Chapter 50
There stood Marianne, looking exhausted, and the crown prince, who hadn’t broken a sweat.
“Marianne. Your father has come.”
“My father… passed away, though…”
“I mean Count Lonsbleu. You’d better get used to it.”
Though his words were curt, the crown prince suddenly scooped Marianne up in a princess carry.
“Y-Your Highness, please put me down.”
Ah, I know this scene. It was in the original novel. Back then, I squealed watching it.
“You’re far too light. What are you even doing, skipping proper meals like this?”
“I… I’ve been eating well.”
Seeing this play out in reality was even more of an eyesore than reading it.
Like a pair of cockroaches, the two of them carried on, and I carefully tailed them from behind.
In the original, the conversation between Count Lonsbleu and the crown prince wasn’t described in detail. Marianne, who had tried to eavesdrop, got caught and was scolded by the crown prince. One of his many karmic “black mark” moments.
“If you collapse, it’ll disrupt my training. You understand?”
“Yes…”
An emotion somewhere between obsession, fondness, and love—
That was what the crown prince felt for Marianne at the moment.
And yet, this same man would later lock her inside the palace for five whole years.
Following their nauseating lovey-dovey antics, I soon found myself at the Crown Prince’s Palace.
I couldn’t follow them inside, so I hid myself in the shrubbery nearby.
How should I sneak in?
Looking carefully, I noticed vines growing along the palace walls.
With a cat’s body, I could definitely climb them.
It sank in once again—I truly was part beast. The thought was depressing.
Well, no helping it.
I leapt lightly onto the vines, following the crown prince’s scent I’d memorized earlier.
Surprisingly stable, the climb wasn’t difficult at all.
No wonder cats were so good at climbing high places.
Ah, I miss the cat tower back at the duke’s mansion.
Thinking of that plaything I’d only used once, I climbed higher.
The prince’s scent drifted strongly from one window.
Peeking in, sure enough, there he was.
“What is the meaning of this, Marianne? I told you it would be best to abandon your commoner habits…”
“Your Highness, she only wished to see her father because he’d come. Please forgive her.”
“I… I’m sorry to be a bother.”
Seemed the karmic scolding scene had just passed, as Marianne bowed deeply and hurried out.
Judging by the desk, sofa, and bookshelves, this room must’ve been his office.
The crown prince, after standing by the door for a moment, walked over to the sofa and sat down.
“…Continue.”
Opposite him sat a man with vivid pink hair: Count Lonsbleu.
His voice was low, a stark contrast to the warm tone he’d used earlier with his daughter.
“Restoring the imperial consort system will not be easy.”
Thanks to my heightened hearing, I could hear their conversation clearly from outside.
I pressed my ear closer to the window.
“That is why I am asking the nobles of our faction to gather their strength.”
“Monclaire will not stay quiet.”
“The council of nobles may be a battle of power, but ultimately, it’s a battle of votes.”
So the crown prince was already preparing to win over more nobles to restore the imperial consort system.
How did this play out in the novel again? …I didn’t think it had been mentioned.
“If you promise to make Marianne an empress consort and grant her a marquisate, I will devote myself to your cause, body and soul.”
The greed dripping from Count Lonsbleu’s voice was revolting.
For Marianne, he acted like the most kind and gentle stepfather. But here? Sinister, calculating.
In the novel, after House Monclaire was destroyed and Marianne became crown princess, he was elevated to Duke Lonsbleu.
“…I’ll give you what you want. But don’t touch Lady Monclaire.”
“I don’t understand what you mean, Your Highness.”
“Seneca.”
“…Your Highness.”
Right. Seneca. That was the name of the poison that had once caused me unbearable pain.
When the count fell silent, no longer denying it, the crown prince continued.
“There was a maid cast out by Lady Monclaire. She was expelled with no severance, yet she’s living rather well in the countryside. Tracing the source of her funds… guess who I found at the end of that trail?”
“It was all for you and Marianne, Your Highness.”
“Do you think Monclaire won’t discover what I already have?”
“She’s a discarded daughter in her own house anyway.”
A sudden CRASH startled me—half the table inside had been split in two.
Magic wasn’t meant to be used to smash furniture, was it…?
“So, you mean to defy me?”
“Your Highness, may I ask one thing? You don’t… have feelings for the young lady, do you?”
“Count. Just answer my question.”
“If she doesn’t touch Marianne, then we’ll leave her alone as well.”
Count Lonsbleu rose from his seat, clearly displeased with the prince’s forceful words.
“I trust Your Highness’s heart will not waver.”
He bowed low and left the office.
Moments later, another noble scurried in, only to gasp at the broken desk.
That man—
“My word! Your Highness, are you insane?”
He was a long-time friend of the prince, one who wasn’t bound by rigid hierarchy. A side character in the original who often served as comic relief.
He was heir to some noble house, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Taren, do you think I have feelings for Lady Monclaire?”
“Huh? Don’t you? It looks like you like her, plain as day—you even snatched her away.”
“I only needed her. Marcel had no use for Monclaire, after all.”
“Or maybe Marcel simply liked Lady Eloise instead of Monclaire.”
“Marcel? The imperial family has no need for such frivolous emotions. Look at me. I’m the result.”
And that very “result” would later start a war, driven by those same emotions.
I sneered silently and kept listening.
“Yeah, yeah. That’s why Your Highness grew up so serious. But you know, sometimes love is greater than power.”
“Ridiculous. To me, both Lady Monclaire and Marianne are nothing more than tools to secure my throne.”
“Still… don’t you feel sorry for Lady Lonsbleu at least?”
At some point, their conversation shifted from Eloise to Marianne.
By provoking him like that, Taren—the aide—would slowly make the crown prince realize his feelings for her.
Since I already knew how the rest of this unfolded, I decided not to risk being caught and carefully climbed back down the vines.
I’ll have to come back later.
Now that I knew the location of his office, I could search it when he wasn’t around.
For now, I needed to recall details about the imperial consort system.
Depending on the original story wasn’t ideal, but honestly, nothing was more useful for survival here.
At the very least, the system won’t be restored right away.
Since it had been abolished long ago, reinstating it would be no easy feat.
Even if the council passed it, it would take years to be implemented.
He’d have to marry Eloise first, inherit the throne, and only then elevate Marianne as consort.
But in the novel, after Eloise’s disgrace, their engagement was annulled—so there’d been no need to restore the system.
Time is the key. If we demand annulment first, that solves everything.
But what grounds could I use to find fault with him? He was such a flawless “male lead.”
In this world, even having a mistress while engaged wasn’t considered scandalous.
If it were, the crown prince would’ve been disgraced right at the beginning of the novel. At most, people would’ve just gossiped about him behind his back.
His faults, his faults… other than hurting the heroine, did he ever make a real mistake publicly?
“What are you doing here?”
Lost in thought while walking by the lakeside, I looked up at the familiar voice.
Sunlight reflected off silver hair, making it shine so bright it almost hurt to look at.
“Hello, Étienne. Just out for a walk.”
“Liar. For someone on a walk, you look awfully scruffy.”
Ah, maybe from when I’d pressed my face against that dusty window earlier.
Not wanting to groom myself, I half-heartedly rubbed at my face with a paw.
“You made it worse.”
Étienne pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped my face and fur clean.
See, this is why he doesn’t seem like a thirteen-year-old boy—he’s practically a nanny.
“Thanks. But what are you doing here?”
