"You have until tomorrow morning. Co find in my study if you agree to the arrangent. If you don’t co, I’ll assu you’re declining, and you’ll be on your own dealing with whatever Maya tries next."
He turned to leave, then paused and looked back.
"One more thing: that performance you give—the ek, timid servant act—it’s very convincing. You almost had fooled for a while. But whoever you really are, whatever you’re really capable of... I think you’re wasting your potential scrubbing pots and fetching water."
With that observation, he walked away, leaving Heena alone in the garden with her thoughts.
The System appeared imdiately, practically vibrating with excitent.
"Host! This is perfect! This is exactly what you wanted! You should accept imdiately!"
Hearing Samuel’s proposal, there was no happiness or excitent on Heena’s face—not at all the reaction the System would have expected.
Instead, she looked toward the direction Samuel had walked away and said with a genuinely disgusted expression:
"Ugh, he really is his father’s son. Why are both this father-son duo so obsessed with having work in their study rooms?"
Hearing that unexpected complaint, the System looked at her in complete disbelief and said, "Host, didn’t you listen to what he just said?! This is exactly what you wanted!"
Heena looked at him and said flatly, "Of course I listened."
The System sputtered, "Then why this reaction?! He agreed to protect you, just like you predicted! This is perfect!"
Hearing that naive enthusiasm, Heena looked at him and said with exaggerated patience, "Ah, my dear System, sotis I really think that whoever made you must have been the dumbest person in the entire Transmigration Bureau."
Hearing that insult, the System looked shocked, then suddenly offended. "What the heck did you just call ?! DUMB?!"
Heena looked at him calmly and said, "No, I didn’t call ’you’ dumb. I called the person who ’made’ you dumb. There’s a difference."
The System paused, his small face scrunching up in thought. "Wait... but if a dumb person made , and I was made by that dumb person, then doesn’t that an I’m also dumb? So you ARE calling dumb!"
Hearing that tortured logic, Heena shook her head and said, "No, you’re not dumb."
The System looked relieved for a mont.
Then Heena added with a sweet smile: "You’re dumber than dumb. You’re a complete fool."
"HOST!" the System shouted indignantly.
Heena looked at him seriously and said, "Are you crazy or what? How many tis have I told you: before the arrow hits the target, don’t jump to conclusions and celebrate! Why the hell do you think my work is done? Why the hell do you think I should be happy right now?"
Hearing that sharp rebuke, the System looked confused and said, "Because just as you predicted, Samuel ca to you! He made an offer! Your plan worked!"
Heena looked at him and shot back, "Yes, he’s here. And THAT’S the problem."
Hearing that, the System was completely lost. "I don’t understand, Host."
Heena looked at him and said dryly, "Yes, I also can’t understand whoever made you and gave them a job creating AI systems."
Hearing that repeated insult, the System tried to protest: "Host—"
"Fine, fine," Heena interrupted. "Let explain it to your limited processing capacity."
She held up one finger.
"You fool, just think about it rationally: Why the hell would a young master co to a lowly servant with such an offer? Just because he thinks she’s ’interesting’? No. Do you really think I’m so special that a nobleman would risk his reputation and household standing just to protect ? No."
She held up a second finger.
"He wants to know who I really am. Do you think a servant who could beat a grown man to unconsciousness is a normal person in this era? Do you think having absolutely no fear or worry in my expression after what I did last night is normal servant behavior?"
She continued: "Anyone with half a brain who thinks about it would realize this woman——is unusual. Potentially dangerous. Definitely hiding sothing."
She held up a third finger.
"But for Samuel, I’m not just unusual. I’m ’useful’. Because I happen to be soone his stepmother Maya desperately wants to destroy. ’The enemy of my enemy’ and all that. I’m the perfect pawn to use against her."
She looked at the System seriously.
"Do you really think that if I just accept his offer blindly, Maya will suddenly stop caring about ? Do you think Samuel won’t eventually dump the mont I’m no longer useful to his sches? Do you want to end up with no protection from Maya AND no support from Samuel? Do you want to have neither house nor heart to rely on?"
Hearing that comprehensive breakdown, the System looked at her and said slowly, "I... I really don’t understand what you’re planning, Host."
Heena looked at him and said, "You don’t need to understand every detail. Just rember one thing: we are NOT going to say yes to Samuel right now. Not imdiately. Not without conditions."
She raised her hand and made a money-counting gesture with her fingers.
"Until we get concrete benefits—real, tangible advantages that can’t be easily taken away—we will not say yes. Understand?"
The System nodded reluctantly.
"Good. Now stop bothering . I have work to do."
---
’’[Cleaning the Study from Hell]’’
And so Heena continued with her daily work routine.
Eventually, it ca ti to clean the old Master’s study room as she’d been ordered.
She stood outside the study door with her cleaning supplies—a broom, dusting cloths, a bucket of water—taking a deep breath to prepare herself.
’God help through this,’ she thought grimly.
She opened the study room door—and when that door swung open, she was imdiately hit with a wave of stale, unpleasant sll.
It was exactly like entering a space that hadn’t been properly ventilated or cleaned in weeks.
The old man’s sll perated everything.
Now, Heena wasn’t saying that all elderly people sll bad or anything. So older people took excellent care of themselves and slled perfectly fine—pleasant, even, with nice soaps and powders.
But this old bastard?
’Like, can you use so scented powder or sothing?! Why the hell do you think your natural body odor is going to sll ’flowery’ or ’attractive’ to anyone? It’s disgusting! It’s like soone urinated in here and never cleaned it up!’
And she strongly suspected the old man actually HAD urinated in corners of this room—after all, at his age, he probably couldn’t always control his bladder properly.
Looking at how old and decrepit he appeared, he didn’t just look 57 or 58 years old like the official records claid.
’He has to be at least 70, maybe even older. No, wait—he IS 70. The official age is a lie to make him seem more virile.’
Heena paused in the doorway, genuinely curious despite her disgust.
’How does he even get enough energy to function at this age? Where does he get the stamina to chase after young won? Most n this old can barely walk without assistance!’
She shook her head and stepped fully into the study, closing the door behind her.
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