Chapter 47

“Oh, you’re here, Master…?”

She stammered, her eyes darting around, avoiding her gaze. She greeted Viviana in a way that wasn’t too enthusiastic, but also not too timid.

“…”

Viviana stared at me for a while. Her peculiar gaze made me feel a bit puzzled, but fortunately, she soon smiled faintly and patted my head.

“Did you write the letter well?”

“Uh… yes. Haven’t you read it?”

“Why would I read it? It’s someone else’s letter.”

Did she really not read it? Viviana has a very meticulous personality. She never lets even the smallest detail slide, and once she sets her mind on something, she will achieve it no matter what.

Given that she decided to make me her pet, I wondered if she really didn’t care about my interest in other young ladies.

But then again, I think she has no reason to lie to me about such things. I wrote the letter assuming she would read it, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Viviana patted my head and sat down on the bed. She picked up a book placed next to the pillow, read its contents, and then frowned slightly.

“This is… quite different from your usual taste, isn’t it?”

“That’s why it’s fun.”

Actually, I quite enjoy reading about others being tortured. The more cruel and inhumane the torture methods, the more I feel reassured that I’m not the only trash in this world.

I know I’m twisted, but that’s just who I am.

“Tina Iron.”

Soon, Viviana lost interest in the book, crossed her legs on the bed, and gestured seductively to me. I slowly, with timid steps, knelt by the bed and gently rested my head on her thigh.

“…”

Viviana silently looked down at me. I looked up at her with trembling eyes and cautiously spoke.

“A-are you uncomfortable? I wanted to be a bit more spoiled with you, Master… I’m sorry…”

Timidly, as if restless.

With a voice that seemed to lack confidence.

I spoke softly to Viviana.

Actions solely for Viviana.

I thought this was a special treatment.

“No, I’m not uncomfortable.”

See, Viviana doesn’t dislike it, right? That’s her way of expressing approval. Feeling more confident, I rubbed my face against her thigh.

At first, I was worried when she mentioned confinement. I know Viviana isn’t a bad person, but the memory of being violated by Mardian left some trauma, so I wasn’t entirely at ease.

If I had known it would be this easy, I wouldn’t have worried so much. Honestly, if it’s like this, I could stay for a year, let alone a month.

Just acting timidly, catering to Viviana’s mood, and getting through a month. The reward is all the glory of the family and the full support of the Merdelia Ducal Family.

I wondered what Viviana was thinking, even using the family’s name.

Honestly, it’s a bit awkward to say this, but Viviana doesn’t seem to have the high intelligence mentioned in the game.

Despite being described as thorough and talented in every aspect, her inability to calculate gains and losses was a bit disappointing.

Well, it’s good for me.

[Tina, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.]

While I was flattering Viviana on her lap, I remembered what my mother once said.

‘There’s no free lunch, but there are fools, Mother.’

I chuckled inwardly, missing my mother. It’s been a long time since I last embraced her warmth, so I felt a bit lonely, but I could endure a month.

“Tina, are you hiding something from me?”

At Viviana’s voice, I slowly raised my head. There was no significant change in my expression, but for some reason, I sensed an unknown emotion in her purple eyes.

“Hiding something?”

“Yes.”

Viviana waited for my response with that single word. I smiled faintly, neither too bright nor too sad, and looked up at her.

“There’s no way I’d hide anything from you, Viviana…?”

“…That’s good then.”

Viviana smiled faintly and patted my head.

A strange sense of déjà vu hit me. After that, Viviana didn’t say much, but an inexplicable unease lingered, troubling my heart.

I wondered if I had missed something.

Come to think of it, isn’t Viviana oddly kind?

I thought she wasn’t originally this kind.

Viviana’s personality can be summed up in one word.

Sociopath.

A narcissist who loves herself the most in this world, a woman who wouldn’t hesitate to behead anyone who stands in her way.

Not evil, but utterly indifferent to those who don’t benefit her, with her success and fame being her only concerns.

In the game, Viviana never smiled kindly at anyone. So much so that even within the same game, Lillian’s route was a romance, while Viviana’s was a power fantasy action.

Of course, Viviana might have a romance route, but it didn’t suit her temperament.

A cold-blooded person, that Viviana has been smiling kindly lately… In the game, Viviana rarely smiled like that.

‘It must be my imagination.’

I decided to think that my flattery was working that well. And this is reality, not a game. Such minor discrepancies can always happen.

Maybe Viviana will fall for me later and do all sorts of things for me.

“Tina, really, nothing?”

Unnecessarily serious eyes.

Viviana gently placed her hand on my shoulder and asked again. Viviana isn’t the type to repeat herself, so I don’t know what she’s so eager to confirm.

“Of course…!”

Don’t be intimidated.

My childhood friend said it.

Being pretty is the truth.

*

A week has passed since then, and now Viviana lit a cigarette in her office for the first time in a while.

[Ah… what could I possibly be hiding from you, Viviana?]

“…”

Recalling Tina’s clumsy voice, Viviana took a drag of her cigarette. Her eyes, glowing faintly through the haze of smoke, looked somewhat eerie.

“…Hoo.”

She felt disgusted.

When did it start?

When did that mischievous Pet Lady start hiding and deceiving her?

Maybe she planned to deceive her from the very beginning.

Despite telling her several times that she hates lies, that Pet Lady chose to deceive her.

And if she hadn’t noticed, she would have continued to whisper sweet lies to her.

Still, hoping she would confess on her own, she kept asking, but the answers were always disappointing.

Perhaps to the Pet Lady, she was just another noble patron. If she hadn’t seen Tina without her facade, she would have firmly believed that Tina’s timid demeanor was her true nature.

But anyone who has seen Tina’s hidden side can feel the difference.

Tina with her facade lacks that something that stirs the heart.

Of course, she’s pretty and cute. Innocently adorable enough to make you want to keep her at home. That’s why she could attract the love and popularity of so many young ladies.

But that’s it.

Tina’s hidden personality exudes a completely different vibe.

Equally lovely, but in a different way. Tina’s fragile face, seemingly on the verge of breaking at any moment, stirs the innate violence and primal desires hidden within humans.

When she held onto me in bed after the trauma of being violated by Mardian, even I, who thought myself heartless, felt my heart race madly, and my face flushed red for the first time.

And that was undoubtedly lust.

Something dangerous enough to break the high wall of homosexuality.

I don’t want to use such a lowly word…

But the only word to describe it was ‘horny.’

In short, Tina’s true self is insanely hot.

And quite dangerously so.

She probably doesn’t realize it.

I want to make her cry out my name until she can’t take it anymore. That Mardian lady must have been bewitched by that true self to commit such a bold crime.

Surely, unable to bear the pain that villainess inflicted, Tina must have occasionally shown her true nature to Mardian.

“…”

It’s annoying.

The reason Tina’s true self emerged during the kidnapping was because Mardian pushed her to her limits. Ultimately, both then and before, it was Mardian who unmasked Tina.

It infuriated me that I was overshadowed by that overambitious countess who bit off more than she could chew.

“She shows it to her… but hides it from me.”

You brought this upon yourself, Tina.

I tried to be as kind as possible.

I had a promise with Tina’s mother, and for some reason, I couldn’t be harsh to Tina, so I tried to treat her as a cute pet.

But all I got in return were vicious lies.

“Sorry, Mother.”

It seems I’ll have to do things Mother wouldn’t like.

It’s fortunate that I found out now.

Tina has a habit of taking advantage of those who treat her well. That’s why she’s acting this way.

In the end, being kind wasn’t an option.

To see the true self Tina so desperately hides.

I’ll have to break her thoroughly.

“This is more in line with the Merdelia way.”

Viviana’s red lips bloomed into a seductive smile.