Noir is an intelligent black cat with amber eyes who lives in a warm, watercolor-like world. His favorite spot is the top of an old bookshelf in his owner's study, which serves as his private 'castle.' One afternoon, Noir's owner discovers a mysterious golden bookmark—a magical item that causes the story within a book to slightly overflow into reality. When a sudden wind carries the bookmark out the window, Noir embarks on his first adventure outside the house. Following clues through the town,
Noir the Cat and the Vanished Bookmark - "Episode 4: Emperor Uda's Black Cat"
The Era of Kanpyo, in the Heian Period
There was once a beautiful black cat who would later be remembered in history as the subject of "Japan's Oldest Cat Diary."
She had no name yet. And yet the Emperor—Emperor Uda—loved her deeply and passionately, as he would his own child.
This is the tale of a short-haired black cat with amber eyes, gifted to the previous Emperor Koko from the Tang Dynasty and passed down to the young Emperor Uda.
*"The Ink-Black Cat of Kanpyo"*
As the darkness of night gently descended upon the palace gardens, Emperor Uda moved his brush across the desk, as if to soothe the weariness of his administrative duties. At his side sat a black cat whose lustrous coat seemed as though a piece of the night sky itself had been cut away—so glossy and radiant was her fur.
"All the other cats are merely pale grey, but this one is extraordinary. Like pure black ink, and when she walks, she moves like a black dragon upon the clouds," the Emperor mused, gazing fondly at his beloved cat. His lips curled into a smile.
The black cat, as if understanding that her beauty was being praised, let her amber eyes glimmer brilliantly and gave a short "meow."
The Emperor's affection for this black cat had become a great subject of gossip throughout the palace. Every day, he personally fed her the finest rice gruel with his own hands.
One afternoon, overcome by her adorableness, the Emperor boasted to an attendant named Naishi who served him closely: "Look at her. When she curls up to sleep, she's just like a black silk ball. And when she stretches, her body extends so gracefully. Is there any creature in this world more perfect than this one?"
Though Naishi smiled, she gently admonished him, saying, "Your Majesty, I fear your heart is being stolen away entirely. It is truly unprecedented for you to feed the gruel to a cat with your own hands each day."
At this, the black cat turned her face sharply toward Naishi, her gaze cold—as if to say, "None of your business." She raised her lean, muscular frame with dignified pride and leapt onto the Emperor's lap.
"Ha ha, I seem to have upset her. But that's quite all right. This one is my special companion, after all."
The Emperor stroked the cat's throat gently, contentedly. The cat's eyes narrowed almost immediately as she began to purr, creating a sound of pure happiness.
One evening, the Emperor opened a volume of his diary. To record this day and preserve this beloved creature in history, he began writing his passionate thoughts in classical Chinese.
"My cat's blackness is like ink itself..."
"When she rests, she is round like a silk ball..."
"Compared to other cats, truly she is a phantom of the night..."
With each stroke of the Emperor's brush, the black cat, drawn by the scent of ink, would reach out with her delicate front paws and gently tap at the brush's tip.
"Now, now, you'll get ink on yourself," the Emperor chuckled.
Yet the ink that clung to the brush was far less deep and beautiful than the black of the cat's fur before his eyes.
—Centuries would pass, and even in that distant future, the record of this black cat written in Emperor Uda's "Kanpyo Imperial Record" would be passed down through generations.
This black cat, beloved by history itself, now rested on the Emperor's warm lap this night as well, her amber eyes gently closed, dreaming quietly in the darkness.
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