Chapter 16
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How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister Episode 16 The way she leaned against the wall at an angle carried an audacious, almost brazen quality. Alexis was typically a woman whose emotions were difficult to discern. Considering that, the sudden appearance of her looking so blatantly shameless felt strange to me. 'This is hardly the time for her to idle about watching my doll play.' "Kidnapping me is not a good idea. Please send me back quickly."
Dain was consumed with worry about how to guide this twisted girl onto the right path, even with his lord's arrival. But the princess was remarkably defiant.
"I don't want to! I'm hungry, so let's just eat our food."
"Your Highness, we have neither water to drink nor food to eat."
"Why?"
"Because we're beggars." ....
"A beggar couple who fled defying the king's command."
"Hmm, then...."
I glanced sideways at Alexis.
"We'll farm and live off what we grow!"
"Sigh, Your Highness...."
Dain exhaled a sigh, his expression suggesting he had given up.
"Oh! Your Highness! Look here! When I dug the ground, spirit stones came out!"
"Ah, I see...."
"Even though no flowers or grass grow on this land, spirit stones were hidden here. Isn't that fascinating? I think the spirit stones must have been stealing the earth's power!"
"I see...."
The prince had now completely abandoned hope for the princess. 'He's lost all faith in her.' But my objective was Alexis, after all. I glanced back toward where Alexis stood. Then— "Yelp!"
Alexis had appeared directly in front of me without warning.
"Why are you startled?"
Alexis asked, watching my trembling hands with an incomprehending expression. Dain, equally startled, spoke up.
"It's startling when you approach so suddenly."
"I thought you'd like it."
Alexis murmured quietly. 'What did she say?' I doubted my ears. I must have misheard her. At that moment, Alexis plopped down in front of me.
"Inheritance."
"Hm?"
"Is there anything you want?"
I stared up at Alexis with my mouth hanging open like an idiot.
"Are you at a loss because there are too many things you desire?"
"Your Excellency, asking so suddenly will startle the young lady."
"I anticipated that, so I brought the list of assets Father left behind."
Alexis handed me a document.
"Choose."
The document was indeed a list of the Parkision Family's wealth. What Alexis had inherited. I set the document down and fidgeted with my pinky finger as I spoke.
"Sister, I'm the second child, though..."
In the Empire, inheritance favored the firstborn. There was no portion meant for the second child.
"Dreiny Volgo sent a 【Demand for Inheritance Rights】 on your behalf. So if there's anything you want, choose it."
"!"
Dreiny again. No matter how hard I tried, he kept creating rifts between Alexis and me! 'But the fact that she's telling me to choose anyway... she must be testing me.' I hesitated before unfolding the documents. Even with the poor financial state, there were quite a few valuable items listed. Alexis stared at me expressionlessly as I examined the documents carefully. Dain, meanwhile, was visibly tense. 'Is he worried I'll reveal my greed and incur Alexis's displeasure?' Hmm. Still, looking at the documents now, I did want at least one thing. I grinned and closed the documents.
"Sister, I know what I want!"
"As expected..."
Alexis murmured. She looked deflated. Dain fidgeted nervously, watching Alexis's expression. I beamed and continued.
"The Northern Land of the Estate! I'm going to build a playground there!"
"..."
"?"
Alexis made no effort to hide her bewildered expression. Dain seemed equally confused.
"Miss, the Northern Land of the Estate is dead soil. Nothing grows there—neither flowers nor grass."
"Then I'll build a playground there."
"Is my entertainment not enough for you, Miss...?"
Suddenly, a scoff escaped from Alexis. I blinked in surprise, my eyes widening like a sparrow's. Alexis tilted her head and looked down at me.
"I'd rather ask for garbage than accept that."
"Garbage?"
"Yes. If you dig through garbage carefully, you might find something useful among it. But from the wasteland of the Parkision Territory, you can obtain nothing. No life grows there, and the soil itself is wretched."
"..."
"If it's a digging game, you might be able to do it until you die."
Watching Alexis say this, I smiled brightly. 'That's exactly what I want, Sister!' I'm going to dig! In that dead land! Alexis's expression shifted subtly. But I had already thought it all through. 'I heard it from Dain not long ago.' "I may not be able to entertain you for a while. It seems I'll be going on a monster subjugation campaign."
A monster subjugation campaign. In the original story, it was something Alexis did because she needed money. 'But why now?' The timing didn't match. I knew the Parkision Dukedom's finances were still strained. But with careful management, Alexis's abilities meant it wouldn't be a major problem. There was only one reason for her to go on a subjugation campaign earlier than in the original story. 'She suddenly needs a large sum of money.' I had a suspicion about where it came from. Roel, and Jenin. 'Julia borrowed a large sum from Jenin during her lifetime.' I often stole glances at Julia's secret diary—her embezzlement ledger. So I roughly knew how much debt there was. A massive debt amounting to about ten billion won in Korean currency. 'All of it stemmed from luxuries beyond her means and bribes scattered about.' Given Julia's nature, she likely hadn't repaid even a single coin of interest, let alone the principal. 'And the interest rate was astronomical.' Such irresponsible debt left behind. 'Roel, cornered at the cliff's edge, is using that debt to strangle Alexis's neck.' The family's younger nobles were being eliminated one by one. And Alexis's blade was closing in on Roel's very nose. He had been thorough in erasing the evidence, so far remaining unscathed. 'If I don't counterattack now, it's over.' He still hadn't abandoned his delusion of becoming a Duke. 'But at this time of year, monster subjugation won't earn me substantial wealth.' Currently, monsters only appeared near Nightmare Valley. There were no creatures offering substantial subjugation rewards. Nor any that yielded expensive byproducts. 'Most importantly, if I undertake subjugation work, Alexis will suffer!' I couldn't burden my sister with such tasks! * * * So I opened my inventory for the first time in ages. Solely to search for items that might aid Alexis. While rummaging through, I discovered an item that caught my eye. [Gold Rush (S-Rank)] 'Did I have something like this?' In my previous life, the moment I obtained an item, it became [Locked] without fail. I couldn't view it again, nor could I verify its function. That's why my inventory contained so many unfamiliar items. 'Gold Rush' was one of them. I read the item description. [Gold Rush (S-Rank)] - An item set imbued with the aspirations of pioneers who dreamed of striking it rich by discovering gold mines. 1. Treasure Map (Lv.1) - The map displays treasures hidden in the vicinity of its owner. - Special Note: Do not covet treasures in 'Restricted Areas'! 2. Pickaxe of Desire (Lv.1) - Capable of excavating even the harshest terrain to reach treasure. 'Wow! I really found something worthwhile!' I selected the item with excitement surging through me. A massive golden scroll materialized in the air, unfurling with a flourish to both sides. Now I just needed to view the map's contents— "Whoa... what?"
The map suddenly vanished. Instead, a notification window appeared. [The owner's mana has been completely depleted. The item cannot be activated.] 'My mana is completely depleted?' So I've been consuming mana to use items all this time? I had completely forgotten about it. 'It's been so long since I retired from being an Awakener.' Still, this means my body contains a considerable amount of mana! I hadn't even undergone a single mana training session. It was remarkable. 'Perhaps Cyrilia's body is naturally suited for accumulating mana.' I felt a little proud about that. But first, I needed to replenish my depleted mana. 'To refill my mana, I'll need to train.' The method wouldn't differ much from my previous life. But I don't have time for that. 'I'll have to resort to shortcuts.' I rummaged through my inventory, recalling an item I'd seen before.
"Found it! 'Mana Stone from Dward Mine'! I'm going to use this!"
The moment I called out, a blue mana stone tumbled from the air into my palm.
"Wow, it's quite heavy."
Among mana stones, those handled by dwarves were premium quality. When I'm short on mana like this, absorbing just one of these allows me to face boss monsters from A-rank Dungeons.
"Absorb!"
The mana stone in my hand transformed into pure energy and was drawn into my heart. Soon, mana began to pulse vividly through my heart. It was a sense of fullness I hadn't felt in a long time. 'Now then, let's continue....' "Goldrush! Show me the map!"
The golden map that had vanished into thin air reappeared. This time, the entire expansive map unfolded completely. 'Life really does come down to gear.'
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