I Became the Younger Brother of the Villainess

The sparring session fizzled out.

Maybe it was because we both used up so much magic during that initial clash, or perhaps it was because my sister was annoyed at me.

Whatever the reason, the sparring devolved into close-quarters combat after that.

I tried to hold my ground by creatively using my black dots—imbuing them with properties like 「Reflection」, 「Slipperiness」, or 「Flexibility」 to block her attacks. When countering, I would imbue them with properties like 「Paralysis」 or aim from impossible angles with 「Precision」 to catch her off guard. Despite my efforts to prolong the fight, it ultimately ended with my surrender.

Close-quarters combat simply wasn’t winnable for me, and her relentless attacks were, quite frankly, terrifying.

When I asked if she was angry because I had caught her off guard, her response was—

“What…? …! Forget it!”

—and she kicked me in the shin.

Of course, I had a pretty good idea why she was upset.

It was probably because she’d been flustered and I had taken advantage of that moment to land a sneak attack. Asking her outright, “Are you mad because I caught you when you were embarrassed?” didn’t seem like a wise move.

Sometimes, it’s better to feign ignorance.

Anyway.

Even though I lost, it wasn’t like I didn’t land any hits at all. But when I checked on my sister afterward, she was completely unharmed.

No, that’s not surprising—her body is fine, obviously. As long as she has enough blood, a high-ranking vampire like her is practically immortal. What I meant was her bodysuit.

Yes, the bodysuit.

I had intentionally used black lines—strings formed from my black dots—imbued with 「Sharpness」 and 「Edginess」 to poke and cut at her several times during the sparring session.

Yet somehow, her outfit remained perfectly intact.

I knew the reason, of course. It had to be some fantastical feature, like an automatic repair function or something similar. Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

Sensing my gaze, my sister, still sulking, prodded my shin lightly with her toe before looking up at me.

“What?”

“Nothing…”

I wondered what she’d say if I asked her outright why her bodysuit didn’t tear.

Would she get flustered and embarrassed? Or would she nonchalantly explain how amazing her outfit was?

Probably the former.

And since I wanted to see her embarrassed, I kept my expression as neutral as possible and asked in a casual tone, as if it were nothing.

“I tried pretty hard to tear your outfit, but it didn’t budge. Why’s that?”

“Huh? Oh, that’s because it has an automatic repair function—wait, what?”

She had begun to answer casually, but midway through, her words faltered. Her eyes widened as she turned to look at me sharply.

Her face, ears, and even her neck turned crimson.

“W-w-what are you even saying?”

Apparently, my sister’s default response to embarrassment was pretending not to hear things.

So, I leaned in close, grabbed her firmly as she flinched and tried to back away, and whispered into her ear.

“I said, it’s disappointing that I couldn’t tear your outfit.”

“…Hrk!”

Thump!

She shoved me. It didn’t hurt, but with her overwhelming strength, I couldn’t resist and stumbled backward.

“You—you shouldn’t say things like that to your sister! Absolutely not!”

She crossed her arms over her chest as if to shield herself, curling slightly inward in a defensive posture.

…Not that it made any sense in a skin-tight bodysuit like hers.

And then.

Leticia Chepes

Status: Excited. Happy. Anxious.

It seems my words had a stronger effect than I anticipated.

This feels like a cheat code.

My sister tries so hard to hide her emotions, but it’s impossible to miss them.

Still, how do I get her affection up to 70? Every time I check, I can’t help but sigh.

There’s only about a month and a few days left. Somehow, I have to make it work.

Since then, I’ve been sparring with my sister daily or every other day. Partly to build my own combat experience and partly to spend more time with her.

And one more thing.

After reclaiming the position of House Head from my sister and officially becoming the head of the Chepes family again, I also started handling administrative duties.

I didn’t expect to be any good at it, but my body seemed to remember a lot, and this body’s natural intellect made it surprisingly easy to adapt.

Of course, just because I adjusted quickly didn’t mean I enjoyed it. It was more of a “I have to, so I will” situation.

Daisy’s assistance made things easier too. Despite being a warrior’s daughter, she came from a count’s household and had been officially serving the Chepes family for centuries through her lineage in the Blackwood family.

There was no way the Blackwoods would send someone incompetent to serve the Chepes family.

Simply put, Daisy was incredibly capable.

On top of that, since all repetitive tasks were delegated to the ghoul maids and butlers, Daisy, who usually had nothing to do other than assist me directly, seemed genuinely happy to help with my work.

She appeared to sincerely enjoy being useful to me.

Interesting.

Until now, I hadn’t paid much attention to the affairs of the territory. Fortunately, the steward had been handling everything in my absence.

The Chepes family had a long tradition of appointing skilled administrators as stewards of the territory. At first, I thought, Is that even possible? But when I found out the steward was also from the Blackwood family, it all made sense.

The Blackwoods. Just how devoted are they to the Chepes family…?

The reason the Chepes family doesn’t handle the territory directly is obvious. Vampires don’t fully understand human physiology or emotions, and governing humans requires empathy and comprehension of their needs.

The Chepes family, one of the three most noble vampire houses, is fundamentally disconnected from such concerns.

While they could manage large-scale issues like territorial wars with other regions, they were clueless about the lives of individual human citizens.

How much tax should be collected to maintain balance? Vampires only need blood to sustain themselves, unlike humans, who require varied nourishment to thrive.

How should territorial laws be established? While the Chepes family ultimately approves the judgment and punishment of lawbreakers, can they truly assess the severity of a crime by human standards?

After countless challenges and dead ends, the Chepes family summoned someone trustworthy—the Blackwoods—over two hundred years ago.

These days, the Chepes family has gained enough understanding of humans to govern without a steward. However, the tradition has persisted for centuries, and they’ve chosen not to change it. Instead, they now receive daily reports from the steward to ensure transparency.

There’s no need to worry about the steward lying. The blood pact binding the Blackwoods to the Chepes family makes deception impossible.

So, my daily routine consisted of handling administrative work (honestly, mostly just checking finances), sparring with my sister followed by light conversation, receiving reports from the steward, and calling Daisy to my room.