The ballroom was filled with silence due to the Crown Prince’s poisoning incident.

As the princess left with the duke’s escort, people began to scatter.

Not a single person wanted to stay long at the scene of such a terrible crime.

Only Diana, who had made her grand debut, was left alone waiting for her father.

It was a truly embarrassing and ridiculous situation.

‘After all that chaos, father doesn’t even care about me…!’

Feeling drained, she needed a moment of rest.

Diana leaned against the terrace to collect herself.

‘It’s okay. You did well. No matter what the villain thinks of me… I just need to look out for myself. It’s more important not to be hated by Trian.’

As she comforted herself and breathed in the cold night air, she suddenly felt a ticklish sensation near her calf and knee.

“Oh, what are you…?”

When Diana lifted her skirt, a cat appeared from underneath.

“…A cat?”

Diana stepped back in surprise.

A round, fluffy wheat-colored cat circled around Diana, its green eyes sparkling.

Meow, meow.

“Where did you come from? Where’s your owner?”

Diana looked around, but not even an ant was in sight.

Judging by its fine coat, it must be a cat cared for by the imperial palace.

Diana examined around the cat’s neck to find its owner.

‘No collar.’

Just then, she noticed Anthony pacing anxiously below the terrace.

She kept fidgeting with her puffy brown hair, running around the garden restlessly.

“Are you Anthony’s cat?”

“Meow?”

“Lady Anthony…! Are you looking for a cat?”

Anthony looked up at the terrace and jumped up and down in delight.

“Oh! So that’s where you were!”

Diana went down to the garden and handed the cat to Anthony.

“Here you go.”

“Sebastian!”

‘Sebastian… They gave it such a human-like name.’

The cat, reminiscent of an elegant mansion’s butler, attacked Anthony’s head repeatedly with an annoyed expression.

Her voluminous brown hair soon became a mess, caught in the cat’s claws.

“Ah, thank you so much. I was so worried I’d lost him.”

“Cats don’t usually like walks…”

“Oh, I didn’t bring him. I found him around here.”

If it were the usual Diana, she would have asked questions as sincerely as possible, but now she was too mentally and physically exhausted to muster any will.

She tried to send Anthony and the cat away with a face as pale as a skull.

“I see.”

“At first I thought it was a priest, but it turned out to be a cat.”

“I see… Wait, what?”

‘A priest? Isn’t that a bit strange…?’

Just as Diana was about to ask again.

“Anthonyyyyyy!”

An angry voice cut through the silence.

“Where on earth are you? I told you you can’t take the cat!”

“Eek!”

Both of them froze at the thunderous scolding. Anthony, in particular, couldn’t keep her feet still for even a moment.

Anthony, who had been hopping like a video game character, wrinkled her chin as if about to cry.

“Sob… hic… But I want to take him…”

Teardrops that seemed too large to be possible began to form in her big eyes.

Diana panicked and started circling around Anthony.

‘Why suddenly! What should I do! How do you comfort a crying child? I’m a child too, but I have no idea!’

Sebastian, nestled in Anthony’s arms, still couldn’t keep still.

Worried he might run away, Diana took him instead and was about to offer words of comfort when suddenly, a light appeared in Anthony’s pupils.

It was a round, sparkling light, as if the Milky Way had been embedded in her eyes.

“Lady Diana… Are you going this far…?”

“What…? What do you mean…?”

“Are you taking care of our Sebastian for us?”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. I just didn’t want you to lose him…!”

“Sigh… I guess it can’t be helped? I should leave him here, right? Even though he’s so cute and pretty… He was crying because he doesn’t have a mother…?”

“…He doesn’t seem that young? He can probably live well on his own…”

“Waaaaaah… Poor thing…”

Diana was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Not to be outdone by Anthony’s pleading, even the cat looked up at Diana with sparkling eyes.

‘Raise me. That’s what you’re saying!’

Diana was weak to such gazes.

‘Oh, what should I do?’

As she pondered, pacing along with Anthony, Anthony’s mother began the final deathly countdown.

“I’m going to count to 10! If you don’t come out, I’m really leaving!”

One!

Two!

Three!

“Shouldn’t you go, Lady Anthony?”

“The cat…”

“Go and try to persuade your mother slowly.”

“We already have 10 at home…”

Ten?! Is it an animal farm?! Diana could fully understand Anthony’s mother’s feelings.

I guess she brought them home like this every time…? Creating a trap to make it impossible to refuse with that cute face…!

At that moment, with the sound of “Ten!” the noisy sounds echoing in the garden disappeared.

A pale anxiety settled on Anthony’s face.

“Mo-Mother… Mother!”

As Anthony started running as if having a fit, Diana began to run along with her.

‘Lady Anthony! You left the cat behind! You can’t abandon it! Oh, this person…’

Fortunately or unfortunately, Anthony was as unathletic as Diana.

She tripped over her own feet, rolled on the garden’s dirt floor, and began to wail loudly.

In the end, Diana threw up her hands in surrender.

“Lady Anthony…! Don’t cry. There’s no way your parents would really leave you behind. They must be just trying to scare you.”

“Boo-hoo… No, that’s not it. My mother is more than capable of doing that. If I don’t chase after her quickly, she’ll abandon me… Hic…”

“Then let’s do this. For now, I’ll take care of the cat. But only temporarily. I’ll give you some time, so why don’t you try to persuade your mother until then?”

“Re-Really?”

“I can’t keep him forever, but if it’s just temporary guardianship…”

Anthony rushed at her in an instant.

“Lady Diana…! You’re an angel!”

She might have poor athletic ability, but her strength was tremendous.

Diana found herself enveloped in Anthony’s embrace along with the cat, having to endure her thanks for quite some time.

“Ugh… Okay, I get it. Anthony! Now… phew… please let go…!”

To experience such rib-crushing pain twice in one day. Diana felt short of breath and finally managed to pry Anthony off.

“I’ll definitely persuade her by Lady Fenice’s birthday banquet, no matter what!”

‘…Why is the birthday banquet the deadline? I haven’t even been invited yet…?’

As Diana looked at her with a puzzled expression, Anthony answered brightly, closing her round eyes prettily.

“Lady Fenice was really impressed seeing Lady Diana’s performance today! I’ve never seen such an expression on her face. She’ll definitely invite you.”

“…Me?”

“Yes! Lady Fenice likes people who are decisive and brave. That’s why she finds me frustrating…”

Before she could finish speaking, the shouting started again.

“Anthony!”

“I really have to go now! See you next time! Goodbye, Sebastian!”

Diana stared blankly at the spot where Anthony had left. She felt dazed, as if she had encountered a whirlwind in a flower garden.

‘…Me… decisive and brave? I’ve never heard such words in my life…’

In her past life, Diana was a reclusive loner who avoided meeting people.

Due to her looks that didn’t fit in and her timid personality, she always clung to Angela’s side, observing the world.

The only thing she knew how to do was ‘unrequited love’, but have I improved a little…?

Father only got into the carriage long after that.

If it weren’t for Benjamin, who attended the ball together, she would have literally become a lost child.

Diana looked up at the red-haired man sitting in the front seat of the carriage and sighed.

He didn’t say a word, even though an unfamiliar cat was lying on his daughter’s lap.

‘It might be more comfortable to ride in the luggage compartment.’

Diana also threw her gaze out the window and kept her mouth shut.

It was only when they reached the outer wall of the duke’s mansion that the duke finally opened his mouth after a long pause.

“You brought a cat.”

“…I thought you wouldn’t ask.”

“It doesn’t matter much. If you want to keep it, keep it.”

“I don’t intend to keep it forever. A friend asked me to take care of it for a while.”

“Did you make a friend?”

“…Um, yes. It seems so.”

After that, the duke was silent again.

‘Why doesn’t he ask who it is? Considering the political differences, he should at least ask for the family name…’

Nevertheless, the duke remained taciturn.

He didn’t nag or scold her about what happened today.

He just added one last thing before getting off:

“It’s better not to get too attached. It’s fine to mingle occasionally.”

It was a rather affectionate statement for a villain.

Diana got out of the carriage holding the cat. The weather was clear, not a single cloud in the bright sky.

“My lady! You’re back?”

“Angela!”

Angela, who was greeting her cheerfully, froze when she saw the round creature clinging to Diana’s body.

More precisely, she was shocked at the sharp claws embedded in the silk dress.

“Oh my… Where did you get such a critter…!”

Angela quickly took the cat from Diana and glared at it with sharp eyes.

“…Haha. You two look very alike like that.”

Kind only to those they like, quick to show their claws, and even the puzzled expression as they looked back at Diana – they were like carbon copies.

It was at that moment when Diana was smiling happily and heading to the bedroom with Angela.

Maids carrying white gauze and water buckets rushed down the stairs towards the training ground.

“…Did something happen?”

Angela jumped in surprise and then looked at Diana cautiously.

“W-Well…”

“What is it?”

“Young Master Theodor has returned.”

Diana’s face hardened like stone.

‘Theodor?’

The name she hadn’t heard in a long time felt strange even to pronounce.

Diana blinked slowly, recalling the nightmarish childhood she had spent with Theodor.

Theodor de Arnel, the heir to the Arnel family, who had just completed five years of early study abroad and was about to enter the academy.

He was the first ‘natural enemy’ Diana had ever encountered in her life.