Madam Olsop asked me, still reeling from the shock.

“How does it feel?”

“Squishy. And disgusting.”

“Try touching it more firmly so they can be satisfied.”

Why would I touch the p*nis of a man I don’t even like?

“I don’t want to… Ahh!”

The moment I tried to refuse, Madam Olsop suddenly raised her cane and struck my calf. The pain felt vivid and real.

What kind of game is this? What game in the world hits the protagonist?

When I looked at Madam Olsop with bewildered eyes, she stared back at me with an equally uncomprehending gaze.

“Do you think you can seduce men like this?”

Really, actually. I had to learn this with my own body? No matter how I thought about it, it was absurd.

Weren’t all the sensations too vivid?

I was lucky the mission was to steal a ring—if they’d told me to kill someone, I would’ve died in the struggle. The mere thought was horrifying.

Ridiculously, I had to be grateful that the mission could be resolved within the bounds of common sense. So I had no choice but to obediently comply.

For two months, I had to learn the art of seducing men. That wasn’t all. They said I lacked refinement as a noble, so I had to learn actual aristocratic etiquette.

There were tests, and whenever I didn’t get good grades, Madam Olsop struck my calves. So every day I had to meet her with tension.

It reminded me of taking the college entrance exam. Who would’ve thought I’d feel that same anxious heart from checking my scores after a test, even in a virtual reality?

I used to have nightmares about failing the exam, and now in this world, I had nightmares about not passing tests and getting hit by Madam Olsop.

How bad was it that I suffered even in my dreams? A boring life would be better than this.

Every day felt like living in hell. Given the situation, I had only one goal: to escape this virtual world as soon as possible.

I had to wait for the day when I could quickly seduce the target and steal the ring he possessed.

The one fortunate thing was that because it was a virtual world, the two months of education felt like they passed faster than in the real world.

Also, it wasn’t like there were no buffs at all—during those two months, I was able to acquire the perfect qualities of a noble.

* * *

[System: Did you have a pleasant time during the past two months?]

The status window, which hadn’t appeared before me all this time, finally showed itself on the day the education ended.

Pleasant time my *ss. The System seemed determined to only say things that provoked me.

“Couldn’t this have passed by quickly?”

I poured out my complaints, but the System lightly ignored me and only said what it wanted to say.

[System: The time has come for you to be deployed on your mission.]

Deployed on a mission? Did this mean I was finally free from Madam Olsop?

Just recalling the two months of being hit at the slightest misstep or having to forcibly follow her words was horrifying.

She enjoyed training me—calling her a demon wouldn’t be an exaggeration. I didn’t want to be involved with her ever again.

So just the thought of not having to suffer under Madam Olsop anymore made me excited.

[System: Now, to steal Count Lindsey’s ring, you need to raise his favorability. The target’s favorability will be displayed with hearts. I hope you have a time that’s not boring, and I wish you success in completing your mission safely.]

Once again, with an unhelpful explanation, the status window said only what it wanted and immediately disappeared. As always, the content was predetermined, and I felt dragged along.

“Please, show me something!”

I pressed my index finger repeatedly where the status window had disappeared, hoping for a more detailed explanation. Even though I knew it only appeared when it had something to say, I didn’t want to give up.

That’s when it happened. A voice stopped my actions.

“What are you doing?”

I snapped back to attention at Count Richmond’s voice.

Perhaps because the two months of training had ended, the Count’s gaze toward me had changed from before. I could feel it had shifted from looking at useless trash to seeing that even a worm has the talent to roll.

“You must retrieve the ring from Count Lindsey by any means necessary. Can you complete this mission?”

And as expected, an order fell from his lips to take Count Lindsey’s ring. At the same time, he showed me a picture of the ring.

It was a ring set with a 5-carat diamond. What kind of power did that thing have in this virtual world? It didn’t look dangerous on the surface, which made me curious.

“Of course, but…”

“What?”

“Why exactly must I steal that ring?”

“It’s an evil ring powerful enough to destroy the Empire.”

Was it like the One Ring that could dominate the world? Just one ring? I couldn’t understand it, but since that was the setting, I had to accept it.

“Why must I specifically retrieve it?”

“The only people who can touch the ring are you, Count Lindsey, and the High Priest. So you must find the ring and place it in the temple.”

According to the game’s setting, those who could touch the ring seemed limited. Seeing that besides Count Lindsey and me, only the High Priest could touch the ring, it appeared only he could destroy it.

“Can I wear the ring?”

Though it was the game’s setting, I asked this question out of pure personal curiosity. What would happen if I wore a ring imbued with power to destroy the world?

Count Richmond looked at me like I’d said something horrifying. His expression alone made me feel how dangerous that ring was.

“You must never wear it until you take it to the temple.”

“What happens if I put it on my hand?”

“We also call that ring the cursed ring. So if you wear it before taking it to the temple, that curse might transfer to you, so be careful.”

“What kind of curse?”

“The reason people can’t touch that ring is that the moment they do, they transform into an unrecognizable form. You have a special power dwelling in you, so touching it is possible, but the moment you wear it, you might vanish instantly.”

Count Richmond’s eyes flashed. His appearance felt eerie.

What would happen if my player body’s form disappeared? It would be fortunate if I returned to my real life, but when I thought that might not be the case, fear took over.

When I looked around in the air to see if there was any guidance, a status window appeared before me at that moment.

[System: Warning! Character annihilation may lead to player death, so please be careful.]

What? I could die?

Did this mean the System held my lifeline too? The mere thought was horrifying. I stopped asking questions about the ring and immediately changed the subject.

“I understand. But what kind of person is Count Lindsey?”

Since the status window didn’t tell me details about the villain, I had to ask Count Lindsey. If there was one thing I’d learned in this world, it was that I had to find information myself.

The System didn’t explain things to me in detail, but if I investigated, I could find out. That’s what I’d learned over the past two months.

From the information that had slightly entered my mind and what I’d learned through conversations with the maids, Count Lindsey was a scientist obsessed with research, and he was a man who rarely showed himself even at imperial events because he was immersed in his studies.

Given that personality, based on the information I’d obtained, Count Lindsey didn’t feel like a villain trying to destroy the Empire.

Reading my thoughts, Count Richmond warned me.

“Count Lindsey is a villain trying to destroy the Empire. If he sets his mind to it, he has the power to annihilate the Empire in an instant, so keep that in mind.”

Was he a mage? How immense must his power be to destroy an empire?

With a puzzled face, I received the portrait Count Richmond handed me. The man’s appearance in the picture was completely different from what I’d imagined.

“Is this really Count Lindsey?”

“Yes, that’s right. They say he actually goes around like that.”

Usually, when you say villain, don’t you picture a sturdy body and a rough face? Or if not that, shouldn’t there be bold features and an unapproachable atmosphere?

But the man in the picture wasn’t like that. He exuded an aura of darkness, but it was so different from what I’d imagined.

First of all, he wore plain clothes, and his shaggy hair covered his face with bangs, so I felt no charisma whatsoever.

Perhaps because he wore a lab coat, he looked less like a noble and more like a researcher immersed in studies while pulling all-nighters. So no matter how I looked at him, he didn’t give off any villain vibes at all.

At the very least, if he pushed back his bangs, the atmosphere might change. But if he’d changed his style earlier, it wouldn’t have been such a loser-like style.

“Did you give me the wrong picture?”

As I tilted my head and kept looking at the portrait, the Count spoke to me with a serious face.

“Don’t be deceived by appearances.”

Was the reality different? No matter how I looked, he was nothing more or less than a lackey under a villain. I felt strange, but I had no choice but to nod at the Count’s words.

“I understand.”

“The Empire’s future rests in your hands, so you must never fail. In the current situation, making him your captive and bringing back the ring is the best option. Just confirming its location is half the success.”

“You don’t know the ring’s whereabouts?”

“No one knows except Count Lindsey. We sent spies to the estate, but no one found it. Instead, they were kicked out for rummaging through the house without permission.”

Count Lindsey looked sloppy on the outside, but his actual personality didn’t seem to be that way. I took Count Richmond’s words to heart and made my resolution.

I must carry out the mission to get out of this game world!

Failure wasn’t an option. Success was the only way to survive. So I resolved that during the two months I’d honed my skills, I would distract Count Lindsey’s mind and steal the ring.