IVPCB 07

Chapter 07

[Although you have settled the past and chosen the path of a gardener, your infamy remains high, drawing the attention of the underworld! You have received an offer from an executive of Alvireo to become a ‘member of the Alvireo organization.’]

Upon receiving the system’s guidance message, I came to my senses.

‘Absolutely not. It’s clearly full of death flags and looks dangerous.’

“No thanks. This is the path I chose because I genuinely want to live quietly.”

I cut off Raven’s offer without a moment’s hesitation.

“How decisive. I was being sincere.”

“I’m equally sincere on my side.”

Raven looked disappointed, but he didn’t press me further.

Instead, after a moment of thought, he removed something from his finger and held it out to me.

It was the ring he had been wearing. A sturdy, simple silver ring with nothing particularly distinctive about it except for a black engraved wing pattern.

But the system’s subsequent description revealed that the ring was anything but ordinary.

[Item Acquired!

Item Name: Raven’s Ring. (Item Grade—Unique)

A token of the Raven Caravan’s master and a ring given to Alvireo executives. One of only five in existence, it allows the use of the Alvireo organization throughout the former Bergen Empire.]

As soon as I heard the description, my hand under the table began to tremble.

In this game, item grades went up in the order of Common, Rare, Unique, Legend, and Divine.

From the Unique grade onward, rarity increased dramatically, and the items held enough power to bring down a small noble house if one so wished.

“What… is this?”

I forced my trembling voice to steady and asked Raven as nonchalantly as possible.

“Change. The calculation has to be exact.”

Raven’s answer was brief.

“People say you’re stupid, sis. I used to think so too.”

It was an unexpectedly blunt remark.

“But today I saw potential in you, sis. If my eye isn’t wrong, you’ll find this useful.”

I pondered Raven’s words for a moment.

‘If I accept this, I’ll be entangled with Alvireo. Is it really wise to get entangled with Alvireo, one of the empire’s two major dark organizations?’

However, Alvireo always survived until the very end in this game. It was thanks to their clever tightrope walk between illegality and legality, attaching themselves to those in power.

Of course, Alvireo’s backer and leader was also a powerful figure.

‘Becoming a member is burdensome, but wouldn’t this level of connection actually help my survival?’

After finishing my calculations, I quietly took the ring and slipped it onto my left index finger. The ring fit perfectly.

Only after I put on the ring did Raven finally flash a satisfied smile.

“Then, sis, with this, our deal is sealed.”

“Yeah.”

As I finished speaking, Raven packed the velvet box containing the ‘Lily of Yuria’ into the trunk he had brought and pulled up his hood.

After preparing to leave, Raven walked toward the door of my room. Just as he was about to go out, he turned back to look at me.

“Take care. And see you again.”

With an enigmatic smile, the boy bid me farewell.

His words about seeing me again felt like a foretelling that we would inevitably meet once more.

The next morning, at exactly 7 a.m. sharp. Someone knocked on my door.

“Representatives from the Aldebaran Ducal House have arrived to escort the young lady.”

‘The early bird catches the worm, but it also dies early.’

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and grumbled quietly to myself.

‘Good thing I packed everything last night and got up at 5 a.m. to prepare.’

In the game, Aegir was a man of very disciplined habits. So I had expected him to come early, but not this early.

“Yes, I’m all ready! Let’s go!”

But outwardly, I put on my brightest voice and smile as I opened the door.

Standing before the door were the butler and Aegir, side by side.

His platinum-blond hair, neatly tied back, reached his shoulders. His eyes were a deep blue like the profound sea. His features were so impeccably handsome that even the elaborate blue silk robe he wore suited him well.

Aegir’s face crumpled the moment he saw me.

“Hello! Good morning.”

Ignoring that, I gave a fresh morning greeting.

“…You’re quite cheerful with your greetings.”

Aegir let out a small sigh in response to my greeting. He didn’t forget to add a quiet jab with the word ‘unnecessarily’ under his breath.

“Well, we’re going to see each other every day now whether we like it or not. Wouldn’t it be good for both of us to at least greet each other?”

“No. I don’t think it would be good.”

‘Maybe pretending to be bright and thick-faced was the wrong choice?’

His decisive answer left me feeling deflated and awkward.

The truth was, Aegir made me uncomfortable.

I had said things that grated on his nerves from our very first meeting, and although it was for survival, it was also true that I had greatly wronged the Aldebaran family, which made me feel guilty.

But if I suddenly acted penitent and submissive, he, who didn’t know the circumstances, would probably doubt my sanity.

‘So I tried to approach him as brightly as possible, planning to apologize later and get closer. As expected, I guess I overdid it. Let’s take it a bit slower.’

Having changed my mind, I decided to focus on what needed to be done. Without a word, I walked over to the bed and picked up the trunk I had packed beforehand.

“Is that all your luggage?”

Aegir raised an eyebrow in surprise at my modest belongings.

“Yes.”

Since I didn’t want to make a bad impression from the start, I had carefully packed light. Just a few simple, compact clothes, some small, valuable gemstones I could sell for money, and a few books.

“I see. Then let’s go.”

Aegir said no more and turned to leave the room, and I quietly followed him.

We descended the spiral staircase and arrived at the first floor. In the reception room, a completely unexpected figure was lounging on the sofa, sipping tea.

It was Count Posha, looking haggard, as if he had suffered greatly in the past day.

“Leaving now, are you.”

His voice was somewhat hoarse, and my mood wasn’t great, so I answered a little slowly.

“…Yes.”

Count Posha stared at me for a moment, then turned his gaze to Aegir.

“Sir Kasiss. May I have a brief word with my daughter?”

“If it’s brief.”

Aegir took a pocket watch from his inner pocket, glanced at it, and replied curtly.

I naturally sat on the sofa positioned in front of Count Posha. He slowly began to speak to me.

“Anais, I don’t know what you might think, but I have always felt indebted to you.”

His words were heavy and earnest, laden with genuine feeling.

“…You have been a perfectly good father.”

I finally said the words I had been unable to convey due to my villainess duties all this time. At my words, Count Posha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You… don’t resent me?”

“What is there to resent?”

“I neglected you, avoiding you after Grace’s death. I was so sorry for that, and I thought your becoming twisted was my fault.”

Count Posha’s green eyes were filled with regret and lingering attachment.

‘At this rate, I won’t be able to leave with a light heart.’

During the two rounds I spent with him after possessing Anais, I had grown quite fond of this count.

Perhaps that’s why I wished for his heart to be at least a little at ease, and that he wouldn’t be too heartbroken because of his foolish daughter.

This was my sincere feeling. So I decided to tell a lie. A white lie that Anais, who had resented her father, would never have told.

“Father, me becoming twisted was my choice.”

“But…”

“Rather, I’m grateful to you. I actually know. I know that you cleaned up all the messes I made. You wouldn’t do that if you didn’t care for your daughter, would you?”

In my past life, I had coincidentally seen the Posha Count’s household account books, which listed a considerable sum of money donated to the temple. Count Posha wasn’t a devout believer, so I was initially puzzled, but later, when I considered the timing, I realized it was a donation made after I had tormented Luna.

And that wasn’t all.

I also knew that he had resumed drinking, which he had quit when he married the Countess Posha, after Anais caused trouble.

So this was my small apology—to him, whose suffering I had known but turned away from in order to become a villainess.

“This… is this a dream? You’re saying things that don’t sound like you.”

Count Posha, uncharacteristically, stammered out the words with difficulty.

“To be honest, I said I’d go to Aldebaran as a gardener with my head held high, but now that I’m actually facing the prospect of losing all the luxuries I’ve enjoyed, I’m a little scared. And I thought, ‘Ah, everything I’ve enjoyed came from my father.'”

This was my sincerity, not Anais’s.

“I’m grateful and sorry. I can’t say I’ve completely matured. But still, I want to live in a way that worries you a little less.”

To you, who never cast me aside until the very end, even when I was pointed at by everyone in my past life—these were the words I should have said.

“Father, it’s a bit embarrassing for me to say things like this, but I am your daughter. I’ll go and live well.”

Don’t worry too much, don’t be too heartbroken. Since you believed in me dozens, hundreds of times, I vow that this time I will truly live well.

“And, and when I come back, I’ll make the count’s garden beautiful.”

I said it to make him smile, but Count Posha’s eyes reddened instead. His jaw jutted out, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as if swallowing a massive lump of emotion.

“…Not for a single moment, my daughter. I never, not for a single moment, stopped believing in you. And even though I said those things, I never once thought of abandoning you.”

Oh dear, it seemed my mention of the convent had lingered in his mind.

I was about to say that I knew he knew my words weren’t sincere—

“Time is up.”

Aegir’s cold words cut between Count Posha and me.

It was a bit frustrating, but I was indeed a criminal. I should be grateful to have been granted even this much time.

“May I have one last hug with my daughter?”

Then, Count Posha interjected with earnest eyes.

“Go ahead.”

Aegir, who had been looking back and forth between me and my father, gave brief permission. With those words, he clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk’ and moved far away toward the gate, turning his head away.

Then, Count Posha pulled me into an embrace. It was a warm embrace.

But I felt something heavy, like a pouch, in the waist pocket of my jacket.

“It’s 10 million gold worth of Ludivia diamonds. I chose them because they’re compact and easy to liquidate.”

A small whisper from Count Posha reached my ear.