CHAPTER 34: Confession Attack
“Huh? Well, it is true that he’s handsome.”
“….”
Ancelot pressed his lips tightly together.
After mulling something over for a while, he eventually nodded and admitted it.
“Yeah, he’s good-looking. Like a knight from a fairy tale.”
“Right? Right?”
“…His hair especially is amazing.”
I nodded along, agreeing, but then he pulled a transformation potion from his pocket and stared at it meaningfully.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Stop making people bald already!”
Maybe Duke Hamilton deserved it, but turning someone like Klaus Winstor—a devastatingly handsome man—bald would be a tragedy.
Especially since Klaus’s beautiful platinum hair was lovelier than most noble ladies’. Trying to erase that?
“No one said anything. I just said his hair was nice.”
Ancelot replied curtly and put the potion away.
‘Anyway, I should probably scrap the plan to raise Klaus Winstor’s affection level…’
If I didn’t accidentally lower it even more, that would already be a miracle.
So, the next plan…
Option 2:
Receive a Knight’s Oath from him
“A knight’s oath…”
I furrowed my brow, repeating the words.
A knight’s oath.
It was a common trope in fantasy novels, but in this world I now lived in, it was a rare and outdated tradition.
People preferred contracts—reliable and binding—over oaths based on feelings that could change at any time.
‘Maybe that’s why it became such a romantic trope…’
Even in the Azester Empire, it was considered an old, outdated custom from centuries ago.
The only people who still kept the tradition were the imperial family with their close aides—or couples who made oaths to each other.
“You’re going to try to get that guy to swear a knight’s oath?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
I turned to the skeptical-looking Ancelot and answered with confidence.
“I’ve got a plan.”
Bright daylight bathed Brillanta Plaza, capital of the Empire.
People’s expressions were peaceful and calm.
After the incident involving Duke Hamilton and Brother Orent, the capital had been in turmoil for a while, but Mother resolved it swiftly.
All their crimes were exposed, and Duke Hamilton claimed full responsibility before being executed.
Thanks to his father’s sacrifice, Orent was spared, but he lost everything—including his royal title.
Now, he was soon to be sent to a monastery far from Brillanta, where he’d spend the rest of his life.
Some criticized Mother for being cold, even toward her own blood.
‘But considering the citizens who suffered because of them, it was the only right decision.’
Had she shown leniency, it might have incited even more unrest.
No matter how grave the crime, punishing your own child…
The weight of the Emperor’s throne felt unbearably heavy.
‘Maybe that’s why Mother doesn’t show us affection equally—because of the burden she carries.’
As I walked, rolling a small piece of metal in my pocket, I reflected on all this.
I was searching for someone.
The Proposal Ring, bought from the Black Market Guild, was traditionally used by men in Azester when proposing.
‘It said it boosts confession success rate by 500%, right?’
I recalled the item description and grinned.
‘But… it never said it had to be a love confession, did it?’
Despite all the ways had derailed the original story, it was still wildly popular—thanks to its high level of freedom.
‘As long as you stick to the core keywords, it’s possible to twist the item’s effect like this.’
I activated my minimap, located Klaus, and quickened my pace.
As soon as I spotted him turning a corner, I rushed forward and thrust the Proposal Ring in front of him.
“Sir Klaus!”
“Princess Ruibelle…?”
He hadn’t expected to see me here, so he froze with a surprised expression.
“Become my knight!”
I declared boldly, like I was proposing.
“I need a knight. I’m about to go on a journey to prove myself as a hero. I’d like you to come with me. So will you swear a knight’s oath to me?”
At that moment, the Proposal Ring glowed white.
[SYSTEM] Using item . Confession success rate increased by +500%.
‘Yes…!’
Thinking I had succeeded, I looked up at Klaus with a bright smile—
‘Huh?’
His face was twisting… red with rage.
“S-Sir Klaus…?”
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affection -10. (Affection: -300)
I quickly glanced above his head.
Klaus Winstor, heir to the Winstor Marquisate
§On Alert§
Affection: -300
‘Even Brother Orent never had affection that low…!’
Despair hit me hard.
“A knight’s oath, you say?”
Klaus, who had always maintained his manners despite the low affection, now spoke with visible irritation and a tightly restrained voice.
“H-Hii! I made a mistake! I’m sorry, please pretend it never happened!”
I shouted and dashed away as fast as I could.
Even as I ran, the system continued pinging with more drops in Klaus’s affection. Thankfully, it stopped just before hitting -500.
‘At this rate, Klaus might actually hit me.’
I remembered what Piya said about -500 affection turning into violent hatred, and chills ran down my spine.
‘Do I really have to beat Klaus into submission…?’
After confirming he was far behind me, I sighed deeply.
‘But Klaus is higher level than me. He probably wouldn’t even agree to a duel…’
I was still racking my brain for ideas when—
‘Wait, what?’
A familiar name popped up on my minimap.
‘Why is that person here?’
Meanwhile, Klaus, now alone, was deeply troubled.
“She asked me to be her knight…”
Recalling Ruibelle’s unexpected and sudden confession, he wandered absentmindedly.
Something was definitely suspicious about her.
Even before she met him, she had already known too much.
And yet… a confession, in a public space like this?
And a knight’s oath?
That was something only royals or lovers exchanged nowadays…
He paused.
‘Wait. Lovers?’
Could it be… that Princess Ruibelle…
‘Likes me?’
Thud!
The thought made his heart lurch—and his affection dropped again.
‘But… she’s got Prince Ancelot.’
He still remembered how Ruibelle had looked so gentle and relaxed when walking away holding Ancelot’s hand.
She treated Ancelot so differently than him.
‘So she’s dating the prince and wants to keep me by her side too?’
The second that thought crossed his mind, Klaus’s expression twisted.
‘That’s just… horrible.’
An unpleasant feeling surged inside him.
He blamed the discomfort entirely on Ruibelle’s inappropriate behavior.
Otherwise, he couldn’t explain this emotion.
I returned to the carriage I’d prepared.
Piya immediately poofed into a bird and flew to me.
Ancelot, waiting inside the carriage, glanced at me sideways.
“Didn’t go well, huh?”
“I think the expensive ring was defective.”
I turned to Piya, now perched quietly on my shoulder.
“It was supposed to increase my success rate, but the confession failed and his affection dropped. Is the system broken?”
Pyuweet!
―Broken?! The system is flawless!
Piya squawked in outrage.
“Then why did it go wrong?”
―W-Well…!
After hesitating for a moment, Piya blurted out:
―Because the base success rate was only 0.03% to begin with!
“What? That low?!”
My jaw dropped.
0.03% times 5 is just 0.15%… This was basically a miracle waiting to not happen.
“You should’ve warned me!”
―I wanted to! But it’s against the rules to interfere directly with main quests!
Piya couldn’t tell me the quest target was Klaus either—some restrictions were clearly in place.
―But I can give you some advice!
“Ooh, really?”
―That guy acts this way because you’re too pretty! If you become uglier, it’ll be easier to raise his affection!
“What?”
―So if you drink that baldness potion you lent him before—!
“No! Absolutely not!”
I recoiled in horror and shook my head violently.
“How could you give such a bird-brained suggestion!”
―Bird-brained?! I only said it out of concern for you!
“If you suggest that again, you’re drinking the potion next!”
Pyu… pyuweet…?
Piya clutched her lovely green feathers with her wings and clicked her beak nervously.
As we bickered, Ancelot, watching, casually rested his chin in his hand.
“There is a simple way to recruit Klaus Winstor.”
“A simple way?”
“I’m torn. I know we need him, but I don’t like the idea of that bastard being near Your Highness.”
“Why do you hate Klaus so much?”
He didn’t even get a minus-300 bomb like I did—why so much hatred?
“Do you need a reason to hate someone?”
I tilted my head, but Ancelot replied coolly.
“Well, if you’ve got a good idea, tell me. At this rate, we won’t even get to start the scenario, let alone tame the Flame Dragon.”
“If you insist, Your Highness…”
After a pause, Ancelot finally said:
“Power.”
He smirked.
“Power has always been the greatest force of all, hasn’t it?”
