Chapter 60
Eloise stopped walking and took the silver fur scarf from around her own neck, then wrapped it gently around mine.
Adding silver fur on top of white fur must have made me look ridiculous.
“The central garden won’t be cold.”
“Is it warm all year round like the Mana Lake?”
“Something like that.”
When we arrived a little later, the central garden truly wasn’t cold.
Compared to Mana Lake, it felt slightly cool — not exactly warm, but comfortably pleasant.
Like the conservatory of a botanical garden, where the humidity and temperature are always perfectly balanced.
The scenery before my eyes matched that comparison, except it was far grander.
“What… did someone just dig up an entire forest and plant it here?”
Ahead of us, a waterfall cascaded down, forming a river that flowed toward the Mana Lake. Blue wildflowers bloomed along its banks, and dense forests stretched out on either side.
“That’s right. The 15th Emperor connected this space together for the Empress he loved.”
…Excuse me? He connected spaces? That was a word I could never understand with Earthly logic.
“Simply put, he carved out a piece of land elsewhere and implanted it in the Imperial Palace.”
“Is that even possible?”
“He was the greatest archmage in history. And the one who inherited his power most closely was his second daughter — the first Duchess of Monclaire.”
So the Monclaire family was even more extraordinary than I’d thought.
I couldn’t understand why such a powerful family had fallen so easily in the original story.
Maybe this was the key to rehabilitating the so-called ‘villainess family.’
“This place is said to overflow with pure mana. The frail 15th Empress stayed here to regain her health — it became a legend. Though, over time, much of the mana has faded.”
Listening to such a romantic legend while walking through the garden made my heart feel soft.
“Hey, Elli. Earlier, you said that once I become a full-fledged beastkin, you’d add me to the Monclaire family registry.”
“Yes. If you want, I could even find you a better house.”
Was there even a family better than Monclaire in the Kalenia Empire?
I had a reasonable suspicion that Eloise said that knowing full well there wasn’t.
“I like the Monclaire family. Then… does that mean we’ll be family?”
“We already are family, Rizet. It’s just that, then, it’ll be official on paper.”
“So you’ll be my big sister, Elli.”
I couldn’t hold back a giggle, and Eloise’s turquoise eyes blinked slowly.
“Yes. I’ll be your big sister, Rizet.”
I was overjoyed — a kind, beautiful, wealthy, and wonderful big sister of my own!
As I smiled at her warmly, a rustling sound came from behind us.
Wait… the central garden? Isn’t that where the villainess episode takes place?!
Why did I only remember that now?! Don’t tell me…
“Ah, Lady Eloise.”
Of course. Through the green foliage, a head of pink hair stood out.
It seemed she, too, had been strolling through the garden. Looking around, I didn’t see the crown prince. Which meant this was exactly that scene…!
“Lady Ronsbrough. You seem to be wandering around the Imperial Palace as if it’s your own home now.”
“That’s not it…”
“I thought you were a bird trapped in a cage, but perhaps that’s not true after all.”
“I’m sorry.”
Before I could stop her, Eloise’s sharp words lashed out at Marianne.
Even the air around her felt colder. Of course, she couldn’t possibly be happy — Marianne was her fiancé’s mistress, after all.
But if this continued, things would play out just like the original novel!
“Elli—”
“Would an apology mean anything coming from a bird with broken wings? Miss Ronsbrough, you should try learning to think for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to fly again.”
The words were the same as in the novel — yet the feeling was different.
“Would an apology mean anything coming from a bird with broken wings?”
Marianne couldn’t say anything even after hearing such humiliating words.
Even if the Crown Prince had forced her to become his fake lover, she had still stolen someone’s fiancé.“Miss Ronsbrough, you should try learning to think for yourself.”
Yet speaking as though she had no mind of her own — that crossed a line.
Marianne had agonized countless times before choosing the contract.The voice that pierced her heart was colder than the blizzards of the northern mountains.
“Otherwise, you’ll never be able to fly again.”
To her, those words sounded like a threat — as if the noble lady of the Archmage’s family was warning she’d destroy her if they met again.
The noble duchess trampled a flower just about to bloom.
In the novel, the arrogant duchess coldly rebuked Marianne the first time she left the Crown Prince’s palace.
But from what I knew of Eloise, it sounded like she was actually trying to make Marianne come to her senses.
She was warning her not to keep being manipulated by the Crown Prince — but Marianne didn’t understand.
“Your Grace… you don’t love His Highness Arno, do you?”
“What does that matter? You’ll only ever be his mistress in the end.”
If only Eloise had added, ‘so wouldn’t it be better to love someone else?’, things might have gone differently. But she stopped there. That indirect, incomplete speech was typical of high-society women.
Tears welled up in Marianne’s sky-blue eyes and spilled over. I had no choice but to step in.
“Elli, please, talk this out properly—”
“Duchess Monclaire. Are you tormenting Marianne again?”
The Crown Prince appeared, interrupting me — earlier than he did in the original.
In the novel, he appeared only after the villainess said a few more cruel lines while the heroine cried.
It felt as though fate itself was trying to stop me from interfering.
The realization sent chills racing down my spine, and my heart thudded with unease.
“How much chaos must you cause before you’re satisfied?”
“How much chaos must you cause before you’re satisfied?”
“If Your Highness sends Miss Ronsbrough to Dwayne’s territory, I will consider it.”
“If Your Highness sends Miss Ronsbrough to Dwayne’s territory, I will consider it.”
“You cannot be my mana resonance partner, can you, Duchess? Marianne will remain by my side forever. You’d best focus on fulfilling your duty as Crown Princess.”
“You cannot be my mana resonance partner, can you, Duchess? Marianne will remain by my side forever. You’d best focus on fulfilling your duty as Crown Princess.”
Even as the exact same lines from the novel unfolded before my eyes, I couldn’t say a word.
Watching the story progress identically to the original filled me with dread.
Maybe I truly couldn’t change the future. Maybe I was trapped in the story’s inevitable flow.
The Crown Prince took Marianne and left the garden.
As she turned to look back at us, tears continued to stream down her face — she looked utterly heartbroken.
This incident would lead to her imprisonment in the Crown Prince’s palace. It was the start of her downfall.
Despite all my efforts, I feared everything would still unfold exactly as written.
I was no longer afraid of my fate as the villainess — I was afraid of my precious people getting hurt.
Maybe, in this vast world, I was just a small cat — powerless to change the story’s course.
As I stood frozen, trembling, Eloise lifted me into her arms.
“Rizet. Are you tired from walking so much?”
“That’s not it…”
“They really do make quite the pair, don’t they? A hunter who clipped a bird’s wings, and the bird smiling in its cage.”
Eloise’s voice was calm, almost mocking.
Her cool, half-smiling face looked every bit the villainess she was rumored to be.
“Perhaps I should make them pay for staining another person’s only future…”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Her chilling tone made my earlier fear return, and I raised my voice in panic.
I couldn’t let her fall into villainy again.
She gently patted my head and began walking toward the edge of the garden.
“All right. I suppose my sweet Rizet wouldn’t like that.”
Who’s sweet? The same person who dumped tea on the Crown Prince and called him a bastard?!
When I looked up at her pale face, she was smiling softly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they’re happy in their own little world.”
That was a relief — though she still hadn’t spoken the words ‘I’ll annul the engagement.’
Well, she had endured so long as the Crown Princess; it wasn’t something she could easily let go of.
But the fact that Eloise had changed, even a little, meant there was still hope.
No matter what, I would never let things proceed as they did in the original.
