Chapter 02: The Rich Cat Lover, Part 1
Asteine, who decided to take on the role of the incompetent youngest daughter in a wealthy family, sat on her bed and thought deeply about the plot of the original story, Clemence’s Mistake.
“So… the author who stole my 25,000 won ended the story with a ruined ending, right?”
The final line of Clemence’s Mistake was:
[Clemence’s rejection of the cat beastmen leads to the world’s destruction.]
Suddenly, everything was ruined.
It was a romance fantasy with a reverse harem, but in the end, the author had brought it all to ruin. Asteine vividly remembered her frustration at that conclusion.
But now, she found herself in the world of Clemence’s Mistake…
She thought carefully.
Let’s think about this! I can stop the world from ending, live as a rich unemployed person, and make everyone happy. It sounds easy.
“If I just find and raise the cat that Clemence will abandon, the world won’t be destroyed, and I’ll be happy, right?”
Asteine had always loved cats. After her beloved cat passed away, her joy in life became to feed stray cats, and her talent lay in rescuing skinny cats and making them healthy.
“Alright, let’s go rescue a cat!”
She had to go get the cat — no, to protect the world.
‘Ah, how cute will it be? I’m so excited.’
She was unaware that the beastman would soon be a dragon rather than a cat.
Her smile bloomed, unaware of what the future held.
To quickly find a cat, Asteine first headed to the powder room.
To go outside, she had to get dressed.
She stared silently at the worn-out clothes in the powder room.
“Why are these all so old? They’re already ripped. Even I, a commoner, would throw these out by now!”
Asteine picked the least faded outfit from the powder room and glanced at her maid standing nearby.
‘I think her name was Orenne.’
Asteine casually asked her.
“Orenne?”
“Yes, Lady Asteine!”
“How much of the Duke’s family fortune can I use?”
According to the original story, the nobles of the Paradi family were divided into those who had completed their coming-of-age ceremony and those who hadn’t.
‘In the Paradi family, you have to complete your coming-of-age ceremony to be officially recognized as a noble.’
Since Asteine hadn’t gone through her coming-of-age ceremony yet, she probably didn’t have a lot of usable assets.
“…If you mention the Duke’s name, you should be able to use some of the family fortune, even if you haven’t had your coming-of-age ceremony. After all, you’re still a lady of the Duke’s house.”
Orenne whispered as she inspected Asteine’s outfit.
‘Some’ probably meant a substantial amount since the Paradi family wasn’t small.
“Good, perfect.”
Asteine grinned.
Her plan to live as a wealthy and disliked third-generation heir was coming together.
She decided to take a carriage to the Beastmen Market.
The carriage was beautiful. Moreover, a few knights were guarding the carriage to protect her.
“Lady Asteine, do you need anything?”
Seeing Asteine act differently, Orenne cautiously whispered.
“Oh, Orenne.”
“Yes!”
Before getting into the carriage, Asteine gave Orenne a word of advice.
“Make sure the house and the villa are cleaned properly. I’ll have a special guest coming.”
She was planning to bring the cat beastman who would destroy the world in her house. So, her house couldn’t be messy.
‘I’ll be staying here until I leave for the coming-of-age ceremony.’
She would be leaving the villa soon after the ceremony, but until then, she didn’t want to breathe in dust.
“Did you ask me to clean the house?” Orenne blinked her innocent eyes.
Asteine nodded silently and replied.
“You should clean… right?”
Orenne was clearly thrilled.
…What? Asteine never let her clean before?
Just looking at the dust-covered mirror was enough to guess.
“Make sure to clean the dusty mirrors, iron the clothes, and bring the jewelry from the family home!”
Excited, Orenne babbled while Asteine, trying to suppress her disbelief, nodded.
Orenne happily agreed.
“Yes, Lady Asteine! I’ll clean it all up while you’re away!”
“Did you ask for cleaning maids from the Duke’s family?”
“Yes, the Duke had planned to send them, but I didn’t want to trouble you.”
“Don’t refuse things like that. Take whatever you can—money, maids, whatever.”
Asteine’s cheerful attitude made Orenne eagerly nod.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Asteine turned to get into the carriage.
One of the knights asked politely.
“Where shall I take you, my lady?”
“I’m going to the Beastmen Market.”
At Asteine’s answer, the knight’s face stiffened.
“…The Beastmen Market? Are you planning to buy beastmen with money?”
His expression was odd. He didn’t seem too happy about it.
But Asteine had already decided to live as a disliked rich person, so she wasn’t going to let this bother her.
“Yes. I’m planning to buy them with money.”
Though she meant to buy their favor, it wasn’t necessary to say it so explicitly.
Asteine gave him a sidelong glance.
“Ha… Understood.”
The knight, though uncomfortable, managed to escort her with no further visible reaction.
Thus began Asteine Paradi’s solemn journey to prevent the world’s destruction.
Of course, with a bit of personal interest mixed in.
Cats!
She wanted to become a cat’s caretaker as soon as possible!
The carriage raced swiftly.
Before long, Asteine arrived at a small beastmen market in the Pelperni Barony.
“Marquess Salame had bought beastmen from here and gave them to Clemence as a gift. So… this must be the right place.”
In this world, beastmen were treated like animals.
Both male and female beastmen were treated like pets.
Yet, despite their pitiful condition, the market was harsh with transactions.
‘Such inhumane treatment.’
Asteine frowned as she walked.
Her knights flanked her, guarding her on both sides.
She asked one of them.
“How much farther is it?”
“We should be getting close.”
The knights exchanged strange looks.
The small Pelperni Beastmen Market wasn’t busy, so as Asteine entered, people began to notice her.
“Oh, isn’t that Lady Asteine?”
“What’s she doing here?”
People whispered. It wasn’t common for noble ladies to appear in a beastmen market.
But Asteine Paradi had always hated this place.
That’s because Lady Clemence didn’t like the beastmen market.
People believed Asteine would surely hate it too, just like Lady Clemence.
“Is Lady Clemence around? Look carefully.”
“Lady Clemence has spoken out against this market several times. There’s no way she would be here!”
“Then why is she here?”
It seemed that Asteine and Clemence were hot topics in high society lately.
‘Let them talk.’
Asteine didn’t care about their gossip.
She calmly observed the area and muttered.
“Where can I find the cat beastmen?”
The cat that Marquess Salame had given to Clemence, which would be abandoned and, in the future, would destroy the world.
Where was that cute cat who would become the beastman to ruin everything?
The Pelperni market wasn’t large, but Asteine’s poor stamina indicated that she couldn’t walk through all of it.
“Hey.”
Finally, Asteine decided to ask for help.
She stopped a man who looked free and called out.
“Yes?”
“Where can I adopt a cat beastman?”
“Adopt…? If it’s a cat beastman, they should be in that booth over there.”
“Alright, thanks.”
It was the perfect timing, the right place, and the cat beastmen were there for sure.
‘Ah, I need to give them lots of treats and train them properly to brainwash them.’
Asteine quickly headed to the booth the man pointed to. Her steps were cheerful.
The knights followed, puzzled.
At the booth for the cat beastmen, Asteine found herself in an awkward situation.
As soon as she entered, a large iron cage greeted her.
“Meow.”
“Nyah!”
Inside the cage, cute cats were trapped, crying sadly.
Considering that cats are territorial animals, it was incredibly inhumane to keep so many in such a small cage.
Yet, the vendor seemed unconcerned and calmly pointed at the cage.
“We have roughly ten. You can choose one from these. We have given them all magic cuffs, but because they are a different race, they can use twisted magic.”
“Ten…?”
Asteine carefully observed the cats.
‘Ten!’
She wasn’t sure which one could be the world-destroying cat.
“Hmm.”
“It should be the cat with thick fur, long whiskers, and white paws.”
She reduced the number of cats from ten to two.
One was a fluffy, all-white cat, and the other was a black tuxedo cat with white paws.
‘So cute I can’t breathe.’
But wait.
‘Is that… really a cat?’
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
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