Villains Are Destined to Die

Chapter 6

This is just a scene from the game...

There really wasn’t any reason for me to be nervous, but my fingers trembled all the same. I guess remembering the way the duke treated Penelope reminded me of my own father.

The duke didn’t look up, even though I had just entered the room. I cautiously approached his desk. Holding my shaking hands behind my back, I bowed politely. Bowing to the duke was a detail that hadn’t been in the game, but I couldn’t speak without a dialogue box, and I figured it was the right thing to do under the circumstances.

“There you are,” the duke said, finally glancing up. He had black hair and blue eyes like Derrick and looked just like the illustrations in the game, cold in the extreme.

A white box appeared in my vision.

1. Why did you wish to see me?

2. I’m busy. Please tell me what you want.

3. (Glare without saying anything.)

They were all absurd dialogue choices. I kept calm and chose the first one.

“Why did you wish to see me?”

“I heard there was a disturbance this morning,” he responded coldly, and the contents of the dialogue box shifted.

1. It’s nothing for you to be concerned about.

2. You would like it if there had been a disturbance, wouldn’t you?

3. It wasn’t my fault. It was all because of that stupid maid!

None of the choices were reasonable considering how calmly I’d just responded.

Damn it, this game is crazy...

I’d experienced this already while playing on my phone, of course. At the time, I’d been excited at the prospect of turning the villain Penelope into an aloof femme fatale and immediately selected the second answer. Now that I was actually Penelope and had to say one of these crazy dialogue choices myself, I simply couldn’t bring myself to speak.

I mean, I get that she’s supposed to be this insane villain, but still... Who would like a daughter who behaved this way, let alone an adopted one? Damn it.

Noticing that I was hesitant to speak, the duke put down his pen and looked up from his documents. His blue eyes were harsh.

Please let this choice be a safe one... Trembling internally, I went with the first answer. I gritted my teeth, trying my best to keep my tone neutral.

“It’s nothing... for you to be concerned about.” My mouth moved of its own accord, however, and resisting only made me sound silly.

“Penelope,” said the duke. There was no warmth in his voice. It seemed my efforts had no impact on the game’s outcome whatsoever.

“It has been six years since you started living here, correct?” asked the duke.

I stared, trying to remember the details of the game. Both the protagonists of normal and hard mode were 18 during the events of the game. Penelope was adopted into the duke’s house when she was 12, so six years after that made her roughly 18 now. I remembered something about the storyline that I’d forgotten.

Her 18th birthday was her coming-of-age ceremony. Didn’t that mean it was going to be soon?

Then how much time do I have left? I thought hard, concerned by the revelation.

Thankfully, the duke continued talking, not bothering to wait for an answer. “I’m not sure if you understand, but it’s not an easy thing to be accepted into this household. Only those who have proven their worth and have been through rigorous screening are allowed to pass through the Eckhart doors.”

“...”

“After I adopted you, I spared no expense and gave you everything that was due to my daughter. I provided even the senseless luxuries you demanded.”

“...”

“But I am uncertain how useful you have been to the Eckhart name these past six years.”

He was right. If Penelope had at least continued to resemble his real daughter, he might have maintained a tiny bit of interest in her. However, her hair and eyes were now too different from the Eckhart pink and blue. I wanted to nod in agreement, but the game had me in a vice-like grip from the moment he started talking, and I couldn’t move a finger.

As I despaired, the white dialogue box popped up again.

1. So what? Are you going to kick me out now?

2. I did nothing wrong!

3. (Kneel.)

Finally!

These were choices I was familiar with, and I felt excitement course through me for the first time since I’d found myself in this game world. Though it was unlikely, I feared the choices might change if I didn’t select one quickly. I hurriedly selected the third option.

Thunk!

My knees slammed onto the floor as though someone had kicked at them from behind and then pushed down forcefully on my shoulders.

Ow! Why so rough?

I’d been ready for this, but it hurt more than I expected. I think I shed a tear.

“What are you doing?” The duke seemed even more surprised than I was by the sound my knees made against the floor, his eyes wide. I had never tried this option while playing hard mode. It was so out of character.

Why would I kneel, when I’m supposed to be the embodiment of all that is nasty?

Perhaps the developers had been too lazy to think of a more appropriate option, or maybe they’d wanted to save on expenses. This was an option that also existed while playing in normal mode.

1. There. Does this make you feel better?

2. (Glare without saying anything.)

3. It’s all my fault, Father!

I hurriedly selected number three again.

“It’s all my fault, Father!”

I was sure this was the option I should choose, and maybe because of this, my voice came out loud and clear.

“What?” asked the duke, looking taken aback.

That was when the white window appeared again in my vision. I was getting used to seeing it now.

<SYSTEM>

Hidden Quest [Father, a Forgotten Name]

Mission complete!

As a reward, you will now have access to the [Dialogue Content ON/OFF] function.

<SYSTEM>

Would you like to set this to [OFF] now?

[Yes. / No.]

I pressed [Yes.] without hesitation.

<SYSTEM>

Dialogue content has been set to [OFF]. Please shout [Dialogue Content ON] to see the content again.

The stupid window vanished.

Finally!

I clenched my fists and gave a silent cheer. Turning dialogue off was a hidden feature in the game. The way you activated it was rather silly: you had to call the duke “Father.” Turning the dialogue content off did away with the dialogue in the offered choices, leaving only the numbers 1, 2, and 3. It also gave you the option to type simple answers like “Yes,” “No,” or the names of the protagonists.

In normal mode, the feature had been made intentionally easy to unlock. I think the goal must have been to add a little flavor to the repetitive choices, ensure faster game play, and perhaps spark a little excitement in the player. I never actually used the feature after unlocking it, however. Normal mode had been so easy and quick that I hadn’t really needed the feature at all. That was why in hard mode, I’d skipped over this particular scene without much thought. I’d already been choosing the most obnoxious answers I could find at that point.

I had no idea this feature worked the same in hard mode, too.

Back when I’d been playing the game, I’d made the wrong choice and been unable to unlock the feature. However, I hadn’t needed it at the time. I’d been having too much fun with the villain’ dialogue choices.

I had no idea then that the fun I was having would later come back to bite me in the ass...

Bemoaning my foolishness, I finally spoke of my own free will, pronouncing each syllable carefully.

“Father.”

I nearly cried, it felt so good to be able to say whatever I wanted again. Perhaps there were real tears in my eyes, I was so moved.

The duke’s eyes seemed to grow wider, maybe from disbelief at hearing Penelope address him as father. He couldn’t remember her ever doing that before.

I continued to speak, my words flowing freely. “I apologize for causing a disturbance during my punishment. I failed to set a good example for the servants through my manners and actions.”

“...”

“I shall be contrite and think over my actions during the remainder of my punishment. You can rest assured that I will not repeat this behavior ever again. Will you forgive me this once, Father?” I begged, going down on all fours.

In reality, the events of this morning weren’t my fault. The maid had abused me, and I had every right to ask for help. But the way Penelope had acted thus far in her life forced my hand, leaving me no choice but to prostrate myself to survive. I wouldn’t be in immediate danger of death if I annoyed the duke, but doing nothing about the current situation and moving on just because I unlocked a hidden feature would likely cause problems later on.

That was to be expected, as Penelope had already been confined to her room for doing something wrong when the disturbance occurred. Derrick had been the one to order her punishment, and being arrogant now would only cause his affection score to drop.

“I’m aware how reckless and immature I have been so far.”

“...”

“If you overlook my mistakes just this once, I will prove my usefulness to you before my coming-of-age ceremony.” I stayed on the ground after I was done. I’d never begged like this, even to my real father. This damned game was making me do things I never would have done otherwise.

I’m begging you on the ground, damn it. Hurry up and accept already.

I’d been tense ever since I’d woken up that morning, and I needed a break.

“You...” The duke gazed at me as if seeing me for the first time. He was finding it difficult to speak. He faltered, and after a while he finally managed to say, “I understand. You may get up.”

“Yes.” I stood up without delay. My legs had been going numb.

“We of Eckhart say little, Penelope,” the duke said in a low voice, “and the little we say must matter.”

That could mean a lot of things. I bowed deeply.

“Thank you. I shall make sure you don’t regret offering me this chance, Father.”

“You may leave now.”

I hurried toward the door as soon as I had permission, fearing that moving too slowly might trigger some other branching storyline.