I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 289

Chapter 145.1

I was surprised as I hurried down to the first floor upon hearing that Avila had brought a friend to visit the capital residence. It was because Elaine was waving her hand slightly beside Avila.

“Avila! …Elaine?”

I quickly took the two of them up to my office. Although the employees of the Blois Mansion were trustworthy, I still had to hide the fact of Elaine’s visit, just in case.

“I wanted to contact you somehow anyway, Elaine!”

I was so glad that she came to visit. Despite the fact that I wanted to contact her quickly about Cadis, I had no idea how I could contact her without anyone knowing since she lived in the imperial palace where there were so many people watching.

“Rowaine.”

Elaine looked at me with her lips pouting, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

“What happened? Why is Cadis…”

I looked at Elaine with regret. It seemed she had just found out what had happened to Cadis.

“I went to look for Cadis yesterday, though he was nowhere to be seen. Feeling anxious, I asked my father to send Cadis, but…”

In the past, to remove Dimitri from the villain role and avenge Coco, I intercepted Elaine’s plan, which I had read about in the novel, and destroyed the slave traders and their mastermind. As a result, her scheme was thwarted, and she lost the chance to gain ownership of Cadis.

However, it seemed she had devised a new plan to keep him by her side.

“Not long ago, I orchestrated a poisoning incident. I poisoned my own food, and it caused an uproar in the imperial palace.”

“Oh, my goodness. This is the first time I’ve heard about it. How could I not know about such a major incident?”

“It’s inevitable. My father buried the matter quietly. In the Imperial Palace, more incidents happen and get buried than you would think. It’s all considered family matters. As you know, it’s a complicated family.”

Elaine laughed cynically. Her laugh seemed so weary.

What kind of things does she experience on a daily basis to make her have such an expression?

“After that incident, I often requested my father to assign a hunting dog to me, claiming I was suspicious of the food since dog shapeshifters are good at detecting poison.”

“…..”

“Although I couldn’t obtain ownership of Cadis, I was able to have him by my side whenever I wanted in that way.”

“…..”

“But today, even though I asked for him to be sent, they sent another hound instead.”

It seems she deliberately pretended to be oblivious and threw a tantrum, asking to send her favorite dog shapeshifter. I could imagine her acting like a naive, immature girl and whining to the Emperor.

“At that time, I heard from Count Heres about what happened to Cadis, that he’s now imprisoned.”

Elaine looked at me with determined eyes.

It was a look that firmly believed in her own judgment.

“I don’t trust Count Heres, but I trust Rowaine. That’s why I risked my life to come here today. I thought there would be misunderstandings if I didn’t talk to you face to face.”

Her words touched my heart.

Even though there were circumstances beyond my control, I had nonetheless intercepted her plan. In addition, I played a decisive role in getting Cadis imprisoned by falling into Herman’s trap. I felt both guilt and a sense of responsibility towards Elaine.

“Thank you, Elaine. For trusting me.”

It couldn’t have been easy for her to believe in me when everyone else was calling me a villainess and to take the risk of coming to me when it wouldn’t have been easy to sneak out. As I explained everything to her as it was, I told her that Cadis’s condition was strange and that it seemed all of this was Herman’s scheme.

Elaine’s expression darkened.

“I knew Count Heres was untrustworthy, though why would he do such a thing? I thought he was just an errand boy for his father.”

“I find it strange as well. The Count Heres I know is nothing more than a hedonist.”

In the novel, he was portrayed as a character who squandered his abilities and good looks in pursuit of pleasure, showing little interest in the affairs of the world. He would cling to Rowaine, fueling her indulgence and jealousy whenever she grew bored, instigating incidents just to enjoy the chaos.

It was puzzling that he would set such a trap.

“What could be driving him? For what purpose?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“But isn’t Rowaine an old friend of his?”

I jumped up and denied it.

“Friends with someone like that?! I wouldn’t…”

Even though I was about to say that I wouldn’t associate with such an unpleasant person, considering that Rowaine and Herman were likely close before I possessed this body, I chose my words carefully.

“…I was used by him. He’s good-looking, you see. I was pathetically captivated by his face. It’s truly a dark history that I really want to erase.”

I said this, almost sobbing.

Avila and Elaine looked at me with sympathetic expressions as if they understood what I meant.

“Goodness…”