I’ve only played up to Chapter 1, but the Vermont family in the story is extraordinary in many ways.
The head of the family, Count Drago Vermont, was executed on charges of black magic research, leaving the Countess to act as the head.
The eldest son, Aslan Vermont, continued researching black magic and performed human experiments, only to be cut in half and killed by the protagonist.
The eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, became a necromancer studying resurrection magic and was imprisoned after being reported.
‘What kind of messed-up family is this?’
From one to ten, they’re all trash.
Maybe the Countess is normal? But judging by the state of her children’s education, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
There isn’t a single sane person in this family.
So.
“Aslan, this sister of yours has specially procured the materials for your experiments! I was passing through the sl*ve market and saw the perfect ones, so I snatched them up!”
I shouldn’t expect to avoid dangerous situations just by being careful.
“Ah, ah…”
“What? Are you so happy?”
“No, what are you going to do with these…?”
“Look! Don’t they have great mana sensitivity for lowly beings? Oh, maybe your weak magic sense can’t see it. Anyway, I bought them especially for you, the future head of the family. It wasn’t expensive. Oh! That sl*ve trader tried to overcharge me, so I cut off his limbs. I left your business card and told him to contact you if he had any complaints. He kept apologizing, so I don’t think he’ll contact you, but just so you know.”
“…”
Irene tapped my shoulder and smiled.
I realized two things.
First, Aslan’s sister and the eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, is insane.
Second, Irene clearly despises her younger brother.
“Why the face? These are the high-mana sensitivity kids you’ve been looking for.”
“…”
Irene pushed the children she brought in front of me.
A small green-haired girl trembling like a frightened rabbit.
A tall silver-haired girl baring her teeth and growling.
Even though I was seeing them for the first time, I had a strange sense of familiarity.
[Skill, ‘Appraisal’ activates.]
[Charlotte]
[Age: 13]
[Affection: -5]
[She is wary of you.]
I already knew that.
[Julia]
[Age: 14]
[Affection: -10]
[She is hostile towards you.]
I thought the appraisal skill would reveal something impressive, but it only provided surface-level information.
At least knowing their ages could be useful.
I wouldn’t risk offending a thousand-year-old high elf by failing to recognize them.
‘It really is them.’
Charlotte and Julia.
Names that had to be familiar.
They are future companions of the protagonist in the game.
The protagonist, Yuri, cherishes them deeply, and they become Aslan Vermont’s human experiment subjects.
So, why not avoid bringing them here in the first place?
The answer I got was this:
Even if I didn’t kidnap them, someone else would forcefully bring them here.
As if it was destined to happen.
“…Where’s the third one?”
“The third one? What third one?”
“Wasn’t it three, not two?”
“Oh. How did you know? One escaped. That one was the most expensive one, tsk.”
“…”
With a significant smile, Irene whispered to me.
The escaped one is undoubtedly the protagonist, Yuri.
Suddenly, I felt a headache coming on.
“She ran off saying, ‘Wait for me, everyone! I’ll become strong and come back to save you!’ Isn’t that cute? But by the time she comes back, it’ll be too late.”
“…Did you really lose her? Not let her go?”
“Oh my, what do you take your sister for?”
Grit.
I made a sound of my teeth grinding without realizing it, and Irene smiled thinly, satisfied.
Her mad eyes were hard to read.
“See you next time. Since I brought the materials myself, you better have results by then. Neither I nor Lord Kali have much patience.”
“…”
Irene waved cheerfully and left, the door slamming shut.
Left in the study were a grim-looking black magician and two frightened children.
“Welcome. My name is Aslan Vermont. Welcome to the Vermont mansion…”
“Are, are we going to… hic. Huuu!”
“Don’t cry! If you cry, you’ll get hit!”
“But, huuuuuu!”
“We just have to hold on until Yuri comes!”
“Ah. This is giving me a headache.”
This is what they call being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I’m losing my mind.
“Eat.”
“What is this?”
“What do you think? It’s food.”
“Is it for us?”
“…”
When I pushed the plates of food towards them, both kids backed away, too wary to eat.
Do I look so much like a villain that my sudden kindness makes them more suspicious?
I had no choice but to call a maid and have the food re-plated in dog bowls.
“Is this better?”
“…”
I left the kids in the next room with the food and water and returned to the study alone.
I ignored the sounds of “I’m hungry…” and “It might be poisoned…” coming from behind.
I needed time to think.
‘This is driving me crazy. What should I do with them?’
I want to kick them out immediately.
Whether to an orphanage or anywhere else, I just want them out of this mansion.
Otherwise, the protagonist Yuri will come for revenge someday.
The real problem is still Irene.
Would that crazy woman, just by looking at her eyes, have kidnapped these children purely for her brother?
Was losing Yuri really a mistake?
And then there was that subtle pressure at the end, expecting “results”.
Who knows what she might do if I don’t produce research results?
So I can’t lay a finger on the kids in the next room.
Yet I must proceed with experiments using those kids. It’s an ironic situation.
A real dilemma.
“Fine. I’ll escape.”
There’s no solution here.
If I start the research, I’m destined to be killed by the protagonist.
If I give up on the research, the family will put pressure on me.
It’s a literal death trap.
The only way to turn it into a third option is to escape.
Change my name, wash my identity, and live alone in some remote place as a farmer.
[The evil god, ‘Kali’, casts his gaze upon you.]
“…!?”
Suddenly, my heart feels like it’s being squeezed, my vision narrows, and cold sweat runs down my back.
I felt frozen, as if I had forgotten how to breathe.
Then, the chilling sensation faded, allowing me to breathe again.
What was that just now? It felt like a cold presence approached from behind and touched my neck.
After calming my wildly beating heart, I came to a conclusion.
“Hah, hah… This is really messed up.”
I’ve gotten tangled up with some truly vile people.
Why did I write 5,800 characters instead of condensing it to 3,000, bringing this fate upon myself?
***
“Charlotte! No! You don’t know what’s in it!”
“But I’m hungry. Mmm, yum… Huh? It’s delicious?”
“Do you want to eat from a dog bowl?”
“Better than starving to death!”
“…”
Charlotte’s comment, her mouth smeared with white cream, left Julia speechless.
Even though they were uneducated orphans, they couldn’t be unaware of the Vermont family’s notorious reputation.
It’s a place rumored to be filled with the screams of sl*ves daily and countless bones buried in the mansion’s basement.
Why did we end up in such a place…?
If you don’t stay alert, who knows what might happen to you, yet Charlotte had already let her guard down and was devouring the cream pasta from the dog bowl.
She was crying in fear just a moment ago…?
“Julia, eat up! It’s really good!”
“No thanks. There might be poison or drugs in it. At least one of us needs to stay sober to handle whatever happens next.”
“Nothing will happen. The man who gave us the food seemed nice.”
“What? That guy? Are your eyes working?”
Julia was astounded by Charlotte’s naive assessment.
How could that man seem nice?
Pale, almost ghostly white skin, likely because he never went outside.
Greasy hair.
Dark circles under his eyes.
And the floor of the study covered with mysterious red magic circles and offerings like goat heads.
‘Ugh. Creepy.’
He was obviously a black magician researching forbidden magic.
Just recalling it made Julia shudder.
How could anyone see that man as nice?
She worried if Charlotte could survive in this harsh world.
‘Yuri isn’t here. So I have to protect Charlotte…’
Yuri managed to escape dramatically, leaving behind a promise to return.
Yuri had said so, so no matter how long it took, Yuri would return somehow.
So just hold on a little longer.
Endure and wait, protecting Charlotte.
Julia made up her mind, biting her lip.
“Behaving yourselves, I see.”
“…!”
The door suddenly opened, and the ominous man entered.
Julia instinctively jumped up, standing in front of Charlotte.
The man, practically emanating dark aura in real-time, seemed like the personification of menace.
How many people had he ground down to be so sinister?
Every word he spoke felt like it literally froze the air around him.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“…”
Why is he asking that?
Did he put something in it?
Facing his sinister smile, Charlotte and Julia froze.
“Why did only one eat? Aren’t you hungry?”
“None of your business.”
“You should eat well. Gain some weight and stay healthy. Heh heh heh.”
“…!”
Meeting the man’s ghastly eyes, the air turned cold.
What is he planning to do with us?
What is he going to do to our bodies…!
“If you won’t eat, I guess there’s no choice. Punishment is in order.”
“Finally showing your true colors! Using punishment as an excuse to do something vile!?”
“Get up and run ten laps around the field. Start now. Move.”
“What?”
Eh, huh?
