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Chapter 4
The atmosphere was so suffocating that I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Before I realized it, a meow escaped my mouth.
“Could it be… the gift you mentioned in your letter…?”
“Oh dear. My impatient little one ruined the surprise.”
Only then did Marcel hand the wooden crate containing me to the villainess.
At that moment, I thought my happy life as a pampered cat had come to an end.
That was…
Until I met the clear, teal eyes peering at me through the holes in the crate.
Those eyes were far too pure and elegant to belong to the novel’s villainess.
“A cat with odd-colored eyes.”
“Pretty, isn’t she? One eye looks like yours, Lady Montclair, and the other looks like mine.”
“Your Highness.”
Just as she said, I had heterochromia.
One eye was green.
The other was blue.
The villainess examined me inside the crate.
I examined her in return.
Long black hair with a bluish sheen like the sky before dawn.
Slightly upturned eyes.
Her sharp, beautiful features left no doubt.
This was Eloise Montclair.
“Etienne found her after she fell from a cliff in the Northern Mountains. It looked like her parents had abandoned her.”
“But… why bring her to me?”
“Well, Etienne rescued her, but when it came time to raise her, he admitted he hated cats.”
Liar.
You decided to send me to the villainess the moment you first saw me.
Now I understood where Etienne got his inability to be honest.
“Meow. Mrrrow.”
I grumbled under my breath.
For just a moment, the corners of Eloise’s lips lifted ever so slightly before settling again.
Seeing that expression reminded me of Marcel’s words.
“She had such a beautiful smile.”
“That hardly explains why Your Highness would choose to give me such a gift.”
“I’d rather avoid becoming the subject of gossip.”
She spoke softly and evenly.
Her calm, emotionless tone somehow made her sound even colder.
Imagining her speaking to the heroine like this while bullying her sent a chill down my spine.
“I see.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to send her back north.”
“I can’t raise her myself.”
“If you’ve brought a living creature here, then you should take responsibility for it.”
“I didn’t realize Your Highness was so irresponsible.”
“Well…”
“If I bring her back to the Imperial Palace…”
“My brother might give her to that woman.”
“My brother wants everything that belongs to you to belong to his lover.”
“And if he asks me for something…”
“I have no choice but to hand it over.”
Marcel spoke casually, almost teasingly.
“That woman?”
Did he mean the heroine?
In the original novel, Marcel had always been endlessly gentle and warm toward her.
Hearing him refer to her like that felt strangely unfamiliar.
It couldn’t possibly be anyone else.
“The rumors about that woman have spread through noble society already.”
She won’t even say the heroine’s name?
Wouldn’t the kind-hearted heroine make a much better owner than this villainess?
“I don’t want this little one living cautiously in the Crown Prince’s Palace.”
“Meow.”
“See? She agrees with me.”
No, I don’t!
Stop interpreting everything however it suits you!
If anything, send me to the heroine!
I thrust one paw through the crate and waved it angrily.
Instead…
My paw brushed against Eloise’s hand.
“Mrow!”
I jumped.
Her hand was freezing cold.
What…?
Why is it so cold?
Realizing why I’d reacted, Eloise quietly withdrew her hand from the crate.
“I don’t want her going to that woman.”
“But I also don’t want to receive a meaningless gift from Your Highness.”
“Then think of it as an apology on my brother’s behalf.”
“The person who owes the apology should apologize himself.”
“If he believes he has done nothing wrong…”
“Why should Your Highness apologize instead?”
Her rejection was absolute.
Marcel had no answer.
An apology…
He must be referring to what happened with the heroine.
Judging by this conversation…
This had to be near the beginning of the original story.
The novel began when the commoner heroine awakened her mana and happened to meet the Crown Prince while he was traveling incognito.
The two resonated with each other’s mana.
The Crown Prince—Marcel’s half-brother and the novel’s male lead—had originally become engaged to Lady Montclair because he couldn’t achieve Mana Resonance with Etienne.
But after Eloise failed to awaken her magic…
He brought the heroine into the palace under the pretense that she was merely his lover.
And because of that…
I was about to be raised by the villainess.
“You used to say you wanted to raise a cat.”
“Elli…”
“Won’t you at least accept this final gift from an old friend?”
Marcel lowered his head, looking utterly dejected.
Even I almost felt sorry for him.
Eloise let out a long sigh.
Finally…
She gave a reluctant nod.
“…Very well.”
“But only temporarily.”
“Find her another owner.”
“Anyone except that woman.”
“I’ll do my best.”
The moment she agreed, Marcel’s smile immediately returned.
Both Eloise and I had fallen for it.
That was just the kind of person Marcel was.
He looked gentle and soft-hearted…
But whenever he truly wanted something, he always found a way to get it.
“We haven’t even given her a name yet.”
“Would you like to?”
“She’s a girl, by the way.”
“No.”
She rejected the idea without hesitation.
Marcel visibly deflated.
Meanwhile…
I sank into despair all over again.
You’re sending me to someone who won’t even name me?
“Meow… meow…”
“Poor little thing.”
“Being abandoned by your parents wasn’t enough.”
“Now you’ll have to live without a name.”
“Didn’t you call her something at the palace?”
“I called her ‘little one.'”
“The others just called her ‘Lady Cat.'”
Honestly…
I’d have been perfectly happy remaining “Little One.”
Or even “Lady Cat.”
I just wanted to go back to the Prince’s Palace.
Eloise frowned.
After a long pause, she quietly spoke.
“…Lizette.”
“I think Lizette would suit her.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“Lizette.”
“Take care.”
“I’ll come visit you from time to time.”
No!
Marcel!
My butler!
Don’t leave me behind!
I promise I won’t scratch expensive wooden furniture anymore!
I won’t flip over my food bowl just because the steak isn’t premium-grade beef!
“Meow! Meeeow!”
“It seems Lady Montclair is telling me it’s time to leave.”
“Goodbye, Lizette.”
“Your Highness.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I was leaving anyway.”
Just like that…
Marcel handed me over to the villainess and walked away.
Heartless traitor.
“You really are…”
“…such a pitiful little thing.”
Still looking down at me inside the crate, Eloise murmured quietly.
Click.
The lock on the wooden crate opened.
The lid slowly lifted.
Even so…
I stayed curled into a tight ball, staring up at her.
I had no idea what kind of horrible things the villainess might do to me.
My body trembled uncontrollably.
“M-Meow?”
Yet…
Despite my fear…
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“A beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.”
That was how the novel had described Eloise’s appearance.
Her sharp jawline.
Her striking features.
The furrow between her brows.
Her tightly pressed lips.
Her slender arms and legs.
Rather than looking gentle…
She was the very image of a cold, captivating beauty.
Just as I studied her…
She silently studied me.
“…You’re tiny.”
Her gaze somehow seemed to grow colder.
My tail puffed up instinctively.
For a split second…
The corner of Eloise’s mouth twitched.
Then she raised the hand holding the crate and called to a maid.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Entertaining a guest after so long has left me tired.”
“I think I’ll go upstairs and rest.”
“Shall I prepare one of your scented candles?”
“Yes…”
“…Ah.”
“Would that be bad for the cat?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
“I’ll ask Dr. Etmon.”
“Good.”
“If it isn’t safe…”
“Then bring me a cup of chamomile tea instead of lighting the candle.”
“Of course, my lady.”
…What?
Is she… considering my health?
Wasn’t she supposed to be a selfish, self-centered villainess?
I had never imagined she’d worry about something as insignificant as a cat.
Even the maid accepted Eloise’s concern as though it were completely natural.
“Come along.”
“Lizette.”
“Meow?”
Lizette.
It still sounded unfamiliar.
But it would soon become the name I’d hear every day.
For some reason…
When Eloise spoke it…
It sounded unexpectedly gentle.
Cradling the wooden crate herself, she carried me upstairs.
Even with the lid standing open…
I remained quietly inside.
Watching me, Eloise spoke with mild surprise.
“Most animals can’t wait to run away from me.”
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Meow.”
Terrified.
But if I tried running now, she’d simply catch me again.
There was no point.
I planned to escape…
Tonight.
Anything had to be better than living with the villainess.
I’d rather become a stray cat.
“Mrow.”
While pretending to look around innocently, I carefully searched the mansion for possible escape routes.
The estate was every bit as enormous as the Prince’s Palace.
It was so lavish it bordered on excessive.
As expected…
It was the home of the Great Archmage House.
After all, the only reason Eloise had managed to remain the Crown Prince’s fiancée for so long…
Was because she was a Montclair.
