CTSIB 09

Chapter 9

After preparing Rosé’s breakfast, the maids checked the windows multiple times before leaving and gave her a warning.

— “Rosé, His Majesty said he’ll have lunch in the bedroom for a while, so please stay here quietly until then.”

They told her to wait quietly in the bedroom until lunchtime. It seemed Noah had given the order himself.

So even right before sneaking out to the garden, Rosé was deep in thought, worried that Evelyn and Amelia might get scolded because of her.

Rosé’s thought: “As long as I’m back before lunch, it’ll be fine!”

Still, knowing what was coming, she couldn’t just sit and do nothing. As long as she didn’t get caught, it should be okay.

Rosé’s thought: “A lock like this? Child’s play.”

As soon as Evelyn and Amelia left and locked the window, Rosé went to work. The latch was a semi-circle hook that went from top to bottom, but with her front paw, she easily flicked it up.

Rosé’s thought: “Wow! This place is massive!”

Rosé climbed up to the window ledge on the second floor and looked out at the garden before jumping down. The garden seemed to stretch endlessly.

Rosé’s thought: “The Karline Empire really is something.”

In the original novel, the Karline Empire was the dominant power on the Lesosor continent for a long time. Over that time, they slowly devoured neighboring minor kingdoms, growing so large that harsh winters and scorching summers coexisted across its territory.

Rosé’s thought: “That’s why the heroine’s kingdom got conquered, too.”

The original female lead, Aria, came from the Kingdom of Lewin—one of the nations the empire had invaded. Back when the former emperor was still alive, it had been reduced to a vassal state just because Melissa wanted its hot springs.

Rosé’s thought: “No wonder she resents them…”

Aria’s hatred for Noah, the son of that empress, made sense. But even so, Rosé’s life now depended on him—so she couldn’t take Aria’s side.

Rosé’s thought: “I’ll help the Kingdom of Lewin regain its independence somehow!”

She didn’t know how to save Noah, or how to resolve the main characters’ grudges—but since she was a cat, all she could do was try.

Rosé’s thought: “I’ll figure it out somehow.”

Saving Noah was the priority. Even if Noah and Aria failed to hold the throne, Aria and Zion were strong enough to live happily elsewhere.

But if Noah were dethroned as a tyrant, no one would show him mercy—he’d surely be executed. And if that happened…

Rosé’s thought: “Then I’m finished too.”

Shivering at the mere thought, Rosé moved forward.

Thankfully, she knew where the servant quarters were in this massive palace.

In the novel, Aria had once disguised herself as a maid to gather information before a social party—that scene had revealed the servant areas.

Leaving tiny paw prints in the snow, Rosé quietly padded toward the eastern side of the palace.

Rosé’s thought: “So many flowers, even in this winter… And what’s that? Are those… crystal ornaments in the garden?”

Her paws were a bit cold, but the journey wasn’t boring. The garden was so beautifully landscaped—it felt like being in a botanical garden. She even saw decorations she’d never seen before.

“Why are you working barehanded?”
“How else am I supposed to work?”
“His Majesty gave us gloves.”
“Yeah, and how can I use something so valuable for work? I’m saving it for when I go out with my wife.”

These well-kept gardens were clearly thanks to the hard work of the gardeners she now overheard nearby.

Careful not to be seen, Rosé hid herself among the plants as she listened in on two gardeners talking about gloves.

“To be fair, those gloves looked expensive—not like regular work gloves.”
“Then what happened to your gloves from His Majesty? You’re wearing old ones.”
“Shh. My wife took them to sell. Said if she sold them, the kids could at least have some more potatoes to eat.”

Apparently, Noah had once gifted gloves to the gardeners working with bare hands. Judging from how they spoke cautiously, it seemed he didn’t just give them to these two.

“So did she sell them?”
“Must’ve fetched a good price. She came home with a big piece of meat.”

Hiding among the flowers, Rosé’s eyes sparkled with certainty.

Rosé’s thought: “See? I told you Noah wouldn’t be the type to starve his servants just to cut food costs!”

To be honest, she had been a little worried. But clearly, there was no need.

Rosé’s thought: “The terrible meals must be someone else’s doing!”

Maybe because of those gloves—or Noah’s prior kindness—none of the gardeners Rosé passed spoke ill of him. Still, a few were worried about today’s lunch.

Rosé’s thought: “If I fix this food issue, I’ll definitely earn some points!”

If it turned out that someone else had been skimming the food rations, not Noah, the palace staff might start to see him in a better light.

Rosé’s thought: “Even a thousand-mile journey begins with one step!”

Starting with the servants was the way to go.

Her plan was to gradually change Noah’s image and steer him away from the hated path he took in the original novel.

Rosé’s thought: “I won’t even give the main characters a chance to interfere!”

She didn’t yet have a perfect plan to fix everything—but Rosé clenched her tiny paws with renewed resolve.

Rosé’s thought: “Just you wait. I will protect him! My butler! My relaxing cat life!”

Meanwhile…

The nobles, who had made a big fuss over a single tree struck by lightning, were now squabbling over where to hold the royal hunting festival.

Every spring, before the season officially arrived, the Karline Empire hosted a hunting event. And every year, it sparked a fresh round of debates.

“How about riding up Monte Mountain and holding the event deep in the canyon this year?”
“You suggested that last time too… but didn’t we say the carriages can’t get through there?”

The same familiar bickering came from Marquess Dwelli and Marquess Percy.

“Marquess Dwelli, always so curious about my affairs—didn’t you hear? I recently built a new villa in Monte Mountain. There’s space for carriages and for all the guests to stay comfortably.”
“Is that so? If you’re willing to go that far, how about by Lake Biche? My family has an estate there that’s been passed down for generations. And this time of year, the migratory birds make for excellent hunting.”

The two men had an oddly antagonistic relationship. Both had been hoping to rise to duke status for generations—and constantly tried to outmaneuver each other.

“Your Majesty, where would you prefer?”

At Marquess Percy’s question, all the nobles turned toward Noah.

Honestly, Noah found it exhausting to have to decide things like this through endless meetings.

But he held his tongue. He didn’t care about pleasing these people, but stirring up unnecessary drama was even worse.

Causing a stir would bring Melissa running. And even Noah, who didn’t care what others thought, couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with her.

“I’ll think about it.”

Even though he hadn’t wanted the throne, he sat here now entirely thanks to Melissa.

That didn’t mean he’d follow all her commands—but he couldn’t let the nobles treat her like a powerless old woman either.

And if they underestimated her, they’d quickly get bold with their flirtations.

Despite being the former emperor’s consort and the current emperor’s mother, these idiots didn’t seem to realize that disrespecting her could cost them their heads.

Did his mother even know how these fools had used her, without her knowing, for their own gain?

There were nobles who used Melissa’s intention to eliminate Noah’s political enemies just to vent their own grudges. Who knew how many people had died because of it? Noah had stopped counting.

He didn’t like the title “tyrant” that came with it—but he accepted it.

None of the nobles Melissa targeted were worth saving anyway. And if people were going to hate him because of his eyes, he might as well make them fear him too.

After all, unlike the other deaths, Noah knew his own existence had directly led to Zion’s death.

So being called a tyrant wasn’t something he could complain about.

“More importantly, let’s finish the tax reform discussion from earlier.”

But sometimes… when he saw the nobles’ faces go stiff every time a topic came up that might benefit the people but hurt them slightly—

“Your Majesty, we agreed not to bring that up for now…”

He couldn’t help but wonder—

Who’s really the tyrant here?

“Me?”

So naturally, he responded like that.

As Noah shot a cold glare around the room, the air inside the meeting hall instantly froze over.

He knew full well that this kind of behavior was exactly what led to people calling him a tyrant—but there was no helping it.

If he wanted to make this empire a better place to live, even with these pathetic nobles around…

“Your Majesty, about the tax reform…”

“We reviewed it before. It didn’t seem like a good idea…”

As the nobles resumed their objections, Noah reflexively reached down toward his lap, searching for Rosé—only to realize she wasn’t there.

Quietly, he turned to Jonathan.

“Go check on Rosé. Make sure she’s okay.”