I sat down on the sofa and ate my blue Barry sorbet and drink lemonade without a care in the world.
Blue barry sorbet was commonly found within the Heart residence, so common that even the maids could sit down wherever they wanted with blueberry sorbet.
This was a luxury that would've been impossible to achieve in the novel.
In the novel, the Heart family went downhill because my father all his investments failed and he is not good with business. Therefore, they didn't even dare to break the contract's requirements.
It meant that, if you wanted to break the contract, you'd have to acquire a good impression of the empress. The thing is, it takes a lot of time and money to do so.
The Heart family didn't have that Mach time and money, so they followed Derrick's every request.
Well, I already made a good impression on the Empress and I made a successful investment so I'm rich
Unlike Judith in the novel, I had nothing to worry about. I was able to break the contract or change partners as I wished.
So I chose Grand Duke winter.
You ask why
Will my favorite character is the grand duke he is perfect in every way that's possibility
He have Golden eyes just like flames or gold ,He is tall, broad-shouldered and his thick short raven black hair is so Beautiful.
He is the rich and strong and handsome what do you want more
But the only one how known how he looks is me because I read the novel
Derrick treated the Grand Duke like he was some sort of toothless shark. He had so much confidence in himself that he believed covering the Grand Duke's eyes and ears would stop him from taking action, along with keeping him isolated in the North.
However, Grand Duke winter was and would always be the king of beasts.
As of the moment, I felt too lazy to step in. I'll just sit this one out; it's not like it's going to be fun anyways.
By now, he must've already heard the news and undertaken a background check on me.
I'm convinced that the Grand Duke knows what my life – as Judith's heart – with my biological parents is like. But how do I get in touch with him?
Living as Judith, I did numerous crazy things on purpose, and it gives me a good laugh when I look at my records.
That evening, using the excuse that Derrick had stressed me out, I booked an appointment with the fine-dining specialist chef so that I could enjoy a gourmet meal. I heard he was hard to book.
Sinigang soup, scallops with trout eggs, oyster gratin… I ate filet migno steak and had cheesecake as a dessert. All of my worries disappeared.
Money is the best. Delicious food is the best.
I hummed as I opened the door. I heard a sound by the window.
"Hm?"
As I looked over, I caught sight of a cat lingering around outside my window.
A cat? But why is he so small?
The unidentified cat was as small and had fluffy hire. It kept scratching at the latch, but it wouldn't open. It rammed itself into the window with all of its force.
Though, the window didn't budge. The pitiful cat limped around.
Emily was taken aback to find such a little pitch-black cat following me around.
"why's the cat like that? Doesn't it know it's glass?"
"Stay here."
I asked her to wait and approached the window.
It wasn't very difficult catching the cat; it'd been sitting around and had looked like it was going to fall.
It was so small, small enough to fit in my hand. I relaxed my palm and the small black cat tried to stand up straight, stretching its legs. Even though it charged head first into the window, the cat was sane and unscathed.
An ordinary cat would have been badly hurt. When I looked out the window, I saw a cat-like imprint.
Hmm, seems like he sent his familiar.
However, this familiar was never mentioned in the novel.
Nevertheless, I knew the set-up for the Grand Duke's family. Their familiars usually came in the form of a lion or a tiger. That's because they were the best when it came to battles.
It also seemed like they didn't send an aggressive familiar; in fact, it seemed to like me quite a bit.
What is this all about? Was it because I rejected your son and said I wanted you instead?
Or was it because of the man whose name I forgot and who I kicked in the nuts after he asked me for my three sizes?
And when I said I wasn't sorry and told him to just cut it off altogether?
But I know he won't do it.
Well, what's good is good. I smiled brightly and directed my attention to the cat.
"Hello."
"Meow meow !"
His hire felt nice and soft.
I spoke to the Grand Duke through the familiar, knowing he'd be in contact with me through the cat.
"All the rooms in the Heart mansion have special windows. They're hard to break. I'll show you how to open it next time, got it?"
".....meow ?"
The cat tilted its head.
Of course, you owe me a debt now.
"Meow, meow !"
The Grand Duke's familiar purred without tire whilst resting on the palm of my hand. Although, it didn't run away.
I let it down on my table.
It ventured around the table whilst observing my room. The clean tablecloth was now stamped with countless cat footprints.
"Meow !"
Emily brought in a milk bowl and watched the cat with sparkling eyes.
"I didn't think black cats could be so cute. It doesn't seem like one of the common cats of the Empire, rather it seems like it came from far far away. Are you going to raise it?"
"Do you think I can tame it?"
Emily and I questioned each other at the same time. I was also questioning the Grand Duke.
Um, it's probably not worth a shot.
There weren't many beasts, but most of them made up for it with their size. Even the smallest of beasts were as big as an adult male.
Emily was glowing with happiness.
"Of course! My Lady is good at everything! You're good at dancing, you're good at playing musical instruments, and you're good at poker!"
"Emily, if you bring me something to eat, I'll pretend I didn't hear that last thing you said."
"I'll be right back!"
She ran off and disappeared. The familiar looked at me, gaze flickering between me and the door.
"Meow? Meow ?!"
Those big deep-blue eyes seemed very shocked.
It seemed to notice that the servant left, and now it was scared to be alone with me.
Usually, people were afraid of familiars and wouldn't know what to do. Even this cute little cat would be capable of killing someone without problem if they sent even the tiniest amount of mana to their body.
On the other hand, killing a familiar wouldn't cause that much damage to their master. It was a one-sided contract of obedience.
It's not like just any old wizard could create a familiar.
And, naturally, it's not like just any animal could be a familiar.
Even though it was only mentioned briefly in the novel, Grand Duke winter had a total of seven familiars, with each one of them possessing strong powers.
I told you he was a beast. The only person who was capable of having a beast as a familiar was Grand Duke winter.
And he might not even be the strongest person in the world.
"Meow! Growl! Growl!"
Like a quick demonstration, the cat jumped. At that moment, Emily knocked.
I wondered why she came back so early and why she looked like she saw something disgusting.
"Miss, the young master sent his attendant. They said they can't go back until you send him a reply."
As expected, it was Derrick. How insignificant he is.
Derrick Winter doesn't love me. What he wants is the power and the influence of the Heart family.
Even in the novel, though the Heart family had lost their wealth due to investment failures, they still maintained their pristine reputation.
Even if he wasn't lucky enough to have a marriage contract, he would've still tried to use his marriage to further his success. I, just like Judith in the novel, would've been the perfect match for Derrick's goal.
〈That woman? I'm not interested since she's easy. She has no worth except for her face and her family name. This is the first time I've been so done with a woman before even getting with her.〉
Originally, Derrick was nice to Judith, but that didn't last long.
Judith opened her heart to him, but he changed a week after they had gotten married. He treated her like garbage, not a wife.
If Judith in the novel had been like me now, it might have been different. But this was a waste of time.
Now that the authority of the Emperor was blooming for various reasons, the most powerful families in the capital were the Heart, Elaine, and Benjamin families.
Of course, the capital had a lot of power but it never surpassed that of the Grand Duke's winter.
The whole Northern territory belonged to the Grand Duke.
Plus, he had so much money that the imperial vault would look like a piggy bank to him. Nevertheless, Grand Duke's winter seemed like a distant memory in the back of most nobles' minds.
He doesn't attend social events, nor does he interfere with the country's affairs. Most aristocrats don't even know what Grand Duke winter looks like or how old he is.
Derrick was the one who revived the Grand Duke's reputation, which was slowly dying off.
A few months ago, Derrick came to the capital, showing off his noble-like appearance and excellent swordsmanship skills which succeeded those of the Prince.
It was only natural that he hid his true personality and acted naively. For some time, he had quite the number of fans in the novel. They didn't stop sticking to him that easily either. No matter how rude he was, they defended him and claimed his attitude was attractive.
That was only until the real male lead, Eckles, awakened. But I couldn't wait that long.
"Emily, I need to write a letter."
She misunderstood my intentions and made a tearful face.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, miss. You don't have to force yourself to do something just because you're being compared to the young master! I'll be back with the other maids!"
"I'm writing a letter to kick him out."
Emily, who was about to run out, hesitantly raised her hand.
"Ooh..., will you be sending it to someone else?"
"Yes. I'll need to go shopping."
"Purr?"
The cat purred when it saw my uncontainable smile.
I'll make him regret playing this stupid game with me.
To be continued….