I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 267

Chapter 134.1

I turned around and saw a group of women staring at me. Among them, a woman in a red dress standing in the middle spoke in a friendly voice and leaned closer to me.

“Long time no see?”

I didn’t answer immediately and just stared at her.

‘What is this? Is she a friend or an enemy?’

The other person’s expression was peculiar. Although her voice was friendly, the expression on her face seemed to be both good and bad.

“It seems you’ve gotten a bit stale since I last saw you.”

Saying so, she glanced me up and down with a mocking smile.

I saw a woman in a red dress with her arms crossed behind her, glaring at me. It was the young lady I had reprimanded on the day I went to the salon. She probably did this because she heard that I bought a ready-made dress instead of having it custom-made according to the latest trends.

I shrugged my shoulders without taking any offense.

“Really? I guess I’ve fallen behind the trends because I’ve only been in the fiefdom.”

The woman laughed as if stunned by my straightforward admission.

“I guess there’s nothing you can do since the great Rowaine was stuck in the corners of the country?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

If someone wasn’t interested in trends, there was nothing you could do about it. I nodded in agreement and asked with genuinely innocent curiosity.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“….?”

The woman’s face twisted. Her expression seemed to question what kind of trick I was playing, so I waved my hand to show I meant no harm.

There were no distinguishing features about this group, so unless they told me their names, it was hard to tell if they were significant extras in the novel or not. Because of that, I just wanted to know her name, though she seemed to think I was being disrespectful. Her face flushed a little.

It seemed she knew Rowaine well, so she must have felt offended by that because she felt like I was pretending not to know her. Even though I knew this, I let her misunderstand. It didn’t seem like we were in a relationship where we needed to consider each other’s feelings anyway.

“Don’t act all high and mighty, Rowaine. Do you think there’s still a place for you here just because you’re back? Everything has changed while you were gone.”

“Yes, I suppose so. So, what’s your name? Who are you?”

“Ha! You must not know since you’ve been hiding in the estate, but I’m now Kelly Sterling.”

She raised her head triumphantly.

‘If she’s Sterling…’

Ah, I remembered. She was a friend of Rowaine, who often used to spread malicious rumors.

In the story, she appears as a character who has just married the wealthy Count Sterling. She was a person who hung out with Rowaine even before marriage and played the role of her right-hand person. She was a friend with a loose tongue who knew all sorts of high-society gossip, which made her quite useful to Rowaine.

‘She used to flatter Rowaine, but now that it seems Rowaine has fallen, she must have quickly betrayed her and taken her place.’

There were always people like that wherever you went.

‘Anyway, I might be able to learn something about Renée from her.’

After thinking about it for a while, I changed my attitude and huffed with an annoyed expression on my face.

“You’d know, wouldn’t you? Where and what is that fox Renée doing now?”

Kelly laughed as if she had expected this.

“You came running after hearing the news, didn’t you? What should I do? His Majesty the Emperor has completely forgotten about someone like you. Young Lady Renée has taken everything you’ve ever had.”

“Everything I’ve ever had?”

“His Majesty gave Young Lady Renée the most luxurious room in the Rose Palace. By now, she’s probably sitting there right now with all the jewels you cherished so much.”

“What? Is that true? Did you see it with your own eyes?”

“You may not want to believe me, but it’s all true. Well, even if you wanted to confirm, it wouldn’t be of any use.”

“Why?”

“Unlike you, who used to flaunt and show off, Young Lady Renée is living quietly. She doesn’t boast like you did about His Majesty’s favor, and she behaves modestly.”

It seemed like Kelly hadn’t seen Renée in person either.

‘So, she’s not receiving guests, isn’t she?’

Through my conversation with Kelly, I gained confidence that Renée was indeed confined to the largest room in the Rose Palace.

“If I were you, I’d be so embarrassed that I wouldn’t even be able to go to the imperial palace. Tsk, tsk.”

Kelly clicked her tongue and looked at me sympathetically before she suddenly clapped her hands together as if she remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a rumor that you started a mercenary group with cat shapeshifters. Is that true?”