Chapter 3
My head felt like it was about to split open.
“There is no danger to her life. The injury to her leg has healed considerably as well.”
“Then are you saying she’s faking it?”
“That’s not what I meant, sir—”
Murmured voices drifted around me.
Where… am I?
“Oh! She just moved a little.”
“Truly?”
A finger poked me sharply.
I groggily opened my eyes.
A very familiar face came into view.
“You’re finally awake.”
It was my uncle.
After my parents died together in an accident when I was young, he had taken it upon himself to become my guardian and raise me.
“Doctor, you may leave now.”
“But I still need to confirm the patient’s stability—”
“Leave.”
After dismissing the doctor, my uncle looked down at me.
“Can you sit up?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
My head still throbbed faintly, but I hid it and forced myself upright.
The moment I sat straight on the bed—
Smack!
My head snapped violently to the side.
I froze, holding my breath as my cheek burned.
“The marriage alliance with Felix Loheim was our family’s last hope.”
I stood there, stunned, my head still turned.
When I finally straightened it, I saw my uncle—his face flushed dark red—pointing at me.
“Did I ask for something so unreasonable? All I told you to do was keep hold of Felix!”
“……”
“You were bound by a womb-betrothal! If you’d just stayed put, everything would’ve gone according to plan! How utterly lacking in charm must you be to ruin things this badly!”
I clutched my cheek, frozen in disbelief.
My uncle had always been strict—but he had always said he loved me.
I had been disciplined with a switch before, but this was the first time he had ever struck me like this.
“There’s nothing more to discuss. Go and beg him. Don’t come back until you get a clear promise that he’ll marry you!”
Memories from just before I lost consciousness came flooding back.
Felix kneeling before Lorena, offering the engagement ring I had longed for.
Lorena confessing that she was carrying Felix’s child.
“…It’s already too late.”
“What?!”
My uncle raised his hand again.
Though I flinched instinctively, words spilled out of me like despair being vomited forth.
“Lorena is pregnant with Felix’s child.”
“…What?”
Shock twisted my uncle’s face.
It seemed the news hadn’t spread yet due to the explosion.
Soon, his expression shifted violently between red and blue.
“You utterly useless thing!”
Smack.
Another slap landed on my cheek.
“While that lowborn woman was carrying Felix’s child, what were you doing?! I never should’ve sponsored her in the first place!”
To be precise, it was my late parents—not my uncle—who had sponsored Lorena’s admission to the academy.
Breathing hard, my uncle continued.
“That brat. Tell them you’ll adopt the child.”
“…What?”
“Say you’ll pretend it’s yours. Manipulate that lowborn girl however you have to, and bring Felix’s heart back—no matter what!”
“But—”
“Beg, throw yourself at him, do whatever it takes! Until then, you won’t get a single coin of allowance! No meals either! I won’t waste money feeding a parasite who only drains resources!”
Bang!
My uncle slammed the door shut as he left.
I clutched my throbbing cheek.
I had been beaten until my calves swelled more times than I could count—but I had never been struck like an animal before.
From the moment Felix broke off the engagement, it was as though my value as a human being had vanished.
Suddenly, a memory from last winter surfaced.
My usually harsh uncle had visited me with a rare gentle expression.
“Frisia, you’ll be coming of age soon.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Once you’re an adult, it would normally be your responsibility to manage the Violet barony I’ve been overseeing for you. But you’ll soon marry Felix and become the Marchioness of Loheim, won’t you?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“I’ll manage the family estate your father left behind, and once your son comes of age, I’ll hand it over to him.”
At the time, his words had seemed reasonable.
I had even felt grateful—to my uncle, who was holding up our crumbling family.
After all, he constantly lamented how his entire life had been sacrificed cleaning up the debts my parents left behind.
“Felix is a man destined for greatness. You must hold on to him and bring benefit to the family. That’s how you honor your late parents—and me. You know how much I love you, don’t you?”
“Of course, Uncle.”
Now I finally saw it.
Every word about love had been a lie.
Perhaps I had known all along and simply chosen to ignore it.
Desperate for the scraps of affection he tossed me whenever I obeyed.
“Really…”
I rubbed my aching cheek and let out a hollow laugh.
How could I only see it now?
My uncle hadn’t been worried about me—he’d only been afraid that I might try to reclaim my family.
‘Being this stupid… I’m not even pitiable.’
Self-loathing surged through me.
I was drowning in shame—
When suddenly—
Ah. Right…
Another memory surfaced.
The second most shocking thing that had happened before I fainted.
The mottled chick…
The voice that called me its benefactor, thanking me again and again.
But now, the chick was nowhere to be seen.
After begging me to synchronize with it…
‘Guess it left once it was better.’
After being betrayed by my fiancé, my childhood friend, and my uncle in succession, I didn’t even feel disappointed.
Or… could it be—
“Was it… exterminated as a monster…?”
My heart sank.
I remembered its voice, begging to live.
Boasting desperately about its calculation abilities.
…Somehow, it reminded me of myself—desperately trying to prove my worth.
[I was not exterminated!]
“Aaah!”
I jumped in fright.
The chick waddled out from behind my pillow.
Since when had it been hiding there?!
“You were alive…!”
It hadn’t been killed.
Its once-pitiful appearance was now spotless.
As relief washed over me, the chick chirped brightly.
[It’s a pleasure to work with you! I am a cutting-edge, growth-type magical artificial intelligence that will make your life more convenient, more efficient, and more abundant!]
A more abundant life…
I let out a bitter laugh.
Objectively speaking—
My family was now under my uncle’s control.
I had been betrayed by the man I was supposed to marry.
I had ruined my own academic record polishing his.
Objectively, I had nothing.
Multiply zero by anything, and it’s still zero.
Perhaps I was too overwhelmed by despair.
Only pessimistic thoughts came to mind.
Ignoring my listless reaction, the chick continued cheerfully.
[To provide more precise assistance, may I now read your memories?]
“Do whatever you want.”
My voice drifted out weakly, like smoke.
I didn’t have the energy to object—or to care.
The chick climbed onto me and pressed its head against my cheek.
So fluffy…
It tickled a little.
After a moment—
The chick, trembling as it concentrated, suddenly opened its eyes.
[I have completed learning all of your memories!]
“So? How was my life?”
Even to that chick, it must’ve looked utterly pathetic.
I asked with a bitter smile.
[Pathetic simp.]
“…?”
[Personal maid. Foot washer.]
“……”
I was momentarily speechless.
This chick has a surprisingly sharp tongue…
[That is the term society uses for individuals with your attributes!]
“…I see. That’s… disturbingly accurate.”
[Thank you! I am a cutting-edge growth-type magical artificial intelligence that never neglects learning!]
The chick wiggled its stubby tail feathers happily.
[Now that I’ve learned your memories, I can provide optimal assistance. What is your greatest wish at this moment? I will support you!]
My greatest wish…
Until yesterday, I would’ve answered without hesitation:
To become Felix’s devoted wife.
But when his name surfaced, my exhausted heart began to pound.
From excitement?
No.
I might have been a fool, but I wasn’t insane enough to still talk about love after what happened.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to turn Felix into a top-ranking student.
The emotion surging inside my chest was unmistakable.
Anger.
“…From now on, Felix will have nothing but smooth sailing ahead of him, right?”
[Felix Loheim. Name learned from your memories.]
The chick closed its eyes and trembled its wings.
Calculation mode.
[The probability that the academy’s top male graduate will amass assets exceeding 100,000 gold within five years is 98%.]
One hundred thousand gold—enough to buy a fine house in the capital.
A symbol of success.
It made my stomach twist.
[The probability of attaining a third-rank or higher official position is 75%. In simpler terms—yes! Felix Loheim’s future is paved with nothing but success and prosperity!]
A flowery path…
‘That disgusting leash your grandfather tied around my neck is useless from today on.’
Felix’s face as he said those words came back to me.
That same face striding smugly down a glittering road of flowers.
…No.
I absolutely could not stand to see that.
The numbness weighing me down began to boil.
I wanted to burn that flower road to the ground.
I wanted to wreck everything.
I wanted to utterly, violently, completely ruin Felix Loheim’s future.
…But how?
