The butler, who had visited me once in the morning, came to my room again in the afternoon, bearing the message that the Duke had summoned me.
"…Father?"
"Yes."
I fell into a brief moment of contemplation. It wasn't that I was wondering why the Duke had called me.
It was that there were too many reasons he could call me, and I hadn't prepared for which one would cause the biggest uproar.
'Fighting with Leonard? Or causing a commotion at the training ground? …Or buying a lot of Eclis weapons with the blank check?'
Actually, the second one was the most fitting.
Surely, Leonard, at his age, wouldn't tattle on me for fighting with his brother.
I had used the money given to me as I pleased, and I was worried he might be petty about it.
"…He didn't seem that upset."
Perhaps my pensive expression looked like worry, so the butler casually informed me of the Duke's state.
"Let's go."
I stood up without further thought at his words.
"Father. You summoned me."
Entering the study with a light sense of tension, I found the Duke sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. He greeted me.
"Yes, sit down."
He pointed to the opposite sofa.
One significant change since I became the game's heroine was that the Duke no longer ignored me.
This meant that, unlike before, I didn't have to grovel and beg for forgiveness.
I walked over without hesitation and sat opposite the Duke.
He extinguished the cigar he was smoking and asked,
"Would you like some tea?"
"I would be grateful if you could offer me some."
The Duke rang the bell, and after a while, a maid brought in a simple snack and a steaming cup of tea.
"That's enough. You can leave now."
The maid, who was about to pour the tea into our cups, bowed politely and left at the Duke's request.
An awkward silence filled the study once again.
'…Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've had a proper conversation with a character and spent time with them.'
Every time I came, there was a clear purpose: to beg for forgiveness, to save my life, and to leave this place as quickly as possible.
However, regardless of my inner turmoil, no one had ever treated me as an equal.
The slight improvement in attitude now was reassuring, yet also bittersweet.
While I was having these thoughts, the master of the house took the initiative to pour the tea into our cups.
"…Thank you."
I mumbled my thanks but didn't immediately pick up the cup.
The Duke, sipping a mint tea, paused for a moment before speaking.
"Penelope."
"Yes, Father."
"There was a commotion at the training ground, wasn't there?"
As expected, the reason the Duke called me was about the commotion, not the fight with Leonard. That was fortunate.
"…Yes. I had some friction with the knights. I apologize."
I nodded and recited the apology I had prepared.
Click. The Duke put down his cup and narrowed his eyes sharply.
"Explain the details."
"It's just as you heard."
I didn't want to go into a lengthy explanation of something that didn't involve my life.
His eyebrows twitched, seemingly unimpressed by my answer.
"Tell me what you heard."
"Apparently, I suddenly appeared at the training ground and ordered Eclis to strangle a knight."
I said it casually.
I didn't need to see to know that they had omitted the parts that incriminated me and testified in their favor.
Of course. Even though I was an adopted daughter, how could they report to the Duke that I had been caught insulting a noble lady?
"If you called me to verify the facts, then yes, it's true."
I declared boldly, looking the Duke in the eye.
"If you order me to reflect on my behavior as a lady and not participate in the hunting competition, I will comply."
Unlike usual, I didn't admit fault.
It was an action I had taken of my own will, and I didn't think I had done anything wrong.
Instead, I subtly revealed my purpose.
'If I can avoid it, I'll avoid the hunting competition!'
Having firmly decided to focus on Eclis, I planned to follow the lead of the protagonist in the normal mode and not participate in the hunting competition, but instead boost his affection.
When I heard about the hunting competition at the luncheon, I didn't think deeply about it due to the circumstances.
The hunting competition was a tradition where all proud noble men participated.
So, it was a day when all the male leads gathered, except for Eclis, who couldn't participate due to his slave status.
No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, the forest was too dangerous.
'It's the perfect episode to disappear without a trace.'
Moreover, since it was held at the palace, there was a very high chance I would be involved with the crown prince.
He had shown interest in me, sending me a personal invitation.
If I went out to hunt or watch and reignited his curiosity, which I had barely suppressed…
'No way!'
I shuddered and exclaimed.
"But I don't think I did anything wrong, Father!"
"…"
A cold silence swept through the study.
The Duke, after a moment, asked in a lower, colder voice,
"Did you almost kill a knight who protects the family, and still claim you did nothing wrong?"
"Yes."
I answered without changing my expression.
The Duke sighed lightly.
"Fine. Then why did you do it?"
'Why is he so persistent today?'
I tilted my head in confusion.
The Duke's family had a very high regard and trust in their knights.
Disrespecting a knight of Ecart was tantamount to disrespecting Ecart.
I had prepared for some punishment for choking a knight.
'I thought he would immediately fly into a rage if I boldly claimed I did nothing wrong.'
Given my need for caution, the Duke's reaction was unexpected.
"…Don't you think the knights' words are more reliable than mine?"
"Penelope Ecart."
The Duke, who had been deep in thought, called out my full name sternly.
"Since you bear the name Ecart, answer carefully why you acted that way."
"…"
"Surely you didn't do it out of boredom, did you? You rarely even set foot in the training ground."
The Duke's suspicion was justified.
After all, even if I was a villainess who acted like a mad dog, I wouldn't provoke the knights training for no reason.
"Moreover, before you went out, you asked the butler detailed questions about your guard's treatment."
"Th-that…"
I was surprised by the Duke's words and raised my head.
I instinctively wanted to ask how he knew, but quickly closed my mouth.
Since the butler was the only one who asked, it was natural that the information leaked from him.
'Sigh, what a sharp one…'
I blamed the butler for ruining a situation that could have been handled smoothly.
The Duke, noticing my hesitation, glared at me.
"Are you ready to speak now?"
"It's all my fault, Father. I just went to the training ground on a whim, and I didn't like the way the knights greeted me…"
"According to the knights' testimony, it was related to the punishment of the slave you brought."
"…"
"Are you going to speak only if you drive that insolent slave out of his squire position?"
The Duke's voice grew angrier, and I rapidly became depressed.
He didn't believe my 'whim' explanation. He seemed to suspect there was another reason.
"Tell me everything that happened that day in detail. If you don't, I'll hold the slave who instigated the commotion responsible."
Mentioning Eclis, I had no choice but to speak.
"…I went to the training ground to pick up my guard for a walk before going out."
"…"
"I saw Knight Marklan unjustly punishing my guard for breaking a wooden sword during training."
It sounded like a spoiled child's complaint over a trivial matter.
No wonder the Duke's frown deepened.
He seemed to intuit that this was the reason and immediately shouted,
"Severe punishments are common in the military to maintain discipline. You're too old to claim you didn't know that."
"During that, they insulted me, the owner of Eclis."
"Wh-what did they say?"
The Duke, preparing to scold me again, widened his eyes and stuttered at my answer.
Sure enough, it was the part they had omitted.
"When my guard reacted, the other knights tried to gang up and beat him."
"…"
"So I told Eclis to duel the knight who had dishonored a lady."
To be precise, I told him to kill the knight.
I wasn't foolish enough to confess such a vulgar act to the Duke.
The Duke remained silent for a long time after my explanation.
I stared blankly at my untouched teacup.
The steam that had risen from the cup had now turned cold.
Neither the Duke nor I made a move to pour new tea.
'…I'm tired.'
Glancing at the Duke's rigid expression, I suddenly found the situation tedious.
How many more times would I have to repeat this until I escaped?
"That guy…"
After a long silence, the Duke spoke in a deep voice.
"What did they say to insult you?"
"They called me a fake who couldn't even take care of myself if I were driven out."
"…"
"They said I should realize that keeping me as a master is like holding a rotten rope."
I recited it without exaggeration.
It wasn't because I was angry at the knights for omitting their misdeeds.
I just wanted him to finally understand and care about what I did.
However, the Duke's face slowly twisted in a way I hadn't expected.
"…Why didn't you come to me or Derrick immediately to report this?"
He asked, taking a deep breath as if enduring something.
If it were Penelope, she would have stormed into the Duke's room and started yelling about the knights ignoring her.
After a moment's thought, I decided to tell the truth.
"…I had already taken action, and I didn't think it was worth reporting."