Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95

 

“How dare you argue with my words. Jui-bam-tol, what insolent behavior is this?”

 

I was so flustered that even with the Belinda translator, my irritated voice leaked through.

 

For a moment, I almost mistook it for the translator not working on Leo.

 

Despite my menacing question, Leo answered with a bright face and spirited determination.

 

“I will assist Belinda-nim as a reserve servant so that people don’t misunderstand Belinda-nim’s words!”

 

Leo clenched his fist resolutely and added, “If I ever convey anything incorrectly, please scold me!”

 

Faced with that enthusiastic expression, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him he didn’t need to go that far.

 

So I silently patted Leo’s head.

 

Unlike before, Leo accepted my touch quite naturally and smiled triumphantly.

 

Looking at that face, I suddenly had a question.

 

In Belinda’s past that I saw through the ‘second memory fragment,’ there were people who understood Belinda’s heart even without speaking like Leo did.

 

The nanny and personal maid, as well as the butler and employees who had served the Blanche Family for generations.

 

But when I awakened after possessing Belinda’s body, all those people had disappeared.

 

I could only learn what happened through the ‘third memory fragment.’

 

Late at night.

 

Lying in bed and calming my mind, I carefully summoned the Quest window.

 

[Quest] Where am I? Who am I?

 

▼[new] Obtain intermediate reward

 

Looking at the system window glowing softly in the darkness, I muttered with a heavy heart.

 

“Obtain.”

 

Soon my consciousness went dark as my body seemed to sink beneath the bed.

 

* * *

 

It started with the nanny.

 

“The nanny… stole mother’s belongings?”

 

That can’t be, Belinda thought.

 

However, there was no clearer evidence than the former Marquess’s wife’s jewelry found in the nanny’s room.

 

“Young miss! How could I dare lay hands on the late mistress’s belongings! Young miss, it wasn’t me!”

 

The nanny cried out her innocence from outside the door until her voice was hoarse.

 

But Belinda, tears streaming down her face from betrayal, never allowed the nanny to set foot in her room.

 

“I can’t forgive you.”

 

If she had stolen her own jewelry, she might have overlooked it.

 

‘But to steal mother’s things.’

 

Stealing the master’s belongings was the greatest crime an employee could commit.

 

Uncle immediately tried to assess the situation and investigate the incident, but Belinda had already lost trust in the nanny.

 

In the end, after that incident, the nanny was never allowed to set foot in Blanche Manor again.

 

Next was the butler.

 

Someone’s report revealed his embezzlement.

 

Facing Uncle, who was rarely angry, the butler stammered out excuses.

 

“B-but th-this much is what everyone…”

 

“You call that an explanation now!”

 

Bang!

 

The sound of Uncle slamming the desk reached Belinda, who was standing outside the study door.

 

Soon after, he sighed and continued in a very tired tone.

 

“Yes, I acknowledge you’re right. But butler, you know I can’t cover this up.”

 

The money the butler had siphoned off was actually too small to even call embezzlement.

 

It was just keeping the change left over from purchasing food supplies for the manor, and most nobles generously overlooked such amounts as compensation for hard work.

 

But with the Blanche Family’s scale, that change was quite substantial, and the problem was that this embezzlement had become known to everyone in the manor.

 

If they covered this up, the cadet branches constantly looking for opportunities would surely seize this chance to find fault.

 

To avoid showing weakness to them, Uncle had to be a more perfect and capable family head than anyone.

 

“I’m sorry for being a powerless master. I’ll provide a generous severance package.”

 

“…Thank you, family head.”

 

Schubel gently wrapped his arms around Belinda’s shoulders as she watched the entire situation through the slightly open door.

 

“Belinda, can you guess who reported the butler’s embezzlement?”

 

Schubel’s quiet question planted seeds of suspicion in Belinda’s heart.

 

After thinking for a moment, Belinda slowly spoke.

 

“A spy sent by the cadet branch… Probably an employee working in the kitchen.”

 

“Indeed, how clever, Bel.”

 

The exact amount the butler embezzled had spread throughout the manor. It couldn’t be the work of an outsider.

 

Someone inside this house, probably one of the employees who had worked at the manor for a long time, was the culprit.

 

As Belinda worriedly watched Uncle, who seemed tired and was dozing with his hand over his eyes, Schubel whispered quietly.

 

“Don’t worry, Belinda. I’ll handle this matter. For father.”

 

For father.

 

Belinda readily nodded.

 

Thus, one by one, familiar faces disappeared from Blanche Manor under the pretext of rooting out spies from the cadet branch.

 

An ominous atmosphere pervaded the manor, but Belinda tried not to mind it.

 

All of this was for Uncle’s sake.

 

No, it was also for the Blanche Family’s sake.

 

Belinda realized by watching Uncle that her father and mother hadn’t been very good masters.

 

Father was a casino operator and a terrible gambling addict.

 

His incompetence in not properly managing his business because he was shuffling cards every day attracted swindlers who saw the Blanche Family as easy money.

 

Under mother’s extravagance and indifference, caring only about selecting jewelry like choosing dinner menus, the manor’s employees became increasingly negligent and disloyal.

 

So all of this was no different from cutting away rotten flesh to grow new flesh.

 

However, the unease Belinda felt spread through the manor like a plague.

 

“Young miss… Is the family head really doing all this for your sake?”

 

“Jeni! Don’t say such things carelessly!”

 

Belinda glared fiercely at Jeni, her personal maid who had been by her side since childhood.

 

Jeni, only five years older than Belinda, said what she had to say with a frightened face.

 

“But… I’m scared, young miss. Ever since the nanny was driven away, the manor’s atmosphere has somehow changed… Now there are only a few faces I recognize among the maids.”

 

Her words were right.

 

Before she knew it, the only familiar faces left by Belinda’s side were Jeni, her Doberman, and Misha.

 

Even so, Belinda never once suspected that Uncle had bad intentions.

 

All this purging must be to leave me the most pure and upright Blanche Family.

 

And as if proving her faith, Uncle visited her room every evening despite being tired and exhausted to check on his niece’s condition.

 

“Bel, Jeni told me you’ve been lacking energy every morning lately. I’ll find a skilled physician.”

 

“Yes, call the most famous doctor in the world. Then I think I’ll get better.”

 

Uncle, who had been smiling kindly at young Belinda lying in bed rubbing her cheek against his hand, suddenly changed his expression and spoke heavily.

 

“Bel, actually I’m planning to go south on business this fall…”

 

“South? Where in the south? Is it far from here? How long do you have to stay?”

 

Belinda bolted upright in bed and grabbed Uncle’s sleeve persistently.

 

Uncle answered each of her questions. What schedule would take him south, why he was going, how long he’d be there.

 

Then he very carefully added:

 

“Your health hasn’t been good lately. So for recuperation as well, if it’s alright, would you like to come with this uncle…”

 

“I want to go! I’ll definitely go! Even if you say no, I’ll go!”

 

Belinda, who immediately understood what her uncle was about to say, quickly clung to his arm with a terrifying expression that said she wouldn’t let him go if he tried to leave her behind.

 

Her uncle burst into laughter and thoroughly ruffled Belinda’s hair.

 

The year spent in the Southern Region afterward was the happiest time in Belinda’s life.

 

There, Belinda learned everything from her uncle about becoming the heir to the Blanche Family.

 

She learned not only how to read and write contracts, but also gained practical experience by following her uncle and observing him conduct business with associates closely tied to the Blanche Family.

 

Rather than the refinements of a noble lady, she acquired the etiquette and knowledge needed as a family head, and built connections that would be helpful in the future.

 

They were fulfilling days, so much so that she felt quite reluctant about having to return to the Royal Capital.

 

“Miss, then I’ll go to the manor first and prepare to welcome you back.”

 

Jeni, who had gone down to the Southern Region with Belinda, headed to the Royal Capital one step ahead of her master.

 

When Belinda returned home after riding the carriage non-stop, the first person to welcome her was Schubel.

 

“Brother? Shouldn’t you be at the Academy right now?”

 

“Bel, I came to welcome you back. It’s the day my sister finally returns home. And I’m commuting from home now instead of staying in the dormitory.”

 

“Without my permission?”

 

Her uncle, who belatedly joined the conversation, asked as if something was bothering him.

 

Schubel nodded with his usual kind smile.

 

“I sent a letter asking for permission, but it must have been lost along the way. If Father disapproves, I’ll go back to the dormitory.”

 

“…Bel must be tired, so let’s go inside and talk first.”

 

And the moment she stepped inside the manor, Belinda felt as if the Blanche Estate, where she had lived her entire life, was like a stranger’s house.

 

She could easily understand the reason. There wasn’t a single familiar face to be seen.

 

“Where’s Jeni? Where did Jeni go?”

 

“Miss, who is Jeni?”

 

“My personal maid!”

 

Belinda answered the unfamiliar maid irritably and ran up to her room.

 

“Jeni, where are you!”

 

However, there was no trace of Jeni anywhere.

 

Behind Belinda, who was gripped by an ominous premonition, a gentle voice as always gave her an answer.

 

“Jeni never came. Wasn’t she supposed to go down to the Southern Region with you?”

 

It was Schubel, smiling at her with his lips gently curved upward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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