IBVC 08

Chapter 08

As if she had been waiting, Sophie came in right away carrying a silver tray.

The plate resting on top of the tray looked familiar.

A small dish, white with forget-me-not patterns painted on it. Somehow, it had become my dish.

“Put it on the bed.”

“But, my lady…”

Sophie hesitated, her words trailing off. Eloise’s brow lifted in warning.

I lifted my head and sniffed the scent wafting from the plate. Thankfully, my nose worked fine.

It smelled of the sea, that distinct fishy aroma, mixed with a savory fragrance. Yep, smelled like my meal.

“Are you going to ignore my words as well?”

“That’s not what I meant…!”

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about eating in bed either.

Before Eloise could scold Sophie further, I hopped off the bed and landed lightly on the floor, then sat down at my usual spot and waited for the food to be placed.

Quick-witted Sophie hurriedly set the plate before me.

“Please enjoy your meal, Lady Lizette!”

“You two, honestly…”

“Myaong?”

Pretending not to hear Eloise’s sigh, I meowed and examined the food in the dish.

Mashed white grains of rice, finely diced vegetables, and tender, well-cooked fish flakes. It looked just like tuna and vegetable porridge.

“I was going to prepare your usual beef, but Dr. Etman insisted on this.”

Since I only stared at the dish instead of eating right away, Sophie added the explanation almost apologetically.

“Myaong.”

No need to explain so much—my body wasn’t well, so even if it didn’t taste good, I’d have to eat it anyway.

The smell wasn’t bad, so I leaned down and licked the porridge.

Oh… this is better than I expected.

After one taste, my stomach growled loudly.

Suddenly starving, I dug in properly.

The quiet room echoed only with the sound of me lapping up porridge.

By the time the plate was nearly empty, Eloise finally spoke.

“How did it go with her?”

“Just as you instructed, I ignored the matter with Seneca and expelled her on charges of theft.”

“Good.”

“As you suspected, she was secretly sneaking out ingredients from the kitchen to resell them.”

As I licked the last bits from the bottom of the plate, Sophie suddenly whisked it away.

Hey! There was still one grain left!

I gazed up at the dish longingly, but Sophie was too caught up in her conversation with Eloise to notice.

“No wonder—she was wearing shoes a maid’s salary could never buy.”

“Couldn’t they have been a gift?”

“That expensive? Hardly. We even had her followed, but it seems she’s already cut ties. She hasn’t met anyone. I thought she’d at least be in contact with Count Ronsbleur.”

“Keep watching.”

Count Ronsbleur—that was the man who would later become the heroine’s adoptive father.

So… had he already adopted her? My head was fuzzy with drowsiness, making it hard to think clearly.

After eating, a wave of sleepiness crashed over me. What did they put in this food?

Not long after waking, I ended up collapsing into slumber again.

When I next opened my eyes, the room was still bright for some reason.

Eloise’s dress was a different color though, so it must have been the next day. She sat on the sofa, reading a book.

“Nyaa—”

I stretched, front paws extended, arching my back. My body felt refreshed.

“You’re awake.”

“Myaong!”

Her clear voice addressed me before she returned to reading.

It felt like peaceful days had returned.

I knew I should run away, considering the dangers looming over this so-called villainess. Yet, only a few days in, I was already getting comfortable with this life… well, aside from being poisoned.

As I rolled around on my personal cushion, torn between escape and settling down, a knock sounded at the door.

“My lady, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

“Has he?”

Wait—was the Crown Prince coming today?

Eloise’s calm demeanor only deepened my confusion.

She glanced over her book and remarked, “Busy with state affairs as he always is, yet today he comes early.”

In the novel, Eloise was described as being obsessed with the Crown Prince. But now, she didn’t seem that interested at all.

And usually, when a Crown Prince visited a noble’s mansion, the entire household would be in an uproar. But the Monclaire ducal estate remained perfectly quiet.

“He’s waiting in the greenhouse.”

“Understood.”

Eloise neatly closed her book and stood up, as if heading straight to greet him.

Isn’t she being a little too unconcerned? He is her fiancé, after all.

I scurried over and tapped the hem of her dark green dress with my paw.

She bent down and gently stroked my head, her cold hand surprisingly tender.

“Just wait here a little. I’ll be right back.”

“Nyaaang.”

That’s not what I meant!

I shook my head and cried, and the corners of her lips curved ever so slightly.

Then again… with beauty like hers, I guess she doesn’t need to care who shows up.

Just for a moment, she smiled like a flower blooming, and I couldn’t help but agree.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

“His Highness has requested that Lady Lizette accompany you as well.”

…Why me?

Why was the Crown Prince—the original male lead—interested in a mere cat?

“Lizette?”

“Yes. Word of her seems to have already reached His Highness’s ears.”

“Tsk. The Crown Prince’s palace spreads news faster than society itself.”

Eloise clicked her tongue lightly, then scooped me up.

Her unfamiliar warmth enveloped me.

“I suppose I’ll have to show Lizette around the greenhouse then. Are there any flowers dangerous for cats?”

“I asked Dr. Etman in advance—he said it would be fine.”

“Well done.”

Sophie’s shoulders lifted proudly at the short praise.

To think she looked so happy over three words—truly a maid hardened under a villainess.

As Eloise stepped out of the room, her face turned cold as the biting wind.

This wasn’t how a so-called obsessed villainess should behave toward the story’s male lead.

“Miyaong?”

On the way to the greenhouse, the scenery shifted slowly.

The mansion staff looked startled as Eloise carried me past, though they quickly composed themselves, befitting the household of a duke. Their reactions were noticeably different from Eloise’s personal maids.

At the greenhouse entrance stood the butler—the very one who had once pointed at me and called me “just a cat.”

“Hissss!”

I puffed up and hissed at him. Eloise soothed me, scratching lightly behind my neck until I calmed down.

“Butler. Why aren’t you opening the door?”

“Your Highness. The young lady has arrived.”

Ignoring Eloise’s question, the butler instead announced her arrival to the Crown Prince before opening the door.

One day, I swore I’d tear out that sycophantic mustache of his.

“Greetings to the Star of Calenia. Forgive me for not observing proper etiquette—I’m holding a cat.”

“It’s been a while, Lady.”

I looked at the owner of the voice, hard as stone.

He sat in the greenhouse at a table, elegantly crossing his legs as he sipped tea.

At last—I had come face to face with the so-called gentleman bastard of a male lead.

“It has indeed been some time.”

The Crown Prince, Arno de Valois, looked as if even being stabbed wouldn’t make him flinch—unyielding, cold.

Golden hair shining like sunlight, sharp green eyes, a perfectly proportioned body. Though only in his late teens, he exuded a chilling aura.

So perfectly sculpted from head to toe, he almost didn’t seem human.

“Have you been well? Sit.”

Even his greeting to his fiancée carried no warmth.

Gentle bastard indeed—he earned the title.

Eloise sat opposite him and began to share her “recent days.”

“Thanks to Your Highness, I’ve attracted attention in society and am enjoying the luxury of resting quietly at home.”

Which really meant: Because of the scandal you stirred up, I caused such a fuss I’m now under probation.

Had I not known the novel’s story, I’d never have realized the barb hidden in her words. Such was the way of high society speech.

She hadn’t spoken like this with Marcel. Clearly, her relationship with the Crown Prince wasn’t a good one.

“So that’s why you’re raising a cat?”

His gaze landed on me, sharp as a blade.

‘Like a predator eyeing prey with a deadly gleam.’ That was exactly how the heroine had described her first impression of him.

And it was precisely what I felt now.

“I only took her in temporarily—she’d been abandoned.”

“I didn’t think you liked animals.”

“His Highness the Second Prince asked me to.”

“Was Lady Eloise the only one around Marcel who could keep a cat?”

Even without understanding the nuances of noble speech, I could tell.

The Crown Prince was probing into Eloise and Marcel’s relationship.