The first rays of the sun shone on my mortal body as I finished washing the clothes of the villainess. It was just another usual day, even though I had risen early in the morning just to finish my chores. Nothing out of the ordinary indeed. The other maids at the laundry area gave me looks of pity and repulsion as usual. No one liked the villainess after she had scarred her stepmom’s face, and the two sisters, though scared to bully my lady directly, did really well behind the scenes to foul her reputation.

Femor, the capital of the kingdom Arlikia, was known for its early risers and busy morning streets. So, I rarely went beyond the mansion gates after sunrise until the normal working hours resumed. The other more obvious reason was Letitia, whose sleepyhead was perhaps more dangerous than the monsters looming beyond the forest.

I took the laundry to our own west courtyard instead of hanging them in the common area. My underpants had enough holes in them already, and I bet my lady had enough tattered clothes.

We are bullied in the manor, true, but these worthless mobs aren’t worth my time. Letitia is the antagonist of the world, and I am her faithful aide until the blackening. More importantly, bullying the undead won’t cost you a penny because they are the least interested in dealing with some puny mortals. Up to a certain limit, that is.

I hung the clothes on the cloth railing I had erected in the abandoned garden of the western courtyard before making my way through the dingy corridor. Rooms opened to my right and left, but none were occupied. Usually, masters of the mansion lived on the lavishly decorated upper floor. Then again, this place was much better than my thatched house or the motels of the twenty-first century. They were too noisy even in the dead of night. The former for my infamous reputation and the latter for mortals’ copulatory urges.

I opened my door and checked myself in the mirror. I quite liked the handsome man before me, but the uncharacteristic grey hair wasn’t something I preferred. Undead liked the jet-black color hair of Letitia, but I had decided to compromise. After adjusting my wrinkled suit, I walked to the adjacent room after a brief knock, which obviously went unheard.

“My lady,” I called out, opening the balcony window after deactivating the [ward]. The cold breeze of the morning blew against my moistened cheeks, and I let it fall upon the curled figure on the bed. “Rise and shine, for it’s a new day.”

She groaned and threw a pillow at me as always. These pillows were objects before, but I had decided to replace all the things her hands could reach from the bed with pillows. I walked to her and shook her body hidden under the embroidered sheets.

“My lady, we’ll be late for classes,” I said, withholding my urge to cast [waterfall] spell over her. As the name suggests, it would submerge this mansion, or perhaps the entire hollow world, if I cast it. Wasn’t that obvious? That was why I was undead. Then again, I have to burn mana continuously and materialize it completely.

“You mongrel!” She woke up, and I caught her hand before her nails could ravage my face. Human, she was, but cats weren’t far off. “Die, you mongrel! Don’t you know sleep is essential for my beauty? How can you rob me of my basic rights?!”

“You won’t have breakfast left in the main kitchen, my lady. Don’t let me die of hunger.”

She snarled, and her resistance died down in a few minutes. I handed her a brush and sent her away before adjusting the crumpled sheets on her bed. To be honest, she was self-reliant for a villainess noble girl, so I didn’t have much trouble serving her. But, sleep was my nemesis, for getting stabbed on this mortal body hurts more than anything.

We walked to the main dining room, me lagging one step to preserve propriety. Letitia always asked me not to, although she called me a mongrel.

The entire family was dining, so I retreated to the side and stood along with the rest of the maids. Their uncanny glances directed at the newcomers couldn’t be any more obvious.

“Morning,” Letitia greeted lazily amidst all the gazes in the large dining room.

Brackett Valorat, the Marquis of Arlikia, sat at the head of the long table adorned with exquisite dishes, whose names were least of my concern. Bread is all I knew, and it was all I would remember for the rest of my life. Naming dishes that wouldn’t last for a few thousand years is a silly chore. Let alone the decoration sprawled over them.

“Morning, Letitia,” Arabell, the heir of the Marquis, greeted with a smile. They always did in front of the Marquis since the villainess was the eldest daughter. I didn’t really give a damn about these pesky brats, but I realized that I couldn’t get by in this world without knowing about the general gist of it. If Letitia were to order to kill these ignorant bunches, then the least I could do was write their names on the tombs in their blood and cast binding magic for eternity.

“Good morning, sister,” Meisie, the second sister, pitched in with her bobbing pigtails.

“I heard your grades are particularly bad this term, Letitia,” Arabell stated the obvious. “Please do consider our reputation when deciding to fool around. Father’s hard-earned reputation isn’t yours to stain. As the heir of the household, I am perplexed to see your behavior.”

She was fourteen but talked like the gran of the household. Arrogance was the seed of demise, and I had no doubt that this heir would be the first target of Letitia’s wrath after blackening.

Letitia snickered, and I sighed. Couldn’t she learn to concede at times? There was no doubt her reactions incited more reactions in an unbreakable chain.

“Letitia!” the lady of the house talked this time. A scar ran across her left cheeks, too striking on her pale skin to ignore. Everyone apart from the villainess adorned blonde hair, the very sign of nobles in Arlikia. “Learn to respect your sister! You’ve been becoming unladylike each passing day, and it’s troublesome. We have almost decided your marriage, so start acting befitting to a noble already.”

The Marquis held a cold face throughout the exchange as if his thoughts harmonized with the words of admonishment. Certainly, they did.

“I’m not marrying anyone, you vile bitch!” Letitia cast a disgusted gaze in the direction of the lady, earning a good slap from the Marquis himself.

If you expect my lady to cry, then I suppose disappointment is the least of your concern.

“Language, Letitia!” Brackett snapped, and I tried to suppress my urge to help out my lady. Even my stone heart had grown fond of the villainess over the years, so it enraged me to see a puny human raising his arm on my crony. Fond was an extreme word. But, as always, my amusement held precedence, so I watched the scene silently from the sidelines.

Letitia stayed silent. She never spoke back to the Marquis, and I never knew why. He was the one who deserved a whipping in the entire household, but she was strangely respectful toward the man. Did she still crave his love after getting maltreated over the years? Her tenacity did surprise me, if nothing else.

Breakfast ended amidst the cheerful mood of the three parasites and the downcast villainess. I cast healing magic discreetly over her swollen cheek as we walked over to the carriage, not waiting for us. Well, we had to hire one from the outside.

“Hey, mongrel!” she glared at me. “Help me pass the magic course.”

“Can you ask more kindly, my lady?” I smiled because it was time to make the villainess overpowered. “I am your only aide, after all.”

“Mongrel!” she tried to punch me, and I deftly avoided it. She needed to become more unruly. “You teach me or wash my underpants and grovel before my legs! I’ll forgive the licking.”

“I’ll teach you, Letitia,” I said, and she stared at me in surprise. I did occasionally call her that, and her reaction often made my day. “But you call me master, for I am your teacher.”

I earned another punch amidst my laughter, and we reached outside the gates of the mansion.

If you think the undead should be more dark, broody, and ruthless, try living for a millennium yourself. You’ll realize how wasteful it is not to laugh away your life.

The streets outside the mansion were brimming with commuters of the dawn. Carriages interrupted the unbridled crowds at times and excited shouts of kids at others. Everyone enjoyed the right to education in Femor as long as they had an aptitude for magic. That was the main reason for the overpowered magicians of the word. Not that they could ever hope to reach my feet, but they deserved recognition.

Outside the capital, though, it was different. The kingdom needed commoners to serve the nobles, so they compensated for the loss of manpower in the capital. This fact had been true for all the kingdoms I had seen before, for the lavishness of the nobles came at the expense of the downtrodden. There was nothing wrong with this as long as everyone accepted the condition. But when this subtle balance broke, it resulted in wars and riots. Nothing changed after this, since the commoners established new kingdoms after fighting for their rights. The inherent nature of humans was the thirst for supremacy, even though the browbeaten never accepted the fact.

“Listen to me, Rudolf!” Letitia’s shout interrupted my thoughts, and I glanced at her, raising my eye in question.

“I want to venture outside the capital,” she said with a ponderous expression. “I’ve heard there are many exciting things beyond the gates.”

I adjusted the barrette on her hair before turning back to her. “After you become a mid-tier progressive mage, I’ll take you out.”

“Arg!” She nudged me aside and entered the carriage. “You will walk to the academy.”

She gave me her usual glare and closed the curtains of the carriage. The carriage was designed for nobles, so I wasn’t worried about her journey to the academy, but it was the fate of the coachman that any sane person should be concerned about. Unreasonable Letitia could become your worst nightmare.