I'm Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 10
Chapter 6.1
It was a refreshing morning to greet with new hope in hand.
After having a simple breakfast with a creamy soup and a salad made with seasonal fruits, I sat down early at my desk. Looking resolutely at the blank white paper placed on it, I soon picked up a pen and organized my thoughts about everything that had happened until now.
1. Penalty for not opening the route for a target character (Vien). (Because the favorability rating was at 0, health decreased. Current health is at 93%.)
+ However, the penalty incurred for not opening the route may not be a fixed value.
++ The penalty incurred by refusing to open the route may not be temporary but could be permanent. (Not sure.)
2. Since the route for the target character (Vien) wasn’t open, the conditions to unlock the special route were met. (The special route is Heron Aidelis route.)
+ However, even if the favorability status for Heron Aidelis was filled, the wedding ending wasn’t possible…
As I meticulously wrote down the new things I had just learned, I drew two lines at the two words that caught my eye—wedding ending.
“…It’s a little awkward to write this.”
Between the hastily drawn lines, the characters faintly appeared. Despite trying to conceal it, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about how clearly visible it was, so I scribbled a circle over it with my pen as if to cover it out. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as the cleanly erased writing made me chuckle.
Then, I continued writing the rest of the content.
3. Heron Aidelis’s favorability rating is currently at 27%. (The initial rating before it decreased was 30%.)
+ The highest initial rating I’ve encountered while playing the game so far is Allen Basilic. (10%.)
“As I thought, this is strange.”
I picked up the neatly organized paper and looked at it again.
Even if I could ignore the other parts, the most unbelievable aspect was, without a doubt, Heron’s favorability rating. If I were to recall his actions towards me so far, saying it was -27% rather than 27% would be a more credible level.
〈 You did well, Ardi Aidelis. 〉
It was a compliment delivered with emotionless, icy eyes, even if I were to say his actions were in line with Aidelis.
〈 The palace is always a place where danger lurks inside and out, and His Majesty isn’t so kind as to protect the daughter of a vassal he doesn’t like very much in such a place. 〉
“…It’s obvious that those words were meant as concern for me.”
Contrary to the harshly spoken words, there was genuine worry underlying them.
No, even if it was my mistake, he didn’t seem like the kind of man who would worry about a blemish on Aidelis’s reputation. I recalled Heron’s figure as he turned away with a chilly breeze and glared at the paper.
“27%…”
And I circled Heron’s favorability rating with the quill pen several times as if trying to emphasize it. Honestly, even though I had confirmed it with my own eyes, it was a number that I couldn’t easily believe, but given the situation, there was only one conclusion.
‘…Focus on the most likely route, which is Heron’s route, to see the ending without opening the other characters’ routes.’
“Of course, not opening routes does come with penalties…”
However, I’ve already failed to capture other characters after dozens of attempts, and last time, I was even told that it wasn’t the right route.
So, in such a situation, I didn’t think it would be beneficial for me to pursue multiple routes. In addition, just as I discovered Heron’s route by not opening Vien’s route this time, perhaps when I didn’t open routes for other targets, I might be able to explore new routes.
‘When I think about it, it might be better to endure the penalties rather than participating in numerous missions and episodes that consume time and energy in order to conquer a character.’
“All right, it’s settled then.”
I strengthened my resolve by looking at the last sentence with an underline and an asterisk.
Choose and focus, I’ll conquer Heron Aidelis’s route!
Perhaps this was the route with the highest chance of seeing an ending in the current situation, and it might be the ‘right’ route the child had mentioned.
Just as I clenched my fists with a firm resolve, I heard a gentle knock at that moment.
“Young Lady, it’s Marie.”
Hearing the voice of the maid, Marie, from outside the door, I quickly put away the paper I had been writing on in the drawer and replied.
“Ung, come in!”
With my permission, Marie entered the room with a tray in her hands. As I sat at the desk, smiling awkwardly, she narrowed her eyes and asked.
“What are you doing in there?”
“…Um, nothing? What’s going on, Marie?”
Not knowing what else to say, I subtly changed the topic. In response to my question, Marie made an “Ah” sound and held out the tray she had been carrying.
“In a few days, there’s going to be a competition. Because of that, some merchants from the principality of Efren came, and they brought these thick grapes.”
[ T/N: The author used the word’ 공국,’ which means ducal domain/principality—basically a country in itself, but still part of a kingdom/empire. ]
“From Efren?”
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antirai
Are they step siblings or half siblings? I’m a little bit confused
nabi
Hi Antirai!
I was wondering about that too, especially since there’s no clarification on whether they’re biologically related or if Ardi’s mother married the marquis after Heron’s mother passed away (which would make them step-siblings.) But so far, at least up to where I’ve translated, there hasn’t been any mention of that. And here, the author specifically used the word 이복 오라비, which means half-brother, so I decided to stick with that for now!
antirai
Thank you!