The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"They really let their avatar take a vacation and leave even though the previous one had died only a few days ago?"

Zombie asked in a curious voice, clearly wanting to steer the conversation on the topic that interested him the most.

Their group of four that included the blue undead knight, the red-haired human girl, the brown-haired half-elf young man, and the black-haired elven woman - whose appearance made her seem as if she was the youngest one there even though she was most definitely not - was traveling in a simple carriage drawn by two horse monsters.

The role of a coachperson was taken up by one of the guards from the Envys' mansion, so the rest could just relax inside.

"...fucking hell, Zombie, I didn't personally like the guy who was fucking my mother after she abandoned me, but can't you be a little more delicate...?"

The black-haired elf furrowed her brows and protectively put her arm over Mason's shoulders, staring at the blue undead knight with a scolding expression.

"It's okay, Lai-lai, sir Zombie is right asking that question."

Mason smiled shyly at his half-sister and fidgeted, not used to having anyone dot on him like that.

"Answer to it is also very simple."

The green-eyed young man added, looking u at the blue undead knight.

"Most of the people from the main branch of the Envy family don't like me in the position of any power - they would prefer me to stay as a figurehead who makes them look good for having the family head who is a half-human half-elf."

He explained shrugging his shoulders.

"I wouldn't be too surprised if we encounter an assassin or two aiming for my head on our journey either - let me apologize for that in advance."

Mason lowered his head towards Zombie and Cranberry, who was currently resting with her head on Zombie's lap.

"Yeah, that very well may be the case."

"This fucking sucks..."

The blue undead knight nodded his head with an indifferent expression while the black-haired elven mage made a sour face and patted Mason's back in understanding.

"I wonder about that."

"...?"

But Cranberry who up until that point was enjoying getting caressed by her husband spoke up and disagreed with them all, raising a few brows amongst the other three.

"...what exactly do you mean...?"

Mason tilted his head and asked slowly.

"Your parents were sent on a mission by the church of the system's faith - you have said so yourself. The thing is that the church, or rather the person who somehow managed to get herself in a position of power has wanted us to complete this mission. Not a single person with even a speck of connection to the church should try and stay in our way on this quest."

The red-haired girl revealed twisting her body so that she ended up on her back, looking up at her blue undead before she reached out to touch his face.

"..."

She wasn't even properly looking at Mason, too busy playing around with Zombie's face...

"Haa... what is it...?"

...but once the brown-haired half-elf started fidgetting awkwardly, she ended up breathing out and moving her head to face him.

"I cannot speak up for other main noble families, but what I learned about my family is that it's not a good idea to put your faith in the decision-making skills of other members."

Mason revealed, smiling awkwardly.

"Ha...!?"

Cranberry raised her brow and let out a confused sound- though whether that was in response to the half-elf's words or because of Zombie suddenly leaning down and kissing her unguarded neck, was a mystery.

"Y-you see..."

Mason was blushing like an innocent maiden at the bold showcase of affection and stuttered, but ended up braving through and continued talking.

"We of the Envy family are a really jealous lot, and I am not an exception to that though I would like to think that with me it is more of a jealousy of the close relationships that others have which I lack and the need to create emotional bonds - but most of my relatives are focused on the glory, prestige, and wealth."

He explain flustered over his own words as if he was ashamed of voicing them out loud for the first time to someone else than his own reflection.

"No, wait, are you seriously implying that some people of your relatives might think that they will be better off without the church's backing? From my perspective, it looks like they would be fighting against each other just to be the ones to revive some backing."

Cranberry grabbed Zombie's head and pushed it into her chest to make him stop acting up and confronted the green-eyed capture target with her thoughts on the matter.

"Hmm... sorry to disappoint you, lady Pride, but that's how Greeds would act - unfortunately after living amongst the Envy and seeing them act unreasonably because of their own pettiness, I can assure you that whoever got the backing of the church also earned themselves the jealousy and anger of the rest of the family."

Mason shook his head and explained.

"With envy family, it is never - I want that too, I will work towards the goal of accomplishing the same thing - and instead it is always - you have something that I want, that's unfair, I hate you, I will destroy you for having what I want."

He revealed with a bitter expression.

"What a lovely bunch."

Zombie's muffled voice came from between Cranberry's ample chest.

"Well, I know for a fact that my older sister Fillia wasn't like that - but she ended up dying because of that."

Mason shrugged his shoulders and breathed out with a solemn expression.

"...sorry..."

Cranberry made a bitter expression and apologized in a small voice.

"No, please, don't be - what happened to Fillia is fully a fault of my family being irresponsible and overconfident in the abilities they clearly lacked. They were jealous of the Pride family and tried to bring them down using the Gluttony family, which came biting them back. When it comes to Fillia, she sacrificed herself for her what she believed. She showed me that not every Envy must live only for themselves."

Mason shook his head and smiled