I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 168
Chapter 84.2
Seeing Cadis like that, she made a decision that she would become emperor and free the dog shapeshifters so that they could find for themselves a master who would cherish and love them for who they were and not take violent advantage of that pure loyalty.
As the first step to seizing power, she seeks to gain the Emperor’s trust.
To do so, it involved her uncovering the corruption of the Count of Bilbao’s slave traders and delivering a significant blow to Blois, whom the Emperor was wary of, and boasting her presence in the political scene.
‘…But I completely ruined it all.’
Although I hadn’t done anything wrong, since I knew everything about Elaine’s situation, I couldn’t bear to look at her.
‘I had to do it for my cats…’
I felt terribly guilty that I asked Dimitri to do it.
“You know, I personally like the First Princess very much, so I want to look good for her… very much. So Dimitri, if you don’t particularly dislike her, would you cooperate with me?”
“Do you know her well?”
The question made me pause and reflect on the relationship between ‘Rowaine’ and Elaine, something I hadn’t considered before, as I had been more focused on Dimitri’s connection with Elaine.
‘Wait a minute… Could it be that I should be cautious in this situation, rather than Dimitri?’
In the original story, ‘Rowaine’ never had a direct confrontation with Elaine until she became the Emperor’s mistress. Yet, for some reason, Rowaine developed a deep hatred for her, despite never having met her. She went so far as to abuse Cadis, the one cherished by the heroine, seemingly out of spite.
‘Come to think of it, Elaine probably knows a little bit about Rowaine.’
…To the extent of being shapeshifter’s abuser.
I swallowed dry saliva.
‘Wouldn’t she be upset since I stole the slave trader plan?’
That was what I thought, though Elaine couldn’t really argue with me since she wouldn’t suspect that I knew what she was up to. Still, it seemed far-fetched that Elaine, who had been pretending to be ill for so long, would travel all the way to Blois at this time of year for anything other than to see me.
‘…She’s coming because she wants to know what really happened.’
At that realization, I felt my confidence waver. As my shoulders shrunk, I whispered the words like an incantation.
“I don’t know her. I’ve never even seen her, but I like her… I hope she’s doing well. I’m sure she’s very, very nice, and I hope everyone in Blois is good to her, for my sake…”
Dimitri tilted his head.
“You look scared?”
I almost nodded my head in agreement.
‘I don’t want to die being branded as a villain by the main character.’
He then asked me, who was trembling with anxiety.
“Why do you like her so much? You said you’ve never even met her.”
“Ah, it’s… that…”
I couldn’t say that because she was the absolute protagonist in this world, so I decided to cover it up.
“Um, because she’s pretty.”
“….!”
Wasn’t appearance the obvious reason why you might be attracted to someone you’ve never met?
“I actually like pretty people. I happened to meet her by chance from afar, and her beautiful platinum hair and lovely pink eyes, as if dyed in cherry blossoms, left a deep impression on me. How dazzling was her smile… It was love at first sight.”
Dimitri stared at me with a strange look in his eyes.
“Beautiful? Are you saying that you like people by their appearance?”
“Yes, that’s just why. She was really dazzling.”
…I’ve never actually seen her, though.
Dimitri, who listened to me, straightened his back and sat up. Then, with a grumpy face, he raised the silver tray in front of him at an angle and reflected the light toward me.
I frowned and blocked the light with my hand.
“What are you doing?”
“This is what blinding actually is. Humans aren’t even luminous, so there’s no way you’ll be blinded.”
“Stop it!”
Dimitri stood up with a snort.
“I’m busy, so I’m going to leave first.”
He was truly an enigmatic cat.
‘What…?’
̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊
“You were there again, Your Excellency? I’ve been looking for you!”
Hyle, who spotted Dimitri coming out of Rowaine’s office, hurriedly approached him.
“There are people who have come to see Your Excellency gathered in the office, so let’s go see them first.”
He urged, but Dimitri was too busy trying to look at his reflection in the window.
“Hyle.”
“Yes.”
He turned to face Hyle and smiled.
“What do you think, dazzling?”
“….?”
At those words, Hyle replied, glancing out the window behind Dimitri.
“The sunlight is nice, though.”
“No, look at me.”
Saying so, Dimitri rested his chin between his forefinger and thumb before smiling again.
“Isn’t my smile dazzling?”
Hyle thought.
‘…The more people there are, the more problems there are.’
He swiftly gave the thumbs up of both hands and praised his boss in a fuss.
“Ah, such an obvious statement. Your Excellency is indeed the most handsome man in the Empire!”
Dimitri patted Hyle’s shoulder as if he was satisfied.
“I see. Let’s go to work.”
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