Chapter 88:
The next day.
Lise woke up in her usual room, not in the awkward Ripford mansion where she had stayed for two days.
“I’m back…”
It wasn’t a dream.
She had truly escaped from the clutches of the two ducal families.
She got out of bed and inhaled the familiar scent of the clothes Kaine usually wore.
“Hmm…”
Kaine’s unique scent tickled her nose.
It didn’t feel unpleasant.
No, it felt rather nice.She didn’t want to let go of this scent.
But she had to wake Kaine up.
‘I am his exclusive maid, after all.’
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After getting ready as usual, Lise walked gracefully to his room.
Upon reaching her destination, she knocked gently.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
There was no response to her knock, indicating that he was most likely asleep as usual.
She quietly opened the door, murmuring, “Excuse me, Young Master…”
Creak.
He was indeed asleep.
As expected, Kaine was sleeping with the most relaxed expression on his face.
“Hmm…”
So cute.
Being his exclusive maid since childhood, she had witnessed him sleeping countless times, but today, he looked especially adorable.
Her heart began to beat faster than ever before.
She moved closer, almost touching their faces.
Then, carefully,
Tap. Tap.
She tapped his cheek with her index finger.
‘He must be really tired.’
Well, it was only natural.
He had destroyed two ducal families to save Lise.
He must have put a lot of thought into it.
Additionally, he must have struggled to gather evidence of their evil deeds in the church.
‘If he managed to obtain all that in just two days…’
She was certain that he had hardly had any time to sleep.
‘I’ve caused him so much trouble.’
Lise looked at his face, specifically his lips, with an apologetic expression.
On the other hand, Kaine…
‘Damn, what do I do now?’
With his eyes closed, he was waiting for the right moment to wake up.
In truth, he had been awake since Lise touched his cheek.
Normally, he would have woken up immediately when she touched his cheek, but…
‘It seemed like Lise was just playing around.’
Moreover, she was probably leaning her face close to his.
After all, he could feel her breath on his face.
‘What should I do?’
As Kaine pondered,
Smooch!
Lise gently pressed her lips against his.
Kaine was startled by the sudden turn of events, but with his acting skills, he pretended to have just woken up.
“Hmm… What? Lise?”
“Yes… Young Master.”
Her expression was indifferent, as if she had just arrived, but her cheeks were flushed.
‘She must be embarrassed.’
Despite her expression, her body betrayed her, as her ears turned bright red like a tomato.
Her cheeks were also gradually turning red.
‘I feel like teasing her.’
Come to think of it, he had never teased Lise before.
Unlike Kage and Eileen, she usually didn’t react much.
So, he had assumed that teasing her wouldn’t elicit any interesting reactions.
But his instincts were telling him otherwise.
He trusted his instincts and slowly opened his mouth.
“Lise…”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Why are your face and ears so red?”
At his question, she touched her cheeks and ears momentarily.
“Huh?!”
Feeling the warmth, she widened her eyes and jumped in surprise.
Her face gradually turned as red as a tomato.
Seeing her face turn red, she must have been thinking about the kiss they just shared.
Kaine pretended to be clueless and touched his lips briefly.
“Hmm? Lip gloss?”
“Huh?!”
Lise’s face was filled with embarrassment.
Her eyes darted around.
After a moment of fluster, she said,
“Young Master, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Oh, okay. See you.”
She chose to flee.
Her face was flushed as she quickly left the room.
Kaine watched her leave for a moment.
His face also turned red as the sensation of their kiss lingered in his mind.
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A lot had happened in a single day.
Let’s start with the story of the Ripford and Valentina families.
“Lise, are you okay?”
“Yes, it doesn’t matter. My father and mother never considered me family anyway.”
“If that’s how you feel…”
In the end, they disappeared from the Leiston continent.
Well, it was somewhat expected.
After all, colluding with the cult was already a grave sin.
But it wasn’t just collusion; they had become a subordinate force of the cult.
So, it was surprising that they hadn’t been destroyed.
Of course, if the royal family had helped, Valentina might have had a slim chance of survival.
“By the way, I never imagined that the Valentina family would try to take over the Leiston continent with the church.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect it either.”
Their crimes were too despicable.
It wasn’t just collusion with the cult.
They had attempted to rebel against the royal family.
So, the royal family would have wanted to execute them immediately, not help them.
Helping them would have been truly foolish.
Anyway, the villains had been defeated.
By the way, Knox lost his job, so I introduced him to another job.
‘I’m sure he’s working hard under Karin now.’
Well, it’s none of my business now.
I’ve already been quite generous.
I feel a little sorry for Ange.
In fact, Ange and Skaya still believe that the two families were truly involved with the church.
At first, I considered telling them the truth, but…
‘That doesn’t seem right.’
I know those two are on my side, but there’s no reason to tell them the truth.
After all, there’s nothing to gain from it.
And they must be thinking that I caught the cult’s informant.
In reality, maintaining my current image is more useful than telling the truth.
If they find out I lied, they might keep suspecting me later.
Anyway, I only asked Ange to watch over the cult for informants, not to do anything else.
‘I’m sure Origin must have noticed by now.’
She’s been observing my actions for a long time.
I’m certain she’s aware that I pulled off a scam.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t heard from her in a while.’
Usually, by this time, she would be whining for praise for helping me, either through a descent or a message.
But contrary to my expectations, she hasn’t said a word since the oracle.
Is something wrong?
I felt a bit worried, but…
‘Why am I worrying about her?’
She’s Origin, not just anyone.
It’s more constructive to worry about my future than hers.
Thinking this, I looked at the status window in front of me.
David von Kaine.
Age: 20.
Attributes: Game Setting Ability, Return by Death. Quality Change, Transformation.
Talents: Magical Power, Delusion. Demonic magic power.
Points: 6,500.
Normally, I should be happy to see my points increase, but…
I received a different message this time.
[The fate of the world has been altered.]
[You will be rewarded with 5,000 points.]
Yes, the future has changed significantly.
Although the main flow might remain the same, the smaller details would have changed.
‘Well, it can’t be helped.’
I was prepared for the main story to change since the field trip.
After all, my survival had already altered the future to a great extent.
‘I wonder how the future has changed.’
The Valentina family does appear in the game, but not frequently.
They are a powerful family, but not stronger in terms of military might than the Winton family.
In the game, the most crucial factor for completing the story is military might.
So, it’s understandable that the Valentina family doesn’t appear often.
They only show up occasionally during wars with monsters.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
What if the Valentina family doesn’t participate in the war?
‘It would definitely put us at a significant disadvantage.’
The Ripford family doesn’t exist in the game, so whether they are involved or not doesn’t matter.
But the Valentina family is different.
They possess greater military might than most families.
So, I can’t complain about the altered fate of the world.
‘Wait a minute. Something feels off.’
Ange couldn’t participate in the war against Kim Soo-yong.
So, even if the Valentina family doesn’t participate, I can still ask for Ange’s help.
‘Then what has changed?’
…I have no idea.
I can’t sense anything.
I can’t tell if this change is for the better or worse.
Well, let’s think positively.
In the game, Ange often appears as an enemy.
But now, she’s a reliable ally, unlike in the game.
So, even if the main story changes, it will only become easier, not worse.
‘I’ll find out eventually.’
There’s no guarantee that the change is due to the Valentina family.
It’s just my speculation.
It’s pointless to have fixed assumptions.
‘And I have no regrets.’
Regardless of how much the future has changed, if I had done nothing, Lise would have left.
So, it’s better for the future to change.
Anyway, I have the ability to return by death.
There have been numerous times when I was supposed to die.
Therefore, I’m confident that I can change any lousy future that comes my way.
As I was having these thoughts, Lise called out to me with an indescribable expression.
I turned my head towards her.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Well… I have a small favor to ask.”
“Hmm?”
A favor?
“Well, it’s not a big deal, but… Are you feeling overwhelmed?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Okay, then.”
At my response, she took a deep breath, her face tense.
“Phew…”
With a determined expression, she spoke with trembling eyes.
“Young Master, can you go on a date with me, just the two of us?”
“Huh?”
A date?
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The next day, Origin felt an ominous feeling and looked around.
‘What’s this ominous feeling?’
For some reason, she felt like someone was going to take something from her.
It was the first time she had felt this way in her life as Goddes.
‘Ugh… I wish I could descend right now.’
But she couldn’t.
Normally, after giving an oracle, she would descend and ask Kaine for praise, but…
‘Damn this meeting!’
Yes, the Constellation were having a meeting after a long time, so she didn’t have time to descend.
‘I feel like that cursed maid is taking advantage of this moment to steal Kaine away.’
She sensed that fate for a moment, but there was no way that maid could do anything.
Even if there was no meeting, she had overused her powers during the orphanage incident.
So, it was impossible for her to descend for a while.
Origin sighed deeply and started walking, suppressing her impulse.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here too.”
She finally reached her destination and looked around.
The place was different from the ground, with clouds as the floor and a sky full of stars.
She looked straight ahead.
In the middle of the clouds, there was a round table with five chairs.
And there…
“It’s been a while, Fate.”
“Hey, why are you so late?”
“…”
Three goddesses, excluding the Goddess of Dimensions, were gathered there.