Chapter 04
I couldn’t bear the suffocating air any longer, and before I realized it, I let out a small cry.
“Don’t tell me… the gift mentioned in the letter was…”
“Oh dear, this impatient little one spoiled the surprise.”
Marcel finally handed the box containing me to the villainess.
I thought that was the end of my happy cat life.
At least, until I saw the clear turquoise eyes peeking through the gap.
Those eyes looking at me were far too pure and noble to belong to a so-called villainess.
“A cat with different colored eyes?”
“Pretty, isn’t it? One side looks like the Lady’s eyes, and the other like mine.”
“Your Highness.”
Just as she said, my eyes were heterochromatic—one green, the other blue.
The villainess peered at me inside the box, and I looked back at her.
Hair as black as the deep predawn sky with a faint blue sheen, eyes slightly upturned.
Her sharp, striking features alone made it clear—she was the villainess from the original story.
This was Eloise Monclair.
“Etienne saved it when it fell from a cliff—probably abandoned by its parents in the northern mountains.”
“But why give it to me…”
“He did save it, but Etienne hates cats, so he couldn’t keep it himself.”
Liar. You were planning to dump me on the villainess from the start.
I think I understand now why Etienne can’t ever be honest.
“Meowrrk. Mew.”
When I grumbled in protest, the corners of the villainess’s lips twitched upward—then fell back down.
Seeing that, I faintly recalled Marcel once saying her smile was beautiful.
“That hardly explains why Your Highness would gift it to me. I don’t care to invite gossip.”
Her calm, even tone only made her words sound colder.
Imagining her using that same voice to pick fights with the heroine sent a chill down my spine.
“Really? Then I suppose I’ll have to send it back north. I can’t raise it.”
“If you’ve taken in a life, you must take responsibility for it. I didn’t take Your Highness for someone so careless.”
“If I return to the palace like this, my brother might give it to that woman. He likes giving her what belongs to you, and if he asks, I have to comply.”
Marcel spoke lazily, almost playfully. That woman? Surely he didn’t mean the heroine?
In the novel, Marcel had always been endlessly kind and warm to the heroine—so hearing him refer to her that way was strange. There couldn’t possibly be another woman aside from the heroine.
“I’ve heard plenty about that woman from society.”
So the villainess couldn’t even stand hearing the heroine’s name, then.
Naturally. Compared to such a villainess, a gentle, kind heroine seemed far more preferable.
“I don’t want this cat living its life in the crown prince’s palace, forced to watch its back.”
“Meow.”
“See? Even it agrees with me.”
No, I don’t! Stop twisting my words! Just send me to the heroine instead!
I stuck my paw through the hole, swiping until I touched the villainess’s hand.
“Mrroww!”
Her hand was shockingly cold. Why so cold?
Perhaps realizing the cause of my reaction, she quickly withdrew her hand from the box.
“I don’t want to hand it over to that woman, but I also don’t want a meaningless gift from Your Highness.”
“Then consider it an apology on my brother’s behalf.”
“Apologies should come from the person themselves. Why should Your Highness take responsibility when you’ve done nothing wrong?”
Her sharp refusal left Marcel silent. An apology—for the heroine, no doubt.
Judging by the situation, this must be around the early part of the novel.
The original story began when the commoner heroine awakened to mana, and by chance, met the male lead during one of his secret outings. They resonated through mana synchronization.
Marcel’s half-brother, the male lead and crown prince, had been unable to synchronize with Etienne, so as an alternative, he had gotten engaged to Lady Monclair.
But since the villainess never awakened to magic, the crown prince brought the heroine into the palace as his supposed “lover,” since she could synchronize with him.
Which meant that thanks to all this, I ended up in the hands of the villainess.
“Didn’t you once say you wanted to raise a cat? Eli, can’t you accept it as a final gift from an old friend?”
“Sigh…”
Marcel lowered his head with a sorrowful look. Even I felt sorry for him.
The villainess let out a long sigh, finally nodding in reluctant acceptance.
“Fine. But only for now. Find another owner—anyone but that woman.”
“I’ll try.”
At her agreement, Marcel’s expression brightened instantly.
Both she and I were fooled. That was the kind of man Marcel was.
Gentle and delicate on the outside, but always getting what he wanted in the end.
“I haven’t even named it yet. Will you do the honors, Lady Monclair? It’s a female, by the way.”
“No.”
She rejected him firmly. Marcel looked dejected, while I sank into despair once more.
Sending me to someone who didn’t even want to name me?
“Meow, mew…”
“What a pitiful creature. Abandoned by its parents, and now destined to live without a name as well.”
“Surely there was a name used for it in the palace?”
“I just called it ‘little one,’ and everyone else referred to it as ‘Cat-sama.’”
I’d take “little one” or even “Cat-sama” if it meant going back to the palace.
The villainess frowned deeply, then finally muttered a single word.
“…Lizette. Lizette will do.”
“A lovely name. Lizette, live well. I’ll come visit often.”
No, Marcel! Master! Don’t leave me!
I promise I won’t scratch the expensive wooden furniture anymore!
I won’t flip over the food tray just because it isn’t prime beef steak!
“Meow! Meow!”
“Lady Monclair is glaring at me, so I’ll be on my way. Farewell, Lizette.”
“Your Highness.”
“Don’t bother. I’m going.”
And just like that, Marcel abandoned me to the villainess and disappeared. Heartless human.
“You really are… a poor thing.”
The villainess muttered as she looked down at me still trapped in the box.
Click. The lock on the wooden box came undone.
The lid opened, but I remained curled up, trembling as I looked up at Eloise.
Who knew what harm this villainess might inflict?
“M…mew?”
Despite my fear, I couldn’t look away from her.
A beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. That’s how the novel had described Eloise’s appearance.
Sharp features, strikingly beautiful face, furrowed brow, tightly pressed lips, and slender limbs. Indeed, she was more a cold, sarcastic beauty than a warm one.
Just as I observed her, Eloise observed me.
“…So small.”
Her gaze seemed to grow colder the longer she looked.
My drooping tail puffed up, and Eloise’s lips twitched faintly.
She lifted the hand holding the box and summoned a maid.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Entertaining guests after so long has left me tired. I’ll go rest upstairs.”
“Shall I prepare incense?”
“Yes… ah, but it might not be good for cats, right?”
Eloise tilted her head slightly, looking at me.
“I’ll ask Dr. Etmon.”
“Do. If it’s not good, then bring me chamomile tea instead.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Wait—what? Was she considering my well-being?
Wasn’t she supposed to be the selfish, self-centered villainess?
The thought of her worrying about a mere cat was unthinkable.
Even her maid accepted her concern as if it were perfectly natural.
“Come along, Lizette.”
“Mew?”
Lizette. My new name—strange, but one I’d soon be hearing often.
From her lips, it almost sounded affectionate.
Eloise carried the wooden box herself as she walked upstairs.
Even with the lid open, I stayed put inside quietly. She found that unusual.
“Other animals always avoid me… but you’re not afraid of me?”
“Meow.”
Oh, I am afraid. But running now would only get me caught, and I had no intention of wasting my energy.
Escape would have to wait for the night.
Better to be a stray than live in terror with the villainess.
“Meeoww.”
I looked around, mapping escape routes through the mansion.
It was as grand and luxurious as the imperial palace itself.
Truly, the home of a great mage family.
And the only reason Eloise Monclair still held her position as the crown prince’s fiancée… was because she was a Monclair.
Surprised you didn’t run away~