Chapter 2
‘Let’s ransack everything!’
The Diary I couldn’t find yesterday might be here somewhere. I’ve already searched Evangeline’s room thoroughly, so let’s check the other rooms.
This is the bathroom, this is the washroom, this is the parlor, ah! Here it is!
The door was stuck and hard to open, but it turned out to be a storage room. There were things covered in cloths, and wooden boxes filled with odds and ends instead of paper ones. Wow… how do they even move all this when they relocate?
The cloth-covered items were all paintings. While searching, I found paints too, so it seems Evangeline had a hobby of painting. There was even a bookshelf, so it looked like an art studio兼 reading room. No wonder the curtains were drawn.
I set the paintings aside and checked the books. I can’t read the letters, but since it’s handwritten, it should have her style. And then I hooked a big one! The cover was pitch black, which was a bit odd, but it was clearly handwritten. There were even ink smudges. The numbers written on top made it a hundred percent match.
I flipped through the pages roughly, and something strange fell out. A note? I picked up the paper.
‘Summoning Circle?’
A circle with geometric patterns. This is a hundred percent Summoning Circle! A Summoning Circle in the Diary—crazy!
Seeing this, it seems like the novel I’ve possessed into has some age to it. These days, they don’t really make contracts with otherworldly beings anymore.
I didn’t hesitate. I’m going to draw the Summoning Circle. Whether it’s a spirit, a dragon, whatever—first I draw it. A villainess needs at least one power to protect herself.
Luckily, there were paints. No blank canvases or suitable paper, so I decided to draw on the floor. That’s how they always do it anyway.
Worried the paint might run out midway, I chose the red one with the most left. The brushes were all hardened and wouldn’t bend, so I dipped my fingers in the paint instead.
First, a large circle, then triangles, stars… and lots of letters. While drawing diligently, my hand got pricked by a splinter in the wooden floor. Luckily, no thorn stuck in, but blood came out. Ouch, why does this hurt so much? I finished the rest with the stiff brush. It was inconvenient, but doable. Should’ve used this from the start. As they say, a bad head makes for hard labor.
‘Done!’
It was a bit squished and weird-looking, but I drew it all! I thought something would pop out like in novels, but nothing happened. Do I need to chant the incantation after drawing? There was a fancy incantation written under the Summoning Circle on the paper… but what’s the use? I can’t read it!
It’d be a waste to just leave it, so I’ll babble whatever.
“Spirit King? Spirits? Dragon? Hey…?”
Nothing happened.
“Um… anyone willing to make a contract with me? Please come out?”
Begging pathetically didn’t work. Guess I need the incantation. I’ll learn the letters first and try again. What kind of world is this where illiterates can’t even summon?
***
Count Rohanson looked down at the maid before him.
Daisy wasn’t a criminal, yet she had her eyes closed, trembling as she bowed her head. Considering Count Rohanson wasn’t the type to be harsh with his servants, she seemed excessively frightened.
It was understandable. Daisy had attended to Lady Evangeline up close for the past two days. Whatever was inside, the outward appearance was identical, so she must have seen fragments of the Lady in the Count’s eyes.
Knowing this well, Count Rohanson didn’t scold the maid. Daisy had been close friends with his late daughter regardless of status, and she had volunteered to serve ‘that thing.’ The Count slowly spoke.
“So. What was it doing?”
“She asked about Lady Evangeline. Her age, family relations. Favorite foods or habitual behaviors. And she acts like she’s really become the Lady. I said the Lady went for a walk at 8, and she said she’d do the same. She took out the Lady’s clothes, put them on, and walked…”
Her freckled, cute face twisted. Her closed eyelashes trembled faintly. Daisy confessed as if making a confession to a priest.
The angry shout faded into a whisper. ‘It was as if she wanted to become Lady Evangeline.’ She couldn’t finish because she realized she was being too emotional. No one would despise that more than Count Rohanson, Evangeline’s father.
“She didn’t care whether the maids who saw her fainted or not.”
And that wasn’t all. Daisy recalled Lady Evangeline watching a maid being dragged away with her mouth covered. The maid had cried out desperately for her life, but the red eyes looking at her held clear disgust. It was contempt, like looking at a wriggling worm on the roadside.
The Lady Evangeline that Daisy knew wasn’t like that. That frail girl wouldn’t utter a harsh word to others even if it meant suffering herself. If she wanted to be the Lady, she shouldn’t look at people with such contempt. Don’t look like that. Afraid their eyes might meet, Daisy kept her head down. But… those eyes, are they still watching me?
“Then suddenly, she said she wanted to learn letters.”
“Letters?”
Daisy nodded and continued.
“She said due to memory loss, she doesn’t remember letters and asked to buy some books.”
Daisy had promised to attend her, so she couldn’t go buy books herself and was about to ask someone else, stepping out briefly to relay the message.
In that short time, the room was empty. Thinking she had fled with the Lady’s body, they searched the entire fourth floor. Then they saw the room at the far end was open. It was a room the Lady had never allowed anyone to enter. They couldn’t find the key and had left it be. How did she open the locked door? A brief question arose.
The door was slightly ajar. Opening it more would make noise. Then she’d receive that contemptuous gaze too. Holding her breath, Daisy peeked through the crack. It was definitely holding a book.
“She doesn’t know letters, but asked for books to get rid of me—it was clearly a lie. When I returned, I saw her reading. And, and…”
What happened after was vividly clear. She wanted to forget, but it only grew sharper.
“Blood was coming from her finger. It seemed she drew patterns on the floor with her blood. It was a drawing that made me uncomfortable just looking at it.”
Drawing on the floor with her finger, yet it made a harsh sound. Like scratching the floor wildly with nails.
“After finishing, she muttered something. The only clear word I heard was… ‘contract.’”
The sound was faint. Daisy pressed her ear closer to the door. Then she accidentally nudged it. Please don’t notice, she prayed. But their eyes met. Terrified, Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. And that was all she saw.
“Contract…”
Count Rohanson stroked his chin. Blood-drawn patterns and contract. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem good. Some kind of sorcery? His insides already burned because of whatever possessed his daughter’s body—now it wasn’t summoning another monster with blood, was it?
Count Rohanson sighed. It was all because his daughter committed suicide. The temple wouldn’t even officiate the funeral or allow proper enshrinement, so an evil spirit possessed her body. The problem was even Holy Water couldn’t exorcise it.
No choice but to keep watching. He was about to encourage Daisy to endure a few more days when her still-closed eyes struck him as odd.
“But why have you kept your eyes closed since earlier?”
“Why? It’s scary, of course. It’s still watching me. My Lord Count.”
Daisy countered as if puzzled. Watching? The Count suddenly turned his head.
And met the gaze of the clustered eyes staring at him.
***
I’ve been chosen by a three-eyed leopard-print cheese cat. What’s with this isekai quality…? Why is even the cat extraordinary?
I don’t know where it came from, but when I woke up, it was lying on the bed with me. Is it a cat from the Count’s family? I should ask the attending maid.
But it’s a different person from last time. Well, they must be busy, so rotation makes sense.
“Are there many cats in the Count’s mansion?”
“Cats? They were all killed long ago.”
All killed?
The maid explained that cats caused an epidemic. Seems something like the Black Death swept through here.
Meow.
“...Don’t you hear a cat meowing?”
“I don’t hear anything.”
“That’s weird…. It’s so close.”
She desperately pretended not to notice. Of course it’s close—it’s right here! No! Baby, don’t meow! If you meow, we’re caught! We’ll die!
Fortunately, the maid left without searching the room.
Whew, my heart almost dropped out. I used to be the type against adopting pets without family permission…! I hated those ‘My cat-hating dad is now…!’ update posts! But what now? I’ve become the one who adopted a cat without family consent!
But they’ll kill it! They killed them all due to disease, so its family’s probably gone too. If I get it checked thoroughly by a priest and doctor, can’t I raise it? The Count’s Lady’s pet cat won’t be killed.
First, get permission from the Count.
His study, right? Good thing I remember where it is. I went down the stairs to this floor. Knocked on the door, and the Butler came out.
“I want to see the Count.”
“I’ll ask for a moment.”
The Butler returned quickly.
“I’m sorry, Lady. The Count is busy now and says he cannot see you.”
“I see?”
Wow, the villainess’s dad is really something. Daughter came back from the dead, and he still doesn’t visit? I knew from not eating together even once. Turning me away when I came? No wonder she became a villainess. ‘Busy’ is just an excuse, right?
“If you have a message, you may tell me.”
The Butler bowed. What kind of kid was Evangeline to get a 90-degree bow from an elderly man? I put my hand on his shoulder to tell him to get up, and he flinched. Ah, I’m not hitting you!
“I want to raise a cat.”
“A cat…?”
“Is that no good?”
“No…”
Yes! Permission granted!
I skipped back lightly.
“Your name is Pudding!”
