The night breeze was cold, and the silence seemed to be growing.
The gardener knew he was looking at a child, but the energy he felt in the red mana he observed made him feel nauseous and gave him chills.
"Why do you seem so scared? I thought you liked my family. Was I wrong?" You look at me as if you were looking at a monster. I'm a Gray, have you forgotten?" Dylan asked with a deep look, and finally smiled with a smile so charming that the gardener's heart trembled with fear.
"I... I appreciate the Gray family," the gardener replied in a broken voice.
Dylan smiled sinisterly and said,
"Then die for the good of our family."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three magical drops of pressurized water that Dylan had thrown inflated and exploded, blowing off both of the gardener's legs and one of his arms, but he did not bleed out, as the remnants of Dylan's mana were containing the bleeding.
The gardener was about to scream when he saw the terrifying, mangled state of his body, but Dylan covered his mouth and whispered in his ear.
"No, no, no, you'll wake my parents. Someone who loves the Gray family wouldn't do that," Dylan said mockingly.
[Perverse Acts: +3]
"Well, well, you're worth more than a dozen beggars and homeless people," Dylan muttered as he created three drops of pressurized red water and pierced the gardener's body.
The gardener felt his body inflate until it exploded in the opposite direction from where Dylan was standing.
[Perverse Act: +1]
The entire surrounding area, bushes, grass, and some trees were covered in blood, entrails, and human waste.
"It would be fun to see someone's reaction to this, but I don't want to attract unwanted attention," Dylan thought as he threw four magical drops of water into the sky and made them explode, turning the drops into a uniform spray that cleaned up the blood, entrails, and human waste in the area.
"I'm going back to my room. It was a fun night. Apparently, I can get more Perverse Points if I cruelly kill people close to the family," Dylan concluded as he reentered his room.
Dylan took off his slippers and lay down on his comfortable bed, and the moment he closed his eyes, he said to the system:
"Put the Perverse Points in the Mana attribute."
[Mana +4 Perverse Points]
[Mana: 60]
Dylan smiled subtly. He was satisfied with the result. He was now a high-level 3-Moon mage, and he only needed 1 more point to reach the low level of the 4-Moon rank.
"I just need to kill a 1-Moon mage or a 1-Sun warrior to reach the 4-Moon rank," Dylan murmured, and shortly after, he fell asleep.
••••
The next day, Dylan woke up at 10 a.m., walked through the halls of the mansion accompanied by his nanny, and for the first time noticed the number of employees, which was not many. There were two nannies, a middle-aged maid, the chef, and the man who sometimes acted as a coachman and when not, just took care of the horses.
"Well, well, we're short-staffed, and now we'll need a gardener. The previous one was so dedicated that he turned into fertilizer for the plants," Dylan laughed elegantly and charmingly.
"Are you happy, my little one?" asked the nanny in a motherly voice.
"Yes, I dreamed that I became a great magician," Dylan replied cheerfully.
"And you will, don't doubt it," said the nanny confidently.
"Yes, thank you for your support. It gives me the strength to keep going," said Dylan, and then continued walking.
Dylan's words made his nanny very happy, as she already considered Dylan to be like a son, a kind, friendly, and polite son.
••••
Dylan arrived at the garden area and his parents seemed to be talking. His little sister, who was with her nanny, ran up to Dylan and hugged him.
"My beautiful little sister. Be careful when you run," Dylan said, accepting the hug, while straining his ears to try to hear what his parents were talking about.
The girl with golden hair and blue eyes, fair skin, and a sweet face was wearing a pretty, elegant floral dress in pastel colors.
The two sat down on a blanket on the grass, and the nannies handed them cupcakes and fruit juice.
"Has Ryan asked about Ted yet?" Anelia asked Demian thoughtfully.
"Yes, I sent him this morning. I told him to search the entire city if necessary," said Viscount Demian calmly, then added, "We shouldn't worry too much. I'm sure he's staying at a friend's house. They have more freedom than we do in that regard."
Since the mansion's employees had been rigorously selected by them in the past, they did not want to replace one employee with another stranger, because in the world of nobles that implied a great risk. However, Dylan hoped they would bring more fertilizer for the plants.
••••
As the days passed, the viscount decided to accept that Ted would not be returning. He did not know the reason for his departure, but now he had to choose a new gardener before the weeds began to appear and the flowers and plants lost their uniform style, typical of a well-kept garden.
"I think we should ask Anelia's family to recommend a gardener." All the candidates seem young and inexperienced, and I can't rule out the possibility that they've been sent by other nobles," thought the viscount, dropping some leaves on his desk.
••••
A week later, the viscount provisionally hired a young man in his twenties who was athletic, had brown hair, tanned skin, and was somewhat handsome.
"Let's let him clear the weeds for a month, then we'll turn them into good compost, and the plants will be happy," thought Dylan, who watched the gardener named Hernan slowly and evenly cutting the plants with great care. It was clear that the new gardener still lacked the experience and skill of a gardener like Ted.