“How much did they pay you to kill me?”
“I-I don’t know what you mean… my Lord.”
Alea struggled, but under Vanitas Astrea’s grip, she found no strength to resist. His sheer power was baffling for a mage.
Though she was a full-fledged maid with no formal training in espionage, her true talent had always aligned with the ways of the Crusade.
However, lacking money, time, or the luxury of proper education, she had never been able to hone those skills. Instead, she had spent over a decade as a maid, serving under the Ainsley Family.
Vanitas tilted his head, watching her with a blank expression.
“I don’t know why you’re still pretending,” he murmured, pulling back his collar.
Black veins pulsed along his skin. The clear sign of poison corroding his body.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” he said, his voice almost amused. “You weren’t exactly subtle.”
“….”
Alea went still. There was no longer any point in pretending.
Her gaze darkened as she met his eyes.
“It serves you right, Mister Astrea,” she spat, an indescribable rage bubbling inside her. “I hope your ambitions die here.”
But Vanitas only chuckled.
At that moment, Alea’s breath hitched as she noticed the black veins were fading.
“What…?” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
The poison should have been spreading, yet it was retreating.
Vanitas let out a slow exhale, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off a minor inconvenience.
“Haaa…”
Alea’s pulse quickened as panic surged through her.
“L-Let go of me,” she said. “If you don’t, I’ll scream….”
But Vanitas only tilted his head, his amethyst eyes gleaming ominously.
“Scream? Go ahead,” he said, his voice dripping with amusement. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten where you are.”
“….”
Alea’s breath caught in her throat.
He was right.
This was the Astrea domain. Everyone here served Vanitas Astrea. She wasn’t sure how deep their loyalty ran, but she knew it was futile. No one would come to her aid.
If she couldn’t escape, then at the very least, she wanted him to know.
Her voice trembled. Not with fear, but grief.
“My brother… didn’t do anything wrong,” she whispered, sorrow dripping from her words.
“Your brother?”
Her gaze burned into him, filled with something far deeper than hatred.
“It was you,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. “You drove him to suicide. You killed him!”
“….”
For a brief moment, something glinted in Vanitas Astrea’s eyes. Interest, perhaps, or curiosity.
Alea pressed on, her anguish giving way to anger
“You pushed him to the brink with that loan… He swore those conditions weren’t in the contract when he signed them! But you—you cheated him! You took advantage of his desperation!”‘
The main reason Alea had accepted the task in the first place, despite being a full-fledged maid, was the chance to exact her revenge on Vanitas Astrea.
The plan she’d been given was flawless. Under normal circumstances, it should have succeeded.
And yet, it hadn’t.
“Loans, huh?” Vanitas exhaled, almost amused. “Did you not know? Only the desperate resort to debt. And I simply take advantage of those foolish enough to gamble with their futures.”
“I-Irresponsible?” Alea’s voice dropped, stunned by his words. “He fed more people than you ever have! Maybe it was misplaced, but my brother only did it for our village!”
“And yet he squandered everything and left his sister behind?” Vanitas scoffed. “Not as bright as you think.”
Alea clenched her fists, her eyes moistening. “He was a good man!”
“A good man, huh?” Vanitas murmured. “Then he’ll be welcomed in heaven.”
“Please…!”
A single tear slipped down Alea’s cheek.
“Give him back… please…” she choked out, her voice breaking. “It’s not fair…”
Her knees trembled, and her strength began to wane. Not from Vanitas’s grip, but from the weight of everything she had carried for so long.
“Why did it have to be him?” she whispered. “Why do people like you get to live while people like us—”
“Shut up before I rip your mouth off,” Vanitas interrupted coldly.
“….”
Alea froze.
She had braced herself for this mission. But only now did the full force of fear crash down on her.
“Even if you plead, even if you fall to your knees and beg me to take my own life—know this,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “There is not a single ounce of sympathy in me for you.”
His words hit harder than any strike.
“I do not carry the burden of your grief, nor do I owe you understanding. The fact that you’re still breathing—that I haven’t lifted a finger against you—is mercy enough.”
Alea’s lips parted, but no words came out. The fire in her eyes died down beneath the crushing truth.
“You came here seeking revenge,” Vanitas continued, voice low and cold. “But you forgot something crucial. Vengeance demands strength, and you have none. All you carry are burdens.”
“….”
“You think it ends with your brother?” he said. “After this, do you really believe I won’t come for your ailing mother? Your cousins? Your entire bloodline?”
Alea’s breath caught in her throat.
“You think you’ve lost everything now,” Vanitas went on, voice growing colder. “But I can show you what true loss looks like. If you have no contingency for failure, then I’ll ensure the consequences.”
Then his voice dropped to a whisper.
“And when I do… it won’t be poison. I’ll make sure the entire tree burns down.”
“….”
The bitter taste of regret pooled in her mouth.
“I’m… sorry….” she murmured, her voice trembling with fear. “P-Please… s-spare my mother…”
“Whether I spare her or not doesn’t depend on your apology.”
Alea swallowed.
“It depends,” Vanitas continued, “on whether or not you heed my demands.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. “W-What do you mean…?”
Vanitas’s eyes narrowed.
“An absolute oath.”
* * *
The Ascension Licensure Exam naturally included practicals. However, these were not designed to test one’s strength but rather to evaluate interpersonal skills in a simulated teaching scenario.
——Miss Maeril.
“….”
Karina stood frozen, lost in thought as a simulated student posed a difficult question. It wasn’t that she was struggling with the question itself, but her mind wasn’t even on it.
Instead, it was entirely consumed by thoughts of Professor Vanitas.
——Miss Maeril.
“….”
The question wasn’t particularly difficult. Had she been at her usual composure, she could have answered it effortlessly. But at this moment, she was far from composed.
——Miss Maeril, can you not answer such a basic question?
“I….”
——I believe we’ve seen enough. Return tomorrow.
“….”
Lowering her head, Karina stepped away in silence, her expression darkening. As she neared the exit, the evaluators’ murmurs reached her ears.
——Her theoretical knowledge is strong, and her delivery was excellent, but she needs to improve her ability to think on her feet. Freezing up like that is unacceptable in the lecture hall.
——Perhaps it was just a bad day, Professor Glenda. She may do better tomorrow. Still, I expected more from Professor Astrea’s protégé.
“….”
Just as Karina reached for the doorknob, that name stopped her in her tracks.
For a moment, she stood still, thinking. Then, slowly, she turned.
“Do you know… Professor Vanitas?” she asked.
The exam proctors exchanged glances before turning back to her.
“Yes,” Professor Elena said. “Professor Glenda and I were part of the board when Professor Astrea took his Licensure Exam, just like you.”
“Would it be alright if I asked about him?”
Professor Glenda raised an eyebrow. “You’re his protégé. Wouldn’t it be better to ask him directly?”
“Yes, but… this is something I’m not supposed to ask.”
Karina had known of Vanitas Astrea since her younger years. He had been a rising talent in his high school days, and was a name that naturally came up in academic circles at the time.
But her interest in him went beyond his reputation.
It was about her mother.
As a professor at a prestigious high school, her mother had mentioned his name once in passing. At the time, Karina hadn’t paid much attention. But that changed when she heard it again several years later. This time, it had slipped from her father’s lips.
The connection was too significant to ignore.
Her father had mentioned Vanitas once, though she had never known why. And as Karina pursued her own path toward becoming a professor, her curiosity only grew.
That curiosity led her to seek him out. Despite the rumors and the sins attached to his name, she wanted to see the truth for herself.
She knew that if the stories were true, she would either have to endure his difficult personality, or risk her dreams of following in her mother’s footsteps.
But to her surprise, reality was nothing like the rumors.
Vanitas Astrea was not the man people claimed him to be. But a person who was often misunderstood due to his principles.
And now, she needed to know.
Did the publisher misunderstood him too?
“I wish to know,” Karina said. “About the professor. If you know the truth, then please, tell me. What has he done that was so wrong?”
The professors exchanged glances, blinking in surprise. Then, unexpectedly, they chuckled. Perhaps they had misinterpreted her intent. Still, they chose to answer.
“You mean the rumors that once surrounded him?” Professor Glenda asked.
“Yes.” Karina nodded.
“Well, that depends on what you consider a misdeed,” she said. “Legally, Vanitas Astrea has done nothing. But ethically and morally? That’s where the questions arise.”
She paused briefly before continuing.
“But no one is without fault. Not me, not Professor Elena, not any of the professors here. And certainly not you, Miss Maeril.”
“….”
“Even the Imperial Family isn’t free of sins,” Glenda continued. “We are all expected to abide by the law, but only up to a certain point. No one cares if a random person dies. A victim’s family could step forward, but connections and power would crush them before they could make a difference.”
“….”
Karina’s fingers curled tightly at her sides. She knew those words to be true.
When her father had fallen into a coma, the investigation was quickly declared unsolvable and buried as a cold case.
“What I’m telling you, Miss Maeril, is that you must have confidence in yourself. I can see your potential, but you’re too bound by a rigid set of rules. The world doesn’t work that way. When it truly matters, there are no rules to follow but only choices to make.”
She leaned back, exhaling.
“As for the rumors about him… I can’t say for certain what’s true and what isn’t. But what I can tell you is this. Since you’ve chosen to work under him, you best be prepared. A tsunami could hit at any moment.”
A tsunami.
“….”
And perhaps, the epicenter was much closer to Professor Vanitas than even he realized.
* * *
On a cold winter day, Alea stood with sunken eyes before her master, Simon Ainsley.
“You wish to resign, I see,” he said.
“….Yes.”
Alea nodded slowly, her trembling hands clasped tightly in front of her.
Simon eyed her for a moment, the silence stretching between.
“You’ve served this household for over a decade,” he said. “And now you wish to leave without explanation?”
“I’m… grateful for everything,” she replied, lowering her gaze. “But I must go. There are matters I must tend to elsewhere.”
“….”
Simon narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing something else behind her words.
“Is this about Vanitas Astrea?” he asked flatly.
Alea’s breath caught for a split second, but she didn’t answer.
That silence was enough.
Alea’s return without even accomplishing the task spoke for itself. She had failed her mission, and more importantly, it was clear Vanitas Astrea had spared her.
The absence of any explanation only confirmed what Simon suspected. A condition must’ve been placed on her.
“….”
Indeed, it was a loss for Simon. And he knew exactly his wife was to blame for acting on her own accord and dragging Alea into this charade without consulting him first.
Worse, it was entirely possible that Alea had leaked Ainsley Family secrets to Vanitas.
“He left… a message for you,” she said quietly.
“A message?”
Alea reached into her pocket and carefully placed a single bullet on his desk.
Simon’s brows furrowed as he picked it up.
“….”
His initials were carved into the side of the bullet.
In the mafia’s terms, it was a vendetta.
“He said… if you wish to proceed, then be prepared to suffer the consequences,” Alea said quietly. “And if something happens to me… consider this a declaration.”
“Is that so?”
Simon’s grip tightened around the bullet, his jaw clenched.
So it had come to this.
Vanitas Astrea was drawing a line—daring Simon to cross it.
And if he did, there would be no turning back.
“That is all, Sir Ainsley,” Alea said, bowing slightly before turning away.
Sir Ainsley. Not Lord anymore.
Just as her hand reached for the door, Simon’s voice cut through the silence.
“Alea.”
She froze, slowly turning back, only to find him aiming a revolver at her.
“….”
“Thank you for your service all these years,” he said calmly.
Bang!
….And pulled the trigger.
* * *
Vanitas walked through the snowy streets of the Theocracy with Charlotte quietly keeping pace by his side.
“Thanks for coming with me to pick up a souvenir for my friends,” she said, a bright smile lighting up her face.
Vanitas chuckled and gently ruffled her hair. “I’m thinking of getting something too.”
“For who?”
“Karina, Margaret, Roselyn…” he listed casually.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “They’re all women.”
Vanitas paused, then let out a resigned sigh. “Maybe I need more friends.”
Charlotte giggled. “Or maybe you just have a type.”
Vanitas shot her a dry look, but she only laughed harder.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think they’ll appreciate whatever you choose,” she said, nudging him playfully.
“Ah, wait. There’s also Alaric.”
“Who?”
“Some guy. Don’t meet him.”
They continued walking through the snow-covered streets. As they strolled, Vanitas grew quieter, his thoughts drifting.
Perhaps it was time Charlotte knew more.
“There’s also Anastasia… Luca… Vincenzo…” he said after a pause.
Charlotte glanced at him, her brow furrowing. “Aren’t they… the Gambino Family?”
“Yes.”
Vanitas suddenly stopped in his tracks and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. His expression had grown serious.
“Charlotte,” he said quietly, “your brother has a lot of enemies. And sooner or later, you might get caught in the crossfire.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“I’m doing everything I can to keep up,” he continued. “But no matter what I do, his sins have piled up enough and have dragged me into messes I didn’t create.”
“Vanitas.”
He glanced at her. “Yes?”
“I’m not as fragile as you think.”
He paused, then gave a small nod. “Of course.”
“I will share the consequences of my brother’s actions,” she said, her eyes gleaming with the glint of an Astrea. “I have no choice anyway.”
“….”
Vanitas stared at her in silence for a moment.
Even if they were only half-blooded siblings, she still carried the blood of Vanir Astrea. A lineage he himself did not share.
A man far more cruel than Vanitas could ever be.
“….”
At that moment, the interface flashed before his spectacles.
———「Main Act: Saintess」———
「Rewards Obtained:」
◆ Understanding: +45%
◆ Purification: +20%
◆ Traits Root +1
————————————