The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 2

Even in my past life, I had never seen a celebrity as stunning as her. And now, here I was, having this actual breathtaking maid assist me in changing clothes?

…Yeah, no way. That’s just too much!

Or at least, that’s what I wanted to say—except noble clothing was so complicated that I had no idea how to put it on by myself. In the end, I had no choice but to let her dress me like a life-sized doll.

Once I was finally, somehow, properly clothed, I was about to head out for my checkup—only to learn that the healer would be coming to me instead.

Of course. VIP treatment. Perks of being part of a ducal family.

Until they arrived, I waited in my room, sipping the tea that the beautiful maid had prepared. Normally, I loved tea, but right now? I was so nervous sitting alone with her that I couldn’t even taste it. My whole body was stiff with tension.

Having fused with my past self, my mental age no longer matched that of a typical nine-year-old.

Still, I retained the instincts and mannerisms of a noble child who had lived in privilege for nine years. That meant I could now hold conversations with servants, even those much older than me, without feeling intimidated.

But talking to a beautiful woman? Nope. Impossible.

In my previous life, I had been a socially awkward otaku with a romantic track record as empty as a void. My immunity to women wasn’t just at zero—it was in the negatives.

Even the shameless confidence of Kraut, the nine-year-old noble brat, wasn’t enough to save me here!

“Would you like another cup of tea, Young Master?”

“A-Ah… yeah.”

I sneaked a glance at the beautiful maid as she poured my second cup. She wasn’t in a mini-skirted outfit or anything impractical—she wore a proper Victorian-style long dress. Exquisite. Simply excellent.

And now that I was paying closer attention, I recognized her.

She was one of the subordinates I had fought during Kraut’s mid-boss battle in the game. Despite being a maid, she had been insanely strong.

Heliotrope

In the game, she was just one of Kraut’s lackeys—there wasn’t much else said about her.

But now, with Kraut’s memories, I knew a bit more.

She was Kraut’s personal maid, six years older than him—currently fifteen.

With her long, jet-black hair cascading down to her waist and her stunningly cool beauty, she honestly looked more like a heroine than some of the actual heroines.

And yet, instead of being a love interest, she was fated to die alongside Kraut in battle.

Damn you, game developers! Watch your backs on moonless nights!

But anyway—

Apparently, she had originally been a noble daughter from another country. She had lived a peaceful life in a northern kingdom until, a few years ago, her homeland was suddenly invaded and destroyed. Her family was torn apart, and she was sold into slavery.

And guess who had purchased her?

That’s right—Kraut.

Wow. What a piece of work.

Also, her father had been the captain of the royal guard, and her mother had been a former knight. No wonder she was ridiculously strong.

Oh, and yes—this medieval fantasy world had slavery.

Slaves here were forced to wear what looked like chokers, embedded with magic that enforced absolute obedience to their masters. If they attempted to disobey or act against their owner’s interests… the collar would tighten.

This was a common trope in fiction, but seeing it in reality? Yeah, no thanks. Just imagining someone’s neck tightening in front of me made my own heart clench.

And so, Heliotrope, the beautiful maid, was actually Heliotrope, the beautiful slave combat maid.

…Not that I had any weird intentions, okay!?

For one thing, I was a literal nine-year-old. Even if I wanted to do something—
…
You know what? Never mind. Moving on.

By the time she poured me my third cup of tea, the healer had finally arrived—completely out of breath from what was clearly a full sprint.

After a quick examination, the diagnosis? Just bruises.

The poor man was drenched in sweat, and I couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty.

The healer, as a precaution, cast a healing spell on me. A soothing warmth spread across my injured areas, and the pain gradually faded away.

Whoa… So this is magic!

As soon as he finished, the healer left in a hurry, having spent less than eight minutes in total. …I felt bad for making him come all this way for such a minor injury, so I told Sebastian to pay him extra.

After the healer was gone, I sank deep into the sofa in my room. Or rather, the sofa was so ridiculously plush that I felt like I was being absorbed into it. At this rate, I could probably become one with the furniture.

As I sat there spacing out, I noticed Heliotrope preparing to pour me a fresh cup of tea to replace the one that had gone cold.

“Ah, you don’t have to. No sense in wasting it.”

“……”

She gave me a look as if I were some kind of mysterious creature, but I ignored it.

Right now, I had much bigger things to think about—namely, the fact that I had reincarnated as Kraut.

Kraut, the villainous noble son, was doomed to fight the protagonist as a mid-boss no matter which route was chosen—and he was always defeated.

Sometimes, he was manipulated by foreign nations; other times, his motivations were just petty grudges. Regardless, his fate was always the same. A one-way trip straight to hell.

But now that I was in his place, there was no way I was going to let that happen.

I do not wish to die, good sir.

Ideally, I wouldn’t have to oppose the protagonist at all. But since this world followed the game’s setting, there was no guarantee that some forced event wouldn’t push me into conflict anyway.

Even if I did avoid fighting him, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t have other enemies. Let’s be real—I was universally despised.

Even Heliotrope… I wanted to free her from slavery, but she probably hated me so much that I’d be terrified to even bring it up.

She had been Kraut’s personal maid for years, and in that time… Yeah. It was bad. Rather than earning her trust, Kraut had spent his time betraying her, kicking her aside, and spitting on her.

I think you get the picture.

If I wanted to release her from slavery, I’d first have to repair our relationship. Otherwise, I’d probably end up strangled in my sleep.

…Actually, was there anyone who didn’t hate Kraut?

My parents had spoiled me beyond reason, but outside of them? Everyone loathed me. The heroines viewed me as an irredeemable scumbag—especially my younger sister, whom Kraut had tormented the most.

…Wait. My sister?

I tried to leap to my feet but failed, sinking further into the sofa instead and flailing helplessly. Not this again!

With no other choice, I rolled to the edge and used the armrest as support to hoist myself up. My own weight had just sabotaged me, but there were more pressing matters to focus on.

“Is something the matter?”

“That’s it! My sister!”

“…Pardon?”

Heliotrope looked at me with the same deadpan stare she used whenever Kraut said something incomprehensible, but I ignored it.

“That’s right! Kraut’s little sister—she was my absolute favorite character in my past life! The perfect little sister heroine… and now she’s my actual little sister!? This is amazing!”

This was the ultimate prime position—front-row seats to witnessing my favorite character up close every day. What better spot could exist? None! (That’s rhetorical.)

…Honestly, my impending death felt like a much smaller issue all of a sudden.