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Chapter 6
Eloise Montclair was the picture of a perfect lady. That was the impression I had after spending just one day with her.
Even in the privacy of her own room, not a single part of her demeanor slipped. Every movement was graceful.
The way she walked, the way she ate—even the way she slept—it all looked as though it belonged in a handbook for proper ladies.
“……”
I stared at the sleeping Eloise for a long time.
She was nothing like the villainess I had read about in the novel.
Etienne and Marcel had both spoken as though she were a genuinely good person…
How had someone like this become the villainess?
I found myself growing more and more curious about Eloise.
“…Mm.”
A quiet groan escaped her lips, and her delicate brows knitted together once again.
She must have been sick somewhere. Before going to bed, she had taken quite a large amount of medicine.
Sigh… Who am I to be worrying about someone else?
“Meow.”
I was leaving this place.
There was a reason why so many heroines who reincarnated into romance fantasy novels clung obsessively to the original plot.
Some fates simply couldn’t be escaped.
At least they were the protagonists capable of changing the story.
But I was only a cat.
The only way for me to protect myself was to stay as far away from the original protagonists as possible.
Especially since this household is destined to become the center of all the tragedy and be completely destroyed. Avoiding it is definitely the smartest choice.
The window was shut tight, so climbing out that way was impossible.
I padded silently across the room and noticed the bedroom door was slightly ajar.
Had the maid forgotten to close it completely?
Lucky for me.
The moment I nudged my head through the gap, the door swung open.
“Rizette?”
A sleepy voice called my name.
I turned my head to see Eloise sitting halfway up in bed.
“Where are you going?”
The pale moonlight illuminated her drowsy face, making her look strangely lonely.
“Meeow.”
Today wasn’t bad.
You didn’t light scented candles because you were thinking about me.
You gave me steak.
Strawberries.
Even your cold, careful touch…
“Meow.”
Goodbye.
I slipped out of her bedroom and ran.
The original story still loomed over everything.
There was no telling when Eloise would become the cruel villainess she was destined to be.
Retracing the path I’d taken earlier that day, I hurried through the hallway and struggled down the staircase to the first floor.
Thankfully, no one saw me.
And Eloise wasn’t following me.
Unfortunately, the mansion’s front doors were tightly locked.
How am I supposed to get outside?
More servants wandered around the first floor than the second, so I crept from shadow to shadow while searching for an open window.
Found one!
A window was cracked open just enough for me to squeeze through.
But on the opposite side stood two knights guarding the entrance.
I wasn’t sure what room this was, but expensive-looking porcelain vases lined both sides of the hallway.
“Huh? That cat…”
The moment I stepped out of the shadows, one knight pointed at me.
The other immediately rushed over.
I couldn’t let them catch me!
I leaped to dodge the outstretched hand—
—but landed in the worst possible place.
Crash!
A porcelain vase fell onto the marble floor and shattered into countless pieces.
Sharp fragments scattered everywhere.
Frozen atop the decorative pedestal that had held the vase, I didn’t dare move.
The knights stared at each other, their faces turning pale.
“Wh-What do we do? This is bad.”
“We should… tell the head butler…”
“What’s going on here?”
“Ah, Sir Butler. Well…”
A middle-aged man who appeared to be the butler approached, looking from the shattered vase to me before letting out a heavy sigh.
“That was a vase Her Majesty the Empress personally bestowed upon the family… and this worthless cat…”
“And what should we tell the Duke?”
“The truth, of course. As for the cat… we’ll have to put it down.”
Worthless cat?
And did he just say he’d kill me?
Wasn’t that a little too casual?!
Anger flared inside me, but when I looked at the broken vase the Empress had gifted them, my courage shrank.
I really had caused a disaster.
Then why leave something so valuable out here?
Flattening my ears, I crouched low while nervously watching them.
There went my escape plan.
“Tell them I broke it.”
The clear, beautiful voice made my ears perk upright.
Stepping out of the darkness into the moonlight, Eloise almost didn’t look human.
“Miss, I intend to report the truth to the Duke.”
“Since when did you begin arguing with me?”
“I’m saying this for your own sake.”
“For my sake? You’re going to kill this little one?”
Eloise walked over to me—
—and deliberately knocked over the second vase.
Crash!
The hallway was now littered with shattered porcelain.
The butler grabbed his forehead.
“Now it was clearly me who broke them, wasn’t it?”
“Miss! There were only two vases! If you’ve broken them both, what am I supposed to tell the Duke?”
“Exactly what you saw.”
She smiled faintly.
“The young lady has caused another scene.”
“…Caused another scene?”
“Isn’t reporting my behavior to Father your job?”
The butler finally fell silent.
The knights merely lowered their heads, carefully watching both him and Eloise.
“Come here, Rizette.”
Avoiding the shards, Eloise approached and held out her arms.
You saw me trying to run away from you.
Then why… why are you protecting me?
After hesitating, I jumped down from the pedestal and into her embrace.
Her cold hands wrapped gently around me.
“Meow… meow…”
I cried pitifully.
Eloise carefully stroked my fur as though comforting me.
The sound of more things breaking must have awakened the household, because people soon flooded into the hallway.
“What’s all this commotion?”
A dignified middle-aged man emerged from the crowd, surveying the scene.
He had to be the Duke of Montclair.
Beside him stood a middle-aged woman whose frown looked almost identical to Eloise’s.
Standing next to them was a boy who looked just like the Duke, sighing in annoyance.
“I lost control again.”
Eloise smiled bitterly.
She looked unbearably sad.
“Tsk. I told you to exercise restraint. Do my words mean so little to you?”
“I’d say I’ve been restraining myself quite well.”
“Eloise.”
“If that’s the case, why don’t you simply banish the daughter who couldn’t even awaken her magic?”
“Watch your tongue.”
“Do you realize that making me the Crown Prince’s fiancée has only made me look even more pathetic?”
“I said enough!”
The sudden shout made me tremble.
Eloise gently patted my back.
“That was hardly becoming of a lady.”
The woman who appeared to be the Duchess spoke indifferently.
Not only did she resemble Eloise physically, but even her flat tone was identical.
Only her eyes were different.
They were as cold as frozen ice.
“You’ve already forbidden me from leaving the estate.”
Eloise smiled faintly.
“Are you planning to keep me locked in my room now as well?”
“If you don’t want that, return to your bedroom immediately.”
The hands holding me trembled ever so slightly.
The movement was so subtle that no one else could have noticed.
But I felt it clearly.
Stepping over the shattered porcelain in her slippers, Eloise walked past her family.
Then a quiet voice called out behind her.
“Sister… how much longer will you keep this up?”
The boy’s sarcastic tone was exactly like his father’s.
If anything, it made the so-called villainess seem like the normal one.
Eloise paused for only a moment.
Then she continued toward the second floor.
As though she hadn’t heard him.
Her posture never wavered.
Her steps remained elegant.
The perfect walk of a flawless lady.
Not one person asked whether Eloise was alright.
Watching them…
I suddenly saw my family from my previous life overlapping with theirs.
“She’s my daughter, but what a disappointment.”
“Even if we explained it to her, she’d never understand anyway.”
“How did I end up giving birth to someone like her?”
Gifted parents.
An inadequate eldest child.
A younger sibling who far surpassed the older one.
That had been my family in my previous life.
It was exactly the same as the Montclairs.
I saw my former self—the eldest child looked down upon for not measuring up—overlapping with Eloise.
While I was lost in those memories, we returned to her bedroom.
Eloise gently set me down before collapsing onto the sofa as though all her strength had left her.
“Meow…”
I’m sorry.
It’s all because of me.
If I hadn’t broken that vase…
She never would have been treated like that.
Her sea-green eyes filled with moisture as she looked at me, as though tears could fall at any moment.
“I ended up stopping you from leaving the mansion because of me, didn’t I, Rizette?”
“Meow.”
No.
That’s not it.
I can leave tomorrow.
Or the day after.
But…
Why did you do that?
You could have simply told them the truth—that I broke it.
If you had, your family wouldn’t have treated you like that.
A villainess protecting nothing more than a cat…
It didn’t make any sense.
“If you leave…”
She spoke softly.
“…do you have anywhere to go? The streets are far too dangerous for someone as small as you.”
“Meow.”
“Perhaps they’re better than this suffocating place.”
She smiled bitterly.
“Still… this mansion might be better than the Crown Prince’s palace.”
The heroine was probably still a better person than the villainess.
Even so…
I nodded.
For some reason, it felt like I should.
For someone who was supposed to have abused her family’s influence to terrorize others…
Eloise didn’t seem to have a happy family at all.
