In my hastiness, I blurted it out loudly, fearing that Mishael might be hit again. I tried to gather the rationality of an adult from my past life and calmly retorted, then put down the teapot and tasted the tea in the cup I poured myself.

Finger angle, okay. Elbow angle, okay. Cup height, okay.

Lady Entera’s sharp gaze scanned me, trying to find any flaws to exploit regarding the child who was hit. Thankfully, my demeanor was flawless.

Due to the silence just now, the tea had cooled down, and perhaps that’s why it tasted particularly bitter.

Snap!

In response to Mrs Entera’s gesture, Mishael was hit on the back again, and I was startled and struggled to avoid dropping the teacup. The boy’s thin shoulders trembled a little more than before, like he was hit in the same spot.

Cold sweat ran down my forehead as though I had been hit myself. I felt a sense of guilt choking my throat.

‘Again, what now…’

Trying my best not to look too disrespectful, I glanced briefly at Mrs Entera, and she squeezed her nostrils and quietly placed the teacup on the table.

“Well, the tea tastes bland and bitter. It would be better to practice only the etiquette of serving refreshments today.”

When it was finally lunchtime, Mishael was hit three more times and I couldn’t remember how I managed to finish the class.

“Sorry, Mishael… Did it hurt a lot?”

When I returned to my room.

Seeing Mishael, whose movements were awkward due to the pain in his back, I felt a deep sense remorse. It wasn’t because he was a potential whistleblower of the marquis’s corruption in the future, and it wasn’t because he should not hold a grudge against me…

It was simply a feeling of apology and guilt as one human to another.

“N-no…”

Mishael pretended to be unaffected and calmly walked to the doorway. Observing his figure, I felt the guilt well up inside me once more.

On the table, there was already a dome plate with lunch prepared, but of course, there was nothing prepared for the child who had taken the blows.

Instead, hungry and hurting boy who hadn’t received proper treatment, will have to quietly wait for his meal in a place where it wouldn’t bother his owner, me. Occasionally, if he leaves any food uneaten, he could even become prey.

This scene clearly showed how everyone in this mansion, except for me, had already made a drastic decision on how to treat Mishael.

‘…This can’t go on.’

First, I secretly asked my personal servant to bring me an ointment without the butler’s knowledge, then I scolded her for not having prepared anything for the child. I told her I would eat alone.

“Mishael, come here. Take off your top and sit. Let me see your back.”

“Yes, Miss…”

The boy looked quite bewildered, but obediently did as I instructed. Originally, I intended for him to sit on a chair opposite the table, but Mishael humbly knelt beside my feet, showing me his back.

His back was so pale it was whiter than his face, and there were exactly five scars visible on his bony back. Some of the scars had even bled.

“……”

First, I opened the lid of the ointment and gently applied it there. He winced and trembled, suppressing the pain without showing it properly.

If I were him… I would really hate myself…

Unlike the original Lionella, I knew that just monitoring Mishael, not behaving maliciously towards him, and pointing out my father’s flaws, would not be enough.

‘But I can’t just be nice to him all the time….’

If my servants could see me, who doesn’t properly utilize the slaves my father bought, they may think I’m foolish and disrespect me. And if Mishael receives my favor, the servants may become jealous and torment him. In that case, regardless of my efforts, Mishael will come to hate Parma.

I stared at the silver-haired head bowing in front of me and immersed myself in deep thought.

I need to maintain my dignity as his master but also find a way to subtly let Mishael suck on honey…

‘Well, first of all…’

Protagonist, let me borrow your lines.

「“Well, Your Eminence says he is a cynical person who is obsessed in your own principles, but to me… I can see the goddess’ innate kindness within you.”」

“I can see the goodness within you.”

Without context, the statement I blurted out made the person in front of me flinch for a moment. But in order to alleviate the resentment that had accumulated in Mishael’s heart today, it was unavoidable.

“When I first saw you, I knew you possessed a kind and pure soul.”

So you can’t hold a grudge and seek revenge against me for what just happened in the future, okay? That cannot happen. I have to brainwash you every day from now on so that thoughts of revenge won’t even cross your mind.

With that hope in mind, I gently patted Mishael’s shoulder and sat down opposite him, carrying a dome dish from the table. I placed the dome dish on the floor and opened the lid, what came out was a sandwich with marinated turkey ham, vegetables, and tomatoes.

“And… let’s share this in half. I had too much tea earlier, and now I’m full.”

I should not eat alone; I should take care of you too. PI could pretend to be grumpy, get a bunch of food, and then secretly share it with Mishael. I burst into laughter, thinking that that idea seemed admirable, even in my own opinion. Mishael’s face froze, I realized I was grinning wickedly like a wannabe villain dreaming of revenge.

Well, how about that? He’ll get used to it in time.

But that’s not important…

***

Since that day, Mishael no longer faced any adverse situations. It was because of my tireless efforts.

“No, there is really nothing to criticize…! It wouldn’t be a problem to put the lady’s manners in the royal etiquette textbook right now!”

Not to mention Mrs Entera, who was somehow intending to take advantage of whipping boy.

“What is Article 31 of the Nobility Law and what does the third clause say?”

“It states that even a noble from another country can be treated as a noble in Lycius. Among them, the third clause states that if a fugitive whose family has collapsed in their own country marries a Lycius noble, they will be granted noble status in Lycius.”

“Miss, would you like to play No. 29 of Ganel’s Piano Pieces today?”

A roughly perfect piano performance.

“When 100 milliliters of a salt solution with a concentration of 10% is mixed with 400 milliliters of a salt solution with a concentration of 5%, what is the concentration of the overall saline solution?”

“It’s 6%.”

“[Now that I have finally opened my eyes in a world full of beauty.] What’s next?”

“[Although I hope this is an illusion, I’ll praise it forever.]”

“You are amazing.”

Clap, clap, clap, clap…

I came thoroughly prepare and review all the class materials, so every teacher who came and went from the Marquis of Parma’s residence came became impatient with me and felt frustrated for not being able to praise me as the best student who can perform tasks without any difficulty.

Not only that.

“Lady Lionella’s opinion on this year’s territory budget plan has been fully accepted by Deputy Lord. It is said that Sir Visen a teacher of economics, highly praised the young lady’s insight, proving that you are, indeed, worthy as the next head of the family.”

Since I studied hard, I naturally gained the respect of both the vassals and the servants, and my studies as the successor went smoothly.

Have you ever seen a noble lady who was recognized as a successor by all members of the family at the age of eight? That’s me.

This was a fortunate event in many ways. If I continued to entrust the family to my father, there was a possibility that without my knowledge, a flag of some doomed ending would be raised. It was better to quickly inherit the management rights of the family.

Because…

“Father! I told you never to invest in Count Rauden!”

“Um, Lily. It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. It’s just that I lent him some money…”

“Misunderstanding? What…! Did you see the investment certificate yourself? An interest rate of 1%? Does that make sense?”

“No, Henderson, why does that damn butler show him such things to my child?”

“Why? It’s because Father keeps putting money into illegal transactions!”

My father was a ticking time bomb; you never knew when he would cause a disaster.

The day he brought Mishael, I realized that my father had lived a life exactly like the original Marquis Parma, just not in front of me. From that day on, I became a strict daughter, lecturing my father every day to lead a righteous life while monitoring his actions with the help of the butler and aides.

‘Compared to the original Marquis Parma in the novel, these things may not be considered evil deeds, but we must not have any flaws.’

Mishael, the affectionate sub-male lead in the original, sacrifices anything for the protagonist. Even if it means getting revenge on the family who raised him in his childhood, as long as it contributes to her achievements.

So, I couldn’t leave any room for mistakes to be caught.

Even a small flaw from my father could become a subject of admiration for the protagonist in Mishael’s eyes.

And if, unlike in the original, the Marquis of Parma gains influence, and even if there is a conflict between Mishael and him, he won’t easily meet his demise. Without the need for Mishael’s resentment to affect the family’s fortune, the Marquis of Parma itself needed to prosper.

As time passed, I gradually seized the real power of the marquis.

Mishael’s honey-sucking project in Parma, at last.

“Mishael.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“If you keep kneeling like that, won’t your legs get sore?”

“….”

Mishael couldn’t respond properly, not understanding the intention behind my words. I quietly stared into Mishael’s red eyes, who was looking at me.

‘He’s really, really good-looking, that’s for sure.’

In the Marquis’s house, without receiving any mistreatment, I secretly showed kindness to the boy, and his beauty suddenly became more noticeable. Thanks to my fake tantrums, his once thin body gained some weight, and his hunched shoulders and back, which were always stooped, straightened up. Although he was the lowest of the low-ranked servants in this house as a former slave-born manservant, due to my upbringing as a perfect noble daughter, there was a natural radiance in his face since he never had to face anything.

‘The sub-male lead’s beauty is truly unmatched.’