Humbert looked over at his secretary in mild amusement as she bent her head and crunched numbers. Bookkeeping, the one-time man was discovering, was infinitely more fun when it was being shared with someone as delightful as Miss Yoshioka was.
He hadn't realised what he was missing, until he met this girl.
"How's the catnip yield?" he asked.
"Up by twenty-eight point two percent from last harvest," Haru answered. "Market reports have it as seventeen percent scarcer, however, so you should be able to get a good price on it," she added.
"What about the market for spices? Any improvement there?" the hope in his voice tangible.
Haru shook her head sadly.
"True felines don't seem particularly inclined to spicy food, or even exotic herbs with their food. Muta is going to get to use it all unless we find some way to get cats to at least try flavouring their food with something other than catnip, cattails and lemon," Haru answered with a forlorn sigh.
"Well," Humbert said, rubbing his temple, "we can't just create a demand to fit our supply I suppose. What about our cotton plantation?"
"Booming. However, I want to point out that recently hemp has slowly been replacing cotton, because it is more water-efficient," Haru answered.
Humbert looked up in surprise. "Back in the human world, you mean?"
Haru nodded. "Its yields are larger and it requires less water. I thought I might mention it."
He nodded. "I'll look into that, but you have to bear in mind that cats have more sensitive noses as well, and if they don't like the smell of hemp, however fine it is, they are less likely to buy it."
"Understood," she said, returning to calculations and report-writing.
The sound of half-cats hard at work filled the entire estate, and it settled potently in the study where the two of them had fallen into a companionable silence.
"What games did you play as a child Miss Haru?" Humbert asked, breaking the silence suddenly.
"Hmm? Oh, the usual games. Tag, hide and seek, ring round the roses, climbing trees, and teddy bear picnics sometimes. Making a list of games we might be able to entertain the young prince with?" she asked, looking up from but not leaving her own set of papers.
"Yes," Humbert answered. "I had most of those down already though, and a kitten will not be so entertained by all of those that they will last him all week."
"If a growing boy is given over to nothing but games for a whole week, he is liable to become bored halfway through the second day," Haru said, quoting her aunt. "He might like to watch Toto making his flying machines, or help Muta cook. Of course, there's also the possibility that simply because he will be away from the palace for a week, he will not be allowed to neglect his studies."
Humbert cheered and stood up from his desk, uncharacteristically obvious in his delight.
"Haru, you're brilliant! Of course he won't be allowed to neglect his studies, but he does find reading to be quite tedious sometimes, so if we take the lessons he is learning from books and give him a chance to do something practical with them –"
"It may actually make his book learning stick more," Haru finished, smiling broadly as her employer beamed down at her as he leant over her desk. Wrinkling her nose in delight, Haru giggled. "Glad to be of assistance," she said.
He blinked. He hadn't ever seen her do that nose-wrinkle thing before, and as he continued to just look at her, the baron found himself faced with the realisation that she was very…
Haru tilted her head to the side, confused by the dazed look on Humbert's face.
"Something the matter boss?" she asked, ignoring the internal voice that was screaming at her that he was close enough to kiss.
"Forgive me if you think I am being forward, Miss Haru, but," Humbert cut himself off by closing the small distance between them and kissing her gently.
Oh my, Haru thought to herself, her breath catching in her throat. When she felt him pull away again, she still wasn't breathing.
"I'm sorry," Humbert said. "We've only been acquainted for such a short time, but I feel as if I know you so much better than that and…" he trailed off.
"I don't mind," Haru said, having regained the ability to function again. "But a kiss is a bit more serious than just being polite to your dancing partner, and I've had my heart broken once already in the last week," she pointed out carefully.
"I have no intention of leading you on, Haru. However, simply because we do not know each other very well, I think it would be better to get to know each other a lot better before we discuss anything like getting engaged or married," Humbert said, as he took her hand gently in his.
Haru smiled. With his eventual intentions made known, Haru felt secure in her future relationship with the baron. A feeling she had never completely had with Machida.
"I accept your terms," she said, still smiling and touching her nose to his briefly.
"I'm glad," he answered, relief all over his furry face.
Haru laughed. All of this seemed so out-of-character for the baron, being excited about things, and a little impulsive. When she had met him – was it really just a few short weeks ago? – she had thought him to be someone who was always calm, a notion re-instated by her conversation with Louise.
Perhaps he'd just had a little extra something in his breakfast? Whatever the answer…
"There's still work to do," she pointed out.
Humbert nodded and returned to his desk, looking up from his work every now and then to just watch the female he had so suddenly realised that he was in love with.