IBSBV Ch 20

Chapter 20

 

It was close to coincidence, but having seen a new side of Louis and having shaken things up, it seemed like the right time to start modifying the servants’ character settings.

Eddie gripped his fountain pen without hesitation. The first thing he adjusted was the nanny—someone he had never explicitly defined in the original settings, but whose details had been revealed through the status window.  He added words ‘Belated Regret’ and ‘Guilt’ beneath the fundamental sentences that made up her character.

This wasn’t so much implanting emotions as simply writing down what he had glimpsed of her feelings to make them more concrete.

Though he was the creator, this world had already significantly deviated from the creator’s will. And each keyword contained the life that the nanny had lived, growing up in such a dual environment. As a result, painful contradictions were mixed in relation to Louis’s curse.

The mere thought of it darkened Eddie’s face.

‘A maid with no power has no authority.’

Even though she was from a fallen noble family, she was still nobility and received better treatment than a maid, but she wouldn’t have been an equal colleague to other maids. Moreover, this was the imperial palace. In an environment where one misstep could endanger not only herself but her family as well, it was natural that her strict personality would be amplified.

To her colleagues, that strictness likely came off as arrogance. That was probably why she became the target of envy-driven schemes, falsely accused, and ultimately expelled from the palace.

‘And yet, that made her the perfect choice for the imperial family’s needs.’

She was made into Louis’s nanny. She was older so she would keep secrets, had an appropriate status, and after his death, she would be easy to dispose of as she had no backing. She likely had no choice but to obey the summons to serve in the palace.

‘She must have lost her own child due to the stress of caring for Louis while pregnant.’

Or perhaps… someone deliberately ensured that she lost the baby. If she had a child, she might have developed second thoughts or struggled to care for Louis properly.

Then came the death of her husband. Whatever the exact cause, the series of misfortunes that had befallen her, amplified by the imperial family’s involvement, likely left her resenting Louis’s curse.

Yet, it was important to acknowledge that the curse did not harm others unless Louis’s life was threatened or intense malice was directed at him.

Despite enduring severe abuse at the hands of Sover, Louis had never lashed out. It was unlikely he ever harbored such feelings toward his nanny.

Moreover, if simply being around him spread misfortune, the imperial bloodline would have long since perished. She must have realized this on some level—that her ruined life was the result of compounded misfortunes and the imperial family, rather than Louis himself. That was why ‘Love-hate’ had naturally generated as one of her keywords.

Eddie chose not to add any further keywords and turned the page. He had no desire to tinker with her any more than necessary.

There should never be justification for abuse, but the nanny, too, was a wounded soul—a woman who had lost both her child and husband.

Could anyone truly remain sane after such losses? Even if she had wanted to escape, she likely had other family members—her parents, perhaps—who kept her tethered to her duty.

Each day must have been a living hell. Perhaps she was still hiding her pain even now.

She was different from the butler, who neglected his master out of self-interest. She was cautious. Eddie felt he had to approach her carefully as well. Somehow, it felt necessary.

‘And then there was Louis’s reaction when he saw her.’

Louis had looked like an abandoned child left in the rain. It was clear that he, too, harbored conflicted feelings toward the nanny.

Sighing, Eddie brushed off his heavy thoughts and instead recalled the servant, Bell. The young man had reacted positively to seeing Louis with a cane.

‘His joy was completely genuine.’

For the first time, Eddie added a keyword to Bell’s otherwise blank page.

[Growing Loyalty.]

From what Eddie had observed, Bell was simple-minded and had no particularly sharp edges to his personality. He feared Louis but did not despise him.

In fact, despite his lower status, he had the audacity and kindness to feel pity for his master. Unlike the chef or knights, he saw Louis not as a cursed doll, but as a person afflicted by a curse. 

This set him apart from the maids and the other staff. Even in small ways, like responding quickly when the service bell was rung, Bell showed more willingness than the rest. Despite having to climb all the way to the fourth floor, he never hesitated. That alone made this level of change sufficient for now.

‘As for the butler… it’s best to keep observing him for now.’

Adding emotions or inclinations to a character didn’t necessarily mean they would change instantly. Keywords were simply narrative devices meant to hint at a character’s nature, tastes, and background within the story.

The effects were likely to manifest slowly. But that was just an assumption—Eddie couldn’t be entirely sure about the speed of application.

Given that Sover’s hounds were constantly watching, it seemed safest to observe how the nanny and Bell responded to the changes before making further adjustments to others.

‘If the changes feel too slow, I can influence their environment myself.’

Rather than relying solely on the pen to move the characters, perhaps actively engaging with their lives would yield better results. If he wanted to shake things up and restore what had been lost, it felt like he had to disrupt the flow together with them.

Sighing, Eddie closed the settings book. A new status window appeared.

[Evaluating whether the newly added keywords align with the established character framework.]

[Evaluation complete. Keywords have been applied.]

[Nanny Lilith: Starting application rate at 40%.

Servant Bell: Starting application rate at 70%.]

That was the end of the status window’s response.

Eddie had already noticed that a full application didn’t necessarily require a 100% success rate. However, he wasn’t sure what it meant for the starting application rate to be 40% or 70%—whether those percentages indicated how much of the new emotions and motivations had already been integrated.

‘Shouldn’t it at least tell me the total percentage of emotions and motivations a character possesses?’

Especially for the nanny, who had such a complex backstory and emotional landscape, a more detailed breakdown would have been helpful.

The status window wasn’t as transparent as he had initially imagined. He had planned to observe things over time and experiment, but the lack of clear benchmarks was frustrating.

Irritated, Eddie tossed the settings book into his magic pouch before securing it against his chest.

Just then, he heard rustling sounds, followed by Louis stirring awake.

“…Eddie. Eddie?”

His voice was groggy and confused. Feeling around the bed for the person who should have been beside him, Louis became flustered upon realizing Eddie was gone, his actions turning frantic.

“I am here. I’m heading to bed, so just stay still.”

Worried he might fall, I left where I’d been sitting and slowly approached.

Louis, who had been straining his ears and focusing all his attention on any sign of movement, suddenly reached out and grabbed Eddie’s arm as he came close. Before he could regain his balance from the forward pull, an arm wrapped around his waist.

Burying his face in Eddie’s chest just like that, he nuzzled in.

“Did you go outside? You smell like the cold air.”

“Yes. I had a brief errand to run.”

“…Did it really have to be something you had to go out for? Leaving me alone while I was asleep? Is it morning now?”

—Did he go to meet that servant? Or maybe he went to deliver a secret report to brother Sover…

As Louis’s imagination started to run wild, Eddie gently stroked his back.

“It’s still night. Morning is far off.”

“Stroke my hair.”

At the request, Eddie slipped his hand through his hair.

“Where did you go?”

“I met with the nanny for a moment. I had bought some perfume while I was out as a token of appreciation, and I suddenly remembered, so I went to deliver it.”

When Eddie cut off the train of misunderstandings before it got too far, Louis hesitated a little, then whispered in a very small voice,

“…Try not to leave me alone if you can help it.”

—You’re my attendant, aren’t you? I’d rather you didn’t go anywhere without telling me. I don’t want you meeting other people without me knowing.

“You’re my man.”

The words that finally came out after swallowing countless emotions were brief, but laced with possessiveness.

—You’re mine. Right? You are, aren’t you, Eddie?

His thoughts continued, far more intense and greedier than the words he spoke aloud.

“Right? You’re mine, aren’t you?”

The cautious question, asked again to make sure, was subtly persistent.

“Yes. I am Your Highness’s person.”

“Yeah. That’s right. You’re mine.”

Louis pulled Eddie tighter by the waist and slowly leaned back onto the bed, taking Eddie down on top of him in the process.

Embarrassed by the awkward position, Eddie tried to get up, but Louis wouldn’t let go.

The hand that had been around his waist now wrapped firmly around his back.

“Just for a moment—just stay like this.”

—Until the scent of the outside world on you is covered by my own.

“From now on, if you’re going somewhere, tell me. Even if I’m asleep, wake me up. You have to. Got it?”

“…I will.”

Satisfied with the answer, Louis finally loosened his grip.

“Now, let’s sleep. Lie down next to me.”

Eddie pulled himself together and covered Louis with the blanket first before resting his head on the pillow.

Then Louis reached out and clumsily pulled the blanket over Eddie too. He didn’t stop there—he gently stroked Eddie’s cheek.

As though handling something precious and delicate. His touch was tender and caring.

“Close your eyes, Eddie. Sweet dreams.”

—I’ll be dreaming of you.

“Yes, well—”

If I can sleep at all. Swallowing the last part of his sentence, Eddie obediently shut his eyes as told.

Thankfully, Louis didn’t suffer from another nightmare that night. But as expected, Eddie couldn’t sleep at all.

It was another sleepless night.