The Marquis Felicita had urgent matters come up and decided to leave immediately. Before he went out, he left Izrael in my care.
“Have tea together, and then show him around the manor.”
After seeing the Marquis off, Izrael and I went to the reception room and sat down.
A maid who followed us in prepared the tea. As the tea leaves steeped, a soft aroma spread through the room. She poured the well-brewed tea into our cups.
I carefully lifted my cup, took a sip, and almost burned my tongue on the hot liquid. I managed to keep my expression unchanged as if nothing had happened. Just then, the maid asked,
“How is the tea, young lady?”
I simply nodded and set the cup down. The maid, who had been visibly tense, let out a small sigh of relief. Then she quickly stepped back as if trying to escape.
It seemed the maids were already wary of Shuen Felicita. That part could be improved over time, little by little.
‘It’s not strange for a child to change.’
But Izrael was another matter.
The readers who had read the side stories tended to romanticize him in their memories, but Izrael was indeed an antagonist.
Even before he became an adult, he looked at people as if they were insects. Anything that went against him was crushed without hesitation.
Shuen Felicita was one of the characters who brought him the greatest misfortune.
Naturally, Izrael took brutal revenge on Shuen. Most of the details were omitted since the novel was rated for general audiences.
Even with such merciless revenge, readers didn’t hate Izrael. That was how awful Shuen was.
To think I ended up possessing a character who wasn’t even just a villain, but the one who turned others into villains… I swallowed a sigh.
‘It’s fine. With me now, I can avoid a bad ending.’
Fortunately, we had just met. Izrael probably had no feelings toward me yet. Then there was only one answer.
Treat him kindly, don’t bully him, and get along with him!
Then Izrael wouldn’t come back to kill me.
‘He’s not inherently bad.’
There was a reason why Izrael, despite being an antagonist, was popular.
He had a nasty temper, but he wasn’t someone who went around doing evil without reason. He repaid kindness properly and sometimes even did good deeds.
My thoughts were the same. I looked at Izrael across from me.
The boy was sitting at the edge of the sofa, head lowered. He seemed uncomfortable sitting on such a fancy couch.
He sat quietly, not even making a sound.
To think that such a faint presence would become a terrifying villain in the future—it didn’t make sense no matter how I thought about it.
‘He said he’s fourteen.’
His body was alarmingly thin for his age.
After being separated from his father, Izrael had survived three near-death experiences. His life had been so tragic that even while reading, I had teared up.
Seeing him in person made him even more pitiful, my chest tightening painfully.
So young and fragile…
‘I have to treat him well.’
My future safety mattered, but I also couldn’t stand seeing my favorite character like this.
The most important thing was the first impression. People say you don’t spit on a smiling face.
I looked at Izrael and smiled kindly and gently. Or at least I tried to.
Ding!
At that moment, a bell sounded and letters appeared before my eyes.
<<Warning! Inconsistent behavior detected.>>
<<Accumulated warnings: 2>>
<<Caution: If warnings reach 3, automatic mode will be activated.>>
What is this?
I had seen this earlier too. I thought I was hallucinating, but apparently not.
What even counts as “inconsistent behavior”?
But I didn’t have time to think further because Izrael was looking at me with puzzled eyes.
“…Sister?”
I opened my lips.
“Nice to meet—”
Before I could finish, the bell rang again.
<<Warning! Inconsistent behavior detected.>>
<<Accumulated warnings: 3>>
<<Automatic mode will activate for 5 minutes.>>
Automatic mode? Wait. What is that?
My question was immediately answered.
My lips began to move on their own.
“You think someone like you, a beggar, is my brother?”
I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my own mouth.
“Father really has no sense. He should think before speaking.”
A crooked smile formed on my lips that didn’t feel like mine. I was stunned by my own involuntary sneer.
‘What is this?!’
Could it be that “automatic mode” meant reverting to how Shuen Felicita originally behaved?
Unlike my frozen shock, Izrael said nothing. But behind his long bangs, his gaze grew cold.
“……”
I’m doomed, I’m doomed!
My first impression was completely ruined!
‘What am I supposed to do if I can’t even control my own body?!’
As if responding to my despair, another bell rang.
Ding!
<<Automatic mode will deactivate after a set time.>>
<<Remaining time: 3 minutes 21 seconds>>
I swallowed hard. I could only pray my body wouldn’t act on its own.
But my bad feeling was right.
My arms and hands started moving by themselves.
My pale hand grabbed a teapot filled with boiling tea.
The hot handle burned against my palm. My hand slowly lifted.
‘Don’t tell me… am I trying to pour this on Izrael?’
Then something flashed in my mind.
In the novel, Izrael had a burn scar on his right shoulder.
‘So that was Shuen’s doing!’
Boiling water could definitely leave such a scar.
I gritted my teeth. I had to stop this somehow.
How could I pour boiling water on my favorite character?!
The more I tried to resist, the more my head throbbed painfully. My trembling hand barely tilted.
Crash!
The teapot fell and shattered on the floor. Pain came a moment later.
Boiling water splashed onto my hand and fingers, burning sharply.
The maids, who had frozen in shock, rushed over.
“Y-Young lady?!”
“Are you alright?”
I collapsed, clutching my reddened hand.
‘Ugh… I am NOT okay.’
Even though only part of my skin was touched, it hurt terribly—like being pierced by dozens of needles.
‘Is Shuen insane?’
She actually tried to pour boiling water on someone?!
For a moment, I forgot I was in Shuen Felicita’s body and thought she deserved to die.
One maid ran out of the room.
“I’ll call the physician!”
The others quickly wrapped my hand in a cold cloth. While cleaning up the shattered teapot, they kept glancing between Izrael and me.
To them, it probably looked like I had tried to throw boiling water at him and failed.
As I groaned in pain from the cold compress, I turned my head.
Izrael was still sitting on the sofa, staring at me. His purple eyes were clearly visible through his messy hair, watching me intently. He looked confused.
The moment our eyes met, my vision spun.
Ding!
<<Automatic mode has been canceled.>>
<<Penalty applied.>>
<<You will lose consciousness.>>
The world tilted.
My first impression… was probably completely ruined.
I woke up a few hours later.
My hand was still red and swollen. Small blisters had formed on the fingertips where the burn was severe.
The physician sighed the moment he saw my hand. He was the Felicita family’s personal doctor.
He didn’t ask many questions, likely having already heard from the maids.
After applying ointment, he wrapped my fingers in bandages.
“Miss… why would you do something like that?”
By now, rumors had already spread throughout the manor.
“That young lady tried to pour hot water on the new young master but ended up spilling it on herself.”
Not that anyone was surprised, given Shuen’s past behavior.
She had even thrown hot tea at maids without hesitation before.
The physician frowned as he continued,
“His Lordship the Marquis has made him his ward. That boy is now practically family.”
“……”
“Please do not bully Young Master Izrael.”
I stared at the kind physician.
‘How lucky…’
The Izrael who would come back for revenge would destroy the Felicita household.
And the only person who would survive that destruction… was this physician.
