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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: My Sister, My Enemy, Cherishes Me
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In an ordinary situation, people would assume a young man and woman had gone out for some fresh air together, but with the Naitra family involved, it was different.
Known as the Shadow Blades, their specialty was finding their prey within dense crowds and subtly spiriting them away. Those who vanished with them rarely returned, and no traces were left, making it impossible to hold anyone accountable.
Though they were vassals of the Luperne Ducal Family, their true loyalty lay with the Elder Council Chairman.
“Where is Aramis?”
“He’s in the banquet hall.”
Callista dashed out the door before Theon even finished speaking.
Theon turned his gaze to me, then knelt on one knee and grasped my shoulder.
“Miss Harper. Did you know Vittori would disappear?”
He asked, disbelief in his voice, but I frowned in concentration, offering no reply.
I hadn't done much since my regression, so why was an event that was supposed to happen two years later already occurring?
But this was no time for that. I needed to quickly recall where Vittori had been found in my past life.
“Miss Harper, do you… do you know where Vittori is?”
Theon asked again, his voice trembling.
“Li, Lil….”
I organized the information I’d heard in my past life, and something came to mind.
“Yes?”
“…Lailly’s Room?”
“Are you referring to Lailly’s Room? The one that’s been locked ever since the previous Duke passed away?”
“That’s it!”
Yes. It was Lailly’s Room. That’s where Vittori’s body had been found. A hard-to-find room hidden somewhere in a corridor on the third floor of the main building. A place even enchanted with magic to keep it out of sight.
I had heard Vittori was found there several days after her death. Since no one ever entered the room, it was a miracle she was discovered at all.
“I’ve never even been to that room myself. I don’t know how the Naitra family found it.”
Theon furrowed his brows, looking troubled.
“I’ll instruct the Knight Order to search. Perhaps one of them knows how to open the door…”
He pulled on my hand, but I shook my head.
“There’s no time.”
Mobilizing the Knight Order would take time. If the Naitra family sensed danger, Vittori might truly be kidnapped far away.
Moreover, a room sealed by magic couldn’t be entered just by knowing its location. In my past life, I had accidentally stumbled upon a hidden entrance, like a secret passage, and the only other person who had found Lailly’s Room was…
“Yes?”
I swallowed hard and whispered something into Theon’s ear.
“…Let’s go together.”
Even in that busy moment, Theon’s eyes flickered slightly as he looked at me. Soon, he slowly nodded.
***
Vittori opened her eyes, clutching her throbbing head. She was certain she had been at the banquet hall, and she hadn’t been drinking, so she couldn’t understand why there was a gap in her memory.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Someone who had been watching her grinned broadly and helped Vittori up. Now, she realized she had collapsed onto a cold floor. Vittori finally looked around.
Judging by the golden walls, it had once been a lavish space, but now not a single piece of furniture was visible. Only desolate walls and floors, and… seven, eight men.
It was a strange room, characterized by the absence of a visible door.
“…Ivan Naitra?”
Vittori furrowed her brow and addressed the man closest to her. She vaguely recalled him suddenly taking her hand and dancing with her for a few seconds at the banquet, but she had no idea why he was here. And who were the rest of these similarly-faced men?
“That’s right, Vittori Mueller. And these are my dear cousins.”
The men beside Ivan grinned in unison. A short distance away, a masked man with slightly more 고급스러운 attire and a receding hairline watched them as if supervising.
Goosebumps prickled on Vittori’s arms.
“What exactly are you…?”
“No need to waste time on explanations. We’re here to assign you a new master.”
Ivan cut her off, as if he’d anticipated her question.
“A new master?”
A small, mocking smile spread across Vittori’s face, but Ivan merely smiled slyly, as if he’d expected that reaction.
“When you leave this room, you are to find the Duchess. The moment you encounter her, you are to press your forehead to the floor and kiss her feet.”
“What?”
“If you don’t understand, shall I give you a practice run right now? Like it or not, you will become her maid. Like an animal, doing whatever she commands.”
When Vittori furrowed her brow, Ivan continued, looking even more amused.
“Of course, you can continue your studies. They say it will be good for her if you become a doctor. It seems she has a peculiar hobby of wanting to trample a count’s daughter—her own family’s physician, no less—beneath her feet.”
Ivan and the men behind him snickered. I could see the masked man in the back wiping sweat from his forehead.
“…You need to see a psychiatrist, Ivan.”
Vittori said, dumbfounded.
“Why should I listen to you?”
“Ah, you’ll find out in a moment.”
Ivan didn’t flinch, replying smoothly.
“Soon, 24 hours will have passed since you last ate a Kori Berry.”
He grinned and pulled a pocket watch from his vest.
“Kori Berry?”
“Yes. The devil’s seed, known for its withdrawal symptoms that no one can endure before going mad. Soon, your whole body will feel like it’s being pricked by needles. You’ll choke and gasp, begging for the berry.”
Vittori’s face paled, and seeing her reaction, Ivan’s gang chortled as if watching an amusing spectacle.
“Alright, five seconds left. Five, four, three, two… one. Now, the seizure.”
Ivan playfully bent his index finger, which had been pointing at the second hand, and aimed it at Vittori. Anticipation slowly crept across his face.
However, instead of the expected scream, only silence filled the room.
“What, what is it?”
“…”
Vittori merely blinked, staring at Ivan.
“Wait. Five, four, three, two, one… now?”
“…”
“What, what is this! Is the watch broken? Five, four…”
“…Hey.”
Vittori quietly spoke to Ivan, who was frantically counting numbers.
“…What are you doing by yourself?”
An awkward silence fell.
With each passing second, Ivan’s face grew redder.
“No! Is the watch broken? Hey, let me see yours.”
Ivan, flustered, jumped up and frantically searched the pocket of the man beside him.
“Look! It’s still… over three minutes! Is this one a piece of junk too?”
With a clang, he threw the other man’s watch away, then irritably tugged at his hair.
“This can’t be… they definitely said she ate the berry…”
“Enough.”
Vittori, who had been sitting on the floor, had already dusted off her backside and stood up.
“Call me when you’ve fixed your watch. I’m leaving.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Ivan tore his gaze from the watch and blocked her again. His eyes, which had been darting around in confusion, now gleamed sharply again.
“Just because you’re not addicted doesn’t mean I can let you go. No.”
He took another step closer and whispered into Vittori’s ear.
“If anything, I can’t let you go now that we’ve failed.”
“…What?”
As Vittori’s dark eyes filled with bewilderment, he twisted his face into a grin.
“Whether we succeed or fail, our ironclad rule is to leave no witnesses. Since it’s come to this, there’s no helping it.”
*Sliiiick—*
Ivan drew a dagger hidden in his clothes and slowly raised it above his head. His companions had already tightly encircled Vittori.
“Don’t blame me if this is the end of your life.”
The blade glinted silver in the moonlight filtering through the window. Vittori’s complexion turned pale, and just as Ivan was about to bring the blade down toward her neck—
*Splat—*
Something heavy flew from behind and hit him on the back of the head. No, the sticky thing clung to the back of his head.
“Wh-what is this?!”
Ivan reached back with his hand to wipe the object off. The moist, lumpy brown substance was like…
“Th-that’s not poop, is it?”
One of Ivan’s Naitra cousins, watching him, frowned and asked. At his words, the other companions around him took a step back.
“Ugh! Is he walking around with poop on his head?”
“That crazy bastard should do his business in the toilet.”
“You idiots! This isn’t excrement, it’s…”
He sniffed the sweet smell emanating from his hand, then slapped the back of the head of the man who had been making the biggest fuss beside him.
“It’s chocolate!”
“Huh, chocolate?”
Ivan’s companions murmured. No one understood why, out of all things, chocolate was stuck to Ivan’s head.
“Just who in the…?”
Ivan, his face sharp, scanned the surroundings for a long moment before his gaze stopped in one corner of the room. Immediately, his pupils dilated to twice their size.
“You… who are you? How long have you been there?”
His finger pointed to a small blonde girl standing stock-still.
She was wearing a dull, ochre-colored dress that blended in with the walls, and holding a lump of what appeared to be chocolate cake in one hand.
They only realized the child’s identity after hearing Vittori’s sharp cry.
“Miss Harper!”
***
*Splat—*
“Ack!”
I threw the remaining piece of cake at the scrawny man next to Ivan Naitra. He still didn’t seem to believe it was chocolate, recoiling in horror and shaking it off.
“Let Vittori go.”
“…Miss, how long have you been here?”
Ivan Naitra asked me in a low voice, as if clenching his teeth.
“This room isn’t accessible to just anyone.”
“Well, just a moment ago. I even saw you counting numbers backward while looking at your watch.”
I answered honestly. The situation was too urgent to leave entirely to others, so I just rushed over, but I never expected this ugly dress to actually serve as camouflage.
Thanks to that, I, who had wanted to draw attention earlier, had no choice but to throw the cake I had brought instead of a weapon. What a waste of something so delicious.
At my answer, everyone who had surrounded Vittori looked at each other with bewildered expressions.
“Sigh… nothing is going right for me today.”
Ivan bit his lip, pulling at his hair. A few seconds later, his eyes, glinting menacingly through his disheveled hair, flashed.
