Chapter 11
“N-Nuna, the c-cat…”
Looking closely at my younger brother’s arms, I saw a trembling bundle of black fur.
It was limp, unable even to open its eyes—it looked like its condition was serious.
“It doesn’t look well.”
“I think it hurt its leg. What should we do? If we leave it like this, it might die.”
…Excuse me, future mastermind villain, why are you worried about something like this?
Jeremiah fidgeted anxiously, examining the cat’s condition as if terrified it might die. It was both pitiful and absurd to see him so restless over an injured stray.
That a gentle, soft-hearted boy who couldn’t even bear to see a limping cat would grow up to break the female lead’s leg and imprison her—it was unthinkable without at least three full stages of villainous transformation.
Of course, in this lifetime, as long as I was around, I wasn’t going to let even the “dark” of “Dark Flame Dragon” see the light of day.
“Mikhail, could you check on the cat’s condition?”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
As always, Mikhail’s answer was calm, but there was a trace of displeasure in his voice.
When he took the cat into his arms, his normally impassive mouth twitched slightly. A faint crack appeared between his marble-like brows.
…That’s strange. He’s showing emotion?
Sensing something odd, I patted Jeremiah’s back and stole a glance at Mikhail.
His cold eyes slid past the cat and fell to the ground. He was scanning a gap between tree roots that jutted out from the dirt.
Glint—
Our gazes locked on the same spot at the same time.
Something shining caught the moonlight, its gleam unmistakably metallic.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out what it was.
“What’s that?”
It was a round object on a chain—was it a necklace? Or maybe a pocket watch? No, it was too small for a watch…
Ah, a pendant necklace.
Wait.
The boy in my dream had worn a pendant necklace too. The situation looked oddly similar.
…No, no way. Surely not.
That was a boy in my dream, and this was just a cat in front of me.
There’s no way that boy could have turned into a cat, like the original male lead, Richard, had.
“…?”
The chain of thoughts formed so quickly that my lips parted slightly. It was a leap—wild and unrealistic—but in this world, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
My animal-like intuition stirred, and my sharper-than-average instincts poked their heads out in agreement.
“…Damn.”
I had a bad feeling about this.
In my past life, I’d had such good instincts that the scary uncles who helped me capture my brother once even offered to go into business with me.
Now, those instincts and intuition were lending weight to my ridiculous deduction.
I decided to empty my head for now and simply point toward the glinting object.
First, I needed to confirm whether it was indeed a pendant necklace.
“Mikhail, that thing over there—does it look like a pend—”
“Young Lady, Young Master, the cat’s condition is better than it looks. Its life isn’t in danger, so you needn’t worry.”
Mikhail deliberately cut me off, changing the subject. Holding the cat securely in his left arm, he leaned closer and whispered,
“I’ll bring it to you later.”
A strange look passed between us. His demeanor was clearly different from usual—his crimson pupils wavered ever so slightly, swelling my suspicions.
“…No. I’ll check it myself.”
“Young Lady—”
Before he could stop me, I darted toward the source of the glint.
In the damp soil tangled with wild grass and tree roots lay a golden pendant necklace, shimmering in the white moonlight.
Its shape resembled the one the boy in my dream had worn.
Just then, a passage from the original novel came to mind—the scene where the heroine Sansa found Richard.
Around the neck of the dying black cat hung a golden pendant. Sansa opened the pendant and, upon seeing the picture inside, gasped and stumbled back two steps. Inside was drawn Reuman, the symbol of the imperial family.
Recalling that, I picked up the golden pendant. With trembling hands, I opened it to check the image inside.
It depicted a great feline beast, jaws open in a fierce roar.
I stared blankly at the image before letting out a helpless sigh.
“…Damn it.”
No matter how I looked at it, it was Reuman. That pair of tusks couldn’t be mistaken.
Reuman, a mystical creature resembling a black panther, was distinguished by long fangs protruding outward. Its relationship to panthers was much like that of unicorns to horses.
Not just any animal—but Reuman—engraved on a pendant. And it was found with this cat.
I bit my dry lips and shook my head. I wanted to ignore the feeling in my gut, but there was no denying it now.
No. No way.
Yes, in the original story, the male lead was found in cat form by the heroine—but that was supposed to happen nine years later.
Wait a second… How old would he be now? In the original timeline, he was twenty-three, so right now he’d be fourteen.
The boy in my dream looked about that age. His face had still been youthful.
And both the boy and the male lead had black hair. Their eyes were the same brilliant gold.
A strange dream. A boy resembling the male lead. A black cat. A pendant with the imperial symbol of Reuman.
“…Ahh.”
Every piece of the puzzle fell perfectly into place. The suffocating realization squeezed my chest.
Great. Just great. What a twisted fate.
The male lead who was supposed to be found at the heroine’s house nine years from now had turned up today—in the villain’s house.
In the villain’s hands, no less.
A wave of dread churned in my stomach. In any story, the appearance of a transmigrator or regressor always meant the plot would go off track—but this was beyond off track.
I squeezed my eyes shut and decided to shelve the unanswered questions for now.
What mattered at this moment was taking the male lead home and treating him.
Even if he was destined to annihilate the Ballienor family in the original story, I couldn’t just leave an injured child.
Besides, saving him now would surely benefit Ballienor later.
If we treated him well and released him, Ballienor would be his savior. Surely he wouldn’t repay a lifesaving debt with extermination… right?
Finishing my calculations, I shoved the pendant deep into my inner pocket so no one could see it, then looked around for my siblings.
Jeremiah was still fussing over the cat, but Davina… Wait, where did she go?
“Davina! Where are you?”
“Sis, I’m here!”
Her voice came from well above my head. My little sister descended straight down, hair streaming like a waterfall.
She’d done the same from the terrace before. I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
“Why were you up there? That’s dangerous. You’re not hurt?”
“I was keeping watch! I don’t get hurt from things like this. Do you, Sis?”
“…Of course I do. Anyway, gather up. Family meeting. Without Father.”
“So we’re keeping it a secret from Father?”
“Yep. As long as Mikhail keeps quiet, we probably won’t get caught. But will he?”
I gave Mikhail a pointed, half-lidded look. From his sudden appearance in the middle of the night to keeping me from seeing the pendant—he was acting suspicious tonight.
Mikhail quickly stepped up beside me and bowed his head in apology.
“Young Lady, I’m sorry. I’ll keep the secret—to regain your trust if nothing else.”
“Hmm. I don’t know if I can trust you. You’re the Duke’s secretary, after all.”
“My master is Ballienor. There may be only one Duke, but there are three Ballienors here.”
“What kind of logic is that? You can’t just apply simple arithmetic to this.”
“Three is still greater than one.”
His absurd reasoning made me chuckle despite myself.
“Fine. I’ll trust you just this once.”
“Thank you, Young Lady.”
I sat with my siblings on the grass. Our white nightclothes were filthy with dirt, but none of us cared.
“Alright. This is our first secret family meeting. Everyone can voice their opinions freely, but the eldest will make the final decision.”
That’s what I’d learned in the Land of Confucianism—direct democracy was never meant for the family home.
“Yes, Nuna.”
“Okay, you do whatever you want, Sis.”
Thankfully, my authoritarian announcement didn’t meet with any resistance. Clever kids—they’d never had a choice anyway.
Rewarding their good sense, I softened my tone.
“Jeremiah, do you like cats?”
“…What?”
“Be honest. Do you want to keep one?”
His emerald eyes widened as if they’d pop out. He inhaled deeply before letting out a resigned sigh.
“I-I do, but… we can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Ballienor direct heirs can only keep snakes.”
I stared at Mikhail like, What kind of nonsense is that? He rattled off an explanation like an encyclopedia.
“The Ballienor’s divine beast, Morgause, was said to take the form of a giant serpent. For a direct heir to keep any other animal is considered beneath their dignity.”
“What kind of dignity?”
“One that matches the serpent’s general image.”
“You mean… cruel, sinister, and treacherous?”
“Correct.”
I closed my eyes, my jaw aching as I swallowed back the retort.
A family with middle-school-syndrome villain cosplay in their blood. I should’ve known from the ‘Stairway to the Abyss.’
“We’ll just keep it secretly for now. Once we get permission later, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry—your sister will handle it.”
“R-really?”
His face lit up instantly. I pinched his soft cheeks, then turned to my little sister.
“Davina, what about you? Do you like cats?”
“No, not really. I like snakes.”
…
You’re truly a perfect Ballienor, from looks to tastes.
“Why don’t you like cats?”
“They’re fluffy and warm.”
“Uh, that’s the good part?”
“Who asked you, big brother?”
At her jab, Jeremiah clamped his mouth shut. Normally, he’d fire back, but this time he didn’t even want to engage.
If I were honest, I preferred snakes too—they just needed their shed skin cleaned now and then, whereas cats only produced fur—but to win Davina over, I had to lie.
“What a shame. Jeremiah and I like cats.”
“…Really?”
Like any nine-year-old afraid of being left out, she asked in a serious tone,
“Then can I start liking cats too?”
“Do you like the cat, or do you like me?”
“Huh? Of course I like you more.”
“Then I’ll like cats too.”
“Mm, good idea.”
The conversation had taken a strange turn, but the result was fine.
I patted her head affectionately, then clapped my hands—signaling the end of the meeting.
“Alright. From today, we’ll keep the cat secretly in my room. Until we get Father’s permission, it stays a secret. Got it?”
The siblings nodded eagerly, eyes shining.
Just as we were about to head home, Jeremiah raised his hand urgently.
“N-Nuna!”
