Chapter 8

I Will Accept a Lifetime Contract (4)

“So this is where I’ll be staying…”

The moment I stepped in, admiration slipped out of my mouth.

In both my past and present life, I had never lived in a place this nice.

My old house in Wendelton had holes patched with wooden boards, letting in icy drafts.

And whenever it rained, water dripped from the roof so badly that I had to scatter buckets everywhere.

‘And I only get to stay here for two years? Impossible!’

If I failed to renew my contract and had to leave after just two years… could I really return to that ratty old shack after getting used to this luxury?

The answer was a clear “No.”

‘Right. Never again!’

Go back to living with bugs in the summer and freezing to the bone in winter? Not a chance!

‘Whatever happens, I’m getting a renewal. No—let’s push for a lifetime contract!’

I clenched my fist and swore again.

Once Penny left, I flopped onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘This room… it’s amazing.’

Technically it was just a single room, but still.

Rolling onto my side, I spotted the silver candlestick I’d placed on the nightstand.

‘If I want to extend my contract, I need to win those siblings over completely.’

Lynette already seemed to trust me somewhat, since I saved her life. That part was fine.

“The real problem is Eclipse… Ugh, why did I ever try to scam the final villain? You idiot!”

I cursed my past self—the one who hadn’t yet regained her memories.

“What if they find out I tried to trick him? Even if Lynette likes me, she’d kick me out instantly.”

If I were only kicked out, that would be lucky.

Lynette adored and respected her adoptive brother more than anyone.

If she learned I had tried to swindle him, would she really let me live?

‘No. Definitely not. That would be the end of me.’

To survive without being exposed, I had to prove my usefulness.

I remembered how Lynette’s etiquette teacher, Ash, had nearly been fired for incompetence.

‘If I’m judged as useless, I’m finished. I need to stay sharp.’

In the original story, Eclipse devoted himself entirely to Lynette.

Even his obsession with work was all for her sake.

‘He wanted to raise her into a perfect duchess… but that’s what eventually turned him into the villain.’

The novel went like this:

Eclipse had been adopted into the dukedom as a child. Before she died, the duchess Aileen made him swear to hand over the title once Lynette came of age.

‘But that vow was really a curse, fueled by Aileen’s divine power and sealed by the demon Eckhart. The curse twisted Eclipse until he borrowed Eckhart’s power and tried to seize the dukedom for himself.’

Lynette, in turn, awakened her full holy power fighting against her beloved brother—defeating him with her own hands.

‘In the end, she inherited the dukedom… but was tormented by guilt for the rest of her life. She always regretted not breaking the curse, believing her brother wouldn’t have died otherwise.’

The final scene of the novel was Lynette weeping at Eclipse’s grave:

“I’m sorry, Brother… If only I had realized your curse sooner. If only I had cared for you as much as you cared for me… you wouldn’t have died so miserably…”

What a tragic ending.

I clenched my fists.

‘Then I’ll stop it. I’ll make sure Eclipse never falls into darkness, so they don’t end up destroying each other.’

The story must never follow the original path.

If it did, my comfortable new job would vanish in an instant.

‘At least I know how the original story goes. That’s my advantage.’

At first, I had cursed my fate—why reincarnate as a useless extra?

But now, it felt like the perfect position.

‘As Lynette’s tutor, I can get close to her naturally. And since Eclipse is my employer, I’ll also have plenty of excuses to interact with him.’

In other words, I was now a bridge between the two of them.

What better situation could there be?

‘See? Life doesn’t always end in despair!’

My spirits lifted, I began reviewing the information I knew from the novel.

‘Right… Eclipse had an older sister, Stella, who he was separated from at a young age. One day, Duke Cesare—the former head of the Ledaire family—found him because of her.’

In the story, Stella had been adopted by Baron Everett’s family. There, she met Cesare and fell in love with him.

“My poor little brother Eclipse… I think of him every time I close my eyes. I’m so happy now, but when I imagine him starving and alone…”

She had dearly missed the younger brother she’d lost.

One day, she begged Cesare:

“Your Grace, please. Find my brother. I want him to share in my happiness too.”

Cesare, deeply in love with Stella, agreed readily.

But not long after—

“Stella! What’s happened to you?! Stella…!”

Stella died suddenly.

Heartbroken, Cesare honored her last wish by searching for Eclipse.

At last, he found the boy.

“You must be Eclipse. Come with me.”

He adopted Eclipse into the Ledaire family.

But it wasn’t easy.

‘The relatives and retainers were furious. And Cesare already had a fiancée arranged by contract since birth…’

Even so, Cesare wanted to make Eclipse his heir.

But opposition was fierce.

“Have you lost your mind, Cesare? You’d name a commoner orphan as your successor? I should have known you were mad the moment you toyed with that Everett girl!”

In the end, Cesare caved under pressure and married Saintess Aileen instead.

‘And soon after, Lynette was born.’

Aileen despised Eclipse.

To her, he was a filthy commoner who had wormed his way into her husband’s family.

How could the brother of some low-born woman ever be part of the duchy she ruled?

‘She didn’t just dislike him—she hated him.’

Because of that, Eclipse grew up under constant abuse from her.

Whenever her husband was away, she tormented him.

Withholding meals was only the start. Sometimes she locked the young Eclipse in the stables, forcing him to live among the animals.

‘I still remember that line: “You’re lower than a beast, how dare you think yourself equal to people…”’

The more I recalled, the angrier I grew.

“Unbelievable. How could someone called a Saintess treat a child that way?”