🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 61
“Lady Elysia, you haven’t been saying much on stream these days.”
In a room somewhere in South Korea, an anonymous viewer stretched while watching the MyTube screen. Fortunately, from the moment Elysia approached Seolpyo, both the camera and mic had been turned on, so they could see exactly what had happened…
But since Elysia had collapsed after eating a scone and was pretending to sleep, she couldn’t say a single word to her viewers.
“……Still, it was entertaining.”
Instead of hearing Elysia’s commentary, viewers could clearly see the flustered expressions of the people around her. While she was “passed out,” they could observe how everyone reacted, and how much chaos her poisoning incident stirred up. The anonymous viewer even secretly recorded some of it.
‘Of course, the most shocking moment was when Frillien coughed after eating poison.’
That had been completely unexpected. As far as they knew, Frillien was immune to all poisons. In no game review or video had Frillien ever been shown suffering from poison.
How could the protagonist—no, the Saintess—possibly show symptoms of poisoning?
That made it the rarest scene of all.
‘Did the developers change the lore? Nah. Don’t overthink it. It’s probably just marketing anyway.’
Sure, Elysia looked flustered, but that too had to be part of the act. The company itself was running this; surely everyone involved knew, right?
…Right?
The anonymous viewer munched on snacks absentmindedly and hit play again.
Either way, this was an important moment.
At last, Elysia was addressing her viewers.
“Wow, everyone, did you do okay while I was out cold?”
Once they confirmed she was safe, everyone had finally left her alone around midnight. Far from resting, Elysia was sitting up bright and lively, continuing her broadcast.
“I bet you were frustrated when I couldn’t talk, huh? I couldn’t open my eyes ‘cause I was pretending to sleep…”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ if you slept with your eyes open, everyone would’ve freaked out harder
Even with you passed out, watching everyone else panic was hilarious
Howel really called everyone quacks though lmao
“You guys heard that too?”
So Howel’s “quack doctor” remark hadn’t been her imagination. Hadn’t he scolded her once for not showing respect? Why was he like that then? She just couldn’t understand him.
‘Though, in hindsight, he wasn’t entirely wrong.’
His suspicion that even the Saintess hadn’t properly cured her was sharp. In truth, she hadn’t. After all, the Saintess hadn’t even realized Elysia had been consistently ingesting poison.
So in a way, Howel’s “quack” comment wasn’t wrong. How he figured that out by intuition though… was a mystery.
Maybe he was just thorough by nature.
Elysia nodded and opened her status window.
“Anyway, I have something to tell you all. We ended up using the skill exchange ticket we had been saving.”
She had received it as a quest reward and agonized over when to use it. But when it came down to saving Seolpyo and Frillien, she had no choice but to unlock Effect Extortion.
It had been inevitable.
‘If I hadn’t used it then…’
……Frillien might have died right there.
The thought made Elysia flinch. At the time, saving her had seemed obvious, but the more she thought back, the more chilling it became.
If the protagonist of this world died… what then?
Would the game suffer a fatal error and collapse? Be deleted entirely? Maybe keeping Frillien alive was good for everyone.
‘Saintess, please take care of your health, be careful with your life, and self-heal often!’
Elysia silently offered a warm blessing and nodded. Thankfully, everything had worked out. And Effect Extortion wasn’t a bad skill either. She could be satisfied with that.
‘It’s a shame to lose one ticket, but hey—we got another one anyway.’
Smacking her lips, she opened the next window.
Main Quest
〈The Appearance of Frillien〉
Obstruct Frillien’s first meeting with the male leads!
Obstruction Success (2/2)
Congratulations! You have completed the Main Quest!
Reward: 1 Skill Ticket obtained!
“……See, that’s why.”
Yes. Because Frillien had chosen her instead of the palace, the tower, or the temple, she had cleared a main quest!
That gave her an extra skill ticket.
If you looked at it another way, the second exchange ticket was thanks to Frillien, so using it to save her was like repaying a debt.
“So even after using one, I still have one left! Lucky me.”
This incident had taught Elysia just how crucial skill tickets were. Since she never knew when the next crisis would strike, saving them was best.
“Especially since… another incident is coming up.”
With a grave face, she looked at the envelope on her bedside table—a beautiful pale-blue invitation.
Another banquet invitation.
“Ugh, I really don’t want to go.”
That’s right. Another banquet was being held at the imperial palace.
‘Good thing you recovered quickly, my lady! There’s a banquet coming up. Will you join me?’
Frillien’s radiant smile overlapped with the invitation in her memory. She had given it to Elysia the moment she confirmed her recovery. This time, the banquet would formally announce the Saintess to the world.
‘These banquets are too frequent.’
Last time had been a prophecy of Frillien’s coming, and now that she had appeared, another banquet.
Rumor had it the temple opposed it, but the imperial family had pushed hard. Normally, the Saintess would have been revealed during a temple ceremony or prayer gathering. But this time, the palace had refused to back down, so the Saintess would debut there instead.
‘Basically: “Don’t keep her to yourself, temple—show the world the precious Saintess.”’
The Saintess of legend had appeared. Beneath it all, Elysia could feel the tense power struggle between temple and throne. This time, the palace had won.
No doubt, they’d promised the temple something in return—more donations, more care for Frillien, things like that.
‘They must’ve also carefully chosen her partner.’
After all, this would be the protagonist Frillien’s first banquet. In this event, her partner was locked in as the Crown Prince. Almost certainly the imperial family’s doing.
Frillien’s behavior here would heavily shape the story. Especially if you wanted to pursue the Crown Prince route, this event was key.
“Honestly, I just want to tell her, ‘Have fun with the Crown Prince’ and skip it. But… of course it won’t be that simple, will it?”
Elysia let out a sigh.
This was a main event, so something had to happen. The fact that she hadn’t received a main quest yet was actually more suspicious. That only meant she needed to stay even more alert.
Until she saw it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t feel safe. So, she decided she would attend.
“And besides, I have a promise to keep with Pin.”
She hadn’t forgotten the promise to be his partner. This way, she could respond to Frillien’s invitation, keep her promise, and keep an eye on the game’s flow.
“Yes, I’ll be attending the banquet. Look forward to it, everyone!”
She held up the invitation dramatically.
Elysia’s announcement of her attendance.
But the ducal household was not pleased.
“What do you mean, my lady?”
“You’re going to attend the banquet? You’ve only just recovered!”
The maids all rushed to dissuade her. But to Elysia, their reaction was baffling.
“Huh? What’s the problem? Precisely because I’m better, I should go. You all saw I’m fine!”
“But still…”
The servants exchanged uneasy glances, hesitating. Finally, one maid muttered in a timid voice:
“His Grace… is firmly against it.”
“What? Father?”
He was opposing her again? Why?
All he ever did was forbid things, keep her from banquets—utterly ridiculous.
As soon as she heard it, Elysia stormed out and bolted down the hall.
“Faaather! Where are you? We need to talk now!”
“M-my lady! Please wait! Stop!”
The servants chased after her, but they were no match. In no time, Elysia had reached the duke’s office.
Of course, the knight guarding the door tried to block her.
“My lady, you cannot simply—”
“Step aside before you get hurt!”
Bang!
With one punch, the office door flew open.
“Elysia Semperion! What are you doing?! At least knock—!”
“This is my knock.”
Elysia answered nonchalantly, hand to her lips, looking both proud and cheeky.
“Oh dear, looks like I knocked too hard and the door just opened!”
“……”
The duke glared at her, speechless. Elysia strode in, only to spot something surprising in his hand.
“Meow…?(W-what’s going on?)”
The duke had been brushing Seolpyo’s fur. The cat, purring moments before, now stared at her in alarm. Their eyes met, and the duke slowly spoke.
“I attached a protective magic tool to this wretched beast. Is this what you came to take back?”
“Uh… you did it yourself, Father? I thought you hated cats.”
“Of course I do. He’s a nuisance. Take him away already.”
“Meowww!(How mean! You give me treats one moment, then this!)”
Seolpyo wailed pitifully, but this wasn’t the time to get distracted. If the topic shifted to Seolpyo, she’d lose her chance. Elysia quickly cut in.
“Father, I heard you’re against me attending the banquet.”
“……”
“Why?”
Her eyes were steady, unwavering. The duke clicked his tongue.
“Clicking your heels around the house so soon after leaving your bed. A proper lady of Semperion behaving like a street ruffian. Who would believe you’re my daughter seeing this?”
“……”
His cold voice echoed through the office.
“You’ve grown even more reckless lately, Elysia Semperion.”
A chilly smile crept across his lips, sending a shiver down her spine. That was no smile of joy—closer to controlled fury.
The duke set Seolpyo aside and spoke slowly.
“You must think you have something to rely on. Do you assume that even if I oppose you, you’ll just plan another escape?”
‘H-how did he know?’
She had been seriously debating whether to use the window or the roof.
Seeing her expression, his cold smile deepened.
“…I’ll tell you now. The window, roof, and front gate will all be difficult. We’ve strengthened security.”
‘What the—?!’
Did he have mind-reading powers?
Why was his “development” heading in this direction? Elysia’s eyes darted nervously.
‘Is this really the kind of progress a ducal house should be making?’
