DED 21

Chapter 21

‘A social party attendance quest?’

Lucy was dazed.

‘This quest is already showing up?’

What was this social party attendance quest?

It was a major event where she could raise her favorability with all the male protagonists at once.

In the game, it had been a party hosted by a young lady she had befriended, and Elisha hadn’t even attended.

But now she was going to attend a social party hosted by Elisha herself.

‘Did succeeding in the palace banquet quest change the route?’

In any case, it was a perfect opportunity to raise the male protagonists’ favorability all at once.

Lucy felt excited.

I’m thrilled… really thrilled, but…

‘If I attend a social party with negative stats…’

A catastrophe might happen…

Lucy glanced at Bartholomew.

He had been a huge help during the palace banquet quest.

However, for the social party quest, where she would have to deal directly with the male protagonists, she couldn’t rely on Bartholomew’s help.

‘I can’t depend on him every single time.’

She had to resolve her negative stats before the social party.

Determined, Lucy asked Bartholomew after the meal with the Emperor ended:

“Lord Bartholomew, do you plan to attend the social party as well?”

“Will you need my assistance then?”

Lucy waved her hand.

“It would be nice if you were there, but I’ve already relied on you too much.”

She looked at Bartholomew apologetically.

“You’ve already helped me a lot today alone. You attended an unexpected meal with His Majesty, after all.”

That was hardly a comfortable situation.

The Emperor showed interest in Bartholomew and asked all sorts of questions, and each time, Bartholomew had to answer carefully.

Not only that, whenever a question came back to Lucy, he skillfully answered on her behalf.

For someone like Bartholomew, who hadn’t experienced proper social activities, it must have been utterly exhausting.

As Lucy suspected, Bartholomew’s expression looked worn out.

“If my help is not needed, I won’t attend the social party.”

Lucy accepted his answer.

Now, it was truly up to her alone to complete the quest.

Lucy left the temple and returned to the separate quarters as the Emperor had ordered.

It was sudden, but not surprising.

She had shown she could dance and move properly, so there was no reason to remain at the temple.

She still had time before the carriage would arrive to take her away.

Lucy went to find Bartholomew.

Unlike her, Bartholomew stayed at the temple.

When would he finally return to the mansion?

Upon seeing Lucy, Bartholomew raised an eyebrow.

“What brings you here?”

He assumed that if Lucy had come, she had a purpose—just as she had every time before.

Lucy scratched her cheek.

“I came to say goodbye.”

At her words, Bartholomew looked at her for a moment.

It was time for their brief connection to end.

He felt awkward both at parting and meeting someone new—something he had never experienced.

He thought carefully about what to say and chose the safest option.

“Then I wish you well.”

Lucy’s eyes went wide.

“Lord Bartholomew, you speak as if you’ll never see me again.”

“…Do you not wish that?”

“Of course not! I’m disappointed, Bartholomew. I thought of you as a friend.”

Friend.

Unlike Lucy, who said it so casually, the word felt unfamiliar to Bartholomew.

He had never thought of Lucy as a friend.

At first, she had simply been a nuisance, and later, he only thought of repaying a debt.

When Bartholomew remained silent, Lucy spoke again.

“You’re not planning to cut off our connection, right? Just because we’re not at the temple together doesn’t mean we’ll become strangers.”

She also remembered Bartholomew’s request.

“And you said you wanted to see Cerberus again.”

“Ah.”

Bartholomew nodded a beat later.

It wasn’t because she was a friend, but because he would meet her for Cerberus—it eased his previously confused feelings.

“So if you’re bored or want to see Cerberus, come find me.”

“Your Highness?”

“Yes. Come to the separate quarters where I’m staying. Lord Bartholomew will always be welcome.”

The distance from the temple to the palace wasn’t far, and the separate quarters near the palace could be reached in a single day if one wished.

Seeing Bartholomew still hesitant, Lucy reached out her hand.

“Promise me.”

She extended her pinky.

Reluctantly, Bartholomew hooked his pinky with hers.

Once he made the promise, Lucy finally smiled.

Bartholomew watched her bright smile silently.

“Oh, right.”

Lucy released her pinky and added:

“I should also go say goodbye to Cecil.”

With that, she left.

Watching her depart, Bartholomew placed a hand on his chest.

He felt a tight, aching sensation.

As Lucy left, the familiar ache returned, leaving him puzzled.

It was strange.

He felt as if he could breathe more freely when she was near—an illusion of sorts.

That night, after Lucy left the temple, Bartholomew had a visitor.

The Duke of Faraday himself.

He arrived in a state of fury.

Hearing that Bartholomew had attended the palace banquet without permission, he came straight after returning from his business trip.

“What on earth were you thinking?!”

Bartholomew responded calmly.

“I could not refuse Princess Lucy’s request.”

At the mention of “Princess,” the Duke scoffed.

“You mean that incompetent Princess Lucy, not Princess Elisha?”

Bartholomew’s eyes twitched slightly at the Duke belittling Lucy.

“Even if that were the case, if it had been Princess Elisha’s request, I might have struggled to refuse. But it was only Princess Lucy’s request. Surely you could have said no!”

“I don’t understand why you think that. To me, both are equally princesses.”

Bartholomew’s unexpected defiance only fueled the Duke’s anger.

“Bartholomew, you swore something the moment you entered this family.”

“…”

“I repeatedly told you, and you agreed to keep it.”

The Duke meant one thing: live out of sight.

That was why he had taken in Bartholomew.

How ironic.

If Bartholomew truly wanted to remain unnoticed, the Duke shouldn’t have taken him in at all.

Seeing no reply, the Duke sighed.

“Fine. I suppose you had no choice but to attend the banquet.”

He roughly ran his hand through his hair.

It was worse than attending the palace banquet without permission.

“You even had a private audience with the Emperor. What did His Majesty say to you?”

“He recommended I attend the social party.”

At the words “social party,” the Duke snorted.

“Preposterous. You wouldn’t actually consider going, would you?”

“No.”

The Duke sighed deeply.

He tried to calm his anger.

Then he asked Bartholomew cautiously:

“Have you taken all the medicine?”

He meant the emergency antidote, the strongest medicine.

Bartholomew replied calmly that he had taken it all.

“I’ve prepared a new medicine.”

The Duke pulled a small vial from his coat.

Bartholomew accepted it obediently.

It looked like the previous vial, but something was different.

An unknown symbol was etched at the bottom.

“If your condition worsens, take this. It will work better than before.”

“Understood.”

Bartholomew put the vial in his possession.

Of course, he had no intention of actually taking it.