"We still have something to talk about, don't we?"
Selvarena stood up from her seat after saying she was rooting for Euclid and Erencia.
It looks like Selvarena has ulterior motives behind her attitude and actions, but if it's just a common power struggle for the throne, it has nothing to do with me, does it?
Erencia erased the conversation she had shared with her from her mind.
After seeing Selvarena off, Erencia and Euclid naturally headed to Euclid's office.
"Thank you for the performance you showed in front of Her Highness Selvarena."
“It wasn’t an act?”
In response to Euclid's thanks, Erencia spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Euclid stared at Erencia without even blinking.
"Then was it... sincere...?"
For some reason, he felt a slight fever.
Euclid asked cautiously.
"For the time being. It's a temporary sincerity."
Euclid's eye, which had been curved into an arch, quickly became straight.
The thick, barrier-like eyebrows were stubborn.
“Is that okay?”
Erencia would sometimes say incomprehensible things.
Whenever that happened, Euclid felt annoyed, frustrated, and curious at the same time.
His mind was a jumble of thoughts.
Erencia smiled and changed the subject.
"But you said you were going to propose to me. Are you serious about that?"
"I'll pretend I'm serious for the time being, too."
Euclid loosened his cravat and turned his head.
His lips were stiff; he didn't look happy.
'I helped him because he asked, so why is he acting like this? Ah, does he dislike me all along? And he asked for help out of necessity?'
Erencia felt both good and bad.
Ugh, since things have come to this, maybe I should drive a wedge into his hatred for me.
"Forget the proposal, just lend me some money."
"W-what did you say?"
Quite flustered, Euclid stammered
"Money, I mean money. Don't you know? Silver coins, gold coins, and as substitutes, gold, land, buildings, things like that. Ah, don't misunderstand. I only accept cash."
Euclid turned his head sharply and looked at Erencia.
Need money?
The daughter of the Novellita family, rumored to be rich?
Did she cause some trouble?
'It's highly likely that she was involved in an accident.'
The Novellita family were troublemakers, but the Erencia he met was not at all.
She is noisy, but she is not a bad person.
“Why do you need it?”
Euclid's expression softened considerably.
"Don't ask me the reason."
Erencia said that because she couldn't think of a specific answer.
Euclid's gaze lingered for a long time on the profile of Erencia, who had turned her head away, feeling guilty for no reason.
'You've gotten caught up in something dangerous.'
Euclid's sense of justice stirred.
***
"Who came to visit so early in the morning?"
"It is Sir Gredelus."
Elbers grinned as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.
As Duke and Duchess Novellita went to inspect the provincial estate, Elbers, the eldest son of the family, took care of the mansion's affairs for the time being.
I don't understand why he is bothering me now that Erencia has stepped forward as the successor.
Elbers staggered as he got out of bed. Elbers's servant quickly supported him.
Elbers shook his head to regain his senses.
I drank heavily until dawn and hung out with people I didn't even know.
I had no memory of how I returned to the mansion.
In short, he was not in a state to receive guests at all.
"Isn't it too early?"
It was extremely rude to visit the mansion before the homeowner had even gotten out of bed.
"...It’s lunchtime soon."
The attendant spoke very cautiously. Elbers rolled his eyes, perhaps feeling embarrassed.
"Really? Good grief. Still, coming without notice is rude! Tell them to wait, and call the maids to get ready."
If it were Elbers, he would have mercilessly slapped the person for contradicting him.
Grateful that he had not been hit, the attendant quickly bowed his head and called for the maids.
The handmaidens knew of Elbers's wicked hands. This was because they had heard the vivid testimony of the actual victim.
'It's terrible.'
The maids entered Elbers's room, sharing the same thought.
It must be terrible to think about what will happen afterward.
“You go out.”
There was nothing the servant could do.
As he stepped backward out, the maid standing at the very end pulled at his collar.
"Call the young lady."
It was a desperate tone.
The young lady the maid was talking about was Erencia.
She heard she was actively looking after the family as the successor these days. Even if she cannot help, couldn't she at least put a stop to this situation?
The maid held onto her last hope.
The attendant nodded discreetly.
***
"Miss, Young Master Elbers's attendant has come to visit."
After going around the mansion since dawn and pouring out nagging, Erencia was resting with her face buried in the table.
"Why is my brother's attendant here?"
Agnes shrugged her shoulders.
Erencia forced herself up from the sofa where she had been squatting.
The members of the Novellita family were extremely individualistic. They respected each other's private lives so much that they had no interest in where or what anyone else was doing.
It was difficult to even see their faces unless there was a special event or the Duke and Duchess Novellita invited her for a meal.
"Why did you look like you were in a hurry?"
Erencia flicked her finger. It was a signal to let him in.
"Miss, please help me!"
As soon as the door opened, a burly man ran in and knelt down.
He pleaded with Erencia.
Erencia's eyes widened.
***
Erencia moved her feet diligently. Eventually, she ran.
She knew that Elbers was touching the ladies-in-waiting.
She was certain that Duke and Duchess Novellita knew as well.
However, the Duke and Duchess Novellita pretended not to know. So she, too, remained indifferent.
What could Erencia say when her parents weren't stepping in to stop it?
And although it was a dirty habit, it was a frequent occurrence in the noble world.
It was nothing special.
That is why, in her first life, even when her husband rolled around in her bed with a lady-in-waiting, she didn't fight him.
Under the name of 'nobles,' everyone just let it slide.
But this time was different.
Without even a moment to weigh the consequences of her actions, Erencia's body moved first.
She thought as she hurriedly crossed the hallway.
'This isn't because I am righteous and kind. I am going to punish the servants who are failing to properly serve their master!'
Erencia tightened her grip on the dress
***
Erencia threw open the door before the attendant could tell him she had arrived.
"Uh, uh, uh. Erencia?"
Elbers froze.
Erencia quickly scanned the room.
Elbers, standing in his underwear to change clothes, was hugging a maid from behind.
You piece of trash!
"A guest had arrived, so I was getting ready."
Elbers answered nonchalantly, as if he had never been flustered, and quietly let go of the maid.
"That's too many people to serve the clothes."
Erencia forced a smile and answered calmly.
"Haha, right? Even though I said I was fine, they forcibly came in..."
"Did you hear? He said it's not needed, so everyone get out."
Erencia expelled all the maids.
Only one maid remained, hesitating and glancing nervously at Elbers and Erencia.
She was a maid who had been molested by Elbers.
She stood holding Elbers's shirt and nervously rolled her eyes.
"By the way, were you serving the clothes, or were you being served?"
Erencia pointed out the maid's disheveled attire.
"Well, that's..."
The maid glanced at Elbers.
Tsk, Erencia clicked her tongue and properly fastened the maid's collar.
Come to think of it, the maids' attire was unsuitable for work. That was only the case for the clothes worn by Elbers' maids.
A design featuring fluttering ruffles and exposed shoulders.
Ignoring the design of the dress that exposed the shoulders, Erencia pulled up the dress draped over her forearm to cover the maid's shoulder.
"Look at the state of your clothes."
Erencia clicked her tongue.
'I need to match their clothes.'
Do you have the funds to provide clothes for the servants?
"Learn the ropes again. Guests are here, and you are being this slow? You are terrible! For the next month, you will learn everything from scratch, starting with running errands under the Head Maid."
Erencia heated up even more, as if to show Elbers.
Elbers, who was putting on his pants by himself, just blinked his eyes while standing awkwardly at the fierce intensity.
“Brother.”
"Uh, um. Why?"
Elbers quickly pulled up his pants.
"From now on, I will assign you properly trained servants. As the heir to the family, I try my best to be attentive, yet there are still gaps like this."
"Right, if you are a successor, you must thoroughly educate the servants as well."
Elbers laughed.
He felt relieved, thinking that the molestation of the maid might be overlooked.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to put the shirt on?"
Elbers became arrogant when Erencia got angry only at the maid.
It was when the maid was cautiously approaching, holding the shirt.
Erencia snatched the shirt from the maid's hand and threw it to the floor.
"What do you expect to achieve by dressing him in something this shoddy? Drawing lines on a pumpkin doesn't turn it into a watermelon, but shouldn't you at least try your best? Guests have arrived, and you intend to send him out looking like such a wretched wretch? Agnes! Check to see if Andre has made a new shirt. And you! Didn't you hear me tell you to get out?"
Erencia was furious.
She was clearly angry at the maid, so why was she glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him? Elbers's face flushed.
"I'm sorry, Miss."
"Tell the guest that they will have to wait a little longer."
The maid replied quietly, "Understood," and hurriedly left the room.
Elbers smacked his lips.
‘It was my taste.’
As even the last remaining maid left, only Erencia, Elbers, and the male servant remained.
Erencia succeeded in driving the maids away, but she was not in a good mood.
She was furious watching Elbers sitting lazily on the sofa shirtless.
It was obvious that this would happen again. Even in her third life, where her family had all repented, Elbers's womanizing had not been corrected.
Her head was throbbing.
Could my brother's misdeeds be the cause of my regression?
For one reason or another, she can't just leave Elbers alone.
Since things have turned out this way, it would be nice to add the image of a rude, unfilial brat who talks back to her older brother.
“Brother.”
Erencia wiped away her forced smile and looked at Elbers with eyes as if he were a bug.
"Alright, Erencia. You go now, too. I'll take care of the clothes..."
"If you want to mess with your lower body, you see."
Elbers' eyes widened.
What do you say now?
"I’ll introduce you to a place I know well, so please hang out there."
“W-what?”
Erencia approached and gently stroked Elbers's wrist.
Elbers shuddered as he met the slightly raised eyes of Erencia, who had lowered her head. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by Erencia's aura and could not speak.
"If you keep touching Novellita's things like this, I won't stand idly by."
The servants are also undeniably Novellita's property. All of it will eventually belong to the successor, Erencia.
"Erencia, what are you talking about? How arrogant?"
Actually, Elbers was upset because Erencia barged in just as he was about to have some fun.
However, the way he looked wasn't a good look for his younger sister, so he tried to brush it off with a laugh.
However, he was furious that his younger sister, who was still young, was trying to teach him how to succeed him.
"Don't you realize that you became the family heir not because of your abilities, but because I wasn't greedy? How dare you talk about what's yours?"
"Do you think that's a concession? Good heavens. If you're so confident, try taking it yourself."
Erencia crossed her arms and sneered.
"Now that Father is gone, I am the head of the household! I have to fix this bad habit of not knowing his place!"
Elbers raised his hand, unable to control his rising anger.
'Who knew I'd just take it like this?'
Erencia reached out her hand toward the doorknob to run away.
And then, trying to open the door!
Along with the sound of the wind cutting through, there was a cracking sound like a watermelon breaking.
And a large back stood in front of Erencia.
"Was this the reason you needed money?"
Euclid's low, ominous voice was clearly heard, piercing through the sound of Elbers screaming, 'Aaaargh!'
"To escape from that trash's grasp?"
It was Euclid.
Strange.
The fact that he is the person who always shows up when Erencia is in a difficult situation.
She appreciated the appearance, but she's not exactly thrilled about the situation that follows.
"That, Gredelus, that dog, that dog-like..."
Wow.
Euclid grabbed Erencia's wrist, pulled her close behind his back, and mercilessly struck Elbers in the stomach.
Elbers flew a distance, crashed into a wall, and then went quiet.
“Is he dead?”
Erencia asked in surprise.
“Do you want me to kill him?”
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