Chapter 111

Ro-Robert?

Are you insane? You want me to seduce the protagonist’s dad right now?

That… is true.

Round 1 started right from the point before Robert died. The very first quest was explicitly to avoid execution. Could that have meant to avoid it by keeping Robert alive?

If the reason the system showed me everything right from the prologue before the full-scale possession began correlates to that, it makes perfect sense. Perhaps all of those things were silent signals implying that Robert’s survival was necessary.

Since Oscar is still young, it would be a burden to place him in the Duke’s seat, and in Carlo’s case, it would involve actively breaking up a happy family, on top of making a bastard son the Duke, which causes the difficulty to skyrocket vertically. Knocking Robert down from his position comes as a bonus, too.

Morally speaking, that was correct.

However, at this point where the system’s true identity and intentions remain unknown, I believed that absolutely no possibilities should be ruled out.

‘Now you tell me?’

It was true that Robert was currently the easiest target to target.

Since he had already ascended to the title, I didn’t have to fret endlessly trying to make him the Duke like in Round 1, and since they said his relationship with his wife wasn’t good, it was easy to look for an opening.

…My conscience had long since been thrown out the window.

I can do this.

Having finally obtained a link to the real world, there was absolutely no way I could let it end so uneventfully.

It’s nothing grand, really.

I am just curious as to whether or not I am currently alive and well in reality.

“So, his name is Seo So-shin. Age thirty. Same as me. Residence is Poire Officetel in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Phone number is… Oh, screw this.”

Reciting a man’s personal details, Mo Je-won wailed as the post-shame clarity hit him hard.

“Whatever, let’s just give it a shot, thinking of it as getting tricked!”

Holding a newly purchased cell phone instead of his old phone, which he had thrown away assuming it was haunted, Mo Je-won saved the phone number first.

This was to check if the user popped up as a recommended friend on PapayaTalk or FaceBook.

Would you like to add [ Seo So-shin ]?

‘H-He’s there?’

Meaning it wasn’t a prank, but a number that actually existed.

Since the name was an exact match as well, he could arrive at the conclusion that it was a real person.

However, this alone still wasn’t enough to blindly trust the words from the chat. It could easily be an impersonator.

Mo Je-won pressed on the registered PapayaTalk profile picture with hurried fingers.

Nothing much, just a single picture of a cute cheese-colored cat.

Swiping to the side, a few pictures taken at a stray cat shelter popped up, along with a picture of a handsome man posed in a way that looked like it was taken by a girlfriend at a restaurant.

Even after swiping a few more times, the only thing he obtained was useless information indicating that the guy appeared to love cats.

Browsing through FaceBook as well, he found an InkedIn link attached.

“Let’s see here, the most recently updated activity is…”

Senior Data Engineer at XX Corporation.

‘Oh, a major corporation.’

Just in case, he searched up the address of the company’s headquarters, which was also in Mapo-gu.

Looking it up, the distance between Seo So-shin’s officetel and the company was an ideal commute that took exactly fifteen minutes by bus.

Mo Je-won opened his room window and lit a cigarette out of habit.

Phew…

Inhaling the sweet nicotine while facing the chilly wind, his mind grew calm.

Rather than spending time feeling uncomfortable, a single action is far better.

“Let’s go.”

Arriving at Seo So-shin’s officetel like that.

Even the passcode for the officetel’s communal entrance was exactly as that bizarre chat had told him.

‘Is it really the person himself? Not an impersonator or something?’

He would be able to roughly figure out the truth if he saw whether the passcode to the house entrance in front of him matched as well.

Solemnly about to place his hand on the touchpad, he hesitated.

‘Wait a minute. On the off chance that someone is inside, it’s going to turn weird. If I just strike the passcode out of nowhere.’

The doorbell would be the correct choice first.

The moment Mo Je-won pressed the button firmly, a melody drifted out.

Until the song concluded, absolutely no response, nor any sign of someone being inside, was felt.

An internal conflict of whether or not to type in the passcode arose, but as a citizen of a strictly law-abiding country, he knew how to distinguish between things that were okay to do and things that would get him dragged to a police station if committed.

However, that thought shifted as the time drew closer to two in the morning.

‘It’s past the time where someone would finish work and even go for a company dinner, so why the hell isn’t he coming!’

His judgment clouded by the long hours of waiting, Mo Je-won ultimately ended up entering the door passcode.

Beep-beep-clack!

To his amazement, the door truly swung wide open.

‘Insane.’

“I-Is anyone home?”

Stepping inside as if possessed, the house was a neatly organized studio apartment.

With quite a lot of household belongings brought in, it was a home where a person with good life skills would live.

The ordinary, lived-in atmosphere meant that someone had been residing there until very recently.

However, there was absolutely no one inside.

Escaping the place out of a creepy sensation, Mo Je-won returned to the officetel the next day after composing himself, only to obtain an unexpected piece of information.

“Excuse me, by any chance, do you know the person next door? I noticed you’ve been around since yesterday.”

“Ah, yes! My friend has been unreachable and isn’t at home, so I got worried. I am absolutely not a weird person!”

Mo Je-won hurriedly waved his hands, terrified beforehand that he might get reported as a suspicious person. Fortunately, the neighbor didn’t dismiss Mo Je-won as a suspicious individual and treated him kindly.

“That person… was it about a week ago? They were taken to the hospital.”

“Pardon?”

“I heard their younger sibling found them collapsed and took them to the hospital.”

Ding!

He already dropped them from the moment we met, so what’s he on about…?

But since it felt like he had found out something, I replied compliantly.

“As expected, family is all you’ve got.”

“What did you say?”

“Ah. It’s nothing.”

“What’s with that? Don’t be so dull!”

Averting my eyes from the messages with Mo Je-won, I smiled at Io, who was puffing out her cheeks, and resumed my halted sweeping.

It has already been two weeks since Robert became the Duke.

Without any gruesome murders taking place, this mansion that Robert inherited was the epitome of peace.

Carlo, Oscar, and Jeffrey all left the mansion after congratulating Robert.

Regrettably, I hadn’t achieved anything up until now because I was too busy sweeping and wiping the mansion after the guests left to even think about how to approach Robert.

A mansion with a new master had a ton of work to be done.

Well, finding out my whereabouts through the conversation with Mo Je-won is a huge milestone.

If I was taken to the hospital while still breathing, there’s a high probability I survived.

Just that fact alone put my mind at ease.

Now, all that’s left is for me to do well.

If there is one thing bothering me…

It would be the Omniscient Viewer Perspective, which is as quiet as the dead.

‘Is it because Mo Je-won isn’t playing?’

When I asked Mo Je-won, he said he had dropped “Survive” entirely ever since he saw the ending.

He said he hadn’t turned the game back on, nor had he streamed it since then.

If that’s the case, it explains why the trait isn’t activating.

‘It’s a bit lonely.’

Whatever anyone said, it was a sanctuary that gave me a sense of security, knowing I was connected to people from reality.

“Ah, right! Lita. You know we have a day off tomorrow, right? Have you decided what to do?”

Right on cue, Io snapped me out of my thoughts.

It’s not like I don’t have plans for the holiday.

“Whaaaat~ You’re going to buy cosmetics?”

Io gasped with a wide-open mouth, utterly flabbergased, and then shouted loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

“Everyone! Come over here! Lita says she’s going to buy cosmetics!”

“Lita? Did she get a boyfriend or something?”

“Check if the sun is setting in the east today. That is bizarre.”

Just how far are they planning to spread this rumor?

When even the maids at the other end of the hallway started whispering, I hurriedly coaxed Io.

“Are you asking if I can go with you and help you choose? Oh dear, of course I can!”

“To choose me first as your shopping buddy! I’m honored~”

Io is a reliable ally for me, someone who has never even glanced at women’s cosmetics before.

Making a massive fuss, I desperately ignored Io as she teased me alongside our coworkers and vigorously wiped the dust off the window frame.

“Why did you invite Isabella too? I know way more than she does!”

Aren’t more allies always better?

And while Io is good at dressing up, there was an issue with her reliability.

“You’re being unsightly, Io. I guess you weren’t enough.”

“What do you mean! In the end, almost everything we bought today was my recommendation!”

To be precise, I bought them after confirming that Isabella agreed too.

After a bout of shopping, we are resting in front of a fountain in a small square before returning to the mansion.

Familiar with ignoring a whiny Io, Isabella licked her autumn-limited maple ice cream bought from a street vendor in front of the fountain and asked.

“Why did you suddenly buy cosmetics?”

“Just because. I felt like I haven’t really pampered myself up until now.”

Isabella spoke in a worried tone. Then again, if I were in her shoes, I’d also be concerned if a coworker suddenly did something out of character.

“Nothing’s wrong, right?”

“Ah! Like getting dumped by a guy you like!”

…It’s similar, but no.

It’s because I have to seduce someone from now on.

I glossed it over, acting as if it wasn’t even worth answering.

“Then again, it definitely is suspicious. Belita always stayed behind at the mansion even on her days off, didn’t she?”

Io let out a sharp gasp like someone who had unearthed something grand and clasped her hands together.

“Oh my, oh my. It feels like you’re not the Belita I used to know, so it’s a bit strange. Honestly, is there actually a different person inside this body?”

Ding!

‘……’

I feel like I heard this suspicion back in Round 1 too.

Without even considering the options that casually threw away basic human decency, I selected the first one.

“You don’t want to tell me? Fine, fine. I guess we’re just not at that level yet. This big sister is truly hurt!”

“Knock it off, Io. How many times have I told you not to keep bothering Belita just because she takes it well, you…”

“Ah! Look at the sky! Even the sunset we see every day looks extra beautiful today, don’t you think?”

From the edge of the horizon to the sky, it was softly tinted with a pink hue.

For a conversational pivot made on the fly just to avoid a lecture, it was a remarkably beautiful view.

We stopped talking for a moment and admired the sight.

“Let’s come out often from now on.”

For once, even Isabella seemed to have gotten sentimental, speaking with an emotional voice.

Io grinned and gave a big thumbs up.

“Aw. That’s so great! Lita. You’re obviously coming along next time too, right?”

Ding!

It’d be a bit much to ruin this tender atmosphere.

I selected an ambiguous answer.

“Good grief, you’re completely identical in things like this! If you’re going to change, change completely! I like the changed Belita better anyway!”

That’s certainly a phrase that would make the real Belita wipe away quite a few tears if she heard it.

“How about going to Keluga Square next time?”

“Ah, I heard an atelier over there is so hot these days.”

“Right! It’s the Lasserre Atelier! To commemorate our outing, how about asking them to paint a picture of us?”

“Go all the way to the capital just to get a painting? Sounds like a hassle.”

“It’s a group painting of the three of us out together! You’re passing on this? It’s not like it takes that long anyway~”

“Go by yourself.”

Even so, well… Wouldn’t the original Belita also like this current atmosphere better than before?

Without knowing a single thing about the situation an inch ahead of me, I rashly jumped to conclusions like that.