Should I decline him?

Faced with the maid's absurd question, the Cat Princess couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

Of course, I should decline him! If I don't, am I supposed to let him come over and bathe with me? You... um... wait a minute! Knowing Leon's personality, if it weren't for something urgent, he probably wouldn't come looking for me at this time, right?

"Let him in!"

Realizing something might be wrong, the Cat Princess quickly called out towards the outside and spread a towel across the edge of the pool. She turned into a small black cat, shook off the water vigorously, then jumped onto the towel, rolled around a few times, and darted behind the screen with hanging clothes, swiftly getting dressed.

By the time the Evil Prince was brought in by the maid, the Cat Princess had already changed. While tying her damp long hair to one side of her neck, she asked worriedly:

"Why the rush? Is there something wrong with Mother?"

"Don't worry, the Grand Witch just overexerted herself, but she's not in trouble. She'll be fine after some rest."

Phew... as long as Mother's fine...

Exhaling in relief, the Cat Princess looked at the weary Leon and asked somewhat puzzled:

"The matter with the Seventeen Society merger and the Worship the Cat Church was settled during the daytime, wasn't it? If Mother's fine, then why are you in such a hurry to see me so late?"

"It's actually nothing much..."

After glancing at the Cat Princess's damp collar, the Evil Prince couldn't help but let out a... rather "suggestive" smile, then playfully lifted her smooth chin with a finger, saying with a grin:

"I just wanted to talk to you about the reward... Catherine, my cute little kitten, I've helped you so much; how do you plan to repay me?"

"?!!!"

No way... Do you really have such intentions?

Startled by the Evil Prince's flippant gesture, the Cat Princess instinctively took two steps back, shaking off the warm hand, and then helplessly crossed her arms over her chest, stammering:

"Wha... what kind of repayment do you want?"

"You already guessed what kind of repayment I want, haven't you?"

Not rushing, he took two leisurely steps forward, standing back in front of the flustered Cat Princess, the taller Evil Prince looked down at her with a wicked grin:

"My little kitten, you are the best reward for me! Come into my arms~"

No, no, no... this is not okay! This is the only thing that's not allowed!

Not expecting this type of "urgent matter," the Cat Princess felt sheepish and took several steps back. Unfortunately, there was a pool behind her, and after two steps, she had nowhere to retreat to.

In a panic, the Cat Princess closed her eyes and steeled her resolve, ready to jump directly into the pool, but her slender waist was grabbed, pulling her back with force.

"What? Do you prefer it in the water?"

After making a rather outrageous statement, the Evil Prince said with a chuckle:

"If you wish so much, I could accommodate... huh?"

Just as the Evil Prince was about to continue, the Cat Princess, who had been caught, suddenly shrank into a small, wet black cat and escaped his embrace.

Seeing the "Evil Prince" with a look of surprise, the Cat Princess, now without her clothes, was initially stunned, then her eyes suddenly showed a mix of shyness and anger.

A fake? Is this... a nightmare?

As she came to her senses from the overly stimulating scene, the Cat Princess quickly assessed the surroundings and soon spotted other inconsistent elements.

The maid who had brought "Leon" in was gone at some point, and the originally clear and realistic pool became obscured by steam. It was apparent she was dreaming, and...

It was a spring dream.

Realizing her situation, the Cat Princess grew furious; she lifted her front paw and stomped hard, shattering the shameful dream.

With the pool shrouded in mist, the screen with clothes, and the lecherous Evil Prince, everything disappeared as the false dream world shattered, leaving a blank black void.

Next, a female nightmare the size of a swallow screamed and flew out of the shattered body of the Evil Prince, trying to escape to the edge of the dream, but was pinned down by the angry Cat Princess.

"Mercy! Mercy, please!"

Feeling the increasing pressure from the cat claws on her back, the terrified female nightmare cried out, quickly pleading:

"It was... the King of Nightmares who sent me! I'm working for the King of Nightmares! I'm on your side!"

"Nonsense!"

Returning to her human form, the thoroughly tricked Cat Princess stomped forcefully on the struggling female nightmare beneath her, glaring angrily as she questioned:

"Why would Leon let you use a spring... this kind of dream against me?"

"Well... it's a long story..."

"I think you're still up to something!"

"Wait! I'll explain! I'll explain!"

Feeling the hot foot pressing harder, the female nightmare quickly screamed out her explanation:

"At nightfall, the King of Nightmares summoned us to the real world, making everyone in the Secret Magic City dream of him, taking the opportunity to identify those whose dreams felt wrong, and report to him!

I'm truly on your side! This order is from the King of Nightmares himself; you must believe me!"

Making everyone in the Secret Magic City dream about Leon?

After hearing the female nightmare's explanation, the Cat Princess blinked and then vaguely guessed Leon's intent.

By tomorrow morning, the Witch King's ritual would begin; after days of tug-of-war, the Slaughter King Association had already gone all out, bringing down a large number of True Gods, and the ones they could bring down should all be in the Secret Magic City.

But as the largest city in the Witch Kingdom, the Secret Magic City housed nearly half of the kingdom's citizens, with a population of hundreds of millions. Finding three or four among them was like finding a needle in a haystack.

And Leon suddenly pulling these nightmares from the dream realm, making everyone dream of him, seemed to be a way to filter out all the suspicious True Gods, and then...

A clean sweep?!

"Hiss..."

Understanding what Leon intended, the Cat Princess couldn't help but gasp.

So his goal wasn't to escape the Bedtime Story or to repel the Narration of Nonexistence, but to lure down all the True Gods of the Slaughter King Association and kill them all at once?!!!

This... this is just... um... Somehow this does seem like his style.

Realizing this was indeed something Leon would do, the deeply shaken Cat Princess was silent for a while, then lifted her foot to release the female nightmare, complaining in frustration:

"Even if it's Leon's order, you shouldn't have made me have such a dream! You deserved to get stomped on; let's call it even!"

"I..."

Adjusting her squashed wings, the female nightmare said tearfully:

"My lady, I am a nightmare."

Hearing this, the Cat Princess raised an eyebrow, then asked dissatisfiedly:

"So what? Can nightmares make me have such dreams?"

"My lady..."

Facing the Cat Princess's unreasonable argument, the female nightmare wanted to retort but cautiously reminded:

"Isn't it possible that nightmares can only cause nightmares? I just found someone dreaming of the King of Nightmares and decided to take a look?"