Robert placed opal on a chair, secured the black cat, and went to get his meal.
By the time he returned, a crowd had gathered around opal and the black cat.
The cat had been untied and was now perched on the seat, while a sweet-looking girl was trying to play with it using a small ball. The black cat lazily glanced at her before hopping off and trotting over to Robert.
Robert rolled his eyes. "Hungry, aren't you? Not fighting with you."
The black cat licked its paw. "I don't want to fight either. I'm hungry. Feed me."
Robert was surprised. "Why aren't you using your usual 'royal' speech?"
"Oh, I figured that speaking like that might trick you into becoming my servant." The black cat scratched its ear, looking as if their previous showdown had just been a greeting. "Who knew you wouldn't fall for it? Do humans not like old-fashioned speech anymore?"
Robert glanced at the girl crouching nearby. She didn't look at him, instead calling out to the black cat, "Xiao Mo, don't run around! What if you get lost?"
"What's going on?" Robert asked curiously. "She thinks you're her pet?"
The black cat flicked a glance at the girl. Seeing it look at her, she happily ran over, attempting to scoop it up. But the cat was far too quick, gracefully dodging her grasp.
The girl looked disappointed, as if she had only just noticed Robert standing there. She gave a small nod. "Sorry about that. My Xiao Mo…"
"Wait a minute," Robert interrupted. "Did you just call my cat yours?"
The girl froze for a moment before smiling. "Ah, you must have found Xiao Mo somewhere before…"
"It's not called Xiao Mo. It's White Tiger."
Robert then called out, "White Tiger!"
Though the black cat was clearly unimpressed by the pet-like call, it obediently leapt onto Robert's shoulder.
The girl's expression stiffened, as if she couldn't comprehend why a cat suddenly seemed so well-trained.
Robert turned to his chosen seat, an eight-person table. Apart from the girl who had mistaken his cat for hers, seven others sat there. Six of them were gathered around opal, seemingly trying to play with it.
Curious, Robert looked at the only girl still seated at the table. She was small in stature, but when she noticed his gaze, she stood up and gave him a polite bow. "My juniors are inexperienced. Please don't mind them."
Robert nearly laughed. It was the first time he had heard someone describe their own companions as inexperienced.
Still…
"Juniors?" He eyed the girl suspiciously. "You don't seem older than them."
She shrugged. "Higher seniority."
She then clapped her hands, drawing the group's attention. "Alright, stop trying to lure someone else's pet right in front of its owner."
"Nonsense." The oldest boy shook his head dramatically. "If this bird chooses to follow us, that only proves it's ours, not this outsider's."
The girl frowned and glanced at Robert, looking a little embarrassed. "You see, when a family is too big, there are always a few foolish ones. And since they're relatives, it's hard to kick them out."
Robert could feel the awkwardness among the group and had no idea what kind of situation he had stumbled into. He simply set his food down on another table. "Opal, time to eat!"
The moment it heard the word "eat," the opal happily bounced over and gobbled up the beef Robert offered.
The group looked even more uncomfortable.
Robert wasn't going to entertain them. If they wanted to steal his pets, why should he be polite?
Fortunately, they only tried to tempt the animals while he was gone. Now that they saw the bond between Robert and his companions, they didn't push further.
The girl who had fixated on White Tiger, however, wasn't as willing to give up. She kept glancing at Robert.
He was used to such looks—Slytherins stared at him all the time.
After finishing his meal, Robert stretched, took his plate to be washed, then returned to his seat to read.
The downside of taking leave from class was that once he returned, there was no one to lend him proper notes.
Not that he couldn't borrow a notebook—his social standing was fine—but peer notes were often unreliable. Professors had their own way of explaining things, and students interpreted them differently.
The result? A borrowed notebook full of things he already knew, with none of the answers he actually needed.
What he needed was a top student's notes.
Recalling last semester's rankings, Robert made his decision: The first-place student was too good-looking to disturb. Let's settle for the second place instead.
Pulling out a quill, he began writing to Cedric.
He had barely written two lines when a voice interrupted, "What's that?"
Robert frowned slightly, disliking the idea of someone reading over his shoulder. He looked up at the girl still eyeing his cat. "Just a letter."
She seemed interested. "Go on, then! I want to see if foreigners write letters the same way we write English essays!"
Now that was annoying.
Robert set his quill down and looked at her seriously. "Miss, writing a letter is a private matter."
She nodded. "Oh," she said, still staring at his parchment.
Seeing that his hint was ignored, Robert added, "Since it's private, shouldn't you look away?"
The girl tilted her head, as if puzzled. "Why? My mom reads my diary all the time."
What the—?!
Robert's eye twitched. Without hesitation, he rolled up his parchment and put it away. Then, he took out a textbook and started reading instead.
Seeing that he had hidden his letter, the girl pouted and returned to her group, muttering something to them.
This time, she didn't come back to peek at his magic books. Perhaps her family had warned her about it—she was clearly curious, but she only stared at his book cover instead of getting closer.
Who knew how much time had passed when the small-statured but high-ranking girl finally spoke.
"Ah Zi, you need to apologize."
The girl named Ah Zi turned, pointing at herself in surprise. "Me?"
The other girl nodded. "If you want the cat, that's fine. Even stealing it would be fine. But since you failed, that's your fault. So, you need to apologize."
(End of Chapter)