IBVC 06

Chapter 06

Eloise Monclair was a perfect lady. That was the impression I got after spending the day with her.

Even in her own room, she never lost her composure, and all her actions were graceful.

The way she walked, the way she ate, even the way she slept—it was all so flawless, like something out of a textbook on proper etiquette.

“……”

I stared at Eloise for a long while as she slept.

It was so very different from what I had read in the novel, and that strangeness unsettled me.

Both Etienne and Marcel had spoken of her as if she were a good person…

So how did someone like this end up becoming the villainess? The thought made me curious about Eloise.

“Hngh…”

With a faint groan, her delicate brows furrowed once more.

Before going to bed, Eloise had taken quite a number of pills, as if something was wrong with her health.

Sigh… who was worrying about whom here?

“Meow.”

I was going to leave this place. There’s a reason why transmigrated heroines in romance-fantasy novels cling to the “original storyline.”

It’s because there are inescapable chains.

At least they were given a chance to change the original. But as a mere cat, the only way I could protect myself was by staying as far away from the main characters as possible.

Especially since this house was destined to become the heart of evil, leading to its complete downfall. Avoidance was the best strategy.

The window was shut tight, so that escape route was out.

Padding silently around the room, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. Had the maid who left earlier failed to close it properly?

That worked in my favor. I poked my head through the crack, and the door creaked open wider.

“Lizette?”

A drowsy voice, still heavy with sleep, called my name.

I turned my head back to see Eloise, half-sitting up in bed.

“Where are you going?”

Her still-hazy face was touched by the pale moonlight, giving her an air of sorrow.

“Meow.”

Today wasn’t so bad, at least.

You hadn’t lit any incense for my sake. The steak, the strawberries… and even your cool but careful touch.

“Meow.”

Goodbye.

I slipped out of her bedroom and darted quickly away.

Who knew when Eloise might suddenly turn into the villainess I remembered from the novel?

Retracing the way I had come during the day, I passed down the hallway and struggled to descend the grand staircase.

Fortunately, no one was around, and Eloise hadn’t followed me either.

But the front doors of the mansion were firmly locked, leaving me trapped.

Where should I go out from?

Since the first floor had far more servants than the second, I crept about, looking for an open window.

Found one!

There was a window cracked open just enough for me to slip through—but right across from it stood knights, stationed to guard the door of a certain room.

I didn’t know what room it was, but expensive-looking vases were lined up neatly on both sides.

“Hm? That cat…”

As I crept from the shadows, one of the knights recognized me and pointed.

The other knight turned and advanced toward me with frightening speed. I couldn’t let them catch me!

I leapt out of reach of his hand—but landed in the wrong spot.

Crash!

A porcelain vase toppled from its pedestal and shattered across the marble floor.

Shards scattered everywhere, forcing me to freeze atop the stand.

The knights paled and glanced nervously at each other.

“Oh no… what do we do?”

“We’ll have to inform the butler…”

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah, Butler… it’s… well…”

A middle-aged man who seemed to be the butler arrived. His eyes flicked between the shattered vase and me before he let out a long sigh.

“That was a gift from Her Majesty the Empress… all because of this wretched cat.”

“What should we tell the Duke?”

“The truth, of course. The cat will have to be put down, naturally.”

Wretched cat? Did he just so casually say he’d kill me? Just because I’m a cat?

I was indignant, but seeing the broken vase—the one given by the Empress herself—I shrank back in fear.

It really was a major accident. But still, why keep something that important out here like this?

Drooping my ears, I crouched low, watching them anxiously. Escape was no longer possible.

“Say that I broke it.”

A clear, elegant voice rang out. My ears perked up at once.

Stepping into the moonlight, she looked less like a person than something otherworldly.

“My lady, we must report the truth to the Duke.”

“And since when did you have the right to argue with me?”

“I only speak for your own good.”

“For my good? By killing this little one?”

Eloise approached me and, with a sharp movement, deliberately knocked over another vase.

Crash!

Porcelain shattered again, littering the corridor with shards. The butler pressed a weary hand to his brow.

“There. Now it’s clear that I was the one who broke them.”

“My lady! If you destroy both vases, what on earth am I supposed to tell the Duke?”

“Exactly as you saw. ‘My lady caused another scandal.’ Simple, isn’t it?”

“Scandal, you say…”

“Isn’t it your duty to run to my father and tattle on my conduct?”

The butler fell silent, lips pressed tight.

The knights shifted uneasily, unsure whether to side with the butler or Eloise, before bowing their heads.

“Lizette, come here.”

Avoiding the shards underfoot, Eloise extended her arms toward me.

You saw me trying to run away from you. So why are you protecting me?

Conflicted, I finally hopped from the pedestal into her embrace. Her cold hands wrapped around me.

“Meow, meow…”

I whimpered pitifully, and Eloise stroked my fur with careful gentleness.

The sounds of crashing vases had drawn a crowd. Soon people came rushing over.

“What’s all this commotion?”

A middle-aged man entered with commanding presence, scanning the scene. He must have been Duke Monclair.

Beside him, a stern middle-aged woman frowned at Eloise—the resemblance between them was undeniable.

And next to them, a boy who looked exactly like the Duke sighed heavily.

“I lost control again and made a scene,” Eloise said with a self-deprecating smile. Her face was tinged with sorrow.

“Tch. I told you to restrain yourself. Do you take your father’s words as a joke?”

“Haven’t I restrained myself plenty already?”

“Eloise.”

“If I can’t even awaken to magic, why not just cast me out to some remote estate?”

“Hold your tongue.”

“Do you know that being the Crown Prince’s fiancée only makes me look more pitiful?”

“I said enough!”

The Duke’s sudden shout made me tremble. Eloise gently patted my back to calm me.

“That wasn’t ladylike at all,” the Duchess remarked coldly.

Her voice, just like her looks, mirrored Eloise’s. But her eyes were different—icy, as if frozen solid.

“So, you’ll forbid me from even leaving my room now?” Eloise asked.

“If you don’t want that, return to your chambers at once.”

The arms holding me quivered faintly. It was such a subtle tremor that no one else would notice—but I could feel it clearly.

Eloise stepped past her family, crushing porcelain shards under her slippers.

Then a quiet voice spoke up.

“Sister, how much longer until you’re satisfied?”

The boy’s mocking tone was just like his father’s—so much so that Eloise, the supposed villainess, almost seemed the normal one here.

At his cutting words, Eloise paused only briefly before continuing up the stairs.

As though she hadn’t heard him at all, she climbed with steady, graceful steps—the perfect lady’s walk.

No one asked if Eloise was alright. And over her lonely figure, I saw the faces of my own family from my past life.

‘You’re my daughter, but you’re pathetic.’
‘Sis, you never understand no matter how many times I tell you.’
‘How did I ever end up with a child like that?’

Brilliant parents, a disappointing firstborn, and a younger sibling who outshone me. That had been my family in my past life.

And wasn’t it exactly the same as the Monclairs?

Despised as the inferior eldest child, my past self overlapped with Eloise’s current plight.

While I wrestled with the memories of my former life, Eloise returned to her room. She set me down and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Meow.”

I’m sorry. This was all because of me.

If I hadn’t broken that vase, she wouldn’t have been humiliated like this.

Eloise’s turquoise eyes met mine, shimmering as though tears were about to fall.

“Because of me, you couldn’t leave the mansion, Lizette…”

“Meow.”

No, it’s not like that. I can try again tomorrow—or the day after.

But why did you do it? You could have just told the truth, that I broke it.

Then you wouldn’t have been treated that way by your family.

A villainess protecting a mere cat—it didn’t make sense.

“If you leave, will you even have anywhere to go? The streets are too harsh for someone so small…”

“Meow.”

“Maybe it would be better than suffocating here. But… perhaps this place is still better than the Crown Prince’s palace.”

No villainess could possibly have it better than the heroine, and yet I found myself nodding.

It just felt like the right thing to do.

For all her supposed cruelty, Eloise didn’t seem to be on good terms with her family at all.