Chapter 03
A Montclair duchess? Even as a devoted reader, I didn’t know there was another duchess besides the villainess.
Eloise Montclair — she was the original story’s villain. There were plenty of labels attached to her, but a few stood out: “the disgrace of the great mage family,” “the villainess who couldn’t even awaken her magic,” and “a woman whose only talent is doing wicked things.”
“Marcel, I don’t think that’s right. You know how out of control the duchess has been lately, right?”
“You know she isn’t that kind of person. It was your brother who started it in the first place.”
Marcel looked down at me like he was about to cry. Why? Why that face?
Villainesses are nasty people who use their status to bully the heroine, right?
“…The old Eloise is gone now. And once she got engaged to the crown prince, your first love was finished too.”
“I know. Still, Eli is so soft-hearted.”
“So what — are you going to send a cat to comfort wounded Eloise?”
“Yeah. That little thing will definitely cheer her up.”
No. Marcel, that’s not right.
The villainess ends up ruining her family and locked away in prison!
To send me to that villainess! The injustice of it all made me feel indignant.
“Meow, meooow!”
While I wailed an angry little cry instead of protesting, the veterinarian happened to come running over.
“Is the cat very sick? I heard the crying from far away!”
“Fayson. She suddenly started bawling earlier and I was worried.”
“May I take a look?”
“Sure.”
From the palace cat to the cat of a family destined for ruin.
If things went badly, I might die before the family did.
A happy cat life of only one month — that’s just cruel.
“Hmm.”
The vet checked me over with various medical tools as usual, then sighed.
“It looks to me like she’s terrified of something.”
“There wasn’t anything to be scared of….”
How could there not be? If I go to that villainess, life will surely be worse than my past life.
I don’t want to go to the villainess. I like it here.
Marcel’s gentle touch slowly calmed me and my eyes drifted closed.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dim sitting room. I crawled out of my little basket and looked around.
I slipped through a slightly open door and into the corridor.
It must’ve been later than I thought — the hallway had only the palace guards on duty.
Normally I would’ve run to Marcel and taken his bed, but I didn’t feel like it.
He’d wanted to send me to the villainess from the start.
“Hmph!”
Feeling betrayed, I turned away from Marcel’s bedroom.
I walked with small, determined steps and scratched at the door that smelled like a familiar dog.
A moment later, the door opened with the soft sound of approaching footsteps.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come into my room? You scratched the door again.”
Etienne grumbled but shifted aside so I could come in.
When I casually settled onto the bed, Etienne gave a wry laugh and closed the door.
“Are you sulking again?”
Whenever I was annoyed with Marcel, I sometimes came to Etienne.
It felt lonely and a little scary being alone in the sitting room.
Maybe because I’d lived in a too-small one-room apartment in my past life.
The room was too large for a tiny cat to be alone in.
“Mya.”
When I responded huffily, Etienne flopped down beside me.
Usually Etienne would act like he didn’t notice and go to sleep as soon as I lay down, but today something seemed different.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Meeong?”
Sometimes Etienne would talk as if he’d noticed I understood him — unlike Marcel, who muttered to himself.
I gazed at his golden eyes glowing in the dark.
“If you really go to the Montclair dukedom, please look after the duchess.”
“Whaowng?”
“Even if I don’t like cats, I saved you — so I hope you’ll help the duchess.”
He tilted his head at the sad expression on Marcel’s face I’d seen earlier and made a puzzled sound instead of crying.
Why are they all so worried about the villainess?
“And if Eloise hasn’t changed, that would be fortunate….”
“Meow?”
“But if she really is bad, run away. Wherever you are, I’ll save you again.”
“Oeong?”
“I wish I could understand cat language.”
Etienne — so prickly and grumpy usually — was unusually kind to me today.
He gently patted my head for the first time.
“Whaong?”
“…You know something, don’t you? You don’t want to go to the duchess, do you?”
I pretended not to understand and rubbed my face all over Etienne’s hand.
I don’t know anything. I’m just a cat.
After a few days of hunger strikes and sleeping in Etienne’s room, Marcel didn’t change his mind.
In the end I was placed inside a luxurious wooden box riddled with holes and loaded onto a carriage.
“Don’t forget my request.”
“Grrr— meow.”
I answered toward Etienne through the gaps in the wooden slats.
Marcel, who was already on the carriage, smiled at me, but it did nothing for me.
“Hmph.”
“Etienne, are you really not coming? Eli will want to see you.”
“If the second prince and the future wolfkin leader ride to the dukedom together, the crown prince will be thrilled.”
“Still.”
“Get going before that guy runs off to the palace.”
Tch. Did he notice? I pulled out my paw through the hole, gnawed at the latch, then awkwardly tucked it back in.
After the carriage doors closed, it rumbled off.
My last life wasn’t smooth, either, but this one is even more strange.
“Little one.”
“Meow.”
“I don’t know what’s scaring you, or what you’re worrying about.”
Marcel slipped his finger between the slats and gently tapped my head.
“Meow!”
Don’t! I’m angry with you right now!
When I bit Marcel’s hand, he looked startled.
“Do you think I’m abandoning you?”
“Mya!”
“I’m not abandoning you. I’m sending you to a better owner. That person will need you.”
Better? Puh. I know what that villainess did!
I buried my head in the corner of the box, and Marcel murmured secretively as if telling me something private.
“Eli, Eloise used to be my playmate. She was kind. She’d cry buckets when a cherished flower wilted — she had such a soft heart. She was smart and always read difficult books. Whenever she came to the prince’s palace, she brought gifts for the maids, so everyone looked forward to Eloise more than me.”
I could feel the longing and affection in Marcel’s words.
It seemed the villainess had been a decent person when she was young.
I could roughly guess why she’d changed.
“She had such a pretty smile…. But I don’t think I’ve seen it since that day.”
That day must’ve been when the villainess failed to awaken her magic.
The Montclair ducal family was a great mage lineage, so the duchess failing to awaken would have been a shock.
After that, the original story said the duchess began to act wickedly.
“Your Highness. We’ve arrived at the Montclair dukedom.”
The rattling stopped and a guard announced we’d reached our destination.
I lifted my head from the corner as Marcel personally lifted the box that held me and stepped off the carriage.
My vision spun.
At first there was a clear blue sky without a cloud; then a central hall with a giant chandelier.
Finally, a ceiling painting even more antique than Marcel’s bedroom came into view.
It glittered with what looked like embedded gems catching the sunlight — the height of luxury.
“Welcome, Second Prince.”
A clear voice echoed through the room.
From inside the box my view was limited and no matter how I craned my neck, I couldn’t see who spoke.
It sounded like the original story’s villainess.
“…It’s been a while, duchess Montclair.”
Marcel had used the nickname “Eli” inside the carriage, but now he spoke formally.
Silence stretched until tea was brought. I felt like I’d suffocate in the box.
The clink of teacups and the fragrant scent of tea blended with fruit spread through the air.
“I was surprised to receive your letter out of the blue.”
“You’ve been busy and distant lately.”
“You had a hard time up north, didn’t you?”
“Only my brother handles imperial affairs.”
They exchanged polite small talk but when the crown prince’s topic came up, another hush fell.
I was suffocating.
“Meow.”
Hmm I’d claw him. BADLY~