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Chapter 3
Knock knock.
I stopped tearing at my hair and looked up. Soon, a maid who had knocked carefully stepped into the drawing room.
“M-My lady, the Duke requests your presence.”
“…Father?”
I suddenly realized something.
I had been so distracted by the system window that I forgot there was something even more troublesome than Ludwig breaking off the engagement.
Ding!
[An Event Quest has been triggered.]
[Quest Name: Meeting with Father]
Objective: Meet privately with Duke Matthias Rosenthal and have your first conversation with him. You must uncover the outside force that has infiltrated the ducal estate.
Reward: Clue for the Main Quest 「The Secret of House Rosenthal」
I raised an eyebrow.
Just meeting my father and talking to him counted as a quest?
I slowly reread the text before tapping the table with my fingers.
An outside force…?
Who exactly had infiltrated the ducal estate? Was this what the system meant when it told me to reorganize the household?
Until now, I had been too busy keeping watch over Crown Prince Ludwig and his closest ally, Grand Duke Kashien to pay much attention to what was happening inside House Rosenthal itself.
Not that Evelynn had ever cared much about politics.
Which made sense. Duke Rosenthal barely mattered to the original story. He was the type of man who didn’t care what his daughter did, whether inside or outside the duchy. Evelynn could commit all the villainous acts she wanted, and he wouldn’t blink an eye.
Besides, after the broken engagement, the Duke had always sided with the Second Prince’s faction. He had long believed the Second Prince was more suitable than the Crown Prince anyway, so perhaps he never found the engagement all that valuable.
And once things with Rosenthal fell apart, Ludwig—as always—had turned to his second option and joined hands with Grand Duke Kashien.
Was there some kind of family issue I didn’t know about?
“…Ah, whatever. As long as I survive, that’s all that matters.”
I didn’t know what this so-called celebration of my hundredth regression meant, but one thing was certain: a new path had opened up for me.
Freedom first.
If I could escape this damned control, maybe I could finally try something different.
I bit my lip hard and stood up. The Duke was waiting.
* * *
I stood in front of Duke Rosenthal’s office and let out a sigh.
Like a senior student waiting nervously outside a professor’s office for a meeting, I lingered in front of the door, trying to steady my breathing.
Just as I was about to knock, a deep voice came from inside first.
“Enter.”
Sharp ears.
I exhaled slowly and opened the door.
The office still carried the same heavy air of perfect order. Among the dark furniture stood a man near the window, his back to the light.
The Duke had dark crimson hair and blue eyes exactly like mine. Evelynn’s silver hair came from her mother’s side. Of course, I had never actually seen the Duchess herself, since she had died early.
Still, the upward tilt of their eyes made it obvious they were father and daughter.
The moment our eyes met, I instinctively straightened my back and bowed my head.
“…Did you call for me, Father?”
“Sit.”
Without urgency, the Duke lowered his gaze again. He appeared to be reading the documents in his hand.
I carefully sat across from him, subtly clutching the hem of my dress to hide the tension in my fingers.
“The Crown Prince requested the dissolution of your engagement.”
“……”
“You acted recklessly.”
“Father, I was wronged! I never behaved that way—”
“You must have.”
The Duke replied without even lifting his eyes from the papers.
“Just because you do not remember it does not mean it did not happen.”
What an indifferent man.
His only daughter had just been dumped, slapped across the face, and sent home, and all he had to say was that she’d acted recklessly. Duke Rosenthal was exactly the sort of father who could explain why Evelynn had grown up starved for affection.
Damn it… Hey, system. No dialogue choices? None?
[Dialogue options are unlocked starting from Lv.3.
Current player : Lv.0]
What? Then what was that earlier?
[For tutorial purposes, Lv.3 was temporarily unlocked.]
What kind of garbage system is this?
If the system wasn’t going to help me, then I had no choice but to rely on the experience I’d built up over countless regressions.
The safest way to respond here would be—
…Hm?
As my eyes wandered absentmindedly across the desk, they stopped at one particular spot.
[A clue has been detected through the player’s <Observation (C+)> skill.]
[Through the player’s Lv.7, comparative analysis with previous timelines is possible.]
I ignored the system windows flashing wildly before my eyes and narrowed my gaze.
Normally, I would have overlooked the papers entirely, but maybe it was because the quest information had already mentioned an “outside force.”
「Konrad Mine Performance Report」
Konrad Mine?
If I remembered correctly, Konrad Mine had been one of Crown Prince Ludwig’s primary sources of funding. People even said he might never have become Emperor without it.
So why was it here, in House Rosenthal?
I wanted to examine the report properly, but if I reached for it carelessly, the system would never leave me alone—and the Duke would grow suspicious too.
So I decided to act like Evelynn.
“F-Father…! I did nothing wrong! Those noble ladies were simply jealous of me! H-How dare they forget their place…!”
Bang!
I slammed both hands against the desk and leaned forward dramatically. The stack of documents shook, several papers scattering into the air.
Naturally, the Konrad Mine report was among them.
“…What exactly are you doing, Evelynn?”
“His Highness definitely loves me. He’s simply bad at expressing it, that’s all! I can’t live without the Crown Prince… hngh…”
“…Tch.”
As though my words weren’t even worth responding to, the Duke turned his head away completely.
I buried my face against the desk as if sobbing, but my eyes darted rapidly toward the fallen report. It had landed right in front of me.
“His Highness only chose to break off the engagement because of those other noble ladies… sob…”
…What is this?
My eyes widened.
The report stated that the mine’s grade had fallen from A+ to D, and that its quality had failed inspection for three consecutive quarters.
There had also been seven reported delivery failures over the past six months.
What the hell? Konrad Mine was a gold mine—literally! One of the Crown Prince’s biggest sources of income!
So did it only become profitable after it passed into Ludwig’s hands or something?
“Father, please persuade His Highness! And punish those noble ladies who dared humiliate me!”
I wailed dramatically again, squeezing out more tears, but my thoughts were racing.
The manager’s name was…
「Document Handler: Y. Kramer / Reviewer: L. Gerber」
I recognized the name.
Jonas Kramer.
She was House Rosenthal’s financial aide. Cold, precise, and highly trusted by the Duke—one of the core members of the administrative staff.
She had worked her way up from the very bottom to become an aide. She had been with the duchy far too long to be easily suspected.
What is this…? This is suspicious.
At that moment, the Duke spoke in a low, blunt voice.
“…Enough. Leave.”
I slowly lifted my head.
He wasn’t even looking at me anymore. His attention remained fixed on the documents, the tip of his pen turning slowly against the paper.
“But Father—”
“I said enough.”
Short and absolute. His tone made it clear I was not to continue.
“If you insist on burdening me with pointless emotions, perhaps it would be best for you to spend some time away from the capital.”
“…!”
“I hear certain people keep seeking you out. Do not become a nuisance to me as well.”
Tap.
The Duke placed the pen in his hand onto the desk.
The sound was quiet, but unmistakably a dismissal.
“You may go.”
I barely managed to continue my fake sobbing act as I nodded.
“…Yes, Father… hngh… but I’m just… so heartbroken…”
Bang!
Ugh. What a cold-hearted father.
I let out a sigh the moment I stepped outside.
Ding!
[Successfully viewed the ‘Konrad Mine Performance Report.’]
[Main Quest 「The Secret of House Rosenthal」 has been updated.]
[Quest Name: The Hand That Devoured Assets]
Objective: Discover the truth behind the manipulated mining reports created by Jonas.
Restriction: Public accusation available only at Lv.3 or higher
Reward: +20 / +5
Failure Penalty: Forced relocation to a designated countryside recuperation estate under “medical treatment procedures” / Permanent loss of Konrad Mine]
“What do you mean ‘medical treatment’?!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
What kind of bullshit is this?!
* * *
After Evelynn left, Duke Rosenthal finally set down the documents he had been reading and rubbed at his brow.
A long sigh escaped him.
For him, dealing with his only daughter was among the most difficult things in the world. Especially because she resembled his late wife so closely.
The Duke leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed for a moment before ringing the bell.
“Your Grace, did you call for me?”
“Bring Joshua.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The servant bowed and quietly retreated.
Joshua Becker—the duchy’s steward and one of the Duke’s most trusted vassals.
‘Since the Crown Prince abandoned us first, I suppose it’s time for us to make our move as well.’
He knew his daughter was deeply infatuated with the Crown Prince. That was why, even if their goals differed, he had still intended to support Ludwig for her sake.
But if this was how things were going to be…
Then the story changed.
Fortunately, they also had a second choice.
