~Chapter 15~
‘Lord Edwin? Why are you just standing in my yard?’
‘There’s a cat…’
It was a day not long after my parents passed away, and it was raining very hard.
Worried that the grave might get damaged, I finally went outside. That’s when I saw Edwin, standing in the corner of the yard with an awkward look.
At his feet, a tiny kitten—maybe just opened its eyes—was wriggling.
It looked dirty, probably left alone by its mother for several days.
‘If we just leave it here, something bad might happen. We should dry its wet fur first. Will you help me?’
‘The house is a mess…’
‘But the kitten is shivering.’
After losing my parents and being betrayed by the relatives I trusted, I wasn’t my usual self.
Even though the Lombard heir shouldn’t be doing such chores, I just sat in a corner and watched him with the door open.
Edwin poked at the fireplace, made the fire bigger, found a towel, and dried the kitten’s wet fur.
Once it got warm, the kitten flipped onto its back and fell asleep, like it had never been cold.
It was such a shameless little thing that I couldn’t help but laugh.
Edwin, stroking the kitten, suddenly looked at me.
‘We need to give it a name. Any good ideas?’
‘Why ask me something like that…’
Feeling awkward, I just suggested the first thing that came to mind.
‘Nero.’
Edwin repeated, ‘Nero?’
‘Just because its fur is black. It means “night” in the old language.’
‘Good name.’
‘Uh… suddenly, what do you mean?’
‘It suits him. Nero.’
Even though it was a name I came up with without much thought, Edwin really seemed satisfied.
That’s when I finally noticed my surroundings.
The cold, empty house now had the sound of a burning fire and the warmth of people again.
The floor, ruined by relatives searching for valuables, was now neat and tidy.
‘…I’m embarrassed.’
Feeling sorry, I carefully sat beside Edwin and reached out my finger to the kitten.
I didn’t think much about it, but as soon as I did, Nero made a tiny sound and started sucking on my finger like it was its mother’s milk.
At that moment, a strange feeling came over me.
Since it was right after my parents died in that carriage accident, the way the kitten desperately clung to me made my heart ache even more.
Edwin quietly watched me and suggested that I try raising Nero.
That’s how he became my family.
Coming back to the present, I blinked blankly.
‘How is Nero here?’
But that didn’t matter right now.
I slowly lowered myself to make Nero, who was stuck in a corner, feel safe, and held out my hand.
Nero carefully lifted his head and gently rubbed his cheek on my hand.
The pitiful sight made my chest tighten.
“Do you people have no heart? How could you think of hitting such a tiny ball of fur?”
“Sorry, madam, but we’re the ones who got hit…”
One servant, looking like he’d been through a war, spoke carefully.
Of course, I snorted.
“You’re telling me a cat hit you? That makes no sense.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true! That damned cat grabbed my collar and slapped me over and over with its paw!”
“Enough! Be ashamed. This poor thing must be so scared!”
“But it’s true! I saw it with my own eyes!”
Are they always this weird? Normally, these servants can’t even look me in the eye, but now they all started making excuses. Suspicious, I glanced down.
“Nyaa…”
But Nero still looked terrified, tears welling in his eyes.
As expected, these liars! How could they blame a helpless animal?
“From now on, I’ll raise this cat. I’ll call him Nero.”
“Madam!!”
“What’s all this noise?”
At that moment, sharp footsteps echoed from downstairs.
Mrs. Olden appeared, looking over the chaotic hallway with a cold face.
‘Sigh, is it starting again…’
Actually, Mrs. Olden was always a bit obsessed with me.
From the first moment I woke up in this body, I noticed it.
She checked everything: my robes, my food, even where I walked—she paid attention to every little thing.
For someone like me, who had always lived alone, it was suffocating.
But I didn’t know much about royal relationships with servants, and I’d heard Mrs. Olden was like a foster mother to Elysia after her parents died.
So at first, I tried to go along with her fussing.
But soon, I just got better at avoiding her.
After a moment, Mrs. Olden spoke.
“Madam, do you really plan to keep that animal?”
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s too dirty and lowly to keep by your side. Wouldn’t you rather have another cat? If you want, I can find a better one.”
“Watch your words. How can you say dirty and lowly?”
All fluffy creatures are equally lovable. In this soft world, there’s no such thing as high or low.
I scratched Nero’s chin for everyone to see.
“See how kind and gentle he is?”
“Nyaa—”
Nero’s eyes sparkled.
He was so cute it hurt, but Mrs. Olden’s face stayed stern.
“Madam.”
“…”
Suddenly, I felt something strange in the air.
Mrs. Olden looked perfectly elegant and noble, but she also seemed annoyed and tired.
Her eyes were like someone scolding a naughty child.
I’d never seen her like this before.
‘Is this even possible?’
No matter how close she’d been since my childhood, could a servant really act like this to her master?
At first, I thought I was imagining it, but I wasn’t wrong.
Mrs. Olden was trying to control me.
And it wasn’t her first time.
I hugged Nero, stood up slowly, and faced her.
“Aren’t you interfering a bit too much?”
“I have served you longer than anyone. That means I am the only one who can give you honest advice when you make a wrong decision.”
“Let’s be clear. What you just did wasn’t honest advice—it was overstepping. I’m the Duchess of Lombard. Do I look like someone who needs permission from anyone?”
Mrs. Olden’s eyes turned scary.
‘Why would Elysia keep a woman like this so close?’
How could she trust such an arrogant maid with all her authority?
Just then, Mrs. Olden stepped back.
“You should have breakfast first. We can discuss this later.”
“…Alright.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten.
I’d been lazing in bed and hadn’t even noticed I was hungry.
Now my stomach started to growl, and I wanted to avoid acting different from the old Elysia, so I decided to just go along.
As I turned to go back to my room, Chief Steward Bertolt crossed the messy hallway toward me.
“Greetings, madam.”
“What brings you here?”
He pretended not to see the servants’ battered faces and spoke.
“The lord wishes to see you.”
“The Duke wants to see me?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
My eyes narrowed.
Why would the Duke want to see me? We barely talk—what good could come of it?
Could the tower for locking me up already be finished?
Maybe my suspicions showed, because Bertolt added quickly,
“Please come with me to the reception room. There is a guest waiting for you.”
I headed to the reception room with Nero in my arms.
Normally, I’d leave him in my room to rest, but with Mrs. Olden so displeased, I didn’t dare leave them alone together.
She might throw him out and say he ran away or something.
The other maids were also on Mrs. Olden’s side, so I couldn’t trust them.
For the first time, I realized I needed ‘my own people’—someone Mrs. Olden couldn’t influence.
Bertolt stopped in front of the reception room.
“Announce that the lady has arrived.”
“Yes.”
The Lombard knight at the door nodded.
On the other side of the hall, I saw knights in armor I’d never seen before, but their emblem looked familiar.
A shining holy grail and two crossed swords.
‘Why are the Holy Knights here…?’
I was shocked.
The Holy Knights served directly under the Pope. If they were here, it meant the guest in the reception room brought an order from the Pope.
This had never happened before.
‘What do they want?’
Just then, as if answering my question, the door opened.
