A Perfect Plan
While the knights handled the cleanup of the wrecked shop, I brought Mona to the carriage.
More precisely, a knight laid her on the bed and left.
Rena was still packing their things, so Mona and I were alone.
“Ugh… uh…”
Mona bit her lip and let out a soft moan.
I leaned in slightly and cast a spell to soothe her nerves. The moans stopped at once.
“So it really doesn’t matter as long as no one notices.”
After checking a few more times, I was certain.
Plausibility only applied when someone was watching. Outside of that, it didn’t care.
I brushed the hair from Mona’s peaceful sleeping face and studied her features.
“In the original she dies too, doesn’t she? She’s so cute—what a waste. I’ll have to save her somehow.”
If my memory was right, she never received treatment in time and eventually died.
Only years later did Rena finally finish the medicine.
Because of that, Rena spent the rest of her life lamenting her own powerlessness, drowning in grief until the protagonist finally saved her and she could breathe again.
That wouldn’t happen this time.
I’ll put a proper leash on her while I’m at it. Lock Mona up separately and feed her the toxin. Threaten Rena with that and she won’t dare get any funny ideas. Well, it’s not real poison anyway.
The disease Mona suffered from was called Soul Weakening Disease, and its cure was… unique.
The patient had to be brought to the very brink of death before the illness would leave.
So I planned to dose her with toxin—just enough.
Inducing a temporary state of suspended animation with poison so she only looked dead was the standard treatment method.
It was one of Rena’s big heroic moments in the original, so the exact ingredients and formula she used were listed. If I just fed Mona those, nothing dangerous should happen.
In the original they said something about the soul changing after death, but I couldn’t remember the details.
Saving a pretty heroine is what matters. Who cares about the treatment principle? I’ll just do it myself and look it up properly once we’re home…
I also needed Rena to make the medicine for Mother.
That one wouldn’t take long at all.
There were already books full of research compiled by doctors and pharmacists. Hand those over and Rena would figure it out on her own.
That was how it went in the original too.
Originally the protagonist’s party toppled House Lucilla and explored the mansion. Rena found the stacks of medical records in Otto’s room, used them as reference, and produced a cure for Mana Deficiency Disease in less than a month.
She’s the same person, so she’ll manage somehow. She’s a genius, after all.
It might sound like I had no real plan, but the original barely covered this part, so there was nothing I could do about it.
It just said something like, “Genius herbalist Rena created the treatment method in a week using nothing but those records,” and that was the end of the explanation.
After that, whenever anyone asked where the money came from, the answer was simply “We sold the medicine.”
“Looking at it this way, it’s an incredibly convenient setting. You can just pull out as much money as you want.”
At the very least the protagonist would never have money problems.
Of course, neither would I.
“Haa…”
I rolled my neck lightly and leaned back against the carriage seat.
If it weren’t for this damned Plausibility, I could have lived a happy transmigration life.
“No status window or anything? I feel like I need some kind of perk too.”
Remembering the original so clearly was a perk of sorts, but beyond that there was nothing.
Or maybe that was the most important perk of all.
Honestly, just having the original information was probably enough to solve most things.
“…May I come in?”
While I was lost in thought, a voice came from the other side of the door.
The young, childish tone told me instantly it was Rena.
“Come in.”
The door opened at my short reply. Rena checked Mona’s condition first.
Only after confirming she was fine did she greet me.
“Hello. My name is Rena. From now on I’ll be working under Lady Lucy.”
As a commoner her etiquette was a mess.
I didn’t care, but the Lucy inside this body apparently did.
“You sure are quick with the greetings. Anyone watching would think the little sister lying here is the duke’s daughter. Well, you’re a commoner, so I’ll let it slide. You probably don’t even know basic manners.”
I layered on the snide tone and the casual contempt for commoners as a baseline and properly started the conversation.
“And I already know your name. Did you think I wouldn’t even know that much? What I need to know is what you’re going to do. From now on you’re my personal… maid? Doctor? Whatever. Just do what I tell you. Aren’t you lucky? At least I’m not some piece of trash who gets off on little kids.”
Rena looked at me with an expression that clearly said, You’re a kid yourself, what are you talking about?
I ignored the look and kept going.
“First thing when we get there, I’ll give you a room right next to my bedroom. You’ll live there and make whatever medicines I ask for. I won’t set a hard deadline, but… it’d be smart to work fast. Every time you’re late, your little sister is going to have a harder time.”
The moment her sister was mentioned, Rena reacted.
She lifted her head and took a step forward as if she might lunge at me right then.
“What are you going to do to my sister?! No—what… what do you plan to do to her?”
Fortunately she still understood her position.
If she hadn’t, another villainess moment would have been forced on me.
“Even if you ask me what I’m going to do… right now I don’t plan on doing anything. But if you don’t do your job properly, then maybe some unfortunate accidents will start happening by coincidence.”
“That’s…”
Rena’s fists trembled so hard it was visible.
She bit her lip and glared at me.
I could read her feelings perfectly—she wanted to hit me right now and was barely holding back.
I’ll cure Mona’s disease and keep paying her a steady wage, so she can go to the Academy without any worries.
This is all for your own good, you know?
They say hardship in youth is something you should seek out on purpose. I’m just giving it to you directly.
Of course she wouldn’t see it that way.
“If you don’t like it, should I just take you? Your sister can…”
I turned my head a little and looked out the window.
Thanks to the mess I’d made, the already shabby shop now had holes punched through it everywhere.
“I’ll just leave her here. No—wait. If you die for the crime of insulting a noble, there won’t be anyone left to take care of her. Maybe I should just kill her first before we go?”
At my leisurely, malicious question, Rena slowly lowered her head.
In a trembling voice she answered.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do everything you order me to do, so please don’t touch Mona. I’ll take care of her and feed her with my own money… please, just don’t kill her.”
Ugh, seeing her like this actually hurts.
Maybe I should just close my eyes and help her properly.
Thud!
The moment the thought formed, my heart clenched tight and pain flooded my body.
“Ugh!”
My body curled in on itself from the agony. Both hands clutched my torso as I barely kept myself from collapsing.
If I closed my eyes and helped her, I’d be closing them forever.
I had to act like a proper villainess.
“…My lady?”
At my short groan and awkward reaction, Rena stared at me in incomprehension. I waved her off.
“Forget it. It’s nothing. You just do what your master tells you. Getting butchered out of idle curiosity isn’t what you want, is it?”
At my blunt, sharp reply, Rena bowed her head.
She was probably furious in all sorts of ways, but she had to endure it.
It was for everyone’s sake.
Alright, first I need to go home with Rena. Once we’re back I’ll order her to make the medicines, and I’ll go straight out to gather the herbs—no, the toxic herbs—for Mona.
Now that I thought about it, the fact that I had to feed her toxic herbs almost felt like an advantage.
At least if someone caught me mid-feeding…
Oh no! I’ve been caught doing a good deed!
Guh! To die so… righteously…
An ending like that would be far too disappointing.
If I was going to do this, I wanted to save as many of the characters as I could.
You’re the first one. Be a little grateful, you yellow-haired beast.
I looked at Rena with that thought, but she only fretted over her little sister.
Sensing my gaze, she started watching my mood carefully.
“Is there anything you need me to do? We’re still in the carriage, so there’s not much I can offer…”
“Forget it. Just take good care of that precious little sister of yours.”
“Yes.”
In the awkward atmosphere, the knights who had finished cleaning the shop finally came out.
One of them approached to report.
“Lady Lucy. We have finished clearing the shop.”
I nodded at the knight’s polite report.
Then I deliberately asked him,
“So, anything useful? Anything special you want to tell me? Anything at all—just spit it out.”
“Well…”
The knight looked like he was about to speak, then glanced at Rena and hesitated.
I caught the look in his eyes and immediately cast a spell.
Woom…
A magic circle formed under our feet, and a thin membrane soon enveloped the knight and me.
“What is it? Why are you watching a commoner’s face? Speak freely. They can’t hear us anyway.”
The knights glanced around for a moment, then their eyes widened slightly when they realized the thin barrier had appeared.
Apparently they hadn’t expected someone my age to be capable of this much.
“While inspecting the shop, I sensed a strange energy.”
“I felt an unpleasant aura coming from the floor… so that was it.”
“Yes. After the girl left, I broke open the floor because of the strange energy. Beneath it was an ominous magic circle.”
“Hmm…”
That was the circle that had tormented Rena and accelerated Mona’s death.
It slowly drained the life force of any living thing standing above it.
Of course, for someone at my level it meant nothing.
But for Rena and Mona, who were practically ordinary people, it had been steadily siphoning their vitality.
“So did you destroy it?”
“I thought it might interest you, so I left it intact and came to report. If you wish to investigate it yourself, I will bring it back to the mansion as is.”
“Smarter than I expected. I thought you lot only knew how to swing swords.”
Even under the blatant contempt, the knight’s expression didn’t change.
He was either getting used to it or simply relieved.
Good thing I didn’t smash the circle myself. Something like that.
“Then bring the magic circle to the mansion exactly as it is. I’ll study it myself. Who would bother making something like that in a building that’s already falling apart…”
I trailed off and looked toward the shop.
Understanding that the conversation was over, the knight immediately returned inside.
“My lady, what were you talking about? Is there some problem with our shop?”
The moment the barrier vanished, Rena spoke up.
“No. He just asked what to do with the shop, so I told him to leave it. When I eventually let the little dog go, she’ll need somewhere to return to. Even a doghouse like that will do.”
Calling it a doghouse while still leaving it for them kept the backlash mild.
Just a slight twinge.
I’d called it a doghouse in case Rena felt grateful that I’d left the shop standing… I hadn’t expected there to be actual backlash.
If I hadn’t added that last line, the reaction might have been pretty severe.
“Haa…”
Worrying about everything still to come, I simply stared out the window.
My mood was complicated, but the weather was perfectly clear.