Chapter 3
The Villainous Family’s Munchkin
I couldn’t tell if I’d imagined it, but the head maid, not content with anything less, covered her face and knelt in front of the bed.
Judging by the thud, it was more accurate to say she had nearly collapsed.
Before I could even twitch my ears in surprise, the butler added:
“May I… touch that tail just once?”
“It would be an honor to hold the cat!”
Even the head chef reached out toward me, eyes gleaming, but the Duke of Kavelug waved them off firmly.
“No.”
…Why is everyone so… friendly?
Isn’t this supposed to be the cold, cruel Kavelug Duke household?
I didn’t even have time to be startled by the unexpected reaction.
They all slumped dramatically, showing obvious disappointment.
Their eyes dripped with longing as they fixed their gaze on me and asked the Duke:
“Duke, what will you name the cat?”
“Marie.”
What?
The answer made me jerk my head up.
The name I had hoped someone would call me by someday, if I ever found someone who loved me—Marie—had left the Duke’s mouth without the slightest hesitation.
I craned my neck out of my curled-up form and saw him brush his chin, a look of sudden regret on his face. He seemed to be in deep thought all of a sudden.
“…In the Empire, cats are called ‘Mariposa,’ which means butterfly. Mariposa is too long; ‘Marie’ should be fine.”
Though something felt odd, it was decided: I would indeed be called Marie.
‘…Marie, of all names. That feels strangely… peculiar.’
No one in my family had ever called me by that name.
A bitter smile threatened to escape, but fortunately, being a cat, I could hide it.
Then a thought struck me suddenly:
‘Why would they give a name and even a room to a stray cat they found on the street?’
I barely had time to ponder before the Duke had somehow arrived and gently lifted me up.
I stared at him wide-eyed.
When… did you… arrive?
My body stiffened unexpectedly, my paws hovering midair.
“Soft.”
His voice murmured low, and his hand, stroking down my back, trembled slightly.
…By now, I realized this wasn’t a joke.
For some reason, the entire cold, cruel Kavelug household was showing me kindness.
Even though I seemed like a completely useless cat.
Could it be that they truly intended to raise me as a pet?
Perhaps they had another motive, and I knew I couldn’t lower my guard—but my tail wagged unconsciously.
In the Fontine household, I had always been dismissed as useless, so this kind of attention was embarrassingly welcome.
Truly… absurdly welcome.
But there was a problem. A very big problem.
Receiving a huge, luxurious room? That was wonderful.
“Marie, dinner is ready.”
The maid presented a plate of milk and bite-sized steak on the table.
Sure, I understood—they thought I was a cat, and the food was appropriate for that.
It was human-edible, so I accepted it.
“…We’ve prepared the finest restroom for you, Marie.”
“….”
The maids proudly showed me a large litter box filled with sand.
Judging by the gleam of anticipation in their eyes, it felt like they’d laid out a luxurious carpet just for me.
‘Wow… what do I do?’
I thumped my tail on the floor, unsure how to act between the two maids standing at my sides.
Actually, I had wanted to use the bathroom since waking up but had been holding it in.
‘Even so… I can’t just abandon human dignity…’
I rolled my eyes and buried myself in the blanket.
I had often seen stray cats peek into rooms when noble guests visited, and timid cats tended to hide like this. I wasn’t sure if the household noticed my behavior.
“You still seem shy.”
Luckily, I could hear the maids whispering.
“Look at that fluffy tail.”
…Seems like I hadn’t tucked my tail fully into the blanket.
With my sensitive hearing, I could hear everything.
I pretended to remain extremely shy in the corner of the bed until everyone left.
It wasn’t until nightfall, when the house was empty, that I transformed back into a human and hurriedly devoured my meal.
Then I used the human-sized bathroom in my prepared room.
Thank goodness. Without this bathroom… it would have been horrible.
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“…Phew.”
Perhaps because I was alone, I unconsciously performed a cat-style wash.
Water ran across my face haphazardly.
After returning to my human form in just one day, the reflection in the mirror felt unfamiliar.
Shoulder-length silver hair, flowing into black waves down to my chest.
“That’s the hair you dare to use the Fontine name with? How audacious.”
“Where on earth did such a creature come from?”
The Fontine family constantly mocked my hair color. All others, except me, had bright orange hair like tigers.
I rubbed my tear-filled blue eyes with the back of my hand.
“Yes… it must feel strange. When was the last time I looked in a mirror?”
I couldn’t even remember.
The note Becky had given me before I fainted at the portal was in a pocket in my dress—but now, where had it gone?
Probably buried in the snow along with the dress.
“Becky… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Not yet. I couldn’t cry yet.
For now, I would get close to the Kavelug household people and wait for a chance to escape.
I couldn’t keep pretending to be a cat forever.
If they discovered I was human, they might mistake me for an intruder and chop off my head.
Once I found the portal, I could escape to the south.
But…
I peeked outside the bathroom.
The cat litter the maids proudly presented loomed large in my vision.
“If there’s nothing in the sand, I’d worry. What should I do?”
Surely, the maids would check it in the morning.
I glanced at the water hose.
“…This can’t be helped. Really.”
The next morning…
“Oh my, Marie dug up three potatoes!”
The maid responsible for my litter box lifted the sand and laughed brightly at the water-shaped lumps.
But did she really need to announce it so loudly?
“You’ve already adapted well!”
“You’re so healthy!”
Why were the other servants also shouting so proudly?
Even the Duke had followed them in, watching.
Why the Duke flinched at my fake “potatoes” was beyond me. Wasn’t he busy?
The important part was that the servants proudly celebrated my fake potatoes—and the Duke was surprised.
Soon after, the butler arrived with a thick stack of documents, which made me uneasy.
“Please attach this wooden pillar by the window. It is by the Duke’s direct order.”
It seemed that almost the entire household was involved in moving things into my room.
‘Were they really able to bring all this in a single day…?’
More than that, why did everything arrive as if pre-prepared?
A wooden pillar, steps connecting the bed and dressing table…
Why does a cat even need a dressing table? Anyway, new furniture kept arriving in the room.
Even the previously gray walls, lifeless and bleak, were now being covered in pink.
Pink furniture of modest size appeared here and there.
Judging by the hallways I’d seen so far, the Kavelug mansion was completely gray. The Kavelug family seemed to favor gray as a primary color.
‘Can I really discard the cold northern Duke image like this?’
Well, even the servants and the Duke himself were nothing like what the books described…
Watching the people bustling about, lying on the bed, I felt my rear sink comfortably.
The head maid had laid a cushion filled with soft cotton under me and smiled brightly.
While I was distracted, other maids even attached frilly decorations to the bed frame!
They truly were meticulous people.
