Chapter 51
“…Because the mana wavelength was fluctuating.”
There wasn’t really anything that would cause such a disturbance. Maybe he got irritated seeing something unpleasant.
“What,~ did you come because you were worried about me?”
I rubbed my forehead against Etienne’s knee in a teasing tone.
He stiffened and then stepped back. Tch. And here I thought we’d grown a lot closer.
“If nothing’s wrong, I’m leaving.”
“No way! Since we’ve met, let’s at least have a strategy meeting.”
“I should just say it outright—your strategy isn’t very good.”
“What part of it?”
“All of it.”
Even while saying that, Etienne didn’t leave. Instead, he laid something down and sat next to me.
A spring breeze blew, ruffling his hair.
“First of all, it’s clear the two of them like each other. So wouldn’t breaking the engagement solve everything?”
“Imperial marriages don’t get resolved so easily.”
“The marriage was arranged because the interests of the imperial family and Monclaire matched. If one side feels it’s at a loss, they could break it off, right? Of course, the side that loses would be Monclaire.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Instead of just rejecting everything, give your opinion! Didn’t you say you’d help with anything? Do you have a better plan?”
Annoyed at his constant nitpicking, I snapped, raising my paw at him.
But my fluffy little paw wasn’t very threatening.
Etienne stared at me with his usual sullen expression.
Then he pressed down on my paw with his finger.
“What about investigating the Crown Prince’s palace?”
“I’ve already figured out where his office is. I’ll start searching it tomorrow.”
“You tend to think everything is too easy sometimes.”
My head tilted sideways. From Etienne’s perspective, maybe it did look that way.
To me, this was the world of a novel I’d read to the end.
So of course my thoughts might feel a little detached from reality.
Anyway, the Crown Prince was destined to break off his engagement with Eloise and marry Marianne.
“See? You don’t have a better idea either, do you?”
“…I do.”
“What is it? I’m ready to listen, Etienne.”
“Eloise should be the one to get broken off.”
“What?”
What nonsense was this? I stared at him intently, but his golden eyes didn’t waver at all.
Why was I going through all this trouble then? The back of my neck prickled.
“Eloise’s reputation is already bad. Ever since her failed Awakening, she’s been sensitive. And once Lady Lonsbleu appeared, it only got worse. You wouldn’t know, since you didn’t see it yourself.”
“What do you mean I don’t know? I’m sure the other person was at fault.”
That noble lady who claimed Eloise slapped her must’ve been badmouthing her or something.
Our Ellie would never strike someone without a reason.
When I shamelessly retorted, Etienne let out a long sigh.
“You didn’t want to go to House Monclaire, remember? Wasn’t it because you knew something?”
“T-that’s because! I thought she was going to be abandoned in the palace.”
In the original story, she was written as a vile villainess. Who would want to go near her?
But after watching Eloise up close, I realized it was just a narrative trick.
“Anyway, that’s the fastest method. Use Eloise’s already ruined reputation to make her the one dumped. Then Marcel could comfort her—it wouldn’t be that difficult.”
“It might not be difficult, but it would trample everything Eloise has.”
“So, you’re saying you want to take the harder path?”
“It’s not hard. I can do it.”
I would use both the original storyline and the advantage of being a cat to somehow uncover the Crown Prince’s weakness.
For a start, carefully investigating that Queen Dowager restoration project I overheard earlier might lead to answers.
“Fine. Then what do you want me to do?”
It seemed my firm resolve had convinced Etienne.
With the sunset glow touching his sullen face, he almost looked lively.
“From now on, everything I do.”
“Alright.”
“First, let’s ransack the Crown Prince’s office together.”
Apparently his promise to help with anything wasn’t just empty words, because he nodded.
The next day, we gathered in the Prince’s palace reception room from morning to plan the search of his office.
Etienne easily told me the Crown Prince’s schedule.
“The Crown Prince spends the morning on personal affairs, then has lunch with the Emperor, and afterward trains with Marianne. He’ll return to his palace afterward. Our search window is from lunch until training ends.”
“That’s a decent amount of time. How do you even know his schedule?”
“If you’re a noble of the imperial court, isn’t it common sense to place a spy in each palace?”
…As a former college student and current cat, there’s no way I would’ve known that kind of “common sense.”
I just nodded vaguely. Considering the time he had lunch with the Emperor before, it seemed like we should head over soon.
“Wait. Then you already knew the office’s location too?”
“….”
Etienne avoided my eyes in silence.
Webnovel transmigrators usually managed everything perfectly on their own. Meanwhile, I felt like I was just wasting time and effort.
Sulking, I started clawing at the sofa, when he suddenly picked me up and stood.
“Time is urgent.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll leave it to you.”
Once again, Etienne leapt out the window and dashed toward the Crown Prince’s palace.
He only chose paths hidden from the imperial knights, so we quickly reached the office’s window.
The latch wasn’t fastened, but the window felt tightly sealed, as if something blocked it.
“There’s a barrier spell.”
“What could he possibly be hiding that’s worth casting magic for?”
“He doesn’t trust my brother.”
“As if Marcel would even do anything. So, how do we open it?”
“Show me your claws.”
I extended my sharp, well-filed claws from beneath my fluffy fur. Etienne covered them with his mana.
He held my paw and traced a rectangle along the window frame.
A faint green mana appeared, then silently crumbled away.
“Won’t they notice this?”
“They won’t.”
Normally, when a spell is broken, the caster knows immediately.
I shot him a doubtful look, but he entered the office confidently.
“Your mana isn’t ordinary. I mixed a little of yours with mine. For standard spells like this, that’s the best way to break them.”
The way he spoke so casually about my mana being “unusual” made it feel like nothing at all.
Escaping his arms, I landed softly on the luxurious carpet.
The Crown Prince’s office was spotless, unnervingly neat and orderly.
“But since I can’t restore it, they’ll know someone broke in. We have to finish the search today.”
“Isn’t that kind of irresponsible?”
“Didn’t you say it wasn’t hard? That you could do it?”
…That’s not the same thing.
I wanted to protest, but there wasn’t time. Better to search as much as possible.
Etienne started with the desk on the right, while I dug through the drawers.
The drawers contained documents on poor-relief laws.
There was even a journal about training progress with Marianne, but I ignored it.
The third drawer only had stacks of tax papers.
“…The height feels a little different.”
Something was off. From the outside, the drawers looked identical, but inside, the third one was just slightly shallower.
It seemed like an attempt to disguise it by filling it with documents. But for someone like me—famous on SNS for being the “OCD convenience store part-timer”—this kind of trick was easy to spot.
“Small differences like this are the most annoying.”
When I tapped the drawer bottom with my paw, something invisible pushed back. Was it mana?
“Etienne, come here.”
Etienne, who had been quickly flipping through books, came over.
Without me saying it, he seemed to catch on. Just like with the window, he coated my paw with mana.
“Lightly scratch along the edge of the bottom.”
I carefully did as he said, and once again faint green mana collapsed.
Click.
The bottom of the drawer lifted slightly.
I pried it open, revealing a hidden space. Inside was a bundle of thin papers.
[Report on the Bastard Child of the Beastkin Kingdom’s King]
The title alone was extremely suspicious.
Etienne pulled it out and quickly flipped through it.
Apparently, he thought I wouldn’t be able to read, since he skimmed it at remarkable speed.
