Villainous Lady, The Obsession Begins

However, “Chitrum”? In the south, there were only memories of poverty, so Lafesch worried that Chitrum might not be any different. 

Of course, Austin would enjoy a comfortable life as the Prince of Preseria and a diplomat. However, it was uncertain whether the three Celeste brothers would support Lafesch, or it was almost hopeless.

“But I don’t have any connections in Chitrum… and I’m ashamed to say that I don’t have any money saved up.”

“No, young lady. Did you see me as such a shameless person?”

Austin laughed for a while before continuing.

“Of course, I’ll take responsibility for your entire livelihood. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you in as my attendant.”

“Your Highness, why are you treating me so well?”

“Well, I may have lived in a foreign country for a long time, but I’m still a person of Preseria.”

Austin held out his hand.

“And you too. The stronger you become, the stronger Preseria becomes.”

It was a typical answer from a prince who worked tirelessly for his country even while living in a foreign land.

“….”

Lafesch didn’t hesitate for long. She wanted to start anew in a new environment without the tiresome Celeste brothers or Minuelle Karinen. Taking Austin’s hand, Lafesch spoke clearly.

“I will follow your words, Your Highness.”

Austin looked very pleased, with a satisfied smile on his face.

“With your magical powers, I’m sure there will be great results.”

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“What are you doing?”

As soon as he asked the question, Ramande’s face appeared in front of her.

“It was photosynthesizing.”

I sat in the garden, enjoying the warm autumn sunlight. I won’t be able to enjoy this in the north, the pale sunlight, like snow, had also been nice but the temperature of the sunlight was different there. 

“Should we walk a bit?”

“Um, should we?”

I awkwardly held out my hand to Ramande. Since the last time we talked in front of my room, it had become difficult for me to interact with Ramande for some reason.

Actually, it was no different from my inability to function properly alone. I was afraid that if I made even a small mistake, Ramande would think of himself as a blood transfusion pack or a therapist.

“Why are you like that?”

“What, what do you mean?”

“How could you agree so easily.”

“…..Even if I say so.”

When I pouted my lips, Ramande chuckled.

“I’m doing it because I like it.”

Did you want to exercise me that much?

“Well, the whereabouts of the Third Prince is still unknown.”

“Yeah. I heard that too.”

Ramande stared at me quietly, but when our eyes met, he turned his head like someone who suddenly realized something.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well… I thought you might be worried.”

“What are you talking about? Everyone should be nervous to some extent. Making a fuss over not seeing an adult for just two days… sigh.”

Although I pretended not to, I was actually calming my heart while shaking my head.

‘Ramande, why are you so sharp?’

In fact, it bothered me. So much so that my head ached.

I couldn’t shake off how badly things ended between us. Whenever I suddenly recall his crumbling expression, my conscience pricks me.

‘I should have done it moderately.’

When I heard that he had been living under the influence of alcohol, I thought it was a common disappointment that everyone experiences and I thought he could stand up against it. I didn’t know why he hid his appearance so blatantly like this.

Rationality said people could disappear (or run away) when they are distressed, the memories of my past struggles with the Third Prince came to mind, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘He’s an adult now, so there’s no way he would be sold or anything like that. It probably won’t happen….’

When we were dragged into the mansion of Princess Maya, he also said things like “there must be a way to escape on my own somehow.”

“Priest!”

A servant who was looking for Ramande appeared.

“You never seem to have a break, Ramande.”

When are you going to date when you’re so busy that you don’t even have time for yourself? It didn’t seem like you were meeting anyone, though.

‘Ah. Is that person one of the escort knights?’

Ramande often supported the knights’ templar, and if he was a knight, I could have also met him when I went to the temple or if he had escorted me, so it should have been possible to see him.

I looked around to check, but I couldn’t find anyone.

‘Are you off duty?’

While pondering on my own, Ramande spoke up.

“I’ll take you back to where you were sitting.”

“Are you treating me like an old man who’s past his prime?”

The garden may be the size of a soccer field, but it was still part of our house. The knights were also guarding it, but there were still worries.

“It’s okay, so go ahead and check it out.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Ramande briefly took hold of my hand before releasing it and turning away. I stretched my body while watching his back. My father, Ramande, and I were leaving for the north tomorrow, so the mansion was bustling with activity. We would be leaving behind things like thin fabrics, but there still seemed to be a lot to prepare.

“North….. It’s been a really long time.”

The “North” I referred to now refers to the Karnien territory.

Although most of the wide northern region was under the Karinen family’s territory and was commonly referred to as the North, there were certainly divided regions.

One of them is the province of Sumander, where Ramande and I used to live.

Among the many Flendena temples in Preseria, the northernmost temple was the Great Temple of the Sumender. Even so, it’s far south of Karinen’s main castle.

‘I’ll see the High Priest again.’

I wondered if I should ask for one more guardian before going to find the elemental. With a body as fragile as mine, I was afraid that I would catch on fire when in contact with the spirit of fire.

“Uuh.”

As I trembled at the thought, I tilted my head at a strange feeling.

“What?”

I felt like the jutting piece of a tree in front of me was trembling just like me.

‘What’s in the garden?’

One of the hobbies of nobles was to show off their landscaping. And as everyone knows, grass has bugs, there are mice in the ground, and where there are mice, there are cats. After the rain, there were earthworms longer than my hair…

‘Ugh. Stop thinking.’

Anyway, in the estate, they even saw a fox that dug a burrow and gave birth in the garden. Although the gardeners tried their best, there were some areas beyond human reach. 

So, I had become quite accustomed to such an environment and even wondered what would come out next time. This curiosity still lingered within me, and I slowly approached the dogwood tree. As soon as it heard my footsteps, it made a rustling sound and a trembling cry flowed out after a moment.

“Meow…..”

“It it a… cat?”

As I listened carefully, the crying sounded weak and above all, awkward. It sounded as if another animal was mimicking a cat. 

I wondered if it was injured, but I had the feeling that it wasn’t running away in a panic after sensing my presence, but rather calling out. Since cats are territorial animals, they may have come here after getting into a fight with another creature and getting injured.

“Oh, it really is a cat.”

The creature had found a space where the branches didn’t grow and was hiding inside. However, its condition was not very good. Its body, wrapped in smooth honey-colored fur, was full of shallow and deep wounds from scratching.

The creature, upon spotting me, made another awkward “mya” sound as if it was relieved, and then closed its eyes.

“Did calling me really… oh, wait a minute. You shouldn’t lose consciousness, right?”

I didn’t know anything about animals, but I couldn’t just leave the injured cat like that. I quickly spread out my thin shawl and picked up the cat.

“Oh my.”

Unexpectedly, a heavyweight made a groaning sound escape from me.

“Why is this little guy so heavy? It’s just as big as my forearm?”

I was going to call for a knight and ask where Ramande went, but I realized that he was also busy.

‘If you have time, you should go on a date.’

As I realized it, I shouldn’t disturb him. Quickly changing my mind, I brought the cat to my room and laid him on the table with the shawl.

“It’s really badly injured.” 

When I opened the potion bottle, a refreshing scent spread like mint. I took off my gloves and carefully applied the potion to each and every wound, breathing in the familiar scent. While waiting for it to soak in, a maid brought warm water and a towel.

“Ouch.”

As soon as the door closed, I thought the cat might need something to eat. But what should I give?

“I have never raised an animal before.”

In my previous life, or rather, in the past, I remember reading something about milk or raw fish not being good for cats. I still vaguely recall my surprise that cats’ preferences were different from what was depicted in cartoons or movies.

“Well.”

Still, I couldn’t let the cat starve. I opened the door and called the maid again.

“Mash a few boiled eggs and bring them to me. Don’t add any salt.”

“Yes, I understand.”

At that moment, another awkward crying sound came from inside.

“Meow!”

Did you wake up already?

I quickly closed the door and went to see, and the little one was looking around with his ears up and his tail raised high as if he didn’t know the ceiling.

“Meow.….!”

Seeing him cry as if relieved upon seeing me, I couldn’t help but smile

“Are you hungry? I asked for some boiled eggs. Now, let’s clean you up.”

As I picked up the warm towel, the cat’s tail shot up again, as if it had just been lowered. This time, its fur stood up to the point where I wondered if there was a popping sound.

“You have to stay calm.”

As if contemplating whether to run away or not, the cat seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon sat down again, as if understanding the words spoken to it. 

“You’re such a good boy.”

After repeating compliments, I reached to wipe his backside, I found myself murmuring.

“Oh, this is what they call a peanut, indeed.”

It was when I finally understood why it was called a peanut. The cat, who had been sitting still with its eyes closed until then, literally jumped up.

“Me-me-meow!”

“Wha, what’s wrong?”

“Meow! Mya…!”

The little one moved back and forth as if it didn’t know what to do. 

“Are you feeling bad?”

However, did it understand the word “peanut”?

But unfortunately, I didn’t even touch the peanut. After a little hesitation, I put down the towel and stood up. It was almost completely dried anyway, and I thought it wouldn’t be right to touch it more when it was uncomfortable.

“Then take a rest. I’ll send you back when you’re done eating.”

I knew that it was useless to communicate with it, but its behavior was so intriguing that I found myself explaining things to it repeatedly.

‘Being alone is probably better for calming the mind than having someone staggering in front of you.’

Because it’s a wild animal, when I thought the call it made earlier might have been due to the survival instinct, I was about to turn my body and leave.

“Meow!”

For some reason, the guy who shouted desperately and loudly crawled under the table… Made me sympathize with it.