Signs of the beginning... (part 1)

"..."

Zorivia, wearing a fluffy bathrobe with her hair still a little damp fresh from the bath, threw herself on the bed and tossed on the bed, hugging her pillow.

Suddenly she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling.

She subconsciously raised her hand and touched her lips as her mind wandered off, and the image of the serious black-haired boy popped up in her mind.

"NNNNH!"

Zorivia kicked up her feet and burrowed her face into the pillow to muffle her own voice as she stirred up a fuss.

"Nooo...! What am I thinking about...! I was an office lady before I got reincarnated here...! I did not fall for him! I did not!"

The twelve-year-old girl cried out in embarrassment, rolling on her side and staring at the empty cupboard where she used to have various valuables that she sold off to be able to afford the ingredients for the tonic.

"...I didn't even know that someone had discovered the medicine for Foul Reaper and was even selling it... If I did some research or were a bit faster, then no one would attempt to monetize it..."

Zorivia sighed and blamed herself without giving it any thought.

If Medea could hear her, he would be speechless once more in disbelief at how naive someone could be.

"Ah...! I know. That boy said that the priest must have tipped off the kingdom's soldiers about the criminals! I see! He must have been terrorized into compliance but courageously did the right thing in the end! I hope he will be fine..."

Zorivia gasped in realization and nodded to herself without even a shadow of a doubt about her assumptions.

"... I was given a second chance with life... I completed the game, so I know what will happen in the future – even though I am a villainess, I have to keep doing my best to improve everyone's lives to give back to this world for being my escape back in my past life!"

The blond-haired girl clenched her pillow and muttered with conviction while biting her lips.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"I'M SORRY!"

The sudden sound caused the girl to cry out fearfully and jump right out of her bed to bow her head toward the door.

"Young Miss. Master is calling for you. Please get ready and come see him as soon as you can."

"Ah...! Y-yes!"

The voice of Kenneth came from the outside without the servant entering the room, causing the girl to shiver and squeak in response as the panic slowly settled in.

Earl Alexander Rotteloss was summoning his daughter.

It sounded like the servant left without waiting for the young lady, and she hurriedly dressed up, brushing her hair messily while simultaneously taking off the bathrobe and putting on proper clothes.

Her hands trembled the whole time.

Five minutes later, Zorivia was standing timidly in front of her father's office door, too fearful to announce her presence.

*click*

"!!!"

"..."

But regardless of her will, the door opened, and she flinched as Kenneth peeked out, looking down at her with an emotionless face.

"Master, young Miss has arrived."

"Let her in, Kenneth. Let her in~!"

The servant leaned back in and reported and got immediately encouraged by a shockingly cheery voice.

"Young Miss..."

Kenneth proceeded to open the door ajar for Zorivia, making way for her as soon as she took a first timid step.

The bond-haired girl was very much confused.

Truth be told, she had never heard Earl Rotteloss sound so content when the conversation even briefly mentioned her...

"Ah! Well, if it isn't my beloved daughter, Zorivia~!"

"?!?!"

As she entered the office, she met with one of the biggest surprises of her short life – Earl Alexander Rotteloss walked out from behind his desk and cheerfully greeted her!

"Don't be so shy, daughter. We have a lot to talk about~!"

"...e-eh...?"

The handsome reddish-brown-haired man with striking blue eyes briskly walked up to the blond-haired girl, patted her head, and gently tapped her back, pushing her forward – leading her to a chair by his desk and returning to his own spot, shocking the girl to no end.

"What's with that face, daughter? Ahahaha~! I'll be honest. Because of your tendency of picking some stray thieves off the street and letting them run rampant in our mansion, I have almost lost hope for your future!"

"...!"

The earl laughed, slapping his thigh as if it was the finest joke, but Zorivia merely flinched, biting her lips in order to stay quiet.

Alexander Rotteloss reminded her of the supervisor she had in her past life. Although the person in Zorivia's memories was a woman, she shared the usually cold personality with the earl...

...and was the meanest and most horrible right after an unexplained burst of good mood – so the situation the blond-haired girl found herself now set off an alarm in the girl's head...

"I'm sorry!"

But the survival instinct of the current Zorivia was to prostrate herself and apologize preemptively...

"Now, now. There is no need for that! I am not mad at you! At all! If anything – I am finally proud!"

"...e-eh...?"

Earl Rotteloss laughed jovially and grabbed confused Zorivia's shoulder, stopping her from getting to her knees.

"Ahahaha~! Did you think that you could fool your old man~?"

"!!!"

The reddish-brown-haired man chuckled, but that only made the blond-haired girl much more scared.

"Although I have to admit – when Kenneth reported to me that you sold all of your personal belongings to buy some random herbs, I was convinced that it was another one of your idiotic altruistic tendencies – but lo and behold! You took the rein of some petty criminals and began a kingdom-wide operation! Brilliant! Simply brilliant!"

"...!?"

Earl Rotteloss leaned into his comfortable armchair and clapped his hands with contentment while Zorivia could only stare at him dumbfounded.

"I can only imagine how in the world did you get your hands on the recipe for the miraculous tonic – but the execution of the plan! Pure poetry! Capitalizing on commoners who have a much larger population than the aristocracy and only teasing them with a barely working product would force them to buy more! While the royal family slept on this goldmine, you, my beloved daughter, snatched it right from under their noses! That's how a true Rotteloss acts!"

Earl cheered out, raising his hand and clenching his fist as if he was crushing, crushing his opponents.

"Now, with that little gushing done, let's get straight to business..."

"...wh-wha...?"

The man breathed out and composed himself before looking back at his trembling daughter.

"It seems that the royal family caught a whiff of your operation and tried to put a stop to it – you did well hiding behind some petty criminals, and I applaud your guts for overseeing them yourself – but this needs to end. By now, you've earned yourself enough to recuperate for the initial cost investment many times over so that you can pass everything to me."

"...eh...? B-but father, I..."

Earl Rotteloss nodded approvingly and declared with a bright smile, making the girl gasp.

"Now, now. I know that it was your idea and all – but I do not remember what your family has done for you. Those personal belongings were all given to you by me!"

The man kept smiling but his gaze turned cold.