Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Bosses and Santa Both Survive by Piercing True Hearts (1)
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The carriage raced along for quite some time. The head butler had such bushy eyebrows that it was hard to tell if his eyes were open or closed. The regular clatter of the carriage blended with the night air like a lullaby, but I wasn't sleepy in the least.
I opened my status window and carefully examined the skills I possessed. It already felt familiar—opening the window and reading the text came naturally.
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Skill List
-Black Eyes: Allows you to see wandering spirits.
-Fireworks: Gather mana at your fingertips to cause a small explosion.
-Capture: Capture a wandering spirit and turn it into a familiar.
-Door of Death: Summon the Door of Death.
-Spirit Summon: Summon spirits through the Door of Death you have called forth.
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Skills usable after Spirit Summon
Assembly: Gather spirits in one place.
Dispatch: Leave target selection to the spirits' judgment.
Gluttony Target: The spirits devour the target.
Breath of Darkness: Expel the oxidized soul from the digested spirits.
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The skills could be activated with just a hand gesture, no incantation needed. Gathering mana in my hand still felt awkward, but it wasn't impossible. I'd already tested them at the funeral, so with some practice, I could get proficient.
Back in high school sophomore summer break, I'd worked a whole month as a magician's assistant, so I was confident in my sleight of hand.
"Magic... I can use magic. And I'm rich. No, more like filthy rich."
It all still felt surreal. A new world, and bizarre powers on top of that.
But my lifelong survival instincts were screaming at me.
Stay sharp.
This was an opportunity. A chance at a new life. The perfect chance to make my one and only little sister happy.
The otome game's main story wouldn't kick off for nearly ten years. When Dahlia turned fifteen, the heroine and male leads would cross paths, and events would start unfolding one by one. The messy romantic entanglements wouldn't happen for a long while.
That meant all the male leads were still green right now. At best, the crown prince—around my age—was just reaching adulthood.
"I need to take care of them before they get strong."
It was unbelievable that this game's scenario unfolded with such tiny, chick-like kids involved. My sense of morality blazed up.
Anemone—the woman destined to steal the love and wealth my sister deserved—I'd have to deal with her too. No mercy, even if she's just a kid now.
I'd send them all to the afterlife bit by bit and hand this world to my sister.
Even if it meant dirtying my hands in ways I'd never imagined, I'd protect her.
...But in reality, it was my little sister's hands getting dirty.
"Dally, Dahlia. Dahlia."
Dahlia was busy drawing on the window. Frost had formed from the cold, and her tiny finger left trails wherever it went. It was a small thing, but not exactly behavior befitting a noble lady of refinement.
"Dahlia, don't do that."
"......"
Dahlia glanced at me sideways and quietly lowered her hand. Then she slyly lifted it back to the window ledge. Who knew what she'd been playing with while I wasn't looking—her little hand was already filthy.
"Don't do it."
I grabbed both her wrists with one hand, like handcuffs. With her wrists sealed, Dahlia looked shocked, glancing back and forth between the window and me.
The window had some indecipherable blob drawn on it. Like with the status window, had she been trying to draw something meaningful this time too?
"What were you drawing?"
Dahlia replied with utmost seriousness.
"Dream lizard."
"......"
"Rainbow sparkly......"
How this kid turns into the villainess, I'll never understand.
***
After a long ride, we arrived at "home." I'd secretly hoped for a grand mansion, but the sight before me was beyond imagination—I gaped in awe.
It was a castle worthy of the name mansion.
"The Duke of Gluttony has returned!"
The servants waited outside the gates with magical lanterns lighting up the pitch-black night. They were dressed impeccably, like something out of a comic.
Had Sierra and Dahlia lived like this every day? What was it like to be treated this way? Envy and curiosity twisted together inside me.
Pretending to be calm as I followed the head butler, I checked the status windows of the people around me. And I started to understand a bit of Sierra's hardships.
'Their affinity is rock bottom.'
They all bowed politely to us siblings, but it was just submission to power. There were no hearts above their heads—at best none, but mostly black ones. Sure, it was hard to build bonds in an employer-employee relationship, but this was extreme.
Home should be a place where you feel safe. No matter how fine the clothes or food, being surrounded by people who hate you just breeds anxiety.
'Out of all the staff, only the head butler has any affinity for us?'
Even for simple things like changing clothes or eating, attendants stuck to us. I scrutinized every single one.
At least there were a few servants who showed me a single heart of affinity.
But this wasn't enough.
'Headache.'
My status window listed my personality as "Arrogant." It helped raise affinity, but it applied a debuff that lowered defense.
Plus, wasn't a spirit summoner part of the mage line? Even I, who didn't game much, knew mages had less stamina than warriors.
'Should've learned swordsmanship or judo while I was alive. Well, technically I still am...'
For now, I had the loyal head butler to protect me, but who knew what lay ahead. Especially since I planned to make a ton of enemies. I intended to wipe out the heroine and all the male leads. I couldn't rely solely on the white-haired old butler.
I'd learned from my office drone days doing odd jobs: when the boss changes, heads roll.
Here, I was the boss.
***
After dinner and a bath, I entered the study feeling languid and content. The private study for Sierra Gluttony, the duke.
In my previous life, I'd only had a room that doubled as a storage shed. The massive bookshelves crammed with books, the piles of documents, the luxurious furniture—all remnants of this body's original owner.
I ran my fingertips over the smoothly polished furniture, glancing out the window.
'Everyone's working hard. And hating me just as diligently in the process.'
Servants bustled about to wrap up the day. Their hearts shone clearly even in the darkness.
I couldn't have people who weren't mine in a space that was fully mine to enjoy.
"Alberto!"
My mind was made up. I called the head butler waiting outside.
"You called, Your Grace?"
The head butler's attire remained impeccable even at this late hour. Three attendants followed him in, bringing fresh nightclothes, warm tea, and light refreshments.
"Thank you. Nice aroma."
I sank into the plush leather sofa and savored the tea the attendant brought. I had no idea what made grass-steeped water taste good, but this felt nice.
I checked above the attendants' heads. One with a single affinity heart, one with a black heart, and one with four black hearts. The grass water suddenly tasted bitter, so I set it down on the table.
"Head butler. How many people work in this mansion?"
"Excluding tenant farmers, 142."
"That's manageable tonight. Bring the ledger with info on every servant here."
Eyes widened all around. The head butler's mustache twitched.
"Now, sir? But the hour..."
"Now."
"You're tired after today, young master."
"Now."
The head butler nodded as if he couldn't refuse.
"I'll fetch it. If anything's not organized, I'll have it sorted by morning."
"No need."
I didn't need fresh info. Just enough to pick out the useful ones and spare the ones worth keeping.
"Instead, wake Dahlia early tomorrow morning. She's got things to do."
"Shall I prepare for an outing?"
"No. Just wake her early and feed her before I call."
"Understood."
He looked utterly puzzled about what I had in mind.
"I'll be right back."
The head butler bowed his head. I picked up a dainty pastry and added,
"Oh, and."
All eyes—the head butler and three attendants—turned to me. I pointed above the head of the one with four black hearts.
Three was one thing. But four? That was too much. Somehow four black hearts felt worse than five. Why leave room for more hate? If you're gonna hate, hate fully.
"You're off starting tomorrow."
"Pardon?"
"Get him out of my sight."
At my word, the guy who hated me was dragged out all flustered. Alone in the now-empty study, I rolled the pastry in my mouth. Sweet and sticky.
This mansion was fully mine.
***
I spent the night checking info on over a hundred servants. I'd worried about not reading the script, but luckily the status window helped. It overlaid the unfamiliar text like a perfect translator for me.
From the info, I picked out key threats. Long-time staff needed watching. If they were loyal to the previous duchess, they'd see me and Dahlia as thorns in their side. Anyone connected to "Mother(?)" was a red flag.
I memorized the names from the selected ledger. Basic ID info like names was easy to commit to memory. I had muscles honed from life. Working at the info broker hadn't just taught me street smarts.
Scanning the ledger, I flagged about thirty. At dawn, I'd double-check and fire the ones with shady status windows.
I pored over the ledger until the hazy sunrise, then caught a couple hours of shut-eye. Overzealous, my tense shoulders knotted up.
I called an attendant, chugged cold water, and draped on an absurdly luxurious cardigan.
'Come to think of it, this attendant...'
It was the guy from yesterday. The one who'd shown me one affinity heart.
Maybe because of his colleague's sudden firing last night, the attendant seemed unnecessarily nervous. Our eyes met as he fidgeted. That single affinity heart of his flickered like it might go out any second.
"What’s Dahlia doing now?"
"Pardon? Ah! Lady Dahlia is still sleeping, young—er, Your Grace..."
I stood up. The attendant's affinity flickered wildly. Was it dying or igniting? His reactions to my every little move were pitiful. I knew the feeling all too well—countless part-time gigs flattering customers and bosses flashed through my mind like a raging river.
"Time to see Dahlia."
"Then, to help the lady prepare..."
"Nah. I'm going now."