Meanwhile, Dorie Leonhardt found herself overcome by a sudden wave of carnal desire within the carriage as she returned to her family’s estate.
Her mind was utterly consumed by Queen Wednesday, who seemed so unlike her usual self.
“Hee-hee, haa… haak. I must have done well today, right? It didn’t show this time, did it?”
A smile played upon her pale, sweat-slicked lips.
It was a smile that hinted at a touch of sadism.
The root of this smile was a fervent, almost maniacal affection for the Queen.
“I’ve desired her from the very beginning. I’ve fallen for her…! I’ll slander her even more, as if we were mortal enemies. Then she’ll pay more attention to me, won’t she? She’ll despise me even more, and think of me, won’t she? Hee-hee♥”
Her narrowly-slitted eyes gradually curved, gleaming with an unnatural light.
A foxy cunning swirled in the corners of her upturned eyes, a sticky, desperate yearning for affection.
Dorie’s psyche concerning the Queen was, in essence, an unwavering devotion.
From the day she first saw her until now.
****
Alonzo lay cold and still on the ground, the ring of light on his chest flickering erratically.
Fwooosh.
Soon, it cleanly winked out.
The second heart, also known as a Force Heart or Circle Heart.
In this world, gaining an advantage over monsters primarily depended on one’s level.
Creatures like goblins or gnolls could be fought with ease if one’s level was even slightly higher.
However, to gain an advantage against other people, this other ‘level’ – a Force Heart that reached a level akin to true mastery – needed to be high.
‘The original Queen had no talent, unable to even awaken her Heart.’
Completing the prologue quest and becoming an early ‘runner’ had been crucial.
Of course, fighting with ease didn’t equate to absolute strength.
For in this world, nothing was ever truly absolute.
‘If Force Hearts were of the same rank, it became a battle of who fought better. In vulgar terms, it was a battle of skill, a true test of the individual’s mastery!’
Ultimately, I had won.
After a moment’s contemplation, I recalled Alonzo’s words.
‘This bastard must have truly despised me, to provoke me by targeting Winz, my only ally. But thanks to him, I learned something valuable!’
A wide grin spread across my face.
I grabbed a nearby candelabra, lit it, and deliberately singed his face.
Sizzle, crackle, tear.
Then, I struck and broke various parts of his body.
I made it appear as if he had been subjected to violence born of deep resentment, or as an example set by a noble upon a servant.
“From now on, you were murdered by someone in this family who despises me. Your corpse will be put to good use, so watch carefully, even in death!”
I lightly tapped Alonzo’s cold, stiff cheek. With just this one corpse, I planned to sow discord within the family.
[Side Quest ‘Punish the Traitor’ Cleared!]
[Received 1000 SP as Reward!]
[Received Alonzo’s Unsent Letter!]
Thud.
A single letter fluttered down before my eyes.
As I was about to raise my stats, I noticed the letter.
“Huh…?”
After reading the entire letter, I looked down at Alonzo.
I’d thought he was just a minor character.
But he was somewhat connected to the world’s destruction that would come later?
–…As you mentioned before, my ambition is extraordinary. However, my loyalty is directed solely towards ‘that person.’ I believe that my machinations concerning Queen Wednesday will yield good results, allowing the young master to take me in.
Please monopolize the Elixirs of Life.
Praising the Heterogeneous King (TL Note: ‘Ijilgyewang,’ a powerful entity from another dimension who brings new teachings upon descending to this world), who will descend upon the world in the future to bestow new teachings upon us, I conclude this letter.
The Heterogeneous King was like a demon lord who would appear in the latter half of the story to threaten the world. Perhaps a demon lord from another dimension?
Yet, a being who was supposed to appear only in the very late stages was already being mentioned now.
I hadn’t even known such an event existed in the main story. Alonzo, what was this guy?
‘This is truly content I’ve never seen in the main story. Is this right?’
Even amidst my confusion, I grabbed him by the collar and went outside.
Somehow, his corpse felt heavy. Was it because rigor mortis was setting in?
In such cases, raising my stats would surely help.
I used points to raise my Strength to 30. Although I expended quite a few points, it didn’t matter.
These points existed precisely for moments like this, didn’t they?
The corpse that had been difficult to lift with both hands now felt effortless even with one.
I briefly stretched my body. Then, I sprinted towards the tree visible before me.
Thump-thump-thump, whoosh!
I launched myself towards the tree, kicking off its trunk and soaring towards the wall of the main building on the opposite side.
Kicking off the building wall, I flew back to the tree, repeating this motion until I hurled Alonzo’s corpse towards the third floor of the main mansion.
I watched as Alonzo’s body shattered a window and crashed inside.
CRASH!
What a clear, crisp sound.
Soon, a commotion erupted.
“Kyaaah, a corpse, a corpse! His face… Alonzo? What in the world?!”
Grinning, I slipped back into the house. Then, I poured all but a small amount of the tonic Alonzo had brought down the toilet.
I lay on the bed, feigning sleep.
‘Someone should be coming soon, right?’
Thump-thump-thump, BANG!
Just as expected. Someone opened the door and entered. Normally, this would have been a grave breach of etiquette, but no one in this family considered me a true noble.
Ah, except for Winz.
“Mistress, are you alright? Haah, haah. Mistress! Alonzo is…!”
“Hmm, why all this sudden commotion?”
“Alonzo has been murdered!”
“What…?”
I looked up at Winz, trying to contort my face into an expression of utter devastation.
I listened as she recounted the whole story. Though I already knew every detail, I acted with heartfelt sincerity.
“Ugh, my Alonzo…!”
As I continued to milk the moment, several heavy footsteps echoed from behind.
Past the doorway, a robust figure with an impossibly handsome face appeared.
‘Finally, the one I’d been expecting had arrived: my younger brother and the presumptive heir to the family, Holland Wednesday.’
He was a handsome man with a physique like a Viking chieftain, but a face that sharply contrasted with such a build.
He approached me, accompanied by several people, his presence utterly intimidating.
“Sister, were you sleeping?”
“Yes, I took my tonic.”
“Tonic?”
“The one Alonzo always brought me.”
“Ah, that rumored… Hey. Take that and investigate it.”
Suddenly, Holland’s subordinate took the small amount of tonic that remained.
I wasn’t flustered; in fact, I welcomed it.
Holland fixed me with a cold gaze.
“Sister, you’ll need to come with us for a moment. You know you don’t have a right to refuse, don’t you?”
“Yes, I understand….”
Feigning weakness, I followed behind Holland. Winz glared at Holland, her fists clenched.
I gently clasped her wrist.
“It’s truly alright.”
I simply offered a faint smile.
For in this family, my position as a human being was merely this insignificant.
Following Holland, we gathered in the main mansion. Every single family member was in an uproar at the sight of Alonzo’s corpse.
As soon as I appeared, Miranda, that woman, was the first to point at me.
“That b*tch killed her own servant and is putting on a show!”
“She really does all sorts of things. That murderous b*tch.”
“But what kind of strength did she use to kill him?”
“She must have drugged him. Or perhaps killed him while pretending to sell her body. Isn’t that how those barbarians do it?”
I had grown accustomed to these people mocking me as a useless idiot and tearing me down.
I had also anticipated this kind of cognitive dissonance.
But how truly despicable they were, these so-called nobles who, more than anyone, were born with every advantage.
“Holland, what in the world happened? Why, why is our Alonzo dead?”
“It’s simple. Someone murdered Alonzo and threw him into the mansion. Sister, do you have nothing to say?”
“Alonzo was a servant I cherished. Why did he have to die? Ugh.”
“Because you’re a worthless failure, barely fit to be called a noble. You know that yourself, don’t you?”
Holland, one of those who, along with Miranda, openly disregarded me.
I’d have to deal with this guy soon enough as well.
The sound of sneering laughter spread throughout the room. Each person cast disdainful glances at me, as if I were an insect.
I merely uttered a single sentence.
“Find the culprit.”
“What about the possibility that it was you, Sister?”
“Talk sense. Why would I kill Alonzo? Don’t get swept up in the mood of these people. I was asleep, to begin with!”
“Who would believe that?”
How truly vile and ridiculous people could be.
Even when something was clearly nonsense, they would believe it and harbor suspicions.
Or they would simply be swept along by it.
“Surely, Sister Queen couldn’t have committed murder. How could a talentless failure, who couldn’t even sell her body, possibly manage such a feat?”
A fat man with a half-shaved blonde head and an idiotic way of speaking appeared.
It was my younger brother, Vujil Wednesday, another one of the family’s so-called worthless failures.
He was the failure of all failures, with his only superiority over me being his 1st Circle status.
From behind, Holland’s subordinate stepped forward, saluted, and spoke.
“Young Master, we have analyzed the tonic.”
“And the results?”
“It contained a toxic substance that induces sleep. Even a moderate amount would have caused someone to fall into a deep slumber.”
All attention was focused. The soldier’s words revealed the truth.
That I had indeed been asleep at that time.
As Holland looked surprised, his subordinate tilted his head.
“If she had continued to consume it for much longer, she would have reached a state where movement became difficult. It was quite dangerous.”
“But that woman, she was awake.”
“I woke her. It was something the Mistress needed to know.”
When Winz stepped forward and answered, both Holland and the others immediately nodded.
It was a strange family, one that wouldn’t believe my words but would readily trust their head maid.
Which was precisely why such a place deserved to be ruined.
I decided to deliver the decisive blow.
“Holland, you’re forgetting something.”
“What?”
“I’m not even an Awakened One, nor have I managed to open my Circle Heart. I can’t even wield mana. Yet Alonzo was a 1st Circle magic practitioner. If I killed Alonzo, how exactly would I have done it?”
A normal person without a Circle Heart killing someone who possessed one?
It was like saying an ant could bite and bite a person to death.
At my words, everyone became utterly speechless.
Those very people who had accused me of being the culprit, of having killed him while selling my body.
I gestured around the room.
“Perhaps, instead of me, you should be looking for the culprit among *these* people? It could be that someone saw me as an eyesore and tried to eliminate me, or perhaps they coveted Alonzo, were rejected, and then committed this dirty deed.”
As was well known, Alonzo possessed an impossibly handsome appearance.
He was popular not only with the maids but with other women as well.
At my words, the family members protested.
“Th-that’s what comes out of her mouth!”
“He was certainly too good a servant for you!”
“We killed him? Do you have proof?!”
“Internal strife? How disgusting, you filthy mongrel!”
However, this kind of frantic reaction was precisely what I wanted.
It made them look like thieves with a guilty conscience, didn’t it? Idiots.
“Then tell me. While I was asleep, what were *you* all doing?”
As I presented this logical retort, the family members once again fell silent.
I delivered another blow.
“Everyone, think rationally! Why would I kill my own servant? If anything, this makes it so I could be assassinated at any moment. Ugh, if you were going to kill someone, why not just kill me? Why did Alonzo have to pay the price? Why?!”
Like a tragic heroine, I cried out desperately, my voice thick with emotion.
It was akin to a loyal minister’s plea to a stubborn king.
As tears welled in my eyes, Winz came to console me.
Holland let out a sigh.
“…Sister, you have no evidence. As you say, perhaps the culprit is among the others.”
Miranda immediately reacted.
“Wait, nephew. Are you believing that woman?”
“Oh my, no, not me. I would kidnap him instead…”
“Think of the family’s prestige, Holland! Are you going to believe such a woman?!”
“Let’s just bury this incident…?”
A flood of confused and disgusting reactions erupted.
Yes, people busy protecting their own positions would react exactly like this. It suited them perfectly.
“I need some rest.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
I naturally excused myself from the situation. I had no charges against me, and there was no evidence to implicate me as the culprit.
They knew it too. That I was a useless failure who couldn’t even kill a person, let alone a mad dog.
That perception, ironically, kept me safe.
As Winz and I walked back, I laughed inwardly. This was just the beginning.
‘Well, with this, I’ve sown discord in the family. What’s next?’
I arrived home, about to ponder my next move, when someone came calling shortly after.
Miranda and an arrogantly smiling boy stood blocking the doorway.
