Chương 6: Petty Gratification
Meanwhile, Adam Graham finally made the decision to contact the most open person in Linda's family. Her second brother, Jake, accepted the unsavoury capitalists's invite without thinking.
He didn't seem all that careful.
"Who's this? I've never seen you before." The young man with crossed arms sword arrogantly.
A scar near his lips certified his identity.
There was no way Adam wouldn't recognise the scar Linda made when the two of them fought.
"I'm a newly instated aristocrat. As I don't have any familiar connections, I wanted to reach out to someone. Your account just so happened to come into view." He lied without feeling guilty at all.
It wasn't like the antisocial outcast was particularly good of a liar. However, he wasn't bad at it either.
Confidence in the truth woven within the lie was what sold it. After all, nothing he said was wrong.
He really DID have no connections right now. And it wasn't like he was used to how feudalism worked.
"…" After a brief but suffocating moment of total silence, he asked: "Do you not know about us?"
"About the Arcadia Dukedom?"
"So you at least know our title." Seeing how calm and collected he sounded, Adam found it strange.
Jake's personality was usually 'hotter' than this.
That's why he didn't go into too much detail in the beginning. He wanted a closer connection to him.
However, a part of him found thinking before saying a lot of words super annoying to do.
The only thing he wanted most of all was how Linda was doing lately, so he went up and asked:
"Did something happen recently?" The sudden sharpness in his voice frighted the young master.
His hairs stood on end before he quickly spoke:
"Don't misunderstand…! Many have been avoiding my family lately. False rumours might blind you."
"Yeah… So…" Adam wasn't sure what to say from here to get what he wanted, so he stayed silent.
This seemed to get a response he wasn't quite expecting: Jake rang him on the Virtual Chat.
Rather than controlling puppet-like avatars, this was a way to get face-to-face with his opponent.
The only thing was… He wasn't confident in being able to hide his expression in front of the real thing.
'Oh well.' Adam thought. Seeing that the worst that could happen was getting blocked, he accepted it.
A large virtual window opened up in reality, almost like a portal that let him peek into Jake's room.
In front of the screen was the familiar face.
But somehow, the second young master seemed more tired and unkept compared to his avatar.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." The young man rubbed his untrimmed beard. His voice showing complete composure.
"I'll try taking your word for it."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Now where were we?"
"I wanted to ask how much you knew."
"From what I'd heard: You're the second son of the Arcadia Household. Your older brother is the heir to the Dukedom. The Arcadia Family is a bloodline of pure 'Wizards', a Lineage Class passed down thr-"
"Ahem, sorry to stop you there. I meant if you knew anything about the current controversy around us."
"Controversy? What exactly did you do?" Adam squinted his eyes when he heard these words.
Things started feeling ominous…
"…We disowned an illegitimate child." Hearing that this trash was still harping on about that, he said:
"You mean Linda Arcadia?" His agitation made him immediately show a truly frustrated expression.
What else could he have expected of them?
"So you've heard of her?"
"Of course I'd heard. It isn't common for someone to start off with nothing to climb their way up."
"She's just a gold digger."
"In what way was she?" Thankfully, Jake didn't seem to notice how familiar he was with Linda.
It seemed like he was explaining himself as right.
Like their family had done nothing wrong.
"My father was trying to wed her so that she could help the family, but she ended up trading it away."
'Gosh… This is about the ending.' Adam was aware of what this trash of a human being meant by that.
In the beginning of the 'original story' that Linda knew before reincarnation, she was supposed to go through a classic villainess downfall. While her fiancé was wooed, she would bully the heroine.
Thus, leading to the stereotypical death ending.
The best that version could get was exile.
However, after Linda took over the driver's seat for the plot and had assistance, everything changed.
Rather than being thrown around by fate, the plot of 'The Villainess Against Fate' was obvious.
Originally, Lara and Linda were supposed to have opposing roles thanks to the handsome prince.
Ignoring his mental illness, the original Villainess was supposed to desire him for his influence.
The title of 'Reigning Queen' was all too tempting.
However, the memories of Earth and his own assistance as a system changed everything.
She saw Ramos for what he truly was.
He wasn't a handsome Crown Prince in needing of love and compassion. He was a pitiable patient.
That's why Linda focused on curing his ailment first and foremost before doing working on his heart.
The one taking credit for healing his emotional scars being the 'Protagonist' she set him up with.
That's why he said without a shadow of a doubt:
"Bullshit!"
Jake's eyes widened when Adam unceremoniously cussed at him… like he'd held it in for a long time.
"…What exactly did you say to me?"
"I guess the cat's out of the bag."
"You said you knew nothing."
"Not of the current political climate, at least."
"Then what the heck?!" Rather than cutting the virtual call off, he slammed the desk before him.
No one came into his office despite the shouting.
"Not only did she stop your family from being destroyed, she protected you the entire time."
"What do YOU know? That's nonsense! She's only ever cared about herself. Look at this scar! This-"
"Was made because you attacked her."
"She deserved what she got!"
"And you did too."
"Don't act like you know anything about me!"
"Bullshit! Do you think 'Prince Ramos' of back then was the type to forgive people who used him?"
"…What are you talking about?" Sweat started dripping down the young man's face at this.
"Don't try to hide it. Ra- I mean, His Majesty King Ramos already knew the Arcadia Household was planning on killing him off. The moment he had a successor, the kingdom would fall into your hands."
"You can't prove anything!"
"I don't need to. The point is this: Why did the psychotic prince spare your family at all?"
"If she had the king's backing, why didn't she tell us?! We only got into this situation because of her!"
"What.did.you.do?!!!" Adam's face twisted violently when Jake brought up Linda's situation again.
It was then he got filled in on the details.
Jake tried desperately to rationalise how she wasn't technically his sister, but a fake in disguise.
And he even heard things he never knew before:
"She wasn't a person. She was a 'Monster'!"
Adam's eyes widened when he heard that Duke Bryan had her with someone who wasn't human.
The unsavoury capitalist always thought all Linda's problems started because that guy was a pervert.
He had a child with a servant simply because he couldn't hold it in his pants or use protection.
The typical plot you'd see in television drama.
He hadn't expected that a near mythically rare creature, a monster made from the congregation of the Light Attribute, would be her mother. Her origin was even worse than being the 'maid' of the Duke.
The faggot actually went to a brothel!
With his knowledge as a former administrator of this world, he understood one thing about the man.
Duke Bryan was far too creepy and ambitious.
There was either two possibilities of why he slept with the monster pretending to be a prostitute.
The first was that he wanted to birth the 'Hope' the kingdom was looking for through this unholy union.
Even if it was a monster from the Dark Forest, he could've lawfully taken her as his first mistress.
The fear of the Dark Forest and the creatures of the dark wouldn't hold a candle to her physiology.
The 'light' was highly valued in Pandorica, after all.
However, this possibility of happening was slim.
Not only had he never told Linda of her true heritage, but there was something everyone knew:
"You're father can't have had a child with a 'Light Monster'. Even if she was a doppelgänger type."
"That's why I considered her a freak. Even though Humans and Monsters can't mix, that mongrel-"
"Taking a step back: Why did your father even do it?" Hearing this awkward question, Jake replied:
"For the sake of a new 'Hope'."
"That must be what he told you."
"What are you on about?"
"Think about it clearly." Adam listed things out:
"Firstly, it's a law of this world that Humans and Monsters can't make offspring together at all."
"Your father knows this."
"Secondly, he took a lot out of his time to give more duties to his heir so he could go unnoticed."
"Thirdly, he never introduced her as his mistress or wife. Their only relationship was as you'd expect."
"Fourthly, your father isn't the type of 'patriot' to go to a brothel specifically to make children."
The moment Adam finished, Jake's expression was one to behold. His face was twisted in disbelief.
As if he'd never even considered the possibility.
"No… She was… No!" He started to thrash around in agony, something that made him feel pleasure.
Was this the satisfaction of getting revenge?
No, it was deeper than that. Perhaps Adam was just twisted on the inside… to find this enjoyable…
Was he always so sadistic in the past?
Seeing how Jake's entire life was collapsing in on itself drew his eyes. He looked at the poor kid.
Foolishly innocent and naive, yet brazen enough to think that his actions embodied that of justice.
Even though he wasn't sure what circumstances lead to Linda being disowned, he didn't care at all.
The result was all that mattered to him.
'I wonder if you knew…' Did she intentionally keep quiet so Jake wouldn't have a meltdown like this?
Truly, she was too soft to be a Villainess.
Though as Adam was enjoying the view of this pitiful kid tears and snot dripping off his face while trashing his room, he noticed a shadowy figure lurk in the background. It immediately caught his eyes.
"Jake…"
"Lies! Everything is a lie!! It doesn't make sense!!!"
"Jake!" Adam called out again when the shadowy silhouette revealed a thick-muscled masked man.
He looked like a certain chainsaw wielding maniac!
The assassin's hands each held two ends of a thin wire. Their intentions couldn't be more obvious.
"Aaa- Aaaagh! AAAARGH!" Anger and sorrow was lined into his voice, unable to come to terms with it.
Naturally, the former administrator knew the many complicated emotions Jake was thinking of.
Even though the kid pretended to hate her, he was mostly going along with his brother's persuasion.
An idiot who couldn't think for himself.
Always trying to get the attention of their neglectful parents. Finding solace in the attention of others.
How could a social justice freak handle knowing that the person he hated had been showing pity.
Trying her best not to hurt his ego.
However, that didn't change he was about to die!
"JAKE!"
"SHUT UP!" The moment he said that, the sharp wire came down and started to be pulled back.
A look of ecstasy was in the mad eyes of the assassin. He seemed to be taking pleasure in this.
How he was able to infiltrate a Duke Household's security was unknown, but one thing was for sure:
The assassin chose the wrong time to act.
Even without knowing of the danger, Jake literally exploded like a supernova and cracked the ceiling.
The camera had already been toppled over earlier by his tantrum, but this time was quite different.
Within a certain area around his body, a circular domain of flames burnt like an ethereal pillar.
The assassin was no exception.
A cruel look appeared in the young master's eyes when he heard the agonised screams of the killer.
Before that anything else happened, Adam quickly tested out one of the skills he'd obtained earlier.
'Inspection' was used on the domain of flames.
[Fire Release: Pyro Darkness]
Despite having half lost his mind, Jake somehow materialised a crimson wand of burning energy.
Then used 'Inspection' on the next attack.
[Fire Spell: Infernal Fireworks]
A beautiful but deadly flame enveloped the muscle bound assassin's figure. The fireproofed computer and electronics finally broke after he'd surpassed their limit. Thus, breaking the connection they had.
The virtual chat ended.
But not before Adam saw two things.
The first was the details regarding the special characteristics Jake had as this world's resident.
{Spirit Essence: Red Wand
• Innate Ability- Alaya Affinity
Spell Slots:
(Dark Spell- Implosive Bomb)
Fire Spell- Infernal Firework
Lineage Class- Fire Wizard
• Class Skill- Magic Gift
• Class Skill- Flame Manipulation
- Role Response: Studying Magic}
While the second was seeing the sheer strength of a 'Fire Spell'. How it had burned the man to a crisp.
No, it wasn't only that.
After being hit by that mesmerising flame, the bulky figure of the assassin was burnt into ashes.
…He had offended someone who could do that.
Jake supposedly wasn't even considered the strongest person in 'The Villainess Against Fate'.
He was only a side character at most.
'Am I going to die?' He thought in fear, but then remembered he had immortality on his side.
…But that only made things much worse.
Wouldn't he be burning forever?
They say being burnt to death was the worst way to go off, so wouldn't Jake just torture him now?
What should he do?!
He needed to hide, stat!
No wait, didn't he have some connections with Royalty? They'd spare him a bodyguard, right?
Thus, he hastily contacted the King for help!
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