NOVEL NEXT A Fairy Tales For The Villains
Vol. 1 Chapter 3 - I Became Old Boy?!(3)
Some died unexpectedly from chronic illness, some were poisoned, others were involved in a violent conflict, and still others… At one point or another, they all met with inexplicable deaths. There was a mention of rumors that certain ‘vipers’ were responsible for the slaughter of relatives. At least, that’s how I recall it.
“What are you two talking about?”“Our Sasha here was afraid we’d leave her behind.”“Really? I thought you’d like that, I’m surprised.”…At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder what Lettis thought of me. Anyway, these guys really ended up being those sociopathic demons? Really? No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t believe it.“That sound is weird.”Estelle, staring at the floor and pouting as if she didn’t like this place, grabbed my wrist and whispered. Although she usually was quite petulant, it wasn’t the case this time. A strange sound soon pierced our ears.No, more than hearing it, I saw it. The mirror on the wall suddenly moved with a heavy sound. As if there was something like a device outside, it turned slowly like a revolving door through a stone wall. And,“Uncle Jerome?”Mysteriously appearing like some bizarre movie production, Viscount Ipolit, the youngest uncle of the siblings, materialized from nowhere. We used to play with him often when we were little, the siblings’ favorite uncle.“Oh, Uncle, I was so nervous!”“We were starting to get some weird ideas. But where exactly are we?”“Uncle Jerome, I’m hungry. I want to get out of here!”As the nervous siblings talked at the same time, seeming relieved, I just stood back silently. No matter how much the late Duke and Duchess cared for my mother and me, we were mere humble servants in the eyes of others. I was well aware of that, even before I recovered my past life memories. However, now… I stood still and observed the young Viscount. Something seemed a little off. Even though he showed his usual meek yet friendly smile, that smile was strained, and his pupils were darker, like fish’s eyes. He stood wordlessly while his nephews and niece danced and chattered around him. Like someone who was in an awkward and embarrassing position. Even if we didn’t show it, we children were trying to cope with the sudden deaths and barely managing. But why was he looking at his nephews and niece with such a strange expression? Perhaps he was thinking about the dead? I couldn’t begin to guess.“Uncle?”As if finally feeling the dissonance, Lettis coughed. The atmosphere, loosened for a brief moment, slowly turned stiff and awkward again. After a short but seemingly long silence, Jerome finally opened his mouth. It wasn’t his usual soft, playful voice, but a harsh tone that came out as if there was sand stuck in his throat.“Children… First, let’s all sit down.”Lettis sat on a nearby chair while Venya and Estelle sat on the edge of the bed. As for me, I stood next to Estelle. Although everyone calmly sat down, Jerome closed his mouth again and stared at our puzzled faces. Was he recalling his brother and sister-in-law while looking at their children’s faces?“Are you sick, Uncle?”“…Oh, no, no, I’m fine, Letty. You were very surprised, right? You woke up and found that your room had changed.”“We were a little surprised. But this is our mansion, right?”“A secret room is fundamental knowledge for every noble family.”Everyone burst into laughter at the Viscount’s joke, said in a more normal tone of voice. Except for me.It was because the expression he used was strangely annoying. ‘We were transferred to a different room, so it means we’re going to continue using this room…?’“Kids, I’m afraid we’ll have to change our plans for the time being.”“What?”“…The plan to go to Pzeya. Well, you know very well what’s going on in the Capital. We’ve all concluded that even going to the port of Valencia is too risky.”Countless nobles — including the Duke and Duchess of Serpente; even the Empress, who had never set foot on the streets — had been infected and died from the disease. Many people, not just commoners who were the first to succumb but also the nobles, died at this point. It was a terrible plague. Literally, God’s punishment itself, as the newspapers had claimed. It wasn’t certain when or how one person could be infected.…Although it wasn’t actually God’s punishment but just the Writer’s setting. At any rate, this unidentified plague, quite similar to that of the Black Death,* will fade in two months as suddenly as it appeared. But of course, the impact of the shock and horror will last for a long time.‘Frankly speaking, it’s a rational decision but…’“Even in this mansion… some people were infected, so we know it won’t be safe anymore. In particular, young children like you are more vulnerable, so we quickly moved you to the safest place. This is the only place that has been isolated for a long time.”He used a light and cheerful tone, unbelievably similar to how it used to be. Such a bright tone seemed to conceal something ominous. I made eye contact with Venya. Apparently, we both had the same thought.“Then… What are you saying? Are we staying here from now on?”Confused by Venya’s sudden question, Lettis raised his head with a startled gaze. Estelle, too, looked frightened, and Jerome smiled and hastily moved his head. To be exact, he nodded. “For the time being. It will be a short time. There’s nothing we can do about it, because you can’t be exposed to that risk so… It’s very safe here, you can rest assured you’ll be fine. I don’t like this either, but if you endure until the situation gets better, you’ll be able to go to Pzeya as soon as things improve.” We all looked at each other. We loved exploring new and interesting places, but staying there was a different story. Biding in such a small space would be fine for me, but it would be a nightmare for the noble siblings.“I don’t like it here….”Estelle immediately turned to me and started crying as expected. What kind of twist of events is this? Lettis and Venya too, both looked astonished.“How many days must we stay here?”The answer to Lettis’ dreary question came out rather quickly.“It may be for a week or so, but not more than that. It’s best for you to go abroad as soon as possible.”“Uhm then… What about our meals and stuff? Do we have to do everything here too?”“Of course. The butler will bring you everything you need, so don’t worry. We moved clothes in advance for you all, look for them later. Estelle has Sasha, so she’ll be okay. But for the time being, you boys will have to learn to take care of yourselves.”The two looked dumbfounded at their uncle, who threw a half-joke and burst into laughter. In other circumstances, I would have also laughed at such an extraordinary idea, but I couldn’t afford that in the current situation. “Darn it! It’s so dark and stuffy in here, can’t we go out for just a minute?”“You can’t. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have brought you here in the first place. The disease can be transmitted through the air.”A week at most. It was a short period by my standards, although it would be too much for the kids. ‘It will just be a week, and then we could be on a ship together heading to a foreign Kingdom.’But then… Why did I have that uncomfortable feeling inside? It wasn’t a decision I couldn’t understand. In fact, it was fortunate that it was only a week as a temporary measure… Yet, ‘Why do I feel this chill down my spine?’The Viscount suddenly turned to me with an awkward smile. Had he sensed my suspicions? His jade-green eyes glistened with a sudden odd glow as he stared into my eyes. It lasted just an instant.“Sasha, as you might have gathered, you’re also going to Pzeya. Estelle needs you. Ehem, as much as you have done so far, please continue caring for my niece.” * * * ‘Let’s see, what was the plot of that novel?’In the Cherkesha Empire, boasting a brilliant 1700 year-old civilization, there were only two households that carried the title of Duke: the Parkes family, who were the meritorious founding subjects of the Empire, and the Serpente family, firmly rooted in finance. Serpente’s history was quite short compared to the time-honored, Empire-founding Parkes Duchy, but they overpowered them by owning the most important and powerful bank in the Empire, the Python Bank. The heroine was Duke Parkes’ daughter, Adriana D’amor Parkes. She was an only child who lost her mother at an early age and was raised fondly by her father. But she suffered greatly due to her stepmother and stepsister, who appeared out of the blue and tormented her. Tragically, her father died from the plague. However, rumors were going around that Duke Parkes’ death was due to his second wife’s poisons rather than the plague.Anyway, after the outbreak of the great plague, the Empire was in such chaos that bandits and gangs were everywhere. Adriana greatly contributed to the stability of the people by donating a considerable amount of money to the poor. That brought her close to the Crown Prince.He was of course the male lead. Naturally, the two of them ended up together and lived happily ever after, but there was a bit of noise in the middle. The second prince, known as a promiscuous man, chased after his brother’s lover. Then Adriana’s siscon step-brother interfered in their relationship as much as possible. In addition, Serpente’s Young Duke, who ruled the Imperial underworld for seven years after returning from Pzeya, fell deeply in love with Adriana. (And yes, that would be Lettis.) That was the start of Sasha’s —my—downfall, as she controlled the Serpente brothers through all kinds of evil deeds. All three of us encountered a disastrous catastrophe at the end of the book.The justification for how a nanny’s daughter, a mere commoner, could dominate the noble brothers to her heart’s content, in addition to the close childhood relationship, was my outstanding beauty… ‘The book states it, I’m not flattering myself.’There was a line that even the Princes, while hating my personality and finding my presence enough to make them shudder, acknowledged my beauty. Gina’s Corner:Black death: The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. Till now, it is still the epidemic with the highest death toll in human history.
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