The three weeks spent at the High Grand Temple were truly intense. Her grand plan to build affection was completely shattered by Nox, who transformed into a heat-struck dog mode whenever he saw her. They had even coupled in Nox’s private training ground in broad daylight.

But the power of physical bonding was far stronger than Evelyn had anticipated.

“Already approaching 90% affection?”

Perhaps this was for the best. At this rate, her body might break down from Nox’s insane stamina before she could even get involved with the other male leads. She had clearly confirmed from the planning team’s official statement that among all male leads, he was supposed to be the most noble and furthest from s*xual desire.

‘How does a patch change someone like that?’

This was beyond character-breaking. Just wait until she escapes this game. She would leave scathing reviews about a game that exploits users both mentally and physically… though her irritation was offset by experiencing life’s greatest pleasures thanks to her highly sensitive body.

As Evelyn, growing increasingly embarrassed, cleared her throat while patting her waist that had completely lost sensation, it happened.

[Sub-Quest “Secretly Infiltrate the Crown Prince’s Palace” has arrived.]

Use the “One-time Special Catnip” you received after completing the second main quest to infiltrate the Crown Prince’s palace. If successful, you can proceed with the meeting event with Crown Prince Luinel, the second male protagonist of “Evelyn’s Manor.” If you fail, the meeting event with Luinel will be canceled.

[Special item for the sub-quest has arrived. Would you like to receive the maid outfit for disguise?]

“Hey, you damn game operators. Shouldn’t you conscientiously give me a day off?”

Due to her intimate relations with Nox every single day recently, her body no longer felt like her own. Now she was in trouble, as her lower regions would respond automatically just from seeing Nox’s face. Today was supposed to be her precious free time since Nox had finally gone out on external business after they had satisfied their desires completely and returned to normal daily life.

‘My freedom disappeared in less than an hour, haha.’

It was frustrating that she had to use this sweet free time to meet the second male lead, the Crown Prince, but the system remained silent despite her complaints. However, since she would be the one to regret it if the meeting event with the Crown Prince fell through, she diligently prepared to go out while cursing verbally.

Maria, today is the anniversary of my parents’ death, so I’ll visit my hometown briefly. Just tell the Grand Temple people that I’m training my magic.

Though it pricked her conscience to use Evelyn’s parents, who died long ago in a carriage accident, as an excuse. But there was no other way to get the sensitive Maria on her side. Leaving just a short note, she quickly changed into the maid outfit.

‘A maid outfit again.’

If there was any consolation, it was that this maid outfit came equipped with facial recognition interference.

Evelyn passed by the priests cleaning the Grand Temple and smoothly exited through the main gate. Thanks to the maid outfit’s function working properly, she was able to leave the Grand Temple without arousing anyone’s suspicion. When Evelyn judged she was quite far from the High Grand Temple, she opened the mini-map after a long time.

‘I could only check the male protagonists’ locations within a 100m radius.’

Perhaps because Nox was also out, the mini-map was completely empty. Evelyn recalled the apprentice priest she had met before completely leaving the Grand Temple. James, Maria’s childhood friend, was known throughout the Grand Temple for his meddlesome nature.

So recently, pretending to be a new maid who had entered the High Grand Temple, she had asked him the way to the imperial palace. James, whose hobby and specialty was helping others, excitedly drew her a simple map.

‘Thank you, James. I won’t forget today.’

Evelyn mentally waved goodbye to James, who failed to recognize her despite being right in front of him, and entered the forest connected to the High Grand Temple. Before long, a carriage rental shop appeared, suggesting James’s map was accurate.

“I need the fastest carriage to the capital, please.”

Moving alone here was her first time except for when she had escaped from the Margrave’s castle in the middle of the night for a sub-quest. So she was a bit nervous, but she managed to board the carriage to the capital without any issues.

When I get near the imperial palace, I should be able to spot a red dot presumed to be the Crown Prince. Then I’ll just follow it from there.

So Evelyn headed alone by carriage toward the central district of the capital where the imperial palace was located. She never imagined she would use the travel money Nox had given her in case she needed anything while he was away like this.

Nevertheless, thanks to that, Evelyn arrived at the capital without incident and looked up at the imperial palace, too vast to take in at a glance. The palace, which at first glance looked like a fortress, was, of course, tightly controlled at its entrance by armed knights.

Hiding in a narrow alley not far from the imperial palace, Evelyn opened the mini-map again. A red light blinked at a point inside the palace.

‘Fortunately, he’s in the palace.’

When playing the original game, the Crown Prince often snuck out, unable to bear the stifling palace life, and encountered Evelyn on such occasions. Memories of being treated like a stalker after arranging seemingly coincidental meetings to raise the Crown Prince’s affection flashed vaguely through her mind.

‘Far from increasing his affection, it plummeted in real-time.’

Evelyn, watching the majestic imperial palace with cloudy eyes, took out the one-time special catnip from her inventory.

[One-time Special Catnip – When swallowed, you can transform into a cat for 24 hours. However, be careful as you will return to your original form if you fall asleep.]

…Now I have to dehumanize myself after healing male leads with my body?

‘Why does the Crown Prince have to be kind only to animals?’

One thing she had realized while playing the game was that all items received as quest rewards were useful for conquering the male leads. In particular, the Crown Prince was set to be infinitely cruel to humans but infinitely warm to animals.

So, rather than approaching him as Evelyn, it might be much more useful to approach him as an animal to observe his daily routine and create future points of contact. The Crown Prince, famous for his impenetrable walls in “Evelyn’s Manor,” had little information available, so this was a good opportunity to learn about his preferences.

Not forgetting the power of positivity today either, Evelyn closed her eyes and swallowed the palm-sized catnip.

“Ugh, why is it so bitter… meow!”

Just as she complained about the bitter taste filling her mouth, there was a sudden “poof!” sound, and her vision was obscured by thick fog before her eye level drastically lowered.

“Meow, meow?”

It was already frustrating that whenever she tried to say something, only “meow, meow” sounds came out. Shaking her head vigorously, Evelyn staggered out of the smoke.

She had made the right decision to take the medicine in a secluded alley. Otherwise, she would have been reported to the guards as a suspicious person.

Evelyn took the fallen maid outfit in her mouth and tucked it away in a corner of the alley before stretching. Then she casually walked out of the alley and strolled down the street. Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, the main street was quiet.

Stopping near the imperial palace, Evelyn moved her legs diligently along the palace wall, looking for a hole to slip through. Suddenly, a large dog lunged at her, startling her so much that she instinctively jumped up onto the wall.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

The dog, frustrated at losing its prey right in front of its nose, looked up at her and twitched its black nose.

‘Wow. A cat’s jumping power is insane.’

At first, even taking a single step had been awkward to the point of madness. But as time passed, she gradually became accustomed to moving in a cat’s body. Now able to maintain perfect balance on top of the wall, Evelyn swished her tail back and forth as she looked down at the palace grounds.

Unlike the heavily guarded main gate, this side, where the servants’ entrance was located, had relatively relaxed security. Additionally, since the walls surrounding the palace grounds were inherently high, no one paid attention to the walls, which was reassuring for her.

‘The problem is how to get down.’