029 – Lip Service

“Things like that… should only be for, for me…”

“That so?”

The long and short of it was, I decided to do things only with Ms. Ella.

A sleep clinic partnership, that is.

—

Thanks to Daisy, my senior, discreetly making herself scarce, I was able to have a one-on-one conversation with Ms. Ella.

“First off… I think you’re under a big misunderstanding.”

After clearing up the misunderstanding that Ms. Ella had.

I explained my thoughts on the Crystal Orb, for the sake of Miheon’s sleep clinic business.

At this point, Ms. Ella said…

“Mr. Miheon, you need someone to monitor you, to make sure you’re not doing bad things to the ladies, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What if the other party claims the Crystal Orb’s footage was fabricated?”

“That…”

“What if they claim they came back into the room after the Crystal Orb finished recording?”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“In the end, even with the Crystal Orb, you can’t win against someone who is determined to take you for everything you’ve got.”

Solid logic.

People who want to tear others down will latch onto even the smallest opening and tear them apart…

For example, even if South Korea’s best professional gamer proves himself every single moment, there will still be people who try to bring him down.

“Hmm…”

If that was the case, there was no helping it.

Miheon’s sleep clinic was abandoned as it was.

“You said earlier that you needed a business partner, right?”

“That was…”

Ms. Ella’s eyes twinkled.

Usually… I would be the one grabbing at her pant leg begging for a partnership… ah, if I grabbed her pant leg, I’d probably get arrested.

Anyway, in a normal situation, I would be the one proposing and Ms. Ella would be the one contemplating…

But the roles seemed to be reversed a bit.

“…I’m going to be serious here, Ms. Ella.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“No, no…”

Of course.

I was happy with it.

If I were to work with Ms. Ella, the number of people who would pick fights with me would decrease just by the fact that the daughter of the Margrave was with me.

The number of people looking for me would also increase.

However…

‘I feel bad for taking advantage of you like this…’

It felt almost wrong, like I was taking advantage of her affection. Guilt pricked at me.

“Then, let’s do this.”

In that instant.

The words from Miss Ella’s lips compelled me to slam the “yes” button with all my might.

“You absolutely *must* gather as much money as possible, Mr. Miheon.”

“This is rather sudden, isn’t it?”

“And I, too, need an excuse. An excuse to be away from the estate for, say, five days.”

“…Hm?”

“In five days hence, I intend to invite you to our family estate.”

“Pardon?”

“I sent a letter to my father requesting permission to court you, Mr. Miheon, but he wishes to see you himself and make his own judgment.”

“..!!”

“Therefore, for the next five days, let’s work together on this sleep clinic. And I, in turn, will dedicate those five days to teaching you the etiquette of the nobility.”

Nod, nod!

Seeing my enthusiastic agreement, a rosy hue bloomed on Miss Ella’s face.

‘He wishes to see me personally…!’

Instead of a flat rejection, like, ‘Ella, no. Your father wishes you to court a scion of a prestigious family,’ the Margrave wanted to meet me and decide for himself!

This…

‘This is his way of saying he’ll meet me face-to-face and tear me limb from limb, isn’t it?!’

Meeting the Margrave meant there was a real chance I’d become the protagonist of some tragic folktale, torn asunder.

For the next five days, I had to stick to Miss Ella like glue, learning how to survive the Margrave’s scrutiny.

*

When Ella first heard Miheon’s story about the enchanted orb.

The very first thought that flickered through her mind was.

‘If you only had the badge… you could obtain an orb like that whenever you want!’

Perhaps Mr. Miheon was simply unaware of how to use the badge?

The head butler had assured her that Mr. Miheon knew how to use it, yet…

‘He must not know.’

The fact that he was asking *her* to help him purchase the orb suggested as much.

“Uhm-”

She had been about to explain the badge’s capabilities and alleviate his financial anxieties when…

A stroke of brilliance flashed through her mind.

‘If this works…?’

To assist Mr. Miheon with the sleep clinic, she needed to remain at the Academy after the evening lectures, rather than returning to the estate.

Given the late-night nature of the sleep clinic, she, not being a dormitory resident, had no place to spend the evenings at the Academy.

But if she were to become a partner in the sleep clinic, she would ‘inevitably’ have to stay in Mr. Miheon’s dormitory room for the night.

‘Cohabitation…’

Therefore, instead of explaining the badge’s wonders, she presented the notion that sticking together for the next five days, with the excuse of impressing her father, would be far better.

Nod, nod!

‘That settles it!’

Lady Mihen seemed to agree as well.

‘Five days… in just five days…!’

Five days were given.

The most perfect opportunity in the world, dropped right out of the sky and laid out before me.

I would use every moment of this time as efficiently as possible, transforming myself into a son-in-law that would absolutely delight her father.

*

“So, the sleep clinic wasn’t the problem…”

After Lady Ella’s shocking announcement, I stood dumbfounded in my dormitory room, staring out the window.

“He wants to see me directly… I have no money, no family, no power, no appeal, I’m a commoner…”

With each description of myself that I ticked off.

‘Haa… how dare you, *you* of all people, even look at my daughter?’

I could practically feel my chances of survival dropping by five percent with each passing thought.

‘…Emergency.’

If I had my way, I’d claim to be ill that day and decline the invitation…

But what sane person… would ignore an invitation from the Marquess of Byun-gyeong?

Truly, though Lady Ella was delivering the message… it was no different from the Marquess himself ordering me to appear at his estate.

‘What should I prepare first?’

Not for the sake of receiving permission to court Lady Ella…

But for the sake of surviving my visit to the estate that day. I needed to be prepared for anything.

‘Lady Ella said she’d come at lunchtime…’

She would come to pick me up after my morning class.

While I was racking my brains about what I could possibly do in the meantime…

—

Isabella Lillith (■■■)

[Abduction] – Active

[Espionage] – Layton Isolde

[Sleep] – Active

—

I could see Lady Isabella Lillith’s status window.

‘…Sleep is active?’

I knew that when displaying the targets for which skills could be used…

The Abduction skill would be deactivated for targets already in my grasp, and the Sleep skill would be deactivated for those already asleep.

“…Lady Isabella Lillith. I know you’re awake.”

*Twitch!*

I could tell that Lady Isabella was pretending to be asleep, despite being awake.

“…Lady Isabella Lillith?”

“…”

“…?”

I wondered, all the while, why a True Ancestor Vampire would feign sleep.

“…Listen.”

She opened her mouth quietly…

“Could you… maybe step out for two hours?…”

An impossible request, she delivered.

“Uh… if I don’t leave for two hours, will I die?”

“…Maybe.”

“…If that’s the case, I should go, right?”

“…Thank you.”

To survive facing the True Ancestor Vampire was a more pressing matter than surviving facing the Margrave…

“I will be back in a little while.”

I immediately rose from my seat, turning to leave through the door.

“B-Before you go…!”

The True Ancestor’s flustered voice…

“T-Tell me what… what is detergent?”

An oddly significant question, she cast.

“…”

I whipped my head back to gaze intently at the bed where Isabella Lilith lay demurely.

“…”

“…Don’t look…”

The lower portion of the blanket, beneath which a cute cat lay curled, was faintly yellow.

This… this…

“Isabella Lilith-nim.”

“H-Huh? What, what is it?…”

“Have you, perchance, ever done laundry yourself?”

“Well, no, but…! I’ve watched humans do it plenty of times…!”

“…”

“B-Believe me…”

It seemed that, having slept for 400 years, she had made a little mistake during her slumber.

“…”

“D-Dreaming was a fi… first, so I didn’t even know that was a dream and I just…!”

Ah.

I understand what she means.

That situation where you urgently drop your pants in a dream only to find yourself in a real-life disaster.

Furthermore, Isabella Lilith-nim had claimed to have dreamt for the first time in centuries.

It must have been difficult to differentiate between reality and dreams.

A soft snicker escaped me…

I had been imagining a cruel and ruthless True Ancestor Vampire, but now, seeing her wetting the bed like a child, a smile crept onto my face unbidden.

“Why, why are you laughing…!”

“Because you’re cute.”

“Eep..!”

The small creature feels shame, a fluster in its voice.

How could one *not* find this adorable?

Of course.

That adorable creature could vaporize me with a flick of its wrist, but still…

“Lady Isabella Lillith.”

“Hm?..”

“If Lady Isabella Lillith truly desires it, I shall absent myself for two hours.”

“Really..!”

“However, can you resolve the matter within that two-hour span?”

“That is.. th-that is..”

“For your consideration, a guest is scheduled to arrive at my chambers in roughly three hours. Would that be acceptable?”

“…”

Hesitation…

The True Ancestor Vampire seems to want to say something but cannot form the words.

Slowly, I approached her.

“Y-you shouldn’t sit here, you know..”

Ignoring her, I sat directly on the bed, and cautiously began to stroke her hair.

Pat… pat…

“It isn’t Lady Isabella Lillith’s fault.”

“…Really?”

“Certainly. Anyone can make such a mistake.”

“Y-you won’t, won’t get angry?”

“Why would I be angry? I’m not angry, nor is there any reason to be angry about this.”

“Uuu…”

“Lady Isabella Lillith is simply a cat, no?”

“Eh?..”

Maintaining a conversation that would ease Isabella Lillith’s tension as much as possible, I thought.

‘If you don’t know how to do laundry, it’s better not to do it at all, True Ancestor-nim…’

I have no desire to sleep in a urine-soaked bed, so I felt more comfortable washing the bedding myself.

Frankly speaking, it’s unavoidable that the laundry skills of a True Ancestor Vampire are somewhat questionable, wouldn’t you agree?

“If a pet makes a mistake, the owner must naturally take responsibility.”

“Nyaoong… nyaoong…”

“Precisely. So, do not feel burdened. How was the dream you experienced for the first time?”

“It was very nice… Dreams are so…”

“Then, I shall lull you back to sleep. When you wake, everything will be neatly resolved.”

“…Is that alright?..”

“Of course it is. Is that not what a pet is supposed to do? Now then, Lady Isabella Lillith, you drift back into slumber.”

“Myaaao…”

“Sleep well. Sleep.”

“Mya…”

Thank goodness, the lip service technique Daisy-sunbae directly taught me seemed to work even on a True Ancestor vampire.