Ariante hesitated for a while before speaking bluntly.

“What kind of question is that? How foolish.”

“See, you’re calling me foolish again. So what exactly is a fool? Explain it.”

Ariante struggled to conceal her wavering gaze, biting her lips and contemplating for a long time. What does it mean to be a fool? Anyone, even a fool, could understand that! But when asked to explain, she had no idea what to say. What on earth is a fool…?!

“A fool is… uh, someone who can’t count numbers.”

“So, all babies are fools?”

“Yes, babies know nothing. That’s what makes them fools.”

Mayana drawled her words and cheekily nodded her head.

“Then, Princess, you were a fool too.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, you were once a baby. So you couldn’t count, speak, climb trees, or even catch dragonflies, right? That makes you a fool too. May I call you Foolish Princess now?”

“No! I don’t like that! I wasn’t a fool, even when I was a baby. I could read numbers!”

Mayana clenched her eyes and bit her lips. She mustn’t laugh… If she did, Ariante might genuinely get upset and throw a fit all night. But why was teasing a child so fun?

‘So this is why aunts and uncles like teasing their nieces and nephews.’

Angry and fidgeting, Ariante blurted out.

“Then you explain. What is a fool? Tell me what a fool is!”

Her voice was confident, mixed with the conviction of ‘You don’t know either,’ and a childlike arrogance that said, ‘You thought you could fool me?’

However, Mayana utilized her time-tested strategy of pretending to be indifferent.

“Of course, I know what a fool is, but I’d rather have you discover its meaning yourself.”

Ariante’s eyes widened.

“Liar! You don’t know it either!”

“Don’t be absurd! I’m someone who knows the meaning of fool better than anyone. I’ve seen plenty of foolish people.”

“Then tell me!”

“Princess, do you know how animals raise their young?”

What’s this about all of a sudden? Ariante’s expression seemed to say. Kids are so bad at hiding their expressions. Mayana chuckled to herself.

“Animals, you see, bring food to their young when they’re very little. But as they grow, they teach them to hunt. So they can survive on their own later. The reason I won’t tell you what a fool is, is so that you can discover it for yourself and not end up being one.”

“Tell me a story.”

Mayana lowered her head deeply, her shoulders quivering. It was unbearable, the way Ariante switched the topic as if uninterested. Just like a puppy losing interest during a scolding.

“What are you doing! I told you to tell me a story!”

Mayana raised her head, and her face was almost as red as a boiled lobster. Luckily, the dim lighting hid her flushed complexion.

“Alright, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a cat named Thread and a dog named Needle.”

“Why are their names Thread and Needle?”

Mayana’s eyes deepened with a faint wistfulness, but Ariante was too young to notice such emotions.

“They were always together, like thread and needle during sewing. Thread, though a cat, would wag its tail like a dog when happy. Needle, even being a dog, would stretch out its legs and nap like a cat when the sun was warm.”
“So?”

“One day, Sili suddenly disappeared. Though shocked and saddened, Baneul decided to go look for Sili. Dogs have a keen sense of smell. Baneul knew Sili’s scent better than anyone else…….”

Mayana’s voice was incredibly soft and gentle. Maybe memories from her past life made her voice even more comforting.

In a brief moment when the door was left open, Sili, unable to contain his curiosity, went outside. When Mayana and her parents were raising Sili and Baneul, they lived in a quiet countryside, so there was little worry about traffic accidents.

But the local stray cats were territorial. Sili had grown up inside and was already four years old, yet still thought of himself as a kitten.

The whole family searched the village for Sili but couldn’t find him. Night falls quickly in the countryside. With only the sparse street lights, they couldn’t search for Sili any longer.

“Let’s search again tomorrow morning.”

Her father said so, but she was too anxious to sit still. What if Sili had gone into the mountains? What if he got caught in a trap? The villagers had set up traps to catch wild boars and raccoons that harmed the crops.

People know where the traps are and avoid them, but how would a cat know?

“My goodness, Baneul!”

Everyone was startled by the loud exclamation of their mother, who had been sitting exhausted on the porch. Baneul had entered through the wide-open door. Something was dangling from his mouth. It was Sili.

Mayana couldn’t forget Baneul’s triumphant expression that day. Baneul was only two years old, but being a mixed breed, he was significantly larger than Sili.

Even though Sili was a four-year-old cat and not light, Baneul had carried him home in his mouth as if carrying a kitten.

“……From then on, Baneul followed Sili even more diligently. Even when Sili got annoyed and swatted at him, Baneul happily kept following him, wagging his big, fluffy tail…….”