Chapter 18

Got Two Managers!

I cracked my door open and peeked out, and saw Ms. Sejin letting someone in at the entrance. After taking a few steps into the hallway, the vague silhouette was enough for me to recognize who it was.

“Huh? Woojin?”

Shouldn’t he still be at school right now? And he wasn’t even wearing his uniform?

D-Don’t tell me, that bastard.

I dropped out of school. WRYYYY!!!!

Is that it?

But thinking about it again, there was almost no chance of that. I could not trust his own word one hundred percent, but why would someone who was an ultra-ultra-ultra social butterfly and a top student in both academics and sports drop out of school?

Woojin quickly exchanged greetings with the new servants filling the house, then strode toward my room together with Ms. Sejin.

“Oppa, shouldn’t you be at school right now?”

“I left early.”

“You left early? What’s gotten into the perfect honor student? Are you sick?”

“...No. I’m not sick.”

“Then why?”

“Let’s go to your room and talk first.”

“Huh? O-Okay.”

Why does the atmosphere feel so strange?

Click.

What, why are you locking the door? You two aren’t planning to lynch me, are you?

“Uh, what’s with you two? Ms. Sejin, did something happen?”

Did someone cause trouble? Or did I do something again? I rapidly went over everything I had done lately in my head, but nothing in particular came to mind.

“Yua.”

“U-Uh?”

Woojin hesitated for a moment before continuing. What, don’t tell me this bastard likes me? We’re cousins! No, that’s not even the problem. You lolicon bastard!

“You... are Lilith, right?”

“Huh? Huh?”

Whoa. That was an attack I did not expect. Way stronger than some confession attack.

“W-What are you talking about? What’s Lilith?”

“Your streaming nickname.”

“I-I don’t know anything about that.”

I denied it to the bitter end, but Woojin’s gaze did not waver in the slightest.

“A-Ahem. What are you talking about, barging in here out of nowhere?”

“I came here last night.”

“Whaaaat?”

My legs nearly gave out and sent me collapsing to the floor, but I barely managed to stay upright.

They say you can survive even if you are dragged into a tiger’s den as long as you keep your wits about you. Get a grip, Shin Yua!

“Don’t tell me... this is because of what happened yesterday?”

“Yeah. You fell asleep with the stream still on.”

Sniff sniff sniff. Honestly, it did not seem like there was any way out of this situation. Still, I could not just give up.

But when I fell silent because I could not think of anything to say, Woojin started explaining.

Last night, Woojin had been watching Lilith’s stream as usual. I already knew this bastard was one of my viewers.

The problem was that I had launched the game and then passed out. Chat instantly became a disaster, and of all times, Ms. Sejin came into my room, with even the sounds of her putting me into bed getting picked up perfectly by the microphone.

“That’s when I knew immediately...”

“N-No, there could just be someone else with the same voice...!”

I struggled desperately, but the tide had already turned.

“Even if that were true, I came to your room and personally confirmed that the stream was on, so excuses are useless now.”

“K-Kgh. Evidence gathered illegally like that can’t be used in court!”

“...First, I didn’t gather it illegally, and second, this isn’t a courtroom.”

As expected, he is strong. This bastard...! Is this the physical prowess of the baseball team?!

“Anyway, it looked like something serious was happening, so I hurried over to your house. To turn off the stream.”

“Oppa... you came here yourself and turned it off?”

“What else was I supposed to do? Do you know what would’ve happened if you’d left it on all night like that? You had over five hundred viewers.”

Ugh. I do not even want to imagine it. A chatroom without a manager, filled with creepy Korean male bastards spraying their filthy desires everywhere.

“Ms. Sejin could’ve turned it off—.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things. I know Ms. Sejin is computer illiterate too.”

“Young Master, I do know enough to turn off a computer.”

“Well, that’s true. But you were hesitating because there was something on the screen and you didn’t know whether you should just shut it off or leave it alone.”

“Yes. Honestly, if Young Master hadn’t come, I was going to call the IT team. They would’ve known what it was.”

“Uwaagh!”

Maybe I really should be grateful to Woojin. If the IT team had found out that I was pretending to be a vampire, I would have immediately asked Driver Park to take me to the Han River.

“I gave Ms. Sejin a rough explanation. That you do internet streams.”

“E-Everything?”

“Do you think I had the presence of mind in that mess to explain VTubers and vampire princesses and all that? I just told her you stream.”

Ms. Sejin added from the side.

“I couldn’t make heads or tails of that virtual-whatever stuff even after seeing it. But I already knew you were working hard on something in your room every night, Miss.”

“...Huh? You knew?”

“I’ve watched you for ten years. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you changing?”

A chill ran down my spine at those words. Right. This person was that kind of person. The ultra-ultra-ultra elite Grandfather assigned to monitor me! CIA! FBI! A super surveillance agent who could put the National Intelligence Service to shame!

Then that meant Ms. Sejin had already vaguely sensed that I was doing something suspicious(?) and had simply waited until now to gather solid evidence.

Damn it. Meticulous beyond belief. There was no opening to escape through!

But that did not mean I could simply raise the white flag. I absolutely would not quit streaming.

Rather than let them take away the source of joy in my life, I was prepared to fight, and I lined up argument after argument in my head.

Minors can stream too. My face does not show. I do not take donations. I am not hurting anyone. All right, try stopping me—.

“...I’m going to keep streaming. I absolutely won’t quit.”

First! Strike! Wins! How will you respond! I blurted it out prepared to resort even to self-harm blackmail if necessary—.

“Who told you to quit?”

“...Pardon?”

“I’m just worried. You know it would be a huge problem if people found out you’re the young lady of Shinil Group.”

“Th-Then...”

“Why would I stop you from doing something you want that badly?”

With Ms. Sejin responding like this, the entire argument I had carefully prepared lost its destination. Not that “carefully prepared” amounted to more than a few seconds.

“...I really can keep doing it?”

I think my voice trembled a little without me realizing it.

“Y-Yeah. Who said you couldn’t?”

“Yes. You may continue.”

“...Ah.”

My shoulders, which had been tense in full battle readiness, sagged.

What is this feeling? Something around my solar plexus feels strangely ticklish—.

I had prepared myself for a huge fight, but now that it had been resolved this easily, I somehow felt deflated.

“But there are conditions.”

Ms. Sejin raised one finger.

“Conditions?”

“You’ve been going to bed far too late lately. Yesterday, you even passed out while streaming. So start your streams earlier and end them earlier.”

“Ugh... but there’s a certain late-night mood.”

“Late-night mood or whatever, you exercise every morning now. If you stay up all night too, how is your body supposed to survive?”

“...Okay.”

I nodded obediently. If I could keep streaming, adjusting the time was nothing.

Pop. A second finger.

“And your identity absolutely cannot be exposed. I will not compromise on this.”

“I know that too.”

“So, about that.”

Ms. Sejin lowered her voice.

“Let’s keep this between me, Young Master, and you. I won’t tell the Chairman or any of the other family members.”

“...Really?”

“Of course. I’ll never spread it around, so you just need to be careful, Miss.”

“Yes!”

I am a vampire. I am a vampire. I am absolutely not anything like the granddaughter of Shinil Group’s chairman.

Woojin shrugged too.

“My lips are sealed too. Unlike someone, I don’t have a hobby of exposing other people’s secrets.”

“...You’re saying that for me to hear, aren’t you?”

“Who knows.”

This bastard. He is still holding a grudge over that snack incident, isn’t he? More vindictive than I expected. Men should not act like that. You need your dick cut off. Mine already got cut off, so I’m allowed.

Anyway, just like that, the secret that had belonged to me alone was suddenly being shared by three people.

Honestly, I felt like a little weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Well, my shoulders probably felt lighter because I had been exercising so hard lately. Yeah. Let’s say that is why.

“But what are you going to do if something like yesterday happens again?”

“Something like yesterday?”

“While you were sleeping, a bunch of weirdos swarmed in and chat turned into a complete shitshow. There was nobody there to stop them.”

Ah. True. There had been guys making sexual jokes even when I was watching with my eyes blazing, ready to crush them.

“Get a manager. Someone to moderate chat.”

“A manager? Where am I supposed to find one? It’s just a stream I run by myself.”

“There are two right here.”

Woojin pointed back and forth between himself and Ms. Sejin.

“...You and Ms. Sejin?”

“We both know your secret already. Better than bringing in someone who doesn’t.”

Ms. Sejin nodded too.

“I don’t know much about it, but if you teach me, I can give it a try. Looking after your nighttime schedule is part of my job anyway.”

Ms. Sejin and Woojin as managers for my stream.

“...Well, if you want to, I guess.”

Since the topic had come up, we decided to make their accounts right away. But then another argument started.

“I’m picking the usernames. It’s my stream.”

“You are? Why does that make me nervous?”

“For Oppa... hmm. Let’s go with StoneGolem. Perfect. Your shoulders and chest are freaking hard. I thought you weren’t human.”

“Hey.”

“For Ms. Sejin... how about FinalBossOfOurHouse?”

“...Miss. You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“Come on, no. It’s a sign of respect.”

After bickering for a long while, Woojin ended up as FamiliarStoneGolem, while Ms. Sejin became OurHouseMaid.

— — —

That evening.

Lilith’s stream went live earlier than usual.

“Ahem. Have you been well, my ignorant subjects?”

The same proud opening greeting as always. But today, chat’s response was a little different from usual.

-Huh, you started early today?

-You don’t usually stream at this hour

-What’s gotten into you, Princess

-The sun isn’t down yet, is a vampire allowed to come out?

-What happened yesterday?

-You seriously have a maid?

“Hmph. Whenever this body chooses to appear is this body’s freedom. A mere thing such as the sun cannot dictate the schedule of a vampire princess. From today onward, this princess has decided to become an evening-type vampire rather than a nocturnal one.”

Meanwhile, someone noticed something strange.

-Wait

-What’s that at the top of the participant list

-You got two managers?

Directly beneath Lilith, the owner of the stream—.

Two unfamiliar usernames sat side by side with manager icons.

FamiliarStoneGolem. And OurHouseMaid.

-???

-Princess got managers?

-Weren’t you doing everything alone?

-What the hell is OurHouseMaid lol

-Who are those two supposed to be?