Chapter 28

3% of his interest rose instantly, but I wasn't in a situation where I could be happy about it.

"Why are you...."

"First, can you get this away from me?"

I asked, glimpsing at the wooden sword by my neck.

"It's cold."

"...Ah."

With a sound of realization, he raised his hand with the sword up in the air.

Whoosh-.

That moment, a shadow of a long object was shown on me.

I instinctively closed my eyes.

I knew he wouldn't slash me with it, but it was like I said, instinctive.

Crack-!

I opened my eyes again when I heard something breaking.

I looked down at the ground to find a broken wooden sword that has been thrown really hard.

'What the....'

When I raised my head, Eclise dropped down to the sloppy wet mud on his knees.

"Master."

"...."

"I'm sorry."

He apologized, kneeling on the ground.

"How dare I, to master...."

The frown on his face resembles a child on the verge of crying.

"Punish me."

Shaaa- It started to rain harder than before.

Raindrops dropped on and back down from his nose and his chin continuously. He looked pitiful.

But then I noticed where he was looking at right away.

The crimson ruby ring I had on the index finger of my left hand.

A thin sigh escaped my mouth.

I looked at Eclise and at the broken wooden sword.

'Who knows that he might come at me when I move my finger on him, even though he told me to punish him.'

The wooden sword was now half-buried under the mud.

The sharp end of the wooden sword was still poking out from the mud. If I were to fall on top of it, then it might actually....

'Ahh....'

I trembled at the terrible thought.

Out of the blue, I was reminded of the line choices that I've turned off for a while.

'If I was playing the game, then I would've died in such a stupid way in this scene.'

If then, I would've clicked on 'reset' and continue to play this episode until I live through it.

I wasn't certain of it though since I never got to this episode playing the hard mode.

But I could guess, now that I stayed in this world for a while now.

That there would've been choices right now at this scene if it were a game.

'...What does Penelope have to say right now if she wants to live.'

I coldly looked down at Eclise who was kneeling down before me.

He did sad puppy eyes as he looked down at the floor, but I wonder what he's thinking inside.

A slave who lost his country in a day and fell from being a noble to a being a slave.

He must feel terrible about his state right now where he was sold with money that now he has to kill his true desire and act well to a haughty noble girl who he probably hates.

It wasn't hard guessing what he is probably feeling.

The sight of him swinging his sword even though no one was there, and with that breath-taking deathly aura at that.

From that, I could realize just how much anger and fury he was holding all in.

There was only one answer to this.

Just smile kindly like the heroine of the normal mode, as if you don't even know what a deathly aura is and-

'Tell him that it's fine and that it isn't that of a big deal.'

But no matter how much I tried to force myself to say those words, it wouldn't come out.

'Just how can you say something like that?'

I almost died from that wooden sword.

"...Eclise."

I clenched my hands into fists and found other words to say instead.

"Is someone picking on you?"

I still needed to act well in order to survive.

At least as long as I'm still Penelope, the villain of this game.

"People here don't treat the knights this strictly.... Why could it be that you're still training in this kind of weather."

"...."

"You alone at that."

I forced a smile. Studying him intensely in case he tries to kill me.

"Hmm?"

I urged him to answer. When I did, his once emotionless face turned into a face of a dumbfounded someone.

"You're all wet to the skin."

I tilted the umbrella a little so that it covers the rain from him too, though it wouldn't do anything since he was already drenched.

His long lashes looked heavy with the small raindrops caught in them.

I reached out my hand and swiped his both of his eye area as if to dry them.

"Tell me. Who told you to do such a thing."

Eclise flinched when my fingers touched him as if he's been stamped with a metal stamp heated with fire.

Then he answered while exhaling…

"...No one."

"...."

"No one made me do this."

"Then?"

"I just...."

He paused. Then he moved his gaze from the ring to my eyes.

"I wanted to formally become a knight so that I could stay by master's side as soon as possible...."

"...."

"That's why I've been training alone, master."

I smiled gently at his answer.

"How highly commendable."

The grey eyes that were looking at me weren't wavering anymore.

"I should give you a prize for training so hard."

I looked up above his head which was sparkling again.

Then I acted my best to hide what I was thinking.

"Should I tell them to set a cover here so that you can do your training without getting wet? Or do you have something you wanted?"

"...."

Eclise shook his head no without saying a word. Then I rolled my gaze over to the broken wooden sword.

"Ah, yes. I should get you another sword since that one's broken."

"...."

"I should call an armorer. Or would a blacksmith be...."

"I would like."

He opened his mouth and cut through my words.

"I would like for master to visit me often."

I was left speechless at his unexpected request. I looked at him with a slightly widened eyes when he continued.

"Master has never once visited me after leaving me at this place...."

"...."

"I thought master has forgotten me."

His gaze on me somehow looked as of he was doting me. Just as if he was begging for love.

"...Ha."

I didn't know if that was a horselaugh or a self-helping laugh that escaped my mouth.

I was certain of it now.

The discomfort I felt from him even when he kneeled to me after beating others like a murdering machine.

Just like I was putting on a mask of a kind master for his interests, Eclise was also acting like my loyal dog for his survival.

'I thought I brought in a puppy but maybe it was a baby tiger instead.'

Idiotically, I never once suspected that Eclise's route was dangerous as I thought all along that his would be the safest.

But now I wasn't sure. It was my fault for not trying out every characters' route.

But, even so, I couldn't stop now.

"...Alright. Anytime, if that's what you want."

[Interest 25%]

Eclise faintly smiled at my answer.

"You're going to catch a cold, Eclise."

His breath was visible in the cold air.

I told him with a gentle tone when he straightened his back.

At the same time, the umbrella was tilted back towards me.

The rain started to pour on Eclise again.

"Stop with your training today. This is an order."

I turned to my back with that said.

It was when I was about to take the first step forward.

"Master."

Eclise called me.

I glimpsed back at him and saw him still kneeling on the ground.

He didn't try and avoid the rain as he only stared at me.

"...Aren't you going to give me any punishments?"

"...."

"I almost hurt master."

No. Not just almost hurt me....

'You almost killed me.'

I forced a smile even with my trembling lips.

"Punishing a loyal knight for only some small matters is something that only some idiotic storytellers would do, Eclise."

"...."

"You didn't do that on purpose. Right?"

I didn't give him the chance to reply to my words as I quickly walked away.

I felt the gaze not leaving me until I was completely gone from the place.

My one and only bodyguard who didn't receive an order to get up again, nor was ever forgiven for his actions by me.

Thankfully, he didn't try and stop his master from leaving again.

I walked at a fast speed, not caring whether or not my dress got wet.

Everything passed by me so quickly due to me walking so fast. I was moving in a completely different manner than how I was walking earlier.

'It wasn't that Eclise's route was safe.'

My mood dropped to the very bottom at the truth I just realized not too long ago.

Actually, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Every male leads' interests started from either a 0 or at a negative.

I kept on dying before even being able to reach the middle of the story of the routes playing the hard mode. There was no way there'd be an easy route to take.

'What was I thinking? What did I trust so much that I approached him without any fear?'

The wooden sword that sliced through the rain to my neck before I even got to him.

I flinched just by thinking about it.

"Ah...."

I stumbled to a stop at the sudden dizziness from a headache.

I didn't have the mentality to realize that my clothes were wet as I reached out for the wooden pillar next to me for support. My trembling legs felt like it was going to lose all the strength at any moment.

I glared at somewhere on the other side of the fog until the dizziness left me. Then I muttered the one thing that came up in my head.

"I should hurry and meet with Buinter."

~~~~~