Chương 11: Conversation with the Villainess

Being born as the daughter of Rosenkreuz has unimaginable perks. The moment you take your first breath, you are already almost above 90 percent of human beings. You have connections with the most powerful and elite humans, people most will never even hope to meet. You get to have the best of everything, and Cecilia always has the best of everything. In talent, in status, in upbringing, in knowledge, and in anything else that you can name. Since childhood, she had many servants serving under her.

They were people who were always worried about getting into trouble, scared little people she had seen begging and crawling before her brothers and sisters, doing things she found absolutely disgusting. In this world, where everyone was free to pursue the path of power and magic, they had resigned themselves to being nothing more than leeches. She saw them as nothing more than pets. Worthless pets that did whatever they were told to do. Be cute. Be good. But never be annoying.

That was why she never bothered to have any of them around her. But after the incident, when she moved away from the main house, she had no choice but to get a house-appointed butler to handle the mansion's affairs. And that was how she met him. When she met Edwin for the first time, she knew he was not like the others. There was something different about him, she just couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. The way he carried himself, with such arrogance, like he was above everyone.

He had pride like a sovereign. She had never seen any servant act that way. She asked her uncle about him. Where did he come from? What did he used to do? The reply was something she was disappointed to learn. Edwin was born and raised in a small baron's land on the outer border of Ossraith. He was adopted by the Milworth Orphanage, which catered to the best servants and supplied them all over the nobility.

And there, he learned the art of being a butler and was so good at it that the orphanage owner himself recommended him to Rosenkreuz. So, in every sense, he should have been no one. But then, once again, as he sat in front of her, Cecilia felt nothing but an invisible pressure pressing hard on her shoulders.

"My lady, a summons has arrived from the main house." He slid a letter onto the table. Cecilia picked it up and started reading it. A celebration for the achievement of my elder brother. Why I'm not surprised. She put the letter down and looked back at him. The image of last night's events was still fresh in Cecilia's mind. She just couldn't get over it. When he entered her room unannounced, she was awake. And when he performed magic on her, her body's unique constitution prevented her from losing consciousness.

So she felt him taking the blood from her body. But why did he do that? She had no idea. But she was not just anyone. She was Cecilia von Rosenkreuz. There had never been any need for her to wonder about anything. She took a good look at Edwin and his face. She put her hand under her chin, tilted her head, and asked.

"Edwin, tell me what you did with my blood."

(Edwin's POV) After an eventful night, I slept like a child. The next morning, when I woke up, I felt refreshed and free. I mean, finding out that you have a way to avoid getting killed definitely gives you some relief in life. I got out of my bed and walked to the bathroom. Yeah, there is a personal bathroom in this fantasy world. And the toilet system is also pretty similar to the modern world. I mean, why wouldn't it be? It's created by modern people. Wait, if I think about it, how can that be.

How can a bunch of developers create a game that is a real world. It doesn't really make sense to me. If this is a game world, then how come that game is real? And if everything in it is real, then does that mean the developers were some kind of gods or what? The more I think about it, the more mind-disturbing it gets. So I just stop thinking about it and take a good, hot bath.

"Aha..." What a life. Not having to worry about rent or bills. I was sitting inside a wooden tub. It was rounded and not bigger than 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide. I summoned my status. STATUS WINDOW EDWIN MISTBORN LV.

62 Age: 21 Race: Human Title: Villain's Butler Class: Magic Swordsman RESOURCE MP 20, 000 / 20, 000 FULLY RESTORED ATTRIBUTES STAMINA 80 STRENGTH 100, 000 AGILITY 80 ENDURANCE 10, 000 WILLPOWER 599 LUCK 100 SKILLS Butler's Care LEVEL-5 Jack of All Trade LEVEL-7 Imperial Swordsmanship LEVEL-7 Flame Blossom LEVEL-8 Proto LEVEL-9 TRAITS ◆ Sovereign Composure ◆ Supreme Butler ◆ Sovereign Aura ◆ Bond [UNIQUE TRAIT] ◆ Aura Master CURRENT OBJECTIVE Protect Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz from being exiled.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ● +1 Let's see the notification. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. You have used 2 more skill slots of unlearned skills. Total slots remaining: 5 ("..") Now what is this bullshit. You're telling me that I can't use the unlimited game skills that I have in mind. Oh my God, I already used two more slots. I put a hand on my face, cleaning up the water. So I can only use ten unlearned skills.

So does that mean that as long as I learn them, I can use as many as I want? Hmm. That sounds fair. But you don't get a system to play fair. I closed the window, and after another ten minutes of getting myself properly ready, I checked myself out in the mirror. I have black hair, but my eyes have a purple glint in them with black.

"Damn, I look handsome." I moved away from the mirror. Now I just need to make a game plan to give Cecilia the Heirflame.

"How about..."I move my body a little down and bow in a gesture.

"My lady, here is a present for you." So cringe. I'll think about it later. Right now, I just need to give her the letter. And that's how I came to my current situation.

"Edwin, tell me what you did with my blood." What is happening. How did she know about the blood. Didn't I use anesthesia on her. Don't tell me she was awake. How am I supposed to get out of this situation? [Sovereign Composure activated.] I looked at Cecilia. She was wearing training clothes, a long white shirt perfectly tucked into her black pants. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. As she stared directly at me while asking that question, for a single second, the question fried my brain.

But I needed to come up with an answer. Cecilia didn't rush me for an answer either. She waited, probably looking to see what kind of excuse I would come up with before getting me executed. There had to be something I could use to turn the situation around. Then something suddenly clicked in my mind. How could I forget about this. This was Cecilia, the villainess who tormented the heroines of the game. [Supreme Butler activated.] I then stood up and walked all the way to the window, where a small serving table had been placed before the start of the conversation. I picked up the teapot. I walked toward Cecilia and poured some hot tea into her half-empty cup. Then I poured some into mine before putting the teapot back down and sitting back in the chair.

"How is the academy, my lady?" I asked as I picked up my cup, smelled the strong herbal aroma of the tea, and took a small sip.

"I asked you a question first."

"The answer that you desire can only be obtained by answering mine." I took another small sip. Cecilia picked up her cup too and did the same.

"It's excellent." Who is she kidding. There is no way that she is having an excellent time in the last year of her academy life, not when most of the main characters are there.

"I heard you lost to a woman in a duel." I moved my face a little and looked toward the window.

"For the direct daughter of Lord Rosenkreuz to lose to a woman named... hm... that name is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that you lost to a commoner." The moment I finished the sentence, I heard a crack. Cecilia broke the cup she was holding. The tea started to spread all over the table placed between us.

"How is this important?" she asked.

"You are the direct daughter of House Rosenkreuz and the one bearing the direct blood of Lord Rosenkreuz. Losing to a commoner whose blood even can't be identified is not important."

"I asked you what you did with my blood."

"Don't you find it quite unexpected that you, who are the only one to ever bring such a shame back to the house, losing to a commoner? Something that has never happened before. And it happened when your house already has the worst opinion of you." Now that I think about it, this could also be the reason for her exile. But then again, it happened in the game, and no such event took place. Now she looked like I had her full attention.

"What are you getting at?"

"Hm... What am I getting at. Nothing, my lady. I'm just making a conversation." I took another sip. By now, the tea had started to drip from the table onto the floor. It fell with a soft tap, tap.

"She was just lucky," she said, her head lowered. Is she feeling shame, i wondered. Quite a surprising behavior from the villainess.

"Did you say something, my lady?" I acted like I didn't hear what she said.

"She was just lucky."

"Who was lucky?"

"That woman. She was lucky. That day, I had a small accident during training which gave me an injury." I put the cup down and placed my hands on the table, locking both of my hands fingers together.

"How is this not a fact that you, the daughter of Lord Rosenkreuz, lost to a commoner?" The entire room was overcome with an extreme bloodlust as Cecilia flipped the table. I saw her moving toward me, but I did nothing to stop her. It's working, She then grabbed my neck really tightly and slammed my body into the wall.

"You are getting too insolent. Have you forgotten your place, Edwin?" There was anger in her voice. If it were the normal me, without the help of Sovereign Composure, I would have been trembling while looking into her eyes, especially with her grip around my neck.

"You see, my lady, no one cares about why it happened. They only care about what happened. And in your case, what happened is even more important than it would be for anyone else."

"You have brought shame to your name, but more than that, you have brought shame to your family name. And as if that wasn't enough, you have brought shame to your father's blood." Then, in a blink of an eye, the hand that was gripping my neck suddenly loosened. With a sudden flick of my wrist, I moved her hand away, gripped her neck instead, and changed our positions.

"Tell me something, my lady. Have you forgotten how your family works. Do you really think that after all the trouble you have caused, and all the things you have accumulated over a very long time, adding something this big on top of it won't have any consequences?" She started to struggle as I tightened my grip even more.

"I know what kind of family I have. I know there are consequences to things like this. But what can I do about it?" She said it while still struggling to free herself.

"What can anyone do about it." I let her go, and she fell to the ground.

"What if I tell you, my lady, that there is a way. A way that can not only shield you from any consequences that might come from your family." I paused. Then I leaned closer to her ear.

"What if I tell you there is a way that can help you beat that woman." The moment I said that, her eyes became a little shaken. Got her. Inventory I took out the box containing the Heirflame.

"Now, to answer your question, my lady... I did that with your blood." I opened the box. And I watched as the color drained from Cecilia's face.