Chapter 13

I’m Done Being the Queen
When Veronica tried to hurt Will, countless images flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

A rainy day when I picked up a kitten.
It had been so tiny, like a little ball of fluff chasing after me. Half a year later, it had grown nearly as big as an adult cat, and then—

“──”

That was… from my previous life.
The first and last cat I ever owned had lived to the ripe old age of twenty.
I had been there for her final moments, and after that… After that…

(I… I can’t remember…!)

The memories were hazy. There were parts I still couldn’t recall.
But my memories with her remained crystal clear.

Holding Will tightly in my arms, I lifted my gaze to Veronica.
She looked flustered under the weight of my sharp expression, but I paid it no mind and spoke.

“I’ll be taking these cats.”

“W-What…?”

“You don’t mind, do you? You haven’t been taking care of them, after all.”

“That’s…”

“Are you going to argue? Can you? I can easily produce witnesses and testimony.
Besides, no matter what you say, this is already decided.
As queen, I’m taking them away from you. You left them to roam the Royal Garden as they pleased. But the Royal Garden belongs to the royal family—to me. The final say is mine.”

“W-What are you saying!? Are you saying cats aren’t allowed in the garden? That’s cruel! They’re so adorable!”

I knew arguing with Veronica would only be a waste of breath.
Ignoring her words, I turned on my heel.

“This discussion is over. I’ll be informing His Majesty about this as well.”

“Wait!!”

She let out a shrill, almost desperate cry and grabbed my shoulder.
I frowned instinctively.
With a pleading voice, Veronica shouted,

“Don’t take him away from me!!”

(… What?)

Didn’t she just try to shake him off, calling him filthy?
And now she wants to keep him?

“Cats and dogs aren’t accessories, you know.”

“I know that!!”

“Oh, do you now? I wasn’t sure you did. Now, kindly let go of me.”

“Give it back!!”

Veronica only referred to Will as ‘that cat’.
Did she not even know his name? Or could she not tell them apart?
Either way, I had no intention of leaving the cats in her care any longer.

Will was trembling in my arms, frightened by Veronica’s loud voice.
I hugged him tighter, shielding his face, and raised my own voice.

“Someone!! Come here!!”

At my call, the royal guards arrived swiftly and pulled Veronica away.
While they restrained her, I returned to the castle with Will.

Later, as expected, His Majesty complained bitterly, no doubt having been whined to by Veronica.

But honestly, I couldn’t care less anymore.

I had indeed harbored faint feelings for His Majesty.
It was pathetic, but true. A cringeworthy part of my past, but still reality.
During our engagement, his seemingly sincere attitude, his feigned kindness—it had all made me fall for him.

But after the wedding, his behavior changed completely. I suffered under it.
Even so, I couldn’t quite let go of my feelings for him.

But now…

(How utterly ridiculous.)

The mere fact that a man like him could be so taken with a woman like Veronica proved he wasn’t worth my affections.
There was no reason to hold any feelings for a man who could love someone like her.
His true nature disgusted me.

That was the moment I made up my mind.

I’m done being queen.
I refuse to be a convenient cog in their political machine any longer.
From now on, I’ll walk my own path, as myself.

As for the cat incident, there were two notable follow-ups.

The first was about the royal guard who had restrained Veronica that day—his name was Luke.
He was punished by His Majesty.
The reason? Apparently, it was for “laying his hands on His Majesty’s mistress, a noblewoman.”
Luke was ordered to house arrest.

When I heard about this, I used my authority as queen to revoke His Majesty’s order.
Naturally, that sparked yet another argument between us—two or three, in fact—but such petty quarrels were beneath my concern now.

Since then, I’ve instructed my guards and maids not to intervene when Veronica harasses me, unless I explicitly order them to.
Additionally, to prevent any future incidents of Veronica picking up stray animals and abandoning them, I passed a new regulation:

“No living creatures may be brought into the castle grounds.”

It was a blatant abuse of power, but I didn’t care.
With people like her, if you didn’t use every available tool, they’d just repeat their behavior.
Thus, the law was established.
(There hadn’t been such a law before simply because no one had ever thought to bring animals into the castle until now.)

The second follow-up concerned the cats.
Since it wasn’t safe to keep them at the castle—due to all the foot traffic and the uncertainty of what Veronica might do—I consulted my father.
In the end, the cats were taken in at the Clausenitzerfamily estate.

Mother had apparently been wary of them at first, not being fond of animals, but now, word is, she’s completely smitten with them.

The cats, for some reason, are particularly attached to my brother.
Even though he’s hardly ever home, when he is, they follow him everywhere.
Ugh… I’m jealous.

Father seems to be fond of them too; I can tell from his letters.

(Truthfully… I want to live with them too…)

I can’t do that while I’m still queen.
But if I leave…
If I divorce His Majesty…
I can return to the Clausenitzer estate.

I’ll still be a noble’s daughter, so I’ll probably remarry eventually, but when I do, I hope my new partner loves cats.
Or dogs. I’d be fine with either.
Cats and dogs are both undeniably adorable.

After parting ways with the Dowager Queen, I headed for the carriage stop with my maid.

What do you think about this chapter?