Day 1 of Being Trapped in a Terrible Game

Blink.

When I opened my eyes, the world had changed.

“Your Grace, I present myself to you.”

I was definitely playing a game at home just moments ago.

Though my surroundings changed instantly, I didn’t react in any ordinary way—no screaming or asking where I was. The overwhelming aura emanating from somewhere was likely the reason.

“…Your Grace, this baby…”

An elderly voice came from somewhere in the distance.

I instinctively knew this person was the butler.

But there was no response.

“You there.”

Instead, a finger was pointed at me.

“…Yes?”

The awkward voice that came out was neither Korean nor my own.

“I’m entrusting this child to you.”

“…..”

The man spoke indifferently.

Before I could answer, a baby was placed in my arms.

“Waah!”

The newborn, separated from the man, whimpered briefly.

The baby quieted down when I soothed it.

Ding!

And a pink window appeared in mid-air.

♡SYSTEM♡ You have become the nanny of the Duke’s daughter!

♡SYSTEM♡ Please name the Duke’s daughter!

※ The name cannot be changed later.

I quickly scanned the text.

“Um… what about her name?” 

I asked in a timid voice that wasn’t mine.

Since that man seems to be the baby’s father, shouldn’t parents name their own children?

But.

The situation and dialogue felt familiar.

With an anxious heart, I gathered my courage to look at the man.

Cold silver hair and ruby-red eyes formed a perfect harmony.

A firm body was visible beneath his uniform.

Wait, is that blood on his clothes…?

‘Holy sh*t.’

I know this person.

“Your Grace, now…”

The father of the ducal lady from “Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady,” a character I’d grown sick of seeing on my monitor.

Jeremiah Cromwell.

‘My God…’

I had been transported into a noble lady simulation game.

As the nanny of the Duke’s daughter.

✧ʚ .·:¨༺♡༻¨:·. ɞ✧

“Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady.”

A recently trending noble lady simulation game.

This game, playable by anyone with a computer, tasks the player with becoming a nanny and raising the Duke’s daughter.

It featured mini-games, farming and gathering, and not only the Duke’s daughter’s affection but also the nanny’s likability, differentiating it from other games.

True to the game developer’s philosophy that “human potential is limitless,” there were hundreds of different endings.

—Isn’t it amazing? Even whether the first dessert is a macaron or pie can change the ending!

—Some streamers got the Imperial Princess ending even with cake as the first dessert.

—That’s just a figure of speech!

If there’s such a thing as a “game where strategies are meaningless,” this would be it.

In “Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady,” it was supposedly difficult to see the same ending twice.

Some people diligently attended etiquette lessons only to visit the kitchen once and end up with a chef ending instead of a Count ending.

Depending on when you visited the kitchen, who you associated with there, and what meal you had, you could get a farmer ending or even an Empress ending.

It took three months just to see all the endings, and updates with new endings were regularly released.

♡Let’s Divorce: I…

On the day of the Duke’s daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony, all the main characters in the game gathered at the Imperial Palace to hear what life the Duke’s daughter had chosen.

In other words, it’s the day to see the ending.

“Please, please…! I’m not even asking for her to marry the Crown Prince! Just anyone but her father…”

I prayed fervently toward the monitor.

Please!

Even a farmer ending would be fine…

♡Let’s Divorce: I want to marry Father! I’ve always loved you! Oh, Jeremiah! May I call you Jerry?

“Ah! Why is she marrying her father again?!”

I shook the monitor.

“Never! I’d rather die!”

If she wanted to die, she should have triggered the assassination ending in the first spring.

Knowing it was too late to kill the adult ducal lady and the thief—no, the Duke—I just glared at my innocent monitor.

As if mocking me, the lady was desperate to marry her father even on my tenth attempt.

Any truly intelligent person would reject a proposal from their twenty-year-old daughter, regardless of blood relations.

♡Jeremiah Cromwell: …I didn’t know you felt that way about me, ‘Let’s Divorce’.

♡Let’s Divorce: …

♡Jeremiah Cromwell: …Very well.

♡Emperor William: Hmm, it’s exceptional… but since you’re not blood-related and she wasn’t legally adopted, I suppose there’s no issue. Love knows no age or borders, does it?

But all the characters in the game were completely insane.

Common sense didn’t exist in this game.

♡Please Stop Marrying Your Dad: …! Miss ‘Let’s Divorce’ has found true love… I, ‘Please Stop Marrying Your Dad’, am truly happy for you.

The brown-haired pixel character—my character—had an expression of delight.

“Nanny, please. Why are you happy about this… You shouldn’t be happy.”

Even seeing the same dialogue for the tenth time was absurd.

The nanny, casually ignoring the name I gave her that contained my desperate plea, was just clapping happily.

♡Let’s Divorce: Thank you for being as happy as I am! I’ll be as happy as you’ve raised me to be…!

What does it matter how well she was raised? She’s marrying her father!

The cursed Jeremiah Cromwell and the daughter I raised with potions and gold were sending pixel hearts above their pixel heads.

“What was it all for…”

Maintaining her health with recovery potions, pouring my entire 55-gold weekly salary into the ducal lady’s education, and even taking side jobs to earn more money…

They say “Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady” makes it difficult to see the same ending twice—but as someone who’s played it ten times, I can tell you that’s a lie.

This is the tenth consecutive ending where she marries her father.

What wealth or glory was I hoping to achieve by repeating this game ten times?

♡Let’s Divorce: Jerry, I love you.

♡Jeremiah Cromwell: I love you too, ‘Let’s Divorce’.

“A daughter proposing marriage is crazy enough, but you’re even crazier for actually marrying her…”

I muttered while looking at the illustration.

The high-quality artwork depicted my cyber child in a wedding dress marrying the Duke who never participated in childcare but evaluated his daughter every season.

Let’s Divorce

The name I gave the Duke’s daughter at the start of the game was my only consolation.

A mental victory that the Duke would divorce her as soon as he came to his senses after the ending.

The fact that my chosen name was the game’s final line could evoke various emotional responses, which was probably the intention, but I was the exception.

“Terrible game. If she marries her father again, I’m really quitting this time.”

I think I said the same thing a few days ago.

Isn’t it said that human greed is endless and we repeat the same mistakes?

And I am human.

This is my last attempt.

This is really the last time.

I was about to click [Start New Game].

Ding!

Bzzzz—

“…”

My phone and computer alerted almost simultaneously.

<Mom: Are you going to keep living without contacting your family?>

<Dad: Quit that company and come back to meet some marriage prospects. The son of a major corporation—you need to make yourself useful somehow. The shaman says this will rid you of the evil spirits that have possessed you.>

“…I really need to block them.”

Looking at those messages just ruined my mood.

After flipping my phone over, I fixed my eyes back on the screen.

♡ Hidden Mode Unlocked ♡

~ Is human potential just one thing?! I love you, Daddy ~

You have seen the ‘Marry Daddy Ending’ 10 consecutive times!

Quest Reward: Check after playing

Penalty for Quest Failure: ???

Would you like to play in Hidden Mode?

[YES/NO]

“Hidden Mode…?”

My gloom was momentarily forgotten as I narrowed my eyes at the unfamiliar words.

Was this always here?

How many Let’s Play videos had I skimmed through with bleary eyes?

So this is the reward for witnessing the horrific father-daughter marriage ending ten consecutive times.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I clicked [YES].

♡ Hidden Quest Arrived ♡

Quest: Achieve the Imperial Princess Ending!

Time Limit: 3 years

Difficulty: Extreme

Quest Reward: Check after playing

Penalty for Quest Failure: ???

※ Difficulty [Extreme] means no saves during gameplay.

※ [Hidden Mode] does not provide mid-term evaluations.

※ For an enjoyable experience, please refrain from searching for guides during the game.

Start the game?

[YES/NO]

I could only be shocked at the next window.

The Imperial Princess ending is considered one of the true endings.

“I can’t even get the farmer ending!”

The Imperial Princess ending is already difficult to achieve, and now the difficulty is extreme!

“The time limit is 3 years…”

Compared to the original 18-year time limit, it’s really tight, but at least it’s better than having to make her an Imperial Princess within a year.

“Yes, I’m going to search for guides.”

I didn’t want to waste this rare hidden quest by ending up with another father-daughter marriage.

It was time to swallow my pride and look for walkthrough videos.

‘I’ll block those numbers while I’m at it.’

I clicked ‘YES’ and opened the internet to search for guides.

✧ʚ .·:¨༺♡༻¨:·. ɞ✧

And when I opened my eyes again…

I had been transported into “Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady.”

“You name her.”

The baritone voice was cool yet pleasant to hear.

I carefully raised my head.

Seeing a character I’d only known as pixels now realized in reality… it felt strange.

Transparent red eyes settled on me.

If not for that, I might have admired that surreal appearance for hours.

How much time passed? Duke Cromwell turned away abruptly as if he had nothing more to see.

The place he left behind smelled faintly of blood.

‘What… what is this?’

I looked back and forth between Duke Cromwell’s retreating figure and the pink window with bewildered eyes.

‘Did he just dump the baby on me and leave?’