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Chapter 8
As if she had been waiting outside, Sophie immediately entered carrying a silver tray.
The dish on the tray looked familiar.
A small white bowl decorated with forget-me-not flowers. At some point, it had become my bowl.
“Put it on the bed.”
“But, Miss…”
As Sophie trailed off hesitantly, the corners of Eloise’s brows lifted.
I raised my head and sniffed at the aroma drifting from the bowl. Thankfully, my sense of smell was working perfectly again.
It smelled of the sea and the rich scent unique to fish. Yep, it definitely seemed to be my meal.
“Are you planning to disobey me too?”
“Th-That’s not it…!”
Honestly, I didn’t really want to eat on the bed either.
Before Eloise could scold Sophie any further, I leaped lightly off the bed.
Landing gracefully on the floor, I walked over to my designated spot and sat down, waiting for my bowl.
Quick-witted as ever, Sophie hurried over and placed it in front of me.
“Please enjoy your meal, Lady Rizet!”
“You two really are…”
“Meow?”
Pretending not to hear Eloise’s sigh, I meowed and examined the contents of the bowl.
It contained soft mashed rice, finely chopped vegetables, and flaky brown fish that had been cooked until tender.
It looks just like tuna and vegetable porridge.
“Normally we would have prepared the beef you’re used to, but Dr. Etman insisted that you eat this instead.”
Since I kept staring at the bowl without eating, Sophie hurriedly explained herself.
“Meow.”
You don’t have to explain it that thoroughly.
I’m sick, so even if it doesn’t taste great, I have to eat it.
The smell wasn’t bad.
I lowered my head and cautiously licked the porridge.
Oh… this is better than I expected.
The moment I swallowed a bite, my stomach growled loudly.
Suddenly ravenous, I began eating in earnest.
The only sound filling the quiet room was the rhythmic lap, lap as I devoured the porridge.
When the bowl was nearly empty, Eloise finally spoke.
“What happened to her?”
“Just as you ordered, we ignored the matter regarding the Seneca poison and dismissed her for theft.”
“I see.”
“Just as you suspected, she’d been secretly stealing ingredients from the kitchen and selling them.”
While listening to their conversation, I diligently licked the very bottom of the bowl.
Just as I was finishing, Sophie picked it up.
Ah! There was still one grain left!
I looked up at the bowl in disappointment, but Sophie was too focused on speaking with Eloise to notice.
“I thought it was strange that a maid could afford shoes that expensive.”
“She may have received them as a gift.”
“Those shoes? Impossible. We tailed her, but she’d already been abandoned—she didn’t meet anyone. I expected she’d contact Count Lonsbleu.”
“Keep watching her.”
Count Lonsbleu…
That was the count who became the heroine’s adoptive father.
So she’s already been adopted…
Maybe it was because I’d just eaten, but my thoughts felt hazy.
Sleepiness suddenly overwhelmed me.
Did they put something in the food?
Before long, despite having only just woken up, I drifted back to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, the room was still bright.
Judging by the different color of Eloise’s dress as she sat reading on the sofa, it seemed to be the next day.
“Myaa…”
Stretching out my front paws and arching my back, I gave myself a long, satisfying stretch.
My body felt completely refreshed.
“You’re awake.”
“Meow!”
Eloise greeted me in her clear, gentle voice before returning to her book.
It felt as though our peaceful routine had returned.
Objectively speaking, I should still be planning my escape considering all the dangers waiting for the villainess.
Yet after only a few days, this life had already begun to feel comfortable.
Well… aside from being poisoned.
I was rolling lazily around on my cushion, torn between escaping and staying, when someone knocked.
“Miss, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”
“I see?”
What? The Crown Prince is coming today?
Eloise’s calm reaction only made me more confused.
Without even looking up from her book, she replied,
“The man who’s always so busy with state affairs came unusually early today.”
The novel had portrayed Eloise as obsessively attached to the Crown Prince.
But in reality, she didn’t seem particularly interested in him at all.
Besides, if the Crown Prince visited a noble household, the entire family would normally be in an uproar.
Yet the Montclair estate remained strangely quiet.
“He’s waiting in the greenhouse.”
“Understood.”
She neatly closed the book and rose from her seat.
As though she were simply going to greet an ordinary visitor.
Even if you’re only engaged… isn’t she a little too indifferent?
I trotted over and tapped at the hem of her dark green dress with my paw.
She knelt down and gently stroked my head.
Her cool touch felt unexpectedly warm.
“Wait here for a little while. I’ll be back soon.”
“Meeow.”
No, that’s not what I meant.
I shook my head and meowed again.
Then, just for a brief instant, the corners of Eloise’s lips curved upward.
…Never mind. With a face like hers, she doesn’t need to worry about impressing anyone.
Seeing that fleeting smile—beautiful as flowers blooming all at once—I couldn’t help but agree.
“Um… Miss.”
“Yes?”
“His Highness requested that Lady Rizet accompany you.”
Me?
Why would the Crown Prince—the male lead of the novel—care about an ordinary cat?
“Rizet?”
“Yes. It seems word about Lady Rizet has already reached His Highness.”
“Tch. News travels faster through the Imperial Palace than through high society.”
Clicking her tongue softly, Eloise frowned before lifting me into her arms.
Her warmth still felt unfamiliar.
“I suppose I’ll let Rizet see the greenhouse while we’re there. Are any of the flowers harmful to cats?”
“I already asked Dr. Etman. He said they’re all safe.”
“Good work.”
Receiving such brief praise, Sophie beamed with satisfaction, her shoulders puffing up proudly.
She looked so happy over just two simple words.
Well… that’s what happens when you’re the maid serving a villainess.
The moment we stepped outside the room, Eloise’s expression turned icy.
For someone supposedly obsessed with the novel’s male lead, her attitude toward him remained incredibly strange.
“Meow?”
The scenery changed slowly as we walked toward the greenhouse.
The servants stared in surprise at the sight of Eloise carrying me.
As befitting servants of the Montclair household, they quickly composed themselves, but their reactions were noticeably different from those of Eloise’s own attendants.
Standing in front of the greenhouse was the butler—the same man who had called me “just a cat.”
“Hiss!”
I puffed up my fur and hissed furiously at him.
Eloise gently scratched the back of my neck in a soothing manner.
My anger slowly subsided, and I stopped hissing.
“Butler. Why aren’t you opening the door?”
“Your Highness. Lady Montclair has arrived.”
Ignoring Eloise’s question completely, the butler informed the Crown Prince of her arrival before opening the door.
One day, I’m going to rip off that bootlicker’s ridiculous mustache.
“Greetings to the Star of Kalenia. Please forgive my lack of proper etiquette—I am carrying a cat.”
“It’s been a while, Lady Montclair.”
I looked toward the owner of that voice, as hard and cold as stone.
He sat elegantly at a table in the greenhouse, one leg crossed over the other, leisurely drinking tea.
So I’ve finally met the gentlemanly bastard male lead.
“Your Highness.”
Arnaud de Valois, the Crown Prince, looked as though even being stabbed with a sword wouldn’t make him blink.
Lemon-blond hair.
Sharp green eyes.
A perfectly proportioned physique.
Though he was still in his late teens, he carried an unbelievably cold and imposing presence.
From head to toe, he was so flawlessly handsome that he hardly seemed human.
“Have you been well? Sit.”
Even his greeting to his fiancée carried no warmth whatsoever.
The “gentlemanly bastard” nickname hadn’t been given for nothing.
After taking the seat opposite him, Eloise calmly spoke about how she’d been doing.
“Thanks to Your Highness, I’ve become the talk of high society and have been blessed with the luxury of resting comfortably at home.”
Translation: “Because of the scandal you caused, I lost my temper and ended up confined to my estate.”
If I hadn’t known the story already, I never would have realized she was mocking him.
This really is the language of high society.
She hadn’t spoken like this when talking to Marcel.
She and the Crown Prince were definitely not on good terms.
“So that’s why you’re raising a cat?”
His gaze settled on me.
“It was the piercing gaze of a predator that had locked onto its prey.”
That was how the heroine had described her first impression of the male lead.
It was exactly how I felt now.
“It was abandoned, so I’m merely looking after it temporarily.”
“I didn’t know Lady Montclair was fond of animals.”
“It was a favor requested by His Highness the Second Prince.”
“Was there truly no one else around Marcel who could keep a cat besides you?”
Even someone like me, who knew nothing about aristocratic conversational tactics, could understand what he was really asking.
The Crown Prince was probing the relationship between Marcel and Eloise.
