The Villainess is a Marionette

The role was too much for Catherine. It would draw society’s attention to her, and as the imperial princess’s chaperone, Catherine may be treated as an adult member of the imperial family.

‘But why?’

Though Catherine hesitated, Jonathan suddenly cut in.

“An excellent idea, Your Highness. A lady’s help is absolutely necessary for your coming-of-age celebration. I have been concerned about this for a long time.”

Then, he quietly continued, “Though I wish that my wife could play that role…”

Cayena pretended not to have heard him and turned to Catherine.

“There’s no need to overthink this. Harmonious families are important in aristocratic society, and we, the imperial family, must set an example.”

The reason was convincing enough, but becoming a chaperone was still a huge deal.

In either case, Catherine saw that it was a good opportunity to set up protections for herself and her son. She stood up.

“I accept. I will make sure not to be a bother.”

Cayena smiled.

“I am in your care.”

***

Ethel ran out of the academy as soon as class was over. Cayena was expected at the Hamel residence today.

He impatiently looked around for the carriage. At that moment, a well-dressed attendant stepped down from an ornate carriage and greeted Ethel.

“I’ve come to pick you up, Young Master.”

Ethel inspected the carriage.

‘It is the Hamel county seal, but…’

Before, the Hamels had him ride an ordinary wagon that did not draw attention, as if they were ashamed of taking in Ethel and his mother.

But today, a fancy carriage had come for Ethel. It was like he was being favored.

‘It must be because of Sister.’

Ethel felt many glances watching him and the carriage.

This was Cayena’s strength and status.

“Please get in.”

The attendant opened the carriage door.

Ethel faltered, then climbed into the carriage. He needlessly checked to see if there were any wrinkles in his school uniform.

After Cayena told the academy to punish the students who had attacked him, nobody tried to pick a fight with him anymore.

Thus, his uniform stopped getting dirty, but he continued to look over his clothes out of habit.

The carriage arrived at the mansion.

Ethel gulped and then entered.

“Where is Sis… I mean, where is Her Highness?”

Ethel was about to call her ‘Sister,’ but he quickly corrected himself.

Cayena said he could call her that, but he wasn’t sure if she had seriously meant it.

The attendant politely answered,

“The adults of the household are receiving Her Highness.”

“Ah…”

Ethel wanted to rush to the parlor and see Cayena. A lot of things had happened to her, so he wanted to check that she was all right.

However, he did not voice a word of his desire to go to the parlor.

Then, the butler hurried to the first floor and called for Ethel.

“Young Master!”

Unlike before, he addressed Ethel very courteously.

“The princess has been waiting for you to return. Please accompany me to the parlor.”

‘She was waiting for me?’

Ethel was embarrassed and fidgeted with his hands.

He headed for the second-floor parlor. He was unfamiliar with this feeling. Usually, the second-floor parlor was used to greet close allies and family.

‘It’s like we’re a real family.’

Finally, he arrived at the parlor.

Jonathan called out kindly to him, seeing him at the door.

“Oh, Ethel. Come here!”

Catherine ignored how Jonathan was behaving differently than usual and greeted her son. “Welcome back, Ethel.”

“Yes, I’m home…!”

Ethel was bowing his head when he paused.

He met Cayena’s eyes; she had been staring at him.

Her smile was warm and tender, as if telling him he had been worried over nothing.

Ethel wanted to smile at Cayena, but his stiff face did not move according to his heart.

He greeted her respectfully.

“I greet Her Highness, the Princess.”

“It’s been a while, Ethel.”

‘I have to ask how she is…’

Ethel had been extremely worried, but it was difficult for him to ask about her. He felt shy. He fiddled with the hem of his jacket.

“Nice to see you, Ethel.”

Ethel lifted his head in surprise. He saw a dark-haired man sitting next to Cayena.

“…Greetings, Duke Kedrey.”

Ethel frowned.

He hated to admit it, but the two sitting side-by-side seemed to match well.

‘…Where should I sit?’

Cayena noticed Ethel’s pondering and moved closer to Raphael, making space at her side.

Because of that, Raphael’s entire body startled. He nearly wrapped his arm around Cayena’s waist when she suddenly came closer to him.

Raphael sighed inwardly, holding his hand back so others wouldn’t notice. He had to control himself.

Cayena, who hadn’t noticed Raphael’s condition, called to Ethel.

“Come here and sit.”

Ethel wavered, then went to Cayena’s side.

The people of the Hamel county stared at the scene with their mouths wide open.

Jonathan in particular looked the most shocked.

Catherine also wore a surprised expression because the two siblings appeared to be more affectionate than she had thought.

Cayena gently pulled Ethel to sit beside her.

“How have you been?”

Ethel peeked at Cayena and replied with difficulty.

“…Good.”

Cayena inspected Ethel’s uniform.

There were some wrinkles from everyday life, but thankfully, there were no traces of Ethel getting into fights.

Ethel hesitantly brought his courage together and asked, “How have you been… Your Highness?”

He had thought that he’d comfortably be able to call Cayena ‘Sister’ once he saw her again, but that affectionate epithet did not leave his lips, as if it had been glued inside his mouth.

Cayena seemed to notice Ethel’s hesitancy and stroked his silver hair with a thoughtful smile.

“Your big sister is doing fine.”

At the word ‘sister,’ Ethel widened his eyes and stared at her.

Was it all right to call her that?

However, the others in the room reacted strongly to the intimate title. Or rather, they had felt that things had been unusual since a while ago.

Ethel glanced at Jonathan’s stern face and asked Cayena,

“May I call you ‘Sister’?”

Cayena replied right away, as if it were obvious.

“Everyone here is a part of my family. Of course you should call me ‘Sister.’ ”

Cayena added on like an afterthought, “Of course, Duke Raphael is not family. But he was our witness at the academy, wasn’t he?”¹

“…Yes, Sister.”

Jonathan, who had been quietly listening to Cayena, nodded and broke into exaggerated laughter.

“Yes, yes! This is your and your mother’s home now, so there’s no need to be uncomfortable, Ethel!”

Jonathan was extremely transparent. Cayena took a sip of her tea without adding anything to his words.

She had been thinking about dealing with the Hamel county’s problem in addition to asking Catherine to be her chaperone today.

Specifically, the matter of the family’s succession.

“By the way, has Grandfather’s health declined further?”

Count Hamel was over eighty years old. In this time period, that was quite a long life. Thus, Jonathan hadn’t been able to inherit the family title despite being middle-aged.

“Well, he is quite aged. I’ve been taking care of the family affairs, actually,” Jonathan said, subtly mentioning his contributions.

Cayena made a saddened expression. “If that’s so, then you need to take over as the count. Uncle, you need to take on Grandfather’s burdens so he can rest comfortably.”

Jonathan quickly erased the smile that formed at the corners of his mouth.

Cayena was supporting Jonathan’s accession.

“I wish for the count to retire in peace.”

“If the vassals also care for Count Hamel’s health, they will agree that you should take over for the family.”

Jonathan bowed his head deeply. “I have no more qualms since Your Highness has recognized that I am acting sincerely for the family.”

Cayena smiled brightly. “We’re family, after all.” Saying that, she held Ethel close to her and stroked his head. “Please take good care of my cute little brother as well.”

“Of course.”

Ethel continued to be patted by Cayena while his face turned red.

“Oh, Ethel. Have you learned to ride a horse?”

“I learned a little in school… ”

“Do you have a horse?”

“No.”

Jonathan, looking embarrassed, cut in.

“Lady Catherine and Ethel just joined our family recently, so I haven’t been able to take care of that yet.”

“I want to give Ethel a horse as a present, so please encourage him to diligently practice while he’s here. It’s a necessity for a young man from a prestigious family, is it not?”

“I’ll be sure to do that.”

Ethel was fascinated by how Cayena trapped Jonathan with every word. It was even more amazing because her tone didn’t sound forceful at all.

Then, Catherine said,

“Ethel, you need to thank her.”

“Thank you… Sister.”

When Ethel self-consciously called her ‘Sister,’ Cayena smiled brightly.

It was cute how the teenager shyly and tersely spoke to her.

Cayena leaned back with a smile, bumping into Raphael. Raphael supported Cayena, lightly holding her shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

He should have moved down the couch. That was what Cayena communicated with her expression, but Raphael still did not budge.

She sighed a little then asked,

“By the way, Duke, didn’t you say you came here to see Ethel?”

Despite the sudden question, Raphael was not caught off guard. Rather, as if he had been waiting, he said, “Yes. I was actually thinking of giving Ethel a gift.”

Raphael called for his entourage, who stepped forward with a box.

It was an excellent sword that was light enough that even a young boy like Ethel could wield it. Ethel’s eyes sparkled when he saw the sword.

^{1. Reference to chapter 53. ↩}