After slipping out of the conference room, I only let go of my hand and apologized to Bunter when I reached a quiet, deserted spot.
"I'm sorry, Duke. I caused you a lot of trouble."
I offered my apology to him, who had suffered due to the unfortunate circumstances between Derek and me.
Bunter looked at me silently for a moment before pulling something out from his coat.
He then extended it to me and said something unexpected.
"Don't cry."
"…What?"
Confused by his words, I tilted my head and raised my hand to touch my face.
There was no moisture, only the roughness of my skin from lack of sleep over the past few days.
It was natural. I wasn't crying at all.
"What do you mean…?"
"I said that the tears from your beautiful eyes would be a sufficient token of gratitude."
"…."
"Your eyes are always filled with sorrow rather than joy."
Bunter's words reminded me of our first meeting, which I had completely forgotten.
The moment I heard them, I couldn't help but contort my face.
Actually, it was a lie.
I had hoped that Derek, who came to the prison, would listen to me and help me.
Even though I knew it was a hard mode, I thought there might be some differences from reality.
I thought there might be a dramatic change, regardless of plausibility.
"…Yeah."
I replied weakly with a forced smile, quite late in responding.
"Will there really be a day when I can laugh without a care?"
Probably not until right before I escape this game after seeing the ending.
As I muttered these self-deprecating words and lifted my head, a chill wind suddenly blew.
The folded handkerchief on Bunter's palm floated up with the breeze and unfolded with a 'whoosh.'
It seemed as if an invisible someone was folding the cloth back and forth on his palm, playing with it in the air.
It repeatedly unfolded, crumpled, and inflated, eventually transforming into a small rabbit.
"…What…"
I stared at it with wide eyes, dumbfounded.
The rabbit made of thin cloth slowly fell onto Bunter's palm.
Its small ears twitched as if greeting me.
It was a scene that was hard to believe even though I saw it with my own eyes.
"Could you please spread your hands?"
Bunter suddenly asked, almost as a request.
I slowly raised and spread my hands, still in a daze.
Then, the rabbit on Bunter's palm hopped and landed softly on my palm.
It rubbed its face against my palm as if it were a real living creature, which felt strange.
"…I like them."
"Finally, you're smiling."
When I answered honestly, Bunter said.
Only then did I realize why he had shown me this.
It was to comfort me.
Suddenly, my heart felt heavy.
I shifted my gaze from the handkerchief rabbit rolling on my palm to meet his eyes.
And I gave him my first genuine, unselfish smile.
"Thank you, Duke."
For a moment, a ripple passed through his pupils. Then,
[Goodwill: 44%]
5%. His goodwill towards me had increased significantly.
I slowly wiped the smile from my face as I looked at the gauge bar above his silver hair.
[In Normal Mode, the mage appears like a ghost whenever the protagonist is sad or upset, performing bizarre magic.]
Feeling a bit disheartened that I was still thinking of using him as a safety net even in this moment, I sighed.
* * *
Despite the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince, the hunting competition continued.
Only a few high-ranking nobles who participated in the trial knew the full details.
Moreover, many foreigners were involved.
The hunting competition had already been forced to continue after the attack at the pre-festival banquet. If it were to be completely halted again, it would severely damage the prestige of the Inca Empire.
Therefore, the competition continued without a host.
There were four more days until the winner was selected.
"…Therefore, I am to inform you that no one is to leave the hunting grounds until the Duke returns, for safety reasons."
The next morning, a servant went around to each noble's campsite, delivering the Emperor's order.
The order was to detain all nobles in the palace until their return.
'…Why me?'
I looked at the servant who brought the scroll with the royal emblem, feeling wronged.
I thought I could return home immediately after being cleared of the charges.
However, I was relieved by the servant's next words.
"However, Lady Ecart has made significant contributions in assisting the Crown Prince."
"…."
"Out of respect for her, the Emperor has also instructed that if she wishes, she can move her residence from the hunting grounds to the palace."
"I'll move."
I immediately raised my hand and shouted as soon as the servant finished speaking.
"…Penelope."
The Duke called me with a gloomy voice.
When I turned to look at him with a blank expression, he only stiffened his dark face without trying to stop me.
After the trial, no one easily approached me to talk. It was a good thing.
"Then I will prepare the carriage for you."
The servant bowed politely to a member of the Duke's household before leaving.
"I need to prepare to move. I'll go ahead."
I got up from my seat as if I had been waiting for this moment.
I didn't want to stay any longer in the stifling atmosphere of the Duke's tent.
"Hey, you really…!"
Unable to bear the cold atmosphere, Leonard opened his mouth to say something.
"Shh, Leonard."
The Duke stopped him. He sighed deeply and nodded.
"Alright. Do as you wish. The palace will be more comfortable than here."
"Yes. See you later."
I left the tent without a second thought after a brief farewell.
The three pairs of blue eyes that followed me out felt heavy and piercing.
Unlike the confident stride I had when leaving the Duke's tent, my steps felt heavy once I was outside.
"Sigh…"
I sighed, thinking that our relationship wasn't this bad on the first day of the hunting competition.
I walked slowly towards my tent, feeling a bit frustrated.
Perhaps I was just venting my anger unnecessarily.
I understood the frustration of the Duke's household, who had suffered from Penelope's thoughtless mischief and accidents.
Moreover, this time, it involved a royal assassination attempt. How upset they must have been.
For the Duke and Derek, it might have been best to downplay the incident as a 'mischievous prank by an immature girl' to resolve it.
'…But why should I understand their situation?'
Understanding is one thing, but my feelings were still hurt.
If they had asked me about the situation first and worked together to find a solution, things wouldn't have ended in such a mess.
No, if someone had stood up for Penelope and said she wouldn't do such a thing, even once, it wouldn't have ended this way.
"Hey."
Just then, someone called out to me.
But lost in deep thought, I didn't immediately recognize the voice.
"Hey, hey! Penelope!"
Only when my name was shouted did I stop.
'Sigh… I don't want to turn around.'
There was only one person here who would call me so rudely.
I turned my head slightly to confirm.
[Goodwill: 37%]
As expected. The pink-haired figure was quickly approaching me.