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Chapter 55
[Character Overview]
[1. Ricardo Winchester
Title: Ruler of Black Flame
Causality Rate: 19%]
[2. Jin Winchester
Causality Rate: 20%]
[3. Othello Winchester
Causality Rate: 20%]
[4. Chenoa Taylors
Title: Ruler of Clarity
Causality Rate: Not applicable]
[5. Evan Taylors
Title: 28th Regression
Causality Rate: 16%]
[6. Permetis Winchester
Title: None
Causality Rate: Not applicable]
[7. Hector Winchester
Title: Guardian of Black Flame
Causality Rate: Not applicable]
I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the character window.
What on earth did I do for Evan’s causality rate to go up by three?
From what I know, when the causality rate fills up, the ending isn’t good.
In Jin’s route, I was imprisoned by him.
In Evan’s route… it hinted at my death.
But there was another issue to consider.
The reason both endings were so dreadful must have been because the final conclusion—“the end of the world”—didn’t change.
If fate played out as usual and Persetos revived, then regardless of causality rates, my ending wouldn’t be a happy one.
But if Persetos’s resurrection could be prevented—
then perhaps even if the causality rate maxed out, the ending would be more beautiful.
Anyway, after securing the Elixir, the next goal is finding Persetos.
Persetos always awakens when Evan turns twenty-five and I turn twenty… which means there’s still time.
Plenty of time.
I steadied my thoughts and looked at the ring.
My relationship with Evan was still ambiguous.
He seemed intent on avoiding killing me and regressing again, but even in informal moments, his behavior didn’t change.
It would be best to continue building rapport as business partners.
I wondered if he ate the meat I had just given him.
“Milady.”
While I was lost in thought, Maya knocked at the door.
“The young master sent incense for you. May I light it?”
A moment later, she entered, lit a candle, and dropped some concentrated oil into it.
A few days ago, Jin had brought me incense called Elixia.
— It’ll help your health.
He said it was a medicinal fragrance with restorative effects.
Whether it truly worked or not, ever since I began sleeping with the Elixia scent at night, my body felt much lighter when I woke in the mornings.
I don’t know if the Sasha Winchester in the original story ever received proper treatment.
Given the passage that said none of her family cared about her, it’s likely that the “first-run” Sasha never received useful care like Elixia.
Lying in bed, staring at the dim night sky, I thought to myself:
The Winchester family was a house where only the strong survived.
But I was no longer the pitiful Sasha Winchester from the original story.
Still, I couldn’t expect this attention and care to last forever.
I must become stronger, tougher, and know more.
[Legendary Fate “Key of Mekius” shines brightly upon your soul.]
Three days after Evan was released—
That evening, I was reviewing what Hector had taught me and reading books.
“Oh no, this is going to be a problem…”
I heard the faint whispers of maids.
Closing my book, I stepped outside.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, milady!”
The maids standing behind Maya quickly bowed.
“There’s something wrong, isn’t there?”
“N-no, nothing. Please return to your room and rest.”
“Maya, step aside for a moment.”
Maya tried to usher me back, but I wanted to hear the maids out.
“T-the thing is… my twin sister is being punished for not serving a guest properly.”
Guests often came and went from the Winchester mansion.
From nobles of other duchies to blood relatives.
And if my memory of this period is correct…
“Let’s go.”
I started walking, and the maids followed.
We arrived at the third-floor hallway.
Three maids were kneeling.
All three had swollen red cheeks. Standing before them was Permetis.
I frowned, unsurprised.
I knew that around this time, Vashron and Permetis would be visiting.
“What’s this commotion in someone else’s home?”
I approached and asked.
At twelve years old, Permetis had grown more beautiful, but malice glimmered in her eyes.
It was uncanny how much she was beginning to resemble Zestia.
“These maids behaved rudely, so I was correcting their manners. Think of it as education.”
Although the Vashron family had declined since Apinizé’s fall, they were still influential.
As a distant cousin, Permetis had been increasingly spoken of as a potential fiancée for Jin.
Naturally, her arrogance was growing.
“What exactly was rude about their behavior? Explain it to me.”
Permetis curled her lips.
“They dared to look me straight in the eyes, spilled tea when pouring it, and even made the bedding crooked.”
Her words made it clear—she just wanted to pick a fight.
Suddenly, I remembered what a maid had told me earlier:
— We were delivering the sword ornament you gifted Young Master Jin when we ran into Lady Permetis… She asked what it was, and we answered honestly.
I had saved up allowance to commission a craftsman to make that ornament for Jin, who had given me Elixia.
Since Jin was busy with missions, I asked the maids to leave it in his room.
So that was the real reason.
This was nothing but misdirected frustration.
“Sigh…”
After all, maids had no means of resisting nobles venting their tempers.
She couldn’t touch my personal maid, so she took it out on her twin instead.
“So, are you saying the Winchester household’s servant training is inadequate?”
I asked her directly.
At the mention of Winchester, Permetis flinched.
“Not all of them, but these ones dared to insult me, a Winchester by blood.”
“Didn’t sound like an insult to me. More like nitpicking.”
“What?”
Her eyes sharpened, but she couldn’t lay hands on me.
I was a direct-line daughter of the duke.
No matter how much she dreamed of marrying Jin, that fact wouldn’t change.
“A mere guest making a scene in the ducal household over baseless complaints doesn’t sound like proper upbringing to me.”
“You! You little—!”
She stopped short of calling me little brat, trembling with fury.
“If you won’t admit it, shall we call Father and ask his judgment?”
Her fists twitched. That was the last thing she wanted.
“…”
I spoke again, firmly.
“Apologize.”
Her brow twitched.
“What?”
“Apologize to these girls.”
Even the maids gasped in shock.
A noble apologizing to a maid was unheard of.
Especially in the Winchester family, where the weak were barely treated as human.
But now I was demanding that Permetis, a Winchester, apologize to the maids she had struck.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“If you don’t, I’ll report to Father that you insulted Winchester’s servant training and made a scene out of jealousy. And… I’ll tell the Grand Duke as well.”
As I said jealousy, I deliberately looked at the twin maid who had guided me here.
Permetis’s brow twitched again.
Bullseye.
And the Grand Duke.
It was already well known that since infancy, I had been under the Grand Duke’s protection.
He had stayed for years to personally oversee my upbringing.
Even the other four great houses knew of it.
The Grand Duke wielded immense influence among the bloodline.
If Permetis’s reputation worsened, her hopes of marrying one of my brothers would suffer.
“F… fine…”
Finally, trembling with rage, Permetis ground out words.
“…Sorry.”
The kneeling maids, cheeks still burning red, looked up in shock.
Of course, they knew she wasn’t sincere.
But I couldn’t allow her to rampage unchecked in my domain.
“Stand up.”
I helped the maids up, cast a cold glance at Permetis, and left with them.
On the way back to my room, I heard sniffles.
Turning back, I saw the maids crying.
“What’s wrong? Are you still in pain? Should I call a doctor?”
“Sob… N-no, milady. It’s just that…”
“Milady… hic…”
I tilted my head, confused.
“You scolded scary Lady Permetis for our sake…”
“You’re so kind, milady. We always knew you were, but… sob, sob…”
“Milady… sniffle…”
The maids were crying like children.
I had only acted because it was the right thing to do, but they seemed deeply moved.
“For milady’s sake, we’d gladly give our lives.”
“No, even more than that—we’d give anything.”
“I’d even rip out my heart to offer you!”
“No, no, that’s unnecessary.”
As they nearly clung to my feet in devotion, I tried to calm them.
Then, suddenly, I felt eyes watching me.
I turned around—
but saw no one.
“Was it my imagination? …That aura of clarity…”
The thought quickly faded, buried under the maids’ fuss.
“Milady, now that the Grand Duke has left, shouldn’t you enjoy some well-earned rest?”
“My cousin is the most famous dress designer in Rosento—I’ll introduce you!”
“I’m ready to make the most delicious desserts in the world for you, milady!”
