Chapter 40

Chapter 40

I chose the biggest spoon. It felt like I was having a tea party with dolls. Though it was the biggest one there, it was still smaller than a teaspoon. I tried scooping up some soup, but it was scarcely more than a few drops. I wasn’t able to pick up even a single piece of lettuce using the tiny fork. The knife—which actually seemed to be the proper size—was so blunt that I couldn’t even pierce the soft meat.

This is fun. I picked up the utensils one by one, making a game of it. I poked at the food lying freshly steaming on the table. If I couldn’t eat any of it anyway, I might as well play with it. If the situation regarding me in the kitchen is so bad, how in the world did Emily bring me edible meals every day? I was curious.

After all, none of the staff in the kitchen had been affected when it was discovered I’d been served rotten food, which was more evidence that no one in the manor had any respect for me. However, after I’d threatened Emily, she’d always brought me completely edible food. Even when I’d made requests for specific foods, she’d done her best to always bring them to me, even if the results weren’t always the most delicious. I... should reward her, I guess. I felt a little sorry for being so harsh on her. I glared at the utensils scattered around my plate and thought, I have to teach them a lesson.

In the end, I wasn’t able to eat a single bite. As expected, the duke and my two brothers failed to notice I wasn’t eating. This was Penelope’s place in the family.

“So, the festival is coming to an end already,” the duke said. While the brothers continued to eat, the duke took a sip of his wine. He was clearly addressing me. “It’s the last day, but you aren’t going to attend?”

“No,” I replied stiffly, intensely annoyed. In the past, Penelope must have always gone to the last day of the festival. I had no intention of doing so, and my mood was completely soured by the realization I couldn’t actually eat any of the delicious food in front of me. That meant I was in no mood to make polite conversation with the duke.

The two brothers turned angry glares on me, no doubt reacting to my tone. Their affection scores were blinking. Ugh, those overly precious assholes. I did my best to smile, turning back to the duke.

“I am still reflecting on my actions in my room, after all.”

“It seems you’ve been using that convenient excuse a lot these days,” said the duke, obviously displeased.

“What kind of idiot volunteers to go into solitary confinement for a slave boy?” Reynold sneered. As usual, no one responded to his nasty comments. I hadn’t expected anyone to call him out anyway, so I barely paid him any mind. Though I wished I could give him the middle finger.

“There is a reason I called you all to lunch today,” the duke said, finally addressing why even I had been summoned to the meal. “There is to be a hunting tournament soon.”

A hunting tournament? I thought carefully, mentally combing through what I knew of the game. I vaguely remembered something like this in the game but the details didn’t come immediately to mind.

“It’s to be held in the forest north of the palace once again,” the duke said, placing his fork and knife down gracefully. “As you all know, this hunting tournament is very important. Royalty and nobility from the kingdoms conquered by the crown prince will be taking part in the event. Rare animals representative of each of these kingdoms will be released in the area. The crown prince’s supporters do not look on us kindly, since we took no part in the war. Thus, we must cement our position. As such, yesterday at the meeting of aristocrats, I announced that the House of Eckhart would take part in the hunt.”

I couldn’t care less about their political position. None of what he was saying actually had anything to do with me. He droned on and I ignored most of his words, suddenly recalling what I knew of the hunting tournament in the game.

The Empire of Eorka holds a hunting tournament every quarter. The purpose of these tournaments is to hunt slaves or rare animals from countries conquered by the empire. It also serves as a threat and a reminder to their defeated foes.

I’d read something along those lines during my time in normal mode, but the female protagonist hadn’t actually been able to take part in the tournament. Penelope had poisoned her, jealous that the love interests would only have eyes for the “real daughter” of the duke now that she had returned. Thanks to her close shave with death, the female protagonist had missed the hunting tournament but had been able to gain the affection of Eckles—who had been left alone at the manor with her. Thus, stealing Penelope’s last remaining hope.

Later, the angelic female protagonist had found it impossible to condone the empire’s evil practices and convinced the crown prince to get rid of the hunting tournament altogether. When the player reached the end of the game with the crown prince, everything Penelope had done to the female protagonist was revealed, and so she was cruelly tortured as punishment. Her heart had been magically preserved to prevent her from dying, then she had been fed every poison she’d given to the female protagonist, one by one. The resulting venom had caused Penelope’s face to melt.

Ugh! I shuddered just thinking of that particular death and its accompanying gruesome illustration, which I could remember all too clearly. Suddenly the duke, who’d still been talking about his meeting with the other nobles, turned to me.

“Penelope.”

“Y-yes?” I stammered, taken aback. I hadn’t been paying attention to what he was saying at all. Much to my relief, the duke didn’t make a fuss about my distraction.

“We decided at the meeting to lift your ban from attending the tournament.”

“My... ban?”

“Yes. What do you intend to do?” the duke asked. I struggled to find an answer to his question. What does he mean by lifting my ban? I had no idea what Penelope had done previously at the hunting tournament, which made me very nervous. Seeing my hesitation, the duke spoke again.

“If you intend on taking part, I’ll have the servants prepare your hunting equipment as well.”

“Father!” shouted my pink-haired brother vehemently, banging the table. “How can you say that after what that crazy b*tch—I mean, girl—did last year?”

“Reynold,” said the duke, tutting.

“The aristocrat’s daughters were all demanding that she be thrown in prison, remember?” Reynold said, ignoring the duke’s chiding. He glared at me with venomous eyes that promised violence. I had to find out what he was talking about, so I decided to act as shamelessly as the real Penelope would.

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.

“Are you serious?” he shot back, incredulous.

I am, actually. I have no idea what you’re talking about, I thought, biting back a retort. The only way to learn what had made him so upset was to keep my mouth shut. The information I wanted came from an unexpected source, however.

“You begged for a crossbow, which none of the other girls were interested in,” came a voice much calmer than Reynold’s. Derrick’s blue eyes were pinned to my face, his words quiet and measured. “We told you not to use it since it was dangerous, but you brought it with you anyway. Then you threw a fit, screaming you’d kill Count Kellen’s daughter and her friends. Some of the soldiers had to pin you down like you were a wild animal.”

“After that, rumors spread that the House of Eckhart was training a crazy chimpanzee to wield a crossbow,” added Reynold with a cruel smile, jumping in as soon as Derrick was finished speaking.

Damn it... I had nothing to say in my defense since Penelope had indeed behaved poorly. Her actions weren’t, however, as shocking as I expected. She’s meant to be the most villainous character in the game. I suppose it’s only expected she’d act that way. I felt confident I could deal with this somehow. I’d seen worse behavior from the students who’d crawl around drunk at every beginning of semester party.

“That’s enough, both of you. I’m sure she has reflected on her mistakes plenty,” the duke scolded them, as my silence lengthened. His intervention was welcome, even though the brothers had both already said their piece. The duke turned to me with a grave expression.

“I’m sure you remember what I told you about an Eckhart’s word, Penelope.”

“Of course, Father. I won’t disappoint you this time,” I answered quickly. I could hear one of the brothers grinding their teeth.

“Good. We’ve spoken enough about this for now.” The duke gently rang a bell that had been sitting on the table, apparently done with the conversation. The dining room door opened, and one of the manor’s staff members appeared with a cart carrying dessert.

I didn’t even get to eat lunch. How can I eat dessert? I watched glumly as she placed a different dessert in front of each of us. She was called Lady Dona and had been in charge of the manor’s kitchen for a very long time. As such, she understood her masters’ tastes.

The duke and Derrick both received a cup of black tea while Reynold was given a plate of handmade cookies. Then it was my turn. Since I enjoyed dessert of any kind, I didn’t particularly care what she gave me. However, I frowned at the dish placed before me. It was a jiggly milk pudding.