The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

I tried hard to control my expression. Despite Ardion’s young age, he was good at objectifying himself and was aware that people were obsessed with money.

What in the world has he been through?

“Why aren’t you answering?” Ardion questioned and got up from the bed.

I smiled and nodded at him. “For me to tell you, you have to eat and listen to me often, not just once.”

“I didn’t listen to you before though.”

“That’s what I mean. Anyway, I’m in charge of taking care of you, Young Master.”

“Alright. I’ll eat that food to figure out if what you want from me is trivial.”

He gave me a passing glance before taking a seat. Ardion ate the bread with cheese on top. Fortunately, he didn’t frown, so I guess it didn’t taste bad to him.

I felt relieved that Ardion was eating.

At that moment, his hand holding the bread suddenly stopped, and he looked expressionlessly at me. “Do you plan to watch me while I eat?”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I shall take my leave. I am just glad you are eating well.” I quickly turned around and left the room.

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[Third-Person POV]

Silence engulfed the room, and then Ardion put down the bread he was eating.

“…”

He eyed the door to make sure that Laila had left. Then he rolled up his sleeves and stared at his arm. There were all kinds of mana flowing through his arm, and they were fused together, which made it worse.

This mana was the reason his half-brother envied him so terribly. Whenever Rowell saw his arm, he always glared at him as if he would kill him.

A few days before coming here, he had warned, “Stop rolling up your sleeve. I don’t want to see it.” 

Ardion, who had been playing in the garden, quickly pulled down his sleeve. But afterwards, he had ended up here as if he had been discarded.

He had mana that reacted to all kinds of attributes, which meant he had the power to use all kinds of magic. But it was also a fatal weakness for him.

If an opponent used magic that utilized mana with various attributes, Ardion would be helpless. 

What’s the use of being so envious of this? He biterly lowered his sleeve.

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[First-Person POV]

I immediately headed inside my room and closed the door. The maid who had come earlier and looked around uneasily was nowhere to be seen.

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For some reason, Benji ran over me, her face pale as soon as she saw me. “Laila, the head maid said she went to your room, and she was very angry.”

“Why?”

“She went to look for you, but she didn’t find you.”

Everyone working at Duke Orchid’s mansion seemed to get angry easily. They all seemed to take after the duke’s personality…

“But why did the head maid come?”

“I don’t know. I think you should go see her yourself.”

I nodded firmly despite not wanting to. The head maid spent most of her time looking at the garden.

The reason was simple.

First, to supervise us working outside, and second, to greet the maids working in the hallway.

The hallway she stood in was in the center of the mansion, so maids passed by it almost every day.

Today, the head maid was still standing there, looking down as if she were scanning the area, her eyes arrogant.

“Ahem, ahem.“ I approached the head maid, clearing my throat. Only then did she see me.

“Head Maid, you were looking for me.”

“Where were you just now?”

“Oh, I was checking on Ardion.”

The head maid’s sharp eyes scanned me. It felt uncomfortable, but I had to keep my expression composed.

When I didn’t respond, the head maid said in a stern voice, “I heard from Rhody you’ve been slacking off on your work because of that new guy. This time, you put off your work and made her finish cleaning by herself.” 

There she was again, trying to drag me down. She made up a story to get me punished.

Rhody was the one who annoyed me the most, and she was infamous for making up tall tales.

I had been treated unfairly quite a bit because the head maid believed everything Rhody claimed.

The head maid liked it when other maids trembled in front of her, but she was actually just a commoner who trembled in front of nobles. She just wanted our acknowledgment for some reason.

My eyes widened, and I said in a tone of disbelief, “… Really?”

At such times, I had to act innocent. It was a survival strategy I had learned while living in this terrible place.

Immediately after, I heard a burst of laughter. The head maid said incredulously, “Are you serious? Are you saying I’m lying?”

I didn’t answer and just looked around.

“What are you doing?”

Yes, this was the timing, the timing of my name being yelled.

“Laila!”

Her actions were so predictable that I barely held back my laughter. I turned around and said in a  worried tone, “Head Maid, please reduce your voice. Otherwise, the duchess will hear.”

I meant to say that a commoner maid couldn’t be louder than the duchess.

“… You.” She gritted her teeth in annoyance.

Now, it was time to tell the truth. “Head Maid, everything Rhody said was a lie.”

I held out a hand to her. My hand was still trembling. “Can you see my trembling hand?”

The head maid just frowned and looked at me.

I sighed and said in a pitiful voice, “I mopped too much, so my hand…”

My hands were trembling violently.

Ugh, it’s worse today.

She frowned at me. “Do you have evidence to prove you weren’t lazing around? I won’t tolerate you if you were idle.”

“Oh, Master Jonok saw me. Should we go…”

The head maid’s face hardened at those words, and she waved her hand as if she were offended. “Enough. Just go back.”

That’s right. Jonok was a problem child in this mansion. The head maid and the duke were reluctant to deal with him.

Using him makes everything end faster.

The head maid said, “You don’t need to do maid work for the time being.”

When I looked at her curiously, she said. “The duke himself gave the order. Focus on draining Ardion’s mana.”

What’s going on? He’s really serious about draining his mana.

It was a good thing for me anyway. I should focus on taking care of Ardion. “Yes, I will.”

Just as I was about to leave, the head maid said, “The duke seems to trust you a lot since he said that. Try to live up to his expectations. If you do anything foolish, you’ll be ruined.”

Of course. In the original story, the duke gave poison to anyone who didn’t obey him and left their bodies in the wilderness.

It was cruel, but it was the truth. That was why I had no choice but to pretend to obey.

I said with a nonchalant smile, “Have I ever failed to do anything for the duke?”

Despite pretending I obeyed the duke’s commands, everything I did was for my future, and it seemed to be turning out well. 

“…” The head maid looked at me silently and then turned her head away.

The duke wants me to drain Ardion’s mana?

Then, I should teach him how to hide his mana.

But how do I teach that?

Things became complex again. Duke Orchid wanted Ardion’s mana to be drained away completey.

However, it was impossible to completely drain Ardion’s mana from his body, as his body produced mana on its own.

I furrowed my brows in thought while walking down the hallway. Then something stepped on my foot.

“Ouch!”

As expected, when I raised my head, I saw Rhody glaring at me.

“Why did you step on my foot?”

“Did I? I thought it was just a rock.”

When I heard her response, the smile on my face remained, and I just walked past her. I wanted to ask her about what happened earlier, but it would just be a waste of time.

Rhody would just continue to plot against me out of envy.

I could tell without even looking.

“Laila!” Her voice called me from behind.

I continued walking, but she relentlessly chased after me, her footsteps getting closer and closer.

I turned around. Rhody stopped and stepped back with a surprised face, almost falling over because I turned around so abruptly.

I asked casually, “What do you want?”

“Why do you keep ignoring me?” Rhody said, hesitant.

“Because you do things that deserve to be ignored.”

Rhody grumbled, “I was being honest to the head maid.”

“That wasn’t an act of honesty. Besides, I have never affected anyone’s work. What I did was cover up for Benji. So please, in the future, understand the whole situation before speaking.” 

Rhody bit her lip, strangely avoiding my gaze.

Since she wanted to talk with me, I added one more thing. “And don’t make up stories about me from now on.”

Rhody raised her head, her eyes wide in disbelief. “When did I make up stories? I just said what I saw.”

I shook my head in resignation. It was unlikely that Rhody and I would ever see eye to eye.

The best course of action was to leave this mansion as soon as possible. As I lowered my head, I noticed my hands were trembling even more.

A sigh escaped me. I was even more exhausted than before.

I was about to turn around, but I heard Rhody's voice.

"I saw you use magic."

When I looked up, her face was brighter than before. She must have thought she had touched my weak spot.

I gave her a grin in response. "So what?"