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「Meow!」
A Gargoyle followed by a large golden carriage flew in from the garden as if they were ready. The gargoyle’s appearance with its platinum-colored short hair made it look like a top-notch statue.
Then an armed knight came out of the carriage. Likewise, it was Damian who was wearing glittering gold armor. He said with a relieved face.
“If you ride this and make an appearance
 I think it would be terrible in many ways. For those people and me.”
「Meow!」
Unlike Damian, who seems to be running away right now, Meow liked the role quite a bit. With its front paws as tall as a tree trunk, Meow tapped its wings adorned with jewels.
「Hmm! It looks kind of noble! Meow!」
She told Meow to make a Gargoyle-like sound, but it kept making a Meow sound. Damian suggested continuing with Meow.
“Aren’t you going to cry more threateningly from now on?”
「Hmm. Grrrrrowl.」
“It’s all right.”
With this, there are three golden beings in the mansion.
Madame Pompadour, who observed Meow’s body with her hands clasped neatly, covered her cheeks and blushed.
“What should I do? I’m so excited!”
She went straight to the carriage without delay. Every time she ran, instead of the flapping of the collar, she heard the clattering of gold leaf against each other.
Cesare, who watched the scene silently, expressed his short thought.
“It’s strange.”
It was her desired reaction, so Catherine nodded her head with satisfaction. But she was worried about his reputation, so she asked carefully.
“Cesare, is it okay if you’re coming with us?”
“What can’t I do?”
“Still, Cesare is the Grand Duke of Iterana and the king of Christopher’s Duchy. There is such a thing as reputation.”
Cesare replied in a tone that it didn’t matter at all.
“Isn’t it power that makes such a reputation useless? The person who should be nitpicked about reputation would be Sir Damian.”
Come to think of it, Damian was also the emperor’s bloodline.
“
Will I be imprisoned for disrespecting the imperial family?”
Cesare laughed briefly.
“Well, first of all, I’m a member of the Imperial family. That’s not going to happen, but if there’s a problem, just say I ordered it.”
“That’s reliable.”
After all, if Cesare is by her side, she doesn’t have to worry about anything. Should she say that she feels drunk on power? It was a feeling she could only feel next to her maternal grandmother.
‘Has it been a long time since I met Anne?’
Of course, she didn’t feel nervous and was a little excited. What kind of expression would the kid make?
“Excuse me, aren’t we leaving soon? I want to take this off!”
Damian, who had been wandering around for a long time, shouted as if the armor was too inconvenient. Catherine shook her head firmly at his complaint.
“We are going to Chen in this state.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
Damian came running in astonishment.
“You want me to go around like this? You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not kidding.”
“How do you get to OrlĂ©ans like this? It’s going to be featured in a newspaper, you know? The clowns crazy about gold are on their way to Chen!”
Leaving behind the whining Damian, Catherine checked her watch. 12:50 p.m. The ceremony started at 1:20, so it was right if they left now.
“Excuse me, Lady. Are you ignoring our pain just because you’re fine? Yes?”
“Uh-huh. Why are you so loud, Bachelor Damian! What’s wrong with the Lady? Where did the servant get cocky—”
“I’m not a servant, Old Lady!”
「Right, Damian is a servant. Meow.」
Catherine approached the front door and unlocked it with the magic key she had hung around her neck. She shouted, pushing the large double door.
“Stop talking and come here.”
The excited Meow came running, throwing Damian and Madame Pompadour into the carriage. Cesare, who followed, naturally stretched out his arm towards Catherine. Catherine familiarly took his arm.
“Be patient even if it’s a little uncomfortable. Cesare. The people there will not hesitate to do strange things to catch Cesare’s eyes.”
At her request, Cesare showed his characteristic soft smile.
“Yeah, if that’s the case, only you would do it.”
Me? When did I do something weird?
Glancing at him, he got into the carriage and went through the door. At the same time, the sky turned upside down, and the ground overturned. The cloudless blue sky turned into a cloudy gray sky with dark clouds.
They entered Chen’s territory after passing through the main gate.
Hiik! Someone made a gasping sound. The servant who was guarding the front door of Chen’s mansion shouted in shock at the sudden appearance.
“W, who is it!”
Catherine took the wedding invitation from the bag and held it out the window.
“I’m Catherine OrlĂ©ans, Anne’s sister. I’m here to attend today’s wedding.”
The servant checked the wedding invitation without breaking the guard.
“B, but it says that the owner of the wedding invitation letter is Maggie OrlĂ©ans?”.
“I’m their sister.”
“Yes? I’m sorry, but you can’t get in without an invitation—”
“Hey.”
Catherine showed Cesare’s face in front of the troublesome servant. Cesare smiled brightly when his eyes met the servant.
“Look closely at this eye-catching handsome face. Can’t you think of anyone?”
Examining Cesare’s face, the servant’s eyes are nothing but blurry. Reluctantly, she took the newspaper, which she had folded neatly from her bag, and put it next to Cesare’s face.
The newspaper had Cesare’s face and his name printed on it.
Soon the servant was startled and bowed his back.
“Y, Your Highness G, Grand Duke C, C, Cesare Christopher!”
“We’re not weird people. Just let us in if you don’t want to tell Count Chen that you drive out Grand Duke Cesare.”
“O, of course. Welcome!”
Eventually, the carriage passed the front gate without any trouble. Cesare let out a laugh.
“When did you put the article again?”
“This morning. Would you like to see it too, Cesare? The article is titled ‘Of course! Grand Duke Cesare saved the luxurious cruise ship, Lilith!’ “
“You’ve become a little wiser.”
“About what? About how to use you?”
Cesare smiled quietly instead of answering. Catherine continued as she watched his fantastic harmonious features with a smile.
“Cesare, I looked into Count Chen yesterday.”
“Looking in what way?”
“Of course! I gave a little tip. Very little.”
Madame Pompadour whispered softly and rested her head on Catherine’s shoulder. Cesare crossed his arms and answered.
“Gossip about him is usually divided into two. The number of wives that are hard to fit in ten fingers, or the gossip about the Chen Romance.”
Chen Romance is a luxury clothing brand founded by the Chen family. Catherine’s interest was also related to the second gossip he mentioned.
“Chen Romance is a well-known dressing room among ladies and gentlemen
. After hearing the story, all seven branches are located in Cesare’s estate.”
“30 years ago, former Count Chen asked me to invest, and I invested in land, not cash.”
Half of Cesare’s territories were the largest cities in the Iterana Empire. The current Chen family’s main business, the Chen Romance clothing brand business, is located at the base of such a major metropolis and is making huge profits.
This meant that Cesare’s withdrawal on investment could have a huge negative impact on Chen Romance’s business.
Catherine asked Cesare as if passing by.
“Then will you give me the land?”
Cesare’s reply was simple.
“Sure.”
She thought he would allow it right away without asking why, but—.
Catherine asked in a somewhat curious tone.
“Isn’t the land tied to a contract? It must be difficult to get it back right away.”
“It has to be, but it’s a contract that will end soon. You should be able to receive it without any problems. In a couple of weeks.”
“Oh, that’s right. Thank you.”
“Well, about this much.”
Madame Pompadour, who was listening to their conversation, opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“Excuse me— the Lady and Your Highness the Grand Duke. Are you sure you have a promise for the future? Otherwise, land documents can’t come and go like playing chess.”
Catherine responded as if she was familiar with such a question now.
“Cesare and I promised more than the future.”
“Huh. More? More, what? Body and mind? Body and soul?”
“It’s similar.”
“Oh, my devil! It’s so romantic! It’s so fantastic that it makes me roll my eyes! Make sure to call me when you get married!”
Madame Pompadour blushed and hit Damian’s arm. She doesn’t know what she’s thinking, but her soul indeed belongs to Cesare. While Cesare didn’t seem really care what Catherine answered.
As the guests arrived, in addition to the golden carriages, carriages were seen crossing the long entrance to the mansion.
What they had in common was that they pulled their necks out the window and checked Catherine’s carriage. It seemed as if a loud scream was heard from somewhere.
“Oh my, look at them! I guess they want to say hi to us!”
In a happy illusion, Madame Pompadour pulled her upper body out of the window and shook her hand eagerly.
「Grrrrrr.」
“Kyaaaa!”
When they arrived in front of the mansion, the guests who were chatting lightly with the servants standing side by side ran away. Because it was an outdoor wedding in the garden, there were many people scattered around.
“Stop!”
The waiting knights rushed out, and a golden carriage, or more precisely, Meow, stopped in front of them. Among them was an old wizard wearing a robe. It wasn’t a rumor that he had a lot of money.
The sorcerer calls the ransom. Perhaps relieved by his presence, a courageous guest shouted from afar.
“To bring in dangerous monsters! Who the hell is guarding the front door! Get them out now!”
Following him, the other guests began to speak one by one.
“Such an act in the wedding—!”
“Who dared bring a devil to Count Chen’s wedding!”
“Look at that cheeky bastard’s face!”
With a spear raised, Meow opened its mouth to the menacing knights. The knights flinched at it and stepped back.
「Hoam〜」
The yawning cat scratched its ear with its hind paw. It was a gesture of boredom.
Not long after, an old nobleman rushed out from inside the mansion.
Every time he moved his leg, his bloated belly shook up and down, threatening the life of his shirt buttons. It’s unmistakably Count Chen, judging by the luxurious banquet outfit.
“Hey! Who is it! Who dares to bring an ominous monster to Chen’s territory that this body rules!”
The servant, who had been running one step late to tell the news of Cesare’s visit, was restless and ran to the Count. But the Count threw his servant away and shouted as if it was bothering him.
“Get rid of that ominous monster! Now!”
Count Chen must have appeared, just as she was about to get out of the carriage—.
“An ominous monster? What do you mean, ominous monster! What is this pig doing to my cute cat!”
Wasn’t Madame Pompadour, who was smiling, suddenly hardened her expression and got off ahead of her?
When she got off, Damian followed with a poo-chewing look on his face, for Catherine urged the two to act together. That one is much more burdensome.
In many ways, the sight of Madam yelling at the old man with a face he would trust even if she was a Lady was unique. Cesare also watched it with his arms folded.
“For this body that giving a treat to a cat that I’ve been caring for for for two days— The Chen family has no respect for their guests!”
Count Chen’s face quickly turned red. It was hard to tell if he was angry with Madame Pompadour’s remarks or with her dress. He went wild and pointed his finger at the knights.
“What are you doing, why don’t you drive out that crazy witch in terrible clothes! Hey, wizard! Get rid of that monster right now!”
The eyes of the guests along with the knights turned to the wizard. From the wizard, the previous appearance had long since disappeared. He hesitated and bowed to Madame Pompadour with courtesy.
“A, aren’t you Madam Pompadour?”
At the wizard’s question, Madam crossed her arms and snorted. It couldn’t have been so threatening with the beautiful woman in the shining gold dress and the knight in the golden armor.
“Ha, you know who this body is. You seem to have a deep knowledge of magic, don’t you?”
“O, oh my—! Of course! I’m a junior in the Northern Magic Tower to which Madam belonged!”
“Oho, I’ve been a little nauseous, but you’re my junior?”
“Madam’s fame stung me in my ears. Hahaha! If it was Madam Pompadour’s monster, she would have tame it perfectly, so we’re relieved too. No problem!”
As if to ask everyone to listen, the loud-voiced wizard rushed to Count Chen and whispered to him. The Count’s expression captured various emotions in a short time. He got angry at the wizard.
“But now you’re asking me to leave the monster in the wedding of Count Chen? You can’t do that! Great people will arrive soon! Absolutely not!”
The wizard persuaded Count Pig, sweating profusely.
“Your Excellency, please reconsider. Madam Pompadour is a great wizard recognized by the Imperial Family. She is not easily met.”
“
How great is that?”
The wizard, watching Madame, whispered something into Count Chen’s ear. Cesare, who was watching in a comfortable position as if watching a play, opened his mouth.
“Just getting to know that woman will be of great help to you. Although she is a bit crazy, her network is one of the few in Iterana. She is also a woman with ties to the Imperial Family. The Count’s playing water can be turned into a capital!
 That’s what it said.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
To be honest, the situation now was much more interesting than the play Cesare showed her a few days ago. That probably wouldn’t be denied even by Cesare.
Perhaps the wizard’s persuasion worked; Count Chen quickly changed his expression and put a wide smile on his lips.
“Oh, my God. I made a mistake, Madam Pompadour! I didn’t know who the Madam was and did something foolish. Well, take the spear that is aimed at the Madam’s sweet cat right now!”