CHAPTER 5: QUEST

The trip to Count Crik’s estate took some time.

I looked out the window, thinking about how exactly I would talk to him. More precisely, what line of conduct I would choose. After all, the system had already determined all the options for me.

An hour and a half later, the cab stopped at the estate, which was slightly smaller than my own. In fact, I had already been here a month ago when I first tried to negotiate with this nasty little man. But in the end, our conversation led nowhere, and a week later his people showed up at my door again.

I got out of the carriage, and the count’s man didn’t even bother to offer me his hand. I snorted when he simply waved his hand toward the house.

Inside, I was greeted by a maid who offered to show me to the right office. I didn’t refuse, admiring the luxurious decor of the living room on the way. No matter how you looked at it, this man was clearly not poor, but for some reason he was so fiercely attached to one unfortunate aristocrat!

Before entering, the girl knocked cautiously:

"My lord, Lady Weinstein is here to see you."

"Let her in."

The dissatisfied voice on the other side of the door clearly indicated the count’s bad mood. However, taking the door handle, I stepped inside without a moment’s hesitation.

A heavyset man with a very unpleasant appearance sat in a leather chair at a desk. It seemed as if the count spent all his free time at the dinner table, as there was no other explanation for how he had become so fat at a relatively young age.

"Are you really here?" he asked, narrowing his piggy eyes. "Have you finally come to give me my money?"

"Not exactly," I said. "I came to talk to you."

"Talk about what? I’m not going to listen to your stupid excuses anymore."

Count Crik looked at me with extreme prejudice and was ready to threaten me with a lawsuit at any moment.

I slowly walked into the room and sat down in another chair. Placing my purse on my lap, I kept a completely neutral expression on my face. Let this pig not hope that he could intimidate me.

"I see you don’t care that I can ruin your life any day now," the man sneered. "I’m warning you for the last time. If I don’t have a hundred thousand on my desk by the end of the week, the whole empire will know you’re a swindler. Your reputation will be ruined forever!"

I couldn’t help but smile. Discredited? Could my situation get any worse? Until recently, everyone in the country knew that the youngest daughter of Duke Weinstein slept with anyone and everyone. It was the main topic of conversation at all the high society parties. And this man was saying that some money business could make my situation worse?

If I could, I would have told him so. But, unfortunately, at that moment, my free will ended.

After Count Crik made his threat, windows with answer options popped up before my eyes. There was no cancel button, so I really had no choice but to choose one of them.

All the quests in this game were divided into two levels: story-driven and linear. I was currently playing the latter.

Linear quests had no effect on the main storyline and were only needed to collect game currency. They appeared throughout the game and could be accepted or rejected. They were like bonus tasks.

Since my arrival in this world, I had already completed several linear quests. They were all insignificant, but thanks to them, I had already accumulated two hundred crystals. Their number was constantly displayed in the corner of my field of vision.

This currency could not be exchanged for money or anything else that could improve my position in this world. The crystals were primarily needed to complete story quests. That’s why I tried so hard, agreeing to anything that came my way.

Story quests were rare, but they inevitably influenced what was happening in the game. In other words, if a player made a mistake during the quest, they couldn’t correct it later. After all, the restart or rewind button did not work at that moment.

If you completed story quests without any investment, it became very difficult to maintain your previous relationships with the characters. One wrong move, and the player would have to put in a lot of effort to restore the relationship.

But there was a way out of this situation — spend game currency on a paid choice that was guaranteed to bring success. Without a paid choice, some quests were impossible to complete.

Before, I just poured money into the novel because I was too lazy to complete the bonus quests. They took too much time in the game, and it took a long time to save up the necessary amount. For me, wanting to complete the entire game in one go, this was not profitable.

However, now I simply had no other choice. If I didn’t collect the necessary number of crystals before the start of the story quest, I could fail in an instant. After all, it was impossible to refuse them.

The most important story quest that awaited me was Rubiella’s coming-of-age ceremony. This is where Grace was supposed to die in the original story. And in order to avoid my death, I had to save up a large amount of game currency to spend on a paid choice.

In fact, I had no idea why this feature was available to me. After all, Grace Weinstein wasn’t even a playable character and died before the prologue even began. But somehow I was able to influence what was happening around me.

I didn’t know what it was. A bonus from the game creator? A cheat code? However, that was unlikely, because the developers of the novel probably had no idea that I had ended up here by accident.

In any case, I certainly wasn’t complaining, because I now had a real chance to change my fate. And how it all fit together: I couldn’t care less.

Meanwhile, the time scale above the count’s head had already turned red.

I hurried to choose an answer.

"Threaten Count Crik with a lawsuit."

"Splash a glass of water in his face."

"Try to convince him."

"Beg on my knees."

After a moment’s thought, the second option seemed interesting to me. And I chose it, mentally saying the answer number.

The next second, the phrase burst out of my mouth:

"Go to hell!"

My hand involuntarily reached for the glass of water standing on the coffee table and, without hesitation, splashed it on the man.

The count looked shocked.

"How dare you?!" He immediately stood up, shaking the water off himself. "Have you completely lost your mind on the way here?"

"No, I’ve just realized everything," the system continued to speak for me. "Take your money and go! I won’t give you back a single cent!"

Count Crik stared at me indignantly.

"Do you even understand who you’ve crossed?!" he roared. "Don’t even dream of forgiveness! I’m filing a complaint against you today!"

"Go ahead, if you dare!"

Finally, I rummaged through the papers on his desk and found the "evidence" he had been preparing against me. In the next moment, I tore them to shreds.

"If you think the Weinstein family’s daughter is incapable of standing up for herself, you’re wrong! Goodbye!"

I slammed the door loudly before leaving.

"What a cheeky bitch...!" was the last phrase I heard from the count’s office.

After walking a little further, I exhaled.

The system didn’t keep me waiting, and I found that my currency balance had been replenished, along with a notification that the quest was complete. Now I had two hundred and forty crystals in my account.

Leaving Count Crik’s estate, I felt exhausted. If this feature were still available, I would have preferred to invest money again rather than go through such an unpleasant process. Fighting for my dignity against scary men was clearly not what I had expected when I entered this world.

Although, if we had talked normally from the beginning, I definitely wouldn’t have resorted to such measures... But this aristocrat simply drove me crazy, being worse than any annoying debt collector!

At least, I hoped he wouldn’t show up at my house again.

And if he did dare to take me to court, I intended to defend myself. All those years of studying law weren’t for nothing, right?

I stopped in front of the carriage, thinking that I wanted to see Ruby as soon as possible.

A smile involuntarily appeared on my lips.

Maybe I should buy her something before going back?