"Don’t be stupid. Ghosts don’t leave bruises like that. It was a person—soone strong enough to overpower her."
"But who? Everyone’s too afraid of her!"
"Well, whoever it was, they did the whole household a favor. Maybe now we’ll have so peace."
Even inside the main house, Heena heard the Master and Mistress discussing it:
The Mistress’s voice, worried: "Husband, what if it happens again? What if soone attacks one of us?"
The Master’s voice, unconcerned: "Don’t worry yourself. It was clearly soone with a grudge against that old servant. Nothing to do with the family."
"But what if—"
"Enough. You worry too much. That’s why you’re so thin and pale. Co, let order the kitchen to make you sothing nourishing."
And then sounds of the Mistress giggling—actually ’giggling’—at sothing the old man said.
Heena, passing by with a tray, had to physically stop herself from gagging..
.
.
Later that evening, after all the cooking and cleaning was done, Heena was finally given her own al.
She sat in front of the cooking stove, squatting down on her heels in the traditional servant position, eating simple rice and vegetables with chopsticks.
She looked at the System, who was floating nearby, and pointed at him with her chopsticks.
"Hey, if I’m not wrong, doesn’t this old man have sons?"
Hearing that, the System paused—he’d been examining her injuries to see if any needed more treatnt.
"Yeah, he has two sons."
Hearing that confirmation, a slow smile spread across Heena’s face.
"Find out where these sons are. Get all the information you can."
The System raised one small paw and said cautiously, "But Host, I should warn you—the older son is actually the villain in this story’s original plot."
Hearing that, Heena paused mid-bite and said, "Excuse ?"
The System nodded seriously. "The eldest son is portrayed as the ultimate villain of this narrative."
Heena set down her chopsticks and looked at him incredulously.
"You’re telling —, the Black Lotus who’s successfully conquered multiple worlds and destroyed countless enemies—that so random NPC’s son is supposed to be the ’villain’ here?"
She laughed.
"How many tis has this ’villain’ killed his father?"
The System looked confused. "What? He hasn’t killed him yet in the current tiline—"
"Exactly," Heena interrupted. "So he’s not a villain yet. He’s just a son with potential."
The System explained further: "Well, there are two sons. The younger one is exactly like his father—an utter fool, an idiot playboy type who wastes money chasing won and gambling. Completely useless.
"But the older son is different. He’s scholarly, intelligent, well-read. He’s currently studying and building connections. In the original story, he eventually attempts to kill his father to take over the family business and wealth. He’s portrayed as cold, calculating, and ruthless—the ultimate antagonist who dies in the end when the hero and heroine defeat him."
Hearing all this, Heena’s smile beca predatory.
"Perfect. Go and get this man’s complete profile. I want to see what he looks like, what his personality is like, everything."
She paused, then added seriously: "But if he resembles his father even one tiny bit in appearance, I cannot work with him. If he’s ugly like that old man, the plan won’t work."
The System looked at her suspiciously. "Host... what exactly are you planning? Are you going to marry this son?"
Heena looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Are you crazy? Of course not literally marry him!"
She rolled her eyes.
"It’s a figure of speech, you know. There’s a saying: ’If I cannot beco your mother, I’ll beco your wife; if I cannot beco your wife, I’ll beco your stepmother; if I cannot beco your stepmother, I’ll beco your daughter-in-law.’"
She gestured with her chopsticks.
"In this situation, since I obviously cannot beco this old man’s mother, and I refuse to beco his wife or concubine because he’s disgusting, my best option is to beco his daughter-in-law. Marry the son, gain access to the family wealth and power, and escape this servant hell."
The System stared at her in disbelief.
"Host... you can literally make a plan out of anything, can’t you?"
Heena reached into her pocket and pulled out a small item she’d kept from her previous world as the Empress—a reminder of her strategic capabilities.
"The skills I learned in my last life are still very much intact. And I earned them through years of political warfare, not luck."
She looked at the System pointedly.
"Now go get that information. I need to know everything about this eldest son—appearance, personality, current location, relationship with his father, everything. The more I know, the better I can plan."
The System nodded quickly, suddenly enthusiastic.
"Of course, Host! You’re the best! Absolutely the best in the world!"
"I know," Heena said, returning to her al. "Now go. We have work to do."
As the System disappeared to gather information, Heena continued eating her simple al, her mind already working through multiple scenarios and strategies.
’If this eldest son is intelligent and ambitious, that ans he’s already unhappy with his father. Good—I can work with that.’
’If he’s scholarly and well-read, that ans he values intelligence and conversation. Also good—I can provide that.’
’If he’s portrayed as ’cold and calculating,’ that just ans he’s strategic and thinks ahead. Perfect—we’ll understand each other.’
She smiled to herself.
’Sorry, original plot. Sorry, female lead and male lead. But I’m about to completely derail your story.’
’This servant life? It ends now. One way or another, I’m getting out of this situation.’
’And if I have to seduce the ’villain’ to do it? Well, that’s just another Tuesday for the Black Lotus.’
She finished her al, washed her bowl, and headed to her sleeping quarters.
Tomorrow would be another long day of backbreaking work.
But soon—very soon—things were going to change.
She could feel it.
Because until that mont, Heena didn’t know—and when she found out, it was one of the biggest shocks she’d ever experienced. Even the Black Lotus, who’d conquered multiple worlds, felt like she’d been completely blindsided.
Just the next morning, everything had been going relatively normally.
She’d discovered through the System’s information that the "villain" was coming ho today. That was a surprise, of course, but not a huge one—apparently he always ca ho on Tuesdays for the family al, and today happened to be that day.
She’d cooked the feast as everyone had demanded—multiple dishes, all prepared to exacting standards despite her limited kitchen resources and the continuing pain from her injuries.
She was just about to enter the dining room to serve everyone. She’d already placed half of the food on the table, and now only the warm rice bowls needed to be distributed.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted the tray of steaming rice bowls and entered the dining room quietly, keeping her eyes lowered in the proper servant manner.
She moved around the table slowly, carefully placing one bowl in front of the old Master first—as was proper protocol.
Then she placed a bowl in front of his so-called wife, the beautiful Maya, who didn’t even acknowledge Heena’s presence.
And then she turned to place a bowl in front of the eldest son—the so-called villain she’d been so curious about—
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