Xian had seen Carmillia wield her Magic many times in the game, enough to know where she was trying to cast it. He also knew that at the beginning, she used a single-instance barrier that could protect her from one powerful attack.
First, he threw a simple knife from the nearby table set with tea and plates. Sparks flew from its tip upon contact with the barrier, and in that brief moment, Xian took a single step forward to tackled her out of the way.
Still, an incomplete spell was cast. Despite its weakened state, the vines spawned and tore through the flesh of both Xian and Carmillia.
His first thought was to punch her solar plexus, but he decided against it and instead struck the back of her neck with a precise chop, preventing any more spells from emerging.
"Gah!"
A gush of hot fluid slowly built up in his throat, accompanied by the strange feeling of something lodged in his stomach. The stabbing pain struck immediately after the uncomfortable sensation and his hands holding Carmillia's waist felt wet to the touch.
'Shit! Both of us got wounded!'
Xian's head was boggled with confusion by Carmillia's drastic action.
'So if there's no one going to take your life, you're going to kill yourself, Carmillia? Just why?'
It was strange for Carmillia to give up this easily.
Grunting, he pulled the lodged vine from his body. The tiny thorns and its rough texture scraped through the soft insides of his flesh, sending fresh blood squirting onto the floor.
"AARRGHH!"
Xian had never felt so much pain before, nor had he bled this much since coming to this world. If his training sessions with Serika had merely stained his clothes and the ground with droplets, his blood now pooled upon the room's soft carpet, causing a pungent, rust-like stench to fill the air.
He quickly took out the vials of expensive potions from the headmaster's office and drank an entire vial. Tearing open his clothes, he made sure to witness the miracle of the potion with his own eyes.
A current of heat passed through his body and converged upon the wound in his stomach.
The injury bubbled with searing pain as his flesh squirmed back together from scratch. It still bled, but it gave Xian the feeling that his insides had become complete and functional once again.
He wasted no time administering the same potion to Carmillia. Compared to him, she had sustained much lighter wounds along her arms and waist.
As annoyed as Xian was, he did not want to regress yet.
Next, he tended to the unconscious maid, whose small trail of blood had dried against her temple. After that series of actions, he slumped onto the sofa.
Looking upward, he released a long and tired breath.
The situation had suddenly taken a drastic turn. It turned out Carmillia could be a threat even to herself, not merely to her enemies.
'What a cursed mess. Is this the resentment the duke warned me about? She hated losing authority that much?'
He quickly dismissed the thought.
Carmillia had only spoken about one thing she was angry about: her isolation.
'The swordmaidens were gone.'
Usually, they were part and parcel of Carmillia's every appearance at the academy. In the game, they only disappeared for unknown reasons after the third year. Now, however, Carmillia had to begin her academy life without either of them.
'Serika and Lucinelle.'
Those two were always by her side without fail, even in the game.
'Did their absence shake her this deeply? There's only one reason I can think of for why she would be afraid.'
Xian remembered Carmillia's first death.
The two swordmaidens' dead bodies had continued moving even after brutal decapitation to eliminate the enemy. To accept that brand meant nothing short of offering their souls to Carmillia, even after death.
But if the owner of the brand was too far away, those brands might as well have been decorations upon their bodies.
At the back of Xian's mind, he was also curious about how Carmillia had managed to learn such advanced Magic.
As though his throat mimicked his thirst for information, he found himself staring at the wineglass Carmillia had drunk from. Funnily enough, it had not been knocked over by the mess they had made.
He held the wineglass against the moonlight piercing through the room's windows. Within its blood-red hue, his ferocious eyes and bloodied mouth were reflected in the same color.
Xian drank from the very edge that had been touched by Carmillia's lips and licked his own afterward.
"Pfft."
A grin broke free from his wine-stained lips as he whispered,
"Seems like she's only suited for tea."
[A Villainess's Curiosity II]
[Quest Failed]
[Lost all remaining Affection within the current Heart Level]
[Heart Level decreased to Crimson]
[A Change has caused an additional decrease in Affection Level: -10]
[Danger! Heroines at the [Crimson] Level of Affection may attempt to kill you or trigger a Ruin End!]
The much-too-late notification appeared as though to slap him across the face.
"Tsk, screw this fucking System. Now you appear after the incident and tell me she's in a dangerous state?"
Carmillia had not merely tried to kill him. She had nearly killed herself along with him.
This meant that unless he realized or personally perceived a change in one of the heroines, the System would not inform him if they were not nearby. That made everything much more difficult since he was accustomed to monitoring their states through the game's sidebar.
Xian snarled at the strings of text before him, but the ever-silent and nonliving System offered no response.
Or so he thought.
[New Quest]
[To Restart or to Keep Going?]
[Difficulty: ???]
[Reward: ???]
[Choose a path to take, O Dedicated One…]
As though the gods watching him had heard his curses, the System offered a follow-up quest.
At least they were flexible, but the question marks in the Difficulty and Reward sections were conspicuous signs of trouble.
'Anything unknown in the game was more likely to screw over the player.'
For now, he decided against choosing and allowed the quest window to fade away.
As the quest's name suggested, choosing Restart might send him back to the entrance examination. But there had been too many variables there, and he could not guarantee that everything would proceed as smoothly as before.
There was also the hidden enemy responsible for the mind-controlled attendant.
The problem lay in his lack of usable information to smooth-talk his way out of the present situation. Any additional lie had to be handled carefully because he did not completely understand what had driven Carmillia to suicide apart from the absence of her swordmaidens.
["This is what you all wanted, isn't it?"]
The way she had asked whether he was there to do all kinds of horrible things to her made it sound as though she had experienced such things plenty of times before.
But in the game, the usual threats to Carmillia were the protagonist, his allies, or the faction of whichever heroine he had chosen.
'It's not the duke and his league of villainous collaborators. There was never any attempt to kill Carmillia from their side in the game.'
However, her adverse reaction could not have been more real.
"Hey, System. What happens if I choose to continue?"
Still undecided, Xian tested whether his System could respond like those in the novels he had read.
[It depends upon the Host's decisions and interactions.]
'Figures. How very undating-sim-like.'
Xian contemplated his life in this world so far.
The mingled scents of blood and potion assaulted his nose. Carmillia's pale figure lay motionless upon her bed, her hair sprawled like the very vines produced by her Magic.
The unconscious maid, Miri, breathed faintly beside him.
For the first time in a while, the silence surrounding him did not help. He glanced at his rough hands, completely different from the ones he used to possess.
Right now, the villainess lay defenseless before him.
'If she's killed, I can regress.' The thought crossed his mind.
He could start all over again, perhaps from before the examination or from some point afterward, and then fix the situation.
But Xian dreaded the possibility. Just how many more times would a situation like this occur?
What about his dream of achieving what no player had accomplished before, a Harem End? What about his desire to make Carmillia a conquered heroine?
He had never thought much about his circumstances or the meaning of his existence in this world. But Carmillia's attempt to kill herself struck him like a splash of cold water.
Even with the power of regression, her desire to kill herself was not something he could control.
How was he supposed to prevent her isolation and the loss of her two swordmaidens?
It was too late to send a letter to the duke at this point. Besides, their removal had been made at the former Xian's own request before he had possessed this body.
What if a similar situation happened again?
What if, because of a decision he made at an irreversible point in time, everything spiraled beyond his control?
From what he understood, after meeting certain conditions, such as saving Carmillia and removing the immediate threat to her life, the regression point became fixed at a random moment within several hours of the event.
Furthermore… What if it all ended in an endless and irreversible repetition?
Mistakes piling on top of one another, with him unable to escape a fate sealed in stone.
Xian's heart beat faster at the thought. He had believed regression was his greatest power, but now it had become something he feared.
He closed his eyes to calm himself.
And waited.
He waited for the villainess to awaken and face her anger.
Xian had resolved himself.
…
Dark, crimson-tinged hair lay sprawled across the bed, reflecting the moonlight entering through the windows beneath the clear sky. The pale lady dressed in black awoke with a wistful gaze.
Then her eyes widened.
She bolted upright and hurriedly examined her surroundings.
She had resolved to kill herself earlier, unwilling to fall into the state her enemies desired.
Everything had gone well enough from the beginning of the examination until its conclusion, largely with the help of her butler.
Even so, her suspicions concerning his motives remained.
He was someone who had suddenly entered her life and then enrolled alongside her at the academy. Together, they had even taken the top two positions among the entrants.
He had saved her not merely once, but three times since appearing.
Still, her suspicions had not faded.
She trusted only the two swordmaidens who had resolved to remain beside her and had willingly accepted a brand that would compel them to serve her even after death.
Only such people deserved to remain by her side.
To Carmillia, that was naturally the bottom line. Everyone else was merely a useful pawn.
She believed their brands ensured not only the destruction of her enemies, but also the protection of her body and soul. She had always possessed the unsettling feeling that her enemies coveted something from her very essence.
She had learned this much on her own, in the years since.
Affection could fade. Promises could be broken. Loyalty could be stolen away by someone else, or simply taken by force, the way everything else had been taken from her. Those who truly belonged to her needed to be kept close, close enough that nothing, not even death, could pull them from her side.
The forbidden branding ritual was one of the methods she found in her younger years, in the aftermath of a loss she rarely let herself think about. Like a ray of hope, like an olive branch, it was simply there when she needed something to hold onto.
Carmillia had learned its established procedure throughout her childhood. She understood how to prepare the ritual, how to place the mark, and how to bind a willing recipient to its purpose.
The ritual could not simply be forced upon an unwilling person. Its bearer had to accept it completely and offer no resistance. Without that willingness, the brand would fail to establish itself.
The more branded servants Carmillia possessed, the safer she believed her body and soul would become.
The difficulty lay in loyalty.
Each additional bearer would learn that the ritual existed, understand the nature of her protection, and become another person capable of revealing her secret.
But now, the duke who had never lifted a finger no matter what she did had taken action.
First, none of the noble children under their influence had heeded her call. They had refused even to make eye contact with her before fleeing.
That was still acceptable.
Among the cards she could play were the dirt and filth belonging to their families. She could make do without them. Pawns could readily be created through a little coercion, reasoning, or force.
Then came the letter.
Her father had revealed the identities of her two subordinates to the academy and exercised his authority to admit them separately.
That rendered them unable to provide the presence and peace of mind she sought from the bearers of her brand.
The only reason she could imagine for why her father had conceived such decisions was that someone had influenced him, perhaps a close subordinate or an unknown figure standing behind him.
In the letter, the duke had specifically instructed her to rely upon the butler he had sent as her hands and feet from now on, replacing Serika and Lucinelle.
'If only he hadn't come!'
All her plans to gather pawns and power within the academy had turned to dust because of her swordmaidens' absence.
As though to mock her, only a single maid remained in the academy as her attendant.
"Before you do anything drastic, I want you to listen, Young Miss."
A voice that was becoming familiar grated against her ears.
She bit her lip and began preparing her Magic again, slowly turning toward the source of the voice.
Xian sat facing Carmillia.
Beside him, a maid slept soundly while he brushed her hair.
She was the same maid who had possessed the gall to reprimand Carmillia for drinking the wine she had ordered her to bring. An excessively nosy servant who overstepped her boundaries.
"I will not stop your Magic this time," Xian said as he gazed softly at Miri.
Carmillia did not understand what he was trying to achieve by caressing the maid, but she decided to listen for whatever it was worth.
Seeing that Carmillia had calmed down, Xian met her gaze with a faint, practiced smile, one he hoped she would at least not find unpleasant.
Trying to appear as normal as possible, he spoke.
"I'm not an enemy. Neither am I the duke's subordinate nor one of 'their' allies."
Carmillia flinched faintly.
He appeared aware of a certain group she had remained wary of, the same group to which she had suspected Xian might belong.
From the beginning, she had been wary of this butler's origins and sudden appearance. But the extent of his knowledge remained difficult to determine.
Meanwhile, Xian was trying his hardest to appear like a mysterious figure with an independent goal.
Since she already suspected him of participating in some scheme and he had no way to outright disprove it, his next option was to demonstrate that he knew something while presenting himself as an individual pursuing separate objectives.
Only then could he reach an agreement with Carmillia.
"However, there's no denying that I have my own goals for coming to this academy through the grace of the duke, your father."
He observed Carmillia's wary eyes before continuing.
"As for their decision, I am completely helpless and clueless. Even I find the absence of your two subordinates inconvenient."
Since Carmillia had already been blaming him earlier, there was no point in pretending he did not understand why she had tried to kill herself.
"After all, it means I have to remain by your side more often. That interferes with my freedom to pursue my own affairs."
He shrugged, feigning resignation.
"Just imagine it. Blaming someone whose own goals might be jeopardized by the same decision is hardly the conclusion of someone thinking clearly, is it?"
He added a trace of mockery to guide Carmillia's thoughts toward the conclusion he desired.
"Tsk. What are you getting at?"
It was the first time Carmillia had heard this butler speak so much.
Usually, he merely possessed that hostile stare, as though he were constantly looking at something he wanted to harm.
"…It's a troublesome situation for both of us, Milady. An innocent person was even hurt because of it."
Xian briefly looked toward Miri with feigned sadness.
"And you almost took your own life."
Carmillia showed no reaction.
Her thoughts remained unknown to Xian, who clicked his tongue inwardly.
"I have no choice but to follow the arrangement, and the same applies to you, Young Miss."
As Xian attempted to convince Carmillia that he was not an agent sent by a scheming enemy, but an individual acting according to his own goals, he realized they had begun speaking almost as equals.
"You remaining alive is also how I ensure my continued existence within the academy without incurring the duke's anger."
She was no longer merely the villainess who could order a subordinate to behead someone at her whim.
"I must simply fulfill the role of your subordinates and accomplish my own goals while remaining by your side."
He finally finished, causing Carmillia to raise an eyebrow and sneer.
"Hah. You? How useful could you possibly be when you're not even half as powerful as Serika?"
Xian merely smiled.
That would change in the future, and she would rue those words as long as she continued funding his stat-doping activities through her investments.
"Life within the academy is more about intrigue than power, Young Miss."
He spread his arms as though looking down upon Carmillia's line of reasoning.
"Besides, wasn't I the first-place entrant?"
"…"
Having calmed down, Carmillia turned her head and looked toward the moon beyond the window.
The clouds that had shrouded the moonlight earlier had cleared, allowing wisps of pale light to spill across the floor of her room.
"What say you, Young Miss? Whatever Serika and Lucinelle can accomplish through their power, I can compensate for through my own means."
He stood and bowed toward her.
"I implore you to consider my proposal. There is no need to hurry. We can discuss it whenever you are ready. For now, I shall take my leave with this maid since it is getting late."
Just as Xian scooped Miri into his arms, Carmillia spoke in a meek but steeled voice.
"The brand…"
Xian stopped.
"If you willingly accept my branding ritual, then I can trust you."
There was only one way for her to use and trust the man before her.
She would make him one of hers.
"However, I am warning you beforehand. You will have to sacrifice your very life to protect me, even after your death, until nothing of you remains."
"At the same time, your life will be tied to mine. My death will mean your death."
She smiled, wondering whether the butler would still accept her conditions.
"That means you cannot allow anyone to kill me unless you wish to die as well."
'Is that how it works?'
Xian realized that this factor must have also influenced the two swordmaidens to become deeply protective of Carmillia and hostile toward any possible threat.
His earlier decision to convince Serika to kill the chief maid had truly been the correct choice.
Carmillia interpreted his silence as hesitation and smirked.
"So, in the end, you still cower before the fear of death like any other human being?"
"Heh."
Xian failed to suppress his sneer.
He feared pain far more than death, along with the thought of continuing a life filled with repeated failures.
He looked into Carmillia's eyes and said,
"Young Miss, death is perhaps the least terrifying thing to me."
"So yes, I can accept that brand under the same conditions as Serika and Lucinelle."
There was no hesitation in his words, and Carmillia found his confidence amusing.
"So, when will Milady place that brand upon me?"
Xian even spoke with slight anticipation.
That Magic would be useful in the future.
If he allied himself with the right person, especially Gumin, he could ask her to decrypt the ritual for his own use. She had developed similar methods involving sacrificial pawns in the game.
Perhaps she could even reverse its effects.
Carmillia found the butler's behavior both ridiculous and reckless.
To receive the brand, a host had to possess complete willingness to surrender their life to its purpose. Serika and Lucinelle had managed to do so through their gratitude toward her mother and the time they had spent beside Carmillia.
Xian, meanwhile, was claiming that he simply possessed no fear of death.
But thanks to that, once the ritual was complete, she could believe that Xian would have no choice but to keep his word.
"Before dawn. Meet me in the academy gardens beside the fountain."
Once they proceeded with the ritual, she would discover whether this butler was truly sincere or merely boastful.
If he succeeded, then…
From a pawn, he might become the third person in her life who could never leave her side.