The Viper's Plot
The Reinhardt family—descendants of the empire’s first Sword Saint, the very bloodline that once made the barbarian tribes of the north tremble in fear. After the coalition of northern nobles led by Ethan suffered an utterly absurd defeat at the hands of the barbarians, the general consensus was that the Reinhardts’ influence over the North had waned. Yet no one could deny that deep in the hearts of the northern nobility, a lingering respect for the Reinhardt name still remained.
The rumor that a young lord had ascended to the position of family head—the nominal ruler of the entire North—sent ripples across the frozen lands. Unlike the nobles of more fertile regions who filled their storehouses with abundant harvests, the northern lords had grown weary under a harsh environment that could freeze even the soil. To them, the appearance of a new leader was a source of both hope and anxiety. All eyes turned toward Arwen, wondering what kind of future he would bring to the North.
And just as the North buzzed with excitement, there were those who reacted to the sudden upheaval within the Reinhardt family with something far sharper than mere vigilance. Rage would be the more accurate word.
“Goddamn it! One measly report in an entire week, and what does it say? That scrawny little Arwen has taken the seat of family head? And it happened two weeks ago?!”
The man violently crumpled the paper in his hand and hurled it away. The crumpled ball flew pathetically despite his furious swing and smacked straight into another man’s face. The armored knight didn’t flinch. He simply bowed his head deeply toward the man before him.
“My deepest apologies, Lord Gosek. This was my negligence.”
“Of course it’s your negligence. You think this happened because of mine?”
Even after the knight’s apology, the man seated at the desk continued to seethe. His thick nostrils flared as he exhaled roughly. Under the lamplight, his lips were tightly clenched between two small, rat-like front teeth. If cunning could be given a face, it would look exactly like his. The man roughly swept back his greasy yellow hair and snarled.
“You said the spy is still embedded in Schubern village within Reinhardt territory?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The man waved his hand lightly, as if shooing away a fly buzzing around his head.
“Kill him. That worthless maggot from a goblin den couldn’t even do the job he was paid for.”
“But Lord Gosek, the northerners are extremely wary of outsiders. It took great effort to plant that spy. There is no need to dispose of him so hastily…”
At those words, Gosek’s eyes narrowed into thin slits far sharper than usual. His thick, catfish-like lips twitched as he spoke.
“The Valeri family’s treasures must always yield results equal to their value. Not even a single gold coin may be wasted. You understand that, don’t you, Gunter?”
“Of course, Lord Gosek.”
“Then you should know perfectly well. That bastard took the Valeri family’s money but failed to fulfill his role.”
“That is…”
“Don’t you think the only way to repay the failure he brought upon the great Valeri family is with his own life?”
Under Gosek Valeri’s relentless pressure, Gunter obediently accepted his master’s command. After all, he was nothing more than one of the family’s collateral pawns. He had no desire to defy Gosek and share the same fate as that spy.
“Understood. I will send someone… No. I will go to Schubern village myself and take care of the spy.”
Gunter calmly explained his responsibilities to Gosek in a cool voice. Only after hearing his subordinate’s icy, well-honed reply did Gosek finally smile with satisfaction.
Gosek rolled a golden coin engraved with the imperial map between his fingers as he spoke.
“That’s right. Spies can always be replaced. If the new one fails too, dispose of him and pick another. Simple.”
The corners of Gosek’s mouth slowly curled upward as he watched the coin wobble precariously. It eventually fell to the floor with a pathetic clink, just like the life of the spy whose fate had been decided by a few words exchanged in this small room.
This man was none other than Arwen’s uncle—Isabel’s twin brother—and the current acting head of the Valeri family, Gosek Valeri.
The current family head, Yohannes Valeri, had been confined to his bed for the entire day, suffering from old age and heart disease. The long-held ambition of the Valeri family to devour the Reinhardts, which had begun with Yohannes, had now been fully inherited by Gosek.
“Goddamn it… To think that arrogant bitch Isabel, who only has one decent pair of tits to her name, would ruin everything.”
Gosek chewed over the memory of his younger sister’s haughty face with vulgar language that perfectly matched his own sleazy appearance. He had been so certain the Reinhardt family would fall into his hands.
Gosek glared at the coin rolling into the corner with burning eyes, then slowly turned his gaze toward Gunter.
“So, when did you say that little brat’s ceremony is taking place?”
“It will be held in one week at the Reinhardt mansion.”
The “ceremony” Gosek referred to was the event celebrating the birth of a new ruler for the North. On the surface it was a celebration, but in truth it was also an evaluation where the prominent northern nobles would judge whether Arwen possessed the qualities of a true leader. Naturally, an invitation had also arrived for the Valeri family—Arwen’s maternal relatives.
Gosek snorted, his lips twitching.
“Hmph. He’s in quite the rush.”
“It seems he is conscious of our Valeri family.”
Gosek gave a slight nod, agreeing with Gunter’s assessment. He figured that the naïve little nephew must believe that once he gained recognition from the other northern nobles, he could simply ignore the schemes of his distant maternal family.
‘But that’s not naïveté, Arwen. That’s just stupidity.’
Gosek spoke to Gunter.
“The northern nobles who already suffered a devastating defeat alongside the Reinhardts will not easily accept him.”
“You are correct, Lord Gosek.”
‘And the more Arwen rushes, the easier it will be for us to move.’
Gosek, who had been pressing his lips together in thought, soon gestured to Gunter. When his subordinate approached and bowed, Gosek issued his command.
“Go find the young lady of the Ingrid family immediately. We can postpone killing the spy until we visit Reinhardt territory together.”
“The young lady of the Ingrid family… Do you mean Tania, the one known to be close with Lady Sophia?”
Gosek frowned as he recalled how Masha had shown devotion to Isabel that bordered on lust.
“Yes. That bitch Tania is apparently just as obsessed with Sophia as Masha was with Isabel.”
Gosek was roughly aware of the incidents that had occurred at the academy’s student council this year. Leopold had suddenly withdrawn right before graduation, Jericho had shut himself away in the Provence estate for some unknown reason, and Melina—who had conducted live experiments on students—was still missing. He also knew that Tania, now left like a masterless puppy, had ceased all external activities and remained confined to the Ingrid family mansion.
‘I still don’t know what that woman was aiming for when she fed us that information, though.’
While Gosek pondered the informant’s intentions, Gunter spoke up.
“Then what shall I tell Tania?”
Gosek answered with a sinister smile.
“Tell her that Sophia has been imprisoned in the mansion after falling for some scheme Arwen devised. Say that we will help her rescue Sophia from Arwen’s grasp.”
“You want to lure Tania in with a lie? If the deception is ever discovered…”
At Gunter’s hesitation, Gosek’s eyes gleamed like a snake hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike a rat.
“Hehe, that will never happen. By the time the ceremony ends, every single person involved in this matter will have disappeared.”
“Surely, Lord Gosek, you don’t mean…”
Gunter swallowed hard, his face tense. He had clearly realized what his master was planning.
“Exactly. We’ll have Tania dance with the blades while the Valeri family handles the cleanup. Once Arwen’s ceremony is over and all those foolish northern nobles have returned home, that day will be the last time that brat draws breath. The mansion will become his coffin.”
Gunter’s face darkened at Gosek’s audacious—bordering on suicidal—plan to wage war inside the Reinhardt mansion.
“But if Lady Isabel is injured while Tania deals with Arwen…”
“That wouldn’t be so bad. In fact, while everyone’s attention is focused there, it would be better if you personally ended Isabel’s life, Gunter.”
“Pardon?”
To his questioning subordinate, Gosek calmly laid out his hideous thoughts.
“Rather than letting Isabel take Arwen’s empty seat, it might be better to send that annoying little sister to her beloved husband’s side this time. Along with that loud-mouthed Sophia.”
There was not a trace of hesitation in Gosek’s eyes as he declared he would slaughter his own sister and nephew.
“We’ll spare the relatively well-behaved Cordelia. Just attach a suitable man with Valeri blood to her and have her birth a few mongrels mixed with both families’ blood. That should be enough. Hehe.”
“Even if we set Isabel aside, will Tania stay quiet if any harm comes to Sophia?”
“No need to worry about Tania. She will take all the blame for what happens inside the Reinhardt mansion and descend to the afterlife. Dead men tell no tales.”
Gunter fell silent at the ruthless plan that even called for the clean disposal of the very pawns they intended to use. Yet his face showed neither disgust at his master’s cruelty nor confusion from a guilty conscience. It was the cold expression of a subordinate perfectly matched to his master.
“Hmm…”
“What? You think it’s impossible?”
At his master’s question, Gunter’s eyes spun like the beads of an abacus calculating numbers. Then, after a moment—
“Not at all. It seems feasible. As long as we gather enough skilled individuals capable of handling Sophia.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. There are more than enough knights in the empire eager to receive the Valeri family’s pay.”
Satisfied with Gunter’s confident tone, Gosek replied in a pleased voice.
While such a vile scheme was being hatched inside the Valeri mansion, with an uncle plotting against his nephew, our protagonist was holed up in his own mansion, thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of having become the family head.
* * *
‘Fuck yes. This is exactly it!’
An involuntary sigh of admiration escaped me. Any man who saw the sight before my eyes right now would surely let out the same sound.
When I woke up in the morning, two beautiful women were using my body as their blanket, sound asleep on either side of me. Even though we had rubbed our flesh together and shared passion until just before falling asleep, there was no unpleasant odor. The sweet scent of Cordelia and Raibel’s warm, soft breasts—plump as if dipped in honey—clung stickily to both my arms.
As I gazed contentedly at the two women’s naked bodies, the door opened and another woman—Isabel—entered the room. Her snow-white skin was adorned with nothing but jewels. A heart-shaped red gem that barely covered her areolas and golden strings that glittered like her own hair formed the entirety of her underwear, fastened across her chest. The situation below her waist was similar. Her pubic hair was completely exposed, with only a thin golden string embedded with jewels covering the slit of her pussy.
Isabel’s outfit was something I had personally ordered as the family head. It was a deliberate choice to imprint upon everyone in the mansion that Isabel had become my concubine. Yet despite attire that was practically the same as being naked, there was no trace of shame on Isabel’s face. Instead, she looked at me with a gentle smile as I woke.
Isabel approached the bed, set down the tray in her hands, and bowed politely. I had assigned her the daily duty of serving me tea every morning. The reason was simple: to make efficient use of her breasts.
“Lord Arwen, it is time for your tea.”
Isabel picked up the cup of black tea from the tray. She then gently pushed aside the jewel covering her nipple and began to knead her own breast. Pure white milk, the same color as her skin, sprayed from her clean pink nipple into the cup. After stirring the tea now rich with her milk using a spoon, Isabel handed the cup to me.
“Thank you as always. I’ll give you a reward, so come here.”
“Yeees♡ Thank you, Lord Arwen.”
At her stepson’s call, Isabel wore an ecstatic expression as she settled beside me.
“Haaah♡ Lord Arwen’s touch feels so good♡ Please thrust deeper, harder♡”
While I fingered Isabel’s pussy with my left hand, I brought the cup in my right hand to my lips. The tea, thick with the scent of her milk, filled my mouth. It felt as though my tongue was licking her breasts directly.
“This… is life…”
Muttering those words—my worries about having possessed a character inside a game completely blown away—I savored this blissful moment to the fullest.