The Vaillness' Faithful Dog II vadtd x M.y/n II

(7) An Uninvited Guest.

From Penelope's point of view, it all happened so fast.

".............,"

One moment I was lost in thought, trying to find my train of thought again when suddenly, the crowd around me began to part like a sea, revealing a tall figure wearing a mask that looked elegant yet still was simple.

He was taller, tall enough to stand out in the crowd of nobles.

My gaze was forced to drift upwards to meet those seemingly cold, unforgiving eyes hidden behind the mask -just as his drifted downwards to meet mine.

My heart skipped a beat as our eyes locked briefly before he stepped closer, obscuring everything else in sight.

I tried to back away but found myself cornered against the wall behind me. He towered over me, imposing and intimidating yet somehow... there was something else lingering beneath the surface. Something that made my heart race faster than it should.

I felt unease rise within me, just by the feeling of his gaze on me alone.

But to my surprise; he didn't look at me with either hatred or disgust like everyone else would- but with a softened expression; he regarded me with sympathy.

'Why - Just why are you looking at me like that-!? I don't need anyone's pity,...'

I wanted to shout due to the weirdness of this situation.

What stopped me from doing so was the [Interest -68%] above his head. Half a broken pink heart, that didn't even compare to the usually plain 'Interest bar's.

'Hold on,... How has he not killed Penelope yet? But--there's no Ml that I don't know, so, who's he?' If it goes any further down than that, I'm dead.'

I inhaled and exhaled a couple of times, trying to calm my rising heartbeat.

'Interest -68%. -68%,...'

I was already tired after all the preparations for this event - Which felt like I was just preparing to die at the hands of the Crown Prince.

Also, since I've only focused on trying to 'off' the choices, I don't remember that many scenes in the game. But, could I just straight up forget about a Ml?

That's why I decided to use some help from the system.

'Choice ON.'

1. Ha-! The Grand Duke's trying to pick a date with the mad dog of the Eckharts-?!

2. My my, (Y/N)-!? Was eyefucking my elder brother not enough for you~?

1. (Glare without saying a word.)

Scanning through the choices, I hurried and mentally shouted.

'Choices OFF! OFF!'

Do You Want To [OFF] The Choices?

[Yes. / No.]

I hurriedly pressed [Yes.].

If I were to choose one of the 3, I had a feeling I'd be introducing myself to Satan himself in hell.

The time seemed to have passed a lot from me doing all that, but his gaze seemed to only grow softer the more the time passed.

'At least I know his name now. (Y/N), he has the same name as my twin brother,...'

A bittersweet chuckle was all I could manage, my gaze dropping to the floor with a small smile.

"..........,"

The silence between us stretched awkwardly, broken only by the sound of music in the background.

I couldn't tear my gaze away from his masked features - the way his body practically radiated power and authority despite remaining motionless.