's brain was tiny, and Imuir instantly forgot about the advertisement: "Meow!"

Yes!

He coiled his tail tightly around the doctor's arm, showing his determination.

The tabby and tortoiseshell cats wanted to join too, but they hadn't been bathed for a while and were refused by the doctor.

Imuir lay on the doctor's shoulder; he used to be shorter than the tabby and tortoiseshell cats, but now he was much taller. His tail lifted proudly, and he looked down smugly at the two meowing on the ground as he let out a dignified meow.

See you later!

Imuir was accustomed to sleeping on the doctor's large bed, and he instinctively rolled into the center of the bed, jumping a couple of times on the doctor's pillow.

Bai Yu reclined halfway.

He had a habit of reading books or newspapers before sleeping, so he picked up a book to read. His pajamas clung to his body, outlining his figure.

Imuir tentatively stretched out his paw and placed it on the doctor's chest.

He tilted his head, watching for Bai Yu's reaction.

No reaction.

Imuir stepped a couple of times; the muscles felt soft when relaxed, pressing against them felt like squishing a piece of tofu, with slight ripples, very comfortable.

The doctor continued reading, ignoring Imuir, neither turning over nor throwing him off.

The kitten watched cautiously for a moment, then lifted his tail.

No reaction, it's okay to step!