Chapter 8

The protagonist’s mental state was currently far from stable. While Mo Je-won’s poor management played a part, the fundamental cause lay in his father’s death and the consequences stemming from it. For years, he had been the center of everyone’s expectations and attention, told he would succeed Robert as the Duke—only for that future to vanish in an instant. Some might call him ungrateful for complaining, but from the protagonist’s perspective, it was a massive blow.

Since Vincent had no children, it was public knowledge that his younger brother, Robert, would have become the Duke even without the accident. Consequently, the protagonist had lived his entire life treated like a young duke. Now that he had to live as a mere knight, the sense of loss and futility was likely beyond words.

Therefore, making remarks that sounded like I was looking down on him was incredibly dangerous. His Mental Strength was already at “Very Poor”; if I personally triggered a breakdown and sent him straight into a Bad Ending, I’d be in deep trouble. I had to fix this somehow…

Somehow!

“Are you really asking me that?”

-Gasp.

-Belita’s personality is…

Silence filled the room. I quickly added more words.

“I-I mean, you don’t even need to ask! Haha.”

What am I even saying?

“The reason I came here is because I’ve admired you for a long time, Lord Hereis! That magic beast, uh, what was it? The Kutepa?”

“The Kuthelm.”

“Yes! That! I even collected magazines from back when you subjugated the Kuthelm! So, I… I admire you so much that I wouldn’t even mind working for no pay…!”

The protagonist burst out laughing.

“So that’s why you came to my house? Still, you have to receive a wage. I can’t give you much, but I’ll do what I can.”

“Then…”

“I’ll be in your care from now on.”

‘Somehow, I made it through today too.’

Lying on the bed in my small studio room, I stared at the window where faint moonlight was pouring in. The noise of Mo Je-won’s voice and the donation alerts from the stream were completely gone. This happened whenever there was no “Event” involving the protagonist.

‘Thinking logically, it makes sense. This game isn’t real-time, so how could reality and the game world flow at the exact same pace?’

And why would the game always focus on the protagonist? It only shows things when the story is progressing. What kind of game shows the character sleeping or going to the bathroom? This meant there was a time gap between Mo Je-won and me. I was currently in that gap. Which meant that the protagonist right now was Hereis, possessing complete free will.

‘It feels a bit…’

Even when the game felt like reality, and even if this environment and the people around me seemed real, they were likely all just fakes made of data.

…Was that really true? Based on what I’d seen so far, everyone I met seemed like they had genuine free will. Even the protagonist, when he wasn’t being controlled by Mo Je-won, didn’t feel like a puppet, did he? Maybe I actually am Belita, and I’ve just gone so crazy that I’m hallucinating Mo Je-won’s stream.

‘That might actually be more realistic.’

My mind felt even more unsettled… but I didn’t have time to be depressed. I had a long way to go to clear the quest. I got out of bed and started writing in the diary on the desk, one letter at a time. I needed to organize the plan first.

[ Quest: Become the Mistress of the Rubel Ducal House ]

…Interpreting the quest literally, the target should be the current Duke of Rubel, Jeffrey Rubel. But how could I possibly seduce a man I have no connection with, know nothing about, and find difficult to even approach? I had tried before leaving the mansion.

‘I thought we’d run into each other often if we were in the same house, but surprisingly, it’s hard for a commoner maid to even see a Duke’s face.’

On top of that…

‘How could a Duke and a maid ever be a proper match?’

Even if I miraculously seduced him, I’d be lucky to be accepted as a concubine, let alone the mistress of the house. Didn’t the quest say to choose carefully? I had a feeling that if I chose Jeffrey, the quest would fail and I’d meet a lonely death here. Right, it would be more natural to make Hereis, the protagonist of this world, the Duke. It felt more in line with the “developer’s intent.”

‘Then, the first goal of the plan is to make Hereis the Duke.’

[ 1. Depose the current Duke, Jeffrey Rubel, and make the protagonist, Hereis Rubel, the Duke. ]

Hmm… Of course, it doesn’t end there. Even if the protagonist becomes the Duke, getting him to marry Belita won’t be easy. First, the status issue is the biggest hurdle. Furthermore, a dating sim protagonist is naturally destined to end up with a heroine; there’s no way he’d end up in that kind of relationship with a mere extra villain character like Belita. So, what should I do? The simple solution is…

‘I will become the heroine.’

One specific method for achieving that goal came to mind. There were a total of five heroines in this game. Reciting their introductions from memory went something like this…

Wasn’t the last one a bit strange? Exactly. This game featured a Hidden Heroine who was impossible to romance until the unlock conditions were met. Survive was a fixed 2D game consisting only of illustrations and backgrounds. While it specialized in conveying emotions through text-based dialogue and choices—making immersion easy—it had the disadvantage of making it difficult to perceive space in three dimensions. The developers used that to conceal the Hidden Route. For instance, at a specific location, pressing the ‘Back’ button three times in a row would activate an ‘Exit’ button.

‘I discovered it by accident while mashing buttons.’

Through that, I was able to leave scenes that were supposed to be fixed indoors and, by wandering around, trigger encounters with a hidden heroine. Because of such a ridiculous condition, there was no information about the Hidden Route even on the internet. Of course, that was before I ended up here; who knows what the state of things is now.

‘Still, there’s a chance. Mo Je-won is the type of streamer who avoids spoilers at all costs.’

If a heroine-like figure appeared and a new story unfolded while he was still ignorant of who the Hidden Heroine was… wouldn’t he mistake it for the Hidden Route? Considering how I twisted Belita’s fate—she who should have died during Robert’s murder case—and the absurd quest conditions, I could infer that the game’s story could be changed. If I occupied the position of the heroine, there wouldn’t be any obstacles like “original plot compulsion” or whatever. Of course, I felt a sense of revulsion at the thought of becoming a heroine myself. If there was any consolation, it was that this game was rated for all ages. There wouldn’t be those kinds of scenes. Besides, it’s not even my body anyway; is this really the time to be picky? I’m about to die.

‘Not at all.’

[ 2. Disguise myself as the Hidden Heroine. ]

This basically settled it. The end of every route was marriage with the heroine. To summarize…

[ 1. Disguise myself as the Hidden Heroine. ]
[ 2. Depose the current Duke, Jeffrey Rubel, and make the protagonist, Hereis Rubel, the Duke. ]
[ 3. Make Mo Je-won reach the Hidden Route ending, making marriage with the protagonist automatic! ]
[ 4. Quest Clear! Return to reality. ]

Since the Hidden Heroine is unlocked in Chapter 2, becoming the heroine should be number one in the order of operations. Anyway, this was the best I could do… I etched the plan into my mind and touched a candle flame to the paper I had written on, watching it burn.

‘I will succeed, no matter what.’

I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if I failed. I lay back down on the bed and forced my eyes shut. To carry out this massive plan without a single mistake, my physical condition was a matter of utmost importance. Thus, my first night in the protagonist’s house drew to a close.

“There’s still dust on the shelf. Can’t you be more thorough?”

“…”

“Oh, and what are you planning for the meal? Surely you aren’t thinking of serving Lord Hereis something subpar?”

The protagonist had headed out early without even eating breakfast, so Mina had outsourced all her thinking and chores to me, spending her time giving me unsolicited advice from the sidelines.

“Ah, once he returns to duty, he’ll be away from home so often. I’d rather he just stayed home forever…!”

Wishing for the protagonist to be unemployed—what a terrifying thought.

Thanks to yesterday’s event with Mina, the protagonist’s Mental Strength had recovered. This meant he would stop moping around the house and head out to apply for reinstatement. Since I couldn’t follow him to the reinstatement event, I had planned to just watch via the Omniscient Viewer Perspective… but I couldn’t stand being with Mina for another second.

I decided I’d rather go watch from a distance. Besides, it was a good chance to see Arianne in person. I stood up abruptly in the middle of mopping the floor.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going out for groceries, so please stay here~.”

I barely managed to dissuade Mina, who persistently tried to get ready to come with me, and stepped out of the mansion.

‘Well, calling it a mansion feels a bit much.’

Of course, the house the protagonist was currently living in was a small estate near the capital, suitable for a family of four, which he had hurriedly purchased. While it was perfectly fine for one person, it felt infinitely small compared to the massive Rubel Ducal House where we stayed before.

“Extra! Extra!”

Hm? A small child wearing an eight-sided cap waved a newspaper toward me.

“Would you like to buy one? It’s 10 copper!”

“Sure.”

I was curious, and there might be information necessary for clearing the quest.

“You there, young lady.”

It didn’t cost much anyway. Buying one wasn’t a bad choice.

“Hey! Wait, why are you ignoring me?!”

Someone kept hovering behind me, so I pointed a finger at myself, and the person nodded repeatedly. Damn it, was “young lady” me?

“Can you read?”

“Yes. I suppose…”

“Then could you read that newspaper for me? I’ll compensate you!”

Since I had no real reason to refuse, I decided to just read it for them. It wasn’t exactly a difficult task.

“Lord Ralphican has saved the innocent. A maid of a noble household, who took the Oath of Innocence, proved her blamelessness and directly identified the true culprit upon receiving a revelation from Ralphican. Though she sank into the water, the maid endured for a vast amount of time. What is this if not proof that God protects us, a manifestation of His grace?”

Wait, this is my story. Has the Church already started using my case for their propaganda?