Chapter 17
“Lady, you’re back.”
Emily welcomed me as I stepped into my room. I nodded my head half-heartedly and hurried to sit at my desk. I had a lot to think about, besides what I wanted as my reward.
“Lady, this…”
Emily approached and handed me something.
“The handkerchief you held against your neck on the day you fell unconscious. The First Young Master told me to just throw it away, but I kept and washed it, just in case.”
“Ah.”
I stared at the cloth she’d given me. Vinter Verdandi had lent it to me.
I totally forgot about it.
“Thanks, Emily.”
I complimented Emily, and her expression brightened. The handkerchief, once soaked in blood, was now a clean white. I pondered what to do with it as I looked it over.
I suppose I need to return the favor somehow.
It was unwanted care, but I still needed to be polite about it. Besides, I’d have to meet with him again at least once, since he was also one of the capture targets.
“Emily, can you go tell the butler to bring in a jeweler tomorrow?”
“A jeweler?”
Emily tilted her head at my request that came out of the blue, then clapped once in realization.
“Ah! Are you planning to buy some new accessories for the upcoming festival?”
“Festival?”
I asked in confusion.
“The festival celebrating the birth of this country is next week! I heard it’ll be held on a much bigger scale this time, due to His Highness the Crown Prince’s return-…”
“Don’t mention the Crown Prince.”
Emily gasped, snapping her mouth shut at my sudden cold tone.
I’m sick of even thinking about the Crown Prince.
I waved my hand in annoyance towards Emily, who was studying my face.
“Go to tell the butler.”
“Okay! I’ll be right back!”
Emily exited, leaving the room in silence. I tapped the desk with my finger as I lost myself in my thoughts.
“So… Next week is the festival, huh…”
In the game, the episodes specified for meeting with each of the capture targets were unlocked in a certain order. For instance, I had to get through some of the episodes in Reynold and Derrick’s route for the Crown Prince’s route to be unlocked.
So, my meeting with Vinter right after my confrontation with the Crown Prince was completely unexpected. Though, Penelope was supposed to meet him at that banquet anyway, so the story’s flow hadn’t really changed.
The only capture target left to meet was Eclipse, the knight. He appears after Vinter, and was brought into the mansion around when the festival took place.
“What did Penelope do during the festival again…?”
In the hard mode of the game, I’d only been notified that the Duke had brought him in, and was never able to see him. I was too busy dying while playing the episode ‘Festival Day Together’ with either Reynold or Derrick.
“I can feel my blood boil just thinking about it.”
In the end, I wasn’t able to have a single peaceful date with either of them.
I opened a drawer, taking out a paper I’d hid before. I reviewed my writing at a fast speed and muttered,
“I need to get him before the Duke does.”
I’d decided on something after almost being killed by the Crown Prince. To finish a single route as soon as possible, and get out of this damn place. It wasn’t like I could rely on dying to fix anything, after all. To achieve my goal, I needed to focus on raising the interest level of the most manageable capture target as much as possible.
“Eclipse.”
My eyes sparked, glued to his name written on the paper.
“I choose you.”
Please let me know if there’s anything inconsistent, or that needs further editing/corrections!!
-emrld
Scarlett Shoujo 