The Reincarnated Villainous Young Master's Guide to Happiness

Chapter 20: Office

This chapter is brought to you by 再会 by LiSa and Uru. 

Edited by: bafflinghaze

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It shouldn't be to anyone's surprise when the servants of the Odum Manor began to notice something very peculiar about their eldest Young Master.

During the spring holiday, he moved a few tables into his office and created a makeshift laboratory in a matter of days. Some of the manor staff saw him carrying equipment originally belonging to an alchemy institute or an apothecary into the room with the ease and familiarity of a professional.

The guards patrolling the grounds of the west wing have noticed the boy getting into the habit of disposing foreign liquids through his office window. The liquids were landing on a dead rose bush beneath the kid's office and have so far killed it twice and revived it thrice—the third one was to rejuvenate the plant; it was looking rather limp even after being brought back to life...

The servants have also witnessed his growing collection of houseplants forming on the tables.

It looked like the boy was taking an interest in a docile hobby, which surprised many of the staff members working in the manor.

Between Lady Guinivere's extreme swordplay, Madam Vespera's violent horse riding, Master Gareth's unhealthy obsession with bomb diffusion, and Young Master Aurelion's love of tearing into people and reading them for filth—only to be surprised moments later when they try to attack or kidnap him in an alleyway—the Ducal had been in dire need of a nonviolent extracurricular to balance the chaos.

All was well... until a week later the footman with a background in espionage confirmed some people's speculations.

The boy wasn't displaying an interest in houseplants—he was growing his own stock of poison.

"..."

No one said anything after the discovery. The servants had hoped Young Master Nazareth would be more interested in a normal hobby, but alas, it was too much to ask an Odum to be ordinary when they had the possibility to be extraordinary.

At the very least, they were glad the Young Master finally found something to focus on. The occasional instances of death have not occurred in weeks and no one's caught food poisoning, needed to visit a healer for any mysterious skin allergies, or been bedridden from some unknown disease.

One day, a maidservant walked into the office for the weekly cleaning and saw half of the plants dying from dehydration. The Young Master hadn't watered those plants in weeks!

The servants soon found themselves in a bind. They feared the Young Master would give up his new hobby and begin doing those illegal activities again.

A kitchen wench, who used to be an imperial-sanctioned hitwoman, took a trip downtown to a back alley apothecary and returned with care guides.

Rainier was thus given the high honor of caring for the plants.

The young man was confused at first but didn't question the housekeeper who gave him some oddly specific instructions regarding the plants in his Young Master's office. She was a decorated war hero back in her youth.

Once Rainier started attending to the plants, they began to flourish beautifully.

Life in the Odum Manor soon became strangely peaceful.

No one dared to say why this was, but the unspoken matter, as always, involved the Eldest Young Master.

It was not that the servant hadn't doubted the identity of their Young Master at first.