Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 54
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 54
17. Leveling Up Again (1)
A commoner, 'Catherine Becky'.
She is an extremely ordinary woman who could be seen anywhere.
A fresh look that has just shed its girlishness, a somewhat dark expression, and the habit of sticking to long-sleeved clothes even in the heat of summer those might be her traits, but even if you happened to pass her on the street, she's the kind of person you'd forget after ten steps.
"Catherine, where did the shopkeeper go?"
"Father went to the bank for a moment..."
"Catherine?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Hey, when you speak, shouldn't you at least look at the person? Haven't you fixed that habit yet?"
"..."
"Fine. Forget it. Anyway, tell the shopkeeper when he gets back. The merchants' meeting has been moved up to 7 PM tonight, so tell him not to be late."
"Yes."
"She even went to the Royal Academy, but why is she like that..."
At least Catherine's parents ran a grocery store, so their circumstances weren't bad.
However, because of her unsociable personality, even though she had reached the age to find her own work and become independent, she still hadn't escaped her parents' protection.
Because of that, her reputation in the neighborhood wasn't very good.
Unless someone was very close to her, they didn't bother to find out what kind of life she had lived or why she had such a personality.
"Ca-Catherine! Catherine!"
That day too, Catherine was spending her day piling up bad reviews like earning mileage points.
Her parents had stepped away for a moment, so she was reluctantly manning the grocery store's checkout counter, when the hat shop owner who had just scolded her came running in with a face like she'd seen a ghost, making Catherine wonder what was going on.
For someone who spent each day in much the same way, this was a slightly unusual situation.
Perhaps that was why, without meaning to, she found herself staring blankly at the hat shop owner's pale, frightened face the same woman who scolded her every time they met.
She averted her gaze again, but her mood wasn't half bad.
The terrified expression of someone she disliked was a little amusing.
"What's the matter?"
"Ou-outside! That person is outside!"
"Yes?"
"I'm telling you, that person is outside!?"
Was she supposed to play twenty questions?
Catherine couldn't understand what he was saying.
And yet....
"Catherine! Ca-Catherine!"
Her father, who had gone to the bank to take care of business, came running to find her with the exact same expression as the hat shop owner, for some reason.
"What's going on?"
"Ou-outside, he! That person! He's, he's looking for y-you!"
At this point, Catherine couldn't help but feel anxious.
She was already timid to begin with, and the two people's behavior was more than enough to frighten her.
Who could be looking for her?
As her frightened shoulders hunched, her already small frame looked even more diminutive.
"A noble!"
And when the word "noble" came out of her father's mouth, she felt the scars hidden beneath her long sleeves throb.
'I have to run away.'
That was all she could think of.
But that lasted only a moment.
"Catherine Becky?"
A young nobleman walked in with a swarm of knights, and she missed her chance to escape.
"I beg your forgiveness!"
She didn't know what she had done wrong, but she knelt down reflexively and pleaded with clasped hands.
She couldn't even look at her acquaintances' faces properly, so how could she dare look at a noble's face?
She didn't know who the other party was, but she was certain they had no good intentions.
"Catherine..."
But then, a voice that was warm yet somehow tinged with regret burrowed into her ears.
Thanks to that, Catherine, who had been in a panic, managed to pull herself together a little, and she began to think that perhaps the noble before her hadn't come with ill intent.
"I'm truly sorry."
An apology one would never expect to hear from a noble echoed through the grocery store, and her stiffly lowered head slowly rose.
"Ah..."
And the moment she confirmed the other person's face, a mix of emotions clouded Catherine's expression.
Surprise, admiration, joy at seeing him, guilt, and even resentment.
Catherine swallowed dryly and called out the other person's name.
"Adrian?"
The moment she spoke his name, the memories of the past she had buried came back to life.
The image of Adrian from their academy days, always wrapped in bandages because he had been targeted by malicious friends.
The aloof attitude of Adrian, who stubbornly did his own part even amid beatings and group bullying.
However, the more aloof Adrian acted, the worse the bullying became, and the bandages turned into casts, and the bruises into scars.
Even so, Adrian's behavior did not change.
He never bowed his head to the wicked, and stubbornly kept his gaze forward.
Catherine, who had been in the same class as Adrian at the academy, thought he looked incredibly impressive.
Always covered in wounds and without needing to adorn himself, he looked more like a noble than any other noble.
So even though she knew she should look away, she unconsciously let her true feelings show.
'Are you okay?'
That was Catherine's single question directed at Adrian.
That one sentence changed her life.
Because she had asked after Adrian's well-being, Catherine was beaten by a group right in front of him.
Very brutally and relentlessly.
The wounds from then were so severe that even potions couldn't completely erase them.
She fled the academy to survive, and afterward became someone who hid her scars under long sleeves and constantly watched those around her.
"Catherine!"
Catherine, who had been lost in recollection, snapped back to her senses at her father's shout.
"How dare you speak His Excellency's name so carelessly!"
That was something she should not have done given her status.
For a commoner to casually utter the name of one of the top ten most powerful figures in this country.
Catherine's father was so startled that he shouted at her.
His voice was so loud that she fell flat on her rear.
"It's fine. Friends can call each other by name."
"F-friends?"
"Friends? With this ill-mannered Catherine "
"What did you just say?"
"Gasp!"
"Catherine what?"
"Ugh! I'm so sorry! Your Excellency!"
-Clang!
"I-I deserve to die! Your Excellency!"
In the brief moment she was dazed, something enormous happened.
The hat shop owner had run his mouth as usual, incurring Adrian's wrath, and a loyal knight of the Marquis Lawrence family had drawn his sword.
The hat shop owner, in a most servile manner, begged forgiveness for his crime.
"Shut your mouth."
"Hic!"
Adrian cast him a cold glare, then turned his head and extended his hand to Catherine.
"Take it."
"Huh? Huh? Oh, yes..."
"You can speak casually, you know."
"How could I possibly do that."
She reflexively took his hand, but soon looked around, worried about the aftermath.
But no one took issue with her actions.
"Did you hear the news?"
"Which news do you mean?"
"The news about the Domain War."
"Ah..."
Even she wasn't completely ignorant of what went on in the world.
Catherine had seen the article saying that after becoming a marquis, Adrian had filed a Domain War against the four families he had bad blood with.
She had been cheering for Adrian in her heart.
"I won."
"C-congratulations."
Winning a Domain War against four viscountcies at once?
Even a mere baron was an untouchable existence, yet he had swept away four viscount families, who were lords of their lands, all at once...
She could feel that he, who had been known to be abandoned even by his own family, had now become someone from an entirely different world.
"That's why I brought them here."
"Pardon?"
-Snap.
As Adrian snapped his fingers, the knights dragged in four figures tied together in a row like sausages.
"Oh my god..."
The Young Master of Viscount Parma, the Young Master of Viscount Dougherty, the Young Lady of Viscount Karma, and the Young Lady of Viscount Rognier.
The four who would never wear anything but the finest fabrics stood before Catherine in rough convict-like clothes, looking disheveled.
And the moment they spotted Catherine, they dropped to their knees and burst into tears.
"C-Catherine! No, Lady Catherine! We were wrong! Please spare us!"
"Sob! I'm sorry!"
"Please, please forgive us..."
"We're sorry! We're so sorry! Lady Catherine!"
Apologies filled with genuine sincerity.
Though she could also tell that the largest emotion on their faces was fear.
They were apologies from people she had resented and feared in her heart, but perhaps because they were clinging to her so desperately, crying and wailing, she couldn't think straight.
"Drag them out."
"Agh! Lord Marquis Lawrence! Please forgive us!"
"Lady Catherine! Please forgive us!"
Once they were dragged out of the shop, she finally understood clearly why Adrian had come here.
He felt responsible for Catherine's past.
"I plan to make Isabella Caskbell and Philo Brooks apologize too. But for political reasons, those two will need a bit more time. Please understand."
"You didn't have to go this far."
"I couldn't do otherwise. You may not know this, but you're my benefactor."
She tilted her head at the word "benefactor."
"Let's see."
But what Adrian did next made her gasp in shock.
Because he exposed the wounds she always kept hidden beneath her long sleeves.
But then.
"Recovery."
A warm golden light enveloped Catherine, and the wounds that had bound her like shackles evaporated and vanished.
"Th-This is...?"
"These scars were caused by me. So I had to remove them."
Was it really this easy to make them disappear?
Catherine burst into tears.
Though, unlike before, the emotion behind those tears was not sadness.
"Ahem. And have you found a job yet? Actually, I need a trustworthy personal maid for my fiancée. As a count's personal maid, you'd receive a viscountess title and a generous annual salary..."
"I'll do it. No, I will do it. Just leave it to me."
"Haha, good. Then I'll be at ease."
Adrian, unaware that Catherine had once harbored feelings for him, had made an awkward proposal, but she hadn't harbored romantic feelings for him anyway.
Not only was the status gap too large, but what she felt was closer to admiration than love.
"From now on, let's live with a smile."
"Yes!"
After that day, Catherine's habit of avoiding others' gazes disappeared.
But as she returned to her original self, only Arcia became annoyed because Catherine was, sadly, a very nagging person.
* * *
[The Domain War between Marquis Lawrence's territory and the four viscount houses, which ended in barely half a day]
[At first, everyone expressed concern over the reckless request for a Domain War, but what followed exceeded all expectations.]
[A revenge calculated meticulously from start to finish. Will the Marquis Lawrence's blade now turn toward someone else?]
[The moment Marquis Arrian Lawrence was given proper military power, the outcome was all but decided. Some nobles expressed concern to the royal family that approving this Domain War may have been somewhat excessive...]
[It ended in an instant, but a Domain War is still a Domain War. What will become of the defeated territory?]
-A rebellion of a poison-dipped silver spoon!
└The metaphor is on point lol
└I normally hate nobles, but oddly enough, I found this guy likable guess it's because he's a poison-dipped silver spoon? lol
-Man, these days I live for watching Adrian-nim.
└So satisfying. Vicarious catharsis lol
-How's Marquis Lawrence's territory? Worth moving to?
└Not much has changed from when it was royal land. Seems like he couldn't focus on it because of the Domain War.
└Still, Adrian-nim said he'd make it the best territory in the Kingdom of Rhinehearts for commoners to live in.
└The lord acquired a lot of companies this time. Job growth is worth looking forward to.
└I have a feeling a lot of free citizens will move in. I've never seen a noble communicate with commoners like this.
"I don't think I've ever seen a noble this popular with commoners."
"I do enjoy being the center of attention."
Crown Prince Michael van Rhinehearts, who had been browsing online articles on his terminal, let out a low laugh and set down the teacup he was holding.
Then, with a fox-like expression befitting his narrow-eyed appearance, he praised me.
"At first, I was taken aback by your sudden actions. But in the end, everything worked out in our favor. Honestly, I was impressed."
"I'm glad things went as planned."
The reason the Crown Prince reacted this way is simple.
Among the 'Viscount Parma family,' 'Viscount Dougherty family,' 'Viscount Karma family,' and 'Viscount Rognier family' that I had targeted this time, three houses had been factions supporting the Second Prince.
Three viscount houses disappearing is equivalent to one count house disappearing, which ultimately means the Second Prince's power has been weakened.
That's right.
The somewhat reckless Domain War request was known to be for revenge, but it also included the purpose of strengthening the Crown Prince's faction.
Even if it wasn't enough to shift the overall tide, such things accumulate and eventually become impossible to ignore.
"In the process, I also eliminated one house that supported you, Crown Prince."
"It can't be helped. They wronged you, didn't they? Then they must pay the price."
Additionally, the treasury that had been depleted by the Domain War was replenished, and I built an image among the nobles as someone to be feared.
In other words, it was a war that yielded a great deal.
"But didn't Prince Luke say anything?" [New Terms] (no new terms)
"He did speak harshly. He said that no matter how much it was for revenge, I shouldn't have gone that far against a noble of the same faction."
"And so?"
"I told him that the Brooks County and Marquis Caskbell's house had committed the same sins as those four viscount houses, and that I was holding back from dealing with Marquis of Ereiven, our sworn enemy, for the sake of the Second Prince. At that, he was silent for a long while, then said he would let this matter pass."
"Hahaha!"
Philo Brooks and Isabella Caskbell are also people who tormented me viciously during my academy days.
But the blade of revenge aimed at them would become the Second Prince's trigger for a tantrum, so I had no choice but to set them aside for now, along with Marquis of Ereiven.
Well, even without a war, there are plenty of ways to make someone suffer, so I'll have to make do with those for a while.