28 Chapter 28: Markus’s guide on how to turn a game protagonist into your useful pawn (3)

Step 1: get the one you're trying to manipulate to open up to you...

""It's a pleasure to meet you lady Sophia, my name is Markus""

A cold and robotic voice came out of the boy who was currently kneeling before a young girl about his age.

"Mar...kis?"

The girl raised a timid and shy voice, as she feebly tried to speak Markus's name.

""Close enough...""

Muttering that under a hushed tone, Markus continued with his explanation.

""Although you've probably already been informed, I shall explain it again as it is expected of me, for the next 3-4 years I will be serving as your exclusive knight and servant as agreed upon by both of our families""

((Even if I don't like it since it means that I just escaped from being executor's pawn to becoming your servant, is this what they call going full circle?))

Markus wanted to say those words but couldn't as he didn't know if anyone other than Sophia was listening right now and even if there was only two of them he wouldn't dare say it since it'll basically ruin all of his plans and turn the continuity of the game's plot upside down which he couldn't afford.

Let's rewind time back a few hours...

After arriving at the Rosewood mansion, Markus was immediately inspected by the head butler of the house as well as other servants, after all even if he is just an apprentice he's still going to be the young lady's exclusive servant for the next 4 years.

There were various complaints at first from the guards and maids concerning doubts about Markus's age, intentions and level of skills as a fitting servant for the daughter of the head of the family.

So, much like the first time he came to the Silver's residence he was asked to do various tests to validate his abilities as well as dispel the doubts of the head butler and those who worked under him.

There were various challenges and tasks put out by the servants but since Markus had trained extensively in all of the possible fields that a servant would need to serve their master, he passed all of them flawlessly.

However there was one test that Markus was particularly anxious about.

And that was the combat test.

Since Markus was going to be the lady's knight it was only natural for the guards of the household to want to test his ability in combat, this in itself Markus wasn't too worried about, but since the clothes he was wearing (a tailcoat, long jeans, basically butler clothes etc.) right now were especially tailored, he didn't want to get it dirty with sweat and dirt.

But luckily someone came to his rescue, Sypha Clariet, Markus's swordsmanship teacher as well as the head guard of the Rosewood house.

Even though this development was surprising to most, Markus already knew this from his knowledge of the game so he wasn't fazed.

And with assurance from Syph, Markus was exempted from doing the combat test.

And that brings us to this current situation...

((Come to think of it having knowledge of the plot is really overpowered but it also comes with an equal amount of trouble...))

Markus thought cursing at his own circumstances right now.

"What's a k...night?"

With a stuttering voice the young Sophia Rosewood asked the mysterious white haired boy that just recently appeared in her room.

""Hmm...well, if we're going with the textbook definition of a "knight" then I'm someone who's job is to protect you from danger, making sure that all possible threats to you are either avoided or nullified...but I guess that description alone isn't enough to explain our relationship...basically for the next 3 years or so I will be the one to be there for you when you need me, taking care of you and helping you whenever you need me""

Thinking for a while, eventually Markus settled on using this explanation.

"You'd be there for Sophia?"

With a slightly shaken and shy voice, Sophia asked as if to reaffirm something.

((That's what I said princess obvious and stop referring to yourself in the third person, you're not at the stage where you can use astral projection magic yet))

Markus instinctively wanted to add some sarcasm while rolling his eyes, but his mouth knew better than to spew unnecessary words that could get his head chopped off.

""yes, at anytime, anyplace until you are either sick of me or our contract expires I will be there to protect, guide and help you with your troubles and I will guarantee that I'll put my utmost being into working for your benefit and devote myself to helping you attain happiness""

Markus said resolutely as he bowed his head and continued to kneel in a manner expected of a servant.

((Score! I can't believe I just ripped off a line from the game but...hey, if it works, it works!))

But deep down inside he was smirking with less than amicable intentions.

"Then..."

Sophia, hearing this finally decided to take the initiative for the first time since this conversation started.

"Sophia's birthday is today...will you celebrate it with me?"

The little girl finally gathered enough courage to ask that of Markus.

((Oh yeah if I remember correctly we are in that stage of the storyline...luckily I've already prepared in advance))

Once again using his exclusive power of plot manipulation through foreknowledge of the game's story, Markus reached into his cloak and pulled out a gift that he had made just for this day, an act that diverged from what his game counterpart did.

Presenting it to Sophia, Markus actually wanted to show a smile in order to help Sophia lower her guard around him but his stiff expression still refuses to change.

""of course, this year as well as the following years I will be here to celebrate your birthday with you""

The thing in his hand was a freshly picked vitalis rose, a rare crimson colored rose that only grows in regions overly saturated with magical power and releases a special type of pollen that makes monster want to rub themselves against it (basically the catnip of magical beasts).

((A beautiful and enchanting rose with equally dangerous thorns, a flower meant for a ruler, befitting of the Rosewood name))

""Congratulations on your 8th birthday, milady"

Receiving the magical flower, Sophia cradled the flower in her arms before rubbing her cheeks against the petals with a innocent and happy smile that was just at flowery as the flower was.

"Thank you Markus, Sophia is really happy"

Innocently cheerful, almost to the point of angelic Sophia cheerfully voiced her happiness at the gift she had received from Markus.

Even the heartless Markus was slightly moved at the innocent and nearly divine beauty of the young lady which surpassed anything the CGs of the game can ever replicate.

((Now I remember why she was so popular among the fan base...))

Markus thought remembering the fact that the girl before him right now was ranked 1 in all the female characters lists in terms of popularity across all three games of the franchise.

((With this, I guess I can safely say that I got her to open up her heart to me, damn this was a lot more stressful in my head...))

Markus breathed a sigh of relief, he was glad that the worst case scenarios that he had envisioned in his head didn't came to pass.

((If I had to deal with the annoying tsundere version of Sophia that haruki-senpai made during his play through I swear I would've gone insane))

Markus suddenly remembered the face of his best and only friend in his previous life, a simple care free and fun loving person but for some reason he always seemed more mature than Kazuki, he loved tsundere characters and would openly brag to Kazuki whenever he bought a new body pillow or figurine of his favorite waifu (which were all tsundere characters), which embarrassed Kazuki to no end, there was even times where he screamed out things like "tsunderes are the best" and "flat is justice" during class.

((But despite that memories of him were one of the only few fond ones that I made in my previous life...))

Markus was now caught in an inexplicable sense of nostalgia, he wanted to smile but was unable to as usual.

((But that's not important right now!))

Snapping himself out of it Markus began to plan his next move...

((Sophia Rosewood, her backstory in the game is as follows:" born as the only daughter to the prestigious bloodline of the Rosewood house, Sophia grew up in an environment filled with constant isolation as well as bullying from one of the maids serving in her house, her only parent is often busy with work and has little time to spend raising his daughter, all of this coupled with the pressure of being the heir of Rosewood has caused her to be highly reclusive and unwilling to open up to others in fear of getting hurt...that is until, a certain demon came into her life))

Markus began recounting the memories of his very thorough and factual checked knowledge of "fires of Valentia".

((And that "demon" is me, Markus Silver...although he was completely uncaring and lacking in things like gentleness and tenderness, Markus was very much in fact, Sophia's first and closest friend, her childhood friend so to speak, he protected her from the bullying and was there for her whenever she needed it, he even saved her life on one or two occasions earning her trust and friendship, although for him he was only doing a mission, for her he was very much her savior, the only light in her life and her object of admiration, in the game this special kinda connection can actually be use as a strategic advantage in battle, if you build enough affection points with Markus at the start of the game as Sophia when he still had some semblance of humanity in him since his Laplace factor hadn't reach critical mass yet, he will actually go easy on you once his boss fights came provided you had Sophia in your main lineup at that time, although in his final battle with the hero's party that feature is no longer applicable, it's a very nice touch from the dev's part that not only adds to the story but also the gameplay...anyway, that's basically the premise))

Markus thought surprised at the fact that a person like Markus can have such a positive effect on someone's life but he was getting off topic so he digressed.

((Anyway, in order for my plan to work, I need to shape Sophia into the best version of herself, the finest most graceful lady with strong ideals, unfortunately I'm "Markus" right now and not "the player" so I can't just pick an option for her to follow and actively shape her character, so instead I'll have to subtly push her in my desired direction, subconsciously guiding her into becoming a lady fit to be one of the core members of the hero's party in the future))

An apt description of the Markus right now was a master manipulator or puppet master so he wasn't exactly troubled by what he should do next, feeling guilty about emotionally manipulating a young girl isn't going to help him survive after all.

((The Markus in the game only did the minimal work when it came to his services to Sophia, but if I hope to live longer I need to dip my hands even deeper into Sophia's troubles and either resolve it for her or help her overcome it with her own power, it might be a bit of a cruel thing to say but it would be more convenient if she started becoming emotionally dependent on me as much as possible, so even if it's a bit meddlesome and callous I'll admit, but I have to become lady Sophia's strongest pillar of support, and the first step towards that is...))

Step 2: try and make some kind of permanent positive change in their life...

After settling in to the Rosewood mansion, Markus life was not that different from before, apart from having a busier schedule than usual, the nature of his routine stayed the same.

His schedule was divided acting as a servant for Sophia and doing some self training to increase his level even more.

There were a few brazen guards that challenged Markus proclaiming things like "you are not worthy of being the young lady's knight" or "fight me if you're a real man", apparently they were jealous of Markus's position which kinda reminded Markus of the annoying vice guard captain Murata back at his house.

((Well that means they're devoted to their master I guess?))

With exasperation in his heart and a heavy sigh escaping his mouth, Markus begrudgingly accepted their provocations.

And of course he completely destroyed all of them even when they ganged up on him.

At the end of the match all of them were laying sprawled out on the soil while Markus was still standing up straight with not even a single sweat on him, this scene gave Markus a familiar feeling of deja Vu.

After that Markus moved on to his main goals for today.

((If I want to built a long lasting positive relationship with Sophia, than I need to resolve her current most concerning problem yet...))

Markus thought, beginning to investigate the household as well as get himself accustomed to it's layout.

((During the the first prologue chapters of the game the first ever objective the player has to complete, is to "help" Sophia with a certain maid that's been harassing her behind everyone's back and even though I would like to take care of that woman right now, I don't know exactly what her identity is yet))

Markus looked around inquisitively trying to read the expression of all those around him as he walks through the mansion on his way to Sophia's room.

((Although there is a saying of "don't judge a book by it's cover" if you are observant enough there is actually away for you to discern someone characters just from the subtlety in their demeanor, posture, the way they walk and most of all, their expression))

Markus thought as he had already marked down certain individuals for investigation and discarded the ones that seemed innocent enough.

Very soon, the one he was looking for will reveal herself to him and by that time, he will already have all the means to corner this despicable woman, like an inescapable death trap already sprung, just waiting for the unfortunate animal to step on it.

With his usual hardened and freezing cold expression, Markus began to scheme yet again like he always has and always will, in the matter of social manipulation, the one who plots ahead first always wins.

""Let the game begin...""

Markus said, officially kicking off the start of fires of Valentia's story but it is also the signal to the beginning of his never ending battle, a battle that will bend the fabric of everything that is and will be.