I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 265

Chapter 133.1

Slipping back into my office, I fiddled with the invitation Hyle had brought me. When the national assembly convened and the nobility flocked to the capital for the social season, countless parties were held at the imperial palace for the most trivial reasons. This party was one of those parties.

I picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Renée. There was something I needed to confirm.

「 Renée, I’ve come to the capital. Would you like to meet and talk? 」

After putting the short letter into an envelope, I sealed it and asked a servant to deliver it to her.

‘If Renée has abandoned her lover and become the Emperor’s mistress because she wants to, she wouldn’t refuse to meet me.’

After all, we parted quite fondly at the end.

As I waited for a reply from the imperial palace, the servant who went to the imperial palace returned to the mansion shortly afterward.

“Did you deliver the letter?”

“Yes, Madam. But I didn’t receive a reply.”

“Really? I see.”

It was something I had anticipated.

“Did you deliver it directly to Renée?”

“No, the Emperor’s hunting dog in front of her quarters took the letter, saying they would deliver it to her instead.”

“It wasn’t a guard but the Emperor’s hunting dog? Are you sure?”

The servant nodded.

“Yes, they were definitely a dog shapeshifter. There’s no way I could have been mistaken. They were dressed differently from the imperial guards, and I clearly saw their dog features. I’m certain.”

“All right, I understand. You may go now.”

From the servant’s words, I was certain.

‘She must be imprisoned.’

This must have been obviously against her will. Otherwise, why would a woman favored by the Emperor be watched by his people?

‘What happened to Renée’s lover, Nigel? It makes sense if Count Larscel, being such a greedy man, pushed her towards the Emperor, but why did the Emperor accept her? What kind of deal did they make?’

I was worried about Renée.

“I need to find out what happened to Nigel first.”

With the intention of discussing it with Dimitri, I asked the butler where he was now. However, his response was unexpected.

“The master went out a little while ago.”

“Went out?”

From what I’ve observed so far, I couldn’t believe that Dimitri, who was an introvert and usually stayed confined to the mansion except for inspecting the estate, went out. Although it was unusual, since he had Hyle send me the party invitation directly, it must mean he intended to attend the party today.

‘He’ll probably be back by the time the party starts in the evening.’

I nodded, thinking to myself.

“I see.”

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

“Has the Duke returned yet?”

“No, not yet…”

When I asked the maid about Dimitri’s return, she shook her head apologetically. Contrary to my expectation that he would be back by evening, Dimitri didn’t appear even when it was time to go to the party.

“What’s going on?”

It’s not like he could have gotten lost.

‘…Could it be that he isn’t attending the party?’

It could’ve been so. Hyle had only delivered the invitation, but he hadn’t said that Dimitri would attend the party with me. I had just assumed he would attend the party without confirming it. Now that I think about it, Dimitri had never expressed any intention of going to this party together.

‘What should I do?’

Well, there was nothing I could do about it.

I wanted to know how Renée was doing in the imperial palace right now.

Since I couldn’t contact her directly, the best I could do was to go as close as possible to where she was staying and gather any small piece of information I could.

‘I’m sure if I go to a party, people will be talking about Renée.’

After all, wasn’t it a perfect gossip topic?

The younger sister taking her older sister’s lover. It was a provocative scandal. There was no way people who loved to talk would stay quiet about this.

‘I have to figure something out.’

I was worried that the Emperor might try to kidnap me again like last time. Nonetheless, he had lost interest in me for quite some time, and I doubted he would do such a thing openly in the imperial palace.

‘I still need to be careful, just in case.’

Especially if I was going alone without Dimitri.

While I was lost in thought, Agwen dressed me up splendidly for my first social appearance in a long time.

“When I was walking around the store with the Madam the other day, I saw that wearing hair decorations like this is a trend these days!”

Saying so, she held up a mirror to show off her work with an excited expression.

She had skillfully arranged my long red hair, adorning it beautifully with brightly colored flowers. The white and yellow floral decorations perfectly complemented the white lace accents of my light green dress.

“Agwen, this is truly great!”