Chapter 26
The knight called Whiston seemed to be the commander of the duke’s knight order.
“Duke, you must listen to me first! That wretched cat attacked me!”
The butler thrashed and screamed, but the duke didn’t pay him the slightest attention and simply loosened his tie.
Soon after, a sharp-looking young man came rushing over.
“Your Grace, I’ll help you prepare for your outing.”
“No need. Cancel all of today’s plans. From now on, you’ll be taking over the butler’s duties.”
“……Yes, understood.”
The young man looked startled, but then nodded.
The duke was about to step inside the mansion when he glanced down at me.
“Follow me.”
“Huh?”
Not long after I entered the first-floor office with the duke, the knight commander brought in several bundles of documents.
“These ledgers were found in the place you ordered us to investigate. They weren’t there during the last inspection. And we also discovered this.”
“A magic contract.”
The duke read the contract, then slammed his fist down on the desk in fury.
Save the cat! I only wanted to get rid of the butler, but somehow things had escalated.
“All this time, I sought his advice on raising my child, not knowing he was deceiving me. How laughable that must have been.”
The atmosphere said I should keep quiet, but hearing him mutter like that made me curious.
Torn between caution and curiosity, in the end, curiosity won.
I’d already decided to act like an impudent cat anyway.
“What did the butler say? About raising your child, I mean.”
Both the duke and the knight commander looked at me.
Hey, I’m only here because you told me to follow. Why do you both look so surprised?
Don’t tell me you forgot I was here?
“……He told me if I indulged too many whims, her reputation would be ruined later. Especially Eloise. After the day she was judged to have awakened, he said I should be stricter with her.”
That butler scum. I should’ve ripped his mouth apart instead of letting him be dragged away.
I slapped my tail against the floor, and the duke sighed deeply.
“Now that I think of it, the butler wasn’t much of a father figure either. And I doubt what he said about Eloise was true.”
Veins bulged on the duke’s forehead as he examined the papers one by one.
His fist clenched tightly, as if to hold himself back.
“That bastard! Skimming money for himself, then blaming Eloise by saying she was being wasteful!”
Oh my. The duke’s words are as sharp as the duchess’s.
It seemed the butler had exaggerated Eloise’s spending to paint her as a wicked girl.
The duke continued to curse. I wondered how long I’d have to stay here.
“My dear, do you realize Lizzet is drifting further away from you?”
At the elegant voice that broke in, I turned my head. The duchess was standing at the door.
“Ah, my lady. I could no longer contain my anger.”
“I understand. Lizzet, come here.”
The duchess sat down on the sofa in front of the desk and beckoned to me, who was sitting off in the corner.
Like a savior glowing with light, she drew me in. I bounded toward her.
“This time, you’ve done something truly praiseworthy. I had my suspicions but lacked evidence—it was troubling.”
“You knew?”
“Of course. Things had seemed suspicious for years. I’d been watching more closely lately. I didn’t realize it went back over twenty years, though.”
The duke pressed his temples and then took a seat opposite his wife.
The knight commander, who had conducted the investigation, stood silently behind the duke.
“These weren’t found in the previous investigation.”
“The marks near the floorboards suggest they were moved recently, after receiving a letter.”
“I see. The ledgers leave no room for doubt. Without this secret book, I’d never have known. Ha, I was played perfectly.”
“You trusted the butler implicitly. Even I thought Eloise, as a Monclaire, might indulge in that level of luxury.”
“Thanks to Lizzet, at least we know now. We’ve caught a big rat.”
When the duke praised me, the duchess stroked my head approvingly.
Her touch reminded me of Eloise—it felt good.
It seemed the duke and duchess had suspected and investigated the butler before, but had always come up empty-handed.
Knock knock.
“Your Grace, the young lady has arrived.”
“Let her in.”
The moment the door opened, Eloise’s eyes searched for me first.
When she saw me sitting calmly on the sofa, she sighed softly in relief before greeting her parents.
“Father, Mother. I trust you both slept well.”
“You’re greeting the cat before us.”
“I ought to—”
At the duke’s remark, the duchess was about to interject, but he tapped her knee lightly.
The misunderstanding about Eloise might be resolved, but old habits built over years don’t vanish easily.
“Please accept my greeting, my lady.”
Not knowing what to call the duchess, I simply copied the title Sophie used.
The duchess’s brow lifted slightly, then smoothed back down.
“Yes. Good morning, Eloise.”
“……I heard Lizzet caused trouble.”
“A big one. She got the butler of several decades thrown out of this house.”
“Eloise! I caught a rat!”
“What do you mean?”
After hearing the details from the duke, Eloise’s eyes widened.
I swished my tail proudly.
The process had been a little anticlimactic, but villains should always be taken down swiftly and overwhelmingly for proper catharsis. Granted, it was the duke and duchess’s authority I was borrowing.
“Therefore, I’ll see the butler punished and cast out. Truthfully, I don’t even want him to leave here alive.”
“Then make him suffer in a way that living feels more dreadful than dying.”
At my words, all three of their faces hardened in the same chilling way.
Like true members of a villainous family, they were perfectly in sync when it came to cruelty.
“That’s a fine idea.”
“As expected, Lizzet is clever.”
A grim atmosphere filled the study.
Was this still the project to rehabilitate the villainous household, or had I just created the Duke’s House of Hell?
Seemingly unconcerned, Eloise scooped me up in her arms, ready to leave.
“Eloise. Why didn’t you ever say anything before?”
“Because Father’s ears were blocked by the butler.”
At the duke’s question, Eloise answered curtly.
But both she and I knew—at this point, such words meant little.
When your own family doesn’t believe you, speaking up only leads to helplessness and loneliness.
“……I was careless.”
“It’s already in the past.”
I didn’t know why my chest felt so tight. My vision blurred from the tears pricking at my eyes.
Eloise’s slender hand trembled faintly.
“I wasn’t a very good daughter either.”
Her voice was steady, calm. She bowed her head lightly in farewell, then walked toward the garden.
As soon as we reached the deserted pergola, her teal eyes shimmered.
Raindrops pattered down from the clear sky. For a sunshower, it was a heavy one.
The news that the butler had been dragged to the basement spread through the mansion in an instant.
All of the duke’s household affairs were halted, and every servant was gathered in the central hall, exchanging uneasy glances.
The four members of House Monclaire stood one level above, looking down on them.
I watched the situation from Eloise’s arms.
“Starting with under-butler Hans, we’ll interview everyone one by one.”
Servants rarely faced direct questioning from the ducal family, so they looked bewildered.
Some gnawed their nails or paced nervously.
They were the ones who had given off the same suspicious air as the butler.
“You’ll be called in order. Enter the reception room when your name is announced.”
As the Monclaires moved forward led by the duke, the crowd parted like the Red Sea.
In the first-floor reception room, the duke sat at the head seat. The duchess sat on his right, Raoul on his left.
“Eloise, go inside.”
Without a word, Eloise stepped into the partitioned-off area at the back.
Earlier, Sophie had gone to this reception room—it must have been to prepare this space.
It seemed meant to spare Eloise from the worst of it. She sat on the sofa and looked out the window.
Raindrops clung to the glass, glinting in the sunlight.
“Your Grace, may I enter?”
That voice—it was the young man who had taken over the butler’s duties earlier.
So this was Hans, the under-butler.
“Yes, Hans. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
The interview began lightly. How long he had worked at the ducal house, what tasks he usually performed, which servants he was close with.
Then the questions grew sharper.
“Hans, as under-butler, what did you think of the butler?”
“……He was not a man worthy of being a role model.”
Just before Hans truly began to speak, he reached for something.
