"That was a close call."
I returned to my room and took a deep breath, smoothing my hand over my chest.
I'd only exchanged greetings with Asella, yet I felt like my lifespan had shortened by ten years.
At this rate, I might successfully avoid destruction only to promptly die from stress-induced illness.
"I need to delete these bad endings quickly before my heart gives out."
She was a woman you couldn't let your guard down around, even as a child.
I should have realized it when I saw that look in her eyes.
"Asella triggers quite a few bad endings."
Scanning through the list, I count roughly fifty. That seems like an excessive number.
"The best solution would be for Asella to quietly die."
The problem is Asella's magic.
That's quite tricky to handle.
"Even now, Asella harbors magical power beyond her control."
If she faces a life-threatening situation, her magic goes berserk and destroys the world. That's the "Magic Overload" ending.
Magic isn't my specialty, and even if some expert were to examine her, they wouldn't understand Asella's level.
Though she probably hasn't reached that level yet.
"Assassination has its nuances too."
If I were to assassinate Asella, it would only be after formulating a meticulous plan.
I was fortunate things went well just now. If Asella had called for her knight, I would have been arrested for treason.
The history of our family's destruction could have been accelerated thanks to some rascal son. Proud of me, Father?
"Why did she call me to her room anyway?"
It wasn't even her room to begin with. Isn't it a guest room provided by our family?
"Oh?"
While complaining and checking the ending list, I noticed several items glowing green with changed values.
[No. 056: Villainess's Hatred 99% → 21%]
[Changed]
"It didn't return to the initial value. She still hasn't completely let go of her suspicions."
I can't dismiss Asella. Once I'm prepared, I'll need to visit her and gain her trust as much as possible.
"Why did the probability for this one decrease?"
[No. 003: Hundred Beheadings 87% → 64%]
[Changed]
Hundred Beheadings.
This is an ending that occurs if performance is poor during the Four Heavenly Kings subjugation.
Anxious citizens lose faith in the Hero's Party and revolt. Asella, driven mad by stress, executes all members of the Hero's Party along with citizens, totaling one hundred people, and decorates the city gates with their severed heads.
Quite a grotesque image.
The fortunate part is that my head would be among the decorations, so I wouldn't have to witness that spectacle in third person.
Looking at the ending list, other endings haven't changed their probabilities.
"This means I've encountered an opportunity to erase this bad ending."
If Asella's idea to behead a hundred people isn't conceived from nothing, but inspired by some event...
And if that event begins with our meeting just now...
It means I can delete the "Hundred Beheadings" by changing Asella's experience.
"But what does beheading have to do with me?"
I can't begin to imagine the thought process of a villainess whose mind is a field of thorns rather than flowers.
Well, if it helps prevent my death, I have no reason to refuse.
I'll need to carefully observe upcoming events.
"There was one more change."
―――――――――――
· Good Ending
· ■■■ ■, ■■ ■■■■ 0% → 0.04%
―――――――――――
The probability of a good ending, which was 0%, has emerged. Looking at the figure, it's still lottery-winning odds, so not worth getting excited about yet.
"What makes a good ending good anyway?"
I check the status window's explanation.
―――――――――――
· Good Ending: The best possible situation for Lars Gotberg at the time of clearing.
· Occurrence Condition: Occurs probabilistically when all bad endings have been avoided. If the good ending doesn't occur, a normal ending will.
· Occurrence Probability: Increases through deleting bad endings and Lars Gotberg's achievement metrics.
―――――――――――
"Of course a good ending is better than a normal one."
I think it's different from the original work's ending.
The fact that it specifically mentions my name suggests these endings are prepared for me.
They might directly determine the situation I'll face ten years from now.
"To build achievements, I need to become a great person. It makes sense that this would increase the good ending probability."
Gaining increasingly higher positions in society, spreading fame, and excelling in various fields.
Achievement metrics accumulate through such extraordinary activities.
"If I succeed, I'll definitely become a doctor."
That was my dream.
It's a profession that doesn't exist in this world yet, but ten years is plenty of time.
From now on, I'll aim for the good ending while deleting bad endings. My direction is set.
"Well then, let's get moving."
Leaving my room for the annex lobby, I found a middle-aged man in a neat suit drinking tea.
From the servants' demeanor, it was clear who he was.
My father, the head of the family, Baldur Gotberg.
Father looked at me with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
"Son, let's have a word."
He spoke in a calm, deep voice.
Though dignified as the head of a marquis family, he was hiding subtle anxiety.
It must be difficult dealing with a son who could explode at any moment.
"As the sun reaches its zenith, I behold my benefactor. Have you been well, Father?"
I offered a formal aristocratic greeting.
His eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Lars, are you injured somewhere? Or has your head finally gone strange from drinking too much?"
Father jumped up from his seat and examined me with concern.
"Haha, don't worry. My mind is clearer than ever."
"Really? That's a relief... Sivers suddenly praised you so much that I wondered what he meant, but your eyes do look different..."
Father cautiously observed me.
A marquisate is essentially a nation the size of a small city.
The responsibility and pressure of managing such a vast society must be extraordinary.
Even a man who endures all that suffers headaches because of his rascal son, just like any commoner.
It feels quite human.
We sat down and continued our conversation.
"I heard you met with the Princess."
He seemed worried I might have ruined the important first meeting with my betrothed.
"Yes. She was a person of great dignity."
"Was it... alright? Did the Princess perhaps express any displeasure?"
Father realized his slip and hastily cleared his throat.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm asking because the Princess might not have liked our mansion."
"It wasn't a negative impression. The Princess suggested we meet privately. I was actually on my way to see her."
"Privately? Already? Hmm."
Father stroked his beard.
Having sensed some change in me, his face was full of curiosity.
"I've been too busy with work to talk with you often, but seeing your neat appearance and the dignity in your speech, you seem to have prepared well for today."
"I couldn't be careless on the day of meeting my betrothed from the Imperial family."
Father looked increasingly surprised by my words.
He seemed bewildered about how to deal with a son who suddenly appeared to have come to his senses.
I would feel the same.
After seeing someone a certain way for 17 years, if they suddenly started making sense overnight, wouldn't you suspect they'd dabbled in something more dangerous than alcohol, like black magic?
I decided to show more confidence here.
"Don't worry. With important guests visiting, I'll ensure nothing happens that would harm the Gotberg name."
"...You've really changed a lot in the short time I haven't seen you. It must have been difficult to prepare this much. I'm grateful. I look forward to it."
"Yes. Please look forward to it."
Father smiled kindly.
The Gotberg family is quite powerful at this point in time.
Though later they'll be implicated in some incident, framed for treason and destroyed, having them as my backing couldn't be more reassuring.
Since I know why the family gets destroyed, I can surely protect them later, which would be a great advantage.
And seeing Father relieved about his son makes me feel quite good too.
"We were planning to have an official meeting with the Princess at the evening banquet, but it's good you've already made acquaintance."
Hearing Father's words, I grew curious.
"By the way, what brings the Empress and Princess to our family?"
"Ah, I suppose that wasn't conveyed to you."
Father moistened his lips with tea and explained the main point.
"The Imperial family is selecting a personal physician for the Princess. As it happens, a competitive examination is underway at our family's Healer Training Center. One person will be chosen based on the results."
A personal physician.
Interesting.
'The Gotberg family was famous for being a distinguished healer family.'
Ten years later, I was a fairly competent high-level healer. This explains why.
Even though I studied half-heartedly, I had the best bloodline and graduated from the best educational facility.
'If possible, I'd prefer not to use healing arts.'
If I stand out as a healer, I might end up in that stupid Hero's Party.
Even when I wanted to use efficient strategies, I was held back by having to constantly cast healing spells.
Honestly, I'm sick of healing arts.
Nothing but bad memories.
I wouldn't take an extreme job like being in the Hero's Party again, not even for a fortune.
"Does everyone in the Imperial family have a personal physician?"
"Yes. You may have heard that the Princess has been frequently ill lately. However, the healers who have examined her so far haven't been able to improve her condition."
I know well.
It's a side effect of Asella's growing magical power.
"Is there a likely candidate now?"
"I think Gis will be chosen. He's the most excellent healer in our training center."
The training center is a kind of healer academy.
The Gotberg marquisate's center is rated first-class in the Empire, and many graduates are called to serve the Imperial family.
If Gis is the ace of the training center, his skills must be quite good.
'But healing arts won't work on Asella, will they?'
Magic and healing arts are both spells, but they belong to completely different systems.
Asella's strong magical power rejects healing spells—I heard this directly from her.
Her powerful magic is partly why she becomes a crazed villainess.
No, she was born a villainess.
Going crazy is at least due to her magic.
Perhaps that's just how magic is.
All the magicians and witches I've seen seemed to have a few screws loose.
Asella had a particular trigger.
She reached a level of magic her body couldn't withstand, forcing her to live with considerable pain.
Unable to endure the pain, her magic went berserk, causing some tragedy.
After that incident, Asella became a tyrant.
And healing arts were completely useless then.
This is accurate since I heard it from her directly.
'It must be a debuff for having talent.'
It's one of this world's rules.
If you have exceptional [talent] in one area, you also receive a [debuff] that balances it out.
A kind of karma.
For instance, someone with great physical strength can't also have strong magical power.
No one can have everything.
Currently, my talents are locked, so I don't have any debuffs, but Asella must have some kind of negative characteristic.
'Perhaps.'
What if it's not healing, but treatment?
Could I use my knowledge of modern medicine to delete Asella's debuff?
Maybe that could even damage Asella's magic as a result.
'Nah, things wouldn't work out that easily.'
In this world without specialized medications, basic surgical equipment, or even disinfectants, it's impossible.
Moreover, becoming Asella's personal physician would make it difficult to break away from the Imperial family later.
While I should delete endings, I should avoid getting too deeply involved with Asella.
After organizing my thoughts, Father spoke to me.
"I've taken too much of your time. You were on your way to the Princess. Let's get up. I need to go entertain the Empress."
"Understood. Let's go together."
I leave the annex with Father.
Knights and servants follow us.
We walk along a path that circles the central garden.
Lakes and animal pens are visible on both sides. It's truly a massive estate.
Most noticeable are the church-like facilities just beyond a wall.
'That must be the Healer Training Center.'
Memories from the possessed body rise like a mirage.
The main building consisted of three structures.
East Wing, West Wing, and Central Wing.
It seemed the Empress was staying in the Central Wing, and Asella in the East Wing.
In front of the East Wing, Father stopped and urged me:
"Go to the Princess then. Since she summoned you personally, I'm not worried."
"Leave it to me. I'll see you at the evening banquet."
As I was about to move after saying goodbye, there was a commotion beyond the fence.
"What's happening?"
At Father's question, a servant hurriedly assessed the situation and carefully reported.
It didn't seem to be good news. Father's expression turned serious.
"The Princess's pet dog?"
Father moved quickly to the scene. I immediately headed beyond the fence as well.
The scene was chaotic.
On the lawn, a large dog lay collapsed, struggling to breathe.
Asella's pet dog, they said.
Four healers surrounded the dog.
All wearing white robes, making it hard to tell them apart.
The dog was truly massive, probably a Great Pyrenees.
Taller than me. Almost 2 meters, I'd guess. Its fluffy white fur made it look even bigger.
The problem was that it was dying.
"What's happening!"
At Father's thunderous command, the healers answered while sweating profusely.
"This creature suddenly collapsed...!"
"We're healing it now!"
Father quickly removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves.
"This is an Imperial guest's pet. Do you understand what a grave discourtesy it would be if anything happened to it, Gis!"
So that's Gis?
He looks rather dim-witted. No wonder the family gets destroyed if they send someone like that as the family representative physician.
"I-I've almost healed it..."
Father pushed Gis aside and took out a rosary and holy book from his breast pocket to begin casting healing arts.
His divine power forms a spell formation through his faith.
A scene I've witnessed tiringly often.
It was a skill I used every day too.
As the head of the Gotberg family, Father is quite a master of healing arts.
But despite the healing being applied, the dog continues to struggle and suffer.
That's when it happened.
"Max!"
Asella comes running from afar. She must have heard that her pet had an accident.
Her wide eyes are filled with dismay.
"Max, Max!"
"Princess, the healers are treating him. Please wait a moment."
The head lady-in-waiting restrained Asella as she tried to rush to the dog.
"So his name is Max."
I look at the healers.
These supposed aces of the training center aren't examining the patient's condition but are just anxiously praying.
I glance at Asella.
"..."
Ah, our eyes briefly met.
At that moment, a number changed.
[No. 004: Sweet Poison 56% → 71%]
[Changed]
What did I do?
This means I'm now involved in the conditions for the Sweet Poison bad ending.
And this incident is related to it.
'Right. Crisis is opportunity.'
In other words, this is a chance to delete a bad ending.
Of course, even without the status window, I wouldn't have ignored a dying dog.
Because dogs are cute.
"Tsk, let me see."
I approach Max and examine him carefully.
"No visible external injuries."
Then it must be internal. Given his breathing difficulty, it's likely respiratory.
His thick fur makes it hard to see with the naked eye. I press on Max's body to check.
"Young master, what are you doing!"
One of the healers grabbed my shoulder, trying to pull me away.
"I'm identifying the cause. Don't interfere."
I push the healer away and check Max's neck.
"The young master is strangling the dog!"
"That rascal...!"
I don't have time to care what they're saying. This is urgent.
I feel something blunt at my fingertips.
"What's this?"
The cause was simple.
"Airway obstruction."
Something was stuck in his throat.