He was now bringing up the incident from the merchant guild.
‘…What is this? Is he testing me?’
I had only thought of creating a situation where I would find out first, never imagining that he would reveal his identity directly.
And even less so, that he would test me so openly.
I pondered for a moment about how to respond.
Bunter was still an ambiguous existence, neither a clear insurance nor someone I could call X.
I eventually replied vaguely.
"There doesn't seem to be any reason to seek you out again."
"Indeed, you knew."
His immediate response confirmed my suspicion.
Sure enough, he was testing me.
"…I have a good memory for people's characteristics."
I smiled ambiguously and met his gaze steadily.
"Ah."
A faint groan escaped him, seemingly caught off guard.
The absurd setting used by the female lead in Normal Mode—guessing that the duke and the mage were the same person just by their eye color—seemed plausible in this game world when I experienced it firsthand.
The arrogant nobles who looked down on merchants wouldn't remember the eye color of a masked informant.
"If you're worried about my discretion, you can erase my memory of the children."
"That's not it."
Having roughly guessed why he was testing me, I said without hesitation.
Bunter shook his head strongly.
"That's not it…"
Trailing off, he suddenly reached out his hand toward me.
"…Lady, you seem to be injured every time we meet."
His long, sturdy fingers grazed my neck lightly.
"Ah."
A sharp pain made me involuntarily groan.
Bunter flinched at my short groan and withdrew his hand.
This time, I raised my hand and touched the spot.
I could feel the rough scab on my hand.
It was a fresh wound that Leornado had treated.
At the time, I hadn't felt anything, but now a burning pain rose.
It seemed I had rubbed the same spot again without realizing it.
As I kept touching the wound, Bunter said in a serious tone.
"Don't touch it. It might be better to go to the infirmary…"
"Penelope."
At that moment, someone called my name.
My head, which had been turned toward Bunter, reflexively turned back.
[Goodwill 29%]
The goodwill had been restored to its previous level thanks to the quest reward.
Derrick was approaching with a stiff face.
‘The duke must have left first.’
Looking at his empty side, I thought it was a bit unexpected.
"Good day, Young Duke."
Bunter gave a slight bow to the approaching Derrick.
Derrick, who had been about to press his business with me, hesitated and reluctantly bowed in return.
"Thank you for your testimony earlier, Duke."
"You're welcome. It was my duty."
"I don't know what you have to talk about with my sister, but we have a family matter to attend to. Can I take her now?"
"Of course."
Despite Derrick's somewhat rude comment, Bunter smiled kindly and stepped back willingly.
"Lady, we can continue our conversation another time…"
"No, there's no need."
I gently grabbed Bunter's wrist, determined to end our conversation.
"Let's finish our talk, Duke."
"Penelope Eckhart."
Derrick called my name in an icy tone.
The goodwill meter started to flicker above my black hair.
"…What are you doing?"
Derrick's face twisted horribly when he saw my hand on Bunter's wrist.
I met his cold gaze with a smile, ignoring Bunter's subtle change in expression.
"I already told you I have nothing more to say."
"…There are many eyes watching."
Derrick's jaw tightened.
"Let go of my hand and come with me immediately."
The moment I heard his words, this thought came to mind.
‘Why should I listen to his command?’
I really had nothing more to say to him.
I hadn't harmed the family, and I had already resolved the issues I had caused.
"…When did you start distinguishing between who sees and who doesn't?"
I couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Everyone probably thinks I'm not fully recovered from my illness. Don't worry about it."
"…You…"
My sarcastic defense made a vein pop on his forehead.
Bunter was a good shield.
Derrick didn't rashly try to drag me away, seemingly concerned about the attention of others.
He took a deep breath and barely managed to calm his anger.
"Fine, I admit it."
"…Admit what?"
"There was a misunderstanding on my part."
"…"
"But look at your behavior. Given your reputation and recklessness, anyone would have made the same judgment."
"…Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
‘I thought he had something left to say.’
It was just an excuse and a blame.
He never believed me and never thought to verify the truth, labeling me as a 'noble murderer.'
The rational and cool male lead I had admired in the game was such a despicable person.
"It's so easy for you, Young Duke."
"…What?"
"To frame someone as a noble murderer and to portray them as a madwoman."
"…"
"To blame everything on me and easily resolve it."
Derrick's eyes widened in anger at my sarcasm.
The goodwill meter started to flicker dangerously.
"Is that all you have to say to me? That I brought this on myself and shouldn't blame others?"
"Penelope Eckhart."
'Goodwill -2%'
[Goodwill 27%]
It rose easily and fell easily. The goodwill meter gave me no emotional response.
With this feeling of crawling on the ground, I wouldn't mind if it dropped by 10% at once.
Derrick's face twisted viciously. In contrast, I smiled broadly and chuckled.
"Don't worry. I know it's all my fault. So, I took care of it myself."
"Did your 'taking care of it' end up tarnishing the Eckhart name? A secret meeting with the crown prince… Where did you get the nerve…"
"Then what should I have done?"
I really didn't know, so I shrugged.
"Accidentally encountering a bear and fighting it, the crown prince passing by and cutting off the bear's head, and then accidentally meeting an assassin and being chased together…"
"…"
"Should I have stated it like that?"
I repeated the exact situation I had described to Derrick the previous night.
It was the truth, but if I had said it like that, no one would have believed me.
Duke Ellen would have pushed it that way.
"Did you want me to become a royal murderer to satisfy you?"
"Don't jump to conclusions."
Derrick seemed to be barely holding back his anger, grinding out his words.
The cold fury in his gaze intensified.
"If I had mentioned the evidence earlier, we could have resolved it without tarnishing the family's honor and creating an absurd scandal."
"Who created such an absurd scandal?"
I clenched my teeth and retorted stubbornly.
"Did you give me a chance to mention the evidence?"
It was hard to maintain my composure.
I knew my face was a mess, but I managed to lift the corners of my mouth slightly.
"You didn't listen. Why, are you going to blame me for that too?"
Perhaps too agitated, I didn't even remember to call him 'Brother' in front of others.
- Young Duke, this is a clear frame-up. There's a way to resolve it. In fact, I have…
- …Do you not think I acted in self-defense for a reason?
- The crown prince passed by and helped me cut off the bear's head.
The secret meeting with the crown prince, the love affair.
I was the one who most wanted to avoid mentioning these things.
But after a sleepless night, that was my limit.
Perhaps there was a better way.
If I had used Derrick's sharp mind and the Eckhart name, we could have come up with a much better testimony.
To do that, I had decided to hand over the assassin's emblem to Derrick.
But it was you who ignored it and left me to clean up the mess on my own.
"Have you finished what you wanted to say? I want to finish my conversation with the Duke. As you know, we were discussing the testimony for the trial urgently."
"Our communication was lacking."
Derrick answered somewhat hastily, as if ready to leave with Bunter.
"You know, the situation was very urgent, and the information we received was extremely limited."
"…"
"They kept pushing the Eckhart name as the mastermind behind the royal murder, and the absurd rumor that you were trained with a crossbow for the assassination became a fact."
Derrick continued, looking frustrated. I felt it was an extension of yesterday.
"I thought it was best to quickly wrap things up to get you out of jail."
"I don't know what you're trying to say, but I'm fine, Young Duke."
I answered firmly.
"I didn't expect anything anyway."
At that moment, Derrick's face crumpled horribly.
I couldn't understand why.
On his usually expressionless face, a clear emotion, indescribable, emerged.
"…Penelope."
He called my name in a tight voice. And then.
[Goodwill 32%]
The goodwill meter shot up.
I looked at it in slight surprise.
But the brief interest quickly faded, and I gave him a short bow.
"Let's go, Duke."
As I led Bunter away, Derrick stood there like a statue, frozen in place.