Reborn as the Duke's Daughter

08 Planting Seeds of Change

I clear my throat to get my family's attention.

And just like that Dad, my brothers, and even Caroline immediately dropped their angry and murderous expressions. They are now looking at me, beaming brightly as if they weren't capable of killing or causing a m******e just seconds ago.

But well, to be honest, it doesn't take much effort on my part to get their full attention. Maybe this is one of the results of my ignoring them in the past.

I think Alyosha's the one who explained why Dad and my brothers(oh, and Caroline too) are so attentive to me whenever I call out to them. He said that they were actually worried about me in the past.

I was such a quiet child who is neither here nor there. It seems like my body is here but my presence is...elsewhere.

My Dad, brothers, and Caroline will call out to me, yearning and longing for a reaction from me. However, each and every time they get nothing from me, they still won't give up and would try and try again.

And the reason for their immediate responses is because I'M the one who's calling out to them now. They don't want me to revert to my old ways and retreat within myself again. Which is why they do their best to be alert whenever I call out to them.

And that only makes me feel worse and guiltier. However, that's also the reason why I need to tell them something really important.

However, we're not as complete as I would have liked. I need Caroline's presence here so I have to ask someone else to complete my family.

I turn to one of the maids who is currently refilling my glass of water. "Uhm, if it's not much, can I ask for Alyosha and Brendon's presence please?"

The maid's eyes widen. "Sir Alyosha and Sir Brendon? I'm afraid Sir Alyosha is in the middle of finishing Master's paperwork and Sir Brendon just started training the new Knights assigned by the Emperor here in Opponia."

I open my mouth to tell her that it's okay and I can just tell Alyosha and Brendon separately.

However, Dad lifts his hand and gestures for one of the footmen by the door.

"Send in Alyosha from my study," he orders. "My daughter is asking for him."

Wolfsbane also nods his head towards the other footman.

"And send for Brendon from the training area. Tell him it's urgent and that Raffy is asking for his presence."

The footmen nod and went to rush outside to follow the orders they received.

To my surprise, Alyosha and Brendon are entering the dining room in less than a minute.

And I frown because they both don't seem to be out of breath or even sweaty. Especially Brendon since the training area is located at the back of the house and he has to round the place to get to the front door.

Maybe I should ask Dad to make a backdoor as well. I don't even want to round the whole house just so I can come inside from the training area(I plan to explore the whole estate here and not just stick to the garden and back to the house).

Anyway, this house is filled with OP characters. And no, I don't mean Out of Place characters but OverPowered characters.

But I shouldn't be surprised because my dad became a hero of Asturias. And my brothers are going to become the male leads of a game...this life, whatever.

I clear my throat again when I see that everyone is here. And all of them are looking at me with a look of expectation on their faces.

"It's an honor to have you ask our presence, Young Miss," the Heads of the Household declare simultaneously while bowing their heads to me.

"Okay, everyone uhm...I...want to thank you all for coming here and taking the time to listen to me," I announce in a small voice.

"Oh, there's no need to thank us," Nerium grins and waves his hand dismissively.

"You are our priority, Raffy," Wolfsbane says casually as he sips his wine.

"We're always here for you, cupcake," my dad gives me a small yet warm and gentle smile. "Go on, sweetie."

I take a deep breath. "Uhm...I already asked Daddy this question. But I also want to hear what you guys think."

I press my lips together and clasp my hands together tightly. "Is it weird that I changed? I mean, I've been mean to not only you guys but to everyone. And I don't know, maybe it was when I hit my head that I finally gained some sense. I realize that being mean to all of you even though I have a reason is not enough for me to keep on treating you guys like that."

Everyone is silent while they glance at each other.

Dad ultimately props his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers, setting his chin on top of it.

"So what is that 'reason' you keep on mentioning, cupcake?" he asks with a furrowed brow.

"It's about...my sickness," I tell them.

And this is the kicker.

In the game, Rafflesia is known to be sickly and is always relying on the medicated drinks her brother Nerium is making. No one in the family, not even Rafflesia who has the sickness nor Nerium who's studying and alleviating her symptoms, know about it.

Rafflesia never talks about what she feels towards her family 

But as the one who knows about the game and the one who has been feeling the sickness since birth, I can now tell them the extent of my symptoms and the possible ingredients that can slowly but surely help cure my sickness.

If I can make this small change, it'll make a big impact in the future. And because of that, it'll definitely become a threat to this computer-run world and will trigger a reset.

IF this is a computer-run world, that is.

"You see, everyone, I am sick. You all know that but you don't know what the extent of my sickness is. And the pain that I've been feeling was more than enough for me to learn how to turn off my everything when I hit two years old." I shake my head and sigh. "I actually don't know how I managed to learn to detach myself from reality. However, the knock on my head during my accident was the one that took me back to...well, here."

After that, I explain the symptoms of my sickness to everyone. And as expected, it's a disease that's not yet been discovered.

I don't want to take the credit for the discovery of the disease from someone. But I don't want to become the same sickly Rafflesia in the game.

And in order for me to tell Brother Nerium what ingredients to use for my medicated drinks, I just told him innocently...

"Brother Neri, if you make me more of those delicious teas, I want them to have this plant which is green and thorny that tastes like mint and the one which is red and yellow that smells like mango."

He looks at me with a wondering gaze and my heart pounds with anxiety. But then, my worries were put to rest when he nods.

That was close. I thought he suspects that those plants are actually the ones he's secretly researching for me.

However, I have a perfect alibi because I've been to the garden before. And I only had to make it seem that I know those by smell and taste.

With this experimental seed planted, all I have to do is wait for a reset and then start my plan for a bigger change.