NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 4 - Jealousy (1)
Jealousy (1)
Norris Village is beautiful.
Except for being adjacent to demon territory.
Golden reeds and red sunset mix with the pleasant wind.
And at this hour, the residents of Norris Village would be ending their daily work while looking at that sun from wherever they are.
But where I sat was shadowed, with no light reaching down.
As if trying to push me away for being an outsider.
“A request?”
“Name…name…”
“My name is Lee Ha-yu.”
“That’s not it! Could you… call me by my name?”
The Saint’s blue eyes sparkle like jewels.
“How dare I? You’re the Saint.”
I’m just a commoner, no, a slave treated even worse.
And while the Saint isn’t a noble with a title like count, she’s treated as having high status.
Because she can use holy magic called divine power, through which she’s served as the agent of the Goddess of Peace and the Earth Goddess.
If I treat her carelessly, I’ll get beaten by the villagers.
Just talking like this, even calling her by name, shouldn’t be allowed.
“Just once.”
The Saint kept clinging to my right arm.
She’s quite stubborn at times like this.
“You know my name, right? Hmm? Just once.”
Her body comes even closer.
After checking my surroundings, I painfully opened my mouth.
“Lady Prisci.”
“Without the ‘Lady.'”
She’s picky.
“Prisci…”
“Wait, wait! First without the ‘Lady’! And then add a good night greeting!”
So many demands.
It’s not like we’re going to bed, but she wants a night greeting.
“Prisci, have a good night.”
With such difficult input values, an ambiguous answer came out in the end.
[Saint-Prisci’s Affection – Temperance increases by 1]
“Hmm…”
The Saint wasn’t completely satisfied, but thinking this much was enough, she lightly got off the carriage.
-hop.
“Be careful!”
“This much is fine.”
“I wish I could escort you to the monastery.”
“I know. Would you hold out your hand?”
It seems whether it was formal, superficial, or sincere didn’t matter much to the Saint.
When I held out my hand, she handed me a pouch made of flowers.
“What is this?”
“It’s bath powder. If you dissolve it in hot water while bathing, you’ll sleep well.”
“Ah, thank you. But I have nothing to give you.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t give it expecting anything in return. Please tell Miss Arein I’m very grateful too. …Then, stay healthy.”
“You too, Saint.”
To send thanks to the perpetrator of bullying.
The Saint truly is a saint.
“Wow.”
When I returned to the mansion, a feast was laid out.
This was always the pattern when I came back from escorting the Saint or other noble guests.
Rein was wearing a silk slip and thin outer garment, checking several letters while wearing a monocle.
The shimmering clothes flowed down along her body lines.
Unlike the seductive atmosphere at lunch, the feeling of enchanting men was more emphasized.
“Come and listen.”
She’s a master of conditioning.
Knowing that I still have lingering dissatisfaction, trying to make up for it with food.
I sat down as if enchanted.
The food isn’t at fault.
It’s been two weeks of eating only vegetables.
I was almost at the point of tears.
“Mmm!!!!”
The pleasure of sugar and carbohydrates sticking to my tongue.
Unfortunately there was no meat, but there were plenty of sweet desserts.
After eating about three servings, Rein spoke as if indifferent.
“Was it good?”
A normal person might have coughed, but when you live hiding your emotions like me, you become skilled.
“Yes. Aunt Tresia’s skills are the best. It’s really delicious.”
I naturally deflect it as if talking about the food.
“I meant. Taking. Her. Back.”
The accent in her words got stronger.
“Felix’s new whip worked well. It was good to get back quickly.”
But I intentionally avoid answering by pretending to be oblivious.
This is my timid revenge that I can do without crossing the line.
She’s been treating me like an object all this time, but today she’s particularly persistent.
“The Saint likes you.”
“Kugh.”
This is too much during a rare meal time.
I haven’t even eaten four bites and she throws a direct pitch.
“How far did you go? Did you mix tongues? Saliva also has bad effects on blood…”
That damn blood. Blood. Blood.
I feel like throwing up.
“What if I did something? Are you thinking of throwing me away for being dirty?”
“Just answer what I ask. How far?”
[Acquired 5 points of Seven Deadly Sins: Jealousy from ‘Arein S. Asphodel’.]
Magical power was already gathering in Rein’s grasp.
She’s considered promising as a great magician even in her family.
If she wanted to, she could blow away this entire mansion.
‘Damn, I better moderate.’
I’m just an ephemeral life.
“…Nothing.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I swear.”
When I shook my head and answered, Rein’s magical power subsided.
I gathered courage to ask something I’d been curious about.
“If you’re curious about that, couldn’t you either follow and watch yourself, or have someone else do it?”
“…No? I’m just testing the loyalty of the dog I’m raising.”
-bang!
After just saying that, Rein kicked her chair and disappeared.
Vampires don’t keep pets.
So this means she thinks of me as just that level of a pet.
Is that better than an object?
Aunt Tresia came quietly and asked.
“Did it suit your taste?”
“Yes really….ha… this is really precious.”
While I was considering what exclamation to express, Auntie muttered to herself with a puzzled face.
“She was so involved with the food today, but didn’t touch any herself.”
“What?”
“Before you came. She checked everything about how the food was prepared. How it tasted. How nutritious it was. You know, things like that.”
“Really? Well, it’s blood she’ll drink so I guess she’s being careful.”
“No, no. She didn’t use to do this, but last time didn’t she ask to clean your room? Oh my, this is a secret.”
Servants clean their own rooms.
But she specifically asked someone else to do it?
‘I should be careful.’
Now that I have new abilities, there’s nothing good about being suspicious.
Because I need to end this dog-like slave experience game.
After finishing carrying luggage, finally the slave’s daily routine was over. I dive into my room’s bed right after washing with warm water.
-plop “Smells goooood.”
Maybe it’s the power of the bath powder the Saint gave me, but I’m getting sleepy.
I don’t know what flower it is, but somehow this scent seems similar to the Saint’s scent. Anyway, tomorrow we go to the Academy.
The situation is good.
At first, starting at the Odelia family’s main mansion, every day was a life of walking on eggshells.
The worst treatment.
The pain of persecution was unspeakable.
‘They just say Hell Joseon Hell Joseon, but South Korea is the best……’
And if we go to the Academy?
It means I can get even further from this mess of a vampire household.
Now I have abilities too, and I only have one person to be careful about.
If I’m just careful with my authority figure Rein, I can ‘grow.’
Growth.
-thump.
My heart started beating like when creating your first character in an RPG game.
“Ah, right. Distribution! Stat distribution!”
They definitely said I could strengthen myself by collecting Seven Deadly Sins points, so I should experiment when I’m alone. -ding
A sound effect I think I’ll get used to now.
[You can distribute ability points with earned points! (2)]
Remaining Seven Deadly Sins points: 2 Strength: 4 Endurance(Mental Power): 9 Intelligence: 5 Magic Power: 0 Flexibility: 8 Luck: 1
Maybe because I only ate weeds, strength was indeed destroyed.
The highest stat is endurance, which seems to be related to mental power too.
‘All in on the highest? Or balance it out?’
First, I needed to test how much 1 point increases when distributing ability points.
The one I can feel right away after increasing would be strength.
After slightly lifting the side of the bed to test, I distributed 1 point to strength.
[※Strength 4->5 complete.]
“Good. Here goes.”
-creak.
An ugly sound came from the bed that seemed about to break.
“What. It’s similar.”
Considering the placebo effect, 1 point indeed shouldn’t be noticeable.
Then what’s left? Magic power.
‘Since magic power is 0, if I put in 1 point, something might…’
-Ha-yu!
Rein’s voice was heard from far away.
“Yes?”
Servants’ rooms don’t have locks and don’t even have doors.
Just roughly covered by a piece of rag that’s become a cloth.
In other words, it means always be ready to be called without privacy.
For reference, this is much better than at the main house where I slept in corridors or rat-infested warehouses.
“…What were you doing?”
I dusted off my hands and played innocent.
“Do you need something?”
It was the first time Rein came to my room directly, when usually she wouldn’t come near servant rooms saying they’re dirty.
Instead of answering, she turned off the lamp’s light.
“Huh?”
-plop.
My body was laid down on what’s now embarrassing to call a bed because it’s so broken.
“Um, um? Master?”
“Give me blood.”
“Didn’t I give you yesterday…?”
“There’s a test at the entrance ceremony.”
No wonder she fed me well today.
There was a reason for everything.
She wants to charge high-purity magic power one more time.
Even so, not in my room.
“Then shall we go to your room, Master?”
“No.”
Rein embraced my neck.
The soft silk draped on her body started pressing against me.
At the same time, maybe because it was dark, I became more conscious of her body stimulating the senses.
‘Endure it, endure!’
I shut my eyes tight.
“Good boy.”
Her frequently used perfume seemed to dominate this space.
And just as she was about to lick my body, everything stopped.
“?”
When I opened my eyes slightly, Rein’s brow was furrowed.
Even her frowning face couldn’t hide her beauty.
“You said you didn’t do anything.”
Her voice was colder than ever.
“What?” “Never mind.” “???”
Leaving these incomprehensible words, Rein disappeared with quick steps.
-thud.
Because of that, the ragged curtain on the doorframe finally fell.
[Acquired 5 points of Seven Deadly Sins: Jealousy from ‘Arein S. Asphodel’.]
5 points when I didn’t do anything?
“What?”