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Chapter 38
Count Larscel smiled broadly when he saw his wife, who had come out friendly with Rowaine. He then sneakily called his wife apart and asked.
“Did you talk well?”
“Oh, look at my mind.”
The Countess, preoccupied with the shawl Rowaine had given her, was startled. Seeing this, Count Larscel exclaimed as if frustrated.
“What did you do after going in to persuade her?”
“I tried talking to her, but… everything has gone by so quickly—”
“Did you also say that His Majesty is eagerly waiting for her?”
“Yes, honey. Though I had no idea what she was thinking.”
“Oh, I don’t know why she was suddenly so upset with her parents. I was so happy that His Majesty is so good to her…!”
Saying so, the Count sighed and rolled his feet.
“How did you become so foolish? Even if she’s nice to you and gave you something, it’s not enough.”
Count Larscel made a threat to the Countess for nothing.
“Anyway, I can’t stand it any longer today. Don’t forget to say that the Emperor was not able to come for some reason, so it would be best for her to go to the Imperial Palace and see him in person.”
“What if she doesn’t want to go?”
“If she doesn’t want to go on her own feet, then I’ve no choice but to drag her. It’s easier that the Duke didn’t come with her.”
ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ
While Count Larscel took the Countess and had a conversation, I pretended to be drinking tea in the drawing room, observing the inside and outside of the mansion.
‘She told me that no one from the Imperial Palace came yet.’
Even though the Countess said so, I did not believe her at all.
‘I already came quite late, though she was now saying that they were also later than me…?’
Thinking that, I narrowed my eyes and glanced out the window.
‘Is it not because they are not coming in the first place?’
I stared out the window at the people walking in pairs. On one occasion, people in uniforms worn by the servants of the mansion passed by, and on another occasion, people with loads of luggage, like merchants who regularly stop by the mansion.
As I quietly observed them, I beckoned to the vice-captain, the highest rank among the five knights I had brought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hey, do you see those servants?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it strange? I’ve never seen employees hang around the front door of this mansion. Usually, they all went through the back door or side door.”
The vice-captain also nodded at once at my words, apparently feeling that something was unnatural.
“I thought that Count Larscel might train his servants like soldiers, but it wasn’t the case.”
Having never been trained like that, I did not notice it. However, to him, it seemed that the servants’ movements seemed too restrained and rigid.
I let out a sigh.
“It looks like the Emperor has released his hound to kidnap me.”
“You mean… a hound?”
The vice-captain frowned and made a face in disbelief. Needless to say, the hounds were a powerful elite unit under the direct control of the Emperor. It would not make sense to him that such a troupe would move around privately just to kidnap me.
‘I know how much the Emperor hangs onto Rowaine, so I expected this situation from the beginning. Still, it is normal for others to not understand since the Emperor acted out of common sense like this.’
Even so, the vice-captain, who had good eyes, saw the appearance of the people I pointed out and quickly realized that what I was saying was true.
Hounds wore hats or raised shirt collars to cover their appearance as much as possible.
Although if you look closely, you could see that they were shapeshifters. All of them had dark skin, dappled black and brown hair, and remarkably pointed ears even though they were in a human form. A large, long nose and a physique that was much larger than normal people.
I asked the vice-captain just in case.
“If we fight them, what’re our chances of winning without harm to our side?”
The vice-captain opened his eyes wide, counted how many suspicious people he saw, and shook his head, “To be honest, the chances of the five of us winning against the hounds are slim.”
At that, he answered meekly and immediately pointed out that my question was too far ahead.
“But, would the Emperor do such a reckless thing like fighting against the Madam… It’s like declaring war with the Blois? Even if it’s the Emperor, the nobles wouldn’t stay still…”
“I think that’s the idea you have because you don’t know much about me.”
I interrupted him in a confident tone.
As he said, unless the Emperor was crazy, he could not attack without any justifiable reason to publicize a member of the Duke family, a great aristocrat. However, what if Rowaine was a member of that Duke’s family.
‘…Then, things will be a little different.’
Rowaine had a past of using other men to provoke the Emperor’s jealousy.
It was a fact known to all aristocrats involved in the social world. I have never been to a social gathering since I came into this body, so maybe, the nobles were talking about me by now — why did Rowaine suddenly abandon the Emperor and welcome a husband who was not even treated as a human being? What is going on…?
‘It must have been a situation where all such interest was focused… The Emperor tried to kidnap Rowaine by using his hound? The Duke of Blois, enraged, declares war?’
A rare villain who caused a love fight between great powers who were not on good terms… Was it not so perfect that people would like it? The Emperor and Dimitri, who were played by the villainess, would be amusing. Who wants to be part of this comedy?
In addition, war is not something that can happen so easily.
‘Besides, will they raise their hand to help Blois after they ignored Dimitri, who is a shapeshifter…?’
After explaining the whole situation to the vice-captain, I told him two solutions.
“As I said before, it’s not something to the point of arguing, even fighting dangerously.”
Even so, they would not imprison me, the Duchess, or touch me carelessly. my body. They would just take me in, convince me, and try to appease me.
“I would just meekly be led by the hounds to meet the Emperor…”
“Meet, and what else?”
“Even if I’m caught and taken away, I’ll just run away.”
The vice-captain’s eyes fluttered violently. Then, I whispered something not very hopeful to him.
“By the way, I never, never want to meet the Emperor with just the two of us alone.”
Imagine meeting your ex-boyfriend… What kind of conversation would you have?
‘It is obvious.’
I cannot live without you, I miss you so much, why are you doing this to me? Can you not just give me one chance…? Then, if it does not work, they will get angry, throw away their pride, and cry.
‘…A man in his fifties who has a healthy wife and grown children.’
I absolutely hate it. I hate it so much. I do not want to die like this.
‘I do not want to be dragged along into this…’
Besides, I do not have the confidence to face the Emperor while maintaining sexy energy like Rowaine. If the two of us talk to each other, the Emperor may notice that Rowaine is somehow strange.
‘I am not sure I’ll be able to act like her well.’
The vice-captain asked with a doubtful face if he had read the wretched resolve on my resolute expression.
“You can’t outrun a hunting dog with a carriage. Can you ride a horse? If you allow me, I’ll take you.”
I quickly scanned the vice-captain from head to toe and shook my head.
“Do you think a horse with such a large body can speed up?”
“Then…”
“I’ve got a plan.”
I took out the perfume I had received from Avila from my arms. It was a magical perfume that erased all odors from the body so that the dog’s great sense of smell could not trace it.
ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ
“What about Rowaine?”
After talking with the Countess, Count Larscel returned to the drawing room and looked for Rowaine with his eyes.
The butler reported
“She got tired of waiting for the people from the Imperial Palace to see him and went to her room.”
“Tsk, I would’ve been angry.”
Count Larscel shook his head.
‘Still, if it was on the second floor, there is nowhere to escape, so it will be fine.’
Thinking of the Emperor’s hounds guarding the mansion, he decided to relax his mind before ordering the butler.
“Tell Rowaine to come down to the parlor. People were not allowed to come from the Imperial Palace, so it would be better to go there in person. If she refuses, drag her down here.”
“What about the Knights of Blois?”
“We have a hound, what are you worried about? I’ll tell them to take them down at once.”
“Yes.”
Answering so, the butler headed upstairs with the mansion’s real servants and a couple of dogs disguised as servants. Before long, he ran back down in great panic.
“The Young Lady is not here!”
“What? Did you look well?”
“I searched all upstairs, though I couldn’t find her. Even the hounds could not smell her.”
“I…is that possible?”
The Count widened his eyes.
“You said she went upstairs, did she go somewhere else?”
As Count Larscel hastily sent the people to find Rowaine. The atmosphere in the mansion quickly became chaotic.
“Where is she hiding? Come on, find Rowaine!”
Bringing the dog shapeshifter into the house, he handed them an item that had her scent. It was impossible for an ordinary person like Rowaine to escape the encirclement of hunting dogs with superior abilities in search, tracking, and detection.
The Count shook his body in anger.
“She dared trick me and run away? Huh, let’s see how far she can run.”
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Translator’s Note: Hello, it’s Nabi! I’m the editor of the novel, ‘I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead?’ ପ( ๑•ᴗ•๑ )ଓ♡ I recently opened a kofi, so if you like the novel and would like to support me translating the novels you love, please feel free to click the button below to go to my kofi~!