CH 11

1-1. Koreans do a lot of grinding in games, too.

Translated by Yonnee

I reflexively took a step back. Every time he drew closer, it was like thunder was raging in my heart. And when my back hit the wall, I stopped breathing.

“Done, right?”

Contrary to how I thought he’d surely kill me, he picked up a pill from amongst the scattered shards of glass on the tray, then he popped it into his mouth. He looked down at me calmly as he gulped it down without one sip of water. I couldn’t say anything.

“Come in.”

“……”

“I just want to talk like we did before. Are you going to keep standing there like this?”

He stirred my conscience in such a devilish way. The more pitiful and pathetic he pretended to be, the higher my fear soared.

“O-Of course not. The Young Master has ordered me after all.”

If I keep being like this, he might kill me just because I’m annoying…

Since I couldn’t take another step back anymore, I had no choice but to close my eyes and go in. Adrian watched me walk into his room like a mole crawling into a tiger’s den.

As I had seen in the game, the room was quiet and impersonal. I could appreciate how neat and tidy it was, but it gave off a more lonely and empty feeling.

The warm sunlight, the refreshing wind, and the sound of the friendly birds’ chirping all died down the moment they seeped through the windows of his room. It was a place where nothing but a few withered pots of plants by the window had the warmth of life.

“……”

“……”

Our Young Count, who was tough enough to swallow glass shards and dirtied pills at once, had begged me to come into his room, yet now that I was here, he wasn’t saying anything.

Are you trying to figure out how to kill me?

“Um, what did I used to talk to you about, Young Master?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Um… I was wondering what kind of conversations you found to be the most fun.”

Even I thought it was ridiculous to have ‘forgotten’ entire conversations with him, so I changed the wording of the question slightly. Adrian sat on the other side, on the bed.

“I’m not sure, I’ve never thought of that before.”

As expected, it’s clear that his mind was occupied right now with contemplating how to kill me.

Even if he wasn’t thinking of that now, I’m sure he’ll kill me someday. If I’m going to be in the same room with him like this, I should at least have a weapon to protect myself.

Oh, right. I leveled up earlier and got a skill.

Please. God of this game world, o great gamedev. Please, give me a skill that I can fight back with when he rushes in for the kill.

I prayed earnestly to myself then pressed the skill window, pretending to shake off some dust.

For the first time, a sparkling skill name could be seen in a status window that’s been inactive and full of lock icons until now.

‘Perception’.

Hm, perception… All my hopes and expectations that swelled up like a balloon quickly popped and turned to dust. It was obvious to anyone that this was a skill that wouldn’t help me in dire situations.

But it’s better than nothing. When I sighed out a little bit, I pressed the skill and familiar white letters came up.

「 The skill of ‘Perception’ has been activated. It shall remain activated until manually turned off. 」

I was perplexed at what this was supposed to perceive, but I quickly found the answer.

The pounding of my heart suddenly began ringing behind my ears, and red emergency sirens, like a police car’s, suddenly began to light up. The skill seemed to be like a warning in advance for me to avoid something urgently.

No way.

“Hilda, please close the curtains. The light is blinding.”

“Y-Yes. I’ll do that.”

And at that exact moment, Adrian lay back down in bed and asked me to do something. To check this, I looked at the emergency sirens and moved away from Adrian—it felt like the vivid red lights were fading. The sound of my heartbeats, too, which was so loud that it felt like my eardrums would burst, also became a little softer.

Sure enough, it was also a skill to sense Adrian’s presence. It seemed like it would warn me whenever I got closer to Adrian, but this was going to be a useful skill in the future too if I want to avoid him in advance. But next time I meet him, this function would only be annoying.

“Thank you.”

“No need to be thankful, Young Master. Please get well soon. Miss Leticia is very worried about you. Oh, um, of course, me too.”

“Mm. You may leave now.”

I tried to recite the lines I saw in the game from what I can remember of them, but it didn’t sound too bad. Adrian allowed me to leave right away. I, will I really live?

I guess he really called me here without any meaning to it. Right, he’d need to kill someone more prominent so that he could level up. What’s the point in killing a maid? It would be the same as pulling out weeds for 1 EXP.

Bowing politely, I tried to control the smile that was threatening to lift the corners of my mouth.

“Yes, Young Master. Please rest comfortably.”

“You have to bring me my medicine tomorrow, Hilda.”

「 Adrian’s favorability has risen by 1 point. 」

「 Gifts given – 5/5

—You can increase a character’s favorability faster by giving gifts. 」

And then at that moment, I paused as I read this unfamiliar content which appeared right before my eyes in the same white letters. I had no choice but to doubt my own eyes.

Favorability…? Isn’t this something that could only be seen in otome games?

“Hilda?”

“Ack. Yes. Of course. Tomorrow for sure…”

“Don’t disappoint me.”

「 Adrian’s favorability – Lv.1 (2/400) 」

I stared at the words in front of me then glanced alternately between the white letters and Adrian. Then, as I met Adrian’s gaze, his eyes curved into crescent moons.

It was a smile of the eyes that could captivate anyone who’d see it, but I closed the door quickly. Chills ran down my spine.