I took a few moments to calm myself down and process just how absurd the maid's question had been.
"Was I supposed to be dead?" I asked with a slight tilt of my head.
The maid froze in place, clearly unsure of what she was supposed to say next. "B-But… m-minutes ago, when I entered your room, you had lost consciousness. I tried to wake you up, but there was no response. I thought you had died."
I nodded slowly. I couldn't verify that theory, but she seemed to be telling the truth — somewhat. Still, I couldn't be satisfied with just her word. For all I knew, she was the one who had tried to poison me.
Should I try the skill the goddess gave me?
There was no reason not to. I'd be able to get real answers that way. Right now, I had literally no idea where I'd woken up or who I even was. I needed information. Fast.
But… how does it work?
I couldn't just yell "Hypnotize!" like some idiot.
But as I continued staring at the maid, a small glowing panel appeared in front of me — a system window filled with useful details.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Name]: Aria Voss
[Age]: 19
[Stage]: Unawakened
[Stats]
• Strength: D-
• Agility: E+
• Vitality: E
• Charm: B-
[Skills]
• None
[Loyalty]: 78/100 — Wary, but curious
[Mental State]: Anxious. Scared.
[Hypnosis Resistance]: Low
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I scanned through the stats and skimmed over the basics. She was a maid — it wasn't surprising she wasn't some hidden assassin or secret agent. What caught my attention was her Loyalty and Mental State.
Does that stat show how loyal she is to me… or just in general?
As if the system could read my mind, another message popped up.
[Your skill
So that's how it works…
But how do I actually activate it?
[To activate
Simple enough.
I nodded, a soft smile tugging at my lips — which only seemed to make Aria more nervous. She looked like she was trying to say something.
"Young mas—"
Aria. Hypnosis.
The moment I gave the command, she froze mid-sentence. Her expression blanked. Her body went still, standing like a doll with both arms neatly behind her back, eyes locked on the wall.
I blinked.
It worked. She was completely frozen — no hesitation, no awareness. Just standing there, waiting.
I stood from the bed and waved a hand in front of her face. No reaction.
"Uh… were you the one who poisoned me?" I asked cautiously.
"No," she replied, emotionless.
"Do you know who tried to kill me?"
"No. I have no idea."
I let out a breath of relief. At least my maid hadn't been the one trying to kill me. That was something.
"What do you think about me?" I asked.
Her response came instantly, like a programmed voice reading her thoughts aloud.
"You are an arrogant playboy who uses the influence of your family to act as you wish. You hate being looked down upon. You enjoy mocking those weaker than you. To summarize, you are a douchebag — but I still appreciate you and will do anything to protect you."
Ouch.
That stung… and I wasn't even the original douchebag.
If this was what my maid thought of me, I could only imagine what the rest of the house — hell, the world — thought.
"You said I use the influence of my family. Can you explain more about that?"
She nodded. "Yes. The Vale Family is one of the most influential families in the world. It's renowned for producing high-quality mages over generations. Using the family's prestige, you've bullied, insulted, and beaten up others your age."
I winced.
I couldn't argue with that.
I was a total douchebag. Well—he was. But I was stuck in his body, so the reputation came with it.
Why would the goddess stick me in a trash fire like this if I'm supposed to save the world?
So far, I knew I was in a powerful family and had a habit of beating people up. Great start.
"Is there anything… redeemable about me?" I asked.
Aria nodded again. "Yes. The only reason you haven't been disowned is your overwhelming talent for magic and mana. You are considered one of the most gifted youths in a thousand years."
...I take it back.
Goddess, if you're watching — great pick. No complaints here.
"Any idea who might want me dead?"
"There are many possibilities. The most obvious is someone you bullied trying to get revenge. Another is that someone within the family is trying to remove you."
"Why would my own family want me dead?"
"The Patriarch is aging. With his time running out, there's rising tension over who will succeed him. One of your siblings may have poisoned you to eliminate a rival."
I exhaled slowly.
So, let me get this straight:
Everyone hated me.
My family was full of power-hungry backstabbers.
And someone tried to kill me before I even opened my eyes in this new life.
Wonderful. What a fantastic start.
At least I had a maid I could count on — a beautiful one, at that.
Now that I'd gotten the key questions out of the way, I figured it was time to test what else this skill could really do. I wanted to see just how far I could push it at a Loyalty level of 78.
Unconsciously, I found myself glancing over her body and licking my lips.
"Will you do everything I say?"
"Yes."
She still stood like a doll, not moving a single muscle.
"Get on your knees."
Without the slightest hesitation, she dropped to her knees. No struggle. No thought. Just pure obedience.
"You can stand up."
I shook my head.
It was no time to think about naughty things — even if a hot maid was in front of me, on her knees, ready to follow my every command.
I really wanted to take it further… but it wasn't the time or place.
"I have a mission for you."
The maid nodded.
"For the week to come, I want you to collect information from the other maids — anything that might tell me who tried to kill me. If it seems even slightly important, I want to know. You're my personal spy now. Understood?"
"Yes, Master. Your wish is my command."