Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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[But do you have a plan?]
'Of course! Who do you think I am?'
In truth, it was a pretty half-baked plan, but it was worth a shot anyway.
We ate at the same restaurant as yesterday.
The difference was that only four of us sat at the large dining table.
Gardia, me, Viola, and Beatrice.
Beatrice had ended up joining us for the meal almost by accident.
She'd originally been ordered to just guide me, but Viola took such a liking to her that she begged her to stay and eat with us.
Beatrice was shaking so badly her fork was rattling—she probably couldn't tell if the food was going in her mouth or her nose.
It was shaking hard enough that I worried it'd end up going in her nostril.
And standing guard at the restaurant entrance was the young lady.
With her sharp eyes softened and her expression carefully masked, she looked incredibly alluring.
Gardia spoke to Viola first.
"Forgive my rudeness yesterday. I was so flustered that I committed a grave discourtesy."
"Hee hee, it's fine."
I had no idea what she'd even done wrong, but Viola just smiled and kept the conversation going.
'...Looks like she really didn't hear a word of what we talked about yesterday.'
We'd talked quite a bit about the Hero yesterday, but Viola had been so lost in her food that she hadn't heard a thing.
While chatting with Gardia yesterday, I'd asked her to coordinate her story with mine.
We went with something vague like the Hero wandering the world on his travels.
Viola didn't know much about the outside world to begin with, so she lacked the knowledge to question how this world really worked.
"Still, I'm glad. I thought my brother would be wandering around looking for me, but hearing he's just traveling put my mind at ease."
"Haha..."
Gardia was breaking a sweat trying to steer the conversation.
From her perspective, she probably couldn't make heads or tails of Viola either.
As I listened to their chat, the young lady caught my eye.
Unlike earlier, she wore a grave expression, glaring at Viola.
It looked like she'd just realized the Hero's little sister was Viola.
'...What to do. Should I shut her up, or just let it be?'
'Hmm... It's already happened, and knowing this much won't derail the plan anyway.'
My plan didn't start with getting close to the young lady directly.
It involved using the kid instead...
We were chatting with Gardia over the meal and heading back to our room.
Beatrice still couldn't escape Viola's grasp.
"How do you even attach these ears to your head?"
"Th-they're naturally attached, nyaaang..."
No, she'd actually been ordered by the Demon Lord to keep Viola company.
(You're staying with her and keeping her entertained while we're here!)
(Nyeeeeee!)
Even in her screams, that damn nyaa speech pattern came through.
And leading the way to escort us back, just like before, was the young lady.
The grave expression from earlier was gone; now she wore a polite one.
She guided us courteously all the way to our room.
Only when we reached the door did she finally speak.
"I'll be waiting here. Call for me if you need anything."
"Huh? You don't have to do that."
"No, it's fine. This way, you won't have to go looking for other servants."
"..."
She stared at me with a resolute expression.
'...? Did the kid rat me out?'
'Fair enough. After what I said yesterday, she wouldn't have blabbed carelessly.'
She must have sensed something odd after I caught her weakness yesterday.
Even without words, at her age, she probably couldn't hide her actions perfectly.
And this girl was sharp; she'd definitely picked up on something.
'...Okay. Let's give it a try.'
'Let's test out what I just learned.'
I approached the young lady waiting outside the door.
"...What is it?"
"Come inside."
"I'm fine. There's no need for—"
"Just come in. You're making us uncomfortable. Or call someone else."
"..."
She didn't look thrilled.
Truth be told, this wasn't consideration on my part.
From her position, entering a guest's room wouldn't look good.
But she obeyed my forceful words without protest.
"...Understood. If you insist..."
"And sit here."
I grabbed a chair from inside the room and placed it by the door.
"There's no need to sit..."
"Just sit. You're making us uncomfortable."
"...Understood."
She didn't even sigh, just followed my instructions obediently.
Viola and Beatrice were in the middle of the large room, playing at the dining table.
I flopped onto the bed and said to them,
"I'm gonna catch some shut-eye. You two have fun."
"Okay~ Hee hee, your tail is so soft."
"Ugh... You can't touch there, nyaa..."
I lay on my side, listening to Beatrice's whimpers, and looked toward the door.
There sat Lena de Peron, staring straight ahead without a hint of disarray.
'Show me the descriptions for Sleep and Dream Intrusion from earlier.'
Along with Armonia's response, the skill descriptions appeared before my eyes.
Dream Intrusion LV5
Enter the dreams of a sleeping target within 5m radius. (Duration: 5 min, Intrusion success [Inversely proportional to Anti-Magic], Manipulation success [Inversely proportional to Mental Strength])
Sleep LV5
Put a nearby target to sleep. (Duration: 5 min, Success [Inversely proportional to Anti-Magic])
Being magic skills, Dream Intrusion and Sleep were affected by Anti-Magic.
It'd be ideal if I could use magic circles for them, but these two spells were unknown attributes without even developed circles.
'Gotta dismantle and mod some magic circles I learn at Schutra later.'
'Ugh... Fine, magic circles on hold. Let's at least try Sleep somehow.'
If I could draw a circle, I'd control the duration freely, but for now, I had to cast it abstractly.
Even having learned magic, shaping it without a circle was tricky.
The spells I'd learned before activated easily just by focusing on drawing the circle, but Sleep required a vague, intuitive approach.
Luckily, I had Magic Power, and people in this world had Anti-Magic near zero.
The Hero might not have raised Anti-Magic on Beatrice because these skills didn't require it.
Same for the young lady.
I stared at Lena de Peron through half-closed eyes...
Suddenly, her head drooped as strength left it, and she fell asleep.
The young lady, who had been sitting in near-perfect posture, slumped like a marionette with cut strings.
'Huh? Did it work?'
'Damn, this is no joke.'
I hadn't realized casting without a circle would be this inconvenient.
It wasn't the mana consumption; it was the wasteful leakage.
Using a circle felt like opening all senses and precisely aiming a gun, while casting without one was like blindfolding yourself and firing wildly into the air.
Next, I cast Dream Intrusion.
After about thirty seconds of focus, I finally slipped into her dream.
..
..
"Ugh, that's intense..."
It consumed way more mana than expected.
Looking around, I was in a lavish room.
The floor was covered in red carpet, and a magnificent chandelier hung from the ceiling.
The bedspread was white with intricate gold thread patterns.
Amid all the ornate furnishings stood two people: the young lady and a middle-aged man.
I knew who he was at a glance.
'They look exactly alike. But pink hair doesn't suit a guy.'
The two sat at an opulent table, smiling brightly as they talked.
She looked so different from the one I'd seen today—practically beaming.
She wore a light coral dress laden with lace on the skirt.
Despite the dense gold embroidery, it didn't look tacky at all.
Her corset perfectly accentuated her bust and waist, while the flowing skirt fully concealed her lower body.
The grand duke—clearly that's who he was—wore noble attire blending red and white.
Neither noticed me at all.
They seemed oblivious to my sudden intrusion into the dream.
"Lena... It's all thanks to you. Without you, this war..."
"No, Father. It was... everyone's victory."
I could guess the conversation's gist.
It was a dream scenario where they'd won the war.
'Whoa... Nice dream she's having... But waking up from this'll be even more despairing.'
In a way, it was a brutally cruel dream.
The perfect setup for mental breakdown.
'Let's see if I can really manipulate it. Her Mental Strength is weak, so I should have some control.'
Dream Intrusion granted the intruder control inversely proportional to the target's Mental Strength.
I focused my mind.
Moments later, the grand duke whipped his head toward me, followed by the young lady.
She screamed, trying to drive me out.
"Who are you?! How dare you enter Father's chambers!"
But it wasn't me stopping her—it was the grand duke.
"Lena! What rudeness is this?!"
"F-Father! I'm sorry... But that man..."
The young lady panicked at the grand duke's anger.
'Hee hee... This is fun.'
I could control the grand duke freely, at least.
The duke approached me, bowing low and apologizing without regard for his station.
"Forgive us. My daughter has been discourteous. Please pardon her."
"Father!"
The young lady was utterly flustered.
None of the dignity I'd sensed from her today remained.
'It's a dream, after all... Heh heh...'
No matter how poised someone was awake, dreams were a different story.
At her outcry, the grand duke grew even angrier.
"Lena de Peron!"
"Eek... Yes, Grand Duke Peron..."
At the call of her full name, she dropped to one knee, lowering her posture.
I'd started this as a joke, but she was playing along better than expected.
"What insolence!"
"...I'm sorry."
Silently, I commanded the grand duke to discipline her.
He took it from there naturally.
"This won't do! Turn around and lift your skirt!"
"...Yes."
She obeyed just like that?
Was it the dream, or did she always heed the grand duke? Hard to say.
Maybe she was obedient by nature, and the dream stripped her of any refusal.
Her pink hair swaying, she turned and hiked her skirt up to her thighs.
Even with me there, the dream made her follow his orders to the letter.
'Kya, so sexy! But she must've been raised strictly.'
Her calves bore clear switch marks.
I'd assumed the grand duke's daughter grew up like a flower in a greenhouse, but apparently not.
Just as the grand duke fetched a switch from somewhere to swing it—
I stopped him.
"Grand Duke, even for father and daughter, whipping her in front of an outsider is too harsh on the young lady."
"Hmph... My apologies. I nearly showed an unsightly side."
The grand duke bowed to me in apology.
It was hilarious.
As the young lady sighed in relief and moved to lower her dress, the grand duke handed me the switch.
"Then, will you discipline her yourself?"
"...?"
Her face twisted in confusion, lost in the absurdity.
I grinned.
"Sure, I'll educate her myself."