Episode Six

<System Message: < strong>

< Orelei

< Charisma 1/10

< Grace 0/10

< Dancing 0/10

< Music 0/10

< Speaking 0/10

< Knowledge 0/10

< Alignment: Neutral>

 "Goddess of Death Route."

I have never seen that before. Honestly, I probably shouldn't be seeing it now…

I should have kept my mouth shut. 

No! Why didn't I do that? And, now, of course, as the System says…my actions will have consequences. 

Pulled into a dressing parlor, Eliza screams on the couch like a spoiled child as she sobs into mother's arms. "It's not fair!" Her entire body shakes with the force of the sobs. The only thing missing from this image is her kicking and screaming. I'm unsure what Eliza expects me to do about the situation, as it stands. I have very little control over the turn my life has taken.

Father glares at me sternly, his arms crossed across his broad chest. His hair is a dark brown, pulled back into the ponytail away from his face. His beard features the same streaks of grey and white that the Archbishop's hair had. It's the only sign of any kind of familial resemblance that I see between any of us and that man. He seems to be at a loss for words, however, as he cannot seem to find any human speech capable of further berating me.

Eliza looks up and points at me, accusingly. "It's all because of her hair, Papa! I told her to change her hair and she wouldn't! She's jealous of my marriage! You knew she would be! The Archbishop wasn't good enough for her!"

I feel my eyebrows hit my hairline. "That is beyond ludicrous!" I yell back, defending myself. I can't believe that Orelei who came before me would be that vindictive. Eliza sobs harder at the raised tone. I actively feel guilty for raising my voice. The look on her face…it was as if I had slapped her. I cringe inwardly, but, try to remember that I have done nothing wrong, and, to be accused of such was a ridiculous charge.

I also note that the bachelors from the game, the Lords of the Kingdom, never appeared before Lord Corromoth made his decision to call off his engagement to one Eliza Phillips. If only the plot had played out as it was supposed to, there wouldn't be a crying teenage girl, accusing me of ruining her happy marriage that wasn't.

Finally, my father speaks. "Orelei…we know that you have always…resented that you do not have a dowry to make a good match, but…" He sighs, as if he is unsure how to continue.

Mother interrupts him. "The Archbishop was your best opportunity to find the life and station you desire, Orelei! You renounced him…and to what end!?" She turns away from me, hatefully glowering at me before continuing to comfort Eliza.

Eliza, the favorite daughter. 

Eliza, the hope for our family.

I feel thoroughly shamed. I react to her just as she intended me to, as if she were my real mother from my previous life. "Mother…I only…"

"You only responded without thinking! As you always do, Orelei! You are brash and without manners or grace!" The woman rages at me. 

I feel something inside me break, then. I wonder if this is the way that Orelei was spoken to at all times. I wondered how she was able to survive a lifetime of such explicit descrimination against her. I make a decision right then: No one would be speaking that way to me any longer.

"Well, if I am without grace and without manners, it seems as if I have learned from the most graceless peron in all of the kingdom."

<System Message: Speaking Level Up! < strong>

<Speaking: 0>1 >

No one is quite sure what to say for a long moment. Finally, my father clears his throat, though, I cannot tell if he is amused or disapproving. "Orelei, the Lord has renounced your sister…"

I feel my nose wrinkle in disgust. "Eliza, you cannot tell me that you seriously intend to marry the Lord of Death?"

My mother snaps at me. "That is quite enough out of you, Orelei! Now…we may yet be able to salvage your marriage to the Archbishop…" She smooths Eliza's perfect, cornsilk hair. 

Who wouldn't love her.

"You need only to apologize," she says, trying to force a smile to her face. She grasps Eliza's hands, comfortingly. "Surely, if you apologize, the Archbishop will consider allowing you to continue your engagement…and, perhaps, he would be willing to speak to Lord Corromoth…"

Our father barks a short laugh, earning a disapproving look from my mother. His look loses none of its severity, even as he speaks. "You truly think Keavan Phillips has any sway over the General of the Dead?" The nickname causes Eliza to stop shuddering, tears no longer streaming down her face.

Was she actively pretending to be this upset the whole time?

I feel my brows pull together as I lean against the wall. "I don't understand, Fathers," I say, gently. "Is our uncle not the one who brokered the engagement between our Fair Eliza and the Lord?" 

My father sneers. "If he truly manipulalted Lord Corromoth, he had to call in several favors. The Lord of Death takes orders from no one," he says, as if that should clarify all. It does little to help.

I shake my head. "Perhaps I could…"

"You could what, Orelei?" My mother snaps. "Don't you think that you've done enough damage to your poor darling sister?"

I feel myself sink. My speaking stat wasn't high enough to contend fully with her yet.

I open my mouth to attempt to find another suitable thing to say, to tell them that I will personally speak to Lord Corromoth, when a heavy knock sounds on the door to the small room. 

My entire family freezes. The look between all of us as we silently argue who will answer it only increases the tention that we are all feeling.

Finally, my father, with another sound of disgusts, walks briskly to open the door. He opens the door to reveal a small, elderly gentleman in a black suit who sports bright white mutton chops.

"I have come to collect the Lady Orelei," he announces, proudly. "The Lord Corromoth wishes her to be prepared for the ceremony.