Chương 4: The Plan to Bleed the Villainess

Just like any man who had reincarnated into a game, the first thing I did was check whether I had a system, because if there was even the slightest chance that I had one, then surely it would make this whole situation a little easier to understand. As it turned out, I did have a system.

Unfortunately, it wasn't anything like the systems I'd read about in novels, where some intelligent voice would constantly talk to you, explain the world, give you quests, or act like an AI assistant that somehow knew everything about your situation. Mine was much simpler. It showed me my stats, skills, traits, and that was pretty much it.

There was no voice, no explanation, and certainly no helpful AI waiting to answer my questions, so in the end, it felt less like I had some miraculous system and more like I had been given a small personal database that I didn't even know how to properly use. That was probably because I didn't understand much about the character whose body I had possessed in the first place.

Aside from the necessary memories that had come with the body, I knew almost nothing about him, and the system hadn't given me any special trait or ability that could somehow make up for that lack of information. In fact, for the most part, it had been completely useless. Until now. Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz has been exiled from the Rosenkreuz Family. I stared at the message for a few seconds, trying to understand what the hell it was supposed to mean. Cecilia was still a member of the Rosenkreuz Family.

There had been no such event, no announcement of her exile, no argument that I knew of, and nothing else that could have possibly led to something like this, so how could the system say that she had been exiled as though the event had already happened? I thought about it for a while, going through every game memory I had, but nothing came to mind. Then, just as I was about to dismiss it as some kind of mistake, another thought occurred to me. Unless it hadn't happened yet.

Unless the system wasn't telling me about something that had already happened, but something that was going to happen. Could it be that this system was capable of telling me the future? Not the entire future, perhaps, but certain events that had yet to occur. It was only a possibility, and I had no way of knowing whether I was right, but there was no other explanation that made sense.

There had been no event where Cecilia was exiled from the family, yet the system had already recorded it as though it were an established fact. Before I could think any further, the screen appeared in front of me again, this time in the form of a small rectangular notification bar. Ding! +1 I opened the system once again and clicked on the notification. NEW OBJECTIVE Anomaly Detected: An anomaly has occurred in the fate of Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz. OBJECTIVE Protect Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz from being exiled.

PENALTY FOR FAILURE Death of Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz within 48 hours. I stared at the message, completely dumbfounded. My days hadn't exactly been great since I arrived in this world, but at least they had been peaceful enough that I hadn't needed to worry about anything major happening, and now, without any warning, the system had suddenly dropped something like this right on my neck. What the hell was I supposed to do?

How was I supposed to save Cecilia from being exiled when I didn't even know why she would be exiled in the first place? There hadn't been a single event that could lead to such a fate, and yet the system was telling me that something had already gone wrong with her fate and that if I failed to stop it, Cecilia would die within 48 hours. I was still trying to figure out what I was supposed to do when I suddenly heard a knock on the door. I looked toward it, wondering who it could be.

"Come in." I said. The door opened, and a man in his late thirties walked into the room, wearing the simple servant's uniform of House Rosenkreuz. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He bowed politely before taking a step toward me.

"Sir Edwin, a letter has arrived from the main house for the lady." I took the letter from him, but after I did, the man didn't move and simply stood there for a while, waiting with an expectant look on his face. Was he expecting something? I didn't know what he wanted, and I didn't even know his name, so after a moment of watching him stand there, I simply asked, "Do you need anything?" Perhaps he hadn't expected me to ask, because he immediately bowed his head almost ninety degrees before answering.

"No, Sir Edwin. How could I possibly ask anything from you for such a measly task?" What was his problem? He was definitely expecting something. Wait. Don't tell me he wants money for delivering a letter that was supposed to be delivered to me anyway. Before I could think any further, something inside me suddenly stirred. [Supreme Butler activated.] One of my traits had come to life once again.

My body moved almost on its own as I turned toward my desk, opened one of the drawers, and took out a small pouch from among the several others gathered inside. I didn't remember putting it there. I didn't even remember deciding to give him money. Yet my hand moved without hesitation, and I tossed the pouch toward the man, the small bag flying through the air before landing neatly in his hands. The man caught it like a hawk catching its prey, his expression immediately changing as he looked down at the pouch.

I nodded toward the door.

"Take your leave, then." A smile appeared on his face, and he bowed once again before quickly leaving the room. [Supreme Butler deactivated.] I remained still for a moment, staring at the door after it closed. I still couldn't get used to this skill. It felt too alien, as though someone else was taking control of my body whenever it activated, making decisions for me before I even had the chance to think about them, and the worst part was that I couldn't do anything to stop it. Still, I couldn't complain too much.

This skill was probably the only reason no one had suspected that something was wrong with me. If I suddenly started acting differently from the Edwin they knew, there was no telling how long it would take before someone noticed, so for now, I had no choice but to rely on the skill whenever it activated. I pushed those thoughts aside and turned my attention back to the letter in my hand.

The letter was tightly sealed with the Rosenkreuz family crest, and even before opening it, I could tell it wasn't something that had been sent by an ordinary servant. The familiar crest of House Rosenkreuz was stamped across the seal, a crimson rose beneath a golden crown, guarded by two lions with their white wings spread behind them. I stared at it for a moment. Should I open it?

I wasn't sure if I even had the authority to do so, considering the letter was addressed to the lady, and normally something like this would probably be handed to Cecilia without anyone else touching it. But then again, what were the chances of a letter from the main house arriving right after I received that strange notification about Cecilia? There was no way I could simply ignore that coincidence. Maybe the two things were connected or perhaps I was just overthinking it because of what the system had shown me.

Either way, I needed to know what was inside. I took a small knife from the drawer of my desk and carefully slipped its edge beneath the seal, breaking the crimson wax without damaging the letter itself. Once the seal was broken, I unfolded the letter and began reading. The words were written in the language of Ossraith, but thankfully, I could understand it perfectly.

To Lady Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz, By the authority of the Lord Rosenkreuz, you are hereby summoned to return to the main estate for the celebration of your elder brother's recent achievement. The celebration shall be held at the main estate, where the members of House Rosenkreuz will gather to honor his accomplishment and witness the ceremony held in his name. As a member of the Rosenkreuz Family, your presence is expected.

Make the necessary preparations and present yourself at the main estate before the beginning of the celebration. — Sebastian Albrecht Senior Steward of House Rosenkreuz I put the letter down and started massaging my eyebrows as I tried to remember everything I knew about Cecilia. Cecilia had several older and younger siblings, and most of them were monsters in their own right.

Just being born from the direct bloodline of Rosenkreuz gave someone an absurd advantage when it came to magic, and Cecilia was no exception, as she was the sixth child of Lord Rosenkreuz. Under normal circumstances, she should have been living at the main estate with the rest of the family. But she wasn't. Because of her personality, she had been sent away from the main house.

If I remembered correctly, Cecilia had even tried to murder one of her younger siblings, which was apparently enough for the Rosenkreuz Family to finally decide that keeping her at the main estate was too much trouble, despite her being a direct descendant. Just thinking about it made me shiver slightly. Still, there was one thing I was certain about. This celebration was related to her exile. It had to be. If the system notification was telling the truth-and honestly, why wouldn't it?

-then Cecilia was going to be exiled from the Rosenkreuz Family, and somehow, this celebration was going to be involved. Then I needed to make sure she didn't get exiled. Because if I failed, she would die within 48 hours. The problem was, how the hell was I supposed to do that? I had no authority in the Rosenkreuz Family and no real influence within it. Sure, I was a broken character by the standards of the game, someone with enough power to crush most people without much effort, but what good was that power here?

I was still just a servant serving Cecilia, and strength alone wasn't enough to make the Rosenkreuz Family listen to me. I needed something. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, trying to remember anything from the game that could possibly help me with this situation. There had to be something. I'd played the game. I knew everything about this world, well not everything as I don't know much about Edwin.

If I could just remember the right piece of information, maybe I could find a way to prevent Cecilia's exile.

"Cecilia..." I started muttering her name under my breath, hoping that somehow it would trigger a memory.

"Cecilia... Cecilia... Cecelia..." Nothing useful came to mind. There had to be a reason the main house was willing to exile her. Something serious enough that even the Rosenkreuz Family couldn't tolerate it, despite her being a direct descendant. Then I needed something that could make them overlook whatever she had done. Something important enough that even the worst crime wouldn't matter. But what could possibly be that important to House Rosenkreuz? I stared at the name written on the letter. Rosenkreuz.

I repeated it silently. Rosenkreuz. Rosenkreuz. Rosenkreuz. Then, suddenly, something clicked. There was one thing in the game that, when it finally came to light, had shaken the entire Rosenkreuz Family. Something they desperately wanted. Something they would go to extraordinary lengths to obtain. My eyes slowly widened. That could work. No matter what Cecilia had done, if I could get my hands on that thing, there was no way the Rosenkreuz Family would simply throw her out.

Even if she had done something unforgivable, they would have to reconsider. There was only one small problem. How was I supposed to get it? I knew where it was. I knew exactly where to find it. But there was a reason the players couldn't simply obtain it whenever they wanted. It required the character to be a direct descendant of Rosenkreuz. I sat there in silence for several seconds as I put the pieces together.

Then, like someone finally reaching enlightenment after staring at the same problem for hours, I realized there might actually be a way. I slowly looked toward the door.

"I need to make Cecilia bleed."