Chapter 18

‘What? I thought we were going to talk about this?’

I glanced at the favor bar on his head and asked him back.

“Then it’s because of what ……”

“Why did you start calling me Young Duke again?”

“…… What?”

“No, nothing. I was the one who said the wrong thing.”

I ask him again while Derrick quickly changes the subject.

“I came here to give you this.”

Holding the tray in one hand, he fumbled in his breast pocket with the other.

My eyes widened at the sight of what Derrick handed me.

It was a lady’s scarf, out of place in his large hands

“This is ……”

“You can’t just go to every place with bandages like you are now.”

He cooed coldly and glanced at my neck.

With a bandage around my neck it made me look more like a sick person.

I must have looked really funny, but Derrick was expressionless, not even a trace of a bad joke.

“There have been a lot of bad rumors about what you’ve caused by just wandering around. You’re carrying a handkerchief given to you by someone else, and you don’t even know the name of the person who gave it to you, so it seems like you have no idea how much gossip this is going to stir up.”

“You are bound to consider the weight of your own family name before taking action.”

I swept my eyes back and forth between the handkerchief and Derrick, my jaw nearly dropping in shock.

He was talking about the handkerchief Winter had given me.

Derrick had told Emily to throw the handkerchief away, yet it remained intact in the drawer in my room after being washed.

‘How did he know about the fact that a man had given me the handkerchief?’

His amazing and keen insight brought goosebumps to my arms.

Although I didn’t know what the exact content of the reprimand was, I assumed it was nothing more than to say that I was causing confusion and thus giving me a hard time ……

And I didn’t think Derrick would do that.

I pondered what statement I would make to accept the silk scarf he gave me, then I spoke up.

“…… Thank you.”

I decided to be nice to Derrick. Since he hated Penelope so much, I did my best to avoid any skinship with him while accepting the silk scarf.

‘Well, it looks rather expensive. .

Although it didn’t come beautifully wrapped like a gift, after taking it over you could feel from the texture of the silk scarf that it was very expensive.

I smile at the unexpected gain.

“I will treasure it, Young Duke.”

I lifted my eyes, which were dropping to look at the silk scarf, and thanked him.

For a split second, Derrick’s eyes wavered a bit. Then his expressionless face suddenly stiffened.

‘He, what’s wrong with him?’

His reaction made me giggle in my heart.

“I …… I forgot something important.”

He turned his back to me and walked away quickly with the tray in his hands.

“Why is he suddenly like this ……”

Looking at his departing back, my eyes widened in surprise.

[Favorability 10%]

The number on his head changed in a flashing white light.

“What the hell is going on in this game ……”

Derrick quickly disappeared from view, leaving me alone to whine where I was.

I couldn’t find the reason why this family’s son’s favorability had risen.

‘Well, maybe it’s because I don’t know what caused those people’s favorability to rise that I keep dying in the game.’

Gazing at the silk scarf in my hand, I couldn’t help but feel that my days here were gradually becoming different from those in the game.

“Found it!”

After a few days of searching, I finally found a secret path out.

The wall that surrounded the entire perimeter of the ducal palace was almost as strong and tight as a brick wall.

I was lucky enough to find this dog hole next to the knights’ training ground, which I guess the knights use when they want to warp out of training.

The dog hole in the bushes was so hidden that I probably wouldn’t have found it if I hadn’t tripped over a rock and fell into the bushes.

“Ha, why doesn’t this ghost game give me any point of information about these things?”

I shook the dust from my body and proceeded to kick the rock that tripped me away.

I then rearranged the silk scarf that was around my neck.

I replaced the bandage with the silk scarf Derrick had given me.

“Phew …… I’m glad I found the dog hole before the festival starts tomorrow.”

The festival was going to start tomorrow, and up until just now I was still feeling anxious.

Of course, if I could get permission from the Duke or Derrick, then I could easily leave the Duke’s house tomorrow. But they won’t allow a duke’s daughter to walk alone through the streets filled with people from all corners of the empire without any escort.

If I had made it clear that I was traveling to the slave market, which operated secretly at night, they would have only refuted my request even more.

“I’m doing all of this to save you, so you better live up to my expectations. Ikris.”

Thoughts somewhat trance-like and vision glued to the dog hole I had just discovered, I muttered.

Then, I attempted to get the bushes back in shape that I had damaged from when I hung down.

Just as I was about to get up and leave after restoring the bush to its original state.

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

A voice came from behind me.

I was startled and immediately turned around.

After seeing what was written on the pink head of the visitor, I doubted my eyes.

[Favorability 7%]

It’s been a week since I’ve run into Leonard, but his favorability has gone up by 4%.

‘No, do these two assholes at home only raise their favorability when they don’t see Penelope at all?’

I felt a little frustrated.

I was only focused on unlocking chapters while playing the game, so I didn’t realize there was such a thing.

To think that actually if you can raise their favorability this easily ……

Then all the time spent on resetting the game before was wasted.

“What are you gawking at? I asked what you’re doing.”

“Uh uh, huh?”

I snapped back to my senses at Leonard’s prodding. I took my eyes off the favor bar and spoke.

“You know, just taking a walk.”

“Just a walk ……?”

Leonard narrowed his eyes at my answer.

“A walk in the vicinity of a dog hole on the side, that’s quite a screaming coincidence.”

“…. ”

I could barely contain my gasp, even as goosebumps rose on the back of my neck at his words.

‘How did this brat find out? I was obviously hiding it well!’

I stole another glance at the bushes, both before and after the clutter, it looked no different.

“…… What about you? Why are you here?”

Changing the subject, I try to be as calm as if nothing had happened.

“Because I’ve finished today’s training and was planning to return to the house.”

Now I understood.

Leonard’s pink hair was drenched in sweat. Inadvertently, through the, shallow and skin-permeable training clothes he was wearing, I could see the lines that were hidden under his clothes.

”Oh, what a great body.”

Unlike refined looks. His body with firm muscles made him look unexpectedly sexy.

”Well, in order to survive in this house, this kind of pleasure is needed.”

I looked him up and down again, then said in a serious manner.

“Go back then, I’ll continue my walk.”

I walked away from the pace as if nothing had happened, however when I was only a few steps away from the guy.

“Hey, stop in moderation.”

The voice came from behind me again.

I wanted to ignore him, but I had no choice but to turn back around for the sake of good sense.

“What?”

“Have you already forgotten about the time four years ago when you broke your leg after trying to go out over the wall like the knights who skipped out on their training, only to end up causing these walls to build higher and higher?”

“…. ”

“It would fill ten books if I wrote down all those knights ventriloquizing your words.”

No wonder the walls around the ducal palace are higher than I expected.

If it was four years ago Penelope would have been exactly fourteen. Even if she came to learn etiquette later than the others, she should have mastered those etiquettes long ago by then.

Penelope’s crazy past that hadn’t appeared in the game, and Leonard’s current sarcasm were getting on my nerves.

“…… I wasn’t meant to do that.”

I said something I didn’t even believe myself. Leonard listened to my words and spoke in an intimidating tone.

“Be a good boy and get your father’s permission to go through the gate, don’t repeat the same thing and fall on your sword.”

“I told you, it’s not that.” ”

Seeing me finish indifferently, Leonard stopped responding.

And he stared at me skeptically for a while before moving to leave.

I watched as the good sense 7% moved further and further away from me.

A white window in the shape of a quadrangle appeared in front of my eyes.

.

Quest!

Celebration date with Leonard, want to accept this quest?

(Reward: Leonard’s favor +3%, hidden quest)

[Accept/Reject]

As I expected, a quest surfaced.

”Am I going to do this kind of quest with that brat again, and the reward is only 3% favorability?”

Thinking about what Leonard, who had just excelled in the rudeness department, had said, I felt a pang of annoyance.

While playing this game I would literally accept this quest for this 3% favorability, but in the aftermath of that I had to hit the reset button an infinite number of times.

And what frustrates me the most is that I still haven’t completed this quest.

‘I’m not doing it, no way! ,’

I couldn’t stop clicking ‘No’ without any hesitation at all.

‘How am I going to make a successful date at the festival with the guy who yells at me as soon as he sees me?’

Now I don’t feel like that 3% was a waste, after all, I’ve already had 10% and 7%!

Also, I’m not going to put my life on the line for a date at the festival.

I glared angrily at the place where Leonard was standing earlier.

“That’s annoying, annoying.”

If he had said those words in such a tone in front of the eyes of the real Penelope, she would have ……