When they arrived at the salon, I asked to see some ready-to-wear clothes because there wasn’t enough time to place an order and I followed the employee’s guidance before entering the fitting room.

Suddenly, a murmuring voice could be heard from beyond the fitting room curtain.

“Did you hear the news? That woman, they say she’s returned to the capital. Lady Parche said he saw her on the street earlier.”

“That woman?”

“It’s Rowaine Larscel. Oh, now it’s Rowaine Blois.”

Amidst the buzzing chatter that sounded like background murmurs, I heard my name.

‘Hmm?’

As I moved to slip into my dress, I instinctively listened to the voices outside the curtain. A few women were gossiping about me as if there was no need to lower their voices.

“Wasn’t she the one who was abandoned by His Imperial Majesty and fled to BLois? Why has she returned?”

“It’s probably because she couldn’t stand the boredom of country life. You know how haughty she was. There wouldn’t be any exciting parties like here on the estate.”

“Isn’t it really strange? Why did she marry the Duke of Blois, of all people? The Duke of Blois is a shapeshifter. How could someone who enjoys tormenting the Emperor’s hounds as much as she does become his wife…”

I stopped trying to change my dress and listened to their conversation as I held my breath.

As I listened, it suddenly dawned on me.

‘Oh, am I the villainess here?’

Since most of the people in Blois had only heard of Rowaine through rumors, I was rarely treated as a villainess, so even I had forgotten about this myself.

‘I’ve become too relaxed because I was able to become close to Elaine, the original female lead, without any conflict.’

As I pondered this, the employee beside me became flustered and stumbled over her words in embarrassment.

“J-Just a moment…”

It looked like she was about to run out and handle the situation, so I silently grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“Shh.”

As I pressed a finger to my lips, the employee swallowed dry saliva nervously with a pale face. She seemed worried that I might burst out and grab the customers by their hair myself, but truthfully, I didn’t think anything of it.

‘After all, it’s not about me but the real Rowaine.’

Rowaine had committed numerous misdeeds with the Emperor’s support. She ridiculed and ostracized noble ladies she didn’t like, and if they irritated her even slightly, she wouldn’t hesitate to grab them by the hair. There were hardly any in the capital who hadn’t been subject to her bullying.

‘She engaged in such misdeeds, so a little murmuring is to be expected.’

I didn’t plan to time myself and step in to punish them. Instead, I intended to quietly wait until they disappeared without revealing myself. How awkward would the situation become if the person they gossiped about appeared?

‘I don’t have the confidence to handle such a situation.’

However, as their conversation continued, maintaining a generous and relaxed attitude became increasingly difficult for me.

“Would she treat her shapeshifter husband like a slave? I’m sure she wouldn’t abuse her own husband, right?”

“Tsk. That’s cruel!”

“Or maybe she’s now in a position where she submits to the shapeshifter.”

“That woman? Ah, if that’s the case, it would be interesting to see.”

“Ugh, just the thought makes me sick. Mixing with beasts and bedding down with them.”

“Oh my, Lady Sierra!”

For a while, there was a tumult of laughter and playful screams. As I listened to their joyous noises, my mood soured gradually.

‘Why did they bring up Dimitri…?’

If they had been wronged by Rowaine, shouldn’t they just curse Rowaine? Why did they suddenly bring up Dimitri, who has never harmed them, and cackle about him?

‘Ah, am I getting a little upset?’

Dimitri wasn’t someone they deserved to criticize like that. The person I knew was definitely not someone who deserved to be mocked just because he was a shapeshifter.

‘Besides, the fact that Dimitri is a shapeshifter is also attractive, even though they wouldn’t know.’

The fangs that were slightly revealed every time he talked, the size of his pupils that changed depending on his mood, the way he adjusted his clothes from time to time like a cat grooming itself, the undeniably cold expression like a cat…

‘How attractive.’

And regardless of everything else, he was my precious cat, inside the fence of my heart.

Swoosh!

As I swung the curtain aside without hesitation, ready to tear it off, the people outside noticed my presence and looked towards me in surprise.

I smiled and walked confidently towards them.

Those with awkward expressions recognized me and fumbled nervously, unsure of what to do.

“Long time no see. Oh, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Unable to ignore my greeting, they forced a smile as their gaze wandered elsewhere.

“Oh, um… Lady… Rowaine.”

“We, we didn’t realize you were here.”

Smiling, I furrowed my brow slightly and corrected their address.

“You should address me as the Duchess of Blois, Lady whose name I don’t remember.”

“Ah. Right. I-I’m sorry.”

They took steps back, glimpsing opportunities to escape as I approached. Suddenly, they became flustered, mumbling about sudden emergencies or important appointments.

‘Was Rowaine really that terrifying?’

I couldn’t believe they were shaking so much just because of my appearance.

Still, I had no intention of being satisfied with just chasing them away like that. For the first time in a very long time, the runaway locomotive inside me* was careening out of control. My mind was flooded with heat, and I couldn’t see anything clearly.
[ T/N: The phrase ‘폭주 기관차가 폭주하고 있다’ is an idiom used to describe a situation where one’s emotions or thoughts are running out of control, akin to a runaway train. ]

‘It seems like you were looking at accessories.’

I gently grabbed the shoulder of a young woman who seemed to be trying to escape and smiled sweetly. She froze at my touch, her face turning pale. I could feel the muscles in her shoulder tense beneath my hand.

Then, I picked up any accessory within reach and held it out to her chest, parting my lips again.

“I think this corsage would look great on you. May I put it on for you?”

In response to my question, the girl with wide eyes glanced at her friends with a pleading look before replying.

“It would be an honor, Duchess.”

I calmly approached her, holding the corsage out to her chest, and lowered my upper body.

“Young lady, it seems like you were having a very interesting conversation as I heard laughter inside. Shall I share an interesting story as well?”

When I asked quietly and gently, she nodded her head slightly.

“Wh, what is it?”

When the pin attached to the corsage pierced the hem of her dress, she flinched in surprise even though it hadn’t even touched her skin.

I gently patted her shoulder and whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You see, tormenting shapeshifters is no longer fun. As you know, they’re all too obedient. So, I’ve found something more entertaining.”

“W-What…?”

“You may have heard the rumors, but recently, there were elders in Blois who would jump in opposition whenever I said anything.”

“….”

“I thought I was going to lose my mind because I didn’t want to see them, but then they started a rebellion. As I found myself amidst the chaos, coincidentally, I had an axe in my hand. I thought it would be fun to make use of it. So…”

“….”

“Chop their necks with the axe.”

When I paused for a beat, gripping the corsage tightly, the lady’s face turned white, and her neck trembled.

“…And as I swung down, it snapped their neck.”

The next moment, I pulled off the corsage I had carefully pinned as hard as I could. When I did, the fabric of her dress that was caught on the pin tore with a rip.

“Hiiikk!”

The young lady shrieked as if her own head had fallen off and collapsed to the ground. I followed her, leaning over, and continued speaking.

“…And then it fell down. Can you imagine how a body looks when its head is just falling off? Like a freshly caught fish, flopping around…”

“Kyaaaak!”

Before I could finish my sentence, she jumped up and ran out the door, screaming as if she couldn’t take it anymore. As if they thought I had done something wrong to her, the remaining people looked pale and quickly followed her, disappearing.

Left behind, I sighed regretfully, fiddling with the red corsage I was holding in my hand.

“Seriously? Someone was talking here.”

I soon stood up, holding out the damaged corsage in my hand to the employee, saying I would compensate for it.

The employee cautiously took the corsage from my trembling hands as if it were a heart I had just ripped out of an unknown lady and shook his head.

“T-The compensation… It, It’s all right.”

‘If anyone saw this, they would think I was beating someone up.’

Rowaine’s notoriety had its conveniences.

‘It’s not bad.’

A strange sense of satisfaction washed over me. Yet, at the same time, I was worried.

‘Oh, this fiery temper is quite something. I hope this won’t harm Dimitri’s reputation.’

As the heat in my head subsided, my anger mode shifted to timid mode, and my sense of reason returned. It occurred to me belatedly that, bearing the name of Blois, I should have been more careful in my actions. The aristocratic society was smaller, and it was a place where people had closer relationships and influenced each other than you thought.

‘But… I can’t stand anyone insulting my cat.’

As I thought about it, I carefully uttered the words I was thinking.

“My cat…”

…Now that I thought about it, since when has Dimitri become ‘my’ cat?

 
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