Chapter 47

The villainess, Kallia Stingray.

The youngest daughter among the Imperial Family and the Stingray’s two sons and one daughter, and the fake heroine of the original novel [Cyber-Module’s Necromancer].

The reason she was called a “fake heroine” rather than a main or sub heroine was none other than her ambiguous role in the original story.

At times, she seemed to be the protagonist’s enemy.

At other times, she took the lead in helping the protagonist.

Sometimes she used the protagonist for her own benefit.

And sometimes she acted as though she had feelings for him.

Like a stray cat, her true feelings were impossible to pin down, leading readers to argue endlessly over whether she counted as a heroine or not.

‘I remember commenting “How is Kallia even a heroine?!” and then getting into a full-blown keyboard battle over it….’

To me, Kallia was an extremely calculating person.

She was someone whose self-love outweighed any affection toward the protagonist, and a villainess who skillfully stirred men’s hearts to gain advantage.

Well, regardless of the truth, the fact that she could stir such debate among readers meant Kallia was undeniably a captivating character.

I also never acknowledged her as a heroine, but I didn’t dislike her as a character.

However.

‘This… is a bit of a problem.’

The fact that I met Kallia here, and in this way, was slightly irritating to my nerves.

There were two reasons for that.

The first was—

‘She’s the kind of person I can’t at all predict—whether she’ll be my ally or my enemy.’

Even though her role in the original story wasn’t small, she always kept the protagonist and readers guessing with her erratic attitude.

Was it to emphasize Kallia’s mysteriousness? Scenes narrated from her perspective were extremely rare compared to other characters.

As a result, even for me, she was a person whose inner thoughts were difficult to fully grasp.

‘Enemy or ally—there’s no opponent more dangerous than someone whose stance is uncertain.’

Before I transmigrated, Aaron apparently got along well enough with his younger sister, but that was only because Aaron was confident in his own combat power.

But since I hadn’t yet fully recovered my specs, I couldn’t help but be a little wary of her.

And on top of that—

The second reason I found Kallia off-putting.

It was…

‘What the hell is with her makeup…!?’

If anyone could be called the product of genetic engineering, it would be her. Just like in the original description, Kallia was a beauty rivaling Iri.

Glossy black hair with elegant waves.

Brilliant golden eyes.

Pale, porcelain skin on the nape of her neck.

In the original story, there were scenes where several men, including the protagonist’s companions, were bewitched by her looks… and I could see why.

…If only it weren’t for the makeup.

“Kallia, what happened to your face?”

“Yes? Is there something on my face?”

“Your lips and eyelids are bluish.”

“…Brother. It’s been so long since we last met, and you greet me with such an unfunny joke? You weren’t like this before.”

Kallia grumbled, looking offended.

Damn it.

I almost wished she’d been injured instead.

But of course, that strange color ruining her pretty face turned out to be ‘cosmetics.’

“So… is this… the makeup that’s in style right now?”

The shock was so great I tripped over my words.

“…”

Kallia glared at me.

“Brother, don’t you think it’s incredibly rude to ask a woman something like that?”

“My apologies.”

I belatedly realized my mistake.

But honestly, can you blame me?

When you’ve read in a novel that she was praised for her beauty, only to see her suddenly show up with something on her face you can’t tell is makeup or war paint—killing the magic of the first meeting—you can’t just keep quiet.

There had to be a reason for this.

Anyway, at my apology, Kallia soon let go of her irritation and answered with a sigh.

“At least you apologized right away. Well, if I must answer your question… yes, it is.”

According to Kallia—

This was apparently the so-called ‘Macaw’ makeup, currently in vogue among the upper class.

It was supposedly a must-do style for occasions where one needed to “show strength,” like today.

“I see…”

“Brother, do you perhaps dislike my face right now?”

“…Of course not. It suits you.”

After hearing her explanation, I gave a calm reply—but inwardly nodded while swearing profusely.

‘Damn. Damn this cyberpunk. Damn this end-of-the-century aesthetic.’

Seriously, I could accept everything else in this world, but not their sense of fashion.

Taking a pretty face like this and ruining it in the name of “self-expression”? Macaw makeup, tiger-macaw makeup, whatever—she just looked like a poison dart frog.

I couldn’t be more grateful that my Iri and Miyu had no interest in this style.

‘I’m either going to kill off this makeup trend or change it soon. Ugh.’

Calming my shock, I began walking toward the inner part of the hotel.

Kallia naturally took the seat beside me, while her bodyguards and Maria followed behind us.

Unlike me—who could minimize bodyguards thanks to my strong combat ability—Kallia had to travel with a sizable entourage wherever she went.

The sight of more than ten people moving together almost made it look like a gang heading for a brawl.

While I was quietly annoyed by the presence of all those hulking men, Kallia seemed to read my mind and teased me.

“You know this is all your fault, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“The number of bodyguards. You disappeared for about a week not too long ago, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Since then, the bodyguard count has almost doubled. You have no idea how much Father fussed about it.”

…That never happened for me.

Well, unlike me—the family’s ticking time bomb—Kallia really was the cherished youngest daughter monopolizing the Stingray chairman’s affection.

Naturally, the treatment was different.

“Come to think of it, I heard you’ll be meeting Father alone soon.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s been ages. Wasn’t the last time before you fell ill?”

“I can’t really remember.”

“It can’t be helped. Your illness was that severe, after all.”

Genetic Overcast.

A terminal illness caused by a nanomachine rampage.

I had only endured it for three days, but I could say with certainty—before or after transmigrating, there had never been a time more painful than that.

While I was inwardly shuddering as the memory of that agony resurfaced, Kallia gave me a strange look.

“But from what I heard, Brother, the one who cured your illness—which even all of Stingray’s medical technology combined couldn’t do anything about—was… just a little girl, wasn’t she?”

Her gaze asked if that was true.

Since there was no reason to hide it now, I decided to answer honestly.

“She’s not much younger than you.”

“Oh, really? That’s impressive… and at the same time, unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate? What do you mean?”

A remark with a sharp edge.

I stopped walking for a moment, and Kallia continued with a smile in her eyes.

“Even if she’s young, don’t you think it’s a bit unfair for you to monopolize such a genius Modular all to yourself?”

“And what exactly are you suggesting?”

“I’m not saying it because I want something. Just that I’m not the only one who thinks this way. When did you say your meeting with Father was?”

“…”

So, this was a kind of warning.

Right now, I was keeping Miyu within the protective fence I had built around her. But such a situation couldn’t last forever.

If someone I couldn’t easily oppose—say, the Stingray chairman—took an interest in Miyu or Iri…?

It was possible that such a topic might come up in the upcoming meeting. Which meant her advice was that I’d better prepare myself.

“I appreciate the warning. But I already have something in mind, so you don’t need to worry.”

“That would be good. I don’t want to have to spend too much attention on the men of our family, either.”

With that, we began walking again. But neither of us spoke further, and we remained in silence until we reached our destination.

“This way, Young Master.”

“Young Lady, you should head this way.”

“Ah, I see. Just a moment.”

Just as we were about to part ways for our respective rooms, Kallia called out to me again.

“Brother, will you be attending the party later?”

“I will.”

“Youngest Brother should be arriving soon too. We’ll all be together for the first time in a while.”

“…”

“…If you make such an obvious expression of dislike, I’ll be hurt, you know. Anyway.”

Kallia stood on tiptoe and brought her lips to my ear. Her gaze subtly flicked toward Maria.

“I hear Maria’s been visiting Youngest Brother quite a lot lately. You might want to look into it.”

Heh.

Kallia stepped back, smiling faintly.

Regardless of the content, her expression was that of a mischievous girl playing a prank.

She looked at me as if to say, “Bet you didn’t know that,” brimming with confidence. In response, I smiled pleasantly and whispered in her ear.

“Yeah. I know.”

“Huh? W-what do you mean…?”

Kallia looked slightly flustered, but I left it at that and walked away.

A glance over my shoulder showed her standing there, looking dazed as if she’d just been smacked.

It seemed…

This round went to the older brother.

“Kallia?”

“Hm?”

“It’s time to go.”

“Ah, right.”

Prompted by her secretary, Kallia returned from her brief daze. Following his lead, she suddenly asked a question.

“Chief Jeong.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Has my eldest brother changed?”

“Do you mean Young Master Aaron?”

Chief Jeong seemed to think for a moment before giving a standard answer.

“Perhaps you feel that way because it’s been so long since you last saw him. The last time you met, he was bedridden.”

“Hmm…”

After a moment’s thought, Kallia shook her head.

“No. He’s definitely changed. Something about him…”

“Young Lady?”

“…”

What had changed?

It wasn’t easy to explain.

From just a fleeting impression and a short conversation, it was hard to pin down the nature of it.

The old Aaron was a blade of arrogance.

Extremely sharp, swinging recklessly, tearing apart everything in sight—a dangerously unruly weapon.

Even for Kallia, who prided herself on getting along with him, Aaron was a troublesome existence.

If she hadn’t been his sister, or lacked the skill to humor him, their relationship might have been dangerously strained.

But Kallia excelled at taming beasts.

No matter how arrogant or violent her brother was, she believed she alone could perch comfortably atop his back.

And yet…

‘You’ve learned about people, Brother.’

A beast that didn’t understand people—

A beast that relied only on its sharp teeth and brute force—wasn’t all that threatening. The weak possessed a powerful weapon of their own: “strategy.”

But if the beast came to know people—

If it understood what they were, how they acted, could predict and make rational judgments—then it would truly become a dangerous existence.

‘I’m breaking into a cold sweat… How unlike me.’

The bell she’d painstakingly hung around the cat—no, the lion’s neck—was about to fall off. She had invested so much to hang that bell, and losing it now would be a great loss.

‘I’ll have to do something.’

With that decision, Kallia immediately placed a call somewhere. After a short wait, the other party answered.

“Yes, it’s me. There’s something I need to tell you.”

And so—

The situation began to shift.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep