Chapter 20.1

I accepted the route without even taking a moment to hesitate.

<SYSTEM> Valérez Toledo – You have now entered the Trick Girl + Innocent Man Route.

※Caution※ Simultaneous route progression may create conflict between characters, so please be careful when playing.

The precaution bothered me a bit, but I had no choice. If I attacked each person one by one, how long would it take for me to return to reality?

<SYSTEM> Valérez Toledo – A quest related to Trick Girl + Innocent Man Route occurs.

<QUEST> Have a successful first date with Valérez Toledo.

Reward for success: 50 Holy Power, 20 Charm, Ring of the previous Duchess of Toledo

Penalty for failure: Valérez’ likeability decreased by 2, charm decreased by 10

I stared at the shiny list of rewards.

‘The ring of the former Duchess of Toledo…?’

If it was a ring inherited from generations of hostesses of a noble family, wasn’t it a ring given to the daughter-in-law when their children get married?

‘Is he preparing for an immediate marriage as soon as the first date is done?’

I glanced at Ares.

“Lord Ares, what are you doing this weekend?”

“On the weekend?”

He blinked slowly at my question, unable to grasp what I meant. Although his eyes looked quite dirty, his dumbfounded face like a cow was quite cute.

“I work. There’s no weekdays and weekends in the entertainment industry.”

Ares was a fairly honest entertainment worker. I hesitated to open my mouth, thinking of Red House which ran every day without holidays.

“If you’re not busy, would you like to go out with me?”

“…a date?”

Surprised by my question, his brows formed a taut bridge in between. I took a step closer to his confused face.

“Just a healthy date. We don’t need to sleep together.”

“…”

“Really,” I added, “I swear to God.”

Despite my oath, Ares didn’t withdraw his suspicious look. I had no choice but to take out my secret weapon after holding his hands together, my eyes shining brightly.

“Really, you can trust me just once. Promise.”

Ares looked down at the pinky finger I pushed in front of him, and eventually raised his beautiful hand. I snatched his finger instantly and grinned.

“See you on the weekend then!”

Waving at Ares cheerfully, I turned my back to leave Red House. He seemed to have watched me for a while as I walked away, but then he suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Wait a minute.

“What?”

I turned to look down at his hand stuck to my wrist. His long fingers, which were a bit different from Curtis’ knightly hands, gently tapped the back of my hand.

“I’ll take you home,” he said, “It’s already late.”

I was admiring his feet and I could only raise my head at his sudden offer.

“Oh, really?”

I clapped my hands in excitement, but then bit my tongue at Ares’ question that followed.

“Yes, where do you live?”

‘Shit, I did lie to Ares.’

For some reason, Ares hated the mere mention of the Marquis of Abina. He seemed to hate Edith Abina very much, considering his reaction the first time we met.

‘Edith was originally a villainess, so it would be natural that the target characters hated her one way or another…’

She had a very hard life to live anyway. Her stepfather was a pervert, and her step sister hated Edith, her mother was dead, and Curtis, a childhood friend, doesn’t want to touch even the tips of her fingers.

‘I need to find out why Valérez hates the Marquis of Abina.’

The guidebook given from the beginning as a reward was empty because it was still the first part, so I should probably get a middle part guidebook and see more detailed information now.

Deciding firmly, I tried to stop Valérez from following me.

“Well, I’ll be fine. Someone is supposed to pick me up today.”

“Are you? Who?” Ares’ eyes narrowed at my obvious lie.

“A brother I know.”

“My lady, there must be a lot of men.”

I shrugged casually, avoiding his eyes as I countered, “He’s just a brother I know.”

“Really? Okay then.”

I had wondered what to do to get to know him, but Ares didn’t show much jealousy as it was in the early stages of conquering him.

I left the house wiping my sweaty forehead.

“Phew, that was a relief.”

* * *