Chapter 6

I Dumped All My Stats Into Charm

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Huh…?”

As my senses suddenly came back to me, I realized—far too late—that I was in Lowell’s arms.

“Huh…!”

I reflexively pushed against Lowell’s chest and then sprang up from the ground like a coiled spring.

“I-I’m fine!”

My heart was pounding wildly. The look in Lowell’s eyes from just moments ago refused to leave my mind.

It was the exact same gaze I’d seen right before he turned me into a specimen.

I almost pissed myself back there.

There was no way he’d seriously plan to preserve me this early in the game… but that ending had been way too intense.

Unable to meet the eyes of a man nicknamed the “Preservation Maniac,” I avoided his gaze and spoke awkwardly.

“……Thank you for saving me.”

Lowell stared at me quietly for a moment, then smiled gently.

“My disciple was in danger. As her master, it’s only natural that I protect her.”

I reflexively glanced into the air and let out a sigh of relief when I saw the system window was still quiet.

‘The affection level didn’t go up. Thank goodness.’

If it kept rising at this point, getting preserved alive would only be a matter of time.

Meanwhile, Lowell surveyed the surroundings. The snowfield spiders were lying on their backs, completely wiped out.

“Still, it seems the number of monsters really has increased. Snowfield spiders are nocturnal creatures, so they don’t usually come out during the day. They hunt large animals or monsters at night. Humans wandering around in daylight aren’t efficient prey, so they normally don’t attack.”

He walked over to one of the spider corpses.

“The ones we killed were probably a group driven out of their habitat due to overpopulation.”

Then he pulled a pair of leather gloves from his pocket and slipped them on.

“But this works out nicely. I have something to do while we’re at it.”

With his gloved hand, Lowell pried open the snowfield spider’s mouth and pulled out its fangs.

Watching him yank out deeply embedded fangs as easily as pulling out a carrot, I couldn’t help but wonder how such a slender body could produce that kind of grip strength.

“The imperial palace does provide magical materials, but their condition is often terrible. Sometimes critical parts are damaged, or the extraction happens too late and the materials become unusable. Magical materials require extremely delicate handling, you see.”

Lowell continued speaking as he examined the spider’s body.

“I don’t think the palace supply unit understands that. So I often handle it myself.”

…Handle it? Handle what?

As I stared at Lowell with a confused expression, he pulled a knife from his coat.

The sharp, blue-tinged blade made me instinctively swallow.

“Right before death—or immediately after. That’s the ideal moment. You have to extract the organs before blood flow stops to preserve freshness. And the most important thing is—”

At that moment, Lowell plunged the knife into the spider’s head. Each skilled movement was accompanied by a wet, squelching sound as flesh was cut.

“—precisely carving out only the necessary parts without damaging them. Otherwise, the material is ruined.”

Lowell pulled the knife free.

He slid his fingers into the split opening, extracted something, and placed it into a specially made glass vial.

Then he turned to me with a soft smile and held up the vial.

“This is how you collect materials.”

I finally released the breath I’d been holding.

Only then did I realize what Lowell had taken out.

It was the snowfield spider’s eyeball.

‘Could you PLEASE include a proper subject when you explain things?!’

Of all people, hearing that explanation from the Preservation Maniac himself…

I nearly fainted on the spot from delayed shock.

After discovering the cursed item at the ducal estate, Lowell vastly overestimated my abilities and increased the difficulty of my mana training.

Despite consistent practice, I still couldn’t feel even the slightest trace of mana. Lowell’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“That’s strange… How did you detect black magic with this level of mana?”

As I flinched at Lowell’s muttering, an attendant approached.

“Lady Cyprian, His Highness Prince Caliton is requesting your presence.”

“The Crown Prince?”

The Empire, troubled by the growing number of monsters, had dispatched an investigation unit to determine the cause.

Today, Caliton must have summoned Lowell to organize that unit.

“Let’s end today’s training here.”

“Yes, Master.”

Hearing the name of my former fiancé for the first time in a while felt oddly nostalgic. I’d played for three weeks, and I’d grown strangely attached.

Thinking about how Caliton was poisoned to death made me feel a bit sorry for him—but I decided not to pity a function made of zeros and ones.

After Lowell left, I headed toward the garden. I had something specific to take care of today.

Just as I reached the fountain, I spotted my target.

Jerome, dressed in a black knight’s uniform, was walking through the garden with a straight posture.

His movements were as neat and precise as the tightly fastened buttons of his uniform—without a single hint of disorder.

I waved at him and ran over.

“Duke!”

Maybe it was because my stamina was only LV. 1, but even that short sprint made my body protest dramatically.

If I’d known my physical condition would be this terrible, I would’ve put some stats into stamina.

Jerome looked calmly at me as I panted, then spoke.

“Lady Cyprian seems rather lenient about imperial palace etiquette.”

“……”

You bastard.

That was totally a jab at my lack of refinement, wasn’t it?

Yeah, yeah. You’re so perfect.

What, being handsome means you can do anything?

As I glared at Jerome with a sulky expression, his gaze shifted to my sweat-soaked forehead.

Just as I braced myself for another remark, Jerome pulled out a dark navy handkerchief.

The neatly pressed linen bore the Winston family crest, embroidered with exquisite detail.

“There are many eyes watching in the palace. It would be wise to be careful.”

A subtle, heavy musk scent drifted over on the breeze carried by the handkerchief.

Huh… what?

Now I felt awkward for no reason.

I quietly accepted Jerome’s handkerchief and carefully wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“…What brings you to the palace today?”

“I was on my way back after answering the Crown Prince’s summons.”

It seemed Jerome had been called by Caliton for similar reasons as Lowell.

I immediately moved on to my main task.

[Activating the ‘Charm’ skill.]

“Running into you like this over and over again makes my heart flutter so much it might burst! You’ll take responsibility, right?”

[Jerome Winston’s affection has increased by 10.]
[Jerome Winston’s affection: 31]

===================
Affection Levels

Jerome: 31
Lowell: 25
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0

Finally!

Seeing Jerome’s affection surpass Lowell’s made me cheer internally.

‘I don’t care what nonsense comes out of my mouth. As long as the affection goes up, it’s fine!’

As I relaxed at the success of my plan, Jerome spoke.

“Responsibility… That’s a bit surprising. Isn’t that something people usually say between lovers?”

You say that, but isn’t it more surprising that your affection keeps going up?

“Don’t worry about it. I just said it because I was happy to see you.”

I waved my hand dismissively and tucked Jerome’s handkerchief into my clothes. I should wash it before returning it, at least.

“Have you been sleeping well lately, Duke?”

“Thanks to you.”

Jerome nodded.

His face looked noticeably better than the last time I’d seen him.

His eyes, once always calm and subdued, now seemed bright and lively. Even his cheeks looked rosier, as if his circulation had improved.

He seemed like a completely different person from when we first met.

“Miss Aisha.”

Right. Here it comes.

Even though I knew what Jerome was about to say, I answered like I had no idea.

“Yes?”

“If it’s not inconvenient, would you care to dine with me? As thanks for your help at the ducal estate, I’d like to treat you to lunch.”

Yes. Finally. A date invitation.

I celebrated internally and replied without hesitation.

“I’d love to. Shall we go together?”

Jerome nodded at my answer.

“Let’s.”

I boarded a black carriage under Jerome’s escort.

The sound of hooves clopping and wheels rolling filled the air. After we got inside, Jerome simply stared out the window without saying a word.

I knew he wasn’t very talkative, but the suffocating silence made me speak first.

“Um… Have you caught the culprit yet?”

“The investigation is still ongoing.”

“I see. I hope they catch them soon.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence followed.

To be honest, I wasn’t very good at talking to the opposite sex.

‘There’s a reason I was single my entire life.’

And of course, Jerome barely talked either.

Should I call this compatibility… or incompatibility?

Just as my head started to ache from trying to fix the atmosphere, a question came to mind.

“What kind of relationship do you have with Lady Vivian?”

They say knowing your enemy is half the battle.

If I wanted to deal with Vivian, gathering information about her was the smart move.

“Our families have known each other since the previous generation.”

“Oh… I see.”

I fell into thought.

‘That’s a longer connection than I expected.’

If Vivian had been in love with Jerome since childhood, she must have suffered through a truly brutal unrequited love.

I’d only managed to charm Jerome this far thanks to the Charm skill. Without that cheat, he wouldn’t have even shared a table with me.

“Does Lady Vivian concern you?”

I looked at Jerome with a puzzled expression.

“Of course.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well, that’s…”

She poisoned me to death, for one. And she might do it again.

Since I couldn’t exactly explain the game’s storyline, I made up a vague excuse.

“It’s difficult for me to say.”

That part wasn’t a lie—it really was difficult. Still, feeling oddly guilty, I lowered my head and avoided Jerome’s gaze.

At that moment, the system window chimed.

[Jerome Winston’s affection has increased by 1.]
[Jerome Winston’s affection: 32]

Huh?

Why did his affection go up just now?