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chapter 6
To him, taking down a fire-attribute monster was as easy as going for a walk.
“And this could also be a good opportunity to build a closer relationship.”
Natalie felt her confidence welling up inside her. Thinking that she already knew many of the things that were going to happen made her feel incredibly good.
Just then, morning arrived, and the sky outside the window began to brighten.
Without a maid, Natalie quickly changed her clothes.
Since she had been placed under house arrest, she had to leave the mansion secretly before any servants or family members saw her.
Thud—
As she opened the door, her foot caught on a black wig.
Its hair had an unnatural sheen.
It was something she had painstakingly tried to style—applying expensive oils and brushing it over and over—just to resemble Sharon’s flowing black hair.
Now, it was in a terrible state, with unsightly footprints stamped all over it.
Natalie glanced down at it for a moment, then let out a small, dry laugh.
“I really was desperate… how pitiful.”
Strangely, she didn’t feel anything anymore.
Muttering to herself the comfort no one had ever given her, Natalie tossed the wig far away.
By then, the morning sunlight had begun to stream in through the large window.
When she turned her head and looked past the wide garden, a red, vigorous sun was rising.
Not the pitch-black wig like her gloomy past, but the dazzling sun like her future—gazing at it, Natalie smiled faintly.
“It looks like me.”
Now, it was time to show who she truly was.
[2. Roger Crawford]
Natalie hired a carriage and headed toward the Crawford estate.
Along with Ailsden, Crawford was one of only two ducal families in the Empire.
Roger Crawford—who would later become the sole Grand Duke—had inherited the headship of his house at the age of 17 and was currently an officer in the Imperial Navy.
“There’s always been a lot of talk about him.”
Many people questioned why a duke of the Empire would be a soldier.
Unlike knights, soldiers valued practicality over honor.
To put it more plainly, a knight was a position focused on guarding and martial training, whereas a soldier was a profession primarily deployed in real wars and battles.
As such, it was usually commoners with some strength or impoverished lower nobles who became soldiers to make a living.
So no one could understand why Duke Crawford—who lacked nothing in status or wealth—had remained in the navy for eight years.
“Except me.”
Resting her chin on her hand, Natalie gazed at the Crawford estate drawing closer.
Roger Crawford. One of the male leads in the game “My Man, My Choice,” he had been chosen by the Water God and awakened his powers while still a minor.
However, his power was so immense that he had to constantly expend it. Otherwise, his body wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would burst.
Possessing the strongest water ability in history, simple hunting or sparring wasn’t enough for him to burn through his power.
That was why Roger Crawford had enlisted in the navy of his own accord, regularly consuming his power through countless battles.
Fighting at sea, where the energy of water was strongest, his victories were practically guaranteed.
The navy had been the best possible choice for him.
“But even that has its limits now.”
It had been eight years since he enlisted.
Thanks to his astonishing abilities, he had risen through the ranks at lightning speed, becoming a colonel at a remarkably young age.
However, perhaps because the Water God favored him too much, his power continued to grow stronger by the day.
Now, even constant combat wasn’t enough for Roger Crawford to control his overflowing strength.
“In the original version, the heroine solved that problem.”
Water—like the Water God—naturally had far better compatibility with women.
That was why, historically, most water awakeners were female. Even when a man was chosen, his power tended to be mediocre.
But Roger Crawford was an exception, possessing overwhelming water power—and being male only made it harder for him to control it.
Overflowing with power, he had dyed the sea red with blood day after day. Only after repeatedly meeting the heroine and building affection did his condition finally begin to stabilize.
That was partly because the heroine was a woman, but more importantly, because she was the game’s protagonist.
You could say it was the player’s privilege—to become a special, irreplaceable existence to the male leads.
However, by the same logic, if Roger Crawford lacked contact with the heroine even slightly, he would grow increasingly unstable.
Once his affection level exceeded 70%, he even began to show intense obsessive tendencies.
“In short, he’s a ticking time bomb.”
Natalie didn’t like scary men. If something went wrong, he might snap and cause who knew what kind of disaster.
That might be fine in a pixelated game, but now that she had transmigrated into it, everything was real. She didn’t want to take such deadly risks.
Besides, Roger Crawford was unsociable, so among the three male leads, his route took the longest to reach the ending.
Of course, in the original version, she had completed all three endings—including Roger Crawford’s route—but this time was different.
“I’ll just raise him to 90% and then bail.”
She had only chosen him because he was the easiest to meet right now and served as a bridge to the other male leads.
“I need to clear an ending quickly and log out.”
Natalie resolved to choose a safer and faster route to reach an ending.
“Huh?”
As she finally arrived at the main gate and prepared to announce herself, she blinked.
Despite being a ducal estate, there were no gatekeepers, and the gate was open. Even as the carriage stopped at the entrance, no one stopped them.
“We’ve arrived, miss!”
Getting down in confusion, she saw no butler to greet visitors, nor any guards at the gate.
“Why is no one here? Did we come to the wrong place?”
“Isn’t this the Crawford estate? Heh, this place barely has any servants to begin with. Hardly anyone comes or goes, so unless it’s night, they don’t even post guards. You’ve got the right place!”
What is he talking about? In her memory, the Crawford estate had always been grand and bustling.
“Hmm. The original heroine also started at age twenty…”
She wondered if the timeline was different, but she herself—playing the complete version—was also twenty.
“Maybe the detailed settings changed in the complete version.”
Accepting that explanation, Natalie paid the driver and sent him off.
Looking around, the estate felt desolate, perhaps due to the lack of servants and maintenance.
Still, the scale and structure matched what she vaguely remembered.
Without hesitation, Natalie walked forward. After about five minutes from the main gate, instead of the typical noble garden, she found a large lake.
The water was as clear as ice and dazzlingly blue.
“Found him.”
At that moment, a man who had been swimming in the lake stepped out, sending up a beautiful spray of water.
He stood nearly 190 centimeters tall, with a broad, solid build. Water dripped from his sculpted muscles.
The droplets sparkled like jewels as they fell. The man casually draped his uniform jacket over his wet body.
Natalie stopped in her tracks.
Sensing the unfamiliar presence instantly, he turned around without surprise and asked in a flat voice,
“Who is it?”
Silver eyes looked down at her.
Cold and oppressive—barely restraining a boiling force—his gaze hardly seemed human.
Natalie greeted him politely.
“Pleased to meet you, Your Grace, Duke Crawford. I am Natalie Ailsden.”
“…What brings the Ailsden lady here?”
His black hair and body, which had been soaked moments ago, were now completely dry. Truly fitting for one loved by the Water God.
And that was exactly what Natalie wanted.
“I’ve come to propose a deal.”
As Natalie smiled faintly, his silver eyes narrowed.
Click.
“For a ducal house, this is rather shabby.”
Natalie blinked at the table, which held nothing but two teacups—no refreshments in sight.
“Something’s definitely off.”
There were barely any servants either. Could it be that in the complete version, Duke Crawford is supposed to be poor?
“A fire-attribute monster appearing in the capital…”
At that moment, Roger Crawford repeated her words in a cold voice.
Pushing aside her stray thoughts, Natalie met his gaze directly.
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“You don’t have to. But if you wait to believe it after it happens, it’ll be too late.”
His expressionless face examined her closely, as if trying to understand the intent of someone who had suddenly appeared and was spouting nonsense.
“He looks even more striking in person than in the illustrations.”
His sharply defined features were both delicate and strong, casting deep shadows. Though cold, he had a refined yet powerful presence that naturally drew admiration.
If he hadn’t joined a military filled with men, he likely would have been involved in countless scandals with women.
Smiling brightly, Natalie spoke with emphasis.
“Tomorrow night, fire-attribute monsters will swarm in and turn the Ailsden estate into a sea of flames. It will happen so suddenly that my family—who possess light abilities—won’t be able to respond at all.”
“And yet you believe such absurd nonsense.”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve come to ask Your Grace to eliminate them.”
He seemed to think that the infamous troublemaking lady had been naively deceived by someone’s lie.
Natalie, however, smiled calmly.
“Of course, it’s fine if you don’t believe me. What matters to you isn’t whether I’m telling the truth—but the compensation I’m offering.”
Roger Crawford’s brow twitched.
“Compensation?”
“The imperial ball being held in a week. I’ll be your partner.”
He curled his lips slightly, still expressionless.
“I fail to see how that benefits me. I can attend a ball alone without issue.”
“It will definitely benefit you. Right now… you’re struggling to control your power, aren’t you?”
