Chapter 9

“Hey, what were you talking about with the young master just now?” Nellie was looking particularly vindictive today as she glowered at me.

I got up and dusted off my dress. “Hey, Nellie. You came all the way out here to pick a fight?”

“I asked you a question! What did you talk about with the young master? What could you possibly have been talking about that made the young master walk straight past me?!”

I wasn’t sure why this obnoxious child was so hung up on that jerk, but my mind was already made up.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Hey! Why you little!” Nellie let her temper get the best of her and raised one hand.

I flinched, thinking she was going to hit me, but she grabbed me by the collar instead.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World is unable to directly intervene to help you and can only glare at Nellie.⟭

Nellie stuck her face into mine to the point of discomfort and snarled. “No wonder! I knew you were up to something when you volunteered to serve tea! You’re after the young master too, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Don’t even think about it! Know your place, you ugly hussy!”

For the second time that day, I was stunned into silence. I tried to think of any explanation as to why this girl was spouting off such absurd nonsense.

Does this obnoxious little brat like that degenerate? But Nellie’s angry stare was too aggressive to be dismissed as childish jealousy.

Just then, several messages appeared.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World sits back in his chair and gives you an expectant grin.⟭

⟬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos stares at you with wide eyes, assessing your potential as a transmigrator.⟭

Hmm? So suddenly? The gods were getting worked up for some reason. At that moment, my eye caught something far away over Nellie’s shoulder.

Oh, how convenient. I could now understand why the two gods were so amused.

“Hey, stop ignoring me! What are you smiling for?”

“Ah, sorry about that, Nellie. So basically, what you’re saying is that you’re in the middle of charming the young master just so you can climb the social ladder and you want me to stop interfering?”

“Exactly! You caught on pretty quickly for an idiot!”

The pair of footsteps halted nearby as Nellie carelessly spouted off insults.

I pretended to not notice, continuing to goad her on. “But Nellie, won’t that be a little difficult? The young master is a noble while we’re just commoners.”

“Hmph, what difference does it make? The countess herself was a commoner! Who’s to say I can’t become a countess as well?”

I could hear a muffled gasp in the distance, but that wasn’t quite enough for me. I wanted just a little more, so I gave her a final nudge. “Goodness, how outrageous! Who told you that?”

“My mom told me so, you nitwit!” Nellie’s triumphant voice rang across the greenhouse garden.

Wonderful. That should do the trick.

Nellie slightly drew back as she saw me smirk. “What is it? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Look behind you.”

She turned and her expression immediately melted into horror. “Oh my! Milady! Lady Bianca!”

The countess stood there, radiating a bloodcurdling rage, holding hands with her daughter who had an otherwise indifferent look on her face. In a ghastly voice, the woman spoke. “Is that right... It seems you take the position of countess quite lightly...? Because I was born a commoner...?”

“M-milady, t-that’s not what I meant...!”

“Is that right? Well, I guess it’s certainly possible for young girls like yourself to spout such juvenile nonsense... But the one who told you these things was your mother?”

“T-that’s...!” Nellie began to tremble as she realized there was no way out of this one.

The countess’s veins bulged as she shouted. “Both of you will pack your things and get out of here at once!”

Nellie fell to the floor at the countess’s menacing outburst.

“M-milady...” She sobbed pitifully, “Please!”

“Stop crying and get out of my sight! Butler!”

Eventually, the butler had to drag Nellie out by force. It was unlikely that the stubborn countess would rescind her order and with this, the head maid mother-daughter duo was no longer going to be a problem. It felt really great.

⟬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos acknowledges you and your S-class prowess on how you ingeniously handled the brat.⟭

But seriously, that’s not my level. That’s the survivability difficulty rating for this world! The countess and her daughter had remained in the greenhouse after Nellie was taken away. The older woman was still fuming with anger. Just as I was considering handing her a consolation tomato, her daughter spoke up.

The countess’s daughter, Bianca, comforted her mother with what could be considered a rather aloof or even a cold expression and tone. “Think of the bright side, Mother.”

“Truly, Bia... I’m not so sure there is a bright side to all of this.”

“The head maid has always been a liability due to her involvement in malfeasance and embezzlement,” the daughter explained coolly. “Now that we can justify canning her, it’ll benefit the castle as a whole.”

“Oh, the mother of that child was the head maid?” the countess asked.

“I guess you weren’t aware. We were having trouble firing her because she was the head maid. Who would’ve thought such a good excuse would fall into our laps?”

Bianca gave me a sideways glance as she spoke.

I pretended to not notice, hugging my basket of tomatoes. “Um, milady, Lady Bianca. I shall be on my way back to the kitchen now.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Wait.”

The countess and her daughter’s words were at odds.

“What’s wrong, Bia?”

“There’s something I want to add about this child, Ailette Rodeline.”

Hmm? Why? I didn’t do anything wrong.

The countess seemed to be on the same page as me as she tilted her head in confusion.

Bianca strolled to stand before me and grinned. Just as I found myself flabbergasted at the young girl’s unexpected smile, she shocked me further when she declared, “I want this girl to be my playmate.”

✠

So, I was to be the playmate of Count Gilette’s young daughter. According to the numerous rumors surrounding this job, it was going to be quite the challenge.

Bianca Gilette had a quiet temperament. She wasn’t particularly difficult or sadistic. However, her expressionless face and frosty demeanor intimidated the servants and made it difficult to get to know her. It was to the point where even the count and countess struggled to feel at ease around her. Even the delinquent son knew to tread lightly in his sister’s presence.

Numerous little girls from different branches of the family were recruited to be Bianca’s friends, but none were able to step up to the task. Every last one of them ran away in tears within three days’ time. They say that even when Bianca came out to bid her farewells, the friends-for-hire would panic and run away as if they’d seen a ghost.

No one had a clue as to what went on in the ten-year-old’s playroom that could possibly spook the other children so badly. But here I am, about to see for myself. Starting the next afternoon, I was exempted from my kitchen duties and instead was assigned the task of playing with Bianca. I took a deep breath in front of the beautifully carved wooden arch entranceway of Bianca’s rooms.

Whew, behind these doors was the person who really held the power in this family. It almost felt as if I was about to enter a dungeon. I gently knocked on the door and stepped inside.

“Oh, Miss Ailette, you’re here.”

Bianca greeted me with a book in her lap. She spoke affectionately in her own little way, despite her blank expression and aloof tone.

“Good afternoon, Lady Bianca.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Now that the greetings were out of the way, it was time to get down to business. What does a ten-year-old aristocrat girl in a medieval fantasy world do during a playdate?

I was hesitant to make a move, but fortunately, Bianca spoke to me first.

“You can just read a book.” She made a gesture toward the piles of books stacked on top of the table as if she were inviting me to choose whatever.

That’s it? All I need to do is read?

As I made a perturbed face, Bianca falteringly asked, “By any chance, do you not know how to read?”

“No. I know how to read.” I was already familiar and proficient with the official language here, thanks to the transmigrator support system.

The other girl seemed satisfied, explaining she figured as much, considering the fact that I was the daughter of an intellectual.

I began to earnestly look through the titles. The books covered everything from literature to history, social sciences, politics, management, theology, and so on.

All of these seem way too advanced for a ten-year-old. Maybe this was the secret behind driving out all of her playdate friends. I suspiciously glanced at the cover of Bianca’s book. Hmm... Considering that she was reading a book titled, “The Future of High-Value Enterprises Utilizing New Materials Found in Dungeons,” it didn’t seem like she was trying to belittle me.

I decided to go with literature. Not only was I originally a web novel enthusiast, the title of the book, How I Seduced a Demon Lord as a Warrior, seemed very interesting.

“You can read on the couch. Make yourself comfortable,” she said.

“Oh! Thank you!” I immediately took up her offer since it wasn’t like I was an aristocrat all caught up in customs and courtesies. I flopped down on my belly as if I were relaxing in my own bed and opened up the book. To my surprise, the book was pure literature.

For thirty minutes, all you could hear was the pleasant rustling noise of pages turning. Then I found myself faced with a problem.

“Hmm. Lady Bianca, sorry to interrupt you but...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Is it okay if I grab another book?”

“Go ahead.”

Despite her indifferent response, I could feel her carefully observing my every move. The book I chose this time was the most well-known theology book, the bible of this universe. Bianca gave me a curious look.

“The bible? Why did you pick that?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to really appreciate literature without better understanding the bible.”

Religious culture provides an excellent foundation upon which many branches of art are built. Countless forms of paintings, musical pieces, and literary masterpieces were inspired by religion and it has seeped into the minds of the masses. This was the case even in my previous life where the existence of a god was controversial. It’s only natural that religion would play a significant role in this universe where actual proof of a deity exists in the form of divine power.

And for that reason, I set down How I Seduced a Demon Lord as a Warrior for a minute and picked up the bible.

Their version of the bible did rather seem like a mashup of all the different religions from my previous life, but nevertheless, I decided it would be beneficial in more ways than one to learn about the religion of this universe.

As I flipped to the first page, I noticed Bianca giving me a strange vacant look.

“She identified her own shortcomings and decided what she needed to study based on that...”

“Lady Bianca?”

“I-it’s nothing,” she murmured to herself before burying her face in her book.