Chapter 1

Living as the pet of a wealthy family was easier than I had imagined.

Enjoying the gentle strokes running through my fur, I purred contentedly.

I hated the noisy banquet hall and the dazzling light pouring from the chandeliers, but as long as my big sister was with me, I didn’t mind any of it.

Well… except for those obnoxious noble ladies.

“My goodness, look at Lady Montclair! She actually brought a cat to the Founding Festival banquet?”

“I heard she only barely managed to Awaken. How utterly lacking in common sense.”

“Exactly. Besides, isn’t that cat supposed to be possessed by a demon?”

A demon? No, I’m just an ordinary South Korean college student’s soul, thank you very much.

Tsk.

I merely clicked my tongue in annoyance, but my sister stood up with me in her arms and walked toward the women.

“Lady Everton, you really must love that dress. You wore it to Marchioness Brie’s tea party too, didn’t you?”

“Th-That…!”

In the most elegant way possible, my sister had just said, ‘Are you so poor you have to wear the same dress twice?’ while absentmindedly stroking my fur.

The woman called Everton flushed scarlet and silently fanned herself.

“I understand the feeling. I adore our Lizette so much that I bring her with me every day.”

I love my sister too.

I never imagined I’d become this attached to the novel’s villainess.

As I purred happily in her embrace, her beautiful teal eyes curved into a smile.

“W-We were only saying how much you cherish your cat, Lady Montclair. Truly.”

Funny.

They had no problem gossiping loudly enough for us to hear when my sister wasn’t around, yet the moment she confronted them, they couldn’t say a word.

Hmph. They’ll just badmouth her again behind her back later.

“Meow!”

I sprang out of my sister’s arms, pretending to land awkwardly, and slashed Everton’s precious dress with my claws.

The cheap fabric ripped open in one long tear, revealing a glimpse of the yellowed petticoat beneath.

“Ahhh!”

I casually scratched my ear with my hind paw, acting completely innocent.

Well, whose fault was it for talking behind my sister’s back?

She might be a villainess, but she wasn’t someone insignificant extras could openly insult.

“You wretched cat!”

Fuming, Everton raised her foot to kick me.

I blew a small puff of breath at her.

A tiny flame flickered to life on the torn edge of her dress.

“Eek!”

Startled by the sudden fire, Everton hurriedly withdrew her foot and panicked.

The flames should have gone out almost immediately.

Instead, they spread diagonally across the fabric, burning away nearly half the skirt before finally dying out.

Her petticoat was now completely exposed.

Everton’s face turned crimson with humiliation.

“Oh dear. My mistake. As you know, I only recently Awakened, so I still can’t control my magic very well.”

My sister said the blatant lie with a perfectly innocent expression.

Even though she was the one who had secretly amplified the little flame I breathed and burned the dress.

Her fire magic was both razor-sharp and incredibly precise.

She could burn exactly what she wanted.

Unlike me.

I was still clumsy.

My flames were tiny, and more often than not I burned everything instead of only my target.

“Sigh…”

Looking at the soot staining the petticoat, I couldn’t help sighing.

It was proof that my skills were still lacking.

I still had a long way to go before I could catch up to my sister.

As expected of her.

She had only Awakened recently, yet she could already wield magic at this level.

She truly was the eldest daughter of House Montclair, the family of Archmages.

As the commotion grew louder, a familiar man emerged from the crowd gathering around us.

“What is the meaning of this disturbance?”

“Your Highness, the Second Prince.”

The Second Prince brushed back his neatly styled blond hair and stopped in front of me.

What took you so long, Butler Number One?

Dissatisfied, I smacked his polished shoes several times with my front paws.

“Why is Lizette so angry again? Hmm? Would Lady Montclair care to explain?”

“It seems Your Highness’s radiant countenance is simply too dazzling today.”

The woman I loved most, Eloise Montclair, calmly wrapped ‘She probably just doesn’t want to look at your face’ in flowery, elegant language.

Exactly.

It’s all your fault!

I glared at the culprit who had sent me to my sister.

“Meow.”

How had I ended up reincarnated as a cat inside a novel, only to be exploited by the second male lead?

All I’d wished for was a simple thing—

To be reborn as the pampered pet of a rich family in my next life.

If I’d known things would become this complicated, I never would have made that wish.

Even now, I remembered the final moments of my life as a human.

“Hey, newbie! Winter hiking is pretty romantic, isn’t it?”

“Hahaha! I guess it is!”

Romantic my foot.

I felt like I was freezing to death.

My part-time job grind was finally over, and before returning to university, I’d decided to pick up a hobby to refresh myself.

The hiking club I’d joined that very day insisted on climbing the mountain despite the heavy snowfall.

Since I couldn’t afford proper equipment, my feet kept slipping.

Why did hiking gear have to be so expensive?

I must’ve been crazy.

I should’ve stayed home reading web novels all day instead.

“Ah… Aaaah…!”

I sighed and accidentally stepped on the wrong rock.

The next instant, my body plunged over the cliff.

An eerie sensation of weightlessness overtook me.

My entire twenty-three years of life flashed before my eyes.

I’d struggled alone after being abandoned by my family…

Yet looking back, there wasn’t really much to show for it.

And standing at death’s door, the only thing that came to mind was a short video I’d recently watched about the daily life of an incredibly spoiled rich family’s puppy.

If there’s a next life…

I want to be the pet of a wealthy family.

With that final thought…

Everything went black.

How much time had passed?

I barely managed to open my eyes when I heard footsteps crunching through the snow.

Snowflakes drifted endlessly from the sky.

Turning my head, I saw something unfamiliar.

A… wolf?

The instant my eyes met those of the enormous wolf standing right in front of me, I thought I was dreaming.

A wild wolf?

In the mountains of Gyeonggi Province?

No matter how many times I blinked, it remained a wolf.

Its silver-and-brown fur blended together beautifully.

Even in this situation, my first thought was how gorgeous it looked.

“Grrr…”

Oh God.

Someone save me.

Fear closed my throat so tightly that I couldn’t scream.

The wolf slowly approached, grabbed me gently by the back of the neck, and dragged me away.

Am I really about to become wolf food?

Well…

My twenty-three years were fun while they lasted.

Honestly, it would’ve been kinder if it’d eaten me while I was still unconscious.

…Wait.

Why aren’t my feet touching the ground?

I was dangling helplessly from the wolf’s jaws.

If there were wolves capable of carrying a full-grown woman around like this, they’d already be making headlines.

Just as countless thoughts raced through my mind, the wolf tossed me at someone’s feet.

Ow…

Though I landed lightly in the snow, every inch of my body screamed in pain.

“Etienne. I told you not to bring back strange things… A cat?”

The man picked me up.

A cat? Me? What are you talking about?

I stared into his deep blue eyes.

Then the pain surging through my entire body overwhelmed me, and I fainted once more.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself inside an enormous, luxurious room.

An ornate ceiling mural.

Elegant Western-style furniture that looked centuries old.

Everything seemed gigantic.

Had I somehow shrunk?

Come to think of it…

A… cat?

Remembering the ridiculous word I’d heard before losing consciousness, I slowly lifted one paw.

Pink paw pads surrounded by fluffy white fur.

When I clenched it, it formed the cutest little fuzzy fist.

While I desperately tried to understand the situation, a pair of polished leather shoes stopped in front of me.

“Looks like you’re awake.”

A pleasantly deep voice reached my ears.

Looking up, I saw the same man I’d met before blacking out.

Neatly combed blond hair.

Deep sapphire-blue eyes.

Tall.

Well-built, like someone who trained regularly.

He looked to be in his late teens.

The very image of a romance fantasy novel’s handsome male lead.

Tilting his head, he looked down at me.

“Eti, are you sure this one isn’t a beastfolk?”

“…No.”

Answering his question, a young boy walked over.

Even his clothes and shoes were black, making his pale skin and golden eyes stand out all the more.

Though he looked only about thirteen, the aura he gave off was unexpectedly dark.

His unusual silver-and-brown hair reminded me of…

The wolf from earlier.

“And I told you not to call me that, Marcel.”

“But it’s cute. Eti.”

“Do you even know how old I am now?”

“You’re thirteen this year. Even if you become the leader of the wolf beastfolk, you’ll still be Eti to me.”

The man laughed cheerfully.

The boy let out a long sigh.

Marcel.

Eti.

Beastfolk.

The moment those familiar names came together, every hair on my body stood on end.

No way…

It can’t be…

I’d woken up inside a romance fantasy novel.

Not as a supporting character.

Not as an extra.

But as…

A cat.

Whether I was confused or panicking, the two of them continued bickering as though it were nothing.

“If you want me to call you ‘His Highness Marcel de Valois’ every single time, then keep talking like that.”

“You’re so cold. Fine, Etienne.”

Good grief.

The moment I heard their full names, I could no longer deny reality.

I had reincarnated as the cat from my favorite web novel.