TVMF 8

Chapter: 8

[ADMIN: Do you feel that the reward… is too small?]

I nodded with a solemn, stern expression.

[ADMIN: As someone entrusted with the grave mission of saving the world, the system provides you with sufficient support and assistance.]
[SYSTEM: Adjusting rewards. Calculations may take a moment.]

Oh?

It wasn’t like I had cleared some insanely difficult quest—I had just been eating my meals diligently.

It was more food than I usually ate, so if I kept this up, I really would become a bit stronger and healthier.

Still, I hid my rough satisfaction and continued to sit there looking sulky.

At last, the system finished its calculations and popped up another window.

[SYSTEM: Daily quest reward details have been revised.]
[SYSTEM: Additional compensation will be granted due to the revision.]
[ITEM: Coin Exchange Voucher. Collect 10 to exchange for 100 coins.]

“Oooh….”

Yes. This was it!

Coins could be used to buy items in the ‘Coin Shop,’ but checking someone’s corruption rate also consumed coins.

Just like when I gave Adrian the mana luminescent orb, using coins wisely made it possible to smooth things over.

However, unlike skill points—earned every time you leveled up—coins were obtained randomly upon quest completion.

A resource that could easily run short later on.

But if I cleared the daily quest every day, I could obtain 100 coins roughly every 3.3 days through these vouchers.

‘This is a total win!’

Internally, I was grinning from ear to ear, but outwardly I muttered with a proud, aloof expression.

“Hmph. Well, it’s not bad.”

Then I went to bed to get the rest I still needed.

Some time later, a soft chime announced the appearance of a message window.

[ADMIN: I’m glad you’re satisfied.]

Half-asleep, I cracked my eyes open slightly. The pale golden message window shimmered faintly before disappearing.

Soon after, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, after waking up, I decided to整理 a few questions I had glossed over while reassessing the situation.

Although the system administrator had shoved me into a pit of endless quests, they seemed fairly kind and cooperative in their own way.

They even made sure I ate properly.

[Only you, Lady Rohesia, can save this world. Clear quests to prevent the characters’ corruption and earn rewards!]

Judging by the request to save the world, they didn’t seem inherently malicious.

Then why was a game-like system applied to this world inside a novel?

Why did the administrator say that only I could save it? Because I knew this world’s “ending”?

‘I’ll have to figure it out gradually.’

Clearing the immediate quests was important, but understanding my situation was just as critical.

Who’s to say the administrator, who was giving normal quests now, wouldn’t start demanding something twisted later?

‘If things go south, I need to be able to break free from the system.’

To do that, I needed to learn the administrator’s identity—and the principles behind the system itself.

There was nothing I could uncover immediately, but talking with the administrator might provide clues.

That aside—

Shaking my head to clear my tangled thoughts, I looked at the quest window before me.

[QUEST: Bring food to the male lead ‘Adrian,’ who is locked up and starving in the basement. (0/3)]

First things first—let’s avoid getting chopped into eight pieces.

I packed oatmeal porridge that wouldn’t upset his stomach and cool water neatly into my bag.

After telling the butler I was visiting the Velas ducal estate, I boarded the carriage.

‘Now the problem is Melisandra.’

I’d already disappeared once. If I vanished again, suspicion would be inevitable. And sneaking food to him three times without being caught would be nearly impossible.

‘Which means… I have to confront her head-on.’

The ducal estate was bustling with servants starting their day.

Melisandra, however, must have slept in. When I was shown into her room, she was still in her robe.

“Rosha? You came early. What brings you here this morning?”

Yawning languidly, she sipped the coffee brought by her personal maid.

“Well, I missed you so much the moment I opened my eyes that I ran straight here!”

That was a lie. I ran here because I was terrified of getting a bad ending the moment I woke up.

Anyway, I threw myself into her arms without hesitation. After a brief pause, Melisandra sighed and patted my head.

When I looked up to meet her eyes, the irritation on her face quickly faded.

“Lady Velas. Yesterday, when I visited… I disappeared for a bit, didn’t I?”

“You did. Do you know how startled I was? I was afraid I’d have to tell Marquis Utel that his daughter had gone missing.”

“……”

“Don’t ever vanish like that again.”

[SYSTEM: Due to Lv.3 ‘Deception,’ the effect ‘Best Actress Award, You’ll Give It to Me, Right?’ is activated.]

I deliberately filled my expression with guilt, and the skill activated smoothly.

Sensing something was off, Melisandra asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… actually, at the time…”

Fidgeting with my fingers, I made it seem like I was forcing myself to answer.

“I got lost and wandered very far away. Looking back, I should’ve stayed put so the adults could find me… I’m really sorry.”

Showing just the right amount of guilt was important. If I overdid it and appeared pathetic, an enraged Melisandra might lash out.

When I glanced at her, her expression had turned severe. She even set down her coffee, fully awake now.

It seemed she’d realized who I had found that day.

“You didn’t possibly….”

“That child said his name was Adrian!”

I cut in before she could interrupt.

[SYSTEM: Due to ‘Best Actress Award, You’ll Give It to Me, Right?’ your expression’s ‘innocence’ is amplified.]

“He was tied up and trapped in a dark place—it looked so pitiful… and he said he was the son of House Velas.”

“Haah…”

“Duchess, is that true? Is Adrian your son? Then why is he imprisoned?”

This was the duchess’s private chamber. Only her closest confidants were present—people who wouldn’t be troubled even if it was revealed that the duke’s son was imprisoned.

As I followed the duchess while she turned away with a sigh, a notification appeared.

[SYSTEM: The target finds you troublesome, but does not doubt your sincerity.]

“…That’s right, Rosha.”

When Melisandra turned back to me, her eyes were moist with tears.

What is this? Are you using the ‘Best Actress Award’ skill now?

“The Adrian you saw is my beloved son. I didn’t bear him in my womb—but I bore him in my heart.”

How ridiculous.

“But as you saw, I had no choice but to confine him in that dreadful, dark place.”

‘No choice’? What is this infuriatingly passive, evasive phrasing?

“…Why?”

“It was the duke’s decision. Adrian committed a transgression against him.”

“……”

So it was true. She was even trying to shift the blame for imprisoning Adrian onto her husband.

Duke Velas was currently away in the north, subjugating invading magical beasts. He had no way of knowing what was happening in his own home.

“I begged him with tears, saying it was too cruel for a child so young—but it was useless. He said not to even dream of releasing Adrian until he returned from the campaign…”

“……”

Perhaps her acting skills were peaking today—Melisandra let tears fall freely. She looked pitiful, but knowing her true nature, I found it nauseating.

Not just nauseating. My hands trembled with anger.

‘You say you love him?’

Is casually dumping your own guilt on someone else what she calls love? Or was love and family never truly meaningful to her at all?

With the help of my skills, I’d managed my facial expressions well so far—but this time, it was hard.

Fortunately, Melisandra seemed absorbed in her own performance, head bowed low—

[SYSTEM: System warning! The target senses something strange in your suddenly cold demeanor.]

Ah—damn it.

The last time she spouted nonsense about needing a “love potion for Adrian,” my face had slackened in disbelief too.

But back then, it could be mistaken for me being reluctant to give up my father’s potion. There was an excuse.

This time, there was none. Damn it.

The moment she lifted her head, her unnaturally cold brown eyes met mine directly. It sent a chill down my spine, like locking gazes with a snake.

—Ding!

[SYSTEM: System warning! Heart rate too high.]
[Steady your breathing while looking at the displayed image.]
[Inhale slowly while counting to four.]

A circular image appeared, slowly filling and emptying. As I followed it and breathed out steadily, I regained enough composure to salvage the situation.

“Rosha?”

“Yes—yes, Duchess.”

Putting on a flustered expression, I spoke quickly.

“I—I’m sorry. I was just shocked to hear he was punished by his own father…”

“Oh my, Rosha.”

The duchess’s chilling expression gradually softened.

“There’s nothing for you to worry about. Marquis Utel treasures you dearly.”

Thankfully, she seemed to interpret my reaction as fear that my own father might treat me similarly—exactly as I intended.

“Then, Duchess Velas… how about I visit Adrian in your place?”

“…What?”

Melisandra lifted her head, tears still clinging to her lashes.

“I’m not part of the ducal family, so the duke wouldn’t interrogate me.”

“……”

“I actually brought food and water for Adrian today. I couldn’t see him well in the dark, but he looked terribly thin.”

I shook the bag, explaining why I had arrived so early.