'Why is this idiot coming here again?!'
Precipe's eyes twitched violently as she stared at Ivan.
“I know this is an unexpected visit, but I hope you understand. I had something urgent to ask you about.”
“…”
“You seem more surprised than I expected. You didn't say a word.”
“…”
“Precipie?”
Answer…
What should you say to this crazy bastard?
[◆Smack him.]
[◆ Pour tea on him.]
[◆ Kiss him in greeting.]
Shiny gold insect picks.
There was nothing to choose from.
[System: If you do not make a selection within the specified time, a penalty will be applied.]
But this damned insect, just like last time, did not take Presibe's situation into consideration at all. Nor did her body move.
Since the game's progress had already stopped outside the Imperial Palace, she thought she would never see such stupid choices again…
But maybe this doesn't apply to male characters?
[System: If you do not make a selection within 3 seconds, the game will be completely reset.]
'Hell...'
Precipe's head is spinning.
slap. Sure, she really wanted to slap him with all her might, but this man was a psychopath among psychopaths. Hitting him was good, but she had no idea what would happen next.
kiss. This is out of the question. Better to hang herself than to do this.
...In the end, Preseppe's choice was clear.
“…”
The hand holding the teacup trembled, but it only lasted a moment.
Lukewarm red tea was splashed onto Ivan's pale face.
“…”
Drip, drip.
The sound of water falling on Ivan's face...
There was an awkward, sharp silence in Fenric's study.
Ivan showed no reaction. Hana, the maids, and the knights were all staring at Precipe with astonished expressions.
Precipi…
“Okay...”
“…”
“Hmm...”
However, since she chose the system option, she could chatter as she pleased. The problem was that she didn't know what kind of excuse to come up with because her mind had gone completely blank.
“My hand slipped.”
In the end, Prisippi chose to say anything that came to her mind.
“It doesn't look like your hand slipped, it looks like you spilled it on purpose.”
"No? That's not possible. It's just a misunderstanding. Maybe it's just your mood."
“I had never heard of the relationship between mood and sight.”
Well, life is so complicated, how can it always go as expected and planned?
At this point, she had almost given up.
“As the Chief Magician said, the visit was very sudden, so I was surprised. I think that’s why it happened.”
Prisippi continued talking quickly, directing her gaze to the ribbon of affection above Ivan's head.
[Grand Wizard Ivan/Affection???]
The dark, foggy bar of affection was only filled with question marks.
“Is there something on my head?”
"pardon?"
“You've been staring at me for a while.”
“No, I was just feeling sorry, and I didn't know where to look.”
“…You don’t seem sorry at all?”
Ivan thought to himself.
“…”
Ivan stared at Precipe for a moment, then slowly raised his hand. Then he wiped the red tea that was still dripping on his chin with his sleeve.
“Please give me some time. I came here urgently to ask for something.”
“He wanted to ask something?”
Prisippi hasn't even had Evan in this timeline before. So it was strange that Ivan would suddenly visit and claim that he had something to ask.
...Could this have something to do with the deaths of Atari and Noah?
Normally, Prisippi would not meet Ivan until after the event of her detention in the Ice Prison had ended.
This was the event of the Founding Festival, and since the Founding Festival was the grand celebration of Atiluia, Dietrich allowed Preseppe to attend.
Even Evan, who hated mingling with people due to his social anxiety, attended the festival due to its massive size. There, Preseppe was to meet Ivan.
More precisely, he would notice Ivan Preseppe, who was just standing to the side, his eyes sparkling as everyone was engaged.
Precipe then suffered humiliation at the hands of a noblewoman who admired Dietrich.
Because of Precipe's connection with the Emperor, the lady could not torture her openly, but rather embarrass her in a very trivial way.
[Ah...!]
Preseppe, who had just been drenched in red wine like Ivan, was standing alone, bewildered, unable to do anything or respond.
[How rude, even considering that her princess status has been stripped from her.]
All around her, the sound of sarcasm could be heard. In short, it was mass bullying. Ivan then approached the crying Prisippi, who was crying alone.
[Should I kill them all?]
He uttered those terrifying words.
[But don't stop crying, it's tempting.]
Precipe thought, “Why does this character appear so late?”
The moment I heard these words, I realized:
...Ah, the developers probably thought it would be too difficult for the player if too many crazy characters appeared at once, so they posted the entries like this.
The other male characters weren't average either, but Ivan was the height of madness. It was the worst ending. With his exceptional magical abilities, he created illusions and manipulated memories, making it impossible for him to do anything without him.
The ending with Ivan was the one where Prisippi's mind was completely shattered, and she was in endless agony.
Therefore, she had no desire to be in the same place with that evil man, but she felt the need to listen to what he had to say. And there was a possibility – maybe she could learn some information from Ivan…
“Mrs. Presby...”
“Hanna, take the knights and go.”
Precipie said as calmly as she could.
"Instead, could you wait at the door? If anything happens, they'll be able to come right away."
“Yes, I understand, I will do it.”
Hana looked at Prisippi with a worried expression, then, as Prisippi had asked, she left with the maids and knights.
And so the hall, in which now only Preseppe and Ivan remained, fell into a brief silence.
“You think I'll cause trouble, don't you, Presibe?”
“Well, not exactly… but you should know, Archmage, that the killer of Prince Atari and Duke Dufferin might also be targeting me. That’s why I came here.”
“Do you think I am the killer?”
“I'm not sure, but as someone under protection, I think it's best to be careful.”
The situation has changed. This was no longer the terrifying imperial palace, and if she screamed, Fenric's knights would come to her aid. Moreover, Fenric will be back soon…
“…”
Hmm.
Ivan stared at Precipe with an unreadable expression.
Honestly, Ivan didn't know anything about Precipe. All he knew was that Dietrich was obsessed with her like crazy.
Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't interested. Ivan had a vague curiosity about Presibe, and felt an instinctive attraction to her.
But…
'This is different from what I expected.'
He thought she would just be a stupid, weak woman who could be easily manipulated, but…
“…”
Ivan was staring intently at Precipe, and she, in return, faced him as if engaged in some kind of silent battle.
After a long pause, she finally opened her lips as if to explore him.
“Duke Fenric said he received an urgent message from the palace...”
“Did he?”
“Could that be from you, Archmage?”
Ivan didn't say anything in response, he just showed a cheerful look.
“The murder case… The Knights and the Magic Tower are investigating it together. They say that Duke Noah Duffern’s death is linked to black magic, so my authority as Chief Magistrate cannot be ignored.”
“…”
“His Majesty is ill, so Duke Fenric is in charge of him...”
“So, what you're saying is...”
Ivan spoke in a frightening tone.
“Do you mean that I called Duke Fenric to the palace in order to have a private conversation with you, Presippi?”
“…isn’t it?”
Ivan was an incredibly smart man, and could have easily pulled off such a trick.
The problem is that Precipe had no idea what his motives were.
“It's a really interesting story.”
Ivan laughed.
“It's also based on a certain logic, to some extent.”
naturally. This crazy person. Precipi unknowingly showed a tired expression.
“But you should know this. The reason I wanted to talk to you alone is because I was trying to be considerate.”
...what nonsense? If this was what “consideration” meant, it would have been better not to receive it at all.
While she was cursing inwardly, she was about to respond when Ivan unexpectedly spoke up.
“Prisibe, how much do you know about yourself?”
The words that came out of Ivan's mouth were completely unexpected.