NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Starting A New Life
I guess life does throw you many surprises. When the system said that the daughter of Baron Lancaster was not loved, I did not think it was to this extent. I had looked into the mirror earlier. The body that was now mine was very beautiful. Well compared to my previous normal looks now you could say I was above average. I had long golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes. White skin without a single blemish on it. You could say at first look I was a picture-perfect example of a high-born young lady if you ignored the sunken-in cheeks from the lack of proper eating. But… What I found in my wardrobe was nothing but old dresses that barely fit that seemed to have been mended many times and very clumsily at that. I was sure the old Rei Lancaster had done this needlework herself. Not that I would be any better at it.
But still, a daughter of a baron was forced to mend her own clothes even with all the maids scurrying about. This was not something I cared too much about but what really ended up being the final straw for me was when I went to get some food from the kitchen the cooks laughed and tossed a roll of old moldy bread at me.
"Um excuse me!" I said holding the roll of bread in my hand glaring at the cook who just tossed it at me.
"What? Do you think if you glare at us we will do something more for you? Or are you asking for us to teach you the proper way to be a woman? Hahaha!" One of the cooks said with a hearty laugh. His eyes scanned my body up and down which made every hair on my body stand up on end. I felt completely disgusted by the cook's gaze. My pent up anger from dealing with the system and the disgust I had from the way the cook was looking at me, I snapped... One step at a time I walked towards the laughing cook.
"Haha! Are you really coming over here? Okay then, let this old man teach you… Hey wait! What are you doing!?" The cook yelled out as I began to run straight at him. I lifted my skirt just above my knees as I pushed off the floor springing my body into the air, swirling it around, and gave the cook a full pledge roundhouse kick to the face. After I landed I twirled my body once more and with a balled-up fist I swung as hard as I could making sure to knick the bottom of the cook's chin sending him straight to the floor. I dusted my hands off and spat on the, now, knocked out cook, before looking at the other cooks.
I gave them an angry look as I asked: "Now are you going to give me some food or do you want to end up like him?"
"Young miss, do not worry we will whip something up right away!" A quick change of attitude after seeing the strongest out of all of them get knocked out by a skinny thirteen-year-old girl. I guess just like in the game this world requires a show of strength to get any respect. This is why the owner of my body died so pitifully. She was not strong enough to stand up for herself. But at least now I won't need to worry about my food. Next, I need to find a few maids and make them submit. Otherwise getting new clothes or even soap to bathe will be a tedious task. Being Japanese I can't just go and not bathe for days on end.
As I was lost in thought a stern voice of an older woman called out. "What the hell is going on here? The young master is still waiting for his breakfast!"
"Then let him wait in line. I was here first." I was not going to back down on getting my food. If I started to back down now, I would not be able to stand up in this Baron's mansion for the next two years. I may be some NPC in this Magical Love game but I will not allow myself to suffer just because of that.
"Who dares!? Oh?" The old maid looked at me and smirked. I could tell she really thought nothing of me. "Just the unwanted daughter of the Baron. You think you are that much better than the Young Master?"
"Do I think I am? I know I am. I can at least fetch my own food. I do not need a maid to go and get it. If the Young Master, this dear brother of mine is so great, why doesn't he get off his ass and fetch his own food? You can even go back and tell him I said he is a lazy piece of shit who can't do anything on his own. And if you insist on trying to cut in line I can always stack you up with the cook over there." I pointed my finger to the still knocked out cook. The old maids face paled seeing the cook. She looked at the other cooks who all averted their eyes and paled even more. She had no idea the unwanted Young Miss of the Baron mansion was so powerful!
But still, she couldn't give in to an idle threat. The young master could dictate her life or death if he so wished. So it was better to not offend him. "You really think you are all that!?" The old maid gave a "Hump!" before turning her attention to the cooks. "Hurry up, and get the food ready for the Young Master!"
"Nanny what is taking so long?" A young boy's voice was heard coming from the hall. It slightly cracked as he spoke indicating that the young boy was still going through puberty.
"It's nothing Young Master, the Young Miss, Your Sister wants to get her food first." The old maid acted as if I was in the wrong. Not that it mattered. I have dealt with the haughty type before. Anyway, if he thinks he can get one up on me just because he is the young master he had another thing coming.
"Oh?" Kyle, my supposed twin brother, looked at me and frowned. I can tell he was scrutinizing my dress. But what was I to do when I only had dresses that were already getting too small for me? "Sister, why are you dressed like that?"
"Why? Do you not know out of everyone in this house that I get treated worse than a servant? Your life as a young master must be very good since you get to eat what you want, have clean and new clothes, while I sit in a room with old furniture and old clothes that barely fit, being thrown scraps that are enough to keep me somewhat alive. Don't give me dirty looks just because I am not dressed fashionably. Go back to your room and be the young master of the house and leave me alone. Oh but before you go..." I took the moldy bread I was given earlier and tossed it over to Kyle. "Eat that to hold you over. And don't say it's not edible because this is what I get served every day."
As I finished speaking one of the cooks came over with a plate full of food for me. I took it and a pair of clean utensils and headed back to my room not caring what Kyle had to say. I had no idea how my new brothers treated the old Rei Lancaster but I knew one thing was for sure, I was not going to give them a chance to fight back just in case they have ill intentions.
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"Nanny what is the meaning of this? Why is it that my sister is wearing rags? Was it not your job to ensure that she was well taken care of? Why is it that she looks like she has not eaten properly for months!?" Kyle couldn't understand it. His twin sister younger than him by only a few minutes was never like this before. She was once a happy girl that loved to laugh and play. That was when their mother was alive but now… She looked no different than a beggar on the streets! She was much more colder and looked as if she was ready to bite anyone who got close to her.
"Young Master, I am not sure, I thought the maids were taking good care of her!" The nanny did her best to try to defend herself. Which seemed to have worked because Kyle nodded and replied…
"Then fire those maids and assign new ones to her." With these words, he basically washed his hands of the issue. Not realizing that his good intentions would never reach his sister. That the sister he once knew had already died due to neglect after becoming sick and not a single person was willing to send for a doctor.
The Nanny, on the other hand, wanted to know why there was a sudden change in Rei's mentality. "It seems I was too lenient with that girl. She is nothing more than a pawn to be used for marriage. The master does not care what happens to her otherwise. As long as she retains her purity nothing else matters." This meant that she could have some of the stronger maids beat the wretched girl for almost getting her in trouble.
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I sat in my room slowly eating my food. Contemplating how I was going to get a new set of clothes. "Maybe I should just set fire to the place..."
"Rei, if you set fire to the place, you will have no were to live for the next two years." The system chimed on my little comment.
"It's not that it would get any better otherwise. My guess is that as just some random NPC of this game the original Rei Lancaster was supposed to die. But I figured if I burnt the place down I can at least put everyone in the same position as me. The shitty maids and other servants will also lose their jobs. You saw that Nanny just now. She used her years of service to that so-called brother of mine to speak out against me as if she was the master and I was the servant." It really pissed me off how these people ignored the daughter of the house just because the Baron was a boys over girls type person. "More than likely I am just an expendable pawn for the Baron."
"So what do you plan to do?" The system asked me. But there was only one thing I could think of and that was to grow stronger. But I was never the studious type and preferred to move my body.
I racked my brain over the game information that I could remember. To get a better understanding of this world I decided to write everything down that I knew about the game. From the characters to the so-called class system. And that was when it hit me. "Magic Knight..."
"Magic Knight?"
"Mmm… This is what I will become. I just need to learn how to use magic and find a sword. I have two years to practice both. I know a little swordsmanship but probably nothing that would be useful in actual combat."
"Rei the cultivation manual I gave you gives a basic introduction on how to use magic. As for swordsmanship, I can do a one time, free of charge, purchase from the store and get a manual and sword for you to practice with."
"Oh? Why are you being so generous?" I thought the system hated me with how it was speaking when we first met.
"It is a rule if a host is put into a bad situation upon rebirth that we can help them out to a certain extent for free. It is not much but this should at least get you going for a while."
Suddenly I saw a glow on the table next to me and a sword and a book along with a small pouch appeared. Curious as to what was in the pouch I picked it up to find it slightly heavy. Peering inside I almost yelled out in shock. It was filled with gold coins! "This..."
"A little extra service so you can live more comfortably. The system also has an inventory so you can store all your items in there. This should allow you to get by until you reach the academy." I was seriously touched, if the system was not a voice inside my head, I might have fallen for it on the spot. Of course, this was a lie. Since love to me was not something I could actually comprehend.
"Thank you I will use it sparingly." I could buy a few cheap articles of clothing then use the rest to help with my training. Since food was no longer an issue, I could go find a few tutors to get my basics down. I, of course, also had no plans on giving up on making my new shitty family give me what was due.