How to Properly Prank a Wicked Stepmother
How was she supposed to prank this woman so thoroughly that people would say she'd truly done it right…?
Serena carefully laid Lumina—who had fallen asleep leaning against her shoulder—down onto the bed.
She's asleep now. Maybe I should grab something readable from the library.
She was just about to rise when—
"Mom…"
Lumina's sleep-talking hand caught hold of Serena's sleeve.
Mom? Even with a wicked stepmother like that, had she still been craving affection deep down?
"Esteria Mom…"
Ah. Never mind.
Esteria Sirius. Lumina was calling for her biological mother—the one murdered by demons.
She'd died when Lumina was four, hadn't she?
Memories from that age should have been hazy by now. The fact that she still called the name suggested Esteria had been a good mother while she lived.
Serena carefully pried Lumina's fingers free of her sleeve. The little hand, suddenly without anything to hold, drifted through empty air.
Even compared to Serena's own still-childish hands, it was tiny—desperately searching for something, anything, to cling to.
Watching it… was incredibly irritating.
When she was awake she acted like a hollow doll, all cool detachment—and now she pulled a stunt like this…
"Haa…"
Serena scratched irritably at the back of her head.
Personality aside, she's still just a ten-year-old kid, I guess.
With the air of someone thoroughly put upon, Serena took Lumina's hand. The corner of Lumina's mouth curved up, ever so slightly.
Looking at that smile made something in Serena's chest twist uncomfortably.
She decided, firmly, that the feeling was irritation.
Just sitting here holding her hand and doing nothing… maybe that's why I'm bored…
"Haaahm."
A yawn crept up on her.
Nothing else to do. Might as well sleep next to her for a bit.
"Mom… don't go…"
It wasn't that Lumina's sleep-talking bothered her. Not at all.
She was just genuinely sleepy.
Rationalizing it to herself that way, Serena lay down beside Lumina and stared up at the ceiling.
Even in sleep, the moment Serena's scent drew closer, Lumina instinctively pulled her arm into an embrace.
…It was warm.
"Mom…"
"I'm still only twelve, you know?"
Serena found it a little absurd. Who exactly was this kid calling Mom?
But then Lumina sleep-talked again.
"Mom… cold… hold me…"
A helpless feeling washed over Serena.
Aaah—I really don't know anymore. Kids can be mamas too, right? Fine. Just do it. Just do it already.
Serena rolled toward Lumina and gathered her snugly into her arms.
"There, there. Serena Mama is right here."
Lumina burrowed into Serena's embrace like a kitten. At that warmth, Serena's mouth twisted into a wry smile.
How starved for warmth does a kid have to be to do this even in her sleep?
That said…
They weren't even particularly close, and yet here they were hugging constantly—and now outright sharing a bed.
Aren't we getting friendly a little too fast?
No. No, no.
Serena immediately rejected the thought.
She wasn't doing this because she wanted to get close.
She and Lumina were in a two-year business arrangement.
Short, if you looked at it one way—long, if you looked at it another. You couldn't very well spend that entire stretch on bad terms.
So, well.
A certain amount of oiling the gears was necessary for a smooth business relationship.
This was that kind of thing.
…And as a slightly more mature person, she was also allowed to feel sorry for a child with a tragic life, wasn't she?
"…"
Hmph. Whatever. Just go to sleep.
But despite her best efforts, sleep refused to come easily.
The presence of Lumina nestled in her arms kept tugging at her attention.
Serena found herself resenting the person who had dropped her into this situation—the one who had forced her into this particular brand of fretting.
Vireyer Sirius, that wicked stepmother.
If you'd just been a proper mother, huh? I never would have had to become Serena Mama in the first place.
Does she deserve punishment or not?
She deserves it, right?
How am I supposed to prank this woman so thoroughly that people would say I've truly done it right…?
From what Serena had gathered, Vireyer—setting aside the whole trying-to-murder-her-stepdaughter business—was actually quite diligent as the lady of a ducal house.
The moment breakfast ended, she locked herself in her study and did not emerge except for lunch and tea with her personal maid.
The Duke has been away for a long time, and yet the atmosphere of both the manor and the territory is surprisingly stable. She's more competent than I thought.
It was three in the afternoon. Peak busy hour for Vireyer in her study.
Heh heh.
Having already mapped out the servants' routes through the manor, Serena had no trouble slipping into Vireyer's bedroom.
Beyond a noblewoman's bedchamber lay a dressing room for storing and changing clothes.
Serena stepped inside and surveyed Vireyer's dresses.
Vireyer said she'd be inviting the countesses soon, right? Which dress would she wear for that… this one.
She selected a particularly ostentatious gown and carefully unpicked a few stitches along the back seam.
This much, and she won't notice it while she's just walking around in it.
But the moment she so much as bowed slightly in front of company—it would burst. That was Serena's plan.
And this is a free bonus! I really am too generous for my own good.
She finished by slipping something into the pocket of the overcoat Vireyer wore most often, then strolled out of the bedroom as casually as she had entered.
And so, the following morning.
Vireyer held a tea party with the two vassal ladies who had sent their daughters to the maid interviews—Countess Deneb and Countess Rastaban.
"The reason I invited you both for tea is to ask your understanding regarding the results of the recent maid interviews. Both of you sent such fine young ladies, but Miss Meridiana was closest in age to Lumina, so we had no choice but to select her."
The surface purpose: an explanation for why the ladies of two loyal houses had not been accepted as maids of Sirius.
The real purpose: to put the two houses that had dared introduce variables into her plans firmly back in their place.
If it weren't for the two of you, I could have simply assigned someone from my own family to Lumina without the bother of staging interviews at all.
The Sirius Duchy was vast.
For the two countesses—whose estates sat at the westernmost and northernmost edges of the territory—to reach the ducal manor early in the morning, they had to set out before dawn, before the sun had even risen.
It was March, but winter's chill still lingered, and a recent heavy snowfall had turned the roads to mud. They had to force their way through all of it.
There was no better way to put the two countesses in their place.
That said, a whip alone only breeds resentment.
"Ah. Inviting you at this hour meant both of you had to leave before dawn, didn't it? I meant to ask your understanding, and now I've gone and created another reason to ask for it."
Vireyer had prepared a carrot to soothe them alongside the whip.
"As an apology, I'd like to share some specialty goods sent from my family home… Beatrice! Bring the gifts I prepared."
Presently, Vireyer's personal maid appeared carrying two gift boxes.
Vireyer accepted them and was just about to hand them over to the two women herself when—
"Here. If you would accept these boxe—s…?"
Tudduk. Tuk. Tuk…
"!!?"
A strange sound started up from Vireyer's back—and then, with a sharp pop!, the dress burst clean open.
Exactly where Serena had done her handiwork.
Vireyer, who had been trying to present herself as a dignified and magnanimous duchess before her two vassals, could only flush crimson at the untimely humiliation.
She addressed the two countesses.
"I'm sorry things have turned out this way, but would you both be so kind as to take your leave for today?"
Given the circumstances, the two countesses departed without a word of protest at the sudden dismissal.
Heh heh. Serves you right!
…Or perhaps they simply hadn't complained because the spectacle had been so thoroughly entertaining.
Once her guests were gone, Vireyer ordered her maid to fetch the overcoat she usually wore.
Why did it have to be today of all days…! Haa. Stay calm, Vireyer. Cool your temper first.
To settle her nerves, Vireyer threw on the coat and went for a walk through the manor gardens.
But… something about the pocket felt heavy.
The pocket?
Had she put something in there before? Vireyer blinked and reached inside.
And then she touched it.
Something soft. Something covered in fur…
Fighting down the goosebumps crawling up her fingertips, Vireyer pulled it out.
It was a dead rat.
The rat Serena had embezzled from the manor.
"Kyaaah!"
Vireyer fainted on the spot.
"♬"
While the Duchess of Sirius was enduring her untimely ordeal, the culprit herself—Serena—was in her mistress's room, cheerfully reading a mystery novel.
Ooh… so that's the kind of trick they use? I should try that myself sometime.
It was all in the name of cultivating her education as a mastermind.
That said… I can't seem to focus.
Having finished one episode, Serena closed the book and let out a silent sigh.
"…"
Beside her, Lumina—who couldn't even see—was staring blankly in her direction.
Even knowing the gaze held no particular meaning, when a pair of human eyes was fixed squarely on you, it was impossible not to notice.
The other thing sabotaging Serena's concentration was the state of the room, which looked like a garbage dump.
This place is way too chaotic.
It was still cold and the air was dry enough that there wasn't any real stench, but it was more than enough to kill focus.
Until now she'd left it alone because Lumina said it was fine—but Serena herself was too uncomfortable to stand it any longer.
She set the book down and stood up.
Time for a spring cleaning.