[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 2

Anna found it strange.

And she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong…

The distant young lady, who was lodging in the Vance house, seemed like a completely different person overnight.

Her previously lifeless face was now vibrant as she busied herself in the small kitchen, humming a little tune that Anna had never heard before.

“If there were no Communist Party, there would be no New China, if there were no Communist Party, there would be no New China~”

She was barely on key for a single note.

Chopped firewood was piled up in the corner of the kitchen wall, and several iron kettles were hung by the fireplace to keep warm, ready to provide hot water for the masters of the house at any time.

A bronze frying pan rested on a low stove rack, flames licked the bottom of the pan, simmering the vegetables and bean soup to release their aroma, and thick smoke poured out from the chimney vent in the roof.

Li Jia dipped her finger into the spices contained in an iron jar, distinguishing the types of seasonings by taste.

Fortunately, she had lived alone in modern times and honed her life skills to perfection; otherwise, if she were asked to prepare a meal for a large family, she would surely be exposed.

After all, her current identity was Li Jia Vance, and she didn’t want to be burned at the stake as some kind of strange creature.

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of roasted lamb, and Li Jia wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, setting a plate of vegetables on the wooden counter.

The conditions here couldn’t compare to modern society; there wasn’t even a refrigerator, so meat products could only be preserved by soaking them in the well.

To show off their extravagance, the Vance family usually roasted a whole rack of lamb, but only the people sitting at the main table were allowed to eat the meat, which resulted in the uneaten portions being dumped into the dog’s bowl.

They would rather feed it to the dog than to a person.

The large fortune left by the original owner’s parents had been monopolized by her uncle, but who would have thought she wouldn’t even have the qualification to sit at the table? Her dining spot was that little stove counter.

Li Jia’s personality was entirely different from the original heroine’s. Li Jia had received twelve years of compulsory education and was an absolute materialist. She did not believe in male superiority over women, nor did she believe that people were born into three, six, or nine social ranks.

The original heroine, on the other hand, was an orphan who lived with her uncle after losing her parents, and she had received the feudal education of this era. Her maximum act of rebellion was merely killing herself.

While Li Jia felt sorry for the original heroine, she subtly used a small knife to cut off the tenderest piece of lamb, hid it in a small bowl in the cupboard, and also tucked in a piece of lamb tail fat, which she roasted for a few extra minutes on the grill, brushing it with a dark, greasy sauce.

She wouldn’t let her own stomach suffer. After cooking such a hard-fought meal, not letting her sit at the table was one thing, but they didn’t even plan to give her a bite of the lamb?

When the lamb tail fat and the lamb meat were roasted until they melted together, her furrowed brow relaxed. She carefully observed it for a while, found no noticeable difference, and then carried this last dish to the housekeeper, Anna, outside the door.

Closing the door, Li Jia could not wait to take out the reserved meal, preparing to feast.

“Li Jia.”

Conrad Vance’s voice suddenly came from outside the door, and her heart trembled.

The voice carried a rare tenderness, unlike his usual sharp and mean tone: “Come to the dining room tonight.”

Li Jia paused briefly, quickly pulling her thoughts out of the original owner’s memories. She had just inherited the original heroine’s body, and the degree of integration was not very high; she would involuntarily fall into the original heroine’s emotions.

For example, the original heroine was very afraid of this uncle, and upon hearing his voice, she couldn’t help but start sweating on her back.

“Yes, Uncle, I’ll be right there.” Li Jia forcefully suppressed her delighted emotions and replied calmly.

Li Jia whispered, “System? Are you there, System?”

Soon, a crackling, electric female voice responded beside her.

“I am here, my host.”

Li Jia asked, “According to the strategy setting, it’s time for me to follow the plot. What should I do?”

“Worthy of being the host I chose, you’ve already guessed that the plot is getting on track,” the system said, flattering Li Jia ingratiatingly.

It seemed this was a guidance-and-growth-oriented system. Li Jia thought it was quite good, better than the kind that forced the heroine to complete tasks. Most of the time, the system was silent and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

“Conrad is inviting you, the host, to dinner to persuade you to willingly participate in the Night Banquet. In order to ensure the obedience and safety of the chosen attendants, all attendants entering the Sacred Mountain must take the Oath Crystal delivered by the Divine Lord. If you do not enter the Sacred Mountain of your own free will, you cannot enter the temple gate of the Sacred Mountain, let alone attend the Night Banquet.”

Li Jia raised an eyebrow. So, in the end, he had a request for her. Otherwise, why would the high and mighty uncle, who had never given her a proper look, now humbly invite her to dinner?

However, even if he didn’t say it, she was willing to enter the Sacred Mountain.

“Then when can I meet the target of the strategy?”

Seeing her host so motivated, the system couldn’t help but cry tears of joy, though it was only a few happy, tangled electrical impulses, worried about getting itself soaked.

It had guided so many strategists, and this was the first time it had met one as motivated as Li Jia. How could it not be touched?

“You will be able to meet the strategy target at the Night Banquet tomorrow night, Host.”

“Then will she definitely choose me as her attendant?”

Li Jia raised the question.

“Not necessarily, because there are a total of five Divine Lords selecting attendants this time, and there are ten candidates. The probability is one-half, and the probability of being coincidentally chosen as an attendant by the strategy target is one-fifth. Overall, your luck value, Host, is one-tenth.”

The system mechanically calculated the value for her.

“Well, if the strategy target doesn’t choose her, then how am I supposed to achieve the goal?”

However, she was not one to give up easily. No matter what, there was still a one-tenth chance. How could she know if she didn’t try?

“You will help me, won’t you?”

“Aside from being unable to predict the future development for the Host, providing assistance to the Host is my duty.”

“That’s good.”

Facing the unknown, Li Jia felt a thrilling, satisfying rush for the first time.

She liked a challenge.

The system secretly cursed in its heart: Pervert.

The oak door of the dining room creaked open as she pushed it.

Candlelight reflected on the gilded silverware on the carved dining table, and the soft velvet carpet covered the wooden floor. Li Jia’s rough, patched cloth shoes stepped onto it, making her feel as if she was floating on clouds.

At the long dining table, Conrad sat in the main seat, and his wife, Fleurelle, sat to his left. Dressed in a luxurious purple robe trimmed with gold thread, she was a well-maintained noblewoman.

Melina was leaning back in the carved chair, and when she saw Li Jia enter, her ruby necklace trembled with a sneer. Her younger brother, Dayouan, was the same, looking at Li Jia with utter contempt.

She stood at the door, not daring to move rashly.

“Sit down.”

Conrad motioned for her to sit in the last seat, as if it were some great favor.

Li Jia’s maid skirt brushed the carpet as she obediently sat in the corner seat.

Fleurelle beckoned, and the housekeeper Anna knowingly placed a set of brand-new silver cutlery in front of her. Fleurelle put on black rubber gloves and personally cut a piece of roast lamb for Li Jia.

The sound of the blade slicing through the meat sent a shiver down Li Jia’s spine.

She felt like meat on a chopping board.

She cut a moderately sized piece of lamb onto the plate, looked up at the corner, and Anna quickly brought it to Li Jia.

Li Jia pretended to swallow hard, her eyes full of longing for the food, and she was overwhelmed: “Madam, how can I let you cut the meat for me personally?”

Her common, low-class behavior greatly satisfied Melina’s vanity. She poured half a bottle of red wine into a stemmed glass, held it in her hand, and gently swirled it.

Tch, a country bumpkin. Does she even know how to use a knife and fork?

“It’s nothing. My poor brother and sister-in-law entrusted you to us, so taking care of you is only natural.” Fleurelle said, rubbing away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.

Heh, how pretentious.

Li Jia rolled her eyes inwardly.

“The Night Banquet for the Divine Lords to select their attendants at the Sacred Mountain is tomorrow.” Conrad chewed on the lamb, the grease on the corners of his mouth making him look like a greedy vulture.

“Melina is inconvenient to attend, so you will go in her place.”

The knife and fork slipped from Li Jia’s hand, and the beet root vegetable soup splattered on the hem of her skirt, leaving a dark red stain.

Melina’s red hair was stunningly beautiful in the candlelight. She stared at Li Jia and sneered: “You are nothing but a bastard who brought death upon your own parents, flowing with the world’s lowliest blood. It’s only fitting for you to do this most despicable thing.”

After speaking, Melina raised her wine glass and drank it all. Eating with a low-born commoner truly ruined her appetite.

As she swept out, her luxurious skirt brushed across Li Jia’s face, leaving a cool, humiliating sensation, more stinging than the soup stain.

Conrad maintained his hypocritical benevolence: “How rare it is to become an attendant of the Divine Lord! To serve at the Divine Lord’s side is the honor of our Vance family.”

It was just as she had expected, merely a “last supper.”

In the flickering candlelight, she glimpsed her shadow on the wall: thin, small, and humble.

Li Jia quietly clenched her fist under the table, her fingernails digging deep into her palm. The pain cleared her mind, and she smiled sweetly: “Uncle is right, being able to become the Divine Lord’s attendant is a blessing for the Vance family, and I am willing to go to the Sacred Mountain to attend the Night Banquet, it’s just…”

Li Jia emphasized the words “I am willing” especially strongly, knowing that Conrad and his wife cared about this matter.

“It’s just what?”

Fleurelle quickly asked. She had thought it would take some effort and manipulation to make her willingly enter the Sacred Mountain, but she hadn’t expected it to be so easy. There couldn’t be any more complications.

“I don’t have a dress. The new clothes made the year before last are too small and don’t fit anymore… I’m afraid… I’m afraid I’ll disgrace the Vance family.”

Li Jia lowered her head, her nose twitching slightly, her voice hoarse and helpless, like a child who had done something wrong.

Playing the ‘innocent weak girl’? Who couldn’t do that?

It was only reasonable for the two exploiters who had swallowed so much of the original heroine’s property to spit some of it out.

Conrad’s face instantly darkened. Li Jia’s words made it seem like he had been too harsh on his own niece. He cleared his throat: “That is natural. Your aunt has always managed the girls’ dresses…”

“It’s also my fault for being too busy and forgetting to buy you clothes. It’s too late to customize one now. I’ll call the tailor over later. Go to Melina’s room and pick one you like. We can alter it to your size, and it won’t disgrace the Vance family’s name.”

Fleurelle quickly interrupted Conrad’s words, protecting her husband’s dignity.

In fact, Fleurelle had unspoken difficulties. Every penny that came in and went out of the house was controlled by Conrad. Where would she have the spare money to buy clothes for a worthless burden?

After hearing his wife’s words, Conrad returned to normal.

After dinner, Conrad threw her a pouch of gold coins: “You will need money for social interactions and tips when you go to the Sacred Mountain. Don’t embarrass the family.”

The gold coins were cold, stinging her palm.

Closing the door, Li Jia counted the gold coins over and over, even biting a few with her teeth.

This was really 999 pure gold! She hit the jackpot!

She just wondered if she could hold onto them until she returned to modern society to pawn them.

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