Ending Conditions of the Princess and the Knight

Taeri found it increasingly difficult to predict what lay ahead. How many hidden settings were buried in the back alleys of the game.

The information Taeri knew about Claude was that he was revered as a war hero in the Empire, the Emperor’s beloved nephew, and a precious late-born son of a duke.

Furthermore, although his young shoulders still carried no burdens, soon even the crown of Izarith would be placed upon them.

But here, he was simply a Desire Eliminator.

What on earth…

“If a man is handsome, shouldn’t he capitalize on his looks? What’s with the Desire Eliminator with that face and body? That’s a disaster, a disaster.”

Taeri couldn’t bring herself to say that she knew because she had played the game, so she vaguely sided with Claude.

“That… it’s probably not true. That Desire Eliminator… it’s probably not like that. There’s no evidence.”

“What’s not true? Have you slept with him?”

However, Taeri couldn’t withstand Bridget’s relentless remarks, as there was simply no filtering in her outspokenness.

“I asked persistently, even suggesting that maybe it’s about his sexual preference. But no matter how many times I asked, he wouldn’t budge. So, are you saying he simply has no interest in women?”

Bridget erupted, spitting out her words, saying that if she had already investigated as much as she claimed, she wouldn’t be in such a rage.

“He doesn’t even touch alcohol, so I couldn’t try a method to seduce him.”

She speaks so fearlessly, as if it’s the most natural thing. I wanted to tell her that it was a crime, and that men have human rights. But her grating voice overshadowed all of that.

“Since then, whenever I’m around, he keeps whining and complaining! He’s so talkative and persistent. Even the tongue of that unlucky guy is a disaster.”

She cursed him fiercely, saying that he should live alone for the rest of his life and die in loneliness.

“He didn’t seem so bad…”

However, Taeri still wanted to give Claude the benefit of the doubt.

In a traditional RPG game, there is no way the protagonist would engage in a romance. It would be more appropriate to spend that time defeating one more monster.

Above all, Claude was the only savior who could rescue her from this place, so she wanted to remove this strange doubt.

“It’s because he lacks assertiveness. I talked to him briefly yesterday and asked him to understand that he has a personality that even he can’t find affable.”

“Huh, why should I understand that? His lack of affability is his own problem. Even though I’m naturally an unfriendly person, I pretend to be kind when selling tea.”

“But there are many people in the world with different personalities from ours.”

“Should I also consider lunatics as just different personalities?”

“Diversity—”

“He’s not just a normal lunatic, so how can you justify that as diversity?”

“You really are a constant complainer.”

Bridget had accumulated so much anger that she even rolled her eyes in frustration.

This snobby, smug bastard who had come to gobble up other people’s countries needed to be dealt with at every opportunity.

“If we leave it like this, this place will become his world. This is my home, my land, and he’s taking it. Did you think I would stand for that? He’s the biggest obstacle to my success. Oh, of course, you’re the same, but you’re in second place. He’s in first.”

There’s no need to assign such rankings.

“Sure, even if you kill me, thank you for killing me second.”

“Someday, when that guy gets murdered, there will be no need to search for the culprit. I’ll gladly confess and surrender, dancing with joy in my bare feet.”

It may have been an exaggeration, but Taeri was bewildered by the fact that Claude was much more hated by the mages than she had thought.

Normally, the protagonist is in a position to receive buffs and favoritism.

‘What on earth is happening?’

The protagonist’s approval rating is at rock bottom.

‘It’s no wonder it’s taking so long to see the ending and escape.’

The game’s ending is completed when Claude, who has lifted the curse, becomes the new king of Izarith.

However, his current approval rating hit rock bottom. There was no sense of belonging or admiration in that situation. The path to the ending was becoming increasingly treacherous.

“Then why don’t we work together to rebuild the old town?”

Taeri decided to handle what she could on her own for now and assist him from behind the scenes.

“Instead of just complaining and waiting all the time, maybe that would be better. After all, this is our land too.”

“What can we do?”

“Aren’t there any valuable things left inside the castle?”

The old royal castle located within the Black Forest, known as the Ruined Castle. There would be enormous treasures preserved there through generations.

Even if I became an heir, I would not be able to take it with me, so I was willing to give it away.

“Inside the Ruined Castle? Well, there must be plenty.”

“Let’s start there and rob it.”

“But we don’t have the key to the storeroom.”

“The key?”

When I asked what key she was referring to, Bridget countered, ‘The treasure vault key, don’t you know?’ and made me feel embarrassed.

“There was an astrologer couple who served as the storeroom keepers. The wife couldn’t escape from the castle and died, but the husband managed to survive. He was a very greedy man, and he took the key, a card to be exact.”

Even without hearing the rest of the story, she could easily guess what happened next.

“He was too greedy, so he took it and ran away.”

“Couldn’t resist the temptation, huh?”

“And you just left it there?”

“What’s the point? No one can enter the castle anymore. The castle itself became the origin of the curse. It turned into a den of unimaginable monsters. Having the key is useless.”

In other words, chasing him and rummaging through his pockets would be a futile effort.

Nevertheless, Taeri’s opinion remained unchanged.

“Where is that husband now?”

“Why?”

“I’m going to get the money.”

“But no one can enter the castle anyway.”

“That’s my business to take care of.”

The castle is closed off as Bridget described it.

In other words, it’s off-limits to lesser skill levels, and you’ll have to keep grinding through the side quests to find a way in and a shortcut later on.

It was because the final boss, a dragon, was guarding the last gate inside the castle, in the royal library.

However, from a different perspective, I thought of this as a fortunate circumstance.

“But as long as I can somehow take Claude with me, isn’t that all that matters?”c

After all, the game only ends when you beat the boss. If I took Claude with me and helped him defeat the dragon early, we could get the treasure and achieve a fast ending.

In that case, it would be a win-win plan for the wizards, the protagonist, and even for Taeri herself. It was the best outcome for Taeri.

“Do you know where to go to meet that husband guy?”

“Hmm, so what? What’s the point of finding that thief now?”

“Dealing with scoundrels is originally the heir’s responsibility.”

“How amusing. Are you going to fulfill your duty as a princess now? Isn’t it a bit too late for that?”

“Even if it’s too late, wouldn’t it be a good thing if I hit them hard enough?”

Bridget’s sharp use of the word ‘duty’ immediately brought to mind a warm hug from Ancie and cheers from March and Lily.

And the tearful faces of those who ran to greet her when you entered the village.

And Bridget, who was so happy to hear that she remembered her, that she so graciously gave her a ride in her carriage.

Taeri didn’t have the qualification to do something princess-like for them.

Why? Because I’m not a princess.

However, I thought I might be able to do this much. Recovering the treasure. That level of responsibility.

“You’re right, there’s not much I can do now except pretend to be a princess. At best, I could just deal with annoying leftovers. And it’s not like it solves anything, but still, I feel like I have a duty to do such things, and perhaps you deserve some reward for it.”

It was a lame excuse, but I hoped it would make up for their exhaustion and past pain.

“So tell me, where is he?”

Bridget stared at her in silence for a while, as if something was stuck in her mouth, then abruptly blurted out.

“I don’t know where he is right now.”

“Well, that’s fine. I’ll find out on my own.”

“No, wait! I said, now, I said now! I used to know where he was!”

“Where was he before?”

“I’ll tell you, but I have a condition too. Let’s exchange one thing we each want.”

What kind of conditional deal is this again?

Without a moment’s hesitation, Taeri refused. If it wasn’t the latest information or a relevant clue, there was no need to listen to Bridget.

“You’re backtracking on what you said about not being helpful.”

“Oh, I didn’t say that! Just listen to me. Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll listen. What do you want?”

As she set the board, Bridget rushed over and started chattering excitedly.’Remember what I mentioned earlier? The wine bar in New Town~’

“Actually, it’s not just a simple wine bar. It’s currently the trendiest social hub. It’s frequented by Valoran aristocrats, making it a hot spot among the upper class.”

“But what about it?”

“I plan to go there and stir up some trouble. I want you to accompany me. That’s my condition.”

……What?

“Could you repeat that?”

“I want to pour filth on those noble folks when we go there.”

“……Are you out of your mind?”

You want me to lend a hand in disrupting someone else’s business and causing trouble at their establishment?

This request was quite outlandish.

“You’re not an ordinary idiot.”

“It’s no big deal. You’ve had something since you were born. Status! Go there and play the role of a princess with that status. Let me also bask in the glory of the princess, too. What can they do about a princess acting like a princess?”

Oh, I’ve had enough. Now I have to listen to this nonsense about receiving the glory of a princess and causing a ruckus.

Despite being called a friend, her demands were unreasonable.

“Hasn’t that princess image long been tarnished?”

“Not yet. For now, your status still holds weight. You’re the only person in a suitable position to handle those snobs. Besides, your reputation is already ruined, so it doesn’t matter.”

Is she trying to comfort me with that babbling. Just shut your mouth, you whiner1there’s no direct translation to the word 왱알, but it’s mainly used as a nuance to indicate complaints, excuses, or useless noises that cause trouble to the listener..