Chapter 62
I deliberately raised my voice like a greedy cat — though what I said was true.
“Lizette, we already have more than enough wealth,” the Duchess said gracefully, trying to soothe me.
I was half expecting her to ask how I knew, but thankfully, she didn’t. I had no good excuse prepared anyway.
Instead, I muttered with a defeated look.
“But the Crown Prince, and all the nobles at his banquet, treated Ellie carelessly. They probably thought the Monclaires were too poor and too busy to look after her properly.”
Eloise looked down at me silently.
Her eyes clearly said, ‘What kind of trouble are you planning now with that tiny head of yours?’
“I’m going to give all those diamonds to Ellie! Once people realize how precious she is to House Monclaire, they won’t dare treat her so poorly again.”
“……”
They all fell silent, clearly understanding what I meant.
It was obvious from everyone’s reaction that their past neglect toward Eloise was showing — and that was why she’d been treated this way.
From the mansion to the Crown Prince himself — if they truly wanted to protect Eloise, they had to show it openly.
Eloise also seemed to grasp what I meant and let out a shallow sigh.
“Lizette, you really…”
“Adorable? I know, sister.”
At the word sister, she gave my head a few gentle pats and didn’t say anything more.
An awkward silence settled over the dining table, and the warm food slowly began to cool.
“I’m done talking. Aren’t you all hungry?”
“Yes.”
When the Duke rang the crystal bell on the table, the servants who had been waiting outside entered to serve the meal.
On my plate was a perfectly cooked steak drenched in butter, rich in flavor.
For some reason, the meat tasted unbelievably good today.
After an amazing dinner, I went up to the playroom and enthusiastically scratched my post.
Even if I was technically a beastkin, I still had the instincts of a cat. Since I couldn’t do this in the imperial palace, my stress had built up.
Scratching the rope and wood that made up my scratching post was incredibly satisfying.
“You look happy, Lizette.”
“Yeah. This feels amazing.”
Eloise, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book in the corner of my playroom, looked at me with soft eyes.
Why was she looking at me so prettily like that? When I tilted my head, Eloise tilted hers as well.
“What?”
“I can never predict what you’re thinking.”
“I was just thinking how nice it would be if things could stay peaceful like this forever.”
Our so-called “villainous” family growing closer, with no reason for us to be destroyed — and me being part of that happiness.
Lately, that thought filled my mind every day.
If possible, I wanted Eloise to marry Marcel, whom she liked, and live happily too.
The flow of mana around her feet was finally starting to become stable. Her efforts were beginning to bear fruit.
“…For me, Lizette, just having you is enough.”
Excuse me, why are you saying something that sounds like a love confession? My poor cat heart almost stopped.
I stepped out of the play area and rubbed my head against Eloise’s dress.
“I’m a greedy cat, you know.”
“Really. You look the part.”
Eloise chuckled softly and tickled my chin.
There were still a few years left before the war from the original story began.
Before then, I was determined to make every one of my plans succeed.
If possible, I wanted a power I could use myself — whether it was authority or magic — something that could directly help me.
A few days later, my wish came true more easily than I expected.
“Marcel wrote that he predicts Lizette’s beastkin awakening might progress faster the more she channels mana. Since no one in the Empire knows beastkin mana as well as Étienne, he wants to send Étienne as your teacher.
Of course, Étienne can’t go alone, so Marcel says he’ll need to visit the ducal house too — and he’s asking me to come up with a good excuse for it.”
Eloise read Marcel’s letter aloud in her pleasant, melodious voice.
The idea that I might soon be able to use magic myself made me happy, but at the same time, I couldn’t help worrying — Eloise’s mana still wasn’t flowing perfectly yet.
“His Highness is so irresponsible. ‘A suitable excuse,’ he says.”
“You know… there’s someone perfect for that role.”
The person I thought of was Raoul.
Marcel and Raoul were childhood playmates. It wouldn’t be strange for Marcel to visit an old friend from time to time out of boredom.
“I don’t know who you mean, Lizette.”
“Raoul Monclaire.”
“Ah…”
Eloise sighed softly, her brow furrowing in displeasure.
She must have thought Raoul disliked her, so asking her younger brother for a favor probably didn’t sit well with her.
“By the way, Lizette… are you doing all right here at the duchy?”
She changed the subject by asking about me instead of answering.
Looks like I’ll have to handle this myself.
Pretending to take the bait, I tilted my head. “Hm? What do you mean?”
“…I realized I’ve never actually seen you change.”
Judging by her hesitant tone, she must’ve meant my half-beast transformation.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. I haven’t transformed once since coming here.”
Back at the imperial palace, it happened once every couple of days — but not once since moving to the ducal house.
I didn’t know if that was a good omen or a bad sign. I’d have to ask Étienne once he arrived.
But before that, I needed Raoul’s cooperation first.
“I’ll talk to Raoul myself, so don’t worry, Ellie. Just enjoy your tea party.”
Eloise narrowed her eyes slightly and folded Marcel’s letter back up.
Today, she was going to a tea party hosted by Countess Scott, together with the Duchess.
“I’ll probably wear down the heels of my shoes soon, being dragged all over like this. I owe that to you, Lizette.”
“Lizette doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”
I played dumb shamelessly, though of course I knew exactly what she meant.
After my bold declaration at the last banquet, the Duke and Duchess had been openly making statements in high society.
They were essentially parading around the message: ‘Touch Eloise Monclaire, and you’re done for.’
They even took her to social gatherings she didn’t need to attend, flaunting her beauty and status.
If any tactless noble tried to badmouth her, they confronted them personally.
“Is that so? Then let’s have you come to Countess Scott’s tea party too.”
“Hiss! No way!”
I let out a sharp hiss, my fur bristling in protest. Eloise’s lips trembled slightly, and then she broke into a small laugh.
Out of the last five social events, I had accompanied her to three — one of which was the Cat Lovers’ Society Gathering.
I still vividly remembered being chased around by Count Scott’s obnoxious cat, who wouldn’t stop hitting on me.
“Ellie, I seriously thought I was going to die that day.”
“He was just being cute.”
Cute, my tail. The tiny cat had clearly learned some kind of sleazy pick-up lines somewhere. It was revolting.
Just remembering it made my fur stand on end.
“If you’d understood what he said, you wouldn’t think it was cute.”
“What did he say?”
“…‘You’re dazzling. Even the sun must be jealous of you.’ … Myaaaah!!”
Hearing myself say that cringeworthy line made my skin crawl, and I screamed out loud.
Even Eloise couldn’t handle it — her brows furrowed deeply as she turned away.
“…Yes. You definitely shouldn’t go. It wouldn’t be good for your mental health.”
“My point exactly.”
Overwhelmed by embarrassment, I flopped onto the floor with a thud.
A little while later, Sophie came in to help Eloise finish getting ready for her outing.
I followed Eloise to the front door of the mansion to see her off.
“I’ll be back. Don’t tease Raoul too much.”
“Yeees.”
She patted my head once and left the mansion.
Technically, Raoul was older than me in this world, but mentally, I was far more mature.
So I just needed to tease him a little. He had plenty of karma built up anyway.
“Hehehe…”
The Duchess and Eloise were both out, and the Duke had gone to inspect the abandoned mine at my request.
He could have easily sent subordinates, but insisted on doing it himself. It felt a little burdensome, but after being deceived once, the Duke had grown much more cautious — which was a good thing.
In any case, that meant the only Monclaire left in the mansion was Raoul.
No one could stop me now.
“Hans! Hans, do you know where the young master is right now?”
I grabbed Hans, the former deputy butler — now promoted to head butler — who happened to be walking by carrying a thick stack of documents.
