Chapter 37

We walked down the street for a few moments and circled into another less traveled street.

After passing a few buildings, a path appeared before us. Through it, lush woods and meadows met our eyes.

The delicate little blue lights used for decoration on the side of the road illuminated the area, and in this regard it was evident that this was not a general road that could be found everywhere. This beautiful sight reminded me of fireflies.

I approached the woods and lawns and observed them up close; they were well cared for, as if they were growing in a well-tended garden.

Then, out of curiosity, I spotted a signpost that said ‘East Mountain.

‘Why are we suddenly here?’

I had a vague impression of this place. It’s a walking path that was built on the East Mountain and belongs to the Duke’s family.

It was also a common dating spot for the heroine and the raid subjects in the normal mode.

Of course, this was my first time here, as I’ve never had a date with any of them.

The walkway was very luxurious, and its visitors were strictly controlled, meaning that commoners were not allowed to enter.

‘Are you planning to kill me where no one else is?’

I stopped in my tracks when I passed this signpost.

“Wait, wait!”

Immediately after that, Derrick turned to me coldly.

“What’s …… doing?”

“For, why are we going there?”

“Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to be punished? Keep up, no complaining.”

He turned back and continued on his way. In an instant, we passed the entrance and climbed up the slope.

Because of what I said before, I had no way to talk back now. I also had no way to speculate on what he would say if I said I didn’t want to go up there.

I had no choice but to follow him, and even though we hadn’t traveled too far, my body was quickly feeling tired.

Also, because he was going so fast, I was practically trotting, not walking.

“Ha, ha ah ……”

While I was thinking, the face behind the mask was gasping for air.

If that’s the case, then he’s quite the cruel bastard.

Not thinking about the lady in the slightest, Derrick continued to walk at a fast pace without looking back, and faced with such a scenario, I couldn’t stand it any longer and opened my mouth.

“Haa, wait!”

“What now?”

He answered angrily, and this time he didn’t stop.

And that was enough to make me feel cowed again. Nonetheless, I couldn’t just let him drag me around like that anymore. The bottom of the ceremonial robe I was wearing was already soiled and torn.

“…… It’s really hard to keep up when you’re walking that fast.”

I protested in a small voice.

To be honest, I expected him to ignore me. Even if he didn’t, he’d be abusive to me like he had been in every previous situation.

However, to my surprise, his sat down.

In no time, the distance between me and him was much shorter.

‘I’m fine, right?’

I swept a glance towards his head. The [Favorability 13%] was shining as if it was a guiding light in the darkness.

We walked in silence for a long time

Looking into the distance, a beautiful viewing pavilion could be seen. Eventually, the summit was about to be reached.

I looked towards the entrance and got a frown on my face.

”What the heck, isn’t this a date lookout place!”

This place was mentioned in the game as a secret meeting place for a man and a woman, but when I looked inside, it was empty.

”I’m scared to be alone with this man ah ………

I walked to the chair with a weak body.

Walking here has made me weak. I really, really needed a break.

“This way.”

But before I could take a step, Derrick tugged me once more.

He doesn’t stop his pace until we reach the very top.

“Look down.”

I do as he says, having lost all strength to protest.

And yet.

“Ah ……”

The scene in front of me made my eyes widen.

If you underestimate this place just because it’s a small hill, you had missed a lot of things.

The capital city, immersed in a grand celebration, that magnificent sight, was in our sights.

At night, the streets are lit up with colorful lanterns, and the crowds of people dive in and out of the classic skyscrapers.

In normal mode, there is no celebration, and as for hard mode, I’ve never lived long enough to trigger a celebration.

So that being said, what I saw in front of me was something I had never seen even in the game.

“Wow……”

I looked down from the hill and was mesmerized.

When I stood on the street, I hadn’t expected that the world below the mountain would be as beautiful as this.

I didn’t even think about the beauty of the city. In order to prevent a crime from happening. I am always on my guard, thinking about the things that could happen with a lot of tension.

It was the same when I was in reality. All my life, I have not been able to take a good look at the things around me.

But now, I took a step back and gazed at the world.

‘Why is this place so real?’

It felt, too strange, really too strange. My heart…feels so strange.

‘This is just a game scene.’

Just then, Derrick raised his hand and pointed to a spot.

“Look there, Penelope.”

I stepped out of my own thoughts and turned my gaze to where he was pointing.

It wasn’t too far from the top of the hill. It was a street with many people walking around.

There were two knights in silver bell armor running quickly through the crowd.

“That’s ……”

A man ran, trying to escape from them.

But in the very next instant, he stopped in his tracks and was caught. The place was too crowded for him to escape.

It looked as if he had stolen something, something that was very common during celebrations.

”Reality or not, the game also poses. People, they are all the same. .

Just as I was thinking that, Derrick, who was looking at the same scene as me, opened his mouth and said.

“Those thieves are nothing. Being in the middle of a celebration everywhere there are worse criminals appearing around you.”

” ….”

“Where you can’t see it from here, perhaps something more serious is happening. Just yesterday there was a murder in a bar near Hermilton Street. But you, a young lady who has been in the deep end for a long time, would not know about it.”

‘Are you belittling me now?’

I looked up at Derek with a puzzled look on my face. I couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly telling me this.

“Even in the areas controlled by the Duke’s family, similar things happen from time to time, what do you think those upper side streets would be like? There are a lot of criminals and dangerous people who would wander around there in four vain.”

By what he said, I realized that this was a continuation of the conversation we had at the dog hole before we climbed up.

‘If so, should this be considered a caution or a taunt?’

For me, figuring out what he had brought me here for was priority number one.

“Are you planning to make friends with these people and hang out with them from now on?”

It was a direct answer to my last question, a taunt.

‘Whew, what was I expecting.’

I sighed, and after a short silence, I spoke.

“I swear, I did absolutely nothing to tarnish the family’s reputation.”

“Reputation is not something you can decide. Reputation comes after your actions.”

“That’s why I wore the mask.”

I boarded my shoulders, and then ran into Derrick’s icy stare.

“What if someone like me recognized you right away? No. Before that, would those people have stayed away from you after they saw you were a girl because you were wearing a mask?”

“I am no longer a child, Young Duke.”

“Indeed, all this time I was going to many places even I didn’t know about, and even so, I’m not a fool who would purposely run into dangerous territory.”

By the time he had finished saying that, I was terrified of the answer he would give me now, but it was something I had to go through at least once anyway.

Because I had been so busy with the Duke before, I hadn’t had a chance to properly confront Derrick until now.

So I had to draw a clear line between us that couldn’t be crossed, just like I had done with Leonard.

“You’re saying you’re not a fool? Are you saying you’re not exactly a fool, but a duke’s daughter who’d run away from a dog hole?”

“The reason I snuck out on my own without telling anyone is because ……”

I said through slowing down my speech and trying to buy myself more time so I could come up with a good response.

A reason that wasn’t exaggerated, but was going to be enough to make Derrick, who was harder to deal with than the Duke, understand.

“…I told you that I’ll live like a transparent person, you don’t have to care about me at all. And that’s what the Duke-sama wants.”

“…….”

“That’s why I just want to go out and return in peace and quiet, without making any noise or fuss.”

Yeah, that’s right. You told me to be as quiet as a mouse, so I’ll go out and return quietly.

What a sensible reason. But it didn’t look like Derrick was happy about that, and his facial expression became even more rigid.

“…… Why did you go to that place?”

He didn’t stop interrogating me. It made me feel very tired and prepared.

“Do I have to tell you even that?”

“You better tell me.”

“I’m looking for an informant who can find people for me.”

I realized that this reasoning didn’t sound much different than my comment to Winter that ‘every lady has a secret or two’.

I sighed as I wove together the parts that were true and the parts that were lies to make up a whole new saying. It was my usual technique in front of Derrick.

“A man helped me while I was at the palace, but I lost something he lent me, so I wanted to apologize to him.”

” ……”

Derrick always made things more complicated with those questions, and as soon as I finished, he shut his mouth.

My heart flowed freely in the face of the scene before me.

Because the handkerchief I mentioned, the one from Winter, was the very one that Derrick had ordered the attendants to throw away.