I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 9

Chapter 5.1

With his mouth wide open as if he couldn’t believe what I just said, the Count’s aide poked Renée on the side.

Because she was frightened of what had happened at the County when I went away, she pleaded with me.

“Rowaine, please…”

She wept and covered her face with both hands, and I saw a blue bruise staining her wrists.

I stood up and rolled up her sleeve, blocking the Duke’s line of sight with my body.

“Goodness.”

As expected, Renée’s arms were full of bruises.

‘The Count must have vented his anger on her.’

I knew from the novel that Renée was usually treated coldly by the Count and the Countess. However, seeing traces of violence like this with my own eyes was more shocking than reading it in text.

I was going to have to ask for help from the Duke.

“Excuse me, but can we postpone this meeting a little later? I have something to talk about with my sister first.”

The Duke, who had been watching the situation as if he was a third party until then, sneered as though what I said was ridiculous.

“You just got out of confinement, but you still don’t realize what you did last night?”

That sarcasm bothered me.

It was undoubtedly true that he was the owner of this place, and I knew that he might not like it that I came here uninvited, but I was a bit on edge right now. And I felt embarrassed because he kept telling me that I smelled.

Clearly, it was against etiquette to enter his room like that, but he also must hide his illness from any prying eyes. Although I wasn’t certain if it was because of pain or anything, I could understand why he got angry and locked me in my room, even if he did so a hundred times, because he must have been mortified for being out of his mind and acting strangely. Still though, I couldn’t believe he said that I smelled.

I thought that type of teasing was only done by kids. That was why I was a bit more blunt now.

“From what I remember, while wandering around the mansion yesterday, I stumbled upon the Duke, who seemed to have needed my help. So, I helped.”

I brazenly raised my chin, acting much like an aristocrat and imagining what Rowaine would have said at this moment. I even reproached him a little.

“But even after getting help, the Duke imprisoned me and accused me of making a mistake, which is so unlike a gentleman. To top it all off, you’ve even mocked me by saying that I smell.”

The Duke had long-since suffered from the torment of the magic poison.

While looking for a way to break this curse so he could quell the overwhelming pain, he would eventually be led to this novel’s female lead, the Imperial Princess. I just figured that he wouldn’t be able to let go of me easily since I showed my healing ability.

Even if that wasn’t the case, what would he actually be able to do to a Count’s daughter? If I were to be berated, then I could say I was just looking around the mansion. He might be offended by my lack of courtesy, but the Duke couldn’t do anything to me just because of that. As expected, he frowned as if offended, but he didn’t get angry or pursue the topic any further. Instead, he commented on the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Mockery? You’re shamelessly trying to brush it off. I can still smell you.”

On the side, Count Larscel’s aide waved his hand hurriedly, not wanting to hear about what had transpired last night.

“Don’t we have a lot to talk about regarding this ridiculous switcheroo? Anyway, it looks like your sister’s about to faint any second now. Take her away and calm her down. I don’t want to be responsible for a corpse in my house.”

‘Corpse? That’s too much.’

Regardless, it was permission to take Renée with me. So, I quickly led Renée out.

“Milady! Lady Rowaine!”

The Count’s aide tried to chase after us, but I shut the door right in front of him.

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

“Why didn’t you run away?”

When I was alone with Renée, the question I had been wanting to ask came out. Seeing her crying, I took a deep breath and softened my voice.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry.”

Renée bit her mouth even more like a clam.

To her, I might be no different from our abusive parents since Rowaine had done nothing to stop their abuse. As I thought so, I persuaded her gently so that she could trust me a little more.

“Did Father do this? How long has it been since he started hitting you? Where else does it hurt?”

“I-I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

I inspected Renée’s arms and legs to see if she had any major injuries. Thankfully, other than the bruises, there didn’t seem to be any complications. While trying to get a conversation going with Renée, I gently poured my energy into her. Without her noticing, the wounds gradually faded. Even though I wanted to heal her completely, I decided not to and withdrew my energy moderately. It’s because I still couldn’t trust her completely.

‘I still don’t know the limits of this power, so it’s best to keep it a secret.’

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