With a mouthful of noodles, I turned around—only to find the head maid standing there, clearly radiating disbelief.
“I was under the impression you weren’t feeling well and had declined to eat…”
… Ah, right. I’d used indigestion as an excuse to skip the meal.
As I failed to respond right away, the head maid spoke again.
“Then… may I ask where those foods came from?”
“This? I got it from the shop…”
[WARNING! Discussing safety guidelines may result in a critical program error!]
Hmph. I quickly shut my mouth as the urgent message popped into view.
“Pardon?”
“Uh, I… brought it with me before I came here…”
Flustered, I blurted out a completely ridiculous excuse.
Perhaps sensing my nervousness, the head maid asked again, this time in an even more doubtful tone.
“But… wasn’t it just freshly prepared?”
“I-I think you’re mistaken.”
A lame excuse that didn’t even sound convincing. And yet, the head maid nodded, dropping her suspicion without question.
“I see. My apologies, Miss Windsor.”
Oh… That worked?
Can I really play just by bluffing? That’s definitely a bug.
Another error was added to the list of things to report.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I’ve come to inform you of today’s schedule.”
The head maid replied, her tone all business.
“…But first, please finish your meal.”
* * *
I hurried through the rest of the food, feeling the weight of the head maid’s watchful gaze.
After quickly washing up and changing clothes, she immediately fell into step beside me, as if she’d been waiting.
“I’ll give you a tour of the castle grounds—consider it a morning stroll.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
To be honest, I was a little excited.
The castle was admittedly a bit gloomy, but still—what could possibly happen while walking around with an NPC?
At this point, you’d expect some kind of special event to trigger… but it should be fine.
Whether she sensed my thoughts or not, the head maid began introducing the castle in a curiously mechanical voice.
“Belmond Ducal Castle is a natural fortress designed by the stonemason of Jotunheim. For generations, House Belmond has stood as the Empire’s first sword, defending the borderlands against the neighboring Kingdom of Perel.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded, pretending to listen, though my mind was already racing in a completely different direction.
Right now, I am on the Duke’s route. In other words, if things continued like this, I’d end up as the official duchess of House Belmond.
But according to the pre-release info provided by the game company, there were supposed to be thirty love interests. So why was the duke the only option showing up?
They promised multiple relationships and even mid-route switches… What happened to the freedom they hyped up?
Just in case, I leaned toward the head maid and whispered quietly near her ear.
“Um… Are there any other men around?”
“… Pardon?”
“Oh, I mean—any other men in the castle. Just curious.”
“Ah.”
Understanding seemed to dawn on her a moment later, and she gave a slow nod.
“His Grace’s closest aide, the chief attendant, Sir ♦♦ resides here as well.”
Ah, right—he was one of the characters listed in the safety guidelines. I guess his profile’s locked for now, which is why no further details are available.
Still, doesn’t that mean I could potentially trigger a love triangle between the duke and his aide?
And in a 19+ rated game…
Naturally, I remembered how the developers had boasted that the official release would offer even greater freedom.
Hmm, but I wondered just how much they were willing to give us in the beta version.
Completely absorbed in rosy daydreams, I didn’t notice the shadow that suddenly appeared from around the corner.
“… Ouch!”
I smacked right into something solid, clutching my forehead in pain. I lost my balance and fell flat on my butt.
At the same time, something heavy suddenly dropped onto my skirt with a dull thud.
‘What’s this…?’
It was a book—a thick hardcover, easily thicker than the span of my hand.
The deep, wine-colored cover was adorned with ornate gold embellishments, and at the top, written in elegant script, were the following words.
[Noble Etiquette – Not for Sale
· A classical etiquette guide written approximately 300 years ago by the monk Lorax.
While the beginning heavily criticizes the moral decay of corrupt nobles, it ultimately concludes with an outdated defense of hereditary bloodlines and rigid class hierarchy.]
But before I could finish reading the entire description, the words just spilled from my mouth.
“I’m so—”
… rry.
Even the rest of the apology got stuck in my throat, swallowed by sheer panic.
[New Main Character Unlocked.]
[· The Duke of Belmond’s Attendant (new!)
The duke’s closest aide. Meticulous in matters of etiquette and tradition, he considers it his duty to uphold order within House Belmond.
(Affection Level: 0/100)]
Honestly, I didn’t even need to check the alert. Just one glance at the 〈Noble Etiquette〉 book was enough to tell me exactly who he was.
I mean, I had read the safety guidelines thoroughly—at least the important parts.
But what caught me off guard was something else entirely.
‘Ugh.’
No matter how I looked at him, the attendant didn’t have the vibe of a potential sub-love interest. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but the tufts of white hair mixed throughout his head and his broad—no, imposingly large—build said it all.
Sure, maybe some players do like this type(?)…
But that person was definitely not me.
“How dare…!”
While I was busy with my dumb thoughts, a thunderous voice broke through, trembling with fury from within his stocky frame.
“When walking the halls, one must always keep their eyes forward!”
Wham!
His outstretched finger stopped right in front of my face.
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t even know how to carry yourself when turning a corner?!”
“Uh, well…”
Before I could even respond, his booming voice erupted again from the dark voids where his eyes should be.
“Such careless mumbling!”
Ahh, my ears…
The deafening roar made my eardrums feel like they were about to burst—but sadly, it didn’t end there.
“If you belong to House Belmond, you must walk with pride and composure, and never bring shame upon your esteemed master!”
“Sir ♦♦, t-this lady is—!”
The flustered head maid tried to step in protectively, but he ignored her as if he hadn’t heard a word and continued speaking.
Was this… an event?
It had to be—a special event meant to inject some tension into an otherwise ordinary noble life(?) in the ducal household.
Somehow, perhaps misunderstanding my silence, the attendant’s voice grew even sharper with indignation.
“Do you have any idea what kind of book you made me drop? This contains knowledge that no amount of money could ever buy. I’ll spell it out for your foolish mind. This 〈Noble Etiquette〉 is—”
Not only was his voice growing louder by the second, but it was actually reaching ear-shattering levels. I could’ve sworn the floor was starting to vibrate.
Wondering what event this was… Figures.
‘These game devs are insane.’
Putting in a “mother-in-law” role like this?
Sure, credit where it’s due—it’s impressively progressive that it’s not even a female character, but still… this was a bit much.
While I stood there in stunned silence, the attendant’s shouting escalated further, as if yelling wasn’t enough—he was practically screaming now.
So this is why the safety manual practically suggested suicide to avoid nagging.
Now I understand the true meaning behind that cryptic line.
[WARNING! Prolonged exposure to excessive nagging may result in physical harm (e.g., eardrum damage), triggering an early Game Over. If ignored, ‘Nadia Windsor’ will die, and re-login will be permanently blocked.]
Game over? Oh, no! Absolutely not!
If I got kicked out like this, all five of my precious vacation days would’ve gone to waste!
Snapping myself out of the panic, I shook my head and did the only thing I could think of to stop the relentless scolding—I shouted.
“Wait a minute!”
If I could just get him to stop talking, that would be enough, right?
Unfortunately, my brilliant plan backfired spectacularly.
“You dare… interrupt me? And with such vulgar shouting?!”
The attendant’s reaction was far from ordinary.
What now? He looked even angrier than before. I quickly ran through everything I could remember from the safety manual in my head, but nothing useful came to mind.
In that case.
“Y-you were shouting too… l-loudly. And, um, kinda rudely.”
“What?”
For a brief moment, a crushing silence fell over the corridor.
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