Chapter 17

As evening fell and I’d just finished eating, Hieronymus suddenly showed up.

Opening the door, Hieronymus walked in with a poker face, but you could tell he was super tense.

He’ll explain what he’s so worked up about soon enough. After handing off the dishes to Joanna, I walked over to Hieronymus.

“Hi there, Hieronymus.”

I want to ask how he’s doing, but not yet. Gotta hold back a bit. Just keep it casual like normal – repetitive actions give people a sense of stability. If I started laughing weirdly like “hehe, you here?” as soon as he came in, Hieronymus would probably bonk me on the head with some magic tool or something.

So I greet him the usual way. And that’s where I stop.

You gotta talk a lot to narrow the perception gap between people. Conversely, if you don’t talk much, it’s hard to improve that gap. Plus, the fewer verbal slip-ups I make, the better.

Why bother creating a character anyway? Might as well stick around since I’m here. If I fall too low, I might disappear, so I should try to gain as much warmth as possible, right?

The reason for making myself a weak character is that strong characters tend to expose their flaws easily when they lack the power or intelligence to sustain that strength. If all someone knows how to do is fire death beams and shoots lasers whenever annoyed, that’s pretty trashy behavior.

Too bad…

Living things learn through fear and reward. If I had that ability, I’d condition them with blessings as rewards and death as punishment.

Though fear alone doesn’t work – you need balance. Even with thorough conditioning, occasionally an exception pops up, like Tisah. Despite being in a closed-off environment, he figured out this cult was sketchy and even learned how to escape before getting killed.

So always keep in mind that there are exceptions. After finishing my greeting to Hieronymus, I just stared silently.

What brings him here alone at this late hour?

“I apologize, Lady Rebecca. I heard you weren’t satisfied with this room and came to check.”

So Andrew relayed the message, huh? That’s why he rushed over?

Hmm?

At that moment, Joanna, who was behind me clearing the table, furrowed her brow without looking at Hieronymus.

Is she upset because I don’t like this room? Or because there’s a stranger here? Or is there another reason?

If she had a habit of voicing her thoughts quietly, we might know, but Joanna doesn’t have that kind of habit, so her thoughts remain a mystery.

While analyzing Joanna with one part of my brain, I deal with Hieronymus with the other. Just then, Hieronymus asks me an additional question.

“What exactly about this room do you dislike?”

He’s asking for specifics. Got to give him props for not assuming things.

But he shouldn’t be asking this way. I don’t lie – I can’t fully deceive someone because I lack that capability. Creating a weak character aligns with my true nature, so there’s no discrepancy.

Let’s stick to the facts then.

There are various things I don’t like, but there’s one simple point I can make. There’s a room I know – the place meant for Rebecca Rolfe.

“This room is different from the one Rebecca Rolfe lived in.”

Yeah, this is the original owner’s room.

Rebecca Rolfe came from a wealthy family. She was a typical young lady with many servants.

But someone burned down the house she lived in. The person standing right here, to be precise. Whether they did it directly or just gave the order…

“Do you know what the original owner’s room looked like?”

“It’s in her memories.”

By the way, this statement contains dangerous information – that I have access to Rebecca Rolfe’s memories.

It implies I can access the memories of this body, but with a little imagination, one might think I can read the memories of those I’ve consumed.

If Hieronymus were a genius, he could piece together my mistakes and realize I see the world through the eyes of those I’ve blessed.

It’s fine if it comes out eventually, but I’d prefer it didn’t happen too soon. Still, when the time comes, I’ll use it.

Curious to see how Hieronymus would respond, I watched him. Sure enough, his quick-thinking kicked in and he answered promptly.

“I’ll prepare a similar room for you.”

Whoa.

This suggests he might have personally gone to kidnap this body. He didn’t ask what the room looked like – though he could send underlings to investigate.

Hmm?

No, wait. One thing.

I need to say something.

“How exactly? That room was completely destroyed by fire, wasn’t it?”

Hehe.

Yeah, that’s criticism – criticism from Rebecca Rolfe.

Criticism from someone who’s already dead. Can you answer that, Hieronymus?

There was no response. He chose silence.

Too bad. If he had responded somehow, I could have lowered his humanity score, but he still retains his humanity.

Because revenge is the most human choice, see? That’s why revenge dramas shine so brightly, and everyone fears the world becoming righteous. Not because high-ranking people worry about being revenged against, but because obvious truths get buried.

When you serve desperate beings, you learn something.

Revenge is painful. It hurts, it’s exhausting, and the good memories cling to you, burning you.

Should we forget this?

Should we ignore this?

Just because the world works this way, does that make revenge wrong?

Even while knowing this, isn’t it tempting to close your eyes and avoid the pain? If revenge leads to a righteous world, the stakes become incredibly high – either producing results or breaking down.

Not everyone can be a superhero.

Not everyone can be a stoic sage.

Everyone deserves the freedom to be a lazy nihilist.

The right to be a slave.

A comfortable life where you only fear daily suffering without diving deep into despair.

But those who want such lives push revenge aside as evil. Even when the powerful dominate the era, this mindset doesn’t fade – it grows stronger.

Once you abandon your humanity, you start envying others’ humanity.

Thus, others’ revenge seems beautiful, while you wish to stay far from it, lacking the motivation to seek revenge yourself.

Yet here stands someone willing to do anything for revenge. Whatever their past may be, they must have lost something important.

And before them stands someone who lost everything due to their adversary.

Even if your brain realizes I’m not the real Rebecca Rolfe, visual information is hard to ignore, right?

This critique will stick in his mind whether he likes it or not.

Because he has humanity, because he understands revenge, whatever labels you want to attach, I believe this message will resonate with Hieronymus.

This is Rebecca Rolfe’s form of revenge, modest as it may be.

After delivering this, I expect more warmth distribution or blessing material supply as a bonus.

Don’t leave me hanging too long, okay?

Instead of responding, he chose silence. We could continue this awkward silence indefinitely, but Joanna’s stomach might develop ulcers at this rate.

Hmm.

How about I phrase it differently?

“Just do what you want, Hieronymus.”

Stop worrying about my cues and do what you feel like. Give warmth or blessings, whatever.

But!

“If you stop, I won’t forgive you.”

People die without food. I get cold without warmth.

So stopping is unacceptable. If it comes to that, I’ll leave and find another host, possibly even attaching myself to Andrew if he’s your enemy.

Though I won’t say that part aloud.

After pausing, I watched Hieronymus lift his head.

“What do you mean?”

Come on, haven’t you figured it out by now?

You’re asking what I mean? Are you saying everything we’ve discussed so far was just my imagination?

Sigh.

That’s what happens when communication breaks down. Can’t help it.

Lower the intelligence a bit.

“I need warmth. The more your wishes come true, the more warmth you’ll give me, right?”

Hehe.

The warmth gained from my blessed ones killing others is separate. Besides that, you need to offer me sacrifices to provide warmth.

“So just do what you want. Or should I ask Joanna instead for a better room suggestion?”

At my words, Joanna vigorously shakes her head side to side. You really don’t want that, huh?

Hieronymus briefly glanced at Joanna, then turned back to me and nodded.

“Understood. I’ll do as I please. And if you have any complaints, Lady Rebecca, please let me know through Joanna.”

“Yes, understood.”

Seems like hearing my story through Andrew left a bad taste in his mouth.

Wild beasts don’t understand strings. If he intends to do something, I won’t stop him. But I won’t help either.

And Hieronymus left without turning his back on me.

Did I criticize him too harshly?

Still, Hieronymus refusing to supply warmth or blessing materials is unacceptable.

Anyway, if we can move rooms…

“Joanna.”

“Yes, Lady Rebecca.”

“Could you request a room with windows if possible?”

“That’s a great idea, Lady Rebecca!”

Being cooped up in an enclosed space makes the air stuffy, right?

Even putting that aside, this isn’t a good environment for Joanna to be in for long.

The kitchen or anything is too far away.

By now, you probably realize I don’t have any special powers besides blessings and don’t plan on moving much. Ideally, I’d like to visit an area of the village I haven’t been to yet.

I think staying outside will make events happen more easily.

Hehe.

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