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Chapter 4
A soft, mochi-like bean rice cake puppy.
Just like its name, it was a white, squishy little dog that looked exactly like a glutinous rice cake.
Its sparkling black eyes and tiny glossy black nose still lingered vividly in Lucy’s memory.
In her previous playthrough, Alicia had received the puppy from the Emperor instead of Lucy after Lucy failed the quest.
Every time Alicia appeared before her, she deliberately brought the puppy along, and the little dog would toddle after her on its stubby legs.
That puppy should’ve been mine.
Lucy had regretted it for a very long time.
Her obsession with the soft mochi-like bean rice cake puppy wasn’t simply because she wanted a cute pet.
It’s absolutely necessary for a quest later on.
Once again, Lucy was reminded that the game she’d transmigrated into was a complete disaster.
Who in their right mind would lock such an important pet behind the very first quest?
Worse still, that had been the first and last chance to obtain it.
At this point, it was practically the game begging players not to clear it.
This time, since I absolutely have to reach the true ending, I must get that puppy no matter what.
Lucy burned with determination.
The failure penalty didn’t even faze her.
Honestly speaking, what difference was there between a reputation score of negative 100 and negative 120 anyway?
People with nothing left to lose were the most frightening.
[Quest Accepted!]
[Imperial Banquet Date: D-14]
[Prepare thoroughly and earn the Emperor’s recognition!]
Lucy’s expression turned serious at the system message.
She searched through the memories of her previous playthrough.
As the saying went, failure was the mother of success. By failing the quest once before, Lucy had figured out what needed to be done to succeed.
However, knowing the method only made her current situation—with all her negative stats—feel even more disadvantageous.
Still—
If I can just resolve these negative stats instead…
Then she could both clear the quest and obtain the soft mochi-like bean rice cake puppy.
For now, I just need to wait.
Lucy calmed herself and waited patiently.
And the very next day, the imperial order she had been waiting for finally arrived.
＊ ＊ ＊
Early in the morning, Lucy climbed into a carriage.
The Emperor’s command given to her was simple.
She was to stay at the temple for the time being and focus on recovering from the aftereffects of her accident.
The rumors that she had become such an idiot that she couldn’t even move without a maid’s assistance or solve simple problems had greatly helped her case.
The servants of the detached palace whispered that the “abandoned princess” Lucy was now being forcibly confined to the temple, but Lucy herself couldn’t have been more grateful.
After all, what kind of place was the temple?
It was where priests gathered—people who healed others with sacred power.
Perhaps the game developers had wanted to add some adventure elements despite the game being a dating simulation, because they occasionally assigned monster-hunting quests.
Though calling them monsters was a stretch; they were closer to rare animals.
The items obtained from hunting were used to capture the male leads’ affection.
And every time, the temple served both as a save point and as a place that increased the player’s stamina stat.
[Having received a priest’s blessing at the temple, your stamina has increased by 20.]
Messages like that would appear.
If I receive concentrated treatment at the temple, recovering my negative stamina stat should be easy enough.
Of course, raising her stamina wasn’t the only reason Lucy wanted to go there.
Because Cecil is staying at the temple too.
Lucy recalled her first meeting with Cecil.
Not only had she driven his affection score into the triple negatives, she had even torn the precious cloak he treasured.
It had truly been a disastrous first encounter, but Lucy decided to boldly leave the past behind.
Who was she, after all?
A player who had figured out the攻略 routes herself because nobody else could.
Though in the end, those strategies only led me to execution endings.
Still, the time hadn’t been entirely wasted.
She had learned several useful things.
Especially when it comes to Cecil.
Among all the male leads, Cecil had been the easiest one for Lucy to raise affection with during her previous playthrough.
Which meant the more opportunities she had to encounter him, the higher her chances of successfully capturing his favor.
Recover my stamina and raise Cecil’s affection.
Heh. It seems the system underestimated me.
Of course, Lucy would soon come to regret her overconfidence, but for now, she had no way of knowing that.
“We’ve arrived.”
At the coachman’s announcement that they had reached the temple, Lucy lowered the corners of her grinning lips.
Before stepping out of the carriage, she peeked outside through the window.
Even early in the morning, the temple entrance was overflowing with people.
Patients from all across the Empire had gathered there.
Among them were nobles and commoners alike.
The temple’s principle was that all people should be treated equally before illness.
However, nobles were allowed to stay in the main temple building and were given private rooms.
Since Lucy was still royalty, she too would stay there.
“Princess Lucy.”
The maid who stepped out first extended a hand to help her down.
Lucy took the maid’s hand and started to descend—
Then suddenly she felt her body sink downward.
Huh?
Ding!
[Stamina Depleted!]
[Your stamina has reached its limit after leaving the detached palace and traveling by carriage.]
[A side effect caused by ‘Abnormal Health Status’ has been activated.]
A side effect?
All I did was ride in a carriage, so why—
Her bewilderment lasted only a moment.
Lucy’s legs began trembling like those of a newborn giraffe, and she toppled over with a loud thud.
“Princess!”
The maid supporting her cried out in shock, and the surroundings instantly became noisy.
“A princess?”
“What? The person who just flailed around like a flightless bird before falling over is a princess?”
Hearing the whispers around her, Lucy couldn’t even lift her head.
Falling down was embarrassing enough, but desperately struggling not to fall before collapsing anyway was far worse.
“Then is she Princess Alicia?”
“You know, the second princess who was kicked out of the Imperial Palace and lives in the detached residence.”
“Ahh. That princess.”
“I heard that because of the accident, not only her body but even her mind isn’t right…”
The gazes directed at her changed into openly curious stares.
To make matters worse, temple attendants hurried over with a stretcher for Lucy, drawing even more attention.
Flustered, Lucy waved her hands.
“I’m fine—”
“What are you saying, Princess! You may have sprained your ankle!”
The maid looked close to tears, leaving Lucy unable to refuse.
In the end, Lucy was placed on the stretcher and tightly shut her eyes.
Even so, she could practically feel people’s stares prickling against her skin.
Just as she inwardly prayed to leave this place as quickly as possible—
“Cough, cough!”
A violent coughing fit erupted nearby.
The attention of everyone present, including Lucy, turned toward the source of the sound.
There stood a man who attracted even more attention than Lucy, who had just made such a spectacular scene falling over.
The man coughed up blood, staining both his mouth and the hand covering it crimson.
It looked straight out of a horror film, and Lucy stared at him in shock.
Hair as black as night. Pale skin.
Calm blue eyes beneath thick, neat brows.
He was breathtakingly handsome, but he looked so sick that he seemed on the verge of death.
Anyone would think he was terminally ill; the atmosphere around him even turned solemn.
“W-Who is that?”
“You don’t know? He’s famous. One of the patients receiving treatment in the temple’s special care ward.”
“He’s the heir of the Faraday Ducal House.”
At those words, Lucy’s eyes widened.
The heir of the Faraday family.
That’s another one of the game’s male leads.
Alexander Faraday.
The true male protagonist who appeared last among the male leads, and the classic northern duke archetype of romance fantasy novels.
Alexander came to the temple? And coughing up blood?
Lucy looked back at the man.
As she scrutinized him from head to toe with wide eyes, her expression turned strange.
That’s… not Alexander.
The Alexander she remembered looked completely different from the man before her.
Alexander had silver hair and violet eyes.
And his aura?
Alexander had always been healthy and full of vitality, his eyes sharp and spirited.
He was the exact opposite of this frail man radiating gloom from every pore.
Then…
Lucy narrowed her eyes.
Who exactly is that man?
And why had he taken Alexander’s place?
