The villain's ending is only death, Chapter 38
Derek remained silent for a moment before speaking heavily.
"…If it was absolutely necessary, couldn't you have sent one of the servants?"
"Rumors of a noble young lady secretly meeting a man would certainly tarnish the family's honor."
I smoothly added, driving the point home. It was necessary to change Penelope's image in Derek's eyes.
Not from a parasite who always screams and acts unreasonably, but to a creature that at least thinks a little.
'Only then would you completely ignore whatever I do, right?'
I looked at the [13% Affinity] with cold eyes.
Since I had spoken as humbly and politely as possible, there was no reason for it to decrease.
But I didn't particularly want it to increase either.
But why? Derek sighed deeply and spoke.
"Since you're almost an adult, I won't stop you from going out even if you don't want to reveal your destination."
"But if you go out, don't use the servant's entrance like a stray dog. Use the front gate boldly. I'll inform the butler."
"Or you can take that raggedy guy you brought along."
Derek's affinity increased.
I didn't understand. Not just his affinity, but even his words to me.
'…Why is he being nice to me when he would be happier if I died without anyone knowing?'
Considering the past Penelope, his questioning of her secret outings was justified.
If she went out and acted like a mad dog, the cleanup would be entirely his responsibility.
But it was unexpected that he would acknowledge such outings in the future.
"…Aren't you going to punish me?"
I asked, taken aback. Derek frowned instead of answering.
"Did you wear that stupid-looking mask around the mansion?"
He suddenly reached out and grabbed the mask on my face.
"For disgracing the Ecart family, I'm confiscating this."
Before I could react, the mask was pulled off. The cool night breeze touched my face, which had been stifled all day.
Derek, seen through my narrow field of vision, looked very cold and angry.
But when I looked at him with my clear eyes, holding my Harlequin mask, for some reason…
"This is your punishment for today."
"Leonard bought it for me…"
I stared at his hand and the mask he had taken, muttering blankly.
He said he had replaced the cheap garnets with the finest ones because the original ones kept breaking.
Derek added, his tone gruff.
I stared at his large hand.
On the first day of the festival, when I chose the mask to secretly go out to save Iclys, this was the bracelet Derek had chosen.
I had thought the color was more pink than purple, and that he would probably give it to the female protagonist later.
'Now that I think about it, this is the second gift.'
An expensive scarf and a bracelet with magic inscribed on it.
When I looked up at Derek's blue eyes again, I felt a strange sensation.
The words came out before I could think.
"Why are you giving me something like this?"
I asked, glancing down at the bracelet again.
Even in the darkness, the small, deep pink gems shone brilliantly.
The bracelet was so exquisite that even I, who usually don't care much about accessories, was tempted.
But my confusion and suspicion outweighed my gratitude.
After all, he had a history with the villain and Leonard.
The disdainful look in his eyes, etched in Penelope's memory.
"I thought you hated me being extravagant."
"…Don't you like accessories?"
For some reason, Derek seemed a bit flustered by my words.
I admitted readily. In the game, Penelope couldn't get enough of flashy accessories.
But that was the only way to fill her loneliness and sorrow.
"Your own, not stolen or taken from others."
Why are you giving me something like this, when you despised me so much?
I couldn't tell how much Derek understood from my words.
But his expression hardened, as if a memory had surfaced.
He easily flipped the gauntlet where the bracelet was placed.
The shining platinum chain fell to the ground and rolled in the dirty mud.
While I was stunned by his sudden action, Derek turned and quickly walked down the hill.
I hesitated, unsure whether to follow him.
〈SYSTEM〉 [Derek] and [Festival Sightseeing] quest successful!
〈SYSTEM〉 Do you want to receive the reward?
A white square window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
I burst out laughing in disbelief.
"Is this quest not over yet?"
I had clearly pressed 'Refuse' when asked if I wanted to do it again, so why did it succeed on its own?
I frowned and pressed [Yes.] irritably. The text in the window changed quickly.
〈SYSTEM〉 You have received [Derek's Affinity +3%] and [Magic Bracelet] as rewards.
"Damn, is this the additional reward?"
I remembered the 'Additional Rewards' written next to 'Affinity,' but since I didn't need anything other than affinity, I hadn't paid much attention.
I looked at the bracelet rolling in the mud with a cold, bitter eye.
I finally squatted down and picked up the fallen bracelet.
"Are you really going to throw it away?"
As I blew on it to remove the dirt, I suddenly felt a deep sense of sorrow at my own pitiful situation.
"Why not just call it a gift?"
I grumbled, looking at the gradually shrinking white text.
The last day of the long, month-long festival finally arrived.
Emily was excited, saying that on the last day, there would be even more splendid parades, acrobatic shows, fireworks, and other attractions than before.
She suggested we go together.
But I had no desire to do so, so I ignored her and slept in.
I woke up late, had a simple breakfast with a sandwich, and sat at my desk for the first time in a while.
A considerable amount of time had passed since I arrived here.
Considering that I had clashed with each of them in turn during the festival, whether by choice or by force, it felt like I had passed a major episode in the game.
"…At least I'm still alive."
When I first arrived, each day felt like a struggle to survive.
Of course, I couldn't say I had overcome the crisis yet. The road ahead was long.
'I need to do a mid-term check.'
I opened the drawer and took out the paper I had hidden deep inside.
It contained the basic settings of the male leads that I had written down to avoid forgetting.
I took out a new piece of paper and started writing down the initial affinity and recent updates.
Burtur Berdandi 0% → 15%」
Seeing it all written down like this, the difference from the beginning was clearly noticeable.
Looking at Derek and Leonard's affinity, I widened my eyes.
Compared to the other male leads, his affinity was abysmally low, but considering he started at -10%, it had increased by a whopping '20%'.
"Is it because I see them the most often?"
I tilted my head, thinking about their unexpected performance.
Looking at the paper where I had initially marked their names with an X without much thought, it wasn't a good thing that their affinity was leading.
"…When I wasn't around, the affinity slightly increased…"
It was likely that his feelings towards Penelope had softened from 'extreme dislike' to just 'dislike'.
Because I wasn't acting like the fake noble lady I was supposed to be.
"If I keep minimizing the number of times I see them, I can maintain it."
Considering that the default affinity in Normal Mode was '30%', neither of them was in a safe zone.
But since I didn't have a 'Reset,' I had no intention of taking risks to increase their affinity further.
Squish, squish— I drew a firm X over Derek and Leonard's names as I had before.
"Next, the Crown Prince."
This guy wasn't even worth a moment's consideration.
I immediately drew several Xs and moved on to the next.
But my hand holding the pen hesitated.
According to the plan, Iclys was currently at the top of the affinity list.
If I could increase it by just 5% more, I would reach the default affinity in Normal Mode.
Compared to the other male leads, it wasn't a difficult task. Iclys' affinity increased significantly.
If things continued like this, I would soon see the ending.
"…Now that I think about it, I haven't visited him since last time because I've been busy…"
The sharp pen tip drew endless circles around Iclys' name.
In truth, I had said I was busy, but except for the day I met Burtur, I hadn't been that busy.
Yet, I hadn't visited him.
'…Why does it feel so uncomfortable?'
It was because I couldn't judge how he felt about me, unlike the affinity.
I still vividly remembered that day.
The wooden sword pointed at me in an instant, the chilling gaze that saw me as an enemy to be killed.