She couldn't comprehend what this situation was at all.
No, more accurately, it wasn't that she couldn't understand—it was just too hard to accept.
Evan Dreadnote had been noticeably quiet for nearly a month.
Because of his fickle nature, which flipped so easily, she figured he'd soon revert to his old self.
She always thought it would pass quickly.
But his usual outbursts, which never lasted more than two days,
had persisted for an entire month. Even she, who encountered the bastard most often, had let her guard down because of it.
In a completely unexpected situation,
something utterly unforeseen happened.
Anna froze in place.
Her shoulders trembled faintly as she alternated her gaze between the soup spilled messily on the floor and her soiled apron.
It was bewildering.
The situation had arisen so abruptly.
His eyes stared at her blankly, as if nothing had happened,
and she felt humiliated.
And very faintly, but unmistakably, a terrifying emotion began to creep up from within her.
The varied negative emotions rising from her tickled the tip of my nose like a sweet fragrance.
"What are you doing?"
I asked coldly.
"...Pardon?"
"I told you to clean it up."
His tone was firm, laced with irritation that implied he wouldn't repeat himself.
"...Ah, yes, sir."
Regaining her senses belatedly, she hurriedly bent down.
But since she hadn't anticipated such a sudden mishap,
she didn't have a spare rag.
It was impossible to handle this mess with bare hands.
She could only peek at me anxiously, unsure what to do.
Her demeanor was utterly pathetic.
Perhaps due to her panic,
she would normally have said she'd fetch something to clean it with and left without looking back.
But now, the abruptness seemed to have short-circuited her brain.
It was the perfect opening for me to exploit.
"Young Master. First, a rag..."
I lightly lifted her chin with my fingers, forcing her to meet my eyes.
Her once venomous glare was now that of a frightened deer.
A terrified face stared up at me.
"Is your apron just for show?"
"...!"
Finally grasping my intent, her face flushed crimson, like someone suppressing deep shame.
It must feel like shit.
Being humiliated like this by the illegitimate son she always looked down on.
But she couldn't defy my order.
"...Understood."
Anna swallowed her rage with effort and began wiping the floor's filth with her own apron.
I watched impassively as her white hands grew dirty and her neat apron became a mess.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Authority experience points increase.] [Authority experience points increase.] [Authority experience points increase.]
Watching her from above, I nodded quietly in approval.
The system messages flashing madly before my eyes were ringing like victory fireworks, confirming that my antics weren't in vain.
"...It's all cleaned up, Young Master."
After a long while, she reported in a trembling voice.
I nodded in satisfaction and returned to bed, lying down once more.
A silent pressure that I was done with her.
"Tomorrow's meal better be proper."
She froze.
"..."
Anna stood there clutching her soiled apron for a moment before quietly leaving the room.
Bang.
The door closed with far more force and noise than usual.
Probably her maximum act of defiance.
"Ha."
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
But at the same time, a tiny pang of guilt stabbed at a corner of my heart.
I didn't like it, but I'd essentially bullied the maid one-sidedly.
Something the old me would never have done.
'I am Evan Dreadnote.'
I repeated it to myself relentlessly, like brainwashing.
Otherwise, I wouldn't sleep easy.
To survive, I'd have to do worse than this.
I closed my eyes and savored the aftertaste of the emotions I'd just absorbed.
It was far denser and more potent than all the emotions I'd gathered recently combined,
obtained in just a few minutes of malice.
This was the right path.
'I didn't make a mistake.'
Yeah, I wasn't wrong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning.
Thanks to Evan, who had been deathly quiet for a while,
the mansion, which had seemed to regain its peace, was thrown into utter chaos.
"Did you hear? What that illegitimate did to Anna last night?"
"Why? He's been quiet lately."
"He spilled the food on the floor and made her... clean it with her own apron!"
"No way. Is he insane?"
From the break room to the kitchen to the garden, wherever servants gathered, talk of Evan was the hot topic.
The scoundrel's misdeed, breaking a month of silence, became prime gossip fodder and a target for their fury.
The spark for this tragedy came from a young maid cleaning the hallway at the time.
When Evan's firmly shut door suddenly opened,
she, nearby, jumped at the sound of breaking dishware and looked toward his room.
What unfolded before her was Anna biting her lip while scrubbing the floor and Evan coldly looking down at her.
The rumor spread like wildfire, growing more grotesque with each retelling.
"He slapped Anna's cheek and poured food on her face, I heard."
"No, he forced her to kneel and lick the floor!"
"I heard he tried to rape her, but she barely escaped."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Absorbing negative emotion 'Rage.'] [Absorbing negative emotion 'Contempt.'] [Absorbing negative emotion 'Disgust.'] [Absorbing negative emotion 'Murderous Intent!']
'Murderous intent? They must be really pissed.'
Drenched in sweat, I swung my wooden sword with a wry smile.
It wasn't just the servants.
The guards they were friendly with, even the knights in the main building, had heard the rumors and openly showed their hostility toward me.
At least the soldiers didn't charge at me directly.
But the knights directly under Count Dreadnote were different.
These bastards, convinced I wouldn't inherit the family,
or perhaps fearless, openly picked fights with me.
On the way to the training grounds, knights I passed spat blatantly or bumped shoulders "accidentally" to provoke me.
Thud.
"Sorry, Young Master. My eyes must be bad; I didn't see you."
Didn't see? You blind fuck.
Are your eyes the size of pinholes?
"It's fine."
I just brushed off my bumped shoulder and moved on without retort.
They were all talk, lacking the guts for real harm anyway.
Whoosh!
Recalling the sneering bastard's face,
I squeezed out my last strength and brought the wooden sword down.
Crack!
"Ah."
The worn-out wooden sword finally snapped in two and fell to the ground.
"Hoo, ha..."
My body screamed in protest.
Wiping sweat with my shirt, steam rose visibly.
With the wooden sword broken, training ended here for today.
'Still some stamina left. Tsk. Too bad, but unavoidable.'
I could fetch another from the armory, but in this atmosphere, they'd make excuses galore.
Better call it a day.
Right then.
"Young Master Evan!"
No one had ever sought me so urgently here.
I turned toward the voice.
Was it important news?
A young servant I didn't recognize panted as he ran toward me.
"What is it?"
"Th-the Young Lady is summoning you."
Young Lady?
Summoning me?
My mind raced.
The Dreadnote children numbered three, including Evan.
Excluding the illegitimate me, there was the legitimate younger brother and sister.
The brother had long gone with their father, Count Dreadnote, to the northern border against the barbarians.
Normally, I should have filled that role,
but 'they have no intention of letting an illegitimate inherit.'
So, the only Young Lady in the mansion was one.
'...Celine.'
Though blood-related, Celine despised Evan's existence.
She'd never summon me under normal circumstances.
Not unless the sky split in two.
Why would she now?
No matter how I racked my brain, nothing fit.
"Ah."
As I scowled, pondering if I'd done something wrong, one incident surfaced.
I let out an involuntary gasp.
Could it be because of last night?
'...Over something so trivial?'
She was the type whose expression wouldn't change even if someone died before her.
"..."
I didn't know.
No point agonizing here.
Going would reveal it.
"Got it. Tell her this state is improper; I'll change and come."
A basic courtesy for a noble.
But the servant paled and waved his hands.
"N-no... She said come immediately."
...Hah?
'Immediately?'
As his words ended, heavy footsteps approached from behind.
The two knights who'd spat at me earlier now blocked my path.
Their faces bore blatant mockery and a sense of superiority in enforcing orders.
"Young Master. The Young Lady's command leaves us no choice."
"Come quietly. Don't make a fuss and get hurt."
'These fuckers?'
Open intimidation.
Meaning drag me in this sweat-soaked mess.
I stared at them silently for a moment.
Their eyes gleamed with anticipation: 'Try resisting.'
Arrogance that they could easily subdue me oozed out.
The old Evan would have thrown a prideful tantrum here and been dragged like a dog.
But not me.
I dropped the towel on the ground.
Then raised both hands in surrender.
"Fine. Let's go."
The knights looked deflated by my compliance.
Expected me to charge like a man, huh?
'Thought you were facing a saint? Crazy bastards.'
I walked toward the main building where she waited, enduring their contemptuous stares.
My eastern annex wasn't poorly equipped,
but the main building for legitimate children was on another level.
Entering the warm hallway with red carpet from the cold stone corridor,
ornate paintings on the walls and a faint fragrance welcomed me.
'Whew. Fancy digs.'
A stark reminder of the class divide within the mansion.
The knights strode familiarly down the hall, stopping before a mahogany door intricately carved.
Knock knock.
"Young Lady, we've brought Young Master Evan."
"Send him in."
The voice from beyond was enchantingly alluring yet icily cold.
Creeeak.
The heavy door opened, and I was half-pushed inside by the knights.
In the study, a girl sat in a velvet armchair.
Silver hair gleaming long, flawless porcelain skin, doll-like delicate features.
But sapphire eyes that devoured all her beauty in coldness.
She was Celine Dreadnote.
The genius jewel of House Dreadnote,
a key figure and one of the protagonist's heroines in the original story,
and above all, my one and only sister who regarded her brother Evan as less than an insect.
"How late. When did I summon you?"
Celine glanced up from her book, scanning me head to toe.
Sweat-soaked shirt and dirtied pants.
Her brow furrowed faintly, as if eyeing filth tossed into her perfect space.
"You look a mess, Brother."