Chapter 20
Eloise walked with grace to the Empress’s side, as if responding to her beckoning hand.
“I heard you were unwell and worried. Are you all right now?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It was only a passing illness, so I am glad I could come to see you today.”
Everyone present knew full well that she had collapsed from an illness of the heart, caused by Marianne.
Even though it was an open secret, Eloise maintained a shamelessly calm expression.
“That is fortunate. And how is Catherine doing?”
“She is well. She was very regretful not to be able to see Your Majesty today.”
The Empress called the Duchess by name without hesitation, suggesting familiarity.
The Duchess herself had not much regretted missing the imperial tea gathering.
On the contrary, she seemed to avoid the Empress, though the Empress smiled knowingly, as if she understood.
“Tell Catherine this: while I appreciate her understanding of my intent, she went a little too far. Thanks to her, the palace garden has turned into a pet playground.”
“My mother only wished for everyone to be together. She must not have grasped Your Majesty’s deeper intentions.”
“That is my intention.”
I could not follow the exchange between Eloise and the Empress at all.
Did the Empress mean the matter of allowing pets into the garden, which the Duchess had started?
Or was it about diverting attention away from Marianne?
Either way, the social world was indeed a difficult place. A place best avoided altogether.
The Empress gave a radiant smile and raised her voice to the nobles.
“Please, everyone, be seated.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The nobles, who had gathered in small groups, were guided to their seats by imperial attendants in order of their family’s rank.
Eloise was seated next to the Empress, while Marianne was given the last place at the table.
Meanwhile, Raoul, long forgotten, sat at a separate table with the other young boys.
“That must be the kitten Marcel sent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. His Highness the Second Prince entrusted it to me for a while.”
The Empress looked at me as she spoke.
Marianne’s sky-blue eyes also bore into me intently.
Whoever had arranged the seating had done so very cleverly.
At the head sat the Empress. On her right side, Eloise; on her left, Marianne.
“His Highness the Second Prince… gave you a kitten, Lady?”
Marianne’s voice trembled with tension as she asked again.
Her striking looks and her position as the Crown Prince’s lover had unwillingly made her the center of society’s gaze, a burden she clearly felt.
Every noble’s eyes turned toward Eloise.
In Eloise’s silence, the Empress spoke kindly.
“That is so. He brought back a kitten from the north and raised it well, then gifted it to Lady Monclair.”
“Then…”
“It does not mean Arno is merely imitating Marcel.”
Though she said it was not so, none of the nobles would believe otherwise.
The Empress’s intent was clear: to bring Marianne forward only to contrast her with Eloise.
By suggesting that the Crown Prince had imitated Marcel, she undermined Marianne’s social standing.
“In the end, you are only Eloise’s substitute.”
The Empress’s meaning was unmistakable. But why?
In the original story, the Empress had always treated Marianne with kindness.
Now, I could no longer understand her. The only future I wished to change was Eloise’s.
For the characters’ actions to diverge so completely from the novel was not a good sign.
“…”
Eloise only continued to stroke my fur gently.
I grew uncomfortable, both from being held and from the atmosphere, so I tapped Eloise’s arm.
“Lizette? Do you want to go play over there?”
“Meow.”
When I nodded in response, the heated gazes once again turned toward us.
Eloise, unaffected, set me down on the floor.
“Are you sure it’s fine to let her go without a leash?”
“Yes. His Highness trained her well, so she’s quite clever.”
Even in boasting of me, her voice was calm.
Stretching my body in a big yawn, I tapped at the shoes of an attendant who stood unsure what to do.
“Meow.”
“She’ll follow if you guide her.”
“Y-yes! Of course!”
Only after receiving Eloise’s order did the attendant lead me toward the area prepared for pets.
I slipped through the soft magic barrier and glanced around.
The young noble maintaining the barrier tilted his head when he saw me.
“My lord, what is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Please take good care of the young lady’s kitten.”
“Of course.”
The viscount stared at me intently. What are you looking at?
“Hiss!”
I let out a warning cry, and he muttered to himself.
“Strange. I never opened the barrier. How did it get in?”
“Meow.”
See? I must be a special cat!
Admiring myself, I tried to leave through the barrier again, but—thud!—it bounced me back.
Earlier, the viscount must have been distracted. How annoying.
“Woof!”
A beige medium-sized dog barked happily and wagged its tail at me.
Just like Fennel’s puppy before, it seemed dogs could not understand animal speech.
“Meow. (How dare a lowly cat trespass in my domain?)”
…But cats were another matter.
Turning, I saw a white cat with a pink ribbon: Marianne’s pet.
It was scolding a yellow-striped cat.
“Meow, mew. (And what makes you think you’re so high-born?)”
When I stepped between them, Marianne’s cat hissed at me, displeased.
I, however, lifted my chin and glared down, just as Eloise looked down on Raoul.
“Meeooow! (How dare you raise your head before me?)”
“Meow. (And who exactly do you think you are?)”
We were both cats, but this one acted so lofty—it was laughable.
It reminded me too much of the arrogant Crown Prince. My irritation grew.
“Meeoow, mew, mewl! (Listen carefully: I am Coco, of the royal bloodline!)”
“Meow? (And so?)”
Royalty, my paw. It looked like any ordinary cat.
And its name was Coco—could there be a more common cat’s name?
When I scoffed, Coco puffed up, fur bristling, tail swollen, and hissed furiously.
“Meow! Mee-owww! (Insolent wretch! The pet of a useless young lady!)”
“Meow… meow. (What… did you just say?)”
Smack!
I had held back and held back, but suddenly a cat punch flew at me.
I snapped my head back into place with a creak.
I could tolerate insults to myself, but not to Eloise.
The temper I’d buried in my past life threatened to resurface.
“Meow. (What did you just say?)”
“Meow, meee-ow! (The pet of a worthle—)”
“Meooow. (You’re dead.)”
Whap! Thwack! Bam-bam-bam!
Once, Jesus had said, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
But someone in modern times had said, “Since you were hit first, everything after counts as self-defense.”
So from here on, this was legal.
“Meow!”
“Woof!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
“W-what’s happening…!”
Cries of animals and the panicked voice of the young noble rang out.
Coco flailed with claws, but in my frenzy, it was no match.
“Lizette!”
“Kyaa!”
Eloise’s startled voice, along with Marianne’s scream, reached my ears. They must have heard the commotion.
I stopped my furious punches and tried to run to Eloise.
But the magic barrier repelled me, and I rolled across the floor. A clear smear of blood marked the spot where I’d landed.
“…!”
Eloise’s tranquil turquoise eyes widened.
Through the opening the noble made in the barrier, she rushed in and scooped me into her arms.
Her brow furrowed as she examined my white fur, searching for wounds.
“Viscount.”
“My lady, well, you see… the cats fought. It was Lady Marianne’s cat that started it, but…”
I had only used my paws, claws hidden. But Coco, foolishly, had left a scratch on me.
It wasn’t deep, so it didn’t sting much.
Marianne hastily grabbed Coco’s leash, but it only kept hissing, uncontrollable.
“I’m so sorry, Lady Eloise, truly—”
“His Highness will have to answer for this later.”
Tears welled and fell from Marianne’s clear eyes.
Eloise had placed the blame on the Crown Prince, who had trained the cat.
Unfamiliar with the nobles’ indirect way of speaking, Marianne seemed to hear it as: Eloise would report her to the Crown Prince.
In the original novel, that was exactly how the “villainess” would have spoken. This was why point of view mattered so much.
“There is no need to wait until later, Lady Eloise.”
