Final Villain's Broken System: Geniuses Make Me Stronger!

Alaric noticed the maid being startled but didn’t put too much thought behind it.

While having his breakfast, he focused on the screen in his mind.

[Talent Points: 1]

[Magic]

[Body]

[Official]

Having read Tales of Golden Era, he knew that Talent Points could only be gained when leveling up.

Even though the System had changed, this mechanism hadn’t changed.

He could invest Talent Points in any of the three power systems, and as the name suggested, it would increase his talent in that power system.

According to the novel, the young lord had no talent in the body and magic path. He advanced to Knight rank only at the end of volume 1.

As for the official path, it wasn’t explicitly stated but implicitly shown how he had negligible talent in this area as well.

Alaric ultimately didn’t invest it anywhere. Leveling up would only get more and more difficult as the numbers went up. Each and every talent point was a significant resource.

He would use it after making a detailed plan.

The second quest should be issued anytime soon.

Alaric waited in a tense posture.

The first quest for Evan had been the same as in Tales of Golden Era. If the second quest also turned out to be the same, it was going to be quite troublesome for him.

Back when he had been reading the novel, he was rooting for the quest completion, but now he had to find a way to circumvent it or fail the quest.

There was no need to mention the reward. It was good only from the point of view of a person without backing, that is, the protagonist. Not him, who was the young lord of House Orlen.

The best case scenario would be if the quest was changed altogether.

There was complete silence in the study as Alaric stayed still with his eyes closed.

Finally, a string of words materialised in his head.

[Quest: Obtain your Certificate of Service and leave House Orlen.]

[Reward: Divine Contract Scroll x5.]

He opened his crimson eyes, revealing a hint of thoughtfulness.

The quest and reward turned out to be the same as I remembered.

Every noble house had a stock of Divine Contact Scrolls since they were used in deals and negotiations. However, if an individual wanted one, they would have to go through quite a lengthy process.

As for the Certificate of Service, every squire swore an Academy Oath before graduation.

The oath magically bound them to a temporary period of service under their assigned house. Alaric likened this to an internship in his previous world.

During this time, they could not swear fealty to anyone else, or even leave.

Once the lord issued a Certificate of Service, the oath dissolved.

Only then could they leave and pledge themselves to a noble house, a knight order, a Magic Tower, the Imperial Army, or anyone else.

Alaric stood up, straightened his clothes and left the study.

There’s some things I must do first.

*****

Alice looked around furtively, before glancing at the steward’s office. There were people going in and out of it repeatedly.

Some reported grain reports, some came with news of the territory, some complained about bandit attacks.

All in all, the steward was very busy.

This can’t go on.

She thought, thinking of a reason to send the steward out of his office.

For some reason, the plot has already deviated. If I want to keep my advantage, I’ll have to bring it back on track.

Why is that idiot protagonist not here to request his Certificate of Service? Did he not get his quest yet?

I need to make sure the second quest happens even if he doesn’t come.

Despite the urgency in her heart, Alice calmly walked over and entered the steward’s office after a knock.

Before he could say anything, she bowed and spoke.

"Master Edwin, the Young Lord is asking for you urgently in his Drawing Room for talks regarding hiring a mage for the territory."

With her head still bowed, she heard the steward mutter.

"This boy. What mage for the territory? Doesn’t he just want one so that he can bother the mage to teach him magic?"

She heard the chair shift as the steward stood up.

"You’re dismissed." He said, while passing by her.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he left, and approached his desk despite being dismissed.

There was of course no way she was going to leave. Why else did she go through all this trouble?

Let’s see now, where would the steward have kept the Certificate of Service?

Alice’s movements were fast and precise as she checked the drawers, the files, and the cabinets.

With each passing paper, her hopes grew dimmer and the urgency in her heart increased.

She opened another cabinet, took out the files, and began scanning them.

Certificate of Service - Evan Lionheart.

Her eyes turned bright.

Found it!

I can leave this House Orlen with the protagonist now!

She hadn’t even considered if he would take him with her. As the Author, Alice knew her protagonist like the back of her hand. She had a thousand ways to convince him.

There was also little issue with her leaving the House Orlen. The leaving conditions of servants and maids of her level were the most lenient, almost bordering on negligence.

"Why do you have a squire’s Certificate of Service on you?"

The questioning tone of the young lord diverted her attention from the certificate to him.

Why is this guy here? Shouldn’t he have started drinking in his favourite tavern? Damnit!

Cold sweat dripped across her back as she bowed.

"Young Lord. One of the Squires has declared his intention to leave House Orlen.

"After I conveyed the matter to the chamberlain, he instructed me to prepare the squire’s Certificate of Service in advance. He intends to consult the steward before taking further action."

In a noble house, the steward managed the territory while the chamberlain managed the estate.

A Squire stationed at the estate came under the chamberlain’s responsibility, but when it came to Certificate of Service which required the house head’s seal and concerned Knight Academies, it fell under the steward’s domain.

Therefore, her excuse made perfect sense. It would’ve worked on anyone, but not someone who needed the same thing as she did.

Evan already wants to leave? It’s good I came here directly or I might not even have known that he left.

Alaric inwardly grumbled, but still instructed the maid with a calm tone.

"Is that so? You can leave the Certificate of Service here and go about your tasks. I’ll contact them about this."

No! If he does that my lie will be out!

Her voice rose as panic briefly got the better of her, though she quickly masked it beneath a tone of self reproach.

"Young Lord! I apologise for my incompetence. There is no need for you to concern yourself with such trivial matters. Please leave this matter to me."

Alaric felt a flicker of annoyance at his own identity. Even when he wanted to handle something himself, everyone seemed intent on making it easier for him.

It was neither party’s fault that there was an information gap.

Alaric didn’t know Alice was the author and wanted to bring the story deviation back on track by completing the second quest.

Alice, on the other hand, didn’t know that the young lord’s body had been possessed by a reader who knew about the future events.

Alaric’s voice turned cold.

"Do I need to repeat myself? Place the Certificate on the desk and leave."

This was his advantage. Alice had to explain her actions, Alaric didn’t.

Alice’s heart dropped to the bottom, but she didn’t give up.

Holding the Certificate, she knelt and pleaded.

"Young Lord, I am in love with the Squire. I humbly seek your permission to leave the House Orlen with him."

Alaric raised an eyebrow.

Oh, so that’s why she was so insistent.

He smiled. "You don’t need to kneel. It is admirable that you are willing to go to such lengths for someone you love. You can of course be with him.

"You should return to your tasks. I need to discuss the Certificate and other private matters with the steward."

Alice carefully listened to each and every word but even by the end the young lord hadn’t mentioned anything about the Squire leaving House Orlen.

She knew right then that the young lord had no intention to let the protagonist leave.

As she stood back up, her eyes inadvertently travelled to Alaric’s face.

She balled up her fists and asked with tears forming in her eyes.

"Young Lord. May I be so presumptuous as to ask why you do not want the Squire to leave the House Orlen?"

Alaric tilted his head, the smile still on his face. "He is talented. Why would I not want talented people to work for the House?"

A drop of tear trickled down the right cheek as she implored with the most sympathy invoking voice she could muster.

"Young Lord... Evan once told me he wished to buy a small house in a village and live a simple life. He has grown weary these past months and no longer speaks of becoming a Knight. He only wishes for a quiet life with me."

Information gap.

Alice didn’t know that it was a reader she was talking to.

The warmth in Alaric’s eyes faded as his smile receded. He laughed coldly in his heart.

Evan would NEVER say that. This bitch is lying.

There was only one possibility. Someone was trying to remove Evan from House Orlen.

Alice only felt a blur before the sensation of pain exploded from the back of her body including the skull.

A groan escaped her mouth as she watched the young lord loom over her.

She had been slammed into a wall, with a hand clasping on her neck.

"Young Lord...what is the meaning of this?"

Alaric smiled again, but this time Alice felt much colder.

"Who sent you to get the Certificate of Service of Evan Lionheart?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I’ll ask again. Who sent you to get the Certificate of Service of Evan Lionheart? Don’t test my patience."

"Young Lord. It was my own intention to get the Certificate."

You want to protect your backer? Fine.

I don’t remember anyone keeping an eye on the protagonist so early in the story but then again, I’ve only read volume 1. It doesn’t hurt being cautious.

The pressure on her neck increased as Alaric spoke. "Is that so? Then give me one reason I should not kill you right now. Because you have harmed the interests of the House."

I almost lost the protagonist.

The panic in Alice’s eyes exploded as she thrashed. When Alaric loosened his grip, she took deep gasps for a few seconds before speaking.

"I am extremely sorry, Young Lord. Please let me live. I will never do such a thing again."

"No. Prove your worth." Alaric threatened her, his grip on her neck reminding her of her situation.

Shit shit. What went wrong?

Alice thought with bitterness in her heart, but there was no time for that. She had to prove her worth now. After some thought, she opened her mouth.

"Young Lord. I know of an undiscovered mana crystal deposit. Please let me live so I can show you its location."

A mana crystal mine’s importance couldn’t be put in words. She had certainly brought out the big guns.

But she had fallen into the same trap once again.

Information gap.

Alaric’s heart skipped a beat.

It couldn’t be that one, right?

He removed his hand and brought over a map. When she displayed the location, his heart dropped to the bottom.

How does she know of this?! The novel said no one knew of this mana crystal ore! The protagonist discovered this only towards the end of volume 1!

His gaze towards her changed. He seized her by the neck once more. With his free hand, he reached into the steward’s desk and withdrew a Divine Contract Scroll.

"Sign on this that you won’t lie, and nothing we discuss shall be disclosed to anyone."

Alice knew she was in deep shit, but there was no escaping now.

Once she signed the contract, Alaric put forward his question.

"Are you from Earth?"

Alice’s brows furrowed.

"Huh? No. Where is that?"

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