Chapter 37 : You are completely different from your mom ?

“It’s even bigger than our house that looked like a royal palace.”

That was the first thought I had when I arrived at the Gravius estate.

It wasn’t just the mansion—the entire territory I saw from the carriage was on a completely different level.

No wonder.

It’s the dukedom of one of the main leads from the original novel.

The scale alone made sense, and the welcoming ceremony was equally over-the-top.

“Wow, look at all those knights. They really rolled out the red carpet. I guess since they’re the ones who invited us, they have to act like they’re thrilled to see us.”

“…That’s not exactly the case, though?”

Niobe, who had helped me down from the carriage, gave me a slightly awkward look when I whispered that.

Well, fair enough.

Both of us are high-ranking nobles—regardless of bad blood, a proper display of courtesy is the norm.

In that case, I should respond appropriately too.

I need to find Duke Alois and thank her for the invitation.

A noble greeting, nice and formal.

But… where is Alois?

Even at the head of the welcoming party, I didn’t see anyone who looked like her.

Instead, someone completely unexpected caught my eye.

What the—who’s that villainess?

She had long blonde hair curled into heavy ringlets and porcelain skin that had obviously been obsessively maintained.

She looked like she was in her twenties.

Beautiful, yes, but those sharp eyes gave her a ferocious edge.

Her dress was an extravagant red gown covered in way too many frills and accessories.

She looked like she walked straight out of a cliché: rich, powerful, ill-tempered—the villainess archetype.

I’ve seen all kinds of women in this world, but this type? First time. I couldn’t help staring.

“…It’s rude to stare, especially in front of a guest.”

She must’ve noticed my gaze, because she stooped gracefully to pick up her dropped fan and then offered me an elegant bow.

“Ceres Hyperion, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Alois Gravius, head of House Gravius.”

Liar! That’s not how it goes in the original at all!

Sure, everyone’s appearance shifted when their genders did, but at least the others still looked like their “female-version selves.”

But this woman? She wasn’t even in the same category.

[Original Alois was a seasoned, middle-aged gentleman with all the gravitas of a seasoned politician.]

And now she’s… a snarky villainess straight out of a drama?

“Ceres Hyperion, is something the matter? Or are you refusing to accept my greeting?”

Even her tone was off.

[The original Alois would never have spoken to me this politely—he outranked me, after all.]

But this version? Her personality had done a total 180 with the gender flip.

And that… that might be a big variable.

“…Apologies. I didn’t recognize you right away, so my response was delayed.”

I quickly corrected myself and returned her greeting as any proper noble would. But I was already too late.

“Oh, no need to pretend. You were just retaliating, weren’t you? Since I was late greeting you, you thought you’d get your own back.”

She clung to my delayed greeting like a cat with a grudge.

“That’s not it. I just didn’t realize who you were.”

“Are you saying… you didn’t recognize the face of an Imperial Duke? How scandalous. Then again, I suppose when faced with the Empire’s most breathtaking beauty, even a Duke might go unnoticed.”

Great.

She’s picking a fight, throwing shade, and being as dramatic as possible right from the get-go.

[This is not how the original Alois behaved. Was she more petty than the original?]

“Duke, this is a bit much.”

“Please, that’s enough.”

Her attendants tried to intervene, clearly uncomfortable with how things were going.

“My Sir, if you permit it, I will make her pay for this rudeness.”

“Lord Ceres, please give the word!”

My Death Knights were riled up, ready to act at a moment’s notice—but I waved them off.

Yeah, she was rude, but not to the point that it warranted violence.

“If I upset you with my mistake, then allow me to apologize again. Please forgive me.”

“…I was also in the wrong. I apologize.”

Even Alois gave a grudging apology.

She must’ve realized that dragging it out any longer would only reflect badly on her.

“Let’s head inside. Ceres Hyperion, follow me.”

Alois led us in with the grace of someone just barely tolerating our presence.

And that was the moment—

“Who goes there?!”

A voice I knew well rang out, and someone rushed toward us like lightning.

It was Alios. I hadn’t seen her in ages.

“Why is a Sword Master here…?”

Her face turned pale.

She started to say something, but froze the moment she saw me.

“C-Ceres?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“CERES!!!”

Like someone reunited with long-lost family, she ran toward me with a joyful cry—

“Stop.”

—and was immediately blocked by Niobe.

“Don’t you dare approach my lord so carelessly.”

“…And you are?”

Alios narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Niobe was tense too.

“Unbelievable. You’re this young and already stronger than Ares?”

“Unbelievable to me too. Since when did House Hyperion have a Sword Master like you? Who even are you to call my Ceres your lord?”

“My Ceres? Acting like he’s already yours? You seriously don’t know your place.”

The atmosphere was quickly turning toxic.

I was about to step in and calm things down—

“Alios! What do you think you’re doing, making a scene?!”

It was Alois—head of the household and mother of Alios—who stopped her daughter.

“You are the heir of House Gravius. You must not disgrace yourself in front of invited guests.”

“Invited? Are you saying I invited Ceres without knowing it?”

“Such a sour expression. Aren’t you happy? You went on and on, singing ‘Ceres this, Ceres that’ for so long.”

Alios made a face one should never make toward their own mother.

She must’ve realized instinctively—Ceres had not been invited out of goodwill.

“Whatever.”

Before a fight could break out between mother and daughter, I quickly grabbed Alios’s hand and held her back.

“I only came because the Duchess invited me. Nothing happened, so calm down.”

“…‘Nothing’? You brought a Sword Master with you.”

“That person is Niobe Hyperion. A distant relative of mine.”

Of course, I couldn’t reveal the true identity of the Death Knights, even to Alios.

So I lied.

“She’s a secret weapon raised by our Hyperion house. The ones beside him are his subordinates.”

“His subordinates seem to be quite skilled too.”

“They are. All of them are hidden forces we’ve kept in reserve. I brought them as my escort.”

“A Sword Master and over a dozen high-level warriors?”

“You know how my mother is. She overprotects me like crazy.”

I waved it off casually while hinting at the Death Knights’ strength.

It wasn’t something I wanted to brag about in front of others, but Alios had already figured it out.

“A Sword Master?”

“Hyperion holds a Sword Master?!”

“That alone could shift power across the entire Empire!”

As the important revelation spread, the retainers of House Gravius began murmuring, all pretense forgotten.

Naturally, I expected Duchess Alois to take it seriously too. But instead—

“What’s the big deal?”

She simply stared at me, indifferent, then looked away when I met her gaze.

Eventually, I was guided to one of the many guest rooms in the Gravius estate.

The Death Knights refused separate quarters and stood watch around mine instead.

“Ceres, what have you been doing all this time?”

After some time apart, Alios came to my room and started catching up on everything we hadn’t said.

“I’ve just been resting.”

“Have your memories returned?”

“Not really.”

Time passed as we chatted about everyday things.

Suddenly—

“Ceres-nim, isn’t it time to eat?”

Niobe, who’d been in the same room watching our conversation with guarded eyes, finally spoke up.

I checked the time at her words—she was right.

“Oh, you’re right. Should I go ask the Duchess for a meal?”

“There’s no need.”

Alios looked confused at that.

“They’ll call for us when it’s time. Especially for a guest of your standing, Ceres—they’ve probably already prepared a banquet.”

“But there’s no sign of anyone coming to get us.”

“…No way.”

Alios’s expression stiffened, as if she suddenly had a terrible suspicion.

“May I enter? I have something to say to Young Master Ceres.”

Just then, someone knocked and entered the room with permission from the Death Knights on guard.

It was Alois.

“Oh dear. It seems dinner won’t be possible today!”

The moment she entered, she put on a theatrical air.

“There was an accident in the kitchen. All the ingredients were ruined, and the chefs were injured too!”

“Is that really something to say out loud?”

Niobe looked at her in disbelief.

Everyone in the room could tell this wasn’t an accident—it had been intentional.

Even her daughter Alios caught on and spoke in an exasperated tone.

“Mother, everything was fine this morning. Why did an accident suddenly happen now?”

“Accidents can happen anytime, dear. If you don’t believe me, go check the kitchen yourself and see there’s nothing left.”

They’d already cleaned everything up, ready to go hungry themselves just to deny me food.

Unbelievable.

They really went that far just to avoid feeding me?

…But actually,

“Oh, that’s a relief. I brought my own ingredients just in case!”

I had already predicted this.

“What?”

“I said, I brought ingredients. Here—look.”

I took out the simple food supplies I had packed ahead of time.

Alois looked completely stunned.

“Why would you…?”

[Because this was the same trick you used in the original story. When her son brought Ceres home and even cooked him a homemade meal, it didn’t sit well with her.]

‘What a waste of food to feed that woman! I’d rather we all starve than let her eat a single slice of bread!’

[The original Alois had once cleared out all the food in the estate out of spite. So just in case, I’d come prepared—and thank goodness I had.]

“Mind if I borrow the kitchen?”

“What are you doing?!”

Ignoring the flustered Alois, I headed for the kitchen and began preparing a simple meal with my supplies.

“Ceres?”

“You know how to cook?”

Both Alios and Niobe, who had followed me, looked shocked.

Of course, it was hard to believe someone from a noble background like mine knew how to cook.

But before I became Ceres, I had lived on my own—cooking was normal.

Using the same technique I’d used to make instant soup at home, I made a large batch and ladled it out into bowls.

“Want to try it?”

“Yes!!”

Alios rushed over, grabbing the bowl like someone might snatch it away, and ate as if starving.

“Ahh… So this is the taste of a meal made by Ceres!”

As she swooned with joy, I handed another bowl to Niobe.

“Go ahead.”

“As you know, we don’t require sustenance like this.”

“But you can eat it, right?”

“…Then I shall gratefully accept.”

She looked a bit awkward but soon smiled wryly and took the bowl.

I did the same for the other Death Knights, handing out servings one by one.

Then—

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Alois burst in, looking like she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Using someone else’s kitchen without permission and cooking food? How dare you!”

“But you said there was an accident and all the ingredients and chefs were gone. What else was I supposed to do?”

“…Well, that may be true, but—”

She seemed at a loss for words, struggling to respond properly.

“Here—it’s nothing fancy, but please have some, Duchess.”

Smiling sweetly, I handed her a bowl of soup.

It wasn’t an act of kindness—it was a carefully aimed jab.

I fully expected her to refuse or even slap the bowl out of my hands.

But—

“…I suppose I’ll try it.”

Surprisingly, Alois accepted the soup I offered him.

“It’s… reasonably good.”

She calmly evaluated the taste, then looked at me with strange eyes as if she was seeing something strange.