IVPCB 17

Chapter 17

It was the moment when the boy, glaring at me with sharp eyes, was about to close the door.

*Thump.*

A shadow fell behind me, and someone caught the kitchen door that was about to close.

“Huh? J, Juran young master! What brings you here…….”

The boy, belatedly spotting Juran, made a surprised expression.

“She’s with me. Let her in.”

Juran cast a glance my way and commanded nonchalantly.

The boy still couldn’t hide his reluctant expression, but he nonetheless grabbed the doorknob and opened it wide, allowing the two of us to enter the kitchen.

*’What can I do? If the young master says jump, I jump.’*

Honestly, I felt a little smug and secretly smiled to myself.

*’Nice! I brought Juran along just in case, making that deal with him, and he’s proving quite useful!’*

It was a simple principle that applied in any world. Bring someone with power, and things go smoothly.

As I strode confidently into the kitchen, aside from the ash-gray-haired boy, three pairs of eyes fixed on me.

A large, middle-aged beastman man with ash-gray hair, kneading dough with a rolling pin. A small beastman boy hiding behind him, timidly watching my reaction.

*’It looks like those three are a family. The way the boy called him ‘Dad’ earlier, and they look so alike.’*

And a man with reddish-brown hair, stir-frying something in a pan.

The first to speak was the middle-aged man with ash-gray hair.

“What? This child……. Huh? Young master Juran?”

The middle-aged man and the reddish-brown-haired man, spotting Juran, bowed their heads in greeting, and the two boys also hesitantly followed the adults’ lead while watching the atmosphere.

“We greet the small horn of Sidonia.”

Soon, like a round song, the kitchen staff’s greetings followed.

*’Right, that was the greeting.’*

It was a greeting that came about because the symbol of the Aldebaran family was a horn.

Suddenly, I recalled the in-game scene where Juran explained the Aldebaran greeting to Luna.

*”In the past, Sidonia was a tribal confederation system where various tribes gathered and elected a leader among them, and that leading family was the Aldebaran. To the ancient people, the horns on a bull’s head were the source of vitality and a symbol of bravery…….”*

*’Hmm, now that I think about it, Juran did have a bit of an explainer tendency.’*

In modern terms, he was the ‘nerd’ type.

Of course, including myself, several players liked seeing Juran, the well-bred young nobleman, and being able to learn the detailed in-game settings.

After their greetings ended, I glanced sideways at Juran.

“I’m just accompanying her. You don’t need to mind me.”

Juran said nonchalantly.

He probably said it to be considerate in his own way, but how could a mere employee not mind? Though no one said anything, I could see everyone’s expressions turning slightly pale.

“Ahem, so. Who are you and how did you get here?”

The one who broke the silence and approached me first to speak was the middle-aged man with ash-gray hair.

“Ah, I’m Anis, who’s come to work in the garden…….”

*THUD!*

Suddenly, with a heavy sound, the reddish-brown-haired young man set his pan down on the stove.

The young man’s narrow eyes began to scan me from head to toe.

*’Ugh. Something about that gaze feels unpleasant.’*

But since I had come to greet the kitchen first and foremost, I maintained a smiling face and looked at the kitchen staff.

“What, you’re that girl from the rumors?”

That was, until he chuckled knowingly and threw a remark at me.

“What rumors are those?”

*’Let’s stay calm for now.’*

Having lived as a villainess noble daughter so far and having a prior record of stealing a branch of the Sacred Tree, I was prepared for rumors to spread to some extent and for making a bad first impression.

There were some unfair parts to Anais’s actions, but what could I do? If I can’t erase it, I’ll have to endure it.

“What else? Chasing after His Highness the Crown Prince, tormenting Saintess Luna. Then you went crazy and broke a branch of Nebula.”

Since it was within the expected repertoire, I wasn’t particularly shocked.

“Yes. That’s all correct, isn’t it?”

I sighed and answered slowly.

“What?”

Not expecting me to admit it so easily, the man narrowed his eyes, then suddenly let out a snicker and twisted the corner of his mouth.

“Whoa~ She’s something else.”

“Oh right, if you have anything to say, keep going. But don’t gossip behind my back like a coward, say it to my face. I’m a pretty generous person, so I’ll listen well.”

“Y, you……! From what I can see, the rumors must be true! Stalking Crown Prince Delta, feeding Luna spoiled water, tripping her……!”

“Hmm, anything other than that?”

“Young master, look at this! This woman is a complete menace. And she supposedly stole a jewel that was Luna’s mother’s keepsake and wore it around ostentatiously…….”

“Oh my, that’s true. But your rumors are a little late? I’ve already returned Uria’s Lily.”

She hadn’t expected that, it seemed. With nothing to retort, the man’s face began to flush red with anger.

And then he suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him.

“Ah, are you crazy? That hurts! What are you doing?”

I scrunched up my face and resisted, but the strength in his thick arm didn’t give way easily. Ignoring my struggles, he suddenly grabbed my face with one hand and forcibly turned my head.

Where he turned my head, Juran was standing, and my eyes met Juran’s.

“Young master Juran, look closely. You’ve been deceived by this innocent-looking girl too…….”

The man rambled on, and between his arms, I could see Juran’s gaze slowly sinking.

And then, I turned my head and bit the man’s arm. With all my might.

“AAAHHH!”

The man screamed and collapsed on the spot, and with that, his grip loosened, allowing me to break free from him.

*’Honestly, I didn’t expect him to collapse like that. I was just hoping his grip would loosen a little.’*

The reddish-brown-haired man seemed to be more of a complainer than I thought. Or maybe it was because I bit him hard. The unpleasant taste of blood lingered in my mouth, and my jaw was quite numb.

I pulled out the Atropos that was tucked into the flower basket I was holding, and slowly approached the crumpled man, holding the blade of the scissors straight against his Adam’s apple.

I could see the man’s reddish-brown eyes filling with fear and shock, and I smiled at him. Very brightly.

“How about that? Not your average girl, am I?”

Just then, a blue system window suddenly appeared before me.

—

[Your breathing is ragged. Your pulse is abnormally fast. Your Rage Gauge is rising.]

[Your Rage Gauge has exceeded a certain threshold, and a hostile ‘target’ has been designated. Conditions met. The passive skill ‘Maw of Ruin’ has been activated!]

—

Oh, crap.

Of all times, Maw of Ruin had to activate now. In front of Juran, of all people. It’s not that I wanted to look good, but I wanted to at least appear normal.

‘Maw of Ruin’ was a skill that had existed ever since I first possessed Anais, and it activated whenever my anger exceeded a certain threshold calculated by the system.

However, since it always caused a commotion whenever it activated, I’d been doing my best to control my mindset so it wouldn’t trigger……

—

[Until your Rage Gauge drops below a certain level, you will unleash unfiltered verbal abuse.]

—

Yeah. That was the core and the problem of this skill. Saying everything I’d built up toward the ‘target’ without filter until my anger was fully vented. Even if the target’s feelings got hurt in the process.

It was a bit different from the mind control I’d experienced in my second playthrough—since this skill was closer to Anais’s true nature, I’d release my emotions and drop all filters while maintaining my consciousness.

Yeah, to put it simply, it was the common villainess noble daughter’s trait of ‘anger management issues.’

—

[See? Even after becoming a gardener, the villainess roots run deep. Well then, have fun!]

—

The system’s nasty addition felt like mockery.

“I clearly told you to let go because it hurts, you son of a bitch.”

*Ptoo!*

I roughly spat out the blood and saliva pooled in my mouth, and it grazed the side of the reddish-brown-haired man’s face before falling to the floor.

“I’m not much of an aim. Shame I couldn’t hit your face. It would’ve matched your eye color so well.”

“Y, you……!”

The man, shocked by my unexpected actions from my demure appearance, couldn’t even form proper words.

Whether he did or not, I plopped down and crouched beside him.

“The next time you lay a hand on my body without permission, you won’t know where my scissors will point. I might chop off the hand that grabbed my face, or I might chop off your neck instead.”

As a bonus, I flashed a chilling smile and wiggled the scissors near his neck.

“Like I said, I’m not much of an aim.”

At my words, all color completely drained from the man’s face.

“Go on. Say whatever else you have to say.”

Just then.

With a *ding*, the blue system window appeared before my eyes once more.

—

[Your Rage Gauge has dropped below a certain threshold. The passive skill ‘Maw of Ruin’ has been deactivated.]

—

*’Finally over. This god-awful passive skill.’*

“Phew―.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

But unfortunately, the man seemed to take my sigh as mockery, and venom rose in his eyes.

“Ugh! You, besides that, there are plenty of other rumors about you! They say you’re from a noble family but your extravagance and debauchery are outrageous. There are so many starving people in the world, yet you fill your room with jewels and…….”

“That’s enough. My ears are hurting.”

The one who interrupted was an unexpected person. Juran.

Though his voice wasn’t loud, the moment Juran opened his mouth, the kitchen froze instantly. I quickly glanced around and adjusted my posture, stepping away from the man.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said? I too am ‘of noble birth.'”

As Juran coldly rebuked him, the man’s eyes widened, filling with fear.

It was clearly the man’s slip of the tongue. Since Berg was a hierarchical society, a commoner could face severe punishment for insulting a noble.

“Also, do you think I have no eyes or ears?”

And Juran pointed out how the man had dragged me over and loudly reported about me to Juran.

“I was taught from a young age to be a fair and objective leader. To judge based on what I see, hear, and experience.”

It was phrased euphemistically in the characteristic speech of a well-bred young noble, but the meaning was clear: judge for yourself and don’t get ahead of yourself.

“B, but didn’t you just see it with your own eyes! How she threatened my life with those scissors! As expected, she’s no ordinary…….”

“You grabbed Anis’s body without permission and forcibly dragged her to me. She said it hurt, and the power difference was clear, yet you didn’t stop.”

After finishing, Juran briefly met my eyes. There was a look in his eyes that seemed almost pitying.

“I, for one, think it’s fortunate that Anis is not ‘ordinary,’ as you said. She’s a splendid person who knows how to protect herself. If she weren’t, I would have had to step in.”