Chapter 16
Chapter 16
The Chamberlain, under Aslan's gaze, immediately bowed his head.
"His Highness is correct. The person in question is immature and has caused many problems in the past, so I will dismiss him from the residence as of today."
"I-I made a mistake! I have a family to feed! If I'm fired, what will become of my family...!"
It was an unwritten rule in aristocratic society that a servant who was dismissed for causing trouble could not find employment in another noble household.
The terrified servant immediately knelt. But Aslan remained silent until he was dragged out of the residence.
"Aslan, shouldn't we call him back now? He was just a little surprised, that's all."
"You're too soft-hearted."
"Could you say I'm just tolerant?"
"Perhaps."
"I really am."
Vivian felt wronged. But Aslan's eyes were too frightening, so she decided to just think it in her head.
They entered the residence with even more extravagant treatment. At the fork in the road, the Chamberlain bowed.
"Your Highness, please proceed to this guest room. Miss Vivian may use the bedroom she used to stay in."
"No, I don't want to bother moving around. I'll stay in the same place as Vivian."
"There will be many shortcomings for Your Highness. Miss Vivian has been using the Separate Residence behind the mansion alone for recuperation recently."
"I'm only staying for a short time, so I can endure that much. Show me the way."
For some reason, she heard short intakes of breath from around her. But Vivian couldn't understand their reactions.
'What's wrong with the Separate Residence? It's spacious, luxurious, and has a garden, so it's only good.'
Vivian nodded, recalling the place where she had stayed for about a month immediately after her possession.
"This is the Separate Residence."
And the moment she arrived, Vivian quickly canceled her previous thought.
She had definitely thought it was good when she stayed there. She was very satisfied, saying it was like a five-star hotel.
'But why does it look so shabby now?'
She rubbed her eyes, wondering if her eyesight was wrong, but nothing changed. She wondered if the furniture had been changed in the meantime, but it was the same.
'Oh my gosh, living in Aslan's mansion must have made my standards ridiculously high.'
Aslan's impression seemed to be similar to hers. He massaged his forehead as if he couldn't believe it.
"Haa..."
"If you're uncomfortable, I'll take you to the guest room again."
"No, it's the room my fiancée stayed in, so I definitely want to stay there too."
He sent out all the servants who were following him. Then he slowly looked around the bedroom.
"I don't even know where to start fixing it."
"It's a bit empty, right? I was quite satisfied with it, but it's because your mansion is too big and luxurious."
"Did you move to this room when you got Consumption?"
"That's..."
Vivian hesitated to answer. Not for any other reason, but because she had no memory of it.
As if she had lost her entire memory, there was nothing left in her head.
The same was true of her memories from before her possession.
Every time she tried to remember who the real her was, what kind of person she was, her head throbbed and her spine tingled.
Like a warning not to think about anything.
In conclusion, all she had inherited from the original Vivian was a body with Consumption and excellent swordsmanship skills.
In addition, habits and customs as a noble that Vivian had become accustomed to remained naturally.
So even without memories, she had no particular problems living.
'Still, it's difficult to answer when they ask me like this sometimes. Should I just say yes?'
Aslan seemed to have interpreted Vivian's silence and relaxed his hardened expression. Then he lightly grasped her hands.
"I'm not trying to blame you, Vivian. Don't look so scared."
"I wasn't thinking that."
"If you were satisfied living here, then I think it's good too. However..."
Aslan's voice subtly lowered. He mumbled something inaudibly, then smiled as if nothing had happened.
"Will you give me a tour?"
"Okay."
Vivian took Aslan's hand—she tried to pull it away, but it wouldn't budge—and walked around the place where she had stayed.
The tour ended quickly because the Separate Residence wasn't large. The two sat on a bench in the garden attached to the Separate Residence.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting.
"I didn't even get to see my sister, and the day is already over."
Only then did Vivian remember why she had come to Duchess Eleonora's residence.
She had to get Aslan to meet the original female lead, but she had been caught up in the situation as soon as she arrived and hadn't even thought about it.
"I hope I can see her tomorrow."
"I see. That way, I can leave quickly."
"Aren't you busy? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard because of me?"
"I don't know what you think of me, Vivian. But your fiancé is a much more capable and wonderful person than you think."
"Self-praise?"
"It's seduction."
Aslan's long, firm fingers touched her cheek. His head tilted at an angle, and just as Vivian, startled, stopped breathing.
"Vivian, this brother has returned!"
A booming voice echoed through the small garden.
Fast footsteps were heard from beyond the tall shrubs. Someone was approaching quickly.
'Who is it? Could it be Alex?'
Vivian quickly recalled the contents of the original story.
Duke Eleonora had three children. Alex and Vivian, born to the Duchess, and Iris, born out of wedlock.
Among them, Alex had shown outstanding talent in swordsmanship since he was young and received knight training at an academy abroad.
Then, upon hearing the news of Vivian's death, he returned home midway and participated in the final battle with Aslan on Crown Prince Johannes' side.
This was his trajectory in the original story.
"Vivian, this brother...!"
Her thoughts didn't last long. The shrubs behind the bench opened wide, and Alex's face suddenly popped out.
He stared without blinking at the two men and women entangled in a lewd manner—only in Alex's eyes—and then shouted.
"You goddamn, what are you doing to my innocent sister!"
Alex drew his sword in the blink of an eye without giving her a chance to explain. The trajectory of the sword was clearly aimed at Aslan's neck.
'This guy?!'
Vivian's body moved faster than her head.
She drew a dagger from Alex's waist as if she had always known it was there and immediately blocked the attack.
A refreshing sound of air splitting rang in her ears. The two swords collided.
"Vivian, are you going to stand against this brother because of one man!"
"Is it normal to try to kill someone from the start?"
"That goddamn bastard was touching you! How did I raise you!"
Alex's voice trembled as if he was about to cry just thinking about it.
"I didn't feed you my milk, but I changed your diapers, taught you how to walk, and even personally taught you swordsmanship! Yes, I actually tried to feed you my milk too! But you refused!"
"Ugh, disgusting! How could I drink my brother's milk?!"
A fierce war broke out between the siblings.
Alex rushed to cut off Aslan's head, and Vivian threw herself to protect Aslan.
Clang, clang, the sound of swords clashing rang loudly.
But their fierce battle did not last long.
"Cough, cough!"
As soon as Vivian, out of breath, staggered, Aslan, who had intervened, blocked Alex's attack.
"I understand your joy at meeting your family after a long time, but Vivian's health is not very good."
"You did such a terrible thing to my sister and...!"
"Aren't we about to become family, brother?"
"Brother?! Who decided that!"
Aslan smiled leisurely and picked up the coughing Vivian.
"Vivian, are you okay?"
"Cough, cough! It's a little hard to breathe."
"I didn't want to interrupt because you looked like you were having fun, but I couldn't help it."
"I wasn't having fun."
"Yes, yes."
Alex stopped trying to take Vivian away and blinked blankly.
'Everyone knew the Grand Duke was mistreating Vivian.'
The voices of the two were fading away.
＊ ＊ ＊
At the same time, Iris was having dinner with her father, the Duke. It was a luxurious banquet that she had never eaten in her life.
But she didn't feel like eating. It felt awkward, like wearing clothes that didn't fit.
Iris had been an orphan since birth. Her mother gave birth to her in a distant land with no relatives and died shortly after.
She knew nothing about her mother's story.
The only memento was a gold button engraved with the crest of a noble family that her mother had kept.
When Iris finally put down her fork, the Duke's eyes widened.
"Doesn't it suit your taste?"
"No. It's really delicious, Father."
"Then why can't you eat?"
"That's..."
Iris hesitated, unable to open her mouth. The Duke's voice, which he had repeatedly urged, echoed in her head.
'You have to be careful of Vivian. She resembles her dead mother and is a very cunning and scary child. She must be sharpening her knife inside to harm you.'
According to her father, the dead Duchess was a very scary person.
As soon as she found out that her mother was pregnant with her, she beat her until she was on the verge of death and kicked her out of the mansion.
Her father, who was only a son-in-law, was too late when he found out the truth, and the father and daughter had to spend more than 20 years like strangers.
But Vivian, who was said to resemble the Duchess, had returned to meet her.
"Iris, I think I made you scared by saying unnecessary things."
"Ah, no."
"Don't hide anything. I've been trying to find you in every way. I can't lose my daughter, who I finally found, again."
"Don't worry, Father. I'm fine."
Iris smiled to ease her father's worries. The Duke nodded.
"Wait a little longer. I'll return what you should have had in order."
"Yes?"
"First of all, we need to find a good marriage partner. A Grand Duchess would be appropriate. You've grown up so beautifully and wonderfully, so it won't be difficult to capture His Highness' heart."
Iris tilted her head. She only knew of one unmarried Grand Duke.
Aslan Rezef Astalot, the second prince of the empire and the fiancé of her sister Vivian.
'Surely it's not him, and since I don't know much about nobles, there must be another Grand Duke.'
Iris engraved the Duke's instructions in her head. She had a reason to quickly establish herself in the Duke's family.
'I have to meet the benefactor who returned my mother's memento.'
