Evelyn, who hadn’t expected to encounter the Tower Master so soon, was a bit flustered but quietly turned back toward the bedroom. Or rather, she tried to. As always, if only the tactless system hadn’t sent her a quest that would end her peaceful game life.

[Sudden Quest Activated!]

You have discovered Ian, the Tower Master, earlier than scheduled. For the next minute, do your best to attract Ian’s attention. Upon successful completion of this sudden quest, Ian’s affection will increase by 10 and a hidden route will open. However, if you fail the quest, you will die by Ian’s hand.

No, listen. Who would want to attempt this when the penalty for failing the sudden quest is death? It was indeed a golden opportunity to turn the Tower Master’s negative affection to zero. But if she failed to become an attention seeker for one minute, she would die by the Tower Master’s hand.

‘No. I won’t do it. I’m giving up on this quest.’

Surely an opportunity to raise the Tower Master’s affection would come at least once within the remaining 11 months, even without risking her life. As if rebelling against her inner thoughts, the system message flashed red.

[Warning! If you refuse the sudden quest, all routes related to the Tower Master will be destroyed. Do you want to give up the sudden quest?]

This damn system is always doing whatever it wants. In the end, it’s telling me to become an attention seeker and attract the Tower Master’s attention. The only consolation, if it could be called that, was that Luinel, who had been discussing something with a serious face next to the Tower Master, suddenly left.

Evelyn took a deep breath and stood close to the terrace railing. She could see the back of the Tower Master appreciating the garden bathed in midday sunlight. Tok. The moment his delicate index finger touched a red rose, it crumbled into black ash in less than ten seconds.

“……”

Evelyn’s eyelids trembled as she accidentally witnessed the murder of the rose. To become an attention seeker against such a monster. She truly wanted to abandon the quest more desperately than ever before, but Evelyn, a slave to the system, had no choice but to put on an attention-seeking show.

“Hello, Tower Master. The weather is nice today, isn’t it?”

“……?”

In the end, the method she chose was the direct approach. If she addressed him directly, he would have to pay attention whether he wanted to or not. The Tower Master turned around and looked up precisely at the terrace where she was standing after her greeting delivered with a terribly trembling voice.

Evelyn gripped the terrace railing tightly to hide her trembling arms and produced the most natural smile she could manage.

“Do you like roses? I was thinking of starting to like them from today.”

In response to the festival of random words produced by her nervous brain, Ian, the Tower Master, showed no particular reaction and merely looked up at Evelyn with an indecipherable gaze. At that moment, a sudden strong gust of wind blew, causing Evelyn’s loosely tied hair to flutter and her untied ribbon to fly in Ian’s direction.

Ian reached out to catch the ribbon, and the corner of his mouth curved up in an elegant arc.

“Does a wh*re of the Crown Prince know me?”

It meant he had been aware of her presence even before she greeted him as if she were a supporting character in a horror movie.

“I do know you. I’ve seen you once from a distance when you visited the Margrave’s castle. And strictly speaking, I’m not a wh*re.”

Evelyn squeezed out all the background knowledge of the game she knew, her playing experience, and what little conversational ability she had left. Although she was trying to speak casually, her back was actually damp with fear. The red eyes visible through the black half-mask looked terribly emotionless. Those were the eyes of someone who didn’t regard life as life.

“If not a wh*re, then what are you?”

Evelyn flinched at the voice that suddenly came from right in front of her and turned her head. Ian, who had definitely been standing below the terrace just a moment ago, had approached right up to her face. Ian let out a silent laugh as Evelyn unconsciously stepped back.

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“I’m at an age where I get startled even by rolling autumn leaves, haha.”

“Then you should have just stayed crumpled up. I was trying to be considerate of the Crown Prince’s private life by pretending not to know.”

I wanted that too, more than anything!

Not knowing Evelyn’s unjust circumstances, Ian scanned her with emotionless eyes.

“Ah. Are you perhaps that? The unusual constitution that Luinel mentioned where magic manifests through bodily fluids.”

“Um… I think that’s me.”

“Then I shouldn’t kill you yet.”

Unfortunately.

With those words, the one minute that felt like ten years came to an end.

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the sudden quest. The Tower Master’s affection has increased by 10. You can now open the hidden route ‘The Tower Master’s Secret’.]

[The hidden route can be opened after completing the fifth main quest.]

What is the Tower Master’s secret? Surely, he’s not actually a hidden villain concealing his true identity.

Ian detached himself from the railing where he had been leaning as Evelyn’s pupils began to tremble terribly, having quickly lost interest in her.

“Tell Luinel. Submit as many different bodily fluids as possible by tonight.”

Blood would be best, if possible.

The Tower Master’s final remark sounded particularly chilling, and it definitely wasn’t just her imagination. Ian’s figure scattered like a mirage blown in the wind, leaving behind a pale Evelyn. Almost collapsing on the spot with the feeling that her blocked airways had suddenly cleared, Evelyn grabbed the railing and took rough breaths.

Luinel appeared in the garden again with perfect timing. Facing the empty garden, he frowned and muttered.

“I was wondering why he showed interest, but he couldn’t wait and left… Evelyn? What are you doing there?”

“Your Highness. May I please return to the Grand Temple now?”

Her energy had been drained after facing a psychopath officially certified by the developers with her bare body. However, Luinel was merciless.

“Do you think that’s possible? If you want to return to the Grand Temple as soon as possible, come to my office right now.”

Surely this wouldn’t lead to the ominous ending where she dies being overworked as an experimental subject for the Crown Prince and the Tower Master. Since this hell game contained countless various bad endings, she couldn’t let her guard down for even a moment. Evelyn, extremely tense, dragged her feet toward Luinel’s office.

Not long after, Luinel entered the office holding three glass vials. As she was pacing around, unable to sit in the ownerless office, Luinel suddenly grabbed her left wrist.

“It seems a Saintess is still a Saintess despite her promiscuous manifestation method. Seeing that the wound has healed about halfway in just one day. It seems that even a Saintess cannot perfectly heal herself?”

“I’m not yet able to handle magic that delicately.”

While diligently answering the Crown Prince’s question, Evelyn’s gaze was fixed on the glass vials he had brought. Was he really planning to fill them with her blood?

“…so I’ll ask for your understanding in advance for what I’m about to do to you.”

As her thought process kept rolling toward ominous directions, she failed to properly hear Luinel’s last words.

“What? What understanding? Are you planning to fill all those glass vials with my blood?”

“The Tower Master wanted blood, but I have no intention of seeing blood. If you cooperate well.”

“I’ll do my best at anything!”

Evelyn was prepared to do absolutely anything as long as she could avoid endings like dying from excessive blood loss or becoming the Tower Master’s experimental subject. The Crown Prince looked at the suddenly enthusiastic Evelyn with a dubious expression before twisting the corner of his mouth.

“Really? Anything?”

“Yes! Of course. You saw it yesterday too. I treated Your Highness with all my heart and body.”

“The effect was certainly remarkable. Then get up on the office desk.”

“……?”

Get up where?