Chapter 2
“......Liar.”
The one who broke the eerie silence pressing down on the head’s office was the tiny child hiding behind the emerald-eyed woman. Her white hands, clutching the hem of her skirt, trembled like aspen leaves. The look she gave me was pure terror, as if she were staring at a man-eating monster.
“You’re... you’re just trying not to get kicked out... That monster is pulling another dirty trick...”
No, what trick did I pull? I opened my eyes and I was in this house.
Before I could even part my lips to protest, the woman shielding the child pressed her throbbing temple and let out a deep sigh.
“Irina is right.” Her cold gaze looked down at me, thick with exhaustion. “Not only did you insult the head of the family, but now amnesia? Don’t play cheap tricks to get out of this, Rian.”
“It’s not a trick. I don’t remember anything, I don’t even know who I am right now, and I can’t accept being told to get out the moment I open my eyes.”
“......Don’t be pathetic till the end, Rian. Please.”
Her emerald eyes wavered with pity for a moment, then she carefully picked up the silver fountain pen that had been rolling on the floor. With exhausted steps, she came over, yanked my wrist, and forced the pen into my hand with her ice-cold fingers.
“I know you’re just trying to get through this with your tricks. Please, don’t act like a child in front of our mother—no, the head of the family—who took us in even though we share not a drop of her blood.”
Her pleading, wavering gaze. Through her cold fingertips gripping mine, I could feel her blind devotion to the head of the family.
Wait. Mother? That face?
I looked from the excommunication papers on the floor to the red-haired head of the family slouching lazily in the seat of honor.
Even if this is a fantasy world, there should be some conscience. How can that beauty, who looks at most in her mid-twenties, be my mother?
“Really... is she really my mother? That person?”
At my stupid, unintended question, a low, cool laugh finally escaped from the frozen lips of the red-haired head.
“Heum.”
The short laugh cut through the heavy air of the head’s office. The moment she slowly rose from her seat, an overwhelming pressure that seemed to freeze my spine descended on me.
Click, click.
Each step closer made my breath catch. Before I knew it, her cool, gloved fingers were lightly grasping my chin.
“I hear you’ve lost your memory. But that sly tongue of yours, trying to talk your way out of the situation, is still the same, isn’t it, Rian?”
“I’m rea’y no’ lyin’...”
Whether my pronunciation was mashed up or not, I shot her the most wronged look I could. Her upward-slanted amethyst eyes slowly traced over every part of my face.
It wasn’t anger... It was a chilling, covetous gaze, as if she were admiring a well-tended flower in a garden.
“...Your eyes have changed, Rian.” Her red lips slowly curved into an arc. “A flower that was rotting in the most horrible way has, overnight, transformed into a flower with an entirely different scent. Isn’t that rather interesting?”
Ha, interesting? My life is on the line here.
I swallowed hard and stood frozen. She slowly released my chin. Her cool gaze shifted to the papers scattered at my feet.
“Even the Empire’s outdated laws have a system for reforming heinous criminals.” She stepped on the excommunication papers with her heel. “Furthermore, you were the most expensive ornament in this Rojer family. Seeing the one I thought was rotten to the core suddenly struggling to find a way to survive... it might be worth giving you a little water.”
So she means not to throw me out immediately?
Just as I was about to catch my breath after barely avoiding being kicked out, the tensely drawn air of the head’s office burst out like a scream.
“No... I don’t want it. Absolutely not.”
It was the tiny child hiding behind. Her eyes were wide open like a wary cat.
“If that monster stays here... he’ll... he’ll lock me in my room again, not let me take a single step outside... Head of the family, please, I beg you...”
No, what the hell is she talking about? The look she gave me wasn’t just simple hatred; it was a severe phobia. At this point, the hatred is enough to cut off my head. What the hell did this crazy bastard do to such a young child?
“Head of the family, Irina is right. This isn’t a matter of emotion.” The woman who had forced the pen into my hand also spoke urgently. “The embezzlement and scandals Rian has already committed have gone beyond what the family can handle. The moment the excommunication is reversed, the family’s honor and interests will plummet. And isn’t excommunication also good for Rian?”
Excommunication is good for me? That’s from the original’s perspective. Even the people who call themselves family are welcoming the chance to cut off my head.
But the head of the family simply raised her hand to cut off their pleas in an instant. Then her amethyst eyes bound me again.
“But Rian.” Her cool, gloved fingers slithered along the back of my neck like a snake, sending chills down my spine. “If this cute amnesia of yours was just a cheap act to avoid excommunication.... then it won’t end with you being quietly kicked out. I’ll pluck you out by the root before you even wilt and crush you painfully.”
The low warning in my ear made my heart drop.
“...I’ll keep that in mind. I won’t cause any more trouble for the family.”
“Good. I look forward to seeing how long that resolve lasts. You may leave.”
She gestured elegantly, and the oppressive pressure receded like the tide. I don’t even know how I bowed and got out.
Creak—thud.
As soon as the heavy door to the head’s office closed, I leaned against the corridor wall and slid down.
“Huff, huff... Holy shit, I’m alive.”
My back was already drenched in cold sweat. I’ve got to find a way to survive. Just as I was trying to steady my trembling legs...
Creak—
The door opened again and the emerald-eyed woman stepped out. She looked down at me blankly leaning against the wall, then approached with a tired air. I thought she might hit me or at least yell, but instead, her white, cold hand touched my disheveled shirt collar.
“Never take the head’s mercy for granted, Rian. Her patience is not infinite.” As she spread out my crumpled collar and carefully buttoned it up to the top, she added, “Just breathe quietly in front of her. If you tarnish the family name again and incur her wrath... before I can clean it up, you’ll be torn apart without a trace.”
She lightly dusted off my shoulder and walked away with clicking heels. I held my perfectly buttoned collar and wiped my face.
“...Ha.”
How many times have I sighed today? I feel like my life force is being drained.
Left alone in the hallway where she had disappeared, I held my throbbing head and walked. I remembered my way somehow and managed to reach what seemed to be my ridiculously luxurious room. Creak—thud. I locked the door and threw myself onto a soft sofa like a dead weight. Staring blankly at the ceiling, the crazy events from the head’s office flashed through my mind like a panorama.
The red-haired head who wouldn’t hesitate to cut my throat tomorrow. The woman who tenderly strangled me. And the child who looked at me like a bug.
“Ha... I’m so unfairly treated I could go crazy.”
There’s no one I can trust in this shitty world. What pisses me off most is that I’m being threatened with death for things I didn’t even do. What crazy shit did the original owner of this pretty face do to make the whole family want to tear me apart? Why do I, a total stranger, have to take all the blame and shiver while trying to clean up his mess?
“How am I supposed to live from now on...”
Run away? No, there’s no way I’d survive on the streets with no knowledge of this world. Besides, if the family is that fearsome, tracking me down and killing me without a trace would be a piece of cake. No matter how much I racked my brain, this difficulty was a gutter-level hell.
“But, if it’s going to be like this... at least give me a lucky break, a status window, a system or something...”
That was the moment my despairing plea to the air left my lips.
Ding—!
synchronization complete.
Opening the status window for 'Rian Rojer'.
Did my desperate cry actually reach the heavens? A cheerful mechanical sound rang out, and a translucent blue panel filled my vision.
“Whoa... it’s real?”
I jumped up and reached out with trembling hands. Imagining using a skill to escape this insane environment and live in luxury, I quickly read through the text on the status window.
Grade: F
Description: Blooms a flower that brings great stability to the target's mind and body.
“...What?”
I stared blankly at the air.
Grade is only F? And the description is even worse. Stability of mind and body? Bloom a flower? Are you telling me to be a plant-based air freshener?
“No, fuck... What am I supposed to do with this shitty skill?!”
In the middle of my splendid room, a resentful and desperate scream echoed.