Making Myself Indispensable
As soon as Rion's story ended, Marie stared at me intently.
“Now that I think about it, you somehow look rather cool, my lady.”
“Do I?”
Cool was a generous word. The truth was, I simply had no other choice. If it weren’t for that damn author, none of this would have happened.
“Your whole aura seems to have changed as well.”
Ah. I suppose it would. I’d gained some breathing room now. She must have sensed the shift in me. More precisely, the change in Milene. From her perspective, K’s entire existence might even feel awkward.
Hmm. After all, my personality is quite different from the original Milene. It’s actually surprising she’s only asking now.
Should I tell her? Marie is fiercely loyal. She might try to get revenge on my behalf. In that case, I needed to plant some ideas in her head before she caused any real trouble.
The truth was, living in that household had felt more like being in prison. “I suppose so. Back then, I wasn’t free at all.”
“Free… I see.”
“In fact, I might have been hoping for something like this. Think about it. If I was truly wronged, why would I have gone quietly to prison instead of protesting?”
In front of Marie, I acted as if I had finally been liberated. For an act, it wasn’t half bad. Even if she didn’t know the full truth about Milene, Marie wasn’t the type to interrogate me with suspicion. If anything, she seemed worried that the execution had changed me.
“You felt that way even back then?”
“Yes. I was suddenly dragged off to prison, so I couldn’t say a proper goodbye to you.”
I scratched the back of my head as I spoke. Tiny tears welled up in Marie’s eyes. She was thinking about how much I must have suffered to see even my own condemnation as an opportunity. It was a gaze full of both understanding and pity.
“It couldn’t be helped. If I had been in Rion’s place, I would have made sure that bastard was turned into a eunuch. Then my lady wouldn’t have—”
Marie was practically fuming. Well. Rion wasn’t really my concern anymore. If I were to get revenge on him myself, the only real option would be to destroy him socially. Hmm. That actually sounded pretty good. The man who betrayed his master, clung to a demonic bastard, got abandoned, and ended up living as a ruined wreck. Not bad at all.
Marie really was a useful maid. Look at the ideas she was giving me right now. I smiled brightly.
“Even if that had happened, nothing would have changed. It would have just been a painful struggle. I didn’t have the power for that.”
“Still…”
“Besides, I never wanted any of it in the first place. The Holpert family was never my real home. No one there wanted me. It only got worse after Sophia arrived.”
“So that’s why you chose a third path, my lady.”
I scooped up a handful of soil from the potted plant by the window with one hand. Then I slowly opened my fingers, letting the dirt fall back into the pot.
“That’s right. If I can’t have it and they don’t want me, I just let it go.”
Just let it go. Those were the words I had wanted to say to the original Milene as well. Even if she was only a supporting villainess with little screen time, the way she was miserably trampled in the early chapters was truly pitiful. Why cling so desperately to that Sophia, to the family, to the prince? Letting go of everything would have made life so much easier. The only regret was that she hadn’t taken at least some money with her when she left.
Milene’s fatal flaw had been her naivety. And her excessive kindness. Even when Sophia pulled her vile little stunts, she never once fought back. Looking at how utterly brainless Sophia was now, if Milene had only known the truth beforehand, the whole thing would have ended right there.
“So there’s no need to worry too much. The way I am now… this is the real me.”
“Understood. If this is truly what you want, my lady, then there’s nothing more to say.”
That settled the matter with Marie. The real problem was Portmus. Pretending to have such a pleasant personality was already getting old, but if I let Milene’s emotions ruin even my livelihood, that would be disastrous. I wasn’t even a full-time employee at the publishing house, and this world was still ruled by kings and nobles. Portmus could only protect me so far. Even the protection they offered this time—was it truly unconditional? At the very least, since I brought them enormous profits, President Yugo had probably thrown me a lifeline. Not to mention the king himself was backing me.
In that case, couldn’t I make use of this?
For the sake of my perfect novel, I would make myself so indispensable to the publishing house that they could never cut me loose. I would use them right back.
“I can use Jerry for the swordsmanship training.”
Then I might as well call Jerry again. While I was at it, I could make all sorts of requests. It was all for the novel, of course. I would demand everything necessary for a perfect story and receive full support.
Oh man, this was going to be amazing.
If I told them I needed to experience more realistic situations in order to write better descriptions, surely Portmus would provide assistance. I contacted him through the communication device, and Jerry arrived at my workspace in record time.
“Oh, this time you want swordsmanship and magic and all sorts of things?”
“Yes. Well, magic isn’t urgent. Mostly swordsmanship. Just enough to learn the basics.”
I was already studying magic on my own at a decent pace anyway.
“That makes sense. The hero is a swordsman, after all. Perfect timing. We actually have an expert in that field who recently expressed interest in publishing with us.”
“Oh, really?”
This Jerry guy had quite the network. Impressive. In a world like this, connections truly were power.
Of course, while learning swordsmanship was partly for the novel, it was also for my own safety. This wasn’t a story anymore. It was reality. No matter how stupid Sophia was, there was no telling how much more unhinged she might become because of the changed original plot. She might even try to kill me if things went badly. No matter how well I hid, if the Holpert family was determined, they would find me. Rion would be the first to try. That bastard had connections to informants in the slums.
“Yes. He’s from the empire. He wrote a swordsmanship manual and wants to publish a book with our company.”
“I see.”
I didn’t know the details, but he sounded like an impressive person. A swordsmanship manual, huh? I was intrigued.
The empire originally appeared at the very end of Part 2, when the Demon King arc truly began in earnest. If anyone asked why the final boss-like Demon King appeared before the empire, the answer was always that insane author woman. Thanks to her, the Demon King felt more like a mid-boss, but perhaps even she had a shred of conscience. She had dragged out the Demon King’s story quite a bit. In the end, even outside the original story, it seemed I could connect with people from the empire through the publishing house.
“Shall we look into it then?”
“I’m sorry for always asking for favors.”
“Not at all. The quality of the novel is what matters most. Above all, this will help you, Author-nim, won’t it? It’s just making a connection. How difficult could that be?”
“Yes. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Of course. When this genius author promised to write a perfect novel, they had to do everything possible to support me. Right?
For the sake of the perfect novel, I will make myself a body that Portmus cannot do without.
Recently, every single day had been pure joy for Marie. After all, she had been reunited with the lady she respected so deeply.
But today, her mood was far from good. It wasn’t just a passing whim. No, everything had been fine that morning. Cleaning the dining hall, serving the guests—everything had felt wonderful.
Until that piece of trash showed up.
That damned Rion. The bastard who had stabbed his own master in the back. How deeply disappointed must her lady have been to say she no longer wanted anything to do with him? She hadn’t even sounded angry. She simply wanted to live as strangers.
So why had this bastard come here again?
“Ha, what the hell? Why are you here again?”
The same Marie who always wore a gentle expression for her master Milene instantly shot Rion a look of utter contempt, as if she were staring at garbage. But Rion paid it no mind and approached her.
“Um, I was wondering… if perhaps I could see the lady…”
He was now calling her “lady” so naturally. The audacity of this repulsive creature.
“You want to meet her? Is that what you’re saying?”
Marie immediately understood his intentions. Of course. Now that everything was over, he wanted to crawl back to her side. After all, that woman Sophia had only used him as a tool to destroy the lady. And now that he knew the truth, he had nowhere left to go. He could stay on as a servant of the Holpert family, but it seemed his pride wouldn’t allow it anymore.
“Yes. Just once. I want to meet her and beg for forgiveness—”
It was laughable. Truly absurd. Wanting to apologize after everything had already ended. If something like that actually worked, there would be no wars or crimes in the world.
“You’re speaking as if you’re certain you’ll be allowed to meet her.”
“What?”
“The lady has already decided she never wants to see you again.”
Marie spoke without hesitation, laying out the choice her lady had made. A choice that might be cruel to Rion. There was no way she could forgive him. Even if Lady Milene—no, Lady K—hadn’t made that decision, Marie would have said the same thing.
“But if I meet her in person and apologize, she might forgive me, right?”
“Are you deaf? She has no intention of giving any more chances to a servant who stabbed his master in the back.”
His face twisted horribly. Yes. That was exactly it. There was no place left for someone like him. The kind lady no longer even bothered to get angry.
“That… can’t be.”
“The lady already knew about that wicked woman Sophia and that incompetent prince Schwald. But the one she was truly disappointed in was you, of all people.”
She had known about those two from the beginning. She had known, yet she tried to protect Sophia because she was her sister, and she had accepted the political marriage to the useless prince Schwald because it couldn’t be helped. But Rion was different. Rion was the one the lady had personally saved. The one who had been able to eat, sleep, and live in the Holpert household because of her.
“That can’t be…”
“Whether you stay with the Holpert family, leave, live, or die somewhere else, the lady no longer cares. She simply asks that you never involve yourself with her again.”
Marie didn’t want this Rion to cause her lady any more trouble. That was why she spoke so harshly now.
“L-Lady… Lady…”
“So don’t come here again. You disgust me, you bastard. Honestly, if I could turn back time, I’d tell the lady not to take you in.”
She meant every word. Unlike Rion, she had always felt nothing but disgust toward Sophia, who constantly did nothing but vulgar and vile things. There was no way she could ever betray the lady who had taken her in. Yet this idiot Rion—was his brain located in his dick? How obsessed must he have been with that pathetic body to abandon the lady and climb into bed with that halfwit?
That was all she could think. To her lady, Rion was no longer even worth revenge. She felt nothing but complete indifference.
“I see.”
“…And just in case you’re thinking of doing something stupid, I’ll warn you now. If you do anything pointless that bothers the lady, I won’t let you get away with it.”
“Yeah…”
At Marie’s words, Rion lowered his head weakly. Yes. He knew this was all his own doing. Of course he did. He had betrayed the benefactor who had saved him. Even now, the words she had spoken as she was taken to prison still echoed in his mind.
—Even if I hadn’t admitted it, you would have called me a villainess anyway, wouldn’t you?
Yes. From that moment, she had been furious. Furious at him for striking his master from behind. For repaying her kindness in such a way. Looking back now, her face had shown no emotion at all. As if her anger had already gone beyond feeling. As if she wanted to respond with complete indifference. She had already been disappointed in him even then. She had been scolding him for falling for that villainess’s schemes.
In the end, Rion turned away with heavy steps.
“Filthy bastard.”
Marie glared at Rion’s retreating back with eyes full of contempt, then returned to her work in the dining hall.