IBVC 01

Chapter 01

Living as the pet of a wealthy family was easier than I thought.

I purred happily as I received gentle strokes.

I didn’t like the noisy banquet hall or the bright chandelier lights, but since my sister was with me, everything was fine.

Except for those annoying noble ladies, of course.

“Oh my, look at Lady Monclaire! She even brought a cat to the Founding Festival banquet!”

“And to think she barely awakened, how truly inconsiderate.”

“Exactly. Besides, I heard that cat is possessed by a demon!”

Not a demon—just the soul of an ordinary Korean college student. Tch.

I only clicked my tongue lightly, but my sister stood up with me in her arms and walked toward those women.

“Miss Everitten, you must really love that dress. You wore it at the Marchioness of Brie’s tea party too, didn’t you?”

“You…!”

While elegantly stroking my fur, my sister basically said, ‘Are you so poor you can’t afford a different dress?’

The woman called Everitten flushed scarlet and fanned herself furiously.

“I understand that feeling. I love my Lizette so much I take her with me every day.”

I love my sister too. Who would have thought I’d end up adoring the ‘villainess’ of the novel this much?

When I purred in her arms, her pretty turquoise eyes curved softly.

“W-we were only saying how much the young lady cares for her cat. Truly, that’s all.”

Funny how they were whispering insults behind her back just moments ago, yet they couldn’t say a word to her face.

Hmph. They’ll just gossip behind her back again later anyway.

“Meow!”

Leaping out of her arms, I pretended to land poorly and raked my claws across Everitten’s beloved dress.

The cheap fabric tore easily, revealing the yellowed petticoat beneath.

“Kyaa!”

I scratched my ear with my hind paw, feigning innocence.

Serves you right for badmouthing my sister.

Villainess or not, she wasn’t someone extras should dare to insult.

“You wretched cat!”

Everitten, fuming, raised her foot to stomp me.

I blew a puff of breath her way, and a small flame flared at the hem of her torn dress.

“Eek!”

Startled, she quickly pulled her foot back and flailed about.

The flame should have gone out quickly, but instead it spread diagonally, burning away half of her skirt before extinguishing.

Now that her petticoat was fully exposed, her face burned red with humiliation.

“Oh dear, my mistake. You know I only just awakened—I can’t control it yet.”

My sister said this shamelessly, as if she were the one who’d started the fire.

But in truth, she was the one who had expanded the flame I had spat out.

Her fire magic was sharp yet delicate—capable of burning only what she wanted.

Unlike me, who was still clumsy, producing only tiny flames that often consumed everything at once.

“Sigh.”

Looking at the soot on the petticoat, I sighed. Proof that I was still lacking.

I had a long way to go before I could catch up to my sister.

As expected of her—though she had only recently awakened, she could already wield such magic.

She truly was worthy of being the eldest daughter of the great mage family, Monclaire.

As the commotion grew, a familiar man appeared through the gathered crowd.

“What’s the noise here?”

“Your Highness, the Second Prince.”

The Second Prince brushed back his neat golden hair and stopped before me. Why are you only showing up now, Butler No. 1?

I smacked his polished shoes with my paw in displeasure.

“Why is Lizette so angry again? Hmm? Would you explain, Lady Monclaire?”

“My, perhaps she is dazzled once more by Your Highness’s radiant eyes.”

My beloved sister, Eloise Monclaire, smoothly rephrased ‘She probably just doesn’t want to look at your face’ into elegant flattery.

Exactly. You’re the reason, you bastard! I glared at the one who had sent me to my sister.

“Meow.”

How did I end up possessed as a cat in a novel, being used by this second male lead? Tch.

All I had ever wanted was something simple: “In my next life, I want to be reborn as the pet of a rich family.”

If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have even wished for it.

My last memory as a human was still vivid.

“Newbie, isn’t winter hiking romantic?”

“Hahaha! I suppose so!”

Romantic, my ass. I was freezing to death.

After finishing another part-time job grind, I had picked up a hobby for a change of pace before returning to school.

But the hiking crew I joined today insisted on climbing even in the middle of heavy snowfall.

Without proper gear, I kept slipping. Why was hiking equipment so expensive anyway?

I was an idiot. I should’ve just stayed home reading webnovels.

“Uh-oh…!”

With a sigh, I stepped wrong on a rock and suddenly tumbled toward a cliff, feeling a strange sense of weightlessness.

My short 23-year life flashed before my eyes.

Abandoned by my family, struggling alone, and in the end… nothing much to show for it.

And the one thought I had at the brink of death? The lifestyle of a rich family’s pet I’d seen in a short video.

‘In my next life, I want to be reborn as the pet of a rich family.’

That was the last thing I thought before blacking out.

How much time had passed?

I heard crunching footsteps and barely managed to open my eyes.

Snow was falling heavily. Turning my head, I saw a strange figure.

‘…A wolf?’

The moment I locked eyes with the huge wolf before me, I thought I was dreaming.

What wild wolf would appear in a mountain valley in Gyeonggi Province? But no matter how much I blinked, it was still a wolf.

Silver and brown fur blended beautifully, and despite my fear, I couldn’t help but think how pretty it looked.

“Grrr…”

Oh god. Help. Terror clogged my throat, making me unable to scream.

The wolf slowly approached, clamped its jaws around my neck, and dragged me away. Was I about to become wolf food?

So much for 23 years of life. It would’ve been better if I’d been eaten while unconscious…

‘Wait. My feet aren’t touching the ground?’

Dangling in the wolf’s grip, I was being carried through the air.

If a wolf strong enough to lift a grown woman existed, it would’ve already made the news.

Just as all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind, the wolf tossed me down at someone’s feet.

“Ow, my bones…”

My body hit the snow lightly, but pain screamed from everywhere.

“Etienne, I told you not to bring back strange things… a cat?”

The man picked me up. Cat? Me? What the hell?

I stared into his blue eyes, but the pain overwhelmed me, and I fainted.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a grand room.

An ornate painted ceiling, old Western-style furniture.

Or maybe I had just shrunk—everything seemed enormous. Then it struck me.

‘…A cat?’

The absurd word I’d last heard resurfaced. I raised my hand to check.

Pink paw pads surrounded by soft white fur. When I curled my paw, it turned into a fluffy ball.

While I was still processing the situation, a pair of polished leather shoes appeared before me.

“You’re awake.”

A slightly low voice made me look up—it was the man I had seen before fainting.

Neatly combed blond hair, deep blue eyes, tall with a strong build that suggested years of training.

He looked about his late teens.

He had the exact aura of a romance-fantasy male lead.

Tilting his head, he studied me.

“Etie, are you sure this isn’t a beastman?”

“…It’s not.”

Answering him, a boy approached.

Dressed entirely in black, his pale skin and golden eyes stood out.

He seemed only in his early teens, but his atmosphere was heavy, almost ominous.

His hair, a unique blend of silver and brown, reminded me of the wolf from before.

“And I told you not to call me that, Marcel.”

“But it’s cute, Etie.”

“Do you even know how old I am?”

“You’re thirteen this year. Even if you become the chieftain of the wolf beastmen, you’ll still be the same to me.”

The older boy laughed easily, while the younger just sighed deeply.

Marcel, Etienne, beastmen—hearing these familiar names and terms made my fur stand on end. No way…

Waking up inside a romance-fantasy novel? And not even as a side character, but as a cat?

While I panicked in silence, the two continued their bickering as if it were nothing.

“If you want me to call you properly, then I’ll keep saying it: His Highness, Prince Marcel de Valois.”

“So cold. Fine, Etienne.”

Oh my god.

Hearing their full names, I had no choice but to accept reality.

It seemed I had possessed the cat from my favorite web novel.