"When I was in Eos I thought I would never curry favor with anyone. It was like that for those three years as well as when I came back. My pride as a slum mongrel was my anchor."
Even being coerced and tormented, Riki’s pride was never shattered. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he would pique the curiosity and the sadism of someone with absolute power. Only a mongrel would have the privilege to be so naïve as to show such defiance in the face of Blondy authority.
"But since coming to Apatia... holding on to this defiance felt strangely suffocating. My cage was just moved from Eos to Apatia, but when I'm alone with Iason, face to face, it leaves me breathless. I ask myself why but... All these thoughts unrelated to work keep going round and round in my head. But once I became aware of that, I knew I was screwed."
It dawned on Katze at last. The one who changed wasn't just Iason. It was Riki as well.
"Have you... fallen in love with him?" Katze asked matter-of-factly. He half expected Riki to yell at him, but instead, all Riki did was lower his eyes.
"I don't know. I don't know if all I feel is hate, or not. Or if there's something else to it... or not. Am I just imagining it? I’m not even sure what I really want it to be..." He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.
This seemed to be yet another side of Riki that Katze had never seen before.
"Maybe I’m just afraid to realize... that these feelings are no longer so black and white. Funny, right? Feel free to laugh if you want to.
It wasn't funny. Not at all.
These were Riki’s genuine feelings that Iason... or Guy for that matter... wasn't aware of. It might have been the first honest confession that Riki has ever made in his life. Or it might just be the sort of vulnerability that only a situation like this could bring out."
"Iason hates the sort of pet that just fawns over him, right?"
Katze knew this all too well.
When he was Iason's furniture, he witnessed it every single day in Eos. No matter how much a pet tried to please Iason it had no effect. Even if it was the finest Academy purebred won at auction, his attitude towards it was nothing short of cold. To Iason, a pet was just room decoration, nothing more. As long as it didn't block his view, he was content. He was steadfast in that policy.
This was why Iason's strange obsession with Riki was inconceivable to Katze.
"In that case, I have no choice but to stick to my guns as best I can and stay defiant. I gave it a lot of thought. Without the pet ring, whether I like it or not, I’ll have to make up my mind, right? Even if I... can’t stand
on an equal footing with Iason, wouldn't it still be possible for us to look ahead together?"
"AnK."