“Hmm. Um…”
The warm, pleasant sunlight shining down on her face.
Is it already morning?
She slept soundly for the first time in a while.
No nightmares, just peace.
Wait a minute.
“Ah!?”
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Irene opened her eyes wide and quickly sat up.
A room flooded with sunlight.
A soft bed.
A cozy room temperature.
Where on earth am I!?
Irene dashed to the window in surprise.
As soon as she looked outside, her expression changed oddly.
This is… the Vermont mansion, isn’t it…?
‘Was there such a cozy room in the Vermont mansion?’
It was strange.
The Vermont mansion I remembered was dark and gloomy, a place I never wanted to stay in for even a moment.
Did such a comfortable room really exist in the Vermont mansion?
[…!!]
“Lady Laura.”
Only then did she notice Laura’s clone bouncing joyfully on the table.
Irene lifted Laura onto her palm.
It seemed that during her fainting spell, she had been dragged all the way to the Vermont mansion.
“Damn…”
Irene felt a sudden headache coming on and rubbed her temples.
Her plans had backfired completely.
From start to finish, she had practically been at Aslan’s mercy, so she didn’t even feel disappointment.
How did it come to this?
There seemed to be no explanation other than that her plan had leaked.
[…!]
“Emilia managed to escape? That b*tch! She’s in collusion with Aslan!”
[…!!!]
“No need to defend Emilia. It was obvious she was infatuated with Aslan.”
Her teeth clenched together.
No wonder it felt strange.
She had set up a barrier preventing her from wielding weapons, and here came a strange Demon Sword that could absorb into her body.
She had barely managed to fend off Sylvia with a Stone Golem when a girl of incredible strength emerged from the shadows.
When that girl grabbed her wrist, Irene was truly terrified.
She had resisted with all her might, but still found herself immobilized and handcuffed.
Moreover, the handcuffs were not ordinary; they were magic tools connecting her and Aslan.
Thanks to that, she had to witness a year’s worth of nightmares in just ten minutes, being dragged around the shadow world.
She had made a ridiculous spectacle of herself…
“Ah. I want to die.”
[…!!]
I guess there’s no reason to live anymore, right?
Irene felt a surge of shame and despair wash over her as she crouched on the bed.
It would have been okay if it were just shame.
But it was a problem because it wasn’t just that.
They had kidnapped her to threaten her, using a barrier, a golem, and even an avatar of an evil god to attack Aslan.
Committing just one of those acts would be a serious crime, yet she had poured everything out, only to suffer a complete defeat.
Aslan was no longer in a position to fear that his plans to build a black magic research institute had been discovered.
He could just claim that everything had been a ruse to capture her.
“Kugh…”
If she were handed over to the imperial family like this, it could very well lead to execution.
Even if they showed her leniency somehow, it was clear she would rot in prison for the rest of her life. But Aslan wouldn’t do that.
Instead of sending her to prison, he would surely hold onto this weakness and use it against her until she died.
Perhaps that could be even more painful than rotting in a prison.
“Lady Laura. The giant form… is no longer possible.”
[…!]
“Surely it won’t work, will it…?”
Her last hope was shattered.
Now, the only force she had left was her own body.
It would be easy to take down a weakling like Aslan and toy with him.
However, she was no match for Sylvia, his escort knight.
Moreover, when that girl wielded the strange sword that had been pulled from Aslan’s neck, she seemed to move even faster…
Ah. There’s no answer.
To escape from here, she would have to wait for a moment when the guards are lax.
Just as Irene was calmly trying to devise an escape plan.
“Who is it!?”
“…Hic!”
At that moment, the door creaked slightly.
Irene clenched her fists tightly and reacted violently.
The door opened slightly, revealing a silver-haired girl.
What was her name again?
Julia, wasn’t it?
For a necromancer, she looked rather soft-hearted.
“What is it?”
Irene relaxed her fists and asked in a calm voice.
Although she was dragged into enemy territory and imprisoned, the child was innocent.
Only Aslan, who corrupted that innocent and kind child into an evil necromancer, was guilty…
“It’s almost time for lunch… I just wanted to let you know to come to the dining room if you’re going to eat…”
“…What?”
“I’ll guide you to the dining room…”
“No. It’s fine. I know the way. You can go now.”
The door slammed shut again.
Irene was left speechless in disbelief.
She just asked me to come eat?
Really?
What on earth is that guy Aslan thinking…?
When she woke up, there were no restraints binding her body.
The barrier set up around her also didn’t detect anything.
This only heightens my anxiety.
Irene, extremely tense, placed Laura’s avatar on her shoulder and left the room.
‘There really isn’t any security in place.’
She could break this window and escape at any moment.
However, it seemed Aslan had taken no precautions.
Well, considering he already had her weaknesses in hand, was it futile to try to escape…?
Irene swallowed her humiliation and slowly headed toward the dining room.
A familiar path.
Although it was a path her body remembered, the scenery unfolding before her eyes was vastly different from her memories.
This place hadn’t originally been so lively…
“…Aslan.”
“Sister, you’re here? Everyone, say hello to my sister.”
“Hello!!!”
“Ah, hello…!”
The moment she entered the dining room, at Aslan’s command, the children stood up from their meals and bowed politely.
Irene’s brow furrowed in response.
A dog bowl!
How could they serve human food in a dog bowl!
That despicable brat is even doing this to the children…!
Irene felt like she was about to explode but barely managed to suppress her anger upon seeing the escort knight standing next to Aslan.
“You fainted and slept the entire day. How many nights have you stayed awake?”
“…About three days.”
“Since you slept so long, you must be hungry. Eat something.”
“…”
Aslan said this nonchalantly and returned his focus to his meal.
This left Irene feeling quite perplexed as she took her seat.
She couldn’t bring herself to defy Aslan.
Her fate was now in that b*stard’s hands…
Irene ground her teeth quietly and began her meal.
Surely he hadn’t poisoned it, right?
She worried about what kind of tricks he might have played with the food, and she couldn’t taste anything while constantly keeping an eye on Aslan.
“Thank you for the meal! Mister, I’m going to go train!”
“I’m going to check on the skeleton grandpas… I need to see if the bones of those who fell off the mountain have healed well. …Yup.”
“You both can go.”
The children finished their meals quickly, chattering noisily as they left the dining room.
As Irene found herself alone at the table with Aslan, her expression stiffened.
Now there was no need to hold back. Aslan would finally reveal his true colors.
“So what are you going to do with me now?”
“I’m planning to serve you dessert.”
“Don’t joke around. What do you want to do with me to feel satisfied?”
“It would be nice if you would leave quietly without causing a fuss after eating everything.”
“Don’t make me laugh. You brought me all the way here because you want something from me.”
“Brought you here? I couldn’t just leave someone who fainted in ruins, so I brought you with me.”
“It’s not ruins; it’s my home. What are you talking about?”
“…?”
“…?”
Aslan and Irene tilted their heads simultaneously.
It felt like their conversation wasn’t quite clicking.
“Do you live in a place like that? Why not just come live here?”
“I don’t want to. It may not be dark, gloomy, and damp, but I still wouldn’t want to live here even if it isn’t that bad.”
“Then there’s nothing I can do. You can still live under a proper roof. You might catch a cold otherwise.”
“Are you trying to force me to move? Is that what you want? Fine. Where should I live? Should I spend my entire life under your watch?”
“I told you I don’t want anything from you. Why are you being so clingy? Do you think I’ll go and gossip about family matters somewhere? But that would just amount to spitting in my face. I have no intention of holding family accountability over such trivial matters, so please stop making a fuss.”
“…”
Trivial matters?
Was that trivial to you?
I had been sharpening my blade, waiting for the day to take my revenge on you!
Irene felt a wave of despair wash over her, and she sensed all her strength draining away.
I was consumed by hatred, willing to do anything to pull you down. But to you, it was just a trivial ‘family issue.’
‘Am I someone you consider too unworthy to even face?’
I certainly banished you to the shadow world.
You were almost left disabled for life or even killed.
And yet you speak so casually about it?
Irene felt her insides boil with rage.
“Ah, right. I captured the runaway Emersy. It turns out she was your pawn. The proposal for a marriage was also given by you.”
“You just realized that?”
“I knew that much. Do you know what my employee discovered when they chased Emersy?”
“…”
“I found Emersy’s father. John Tales. How is it that the former head of the family, who was said to have died from a stroke due to stress when the guild was on the verge of collapse, is still alive?”
“Hey, you can’t be…!”
Ah? Did she get caught?
That dumb Emilia…!
Irene’s face flushed a deep red.
“The Tales Guild didn’t collapse because of your schemes. It fell apart due to a combination of misfortunes, compounded by management failures. From here on, this is my hypothesis: the one who suggested faking the head’s death was probably you. Just before the Tales were about to be sold into sl*very under a mountain of debt, the head died, making it seem as if the guild was practically dissolved, and stock prices plummeted. At that timing, you bought the guild and poured in money to somehow revive it, didn’t you?”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“Now I understand why Emersy follows you so well. No matter how I look at it, she didn’t seem like someone who was being threatened. What I don’t get is why, after treating her well, you spread rumors that you were the one who brought down the Tales family…”
“Dammit, you’re just writing a novel! If you don’t have anything more to say, I’m leaving!”
At Aslan’s grim smile, Irene felt chills run down her spine.
She thought she wouldn’t get caught!
That foolish Emilia caused a scene?
Irene covered her flushed face and stormed out of the dining room.
Why did the rumors paint me as the villain?
It was a simple reason.
Because that way, people would fear me.
So that no one would underestimate me.
That’s why she hoped it wouldn’t be discovered.
She didn’t want to be seen as the naive fool who spent her own money to save the Tales family. Especially not by Aslan.
That was for sure…
‘Why… Why am I feeling this way…?’
Why do I feel so relieved?
Wiping away her tears that flowed uncontrollably, Irene was engulfed by a confusing whirlwind of emotions.
