The warm morning sunlight filtered through the window, gently seeping into her skin.
Julia slowly began to wake up, stretching her body.
“Yaaawn…! Huh!?”
Ugh.
She suddenly felt something strange in her mouth, causing her to startle and turn to the side.
There stood Aslan, quickly withdrawing his hand and turning away from her.
The foreign object in her mouth had been none other than Aslan’s finger.
This man!
“What are you doing…?!”
“You’re awake. You sure are quick to get angry first thing in the morning.”
“Ugh! Stop treating me like a toy!”
Despite Julia’s irritation, Aslan remained focused on his work, not sparing her a single glance.
Come to think of it, hadn’t he been like this since last night?
Julia got up from the sofa and quietly moved behind him.
Aslan’s broad back completely obscured her view of the desk.
After standing on tiptoe and struggling for a while…
Julia finally clung to his side, managing to see what was on the desk.
“What are you doing? …Hey?”
“It’s a financial statement. It details all the economic activities of the Vermont family, including taxes collected and business operations. It should be prepared monthly, but it’s been neglected for over ten years. Now, it’s hard to figure out how much debt we have and how much money is owed. I’m sorting it all out now.”
“Wow, so it takes a long time because you’re doing ten years’ worth all at once. It’s like when you don’t do your homework on time, and it piles up, making it harder later.”
“Exactly.”
“Ah!”
Thud.
Suddenly, Aslan grabbed Julia by the waist and lifted her up. She found herself sitting on his lap.
“What are you doing without asking…!”
“Weren’t you trying to see what I was doing? I just made it easier for you.”
“That’s not the point! You’re treating me like a child again!”
“Would I treat a child like a lady?”
“…!”
She’s a lady!
Stuck on Aslan’s lap, unable to move, Julia puffed out her cheeks, clearly showing her frustration.
But Aslan remained unfazed.
“This might be your job one day, so pay attention.”
“Isn’t this the secretary’s job…?”
“Sylvia is a knight, but she also handles this kind of work.”
“Sylvia’s a knight? Not a secretary!?”
Julia was shocked.
So she was officially a knight? Aslan just seemed to make her do everything.
If being a knight was that tough, how much work would a secretary have to do?
No way, she’s not becoming Aslan’s secretary.
Julia quietly made a mental note to herself.
“I’m not going to be a secretary. How long would it take to save up 1 billion Lark with that salary?”
“Then what?”
“I’m going to make a name for myself as a Spirit Master. I’ve already become famous in the Ariente territory for handling the Earth Spirit. I’ll become famous nationwide and take on loads of jobs, making tons of money!”
“That’s a good mindset.”
[The Evil God Kali smiles contentedly.]
Yes, that’s the spirit.
Aslan, satisfied, took in the scent of Julia’s neck as she declared her ambition with a clenched fist.
He decided that Sylvia could handle the boring secretary work, while the prestigious and profitable jobs would go to Charlotte and Julia.
“I want to get down now… Okay?”
Fumble.
Julia started to fumble with her clothes, feeling a sense of panic, as if she’d forgotten something important.
‘Oh no! The rosary!’
Suddenly, she remembered the item she had borrowed from Sylvia and frantically checked her chest area.
But it was gone.
Nowhere to be found.
She was sure she had worn it.
Which meant…
It must have come off while she was sleeping!?
“You!? Did you take my clothes off while I was sleeping…!”
“…”
Julia’s face turned bright red as she hunched her shoulders.
Aslan simply closed his eyes, exhausted by Julia’s overactive imagination.
***
‘Sister, is she really a Vermont?’
‘Why, do you think otherwise?’
‘Yes. It’s hard to believe we’re of the same blood.’
‘Then do you think it’s best to eliminate her? Speak, Aslan. What are your thoughts?’
‘I…’
Flash!
“Gasp…!”
Irene gasped for breath as she rolled off the bed, cold sweat pouring down her body, her hands and feet trembling.
She had just had a terrible nightmare.
“Goddamn it…”
Running her hand through her disheveled hair, Irene cursed under her breath.
Ever since she’d glimpsed Aslan’s bewildered face through the crack in the door, asking if she was truly a Vermont, cursing had become a habit, sticking to her like glue. She had to fight hard to calm her ragged breathing with a dry wash to her face.
A memory she could never forget.
The day that had turned her life upside down.
The more she thought about it, the more her hatred for Count Vermont and Aslan festered.
Ah. He was now Count Vermont, wasn’t he?
“Hah. Hahaha…”
In the end, she hadn’t been able to stop it.
She had tried everything to prevent Aslan from becoming the head of the family.
She struggled so hard.
Despite all her efforts, she ultimately failed to stop him. He ascended to the title of count in an instant.
The outcome was absurdly anticlimactic.
Though she had been tense upon hearing that the delinquent Aslan had changed, she believed she still had plenty of time.
At the very least, she thought she could delay things until the Council of Elders convened.
But who could have predicted that he would use the road completion ceremony as a pretext to invite the Empress, capturing her attention and becoming the Count right then and there? This move far exceeded anything Irene had anticipated.
“My guess was wrong. A new Evil God? That can’t be.”
At first, she speculated that he must have made a contract with a new Evil God.
But winning the favor of the Empress with the help of an Evil God? Impossible.
The Empress could see through a person’s inner self. If she had sensed the aura of an Evil God, she would have detested it.
This meant that everything that happened was entirely due to Aslan’s own abilities.
How could the stupid, gloomy delinquent
Aslan have changed so drastically overnight?
The answer Irene arrived at was simple.
Aslan had reclaimed the brilliance he had as a child.
That was the only explanation.
“Wasn’t he just a stupid, broken shell…?”
After the death of the Count of Vermont, Aslan had shut himself away in the library.
He had lost not only the talent he displayed in his youth but also all his confidence, leaving only a twisted personality and an obsession with the futile illusions of dark magic.
And yet, Aslan had pulled himself together.
If that was the case, had he also regained all the talent he once showed?
A chill ran down Irene’s spine, and she shuddered.
‘I must stop him. I absolutely have to stop him.’
If that demonic talent had reawakened, it wouldn’t be long before Aslan, following in his father’s footsteps, perfect black magic.
A future where the true form of the Evil God, not just its avatar, would wreak havoc in the world.
Where the dead would wander the streets.
A future where the line between life and death, and between this world and hell, would blur into a catastrophic end.
To prevent that future.
“I must bring him down.”
She had to drag Aslan down from his position as Count of Vermont.
But where to start?
It was overwhelming.
The path ahead was completely obscured.
Irene’s standing in the Vermont family had plummeted to almost nothing, and there was virtually no decision left that she could make.
The Elders had long since turned their backs on her, all congratulating the newly ascended Count.
She could expect no help from anyone; she would have to do it all on her own.
“Fine. I’ll fight dirty and cowardly, just like a weakling should.”
Yes. she’ll admit it.
Aslan, he’s still the same b*stard who trembles in fear whenever he sees her face, but she’ll admit that the power dynamics have shifted.
So be prepared.
From now on, she won’t confront him head-on.
She’ll only attack him in ways that make him squirm and tremble.
Where should she begin?
Hmm… Yes. This is it.
A brilliant plan forming in her mind, Irene’s lips curled into a wicked smile.
“Those kids you cherish so much… Charlotte and Julia, wasn’t it? Those cute little ones…”
Aslan’s two sl*ves, Charlotte and Julia.
On the surface, it seemed like Aslan treated them with indifference.
But anyone with a keen eye could see it.
Aslan cherished them deeply.
How could she make Aslan despair the most?
How could she make him tremble with fear?
The answer was simple.
“I’ll spread the rumor that you’re raising those kids just to sleep with them someday…!”
By spreading a completely baseless rumor, she would drag Aslan’s reputation into the deepest abyss.
Once the world believed that Aslan was raising young commoner sl*ves with the intent of making them his wives someday.
He would be too ashamed to show his face in public.
The more Aslan struggled to deny it, the worse the situation would become.
People aren’t interested in the truth; they crave entertainment.
Once his reputation was tarnished, it would be much easier to bring him down.
“Ahahahaha…!”
Yes, this is it.
Irene burst into uncontrollable laughter.
No matter how she looked at it, it was a perfect plan.
