251 – The Lady Who Disrupted the Game.

“Hmm.”

Waking from her slumber, Olivia rubbed her eyes and rose from her bed.

“Krrrgh… Air raid alert! Total mobilization of the Empire’s power”

Abby was still sleeping beside her.

The air was dry.

“Hmm.”

Olivia felt thirsty. If things continued this way, by morning, she might lose to the Mandragora forces threatening the security of the Empire. With a serious expression, Olivia blew her nose.

“Sniff!”

Breathing was easy.

Her body felt light.

Carefully, Olivia kicked the blanket towards Darbav and looked under the bed.

-Deep…

“Eek!!!! It’s high!”

Perhaps because it was dark, the floor was not visible. Olivia calmly exhaled and placed one foot on the bed, testing the distance to the ground with the other.

“…”

-Wriggle, wriggle.

Frowning, Olivia looked at her short legs that couldn’t reach the floor and vented her frustration. Falling from this height would surely make a loud noise, so she swung her short legs, hoping her toes would at least touch the ground.

“Eeek!”

Wrong.

With no other choice, Olivia tightly closed her eyes and slowly began to descend.

-Thud!

“Ugh!”

Naturally, her short legs were insufficient to land her safely. As Olivia’s body hit the hard floor, making a sound, Darbav rose from the bed and looked at her.

“Olivia!”

Though he pretended to be asleep, charmed by Olivia’s cute appearance, he couldn’t ignore his daughter’s injury.

Darbav looked at Olivia with wide eyes, and Olivia gazed back at Darbav with a blank expression.

-Bang.

“Abby.”

“Are you okay?”

“Sleep more.”

“Understood.”

Darvab was a father who listened well.

Olivia, seizing the late evening, tiptoed carefully towards the stairs to fetch some water. Lifting her toes slightly, she moved cautiously, not to wake those asleep.

“Uh…!”

‘I mustn’t wake them.’

At this moment, Olivia was a spy.

“Hehe.”

Honestly, it was fun. Nothing was as thrilling as thievery done in secret. Having once stolen the dean’s seal at the academy, Olivia relished this kind of tension.

Olivia held her breath and descended the stairs. Clutching the stair railing, she moved stealthily enough that not even a Sword Master could detect her presence.

One might question how a mere villainess could possess a technique undetectable by a Sword Master, but as a villainess with a natural talent for thievery passed down through generations, it was possible.

“Fufufu…!”

Just as Olivia considered taking up thievery as a new side job, she had already made her way down the stairs and was nearing the kitchen.

One step.

-Do you realize what you’re doing right now?

Two steps.

-You know and yet you do it! What’s your plan? Even if you have one, it’s not something you can handle!

By the time she took three steps, rough voices were audible from beyond the kitchen.

Olivia tilted her head.

“They’re having fun without me again.”

Feeling spiteful for being left out of the fun, Olivia clenched her fist. She was annoyed at being thrown into her father’s room while others were enjoying themselves. Olivia pouted her lips.

“Eeek…”

Quietly, Olivia leaned closer in the direction of the noise. If she barged in suddenly, her mother would tell her to go back to sleep. She needed to be a bit more patient.

Not sure what game they were playing, but knowing the rules would surely get Ricardo to include her. So, Olivia, with her limited patience, pressed her eye against the slightly open door and concentrated on the sounds.

Three figures were visible.

“I’m doing this because I want to.”

Ricardo.

“What about the people left behind?”

Mother. No, mom.

“Mother…”

And then, the older brother.

The three sat facing each other with serious expressions. No matter how she looked at it, Olivia’s doubts grew as they sat huddled together as if playing a game.

“Squeak…! They’re playing the Mafia game..!”

She had played the Mafia game with Ricardo before.

-Bang.

-Squeak!

-It’s over.

-…It’s over?

-Yes.

-You’re not going to kill me?

-No.

Remembering the disappointment of the game ending in one turn due to a lack of players, Olivia clenched her fist and vented her frustration.

“I want to be the Mafia too…”

With three people, they should at least last two days. Olivia, envious, held her feelings close to her heart and focused on the trio’s conversation.

It all started with Ricardo’s defense.

“In the end, no one has to get hurt and we can create a happy outcome. I’m confident and sure of it.”

Ricardo spoke with a voice filled with indignation, as if it was unfair he was being accused of being the Mafia.

“Act well.”

Olivia clenched her fist at Ricardo’s calm acting. She was somehow anxious. She swallowed her saliva and held her breath.

“It looks fun…”

It looked so real, not like acting.

Her mother glared at Ricardo and said,

“If you’re so sure.”

“…”

“What changes if you’re sure? Does it change the fact that you get hurt? Or are you hoping to be treated like a hero with a ‘thank you’ for your troubles?”

“I’ve never thought about such things. I’m not that great of a person.”

“You are great. Even I, your mother, didn’t think of that.”

Ricardo shook his head slightly, answering like someone who knew something.

“No. Mother, you would surely make the same choice as me.”

“…”

Olivia smiled.

“Ricardo speaks so well.”

She thought whoever’s butler he was, he spoke intelligently, just like his master.

Indeed, Olivia praised herself for having an eye for butlers. And at the same time, she cursed her brother, who was tightly shutting his mouth.

“Brother is terrible at games.”

Keeping quiet could easily make one suspected as the mafia, and seeing her brother, who was terrible at games, Olivia felt so frustrated she wanted to give him advice.

The argument between mother and Ricardo continued.

“Then you won’t be happy!”

“I am already quite content.”

“Ricardo!”

“I am satisfied with my position right now. And I have resolved that issue. Now, all it takes is time…”

A mother who says don’t.

And Ricardo, who couldn’t be swayed.

Neither of their opinions seemed to be getting any closer, each forcing the other to give up.

“Why go to such lengths.”

“Because that’s the duty of a butler.”

“Who taught you to sacrifice your life for your master? Is that written in the manual?”

“Yes.”

“Then quit being a butler.”

“I refuse.”

“Ricardo, I’m not just talking to you right now, I’m commanding you as the mistress of Desmond.”

“Sometimes, making an autocratic decision for the safety of the master is also a butler’s prerogative.”

“…You.”

Mother gritted her teeth and spoke.

“What do you think Olivia would say if she knew.”

‘Me…?’

Olivia clenched her fist.

Her heart began to pound at the sudden mention of her name. Overwhelmed by an inexplicable anxiety, Olivia forced a smile and thought, ‘Mom’s using me as an excuse because she’s at a disadvantage.’ She pricked up her ears and focused on their conversation.

“Do you think Olivia would be pleased if she knew?”

“…”

“You think I’d be grateful for such sacrifices made for me, thinking I should do better from now on?”

Olivia pouted her lips and shook her head.

“Mom, I’m smart, but not to that extent.”

Olivia felt let down by her mother. She wished her mother would take her side, but the cold words stung a little.

Still, her mother was fiercely competitive.

Olivia tried to transform the rising anxiety into laughter and closed her eyes.

And then.

“Hee.. Heeeek…”

Her nose tickled with the swirling dust, and she began to flare her nostrils.

“Eek… I shouldn’t disrupt the game.”

Her nose was itchy.

Ricardo and her mother continued talking, and Olivia shook her head, trying to suppress a sneeze.

At that moment, as her mother was about to utter a decisive word.

“You’re going to die because of Olivia…!”

“Pffftchoo!”

Olivia let out the sneeze.

Silence fell.

No one spoke, they all rose from their seats, turning towards the direction of the sneeze with shocked expressions. Like someone who had said something they shouldn’t have, they looked round-eyed towards the door. Olivia, with an awkward smile, opened the door and squeezed herself in.

“Sniffle.”

Olivia showed her face, smeared with snot. With a look that seemed almost laughable, she walked awkwardly smiling between the three people.

“Mom. Brother. Ricardo!”

Ricardo’s face turned pale, looking more surprised than her mother or brother, staring at her.

“Ah… Miss?”

“Mhm.”

“That.. That is.”

Olivia said awkwardly, smiling at Ricardo.

“I’m in the game.”

While calming the unease in her heart.

“Let me play the game too.”

She stretched out her hands and spoke to Ricardo.