Chapter 22

‘He’s trying so hard.’

Well, he could hardly show weakness to a sister he’d treated like dirt his whole life.

“So even a mad bitch can become a Hunter. It really wasn’t a big deal after all.”

“Of course it’s not a big deal. Even a guy like you managed it.”

“…How dare you speak to your older brother like that!”

Finally finding something to latch onto, Alex slammed his hand on the table.

The beautiful table, made of ivory and glass, shattered helplessly.

‘My cookies!’

My smile vanished at the sight of the cookie crumbs, tragically crushed beneath the debris.

These were cookies our chef, whose dessert skills were a bit lacking, had painstakingly baked just for me.

‘They were so delicious! I was deliberately savoring them!’

I asked, clenching my jaw.

“You have a problem with the way I talk?”

“A problem? Wow, this is unbelievable. Astell, have you forgotten I was born two years before you? Or has your madness made you forget that too?”

“Anyone would think you worked hard to be born before me.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Is that something you can achieve through effort?”

“Then stop acting so high and mighty about something you got for free. It’s pathetic.”

“Pa-pathetic?”

Alex jumped, his face flushed red.

I rose from the sofa and approached him.

As I gently grasped his broad shoulders, rose onto my tiptoes, and brought my face close, he scowled deeply.

“You hate me, don’t you? Do you really want someone who hates you to treat you like an older brother?”

As I spoke, I tightened my grip.

My fingers dug into his hard shoulder muscles, and Alex, who had been about to snap, shut his mouth.

Veins bulged on his forehead as he endured the pain, and his face instantly turned pale.

‘Not bad. It must hurt quite a bit, but he’s not showing it.’

He was probably a high-ranker.

‘Then again, he was always skilled with a sword.’

He just never got to shine, overshadowed by Duke Ruthius.

“Alex, smashing things or showing off your strength just because you’re angry… even children are too embarrassed to do that. If you want me to call you ‘brother,’ then act your age. Deal with your own inferiority complex first.”

“In-inferiority complex! I don’t have anything like that…”

“I get that you feel wronged because the Duke won’t give you any attention no matter how hard you try. I get it, but that’s because you have a father like him. It’s not my fault. Are you such an idiot you don’t even know that?”

“…!”

“Don’t mess with me. If you push me, I might just steal all your Constellations.”

“Is that a threat?”

I couldn’t get rid of all his viewers, but there was a way to make them dwindle.

I clamped a hand over Alex’s mouth.

Then, I stared into his eyes and whispered.

“Hey, Constellations in Alex’s channel. This guy’s a loser who takes out his inferiority complex from not being acknowledged by his father on his little sister. You guys into that sort of thing?”

“…”

“So? Is your viewer count still the same?”

A flush spread from Alex’s neck to his forehead. Seeing him turn completely red, it seemed a few of them had really left the channel.

I patted Alex’s shoulder.

“My dear brother, you’ll be streaming all by yourself soon. Don’t be too upset. If I feel like it, I’ll put in a good word for you with the Constellations.”

Alex was a typical nobleman.

Hot-tempered, selfish, arrogant, and somewhat twisted.

But he wasn’t stupid.

Instead of causing a scene, he studied me, his expression subdued.

Of course, it wasn’t because he realized his mistake and felt remorseful. He was just hesitating, sensing that I might be stronger than him.

Alex twisted his lips into a sneer.

“Don’t be so smug. So what if a few viewers left? I can get them back in no time. The Constellations don’t like the good; they like the strong.”

“Yeah, but I’d still win.”

“…You think you’re stronger than me?”

“If you can’t even sense your opponent’s strength, your skills must be really pathetic. My poor brother is already sad about streaming alone, and now it looks like he’ll die young, too.”

“You little…!”

Alex clenched his fist as if to strike me.

‘Touch a single hair on my head. I’ll make sure you’re eating with your left hand for a month.’

Just as I grinned,

Duke Ruthius appeared in the drawing-room.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a fine display. Fighting with your sister at your age.”

“Father, it’s not like that…”

Under Duke Ruthius’s cold gaze, Alex couldn’t even make an excuse and hung his head low.

‘He was acting so high and mighty for a Hunter…’

But in front of the Duke, he was the same as ever.

The sight was both amusing and pitiful, and I clicked my tongue inwardly. Astell had been just like him.

Even after being abandoned in the annex, she had missed Duke Ruthius every single day.

‘They’re both so foolish.’

Duke Ruthius’s green eyes turned to me.

“Come with me.”

“Why?”

“I’ve found the ones who embezzled the goods assigned to the annex.”

“Embezzled? Ah…”

I’d mentioned in passing this morning about the food supplies sent to the annex, and it seemed the Duke hadn’t overlooked it.

I trudged after Duke Ruthius down to the first floor.

All the household employees were gathered in the lobby. Perhaps they hadn’t hired replacements since the monster attack, as there weren’t many of them.

The employees kept glancing at Frank, whose expression was as hard as stone.

They didn’t know what was happening, but they seemed to sense it was something bad.

The lobby was dead silent.

When Duke Ruthius, Alex, and I appeared, everyone bowed their heads.

Meeting Duke Ruthius’s gaze, Frank squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

“Hans and Arthur, step forward.”

Hans was in charge of purchasing and distributing supplies for the mansion, and Arthur was responsible for delivering those distributed goods to their designated locations.

Aside from Frank the butler and Marilyn the head maid, they were the longest-serving employees.

“These men have been embezzling by skimming supplies during distribution or swapping them with lower-grade items. They were also the ones who tampered with the food supplies and various other goods assigned to the annex.”

As Frank continued, the faces of Hans and Arthur darkened.

Duke Ruthius shot a pathetic look at Frank and Marilyn.

“What were you two doing while the household fell into this state? How much of a joke must you look for the employees to pull something like this!”

“I have no excuse, Your Grace.”

“We are sorry, Your Grace.”

“How dare they touch the belongings of a direct Ruthius heir? Are they all out of their minds?”

The Duke’s roar echoed throughout the mansion.

The employees were frozen stiff, unable to even lift their heads, while Frank and Marilyn looked devastated.

It was an incident that would have been unthinkable in any other noble house.

Even Alex let out a hollow laugh, thinking, ‘Stealing from whom? Are they on drugs or something?’

But I just found it amusing.

Was it because I was twisted that this whole situation felt like a comedy?

The only reason they could get away with this was because Duke Ruthius paid Astell no attention whatsoever.

It was only natural for the staff to look down on someone who had fallen out of the family head’s favor.

‘Could Duke Ruthius really have not anticipated this outcome?’

This all happened because he had erased the very existence of Astell from his mind.

He probably never even considered how his actions would affect her.

And yet, here he was, acting as if he were completely innocent.

I couldn’t even bring myself to scoff.

‘What is this? Is he saying he’s the only one allowed to torment me?’

The reason Duke Ruthius was so furious was obvious. Astell was a direct descendant of the Ruthius line.

Though she might be called the Mad Princess, the blood of Ruthius still flowed through her veins.

Only a Ruthius could lay a hand on another Ruthius.

But to be deceived by mere employees—it was an unacceptable blow to his noble pride.

“Astell, their punishment is yours to decide.”

At the Duke’s command, I stepped forward.

The employees hastily bowed their heads. The very same people who once looked at me like I was an insect now couldn’t even meet my gaze.

I’d heard from Zenia that a rumor was spreading among the staff that the Ruthius estate was the safest place in the empire.

The Ruthius family currently had two Hunters.

And the employees had witnessed my power firsthand.

That was why they were desperate to stay at the Ruthius mansion, no matter what.

How regretful they must feel, now that the Astell they had so despised held their lives in her hands.

‘If I’d known this would happen, I would have been a little nicer.’

‘I shouldn’t have ignored her like that.’

I could almost see their thoughts.

‘It’s too late.’

I openly sneered at them.