Chapter 79
Back then, I’d been too distracted by the banquet scene in front of me to ask properly.
Now, even without hearing the explanation, I felt like I understood why.
“I thought you just didn’t show me magic before because I wasn’t awakened.”
“Maybe she didn’t want Ellie to get hurt.”
“I think so too—now, at least.”
As Eloise stepped into the garden, the duke, duchess, Sophie, and all the servants began to applaud.
The thunderous sound was so loud it seemed it could shake the walls of the ducal estate.
“Congratulations, my lady!”
“Congratulations!”
It was news so much happier than the broken engagement that some even wiped tears from their eyes. Everyone was genuinely delighted.
It was worth replacing the old servants.
If the old butler and his cronies had still been around, they would have ruined the mood for sure.
“Thank you, everyone.”
Perhaps because the banquet had taken place recently, Eloise accepted their congratulations naturally.
Hans shook a bottle of champagne and popped the cork; foam shot up high into the air.
With cheers from everyone, a sweet and refreshing scent filled the garden.
At the tail end of spring—after surviving winter—the scenery before us was beautiful enough to make one tear up.
Summer passed quickly, unbearably hot—hot enough to resent my fur.
The ducal manor itself was kept comfortable with magic, like the air conditioning was always on, but daytime outside was a different story.
We spent every day outside the manor grounds, with me in Eloise’s arms.
After the broken engagement, Eloise began participating seriously in social activities, and she became busier than anyone in Monclaire.
During the day, she went around the social halls, and in the evening, she trained her magic. She was truly diligent.
“It’s been so long since we’ve had some peace.”
I flicked my tail as we watched the quickly setting sunset from the pagoda, the days shorter now.
A cool breeze, faintly carrying cold air rather than the heavy summer heat, brushed through my fur.
Eloise paused her pen from writing a letter and looked at me.
“Rest all you want for the next few days. Founding Festival is coming soon.”
“Founding Festival?”
“Now that I think about it—Lizette, have you ever seen the Founding Festival?”
I shook my head.
When Etienne had picked me up and taken me to the palace, no one had mentioned the festival—so it must’ve already passed.
“When is it?”
“September 15th.”
“That’s less than a week away! I’m excited! There’ll be big celebrations, right?”
“Well, yes… but Lizette, you should look forward to your birthday even more.”
Her one sentence made my heart flutter.
I’d never had a birthday properly celebrated—not even in my past life.
My first birthday in this world.
I’d never waited for a birthday before, but now, I found myself wishing October 21st would come soon.
“My lady, the duke is looking for you. If you’re available, he asks that you come to the second-floor parlor.”
A maid hurried over to deliver the message.
Eloise set down her pen, and Sophie quietly cleaned up the table.
“Looks like he finally found it.”
“Found what?”
“Her Majesty the Empress’s tea. You said you wanted to try it, remember?”
I had completely forgotten—two whole seasons had passed.
I was the one who said I wanted it, yet I had forgotten, and she remembered. She really was a kind person.
Eloise tried to pick me up, but I quickly dodged her hands.
“Lizette?”
“I want to walk on my own while we’re inside the manor. My body feels so heavy lately.”
“You’re not that heavy.”
“I’m going to exercise! I’ll run on the cat wheel too!”
Her teal eyes curved beautifully as she looked down at me.
“Yes… I suppose being round would make you even cuter.”
“Hah?!”
Even if she smiled prettily, that crossed a line.
I had once wished for someone who could love my belly fat in my previous life, but right now I truly felt like I would roll across the floor like a ball.
Sophie, listening to our conversation, chuckled softly.
“My lady, Lady Lizette is in a growth spurt. Moving around more will help her grow tall and strong.”
“Exactly!”
“Then I suppose there’s no helping it. But only inside the manor.”
“Okay!”
After barely getting her permission, I hustled toward the manor—but by the time I reached the door, I was wheezing.
See? I am out of shape. At my age I should be bursting with energy, not exhausted like this.
This was entirely Eloise’s fault.
“Ellie, carry me.”
In the end, I gave up on the stairs to the second floor.
She let out a small laugh and easily lifted me into her arms.
When I watched her sparring the other day, I realized she had much more stamina and strength than her slender frame suggested.
“You’ve become so spoiled, Lizette.”
“Because everyone in Monclaire treats me too nicely.”
“That’s true. Mother and Father adore you.”
“The worst offender is you.”
I gestured at Eloise and used the word “sister,” and she nodded as if admitting it.
When we entered the second-floor parlor, the duke and duchess were drinking tea.
“It’s been hard to see your faces lately. Both yours and Lizette’s.”
“But we still eat dinner together every day.”
Eloise responded primly as she sat on the sofa.
Over the summer, the atmosphere of Monclaire changed noticeably.
The icy, sharp aura that used to linger around the family had melted away into something gentler.
“Sometimes you should rest comfortably at the manor.”
The duke and duchess no longer spoke sharply to Eloise.
Eloise no longer needed to bristle against her parents.
“I actually find it fun—going around and giving people what they deserve, Mother.”
At the social gatherings, Eloise truly looked delighted.
She had endured so much humiliation as a non-awakened mage, and now she was putting those nobles who ignored her right in their place.
“But the prey we really need to catch still isn’t taking the bait.”
Eloise was still searching for the one behind Seneca.
The duke and duchess, though they didn’t say it aloud to her, were also keeping a close eye on Count Ronsbloer.
But for some reason, the count was too quiet. So was the crown prince.
After the broken engagement, I thought he would make a fuss or get engaged to Marianne like in the original story, but not a single rumor had emerged all summer.
On top of that, Marcel and Etienne were away scouting the north, so we hadn’t heard any palace news.
“Prey? I’ll catch it for you. Just say the word.”
The duke pretended ignorance as he filled Eloise’s teacup.
“I want to catch this one myself, Father. And about the thing I asked for?”
“It’ll arrive next week. Dragon berberries—summer fruit. Last year’s harvest was all taken by the Empress, so I bought the newly harvested and dried batch.”
“Thank you.”
Dragon berries, huh? Dragons existed in this world too—of course they did, in a world with mages.
“Dragon berberries… are they related to dragons?”
I asked with wide eyes, and the duchess smiled, handing me some fish jerky.
“According to northern legend, it is a tree that grew where the last dragon shed its blood. The fruit resembles drops of dragon blood—thus the name.”
“If it’s the last dragon… that means they don’t exist anymore?”
“Unfortunately. But there are records proving they once did.”
I’d gotten excited because dragons only existed in novels back home, so it was disappointing.
I chewed the jerky gloomily.
“But you’ll be able to see a life-sized dragon sculpture at the Founding Festival.”
“At the festival?”
“The First Emperor of Calenia was aided by a dragon to defeat a demon and establish the empire. Records say it was the last dragon. To honor it, the First Emperor created a sculpture—only revealed during the Founding Festival.”
After hearing the duke’s explanation, I wanted to see it—even if it was just a statue.
The Founding Festival would gather even more nobles than regular social events. It already sounded exhausting, but curiosity won.
“Can I go too?”
“Of course, Lizette. There is nowhere in this empire you cannot go. You are a Monclaire.”
“But lately… the rumors about me…”
“Pay them no mind. It’s merely Viscount Tyler spreading nonsense among nobles loyal to the emperor or the crown prince.”
Because of the duchess’s banquet, the “demon cat” rumor had died down for a while, but it had recently begun circulating again.
Once it was revealed I was a beastkin, it would naturally disappear, but it still bothered me.
The duchess saw my gloomy expression and continued gently:
“You shouldn’t bother with such petty nobles. Many more nobles think well of you, Lizette.”
“Yes.”
“And crushing those worthless pests can be very satisfying.”
“We’ll have to prepare even more thoroughly for this year’s Founding Festival, Mother.”
The mother and daughter glanced at each other and smiled with lifted corners of their mouths.
Their hidden intentions made the fur on my back stand up.
My first Founding Festival… I felt equal parts excitement and apprehension.
