"Fine to stick close as my guard, but must you be so silent?" "Are you insane? Why would I guard you, young master?" "…"

My personal guard, she says.

"Surveillance. Do not misunderstand. Also, I can’t tolerate this any longer. Release those children."

Sylvia's grinding teeth echoed in the quiet library. She was clearly antagonistic. She’d been like this since morning and hadn’t let up.

[Sylvia’s Affinity decreased by 1.]

When I had the kids running laps, her affinity dropped.

[Sylvia’s Affinity decreased by 1.]

When I gave them food, it dropped again.

[Sylvia’s Affinity decreased by 1.]

It dropped once more when I had the maids give them a bath.

[Sylvia’s Affinity decreased by 3.]

And it fell further when I let them sleep in the guest rooms underground. No matter what I did, it just kept dropping. Now her affinity with me was at -38, sheer contempt.

"My sister gave me those slaves as a gift. I don’t think it’s for a mere knight to say how I treat them." "Then treat slaves as slaves. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about my insolence." "I’ll treat them as I please. What’s your problem with that?" "The problem is…! Argh, the nerve!"

Sylvia couldn’t contain her anger and shouted.

"I know what you’re doing! The more happiness one has known, the greater the despair when it’s taken away. You’re giving those children happiness just to snatch it back and harvest the darkness left behind for your twisted magic, aren’t you?"

Sylvia’s face flushed red with rage, her body trembling. Her red eyes were full of hostility. She despised me, wanted to kill me right now, but couldn’t due to her contract. She looked like she could barely restrain herself from drawing her sword.

So, she’s exactly the same as in the game.

In-game, Sylvia eventually sides with the protagonist and betrays Aslan. Even if it meant suffering the penalty for breaking her contract, she couldn’t stomach serving a villain like him. She ends up killing Aslan herself, sparing the protagonist from having to become as monstrous as he was.

Some say it was to protect the protagonist from falling down a dark path, but I think it was Sylvia’s last show of loyalty to the family she’d served. She killed Aslan quickly to spare him pain. She’s a paragon of justice and loyalty, an ideal knight. In other words, the complete opposite of Aslan. No wonder her affinity with me is so low.

"Heh heh heh…" "…!"

Crap, I hadn’t meant to laugh out loud. Sylvia’s eyes narrowed in fury, clearly misinterpreting my reaction as mockery.

"How can you be so…!" "That’s enough. I’ve heard enough." "Or what? Are you going to activate my brand?" "…"

Sylvia showed me the mark on her neck with a sneer. The brand was the mark that bound her to the Vermonte family. While I could use it to physically subdue her, that wouldn’t work. She could remove the brand whenever she decided to betray me, though it would bring excruciating pain and likely shorten her life to under a decade. Still, it wouldn’t stop her if she was determined.

So, I had to get her to genuinely believe in me. To overcome this villainous tone of mine. This was going to be a real challenge.

"Go ahead and free them if you want." "What?" "The door’s open. No one’s stopping you. Do as you like."

Sylvia hesitated, looking at me with distrust, then took a step forward.

"But only if you’re prepared to take responsibility for them." "…" "You have some talent, so you must know: those children aren’t ordinary. Can you keep them safe out there from all the evildoers?" "You, talking about evildoers? That’s rich, coming from the worst of them all!" "Reckless and righteous as ever, I see. Maybe you’ll find that a known evil is better than uncertain dangers. Keep them in your sight, if you’re so concerned. And if you think I’m trying to push them into despair, you can take them then. Break the contract, kill me, and take them." "…!"

Sylvia’s eyes widened. I must have thrown her off with that one. So, she’s been planning an escape. She narrowed her eyes, but there was less anger than before.

She’s still suspicious.

But that suspicion burned even brighter now. Of course, she was suspicious. Anyone would be, seeing someone act so out of character.

"Fine. We’ll see about that." "Good decision. Oh, and by the way, you’re getting a 50% pay cut this month." "…" "Did you think you could talk back to your master and bare your teeth without consequences?"

I didn’t need to rush. Sylvia would always find something to dislike, no matter what I did. She’d be furious if I mistreated the kids, but if I treated them well, she’d find that suspicious, too.

I had no immediate way to win her over. Only time could tell if this approach would work. Let’s see if I can avoid getting sliced in half by her sword.

[Sylvia’s Affinity increased by 6.]

Wait, is she happy about the pay cut? Is she some kind of masochist?

"Time to wake up!" "Ugh. Didn’t sleep a wink…"

As dawn broke and the maids bustled in, Yulia woke up to the noise. She hadn’t managed to sleep again. Charlotte was still sound asleep, oblivious to the fact she’d stolen all the blankets and pillows in the night.

"Up. Time for morning laps." "Knight lady…" "Don’t even think about asking me anything. I don’t know, and even if I did, I couldn’t answer." "…"

Sylvia, was it? She seemed stoic and resolute, always carrying out Aslan’s orders without question. Definitely someone to watch out for. Yulia had to be on guard, collecting as much information as she could in case Yuri ever came back to help them escape. She moved to the track, keeping her defenses up.

"Ten laps, just like yesterday. Begin."

The same routine as before. She ran ten laps, then headed to the baths, again surrounded by overly enthusiastic maids who had her changing outfits dozens of times. And then, after sweating and building up an appetite, she devoured the breakfast.

"Mmm! So good! Right, Yulia?" "Yeah, this tomato pasta is pretty… wait! This isn’t right!"

Yulia froze mid-bite, realizing that she was scarfing down the pasta without a second thought. When had this become routine? She couldn’t let Aslan lull her into complacency. She didn’t know what he was planning, but it was definitely dangerous.

"Charlotte." "Mmm, yeah?" "Stop eating for a moment. We need a plan. We have to figure out how to escape." "Can’t we just ask Aslan to let us go?" "What?! No!"

Yulia could hardly believe it. She’d seen how much Aslan had paid for them with her own eyes. He’d never just let them go, not after spending that much. Even if they weren’t technically slaves…

"If you want to leave, you’re free to go." "Huh?"

Aslan’s voice came from the library, where he sat with his eyes still on his book, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Charlotte shot her a smug look, while Yulia was left dumbfounded.

"Then we’ll leave right now—" "Once you pay back the 1 billion Larque each, of course." "One billion?!" "And that’s per person. So, ten billion for the both of you."

Ten billion? That was enough to buy a small estate. How were they supposed to come up with that? They were just two orphaned commoners. He’d only paid a hundred thousand or so to buy them, but he wanted billions to let them go?

"So, we’re trapped here forever? We don’t have that kind of money!" "Of course, you don’t. That’s why you’ll work for it. You think I’m feeding and housing you out of charity? Earn your keep, and when you’ve made a billion each, I’ll let you buy your freedom." "Damn it…"

Aslan put his book down, finally looking at her with a smug, villainous grin. Yulia was sure of it now—this man was trash, through and through.