episode_0009

“I don’t recall it being this much… Has the amount of paperwork increased lately?”

Anna spoke with a hint of bewilderment as she looked at Christine’s desk.

Christine, already handling some of the family affairs as the heir to the Grave household, naturally had stacks of documents piling up. But the amount Anna was currently seeing was about 1.5 times the usual volume.

“Huh? Oh, the paperwork… Haha.”

Christine laughed weakly.

“It’s fine. I’ve just taken on some extra work from the imperial family lately. It doesn’t interfere with my sleep, so don’t worry.”

“But—”

“It’s fine, Anna. Could you leave now?”

Anna seemed reluctant but wasn’t about to defy an order from Christine, her master.

“Understood~ Oh, before I go, there’s one thing I wanted to mention.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the young master’s meals. I think some improvements might be needed.”

“Improvements?”

“Yes. It’s just…”

Anna hesitated mid-sentence, reluctant to bring up the treatment he was currently receiving at the mansion. A fear gripped her—what if this unnecessary interference caused Eric to regress again?

Meals were a trivial matter, but could one measure a madman by ordinary standards?

‘Die! Die! Just die already!!!!’

Even recalling Eric, his eyes rolled back, forcing her to drink blood, sent chills down her spine. And yet, that very same Eric was now trying to change.

But, unfortunately, Anna didn’t have the courage to acknowledge that outright.

“It’s nothing major, but if you could occasionally remind the kitchen staff… He mentioned his meals sometimes arrive cold.”

His meals were always cold.

“Is that so? Well, that’s an easy fix. Is that all regarding my brother? If there’s anything inconvenient or if he wants to leave, let me know right away.”

“…Yes.”

Anna quietly left the room, disappearing as silently as she had entered.

A few minutes after she left, Christine sighed deeply.

“Phew…”

It was nothing.

Though she had dismissed it casually, Christine’s mind was tangled in complicated thoughts.

‘They must’ve figured it out, right? The imperial family wouldn’t suddenly dump useless work on me for no reason.’

Most of the tasks she’d been assigned were time-consuming yet yielded little meaningful outcome—tasks unnecessary for her to handle. No matter how talented Christine was, she wasn’t entrusted with matters that could impact the nation.

Which meant someone in the imperial family had deliberately taken the time to cherry-pick these trivial assignments and send them her way.

And there was only one person who could’ve done that.

‘Princess Elia… I had a hunch, but of course.’

Cecilia and Luciel might wield personal power, but neither had the political influence for something like this. That left Elia as the sole suspect.

‘Did I make it too obvious?’

Christine hadn’t breathed a word about Eric’s existence. She didn’t believe she was the only one who had regressed, but it was best to keep him concealed for as long as possible.

She herself had realized Eric’s sincerity at the final moment and deeply regretted her mistakes, but she couldn’t speak for the other party members.

For all she knew, some of them might still be scheming to exploit his future-seeing abilities or to manipulate him.

So wasn’t it only natural for her, his family, to protect him? Here, Eric was safe—untouched by the Hero’s Party, spared from reliving his painful past or being forced to see an unbearable future.

With minor adjustments like what Eric had attempted in the first timeline, the Grave mansion could become an impregnable fortress, impervious to even the Demon King’s forces.

‘Right. It’s up to me.’

She alone could ensure his safety.

As for the glorious duty of slaying the Demon King and the heroes who would rise alongside the Hero—she’d leave that to others.

‘I’m sorry, Brother. But from now on… I swear I’ll protect you for the rest of my life.’

Come to think of it, Anna had made a request. It had been a while since she’d personally given orders to the kitchen.

Lost in thought, Christine began sorting through the towering stacks of documents—unaware of the lingering arrogance in her reasoning.

——

Several days had already passed since my enjoyable mansion stroll with Anna. Whether she’d spoken to the kitchen staff or not, my soup portions had slightly increased.

Not that I was complaining, but I worried this might strain relations with the kitchen staff. If an issue arose, I intended to confront Anna—but she’d been conspicuously absent lately.

She was one of the few servants I could comfortably talk to. This sense of loss reminded me of when my elementary school friend moved away—something I hadn’t felt in years.

At the very least, my lurking around the mansion seemed to have had some effect. Servants no longer flinched or fled at the sight of me. Had Anna been praising me all over the place?

Whether in the first timeline or now, she was truly a kind soul.

As I aimlessly wandered today, I overheard something amusing—or rather, something worth eavesdropping on.

“Lady Chris has been working harder lately, hasn’t she?”

“Really? Why?”

“You know that young master Eric? He’s been roaming around the mansion a lot more these days.”

“Yeah.”

“But he’s acting completely different from what we remember, right? Rumor has it the heads of the family are viewing him slightly more favorably now.”

“What? No way!”

Two maids leaned their brooms against the wall, chatting in hushed voices.

“Shh! Keep it down. I overheard it from Head Butler Brown, so I can’t say for sure. But Sally, you know how kind the Duke and Duchess are.”

“I know, but even so, changing their stance this quickly? It’s gotta be an act! Remember what happened earlier this year? He tried forcing his own blood on people he hated!”

“I remember. Anna and Golt almost drank it. And he almost destroyed the servants’ quarters too.”

“That bastard—no, that lunatic, as the household heir? It’s absurd! Think about it, Jane. Not only would the Grave family’s reputation plummet, but the entire house could be in danger!”

This was getting harsh. Even if true, I’d never drag my own family into the mud.

I was about to leave when Sally’s next words froze me in place.

“And if that deranged heir really takes over, what’ll happen to Lady Chris? Let’s be honest—she’s a commoner, just like us. Do you think… he’d just let her be?”

I would let her be.

“You’re right. If he ever sets his sights on her…”

Listening further, their assumptions grew wilder. What kind of freak lusts after their own sister? And given what Chris did to me in the first timeline, never seeing each other again after defeating the Demon King would be the happiest ending for both of us.

“She’s already swamped with work. She doesn’t have the energy to deal with this.”

“Exactly. Just showing his face and expecting to inherit everything without lifting a finger? Ridiculous.”

“Is there… some way we can help?”

“That madman is clearly faking it. He’s been enduring that awful food for weeks without a word.”

Jane nodded hesitantly.

Why did everyone keep fixating on my meals?

“Soon, he’ll show his true colors—waiting like a beast. When that happens, we’ll all gather and petition the family!”

“A petition… Would they even listen to us?”

“They will. It’s not just us—there are servants all over the mansion who owe their lives to Lady Chris. If we all speak up, the Duke will listen. Understand? Don’t give that guy any openings. Ignore him completely. Push him to his limit.”

“But… is this really okay? What if he’s genuinely trying to change?”

“You still believe that? Once a madman, always a madman! The fact that he wasn’t locked away in an asylum and was allowed to stay here is mercy enough—but he spent half a year terrorizing the entire mansion! Dozens quit or got hurt. Does someone capable of that just suddenly claim they’re fine now? I don’t buy it.”

“……”

Sally delivered the final blow to Jane’s doubts.

“And even if he magically reforms, what do you think awaits us? Nobles never forget grudges. No matter how much they plead, people like us get thrown out immediately. You’ve mingled with servants from other households, Jane. You know how it is!”

Her logic was airtight. No matter how much I insisted I’d changed in this world, no one would believe me.

What I did in the first timeline was beyond redemption—even I couldn’t excuse it.

Most servants here owed Christine in some way, making their loyalty toward her extraordinary.

But telling Chris directly would just earn me another Trial Stack, leaving me stuck between a rock and a hard place.

After all the trouble Christine’s gone through for me, I should be reassuring her—yet here I was, forced to keep quiet.

Sighing, I quietly slipped away before Sally and Jane noticed.