Chapter 2

Acting completely out of character the moment after possessing someone else’s body would only invite suspicion.

So, just as Levy always had, I readily accepted my uncle’s invitation to have dinner together.

Thanks to the original owner’s memories, I knew Aaron wasn’t bold enough to poison someone’s food and murder them.

“Come, Levy. Sit here.”

Just as I expected, Aaron greeted me with a warm smile and seated me in the place of honor.

It was his way of acknowledging who truly owned this household.

Beneath his pleasant exterior, he was playing the role of “the caring uncle who wanted nothing in return and simply wished to look after his niece now that she was all alone.”

For the original Levy—who had been born sickly, raised under excessive protection, and spoiled from childhood—his presence had probably been a source of comfort.

But I wasn’t the original Levy.

In my previous life, both of my parents had died when I was young, and I’d grown up with no one I could truly trust.

Having lived a life where I had to suspect anyone who smiled kindly at me and wonder what they wanted in return… that’s actually helping me now.

While thinking that to myself, I put on a gentle smile.

Just as the old Levy always had—completely unaware of her uncle’s schemes.

“Thank you, Uncle. Shall we eat?”

I tried to end the conversation with nothing more than a polite greeting.

Aaron immediately caught the thread.

“It should suit your taste perfectly. You’ve always been such a picky eater since you were little. The chefs insist that’s why you’re sick so often—you never eat enough.”

“Is that so?”

I calmly replied while slowly cutting into my steak.

Before I could even take a bite, Aaron spoke again.

“But on gloomy days like today, something with a stronger flavor would be nice… I wish the kitchen would occasionally listen to my opinions as well. Haha.”

His voice remained as kind as ever.

The request he casually slipped into the conversation didn’t sound unreasonable.

All he was asking was for me to tell the chefs to take his preferences into account while preparing meals.

But I had already seen through the hidden intention behind it.

What a subtle move.

I couldn’t help admiring how smoothly my seemingly easygoing uncle manipulated people.

I simply smiled.

“I suppose it’s because I’m such a picky eater. Please understand.”

“…Very well.”

For just a moment, irritation flickered across Aaron’s face.

He must have assumed, as always, that I’d naturally grant his request.

Father’s away, so I’m acting as head of the family. He wants me to tell the servants to pay attention to him as well.

It would begin with the chefs.

Eventually he’d use the same tactic with higher-ranking servants.

Before long, everyone in the estate would unconsciously come to believe that I considered my uncle’s comfort extremely important.

He’s trying to use me so the servants will start currying favor with him on their own.

Aaron wasn’t even supposed to set foot in this mansion.

Years ago, my grandfather had expelled him from the family.

Then, several years earlier, Aaron had heard that Levy Heron was bedridden with a seasonal illness.

Carrying an armful of medicinal herbs, he appeared at the estate while my father was away.

Levy rarely attended social gatherings because of her poor health.

Unable to reject the uncle who had come all this way bringing medicine and desperately begging for even the lowliest job—even if it meant working in the stables—she allowed him to stay.

Her catlike appearance might have seemed cold and aloof…

But in reality, she had simply been consumed by loneliness.

From Levy’s perspective, it had been nothing more than a lonely girl’s mistake.

Now, only a few months after moving in, Aaron was already eating at the same table as the family, claiming that he too had once belonged to House Heron.

Failing to cut someone like him off…

It was no wonder that, at the critical moment when Damian’s rebel army marched on the Imperial Palace—

“As someone who carries the blood of House Heron, I also have the right to command the family’s knights! Hand them over!”

—he shamelessly demanded an escort of elite knights to protect him while he fled from the rebellion.

If Aaron hadn’t wasted time arguing and taken away many of House Heron’s most capable knights…

Perhaps Levy’s fate in the original story would have been different.

Looks like I’ve figured out the very first thing that needs fixing.

Keeping the same flawless smile on my face, I continued eating.

Several Days Later

A few days later, Levy led a group of servants toward the room Aaron was staying in.

As she walked down the hallway, her gaze lingered on the lion statues decorating the corridor.

If there was one thing that distinguished House Heron from other knightly families…

It was their Blessing.

According to historical records, the first Count Heron had been a gigantic white lion Divine Beast.

Using the supernatural abilities and overwhelming physical strength of that inhuman being, he had aided the first emperor in driving back the demons.

Aside from divine power, the power of House Heron is said to be one of the most effective weapons against demons.

Thanks to him, the Ivelrn Empire had been founded.

In recognition of his service, the emperor later granted Heron the title of Count.

From that day onward, the title had only been inherited by descendants born with the family’s Blessing.

Naturally…

Unlike Levy, Aaron—who had done nothing but cause trouble throughout his life—had never inherited the Blessing.

Levy slowly opened and closed the hand that looked fragile enough to snap with the slightest pressure.

A body this weak… and yet it possesses the Blessing?

Or… perhaps the Blessing is the only reason this body has survived this long.

Because the head of House Heron possessed both the first emperor’s recognition and supernatural power, countless retainers had loyally served the family for generations.

In other words…

Since Levy had inherited the Blessing, there were plenty of people willing to help her drive Aaron out.

“Open it.”

“…Pardon? Ah—yes, My Lady.”

Momentarily startled by the firmness in Levy’s voice, one servant obeyed.

Swinging a hammer the size of a man’s head, he smashed apart the locked doorknob.

Bang!

Despite the deafening noise, no resistance came from inside.

Aaron wasn’t there.

He had supposedly gone to attend a social gathering at Levy’s request.

Click.

The door swung open.

The servants and head butlers stepped inside, looking puzzled.

“The room is surprisingly sparse.”

“The wardrobe and drawers are completely empty.”

The reason they kept glancing nervously at Levy was simple.

Only a few hours earlier, she had gathered them together and declared:

“I’ve suspected Uncle Aaron of embezzlement for quite some time. I’ve finally found proof, so I need your help.”

Since when has Lady Levy suspected Lord Aaron? She always kept him so close that we worried about it…

Normally, Levy trusted the family’s veteran retainers but never took an active role in managing household affairs.

Naturally, everyone had been shocked.

They had already been troubled by Aaron’s gradual attempts to establish influence among the staff.

Who could have imagined that their young lady possessed such keen insight?

Although the room looked far too modest for the residence of an embezzler…

Levy, having read the original novel, never wavered.

She already knew that the place they needed to search wasn’t the drawers or wardrobe.

“Could you lift the carpet?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

As expected, beneath it was a narrow opening in the floor just wide enough for three or four fingers.

That’s the entrance to Aaron’s secret storage room.

Receiving Levy’s silent signal, Head Butler Baron crouched down and opened the concealed hatch.

A staircase leading underground appeared.

“My Lady… this is…”

“It’s part of an old secret passage beneath the estate. According to the records, my great-grandfather sealed it off because assassins could use it to infiltrate the mansion.”

The secret passage itself had indeed been blocked by stone walls.

But Aaron, knowing of its existence, had simply used the remaining staircase as his private storage room.

The heavy sacks and sturdy chests stacked along the steps were proof enough.

Levy remembered a line from the original novel.

She couldn’t even realize that her uncle had been secretly stealing the family’s assets and charitable donations little by little. How could she possibly suppress Damian’s rebel army?

I remembered that line because it summed up Levy’s incompetence perfectly.

But now that I’m Levy… I can’t just ignore it.

“Move everything here into my office.”

The moment she gave the order, commotion erupted in the hallway.

Aaron had returned.

“W-What is the meaning of this…?!”

His carriage wheel had broken on the way to the social gathering, forcing him to return early.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to find this.

Standing calmly in the center of his room…

Was his niece.

For some reason…

“You’ve returned early, Uncle.”

Levy’s composed voice felt different.

A pressure that sent chills down his spine and instinctively made his body tense.

There was only one word capable of describing it.

Killing intent.

Is this what it feels like to stand unarmed before a starving lion?

Wait… did I really just think “killing intent”? I’m feeling killing intent from this tiny girl?

His body shrank back despite himself.

Only then did Aaron realize he should explain himself.

But Levy spoke first.

“Uncle. You’ve been stealing the charitable donations House Heron sends to orphanages and the slums.”

“Levy… what are you talking about? Are you accusing me?”

“We’re already past the stage of suspicion.”

“I have evidence.”

Every calm, measured word tightened around Aaron’s throat like the jaws of a predator.

“You took only the expensive items from the donations and sold them for cash.”

“…”

“Knowing the missing quantities would be noticed immediately, you replaced them with much cheaper, lower-quality goods meant for the same purpose.”

After spending several days secretly investigating, Levy had reached one conclusion.

Aaron had exploited the fact that people verified the quantity of donated goods…

But rarely checked their quality.

By corresponding with the charities, Levy had gathered testimony proving that the goods House Heron purchased were not the same quality as the goods they actually received.

Meanwhile, the merchants who had secretly purchased Aaron’s stolen goods were already giving statements to investigators.

“You’ve been embezzling for years.”

“I imagine you’ll be spending a very long time in prison.”

“Embezzlement…? What nonsense…”

Thunk.

Levy opened one of the chests recovered from the underground staircase.

Inside were numerous defensive magic stones that House Heron had only recently donated to the slums.

“…”

Faced with undeniable evidence, Aaron fell silent.

She had known.

She had known even where he’d hidden the stolen goods.

And despite that…

She had continued acting obedient toward him all this time.

Did this little brat… toy with me?

Rage instantly overwhelmed him.

His fist clenched tightly.

His furious eyes locked onto Levy’s face.

Yet…

For some reason…

Levy was smiling.

As though she had been waiting for exactly this reaction.