Chapter 40
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40
How to achieve the True Ending of The Milk Bread as Corico:
Marry Lisian Frezier, the eldest son and heir of Marquis Aster Frezier.
How to achieve the Depraved Ending of The Milk Bread as Corico:
Marry Leon Frezier, the second son of Marquis Aster Frezier and Lisian’s twin.
That was the reality.
Those two were Tulia’s twin older brothers.
“…….”
And both of them had a terrible relationship with their younger sister, Tulia.
In particular, the relationship between Leon Frezier, the second son, and Tulia was…
Enemies? No.
Extreme mortal enemies?
That seemed like a much more fitting description.
Adel was hurriedly helping me dress.
“…He said they would arrive in ten minutes.”
The butler had delivered that ridiculous timeframe and then scurried away, terrified that he might get caught in the crossfire.
He’s doing this on purpose so I can’t make it out in time.
Lilius—that man was truly something else.
“Adel.”
“Yes, My Lady?”
“The castle is going to be busy now that the twins are arriving, right?”
“It will be, won’t it?”
“I think now would be the perfect time to carry out what I mentioned the other day.”
Adel, who had been tying the ribbon on my back with lightning speed, paused for a brief moment.
But it was only for a second.
She resumed assisting me with practiced ease.
“You are referring to the maids who were kicked out by Viscountess Aubrey, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“While you were away with the Grand Duke, I looked into their whereabouts.”
“And?”
“I heard they were all subjected to severe floggings for several days by Viscountess Aubrey’s personal maids.”
Adel spared me the more gruesome details, but I could imagine the rest.
They must have been beaten until they bled—perhaps even until bone was exposed.
I winced slightly and asked, “Did she actually kill Lilda?”
Lilda.
She was the candidate for head maid whom Aubrey had personally recommended.
She was the arrogant high-ranking maid who had led the other maids under my command to openly undermine and ignore Adel.
“She didn’t kill her. However…”
Adel hesitated slightly before continuing.
“I heard the tip of her tongue was cut off.”
“Gasp.”
Goosebumps erupted across my arms.
“I mean, how can she be so cruel…?”
“…To be honest, most of the servants are well aware that Viscountess Aubrey is exceptionally ruthless in her discipline.”
So, similar things had been happening for a long time.
Perhaps that was why Tulia’s former servants had tried so hard to mistreat and torment her—out of fear.
Sigh.
I didn’t bother asking Adel how she had managed to obtain such detailed information.
Adel was from the Borderlands.
A place shunned by everyone in the Empire, noble and commoner alike.
She was a talented individual who had risen to the position of a high-ranking maid in the House of Grand Duke Frezier, despite everyone knowing her origins and even while hiding her connection to the formidable Luc Kelposher.
During those arduous years, she must have established some sort of network.
“What happened to the other maids?”
“I heard they were all sold.”
“One of them was from the Borderlands, right?”
“Ah… Yes, My Lady. ‘Clara’ was from the Borderlands.”
“Where was she sold to?”
“I was told she was sold to a slave auction house.”
“……?”
For the first time, I was genuinely taken aback.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“Since she is a noblewoman of the House of Grand Duke Frezier… it seems it wasn’t particularly difficult for her to gain access.”
“…….”
Good grief, just how much does she dote on that son of hers?
To cut off a tongue and sell people to an illegal slave auction?
“Adel, can you go there?”
Adel answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yes, My Lady. If I go in disguise.”
What exactly did Adel do before this?
Swallowing the sudden question, I pulled a breathtakingly radiant pure gold hairpin from my drawer.
It was a gift given to me personally by Empress Carmi.
“My Lady, this was a gift from the Empress…”
“Can you sell it without getting caught?”
A small smile played on Adel’s lips. The tasks I was requesting were no longer the duties of a maid, but rather those of a secret agent.
Yet, she seemed to find my brazen requests amusing.
“Yes. It’s encrusted with high-quality jewels, after all.”
“Then, could you use the money from this hairpin to bring that maid back?”
I was neither an angel nor a saint.
I had no intention of playing the savior to the maids who had been cast out after being brutally tortured by Viscountess Aubrey.
After all, they were the ones who had conspired with her to trap me in the first place.
My reason for telling her to bring back the maid named Clara wasn't out of pity because she was from the Borderlands.
It was because I needed her.
Adel also seemed to have guessed that I wasn't acting out of useless mercy.
In fact, that seemed to be exactly what she liked about me.
After draping a cloak over my shoulders, Adel asked, “Should I bring Clara back secretly, or openly?”
“Bring her back as openly as possible, Adel.”
Since Aubrey is supposedly spending her days in tears over Tedric, she might not even notice if we make a grand entrance.
Adel gave a bright smile.
“Understood, My Lady.”
* * *
We talked for so long I didn’t even have time to do my hair.
I hurried down the stairs, my hands busy fumbling with my hair.
Even as I ran down the steps, I was occupied with braiding it.
I was on my way to greet brothers who were already on bad terms with Tulia.
I had to minimize any reason for them to find fault with me.
They say one way to insult an unwelcome guest is to greet them looking like a total mess.
Even if this was a game world, high society was still high society.
Fortunately, just before I reached the Great Hall on the first floor, I managed to finish the braid.
It doesn’t look weird, does it?
I hadn’t been able to look in a proper mirror, only catching glimpses of myself in the mirrors and portrait glass lining the staircase as I braided it in a rush. I couldn't tell how it actually looked.
Luckily, a massive mirror taller than a person hung in the grand Great Hall on the first floor.
As I hurried past, I stole a glance at my reflection and found myself coming to a dead stop.
Huh?
What the…?
Contrary to my fears that it would be a disaster or sticking out like a tangled mess, the braid was beautiful.
“……?”
It looked like the work of a professional lady’s maid.
Oh, right. No time for this.
A beat late, I dashed toward the exit as the realization hit me.
Ah! It’s because of the Skill Stat!
Because I had unintentionally dumped 5 points into my Skill Stat, my manual dexterity must have increased tremendously.
…I cried blood back then, but I guess it’s useful in its own way.
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining.
I wept internally, realizing there truly were no useless stats in this world.
The thought suddenly crossed my mind that if I were to make jam again now, it would probably taste incredible.
Of course, I have a much more urgent problem to face right now.
I swallowed hard and kept moving.
The massive main doors that separated the interior from the exterior were guarded by two servants who were always stationed there.
As soon as they saw me, they gave a slight bow and opened the doors without delay.
The doors, carved with patterns like rolling waves, swung open, and sunlight poured in.
The butler, aides, and servants were already outside waiting.
I passed between them as they stood in two parallel rows, leaving the center clear, and took my place at the very front.
It seemed I had arrived just in the nick of time.
The moment I stepped in front of the butler, I saw horses galloping across the vast garden.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
“Hyah!”
The horses skidded to a halt a short distance away.
Is this what it’s like when male leads appear? (Though, of course, they’re the ones who should never end up with Tulia.)
The sun was behind them, obscuring their faces.
It was a dramatic entrance, as if nature itself were assisting in the performance.
A moment later, two men leaped down from their horses.
They’re two years older than Tulia, so they must be seventeen. Both of them.
The male leads of Corico, and Tulia’s brothers.
Our eyes met.
* * *
Wow, what is up with this family’s genes?
That was my first thought upon seeing them.
I had seen their faces thousands of times in the game illustrations, but seeing them alive and moving felt surreal.
They certainly had the looks to be chosen as male leads.
However, both of them were looking at me with strangely stiff expressions.
To an outsider, it might have looked like the three of us were having a staring contest.
“Hello, brothers.”
As I stepped forward and greeted them, it felt as if the frozen time had finally shattered.
The one on the right is Lisian Frezier.
Named after his late grandmother, the Grand Duchess.
The eldest of the twins.
His silver hair, which he usually kept neatly styled, was slightly disheveled, fluttering in the wind.
The one on the left is Leon Frezier.
The younger of the twins.
True to the setting of fraternal twins, Leon Frezier’s black hair stood out in stark contrast to Lisian’s, dominating my vision.
For the record, this one was the bastard.
But unlike in the game, I actually came out to greet you personally, so please… let your personality be at least half as good as your looks!
As I prayed and prayed inwardly, Leon Frezier’s mouth slowly opened.
“……Brothers?”
“Yes, brothers. It’s been a while since I last greeted—”
“What’s with that disgusting way of speaking?”
His teal eyes looked at me as if I were trash.
“Why don’t you drop the act immediately, Tulia Frezier?”
That was the moment my prayers were smashed to pieces.