Amy, a maid working for House Permarten, stood with a flushed face after facing the humiliation in the Scion's room.
"Wh-what's wrong…? Did something happen…?"
"Did the Scion… hurt you?"
The other maids surrounded Amy with worried expressions.
"I-is the Scion laying his hands on the maids now…?!"
Amy didn't have any visible marks, which was even more worrying.
"The Scion…"
Amy trembled.
"...Made me lift my skirt, while he ate…"
"...What?"
The maids' faces turned sour.
"What does that mean?"
"He kept asking me what color my panties were… and made me lift my skirt… until he finished eating…"
"Phew."
"Same old Scion then?"
The maids all let out sighs of relief.
"It's better than getting beaten."
"Unnie!"
"Relax. It's not even that bad. You should be thankful he didn't rape you."
"Uh…"
"Think of your wages. Do you think it's easy to find a job that pays you 1000 gold per month?"
1,000 gold.
It's not an outrageous amount, but for reference, the average maid earns around 200 gold per month.
This means the Permarten maids earn about 5 times more than the average viscount or baron households.
"Still! He made me lift my skirt up and ate while staring at my panties!"
"You're making such a fuss out of nothing."
"The previous Earl didn't just stare at panties but took them off and forced himself on you. I guess the perversion is inherited… but this is a lot better."
"Did the Scion touch you? Or violate you in any way?"
"Ah, no…"
"Then what? Are you mad he didn't have sex with you? That he made you take your clothes off but didn't fuck you?"
"Th-that's not it…!"
The redness on Amy's face started subsiding.
"I thought the Scion had no interest in maids."
"Haa… It was such a regular occurrence to get fucked on sight by the previous earl…"
"Be thankful you didn't get fucked. If it was back then, you would've been raped and kicked out naked."
"..."
Maybe it was because of the nonchalant attitude of the other maids, but Amy started to feel a sense of relief over the fact that she only had to hold her skirt up.
"Hey, if you end up being the Countess at some point, don't forget about us, okay?"
"Huh?"
"The Scion is a useless rascal who throws shit at people, but isn't this the first time he expressed a sexual interest in someone?"
"Yeah. What if he's judging women based on their lower bodies? Maybe he's checking if they have strong birthing hips or something. Or is he finally looking for a wife?"
"B-birthing…? Countess…?"
Amy got goosebumps all over.
The current Countess of Permarten was nothing but a socialite. If the Scion were to get married, he could easily claim the title of Earl.
To be a countess in the quasi-independent Earldom of Permarten, which is relatively isolated from the Kingdom's influence at large, meant that one would hold authority equal to a margrave.
"Haa, so are we seeing another little Permarten soon?"
"I'm sure the Scion knows how important it is to continue the Permarten bloodline… He won't choose his mate hastily. Actually… Amy, do you mind letting me take the Scion's meals from tomorrow?"
"...U-um, I mean…"
Amy took a step back from the other maids.
"It's my job… so I'll do it."
Later that night, Amy rummaged through her closet.
◇◇◇
White yesterday, black today.
Ahh, the taste of power. How sweet.
To be able to look at panties at will while dining… Is this the true power of the Permartens?
Amazing.
Honestly, this is quite relieving.
It would be meaningless to have power if I couldn't actually exercise it.
The main story hasn't started yet.
For one day, I collected as much information as I could.
Thankfully, at this point in time, I'm a year away from the start of the main story, which means I'm a year away from getting invaded by the Empire and dying.
The story's progression will probably be affected by how much I can change history. The only reason why the Empire decided to attack was because they got their hands on my half-sibling.
So as long as I'm known as the 'sole Permarten', no one would dare touch me.
Gotta thank my ancestors.
In the past, many attempted to bend the Permartens to their will. The invaders would kidnap and chain them to a dungeon, slice off all four limbs, and leave them barely alive to sustain the Infinite Labyrinth.
However, the early Permartens had the upper hand, as they would often threaten those who tried to control them with the threat of suicide, thus allowing the Permartens to enjoy their relative independence.
Take a look at that…
In the middle of Castle Permarten stood a bronze statue of a man atop a massive fountain.
That great man was the reason for Permarten's existence and its vast wealth and power.
"Thank you so much…!"
I used to make fun of his appearance by calling him 'Big Nose', but now I'm indebted to him for the power and wealth I possess.
From now on, I'll bow to the fountain every morning.
I need to get rid of anything that might threaten me.
The main story has yet to begin.
Which means I still have a bit of time to fully exercise my power.
"...I need to find them."
My three death flags.
Half-sibling A.
Half-sibling B
The player.
On a side note.
Both half-siblings are male.
PAO was a waifu-collecting gacha game, but it didn't only cater to the male audience.
It had many cool male characters that attracted plenty of female gamers and squeezed as much as money possible from every demographic.
"Blarghhh"
Just thinking of them made me sick.
I remember those lengthy posts on the forums that discussed Louie sandwiched between those two half-siblings in their homoerotic fanfictions.
Thanks to that, I won't hesitate to kill both of them.
Hernandez Permarten, an early companion.
Acamond Permarten, an Empire citizen.
Those two bastards would take my place and willingly hand over all the power to the player.
Half-brothers?
Unfortunately, I'm a man who ended up possessing Louie. I'm not actually him.
I won't be sensitive to their circumstances when my life is on the line.
I won't die.
I don't want to die.
I will exercise every right and abuse all the power I have to keep things that way.
Therefore…
"Louie?"
A clear, ringing voice spoke out from the hallway.
It was a different language, but I could recognize that voice as 'hers'.
"Wait a moment please."
I quickly gathered myself and opened the door for her.
"Hello, Mother."
"Hello, Son."
Countess Jennis Permarten.
Damn.
She had long red hair that was styled in a braid. Below it was a flowing white nightgown that could barely contain her large breasts.
In the story, she was basically sold by her family in her early 30s through an arranged marriage to the Permartens.
She was married to the previous Permarten, who was in his 50s then, but is now dead.
There was one lingering question.
Is she a virgin?
She was sold off in an arranged marriage, but it didn't last very long.
They didn't hold a ceremony and lived in separate rooms on top of that.
Basically, she was a peace offering from the Kingdom.
I cannot say for certain whether she consummated with the previous Earl or not, or if she had previous experience before the marriage.
However, I can say there was a lot of fan art depicting her and Louie together.
The typical stepson-stepmother porn trope.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, Mother. What brings you here?"
"...I spoke with the head maid. I heard you messed with one of the maids."
"Messed with?"
Only one thing comes to mind.
"What's so weird about that?"
"Louie, you…"
"I'm the Scion and you are the Countess. However, I know more about governance than you do."
From the game obviously.
After Louie's death, I had control over the Infinite Labyrinth and managed its finances and expeditions as the sovereign.
Of course, doing it personally is a whole different matter, but Louie was in charge of the entire labyrinth at this point in time.
"What's so wrong about a Scion asking to check the attire of his maid?"
"Louie, you…!"
"I was just checking whether she had strong birthing hips, whether she could bear a child of a Permarten or not."
I'll take the shameless route.
She may be my stepmother in the story, but I'm the rightful heir of this city.
Louie acting like this was the reason why Jennis sided with the player, to begin with.
Jennis was a traitor.
Not only did she hand over all power and responsibilities of the house to the player, but she also gave herself too.
But that hasn't happened yet.
She's a 3-star character as well.
She may be a terrible ruler, but she's a great asset as an adventurer.
"Mother."
I lowered myself as I approached her.
Jennis flinched and stepped back, but before she could get away, I grabbed her and pulled her inside my room.
"Hyaa…!"
She was stronger than me, but out of surprise, did not resist.
"Mother."
I put my hand on her shoulder and met her eye to eye.
"I'm a Permarten. I have a duty to continue the Permarten bloodline."
"S-so…?"
"What do you mean, so? Of course…"
Heh.
"I need to find my future wife, fuck her and get her pregnant."
This world isn't a gacha. Therefore…
Fuck gachas.
3-star female characters.
I'll fuck them.
I'll fuck them all and make them my companions.