chapter 5
Even though I had all of Tullia’s past life stored in my head, I somehow kept separating myself from Tullia.
Marquis Frasier was not my father, but Tullia’s father. The past deeds of infamy were just the villain’s actions in the game’s storyline.
At least it was a good choice for my mental stability.
“Sir Tedric.”
The Duke of Frasier’s direct aide also had a seasoned, cold impression.
“Greet His Grace the Duke.”
Tedric immediately shot up to his feet.
“Gr-great Grandfather… as long as you are… h-happy and healthy……”
His voice trembled weakly like a goat bleating.
The fact that Tullia had been bullied by someone like that made me want to sigh.
“Tullia. Tullia?”
Viscount Lilius, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and whispered in a low voice.
“You just need to greet your grandfather like your cousin did. Understand? If you say anything unnecessary, His Grace will severely reprimand you.”
I gave a small nod. Lilius’s expression relaxed slightly.
“They’ve always been trembling every year. You were even worse than Tedric when it came to speaking.”
Well, that applied to most nobles anyway.
“Lady Tullia. Greet His Grace the Duke.”
Soon my name was called, and I stood up.
All eyes turned to me at once. And beyond them, seated in the highest seat, was the Duke of Frasier himself, watching.
The Duke’s eyes as they scanned me held no warmth at all. Cold and oppressive.
A pressure that made it hard to breathe oozed from his gaze.
Even high-ranking nobles could not help but feel intimidated.
In other words, even grandchildren of his bloodline would stutter out broken greetings before fleeing in panic.
“Tullia?”
When I only stood there silently, the Duke’s aide asked in confusion. I swallowed dryly and opened my mouth.
“Grandfather.”
From now on, I was going to beg Asis Frasier.
The budget allocated to my estate was far too small. No matter how much I had been placed under indefinite confinement, I was living worse than a prisoner.
If this continued, I would become so malnourished that it would damage the reputation of the Frasier family.
For the sake of the Frasier name alone, shouldn’t my confinement be lifted and my budget restored… something like that.
I rehearsed the speech thousands of times in my head and opened my mouth to finally speak—
“Living well and eating well alone is all there is—kgh!”
The surrounding silence turned as if someone had poured cold water over the room.
Some people even made choking sounds, as if they couldn’t breathe.
But the one who most wanted to pass out… was me.
‘W-what did I just say?’
Why was my mouth moving on its own? Was I sleepwalking while standing?
My slapped mouth still tingled painfully.
‘Why? Why? Why is this happening?!’
My words weren’t following my will. Even though it was definitely my mouth, it was spitting out completely different lines, like a robot forced to output a prewritten script.
And the words were, of all things, the worst possible ones for me.
At that moment, the status window I had pushed up near my chest, not knowing how to close, flickered and displayed new text.
(!Warning: Due to a personality penalty, you will only speak words that maximize hostility.)
“What?”
(!Warning: Reputation is falling to a dangerous level.)
Reputation?
At the same time, a gauge appeared above Duke Asis Frasier’s head. My eyes widened instantly.
The gauge above the Duke was turning bright red.
Something in me strongly felt that if that gauge filled completely in red… I would die.
I needed to remove the personality penalty—but to do that, I had to raise my personality stat immediately!
‘How do I raise personality? Right now, how…’
[System] You can raise stats using your owned coins.
A single sentence appeared like salvation.
“Owned coins?”
My eyes snapped wide open.
I had checked the status window so many times that I remembered it immediately.
[System: Status Window]
Tullia Frasier (15 years old)
These coins were something I had never seen even while playing Grim Bread.
But 1,000? That was plenty.
I was about to invest them into the personality stat immediately when—
(!Warning: Once confirmed, cancellation is absolutely impossible)
(☆Tip: Be more careful than when deciding whether to co-sign for your boyfriend)
“…What?”
Anyone would hesitate at that message. More careful than co-signing for a boyfriend?
A phrase from celebrities popped into my head:
“Never co-sign for family either.”
My mind started spinning rapidly.
‘Should I just pretend to faint?’
If I dumped all coins into wealth instead of personality, wouldn’t I become instantly rich?
And then escape tonight?
That hopeful thought lasted only a moment.
“Tullia Frasier.”
The Duke of Frasier finally spoke, looking down at me with eyes that seemed capable of slicing a person apart.
“Living well and eating well alone… you say?”
His teal eyes darkened ominously.
It felt like a blizzard of freezing northern wind had taken human form in his gaze.
“Are you saying that to me?”
How dare I?
“…!”
I had to raise personality. Full commitment!
[System] 1 coin has been consumed.
[System] Personality –9 achieved!
If one coin could do that much, I could invest more and then still put the rest into wealth.
Meanwhile, I could see the Duke’s patience wearing thin by the second.
I had heard that the family head ring on his finger contained a poison needle strong enough to drop an elephant.
The Duke of Frasier could tear a person apart with his bare hands—
[System] 5 coins have been consumed.
[System] Personality -8 achieved!
[System] 50 coins have been consumed.
[System] Personality -7 achieved!
[System] 150 coins have been consumed.
[System] Personality -6 achieved!
…
[System] Personality +1 achieved!
[System] Remaining coins: 0
[System] Personality penalty has been removed.
Clang! A coin-like ringing sound echoed as the text shimmered brightly.
“Grandfather!”
I immediately dropped to my knees and slammed my forehead into the marble floor.
THUD!
“Living well and eating well alone is something young nobles these days wrongly believe in, but I do not think that way at all!”
My knees hit the marble so hard it hurt to tears, but anything was better than dying.
More importantly—I could finally speak freely.
“The allowance given to me is far too small! Even the servants in my estate are starving and freezing!”
They’re all just waiting for a chance to escape to the main estate, and I’m just pretending not to notice!
“I don’t plan to marry, so please give me my dowry in advance so I can use it to repay the debt I owe Uncle Lilius— ngh!”
“T-Tullia!”
At that moment, Lilius rushed over and covered my mouth.
“What kind of outrageous behavior is this in front of His Grace!”
Lilius forced an awkward smile toward the Duke.
“Father, please understand. Tullia has always behaved like a wild horse, it’s not just today—”
“Let go of her.”
“Th-there…”
“Can’t you hear me, Lilius?”
“O-of course!”
Lilius quickly released me. I panted heavily and met the Duke’s eyes.
His gaze was still cold.
