If possible, I wanted to finish the capture to some extent before Allen appeared. Considering the destructive power of Allen’s existence itself, which collapses the plausibility like a sandcastle, I wanted to pull out even the most important flags in advance.
While I was making such resolutions and my heart was naturally becoming impatient, I encountered such a shortcut.
I was a little concerned about the ‘maniacal ending,’ but look at the steep rate at which the Crown Prince’s favorability was rising. Not even any streamer playing as Allen was able to raise such a large number, close to 20%, in just one day.
“Hmm… Did I write it down in my diary?”
Immediately after remembering my past life, I wrote down the important stories and settings in as much detail as possible in my diary, in case I forgot them. Of course, I wrote it in Korean so that no one else could understand it. Even then, I wasn’t relieved, so I hid it so that no one could see it, but the number of times I looked at the diary gradually decreased, making that worry meaningless. As I repeated the same period over and over again, various settings were engraved in my head.
I carefully looked through my diary, just in case, but as expected, there was no content about secret preferences or hidden keywords.
No, how can you apply something that hasn’t even been officially patched like this? If you’re going to apply it, you should at least let me know in advance! The shortcut that was flickering in front of my eyes seemed to be blocked from the entrance, which made me even more angry.
The ‘System’ adds a detailed explanation that the Hidden Ending Edition of The Nobleman of the Rose Mansion was updated exactly 16 days after your death.
“Who’s curious? You’re just teasing me without telling me. And if it was applied after I died in the first place, shouldn’t it not be applied to this world? Are you going to apply all the other patches that are made in the future?”
The System cheers you on, saying that there will be no more updates forever because the production company went bankrupt!҉ ٩(*’ω’*)۶҉’
“Ha… Okay, never mind…”
CEO Kim didn’t let me down. He must have ruined the company. It was a long seventeenth birthday.
I didn’t resist the fatigue that was washing over me, and I put the diary back in its place and dived straight into bed. Just last night, I had been crouching and sleeping like a shrimp on the cold floor of the underground prison without a pillow or blanket, so the feeling of the bedding wrapping around my body was especially sweet.
“Youngest Master.”
Ugh, bad luck from the morning. Kyle’s face, a knight who proudly occupies one of the main target character positions, is so perfect that he’s almost dazzling, suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Instead of offering him a seat, I asked indifferently, “What’s the matter?” Then Kyle couldn’t even hide his agitation and only dropped his gaze slightly. Anyone could see that he was hurt, he was practically advertising it on his face. The polite language that I had always used towards him in a kind tone and voice was nothing more than proof that I regarded Kyle as more than just a knight. His handsome face turned white as if he had been confirmed with a blunt, rude remark that had no affection.
“If you called someone, you should say something. You must have a reason for coming, Sir Kyle Gray.”
“Why are you suddenly like this? If I, if I did something wrong…!”
It was a difficult question to answer. Kyle did do something wrong, but that Kyle wasn’t this Kyle.
But we haven’t officially said let’s date, let’s promise to get married, we haven’t even stamped our seals yet, so why shouldn’t I be able to be this fickle?
The youngest son of Count Hamilton, who is considered one of the richest men in the empire thanks to the vast wealth inherited from his ancestors and the vast granary area in his territory, is worthy of it. Even the original story’s trashy Noah Hamilton was very well-behaved for a high-ranking aristocrat, except for the various atrocities he committed against Allen.
“Did I misunderstand something? Noah, I was sure that you and I had similar feelings… I was sure of it.”
His wildly shaking blue eyes looked very sincere. To confess, I had already heard this cliché line several times. At first, I was deceived by this ‘seeming’ sincerity. But when he met Allen at the age of nineteen, he would say that he had finally met true love and would dismiss his relationship with me as some kind of reckless young master’s coercion.
Instead of answering that I once believed that too, I secretly checked his favorability first.
Favorability (Pure): 68%
The number and type of favorability were as I knew them. From the time the favorability exceeded 60%, I could check the type of favorability that the target character had for me. In fact, that’s why I let my guard down with Kyle and got backstabbed.
In the setting, the types of favorability that the target character showed were largely divided into two types: pure and desire. Whether you developed either side of the favorability, if you steadily accumulated points and the favorability exceeded 95%, whether it was pure or desire, it would naturally be integrated into ‘love.’
In the first life, as well as in some rounds where I didn’t completely give up on Kyle, Kyle would often say that he never loved me, while still maintaining that ‘pure’ state. The number was, of course, over 90%.
What kind of crazy pure love is maintained even while cheating?
o, I believed it. I clung to Kyle countless times. If I just did a little better, if I exceeded 95% this time, he would truly love me. The affection I tasted for the first time as a lover naturally blinded my eyes and deafened my ears.
I was still annoyed and resentful, but I couldn’t vent my anger on Kyle from this timeline, who knew nothing. Moreover, to follow Allen’s true ending, where he peacefully kept all the other romanceable characters in his fish tank while having the Crown Prince as his husband, I couldn’t completely ruin my relationship with him from the start.
For now, I planned to roughly conclude my relationship with Kyle as a vague first love. If the favorability exceeded 70%, it would lead to a formal relationship, so it was already a sufficiently high number. Until Allen appeared, I had no intention of having a specific person as a partner to build up the favorability of other romanceable characters, and even if I did, it wouldn’t be Kyle. Unless I was a moron who couldn’t come to my senses even after being hurt like that.
“Yes. It must be sudden for you too, Sir Kyle. I’ll be honest.”
“Noah…”
“Now, even when we’re alone, you shouldn’t call me that anymore. And I won’t just stand by and watch you call me that.”
“Why, why is that? You know how much I’ve longed for you, Noah, no, Master Noah, to manifest as an Omega.”
“As you’ve heard, I’ve manifested as a Dominant Omega, Sir Kyle. Therefore, I’ve decided not to engage in romantic games for the sake of the Hamilton family.”
I racked my brain, wondering what excuse to make if he questioned my strange behavior before going to the temple, and then I spat out the final words.
“I’m no longer just a son of a noble family. So, I can’t be your person. I’m… practically the Crown Princess.”
It was at that very moment. Boom! A loud sound effect rang out, and once again, a fanfare erupted before my eyes.
Critical Hit!
Great Achievement!
Sudden Quest! You have consecutively grasped the preference areas of a romanceable character in a short amount of time.
If you discover the preference area of another romanceable character within the next 12 hours, you will receive a ‘Save-Load Ticket’ as a bonus.
‘Kyle Gray’s’ Secret Preference: Forbidden Relationship (Unlocked), xxxx, xxxxx
I couldn’t even bother to check the other details; only one thing caught my eye. ‘Kyle Gray’s’ secret preference was what? Forbidden relationship?
I thought he was just fickle, but he was a complete son of a bitch…?
I was simply dumbfounded by the consecutive notifications. Kyle was one thing, but a Save-Load Ticket? What was that? No, of course, I knew what it meant. But could I use such a function? Huh? What is this, you bastard!
I didn’t even have time to properly question the newly discovered function. The urgent alarm sounds rang in my ears one after another, just like with the Crown Prince, the favorability was rising consecutively.
Oh… I’m screwed… Kyle, who had been staring blankly down at me with a dreamy expression, was about to move his stiff lips slightly.
The favorability had already easily surpassed 70 percent. Sir Kyle Gray’s confession of wanting to date, which occurred the moment the favorability exceeded 70 percent, was an unchangeable fixed event.
Ha… No wonder, in the previous playthrough, when I saw Allen about to get married to someone else, I was so restless and frantic, wondering how deeply he must love him to be like that. He was just getting ahead of himself for a ‘forbidden relationship’ that would evolve from cheating to adultery.
“Master Noah…”
“I, I, I just remembered I have, I have, I have a schedule. I should go up. See you later, Sir Kyle!”