NOVEL WEB Chapter 25
I found my way to the top floor of the mansion’s annex after asking around.
I wasn’t sure if it was because the lord had left the reception room looking very pleased, but the servants and maids displayed a completely opposite attitude.
Not only was there no air of disdain towards me, but every word they spoke was polite, and they even brought refreshments to the table without me having to ask.
‘Well, if you’re working under someone like that, you’ve got to be perceptive. Those who aren’t are probably dead by now.’
The lord of this city was one of the few inherently evil NPCs from Brightest Darkness 4.
I had planned to lure him out with all kinds of lies and eventually frame him for a contract with a demon and kill him, but I felt no guilt because of that.
After all, he was planning to stab me in the back anyway.
Now that I had obtained a book possessed by a demon, my goals had changed, so I had put my original plan on hold. In the game, the player betrays the lord the moment they faithfully carry out his orders and sell the Silver Dawn Knights.
Not only does he kick the now useless player out of the city, but he also frames them for conspiring with the Silver Dawn Knights to murder the emperor’s kin.
This would also mean that the chapter’s outcome would be locked to a bad ending.
All the event branches classified by users as happy endings would be blocked, and only the two darkest ones would barely be available under normal endings.
The rest would all be direct paths to bad endings.
Moreover, all the human-side side quests would disappear as well, so to enjoy the game normally, you’d have to quickly get the bad ending and move on to the next chapter, or just restart the game.
‘Killing that guy is the best way to help the NPC out.’
It was true.
If I killed him, Aurora would take his place and the lord’s position, and if I built a friendly relationship early on, I could receive quite a bit of help.
How, you ask? When Brightest Darkness 4 publicly released various statistics for its 10th anniversary, it overwhelmingly ranked second as “The NPC Most Killed by Players” in first place!
‘By the way, why isn’t Aurora here yet? She didn’t really run away, did she?’
As the refreshments on the table dwindled and the sun hung low on the horizon, anxiety began to rise within me.
If Aurora really had run away or killed herself, it would make it horribly difficult to deal with the aftermath of killing the lord. If my luck was exceptionally bad, the Silver Dawn Knights might just disband.
I was more anxious now than ever since I had never faced such a situation before. It meant I couldn’t prepare with the knowledge from the game.
Sitting alone on the bed, my ominous thoughts began to spiral out of control. No amount of trying to redirect my mind helped.
Knock, knock.
Just when I decided I couldn’t stay idle anymore and was about to go out looking for Aurora, I heard a polite woman’s voice from outside with a knock on the door.
“Excuse me. Are you inside?”
It was Aurora’s voice.
‘What a relief. She didn’t run away after all.’
I sighed with relief and, since I was already holding the doorknob, turned it and opened the door. There stood Aurora, just as I had heard.
‘What the hell?’
I was shocked to see what she was wearing. Aurora had on something that barely covered any area of her body at all.
It was designed to barely cover the tips of her chest and to barely cover her lower half as well. The fabric area revealed far more than it covered, with strings minimally draping over her.
This was what they called a micro bikini.
Even if you combined all the fabric covering her body, I wondered if it could even cover one of my fingers. She had walked from her room to mine wearing that.
‘What the hell? Is this another mod’s influence?’
As I looked down, dumbfounded, Aurora shivered slightly, blushed deeply, and instead of feeling embarrassed, seemed to invite me to look even more by turning her arms behind her back and subtly pushing out her chest.
Realizing my mistake, I quickly turned my head and gestured for her to come inside.
Unlike the knight commanders who wore tight white sleeveless tops and dolphin shorts without a hint of embarrassment, Aurora was clearly aware that she was wearing something shameful.
While the micro bikini itself might be a mod’s influence, it seemed her common sense was still intact.
The original outfit was likely a suitably revealing negligee, not something as outrageous as that micro bikini.
Clunk! As I closed the door, Aurora flinched at the sound and hurried to lock it. Then she approached the window, drew the curtains, and lit the candles positioned around the room.
This room had obviously been set up for such activities, and once the candles were lit, an incredibly sensual and dreamy atmosphere unfolded.
With the room now filled with such a vibe, Aurora took my hand and pulled me down onto the bed. Then she shivered slightly and moved back a bit, giving me a view of her entire body.
“Thank you for… accepting… someone as lowly as me…”
Blushing furiously, she began to kneel on the floor.
“My body is now… entirely… yours… So please… use me as you wish…”
Aurora said this while kneeling on the floor, bringing her hands together in front of her head and bowing deeply. It was the act known as dogeza.
As I stared at her in a trance, I was jolted back to reality by the vision of her flowing black hair cascading down on either side. I realized I shouldn’t be behaving like this.
Despite having an appearance that would never allow her to kneel in front of anyone, her actions were downright lewd and completely captivated me for a moment. I fought hard to suppress my rising lust.
If I revealed my desires here, it would be the end.
“Aurora.”
“Yes, yes! …Huh?”
As I called her name, Aurora instinctively looked up and responded, only to realize I had used an honorific with her and showed a puzzled expression.
“The reason I came here is not to… cough embrace you, Aurora.”
“…?”
A look of deeper confusion crossed her face. I met her gaze directly and continued.
“Are you interested in becoming the lord of this area?”
“…So, to summarize what you’re saying…”
Phew, a white vapor puffed from Aurora’s lips.
The expression she had just before, while kneeling and blushing at the thought of offering herself, had vanished without a trace. In its place was a sharp and stoic look.
With a pipe in her left hand, resting her elbow on the armrest of the chair, she slanted her body slightly to the right, cupping her face in her palm, and crossing her legs in a very sultry manner.
It was quite alluring, even if she was still in that micro bikini.
“So you want to kill that pig bastard and have me ascend to the lordship, while I also take over this city, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How do you plan to kill him? That bastard may be fat, but his head is sharper than most. He didn’t survive while the emperor was executing his relatives just because he was lucky.”
“Well, I’m here because I have a plan.”
“Ha, you sure are confident.”
Aurora smirked, placing her extinguished pipe on the desk. A thin wisp of smoke floated upward.
“Just one question. Why are you so unfazed by my current state? You don’t seem surprised, or awkward. You look like you think this is how it should be.”
Aurora asked curiously. It was understandable; her demeanor had changed so drastically compared to just moments ago.
‘Well, that’s because this is the personality I’m familiar with.’
The lord’s daughter was ambitious regarding the lordship and sufficiently capable as an NPC.
If a friendly player mafiaed beforehand revealed the plan to assassinate the lord, giving her time to prepare, she could take the lordship and restore order in the city in the blink of an eye.
Even without prior warning, she could have managed everything herself, though our relationship might have gone a bit rocky afterward.
Thus, I was much more familiar with this confident version of Aurora.
“Well, I guess it’s just how it is.”
Of course, familiarity and knowledge are two different things. I feigned innocence.
“If you don’t want to say, then just say you don’t want to. Don’t beat around the bush. I hate that sort of thing.”
Aurora clicked her tongue at my playful answer.
“Sure, as you say. I want that pig bastard dead, I want to kill the pig bastard to take his spot, and I want to rule this city instead of him.”
Her voice was calm at first, but she became increasingly agitated as she spoke. Anger began to flicker on her face. Her brows trembled, and the corners of her mouth twisted.
“And how about the fact that he’s my father? Do you think I feel even a little pity for killing him? Not at all. Not even a bit. Absolutely never. You know how long I have wanted to kill that pig? He looks at me with those disgusting eyes anytime he gets the chance, schemes about using my body to make money, thinks of using my body as bargaining chips! And now he sold me off? Am I supposed to call that bastard my father?”
Bang! Unable to suppress her anger, Aurora slammed the table. The pipe rolled off, scattering grey ash across the tabletop. Her tightly clenched fist trembled with rage.
“If you think about it, I was just a tool for that bastard. So I should be treated as a fool instead of a daughter. No, that would be an insult.”
Calming down slightly, she turned her head up to stare at the ceiling and let out a long, deep sigh. Hoo, hooo, hoo.
When she turned to face me again, her golden eyes were filled with a weary look.
“…If I hadn’t caught on and acted accordingly, I would either be languishing under that pig bastard now, or I would have been sold off to some old geezer as a concubine, playing coy between their legs, or being rolled around in a brothel until my back broke. The reason I’ve acted weak and fragile is so I can avoid those dirty fates. I needed to play the role of a well-behaved daughter who listens to orders.”
As Aurora spoke, she shivered in disgust. The fake personality she was referring to was likely the soft and timid demeanor she had just shown me.
Ironically, she had managed to survive all this time by pretending to be the weak daughter, allowing others to take advantage of her.
If she revealed her true personality, who knew what that bastard might do to crush her spirit?
“But still.”
Her golden eyes focused on me again. The weary look had vanished, replaced by a fire of emotion.
“How can I trust you?”