The prologue of Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady shows how Anastasia was brought in.

♡SYSTEM♡ The war that everyone hopes will be the last, but will likely be just one of many, has ended.

♡SYSTEM♡ Returning home.

The black and white dot characters pass through a ruined village.

♡Duke Cromwell: ……Can that place be called home?

The dots forming his mouth moved slightly as if making a sneer.

♡SYSTEM♡ Home is where one spends most of their life.

♡SYSTEM♡ By that definition, Duke Cromwell’s home is the battlefield. A battlefield filled with blood and sl*ughter. The source of chaos and a place he wants to escape from.

I’ve skipped the prologue since my third playthrough so my memory is hazy, but I’m certain this was the content.

Jeremiah Cromwell had sounded the victory drums in this war as well.

In the game, Duke Cromwell was leaving the village, now reduced to rubble, with his knights.

♡???: Waah—! Waah—!

At that moment, a baby’s cry was heard from a collapsed house.

♡Duke Cromwell: …….

Normally, he would have ignored such a sound. He had already heard too many screams and pleas.

But Duke Cromwell ordered the baby to be brought to him.

♡Duke Cromwell: Take the child with us.

Duke Cromwell said after seeing the baby.

An uncharacteristic act of kindness.

The short dot animation then showed Duke Cromwell looking at the baby.

The prologue captured the desolate atmosphere of war well. It was also touching.

Meanwhile, only the red eyes of the father and daughter were colored, doubling the chilling effect.

The black and white contrasted with the pink atmosphere that followed, making it more impactful.

‘……What’s the point of it being touching or having a good atmosphere? He ends up marrying his daughter anyway.’

If you’re going to adopt, you should take responsibility all the way.

It’s infuriating that he takes responsibility in such a way.

Anyway, there’s a very high chance I already know what he’s going to say.

Who could know Duke Cromwell’s true intentions?

“It’s okay if you don’t know! I’m just curious, not desperate to find out.”

I only brought it up to break my own awkwardness.

Since Anastasia’s arrival at the ducal residence, rumors had spread among the mansion staff.

—Lala, did you hear? They say the Duke picked up the lady on his way back.

Perhaps because the source was the knights who were present, the accuracy was high.

In any case, the adoption motive isn’t that important.

‘It’s not even crucial information for completing the quest.’

If there are parts omitted from the prologue due to time constraints, it would be nice to hear them, but it’s not essential.

“I don’t know why he brought her, but…… ah, I was the one who retrieved Lady Anastasia from the ruins.”

“……You, Michael?”

The dot character who scurried around to retrieve Anastasia from the ruins—in other words, Duke Cromwell’s subordinate—was Michael?

No wonder his way of holding Anastasia seemed practiced.

“His Grace ordered me to bring her. He said he heard crying, but nobody except the Duke could hear it.”

Michael says he didn’t believe Duke Cromwell until he found Anastasia.

“I didn’t know that.”

I said, looking at Anastasia in my arms.

“If it weren’t for His Grace, the lady would probably……”

Knowing it wasn’t a pleasant topic, Michael pressed his lips shut.

“I’m glad the lady is healthy! No one would have thought that tiny baby would grow this much in a month.”

He said, looking at Anastasia.

As if recognizing the person who had rescued her, Anastasia observed Michael blankly.

“By the way, did Duke Cromwell personally designate you as the guard, Michael? I only heard he was recruiting.”

Michael Cipher’s narrative and relationship with the lady seemed perfect, as if he had fallen straight from heaven.

I wondered if Duke Cromwell had considered all this when selecting him.

Even though I know he’s not that meticulous.

“What you heard is correct. I was selected through recruitment. I was the first to put my name on the application. I hadn’t seen the lady since then. I was curious how she was doing.”

“……”

“Thank you for growing well, my lady.”

He matched Anastasia’s gaze with a broad smile.

“Michael, thank you for saving me.”

I imitated a child’s voice.

How nice it would be if time with Duke Cromwell could be this warm and friendly too.

Day 26 of Being Trapped in a Terrible Game, Day 25 of Tutorial

Time flew by quickly.

I can feel the tutorial period coming to an end.

I’m guessing the tutorial will end when March begins.

As if to prove this, the Cromwell mansion has finished its spring preparations.

The staff (except me, busy with raising the lady) have been bustling about, polishing every corner of the mansion.

The lavish mansion that I thought I would never get used to is starting to look like an ordinary home.

No, actually that’s a lie. I’ll never get used to this mansion until the day I die.

Getting back to the original topic, thinking of the remaining tutorial period as ‘preparation for the main game’ made me feel more at ease.

♡SYSTEM♡ You drank an Intermediate Health Recovery Potion!

Health recovered by 50.

I’ve gotten better at timing my recovery potions, and my weekly pay is being deposited steadily.

Even if it’s game money, money is money. Money is the best.

Breakfast with Duke Cromwell is also going smoothly.

I’m navigating things better than I worried I would.

“……You seem to like the soup.”

Except for moments like this.

For the past two days, Duke Cromwell has been pathologically obsessed with my food intake.

“You’re eating more than yesterday.”

Is he actually keeping records?

“It’s the kind of food you can’t stop eating.”

Soup is the only thing going down my throat, you jerk.

Swallowing my true thoughts, I grinned sheepishly.

“Do you eat well at dinner?”

“Hmm……, I suppose so?”

Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve had dinner that I don’t know.

Since sleeping soundly in his bedroom, the mental distance seems to have decreased by about 1 centimeter.

The strange discomfort floating in the air has somewhat disappeared.

It was fine except for having to forcibly stuff food down my throat every morning.

‘I want to finish eating faster than Cromwell.’

Since food barely enters my mouth, leaving the dining room with Duke Cromwell is an ordeal.

‘My health…… didn’t increase today either.’

I spooned soup while looking at my stats that didn’t budge an inch.

“……”

Ah, I thought it was tomato, but it’s carrot.

While I was frowning at the strange texture, Duke Cromwell spoke.

“……Starting tomorrow, let’s meet for dinner as well.”

“Yes, dinner too…… What?”

His tone was so indifferent that I thought he had briefly answered with something like ‘I see’ as usual.

‘……Is he suggesting we eat together first?’

Whatever the reason, what does it matter?

I’m grateful as long as he spends time with Anastasia.

This tiny progress slightly raised my rock-bottom expectations.

✧ʚ .·:¨༺♡༻¨:·. ɞ✧

Michael, the guard, completely changed my concern that he would be as uncomfortable as he was comfortable.

“I’m sorry for making you do this.”

“Making me do this? Not at all! Miss Lorelai, please rest in your room.”

Michael would help return books to the deer statue without complaint.

Thanks to him, my somewhat annoying routine disappeared.

“……”

I looked at the closed door.

Anyone who isn’t a fool would know. This is clearly different from my usual game style.

I’ve been trying to play irregularly to avoid the “marriage to Jeremiah Cromwell ending,” but……

Since it’s the same person playing, patterns inevitably emerge unconsciously.

But this time it’s truly different.

‘I’ll be eating breakfast and dinner with the Duke, and I already have a guard.’

And the tutorial period has even been extended to a month.

I feel confident that everything will work out well.

‘At this rate, I might really see the imperial princess ending before the time limit ends?’

I lifted the corners of my mouth with a swelling heart.

Foolishly.

✧ʚ .·:¨༺♡༻¨:·. ɞ✧

“Waah—! Waah—!”

I opened my eyes at the sound of crying.

With experience, Anastasia’s crying didn’t stress me as much as before.

“Waah!”

A baby crying at night is just…… what babies do.

Anastasia tends to stop crying easily too.

“The lady must be very hungry. Just a moment.”

I dragged my heavy body to the cradle, looking for a fresh diaper and bottle.

‘She seems to be crying more intensely than usual……’

Is it just my imagination?

It was different from her usual crying.

“Waah! Waah—!”

“……”

She seems…… more distressed.

“Tasha……?”

I carefully reached out my hand.

Her small, fragile body was burning hot as if scorched by fire.