I stared at my older brother who had just walked in my room.
He couldn't have noticed anything yet, could he?
I was hoping he wouldn't.
Although as a player I knew him from countless game reps...
It wasn't a game anymore. It was the real world now.
I couldn't fully rely on my knowledge from the game as the final truth.
What if Dantalian I knew is gone?
Everything in the world could change, including Dantalian himself. His behavior, his reactions could become unpredictable.
So I didn't act hastily, just watching him.
"Tsk."
His eyes ran quickly around my room, stopping on Esther for a moment and showing a tinge of displeasure.
"Are you playing with cheap dirty maids again? Damien, ah Damien, you never grow out of your childish games."
Directing his disdain at me, my older brother snorted quietly.
"With your wretched habits of women and gambling, you really don't deserve the noble blood of the Nilfheims."
"You're right, big brother."
An involuntary smile appeared on my lips.
Same manner of speech, same words...
Yeah. The world could change, things around you could change, even the characters could change, but that narcissistic bastard Dantalian wouldn't change.
He'd never called Damien a younger brother or anything that might indicate they were related. Just Damien.
Perhaps that was why Damien was so fond of calling Dantalian 'big brother', watching that spark of contempt deep in his eyes every time.
"Of course I'm right. Did you ever doubt that?"
I only smiled, not answering him in any way.
Neither as a player nor as Damien, I had little desire to interact with him.
Of course, that didn't stop him from talking to me.
"That said, I don't expect much from you, Damien. In fact, I'm glad you're not trying to emulate Noble men."
His fists clenched.
"As the brat of some filthy wench, you should know your place. Perhaps if she were still alive, she'd still be tarnishing the name Nilf—"
Shatter!
A ringing sound echoed around the room.
Dantalian's gaze shifted slightly from me to my maid.
"I apologize, Mr. Dantalian. My hands slipped and the cup broke. The carpet might get dirty, so I'll clean it up right away."
Esther bowed, immediately beginning to deftly pick up the shards scattered everywhere.
"What a waste."
Than the shards, my older brother was more concerned with the sight of spilled tea.
"Tsk, that's what I'm talking about. Cheap stuff that can't even do its job properly."
A few drops of tea got on his patent black leather boots.
"..."
Since my elder brother couldn't let a low-born maid touch him, he had no choice but to take out a handkerchief and clean them himself.
"They have no place in our House. Once I am Head of the Family, I will make sure that this is resolved."
"Okay, okay, big brother, we already understood about your ambition. Now can you tell us why you honored the room of pitiful me with your grand presence?"
"...Father has conveyed to you that he is still waiting for you."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
As if not wanting to be here anymore, my older brother turned around and walked out the door.
Wiping his handkerchief off the hand with which he had touched my door, Dantalian threw it away and walked away.
My Father is waiting for me?
As Esther closed the open door, I thought about it, trying to find some clue in my memories.
After a while, I came to a conclusion. I had no idea what my older brother was talking about.
Even though I spent thousands of hours in [Gallery] I didn't know every little bit of dialog that went on between countless characters.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead with my hand.
"Haaaa.... Sometimes I just want to rip out my big brother's tongue and use it instead of a toilet plunger, really."
"What is a plunger, Young Master?"
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot again. It was a barbaric world devoid of the light of technology.
"It's a stick you use to clear clogged shit in the toilet."
"Mmm, I get it. A very apt comparison indeed."
"Anyway, thank you, Esther."
"What are you thanking me for, Young Master?"
"For your actions earlier. I don't think your experienced hands can't hold one cup yet."
Although I didn't pay attention to the words of people like him, it was still unpleasant to listen to.
Really, talking about my mother? You deserve to die.
Esther didn't deny it and nodded confidently.
"Of course. It is you who pays me, not the First Young Master."
She was pretty honest. I liked that about her.
A smile slowly appeared on my lips.
"Excellent work, Esther."
***
What am I gonna do about Dantalion?
Although what I wrote in the denunciation of my older brother was pure truth, obtained by me by living the endless cycles of [Gallery] world, over and over again, it was only words.
No matter how heavily tabooed Black Magic was and no matter how accurate and true my words were, without the slightest bit of evidence, it was difficult to deal with him once and for all.
And if he can't be taken out right away, he's bound to come back and find whoever did this to him.
My older brother may have been arrogant and proud, but he wasn't stupid.
I could already feel the [+1 problem!] notification echoing in my ears. Our newly formed party with Esther was about to suffer a devastating crash.
To avoid that, I needed that very 'slightest bit of evidence'. And regarding that... it was a bit complicated.
My older brother didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't do drugs, wasn't interested in women, wasn't a betting addict, didn't wallow in gambling.....
He was not interested in such base pleasures. The only ecstasy he got was from proving his superiority over others. High blood, no less.
In short, he was the 'perfect' person who was hard to pick on.
Thank the Sun, I already had an idea of how and where to get the proof.
The fact that his habits and mannerisms had not changed relative to the Dantalian that I knew was welcome news.
***
While I was quietly eating lunch and thinking about the future, my personal maid Esther looked nervous, constantly biting her plump lips and walking around me.
Of course, as a good natured Master I couldn't ignore it.
"Esther, is something bothering you?"
Finally she stopped and looked at me.
"Young Master, about the event earlier... you won't deduct the cost of this broken cup from my salary, will you?"
Almost coughing up water, I looked at her in bewilderment.
"...What kind of monster do I seem in your eyes?"
"Yourself, Young Master?"
"...Okay, whatever. I won't do it."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Esther wiped the sweat from her forehead before slightly pulling back her maid uniform and wiping the top of her breasts...
It was quite a defiant look, to say the least.
But it was a hot summer now, so something told me I'd be seeing it a lot in the near future.