Chapter 49
Marcel de Valois. A knight who, despite being a prince, had earned the title of the empire’s finest swordsman.
If the male lead, Crown Prince Arno, became the empire’s greatest magician thanks to Marianne, Marcel was a charismatic sub-male lead who shone as a knight with exceptional swordsmanship.
That wasn’t to say Marcel didn’t use magic—he mainly combined sword and magic, making him more of a magic swordsman than a pure magician.
Plus, with mana resonance with Étienne, his early potential made him a prime candidate for the male lead.
The crown prince, a gentle bastard—or rather, just a bastard—was a growth-type buffed male lead for the heroine, so his story had more layers.
“Who’s Marcel’s lady?”
I asked casually. His blue eyes flickered for a moment, but Marcel smiled mischievously.
“All the ladies of the empire. First and foremost, my mother, Her Majesty the Empress…”
“You sound like a flirt, Marcel.”
“I just love the empire, Lisette,” he said, gently scratching the crown of my head with his index finger.
Even in the original story, Marcel seemed to only have eyes for the heroine but helped many young noblewomen around him.
At first, the heroine thought he was just kind and attentive to her.
Perhaps he deliberately treated everyone equally well to hide his feelings for Eloise.
“Prince Marcel respects all women, Lisette,” Eloise said calmly. Marcel’s smile slightly faltered as he looked at me.
Serves him right. No wonder Eloise couldn’t notice his feelings. Breaking off the engagement wasn’t enough.
Neither of them knew each other’s hearts, so the road ahead was long.
I had to push things forward, even a little.
“So, how will Marcel take responsibility for Eloise?”
I pretended ignorance and asked him. His previously sly expression stiffened.
Eloise looked slightly surprised, raising her eyebrows at me.
“Right. Even if the duchess held a grand banquet, nobles have a double face. Now that it’s confirmed I’m a beastkin, situations could arise that trouble Eloise. Marcel said he’d take responsibility if I were a beastkin, right?”
Only then did Marcel’s tense expression relax again, turning sluggish.
“Hmm, Lisette, how about becoming my sister? If you’re a princess, no one could object. And for your social growth, it wouldn’t be bad to let you meet Eloise. There’s even a precedent of a wolf beastkin leader’s daughter being registered as an adopted daughter of the emperor.”
“Then… I’d have to keep living in the palace, right? With the crown prince and that woman there…”
“Uh, excuse me, but…”
When Eloise’s voice grew slightly cold, Payson carefully raised his hand to intervene.
“Lisette’s mana has stabilized, but I think we need to observe a bit longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“That is…”
Payson trailed off, glancing at Étienne, who continued flatly.
“It’s an unstable awakening for a beastkin.”
“Unstable?”
“We suspect it’s due to a slightly different form of mana. Even if I wanted to help with the awakening, this is my first time dealing with this type, so all I can do is temporarily stabilize your mana.”
The silence of the three men sank heavily. A different form of mana.
Could it be related to my possession? Or perhaps my body was always different from birth.
Maybe the mana of the Northern Mountains was really the problem.
Eloise reached out and lifted me from the examination table where I was still sprawled.
“Then it’s best to keep it a secret for now.”
“That’s better. Then we’ll have to give up finding Lisette a new master, right, young lady?”
Come to think of it, if I’m a beastkin, going to another noble family is impossible.
Exchanging beastkin without formal adoption could easily be seen as beastkin trafficking.
“That’s troublesome. Even after the examination, we’ll have to keep you here.”
Though she said “troublesome,” Eloise’s face looked calm. Her teal eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
Marcel, who had been watching us with a smile, finally asked for my opinion.
“Are you okay with this, Lisette?”
“Yes! I’m fine! I like the Montclair Duchy more than the palace now!”
With my path as a villainess secured, the duchy was no longer a purely dangerous place.
There was my room with a cat tower and cat wheel, and kind Sophie.
The Montclairs doted on me, and teasing Raoul was fun.
And there was Eloise.
“Your Highness, please consider other methods gradually. The adoption as a princess also requires the opinion of both of Your Majesties.”
“Yes. I promise. I’ll find a way to protect both the Montclair heiress and Lisette.”
I trusted Marcel. Even in the original story, I trusted him more than the male lead.
When the heroine was kidnapped and the crown prince threatened the beastkin prince of another kingdom, Marcel rescued her.
I believed he would find a better path for any situation.
Honestly, I wasn’t too thrilled about being a princess.
A princess had to maintain her dignity, couldn’t just laze around, and would be criticized for extravagance.
Wait—extravagance? As a beastkin, I could enjoy even more. If it’s Montclair…!
The dream of a wealthy duchy’s pet grew bigger and bigger.
The next day, while Eloise attended a lesson as Crown Princess and an art exhibition with the Empress, I began my investigation.
For my rich beastkin life, or rather, to prevent the villainess ending!
Eloise tried to take me along, but I found as many excuses as possible to stay in the Empress’s palace.
Eloise seemed more obsessed with me, though perhaps it was just my imagination.
“Hey, sorry to bother you while busy, but could you tell me about the layout of the palace?”
I caught a slightly familiar maid while wandering the Empress’s palace.
“Of course, Lisette. Anything you ask is fine.”
The maid crouched to meet my eyes and smiled. The Empress’s maids, like the prince’s, were kind and gentle.
“The palace can be divided with the central fountain garden as the center.”
On the still-damp marble, the maid drew with her finger as she explained.
“To the northeast is the central palace, where His Majesty the Emperor resides. Northwest is the Empress’s palace. Southwest is the Crown Prince’s palace, and southeast is the prince’s palace. Originally they had other names, but now they’re called this. Between the Empress’s palace and the Crown Prince’s palace is the Mana Lake, warm all year round.”
The only path to the Crown Prince’s palace passes by the lake. Could he be training mana resonance again today?
Since there are almost no everyday scenes in the original, I had no idea.
“Thanks! That was very helpful.”
“Then… may I touch Lisette’s paw once?”
The maid’s brown eyes sparkled intensely. Unable to resist, I reluctantly extended my front paw.
She grabbed it and squished it happily.
“Ah! This soft pink jelly! I have to show my companions today!”
Show off… something like this?
She happily played with my paw for a long time. Well, if she’s happy, that’s fine.
“Oh! I must go back to work now. Shall I tell the head maid where you’ll walk?”
“Hmm, Mana Lake. She’ll know if you say we didn’t explore it properly last time.”
“Yes! Please take care.”
Escorted by the maid, I left the Empress’s palace. The winter wind blew sharply.
Since I’d been carried by Étienne or Eloise recently, I hadn’t even noticed the cold.
“Brr, it’s cold.”
It shouldn’t be cold at Mana Lake.
I hurried along the shortcut I used last time. Investigating the Crown Prince aside, I couldn’t freeze to death before enjoying life in a wealthy household.
Stepping lightly on dry leaves, I approached the lake. The cold was gone. The grass even looked green, not brown. This place was fully spring.
I hadn’t appreciated the scenery before in my hurry. It was truly beautiful.
A crystal-clear lake stretched widely, surrounded by countless blooming flowers.
A place where romance between the male and female leads was almost inevitable.
“Training ends here for today.”
I had almost forgotten my duties, admiring the lake, when a sharp, honed voice brought me back to reality.
The voice was of the crown prince, one I didn’t even want to hear in dreams.
Holding my breath, I quietly stepped toward where he might be, careful not to be noticed.
