Chapter 9

“I don’t know who that maid is, but she must possess an incredibly pure and clean soul!”

“Indeed. Souls like that are beloved by Lord Ralphican.”

“Ah, how wonderful! I wish I could receive a revelation from Lord Ralphican too! If I pray hard enough, perhaps such an opportunity will come to me one day?”

The people gathered nearby began to buzz as they overheard the contents of the newspaper. I could feel a blind, almost fanatical faith emanating from them. It felt a bit cultish.

“To be honest, many people avoided Oaths because they felt eerie and terrifying, but after hearing this story, it seems there’s no need for that!”

“Yes, yes! If you believe, He will surely provide the answer!”

Right… exactly. Even if they are written in the scriptures, Oaths are rarely used. They were primarily employed under the guise of religious justice to judge and execute heinous criminals when suspicion was high but clear evidence was lacking. No one ever volunteered for an Oath, and even fewer survived one. But because I had actually done it and survived, people were beginning to wonder: Does it really work? Can I witness a miracle of Ralphican with my own eyes too? Such thoughts were sprouting in the hearts of the public.

‘…Is this okay?’

I felt a slight concern for the future of the people in this world…

“Read the rest for us!”

“Ah… yes. Ahem. ‘Jeffrey Rubel has become the new master of the House of Rubel, the only Ducal family in the Empire. Lord Jeffrey—or rather, the Duke, as he is now called—is currently unmarried, making him the Empire’s most eligible bachelor. Noblewomen with unmarried daughters are showing immense interest. Who will become the Mistress of the Ducal House? Expectations are high for both his marriage and his future steps as the head of the family.’”

Ever since I started reading the article about the Church, people had been gathering, and now it was a sea of bodies.

“So Lord Jeffrey took Lord Robert’s place.”

“It’s a tragedy. He was such a good man. I wonder if Lord Jeffrey can handle it. The people of Lemir State must be quite anxious.”

“Since when do commoners like us have the luxury to worry about such things!”

The atmosphere was starting to get heated. Taking advantage of the rising voices, I slipped away from the crowd.

“Huh? Where did that young lady go?”

Ignoring the voice behind me, I hurried toward my original destination.

The reinstatement event definitely happened at the Knights’ training grounds. After showing the family badge and passing the Knights’ inspection, I found the training field. Having visited this place several times while possessing the protagonist’s body in the game, finding my way wasn’t difficult.

“Have you pulled yourself together now?”

Oh… that line. It’s from the first appearance of the third heroine, Arianne Blair. It seemed I had arrived at the perfect time. In the distance, I saw a beauty with cool blue wavy hair approaching the protagonist. I activated the Omniscient Viewer Perspective and watched them from a slight distance.

Arianne is a subordinate knight in the same order as the protagonist and the eldest daughter of the House of Blair, a family of master swordsmen. She is also his rival, both of them being on the cusp of becoming Swordmasters. Since she has a cold and rational personality, your affection level drops if you say you still haven’t moved on after all this time. Therefore, option 2 is the correct answer. Mo Je-won, having done this part a few times, chose correctly.

“Yes, I’m fine now. I think I’ve completely moved past it.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Goodness, Sir Arianne, how could Sir Hereis be fine already? After such a tragedy!”

The next person to appear was the Knight Commander, Frederick Campe. He’s an older man set up to be the object of envy for many knights, having already reached the level of a Swordmaster. Because his sensory abilities are so excellent, I had to watch from far away; without the Omniscient Viewer Perspective, I wouldn’t have been able to hear a word of their conversation.

“Sir Hereis, I can extend your leave, so feel free to rest more!”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m truly fine.”

“Is that so? Ho, then you can join the expedition.”

“An expedition… you say?”

The protagonist asked back, sounding puzzled. Frederick lowered his voice as much as possible and continued.

“You know the House of Count Garain, right? Intelligence says that after the Count died, his wife has been smuggling assets to the Kingdom of Brishwin. It’s the Emperor’s command to investigate the truth thoroughly. He’s worried the diamond mine he personally bestowed might be used for futile purposes.”

“Are you talking about the Countess of Garain, the so-called ‘Flower of Society’?”

Arianne looked surprised, as if she hadn’t known this part.

“Yes, shocking, isn’t it? Anyway, the official excuse is monster subjugation, so keep it quiet. Oh, we actually will be subjugating monsters along the way. Protecting the Empire’s security is our duty, after all.”

“It’ll be quite a long journey.”

“That’s why we’re doing the monster hunting as well.”

Arianne thought deeply for a moment before speaking, as if something was bothering her.

“Then there are many different routes we can take. What will you do?”

“Mmhmm~ A very good question, Sir Arianne.”

I swallowed hard. My fate was about to be decided by which route was chosen here.

“I have three options in mind.”

The events encountered change completely depending on the route.

“The first is to cross the foot of Mount Ratatu. It’s a bit longer, but we’ll circle around the mountain to reach the Garain County.”

“It’s long, but we’ll definitely be able to hunt monsters. There are many dangerous areas in that direction.”

He has to go this way. The event I need only opens if he takes this route.

“Exactly. The second is to climb over the mountain. It’s a bit of a burden with the weather getting colder lately.”

“The path is much rougher, too.”

It would be difficult to move with horses and supplies, so this option was basically non-existent. Choosing it would cause a massive drop in affection with both Arianne and Frederick.

“The third is to pass through Hack Village and cut through the gap between the two mountains.”

“That would be the fastest, but we’d only be passing through safe zones.”

“Which path do you two think is best?”

“Ah… the situation is urgent, so I think it’s best to take the third route first and do the monster hunting on the way back.”

“Hereis, what about you?”

“Hmm… should I take care of Arianne and raise her affection? Or should I try a completely different route for once?”

-Let’s explore another route just in case.

I hurriedly typed out a comment. I used the 10-minute Free Chat ticket I bought yesterday.

-You aren’t going for the Arianne route anyway, just explore.

-Still, shouldn’t you keep Arianne’s affection up?

-There’s only the first option.

-Didn’t affection drop when you picked the second one last time?

-11111

“Let’s go with the first one this time! Since I’ve never picked it before~.”

I was worried I’d have to use the power of money, but thank goodness. By the way, the donation money actually comes out of my own pocket—that is, the money Belita worked hard to earn. From my previous experience, 10,000 won was converted into 1 Gold. I had 2 Gold left. You could call it the aftershock of the 100,000 won donation.

“How about the first one?”

“Hmm. It seems you want to fight monsters, Hereis. Has your fighting spirit been boiling over since you rested? How about it, should I take you on for a bit?”

“That wouldn’t be bad.”

“Are you two starting again?”

From this point on, it had nothing to do with me, so I didn’t need to watch any longer. I looked around the streets for a bit and returned to the mansion slowly as the sun began to set.

“You’re just getting back now?”

I had bought groceries with both hands full, fearing I’d be scolded, but Mina was standing there leaning against the door frame with a crooked posture.

“Where is Lord Hereis?”

“Not back yet.”

I asked just to avoid looking suspicious, but I already knew he wasn’t there. The protagonist on the screen hovering next to me was currently at a tavern with Arianne and Frederick.

“What about food?”

True to being a character in a Korean-made game, the first thing out of her mouth was about food.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll make something for you soon. You’re hungry, right?”

Mina gripped both her hands and nodded vigorously. She must have waited for the protagonist without eating anything until evening.

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

Thanks to my long history of living alone, I was good enough to whip up most dishes. However, since I was tired today, I served something simple. I grilled bacon and eggs and served a warm tomato stew with meat alongside some bread. Mina was just a twenty-year-old kid; even if she was an adult, she was at an age where she needed to eat plenty. It was a shame there weren’t enough vegetables, but I had to make sure she got her macros.

“This is delicious…”

She must have been starving. Mina wolfed down my cooking. As the one who cooked, nothing was more rewarding than seeing someone eat well without complaining. Seeing her unable to cook for herself and just starving reminded me of my younger brother. Even though Mina was unlikable whenever she opened her mouth, seeing her eat quietly made her look almost cute—maybe she really was like my brother in that sense too. Well, whatever. What does a twenty-year-old know? It was pity-inducing to see her waiting only for the protagonist. I decided to be a bit more lenient with her.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, not yet.”

I wasn’t hungry because I had snacked using the change from the grocery money the protagonist gave me, so I didn’t set a place for myself. Of course, it was only after I bought all the necessary ingredients. Anyway, I was planning to eat later if I got hungry… but Mina looked up at me with worried eyes. Hm, I guess she feels bad eating alone?

“Why don’t you eat too?”

So she really did want to eat together.

I was about to open my mouth to decline, thinking I should appreciate the sentiment but keep my distance, when Mina cut me off first.

“Ah, you do realize a commoner maid can’t sit at the same table as a noble’s lady-in-waiting, right? You eat after I’m done.”

“…….”

Thanks for letting me know a fact I didn’t ask for… It had only been seconds since I vowed to be nice to her, and she was already testing my patience.

“But why did you insist on coming here anyway?” Mina asked, poking at a piece of meat in her stew while I sat there practically carving the word “Patience” into my heart.

“I heard you were originally at the Ducal mansion. Did something happen? Were you bullied? Or did you cause some kind of trouble?”

The reason I came here. Naturally, it was to fulfill the quest. But how was I supposed to say that?

‘I can’t exactly tell her it’s because I’m planning to marry the man you like.’

This isn’t some trashy weekend drama.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“Well, there was… that incident, after all. I had a change of heart…” I gave a vague excuse. It was true that some servants had left the mansion for that very reason.

“I suppose so. Who could have known something like that would happen?” Mina nodded, accepting the answer. Then, she abruptly set down her spoon. It wasn’t exactly an appetite-inducing topic.

“Still, there was no reason to specifically come to Lord Hereis. Unless… you have some ulterior motive…?”

Mina’s eyes narrowed.

H-how did she know? Is this that “woman’s intuition” people talk about?

“How could I ever dare…? It’s simply that the Head Maid recommended Lord Hereis, saying he was a good person who would treat me well.”

“Right. I suppose the Head Maid has a good eye for people.” Mina let out a small, worried sigh.

“Sorry for doubting you. There’s been so much grim news lately that I can’t help but overthink. If something were to happen to Lord Hereis too, I’d truly…”

So she was worried I might harm him. But even if I really were an assassin sent to kill the protagonist, would anyone actually say “yes” if asked so bluntly?

“If Lord Hereis knew you cared for him this much, he’d be moved. It’s a shame he isn’t here right now.”

“Do you really think so?” At my casual flattery, Mina cupped her cheeks with both hands, looking delighted.

“Of course.”

“B-but Lord Hereis seems to find me annoying…”

So she’s not completely oblivious. At this point, the protagonist doesn’t see Mina as a romantic interest. She’s the classic “close younger sister” cliché. The problem is that Mina gets seduced all on her own by his unintentional kindness. Seeing Mina—who was surprisingly self-aware—slump her shoulders and lose her appetite made me feel a bit sorry for her.

“It’s just your imagination. Having someone who truly worries about you by your side during hard times is such a huge source of strength. You’re being a great help to Lord Hereis right now, Lady Mina.”

Mina’s eyes, already as round as a rabbit’s, grew even wider. Providing comfort felt like I was helping a heroine, which gave me a slight sense of crisis. I should be driving a wedge between them to stop her affection from rising, yet here I was…

‘Was Mina’s initial affection level 30?’

Perhaps because she’s a heroine who appears early in the story, her starting affection isn’t that high compared to how visible her emotions are.

‘Surprisingly, the game lists her conquest difficulty as Medium, too.’

And the ending conditions for this game were:

The problem was that while events varied by route, if those conditions were met, you were forced into an ending. Because of that, there were countless cases where players accidentally triggered an ending. This was the part I had to be most careful about.

“Ahem. Really? Well, I suppose sincerity always gets through in the end.” Mina put a lot of emphasis on the word “sincerity.”

‘She is a character with a bit of a lack of confidence.’

Since the protagonist is surrounded by heroines who are highly capable, beautiful, and of high status, it makes sense she feels like she has nothing to offer. Maybe that’s why the difficulty isn’t “Easy” despite her already liking him. Just then, a system notification sound that had been quiet for a while struck my ears.

While I was silently reeling in shock, the bell at the front door rang. Someone had entered.

“I’m home.”

“Lord Hereis!” As soon as the protagonist appeared, Mina jumped up and hurriedly wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“You’re back.”

“Yeah.”

He and I exchanged a dry, brief greeting. It felt a bit bleak. At this rate of social stagnation, how on earth was I supposed to reach the “marriage” goal? No, no. The Hidden Heroine’s status is an absolute trump card. I need to stay confident.

“What about dinner?”

“I already ate.”

Mina was visibly disappointed. “W-with whom…?”

“Just catching up with some colleagues after a long time.”

The protagonist’s face was slightly flushed. I could smell a bit of alcohol. He walked slowly toward Mina. This atmosphere…

“Did you wait long?”

“Lord Hereis…”

-Pat her head!

-11111

-Mina is so cute lol

-Going for the Mina route?

“Ah, not patting her head here would be a total dereliction of duty!”

The protagonist’s hand slowly reached toward Mina’s head. And that hand…

Grab!

…I caught it without even thinking.