Chapter 03
“Huh?”
Surprised by what I heard, I froze awkwardly and asked her again.
“You didn’t really mean to take me in, right? It must be annoying and inconvenient, so you don’t need to go out of your way for me.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“If you’re only helping me because the knight commander brought me here, you don’t have to worry. He’s busy—he probably won’t come looking for me anyway. So you don’t need to bother. I can manage on my own.”
Estelle spoke with a blank expression as she looked straight at me.
Then, without waiting for a reply, she took the empty dishes from my hands and stood up.
“Thank you for the toast. But there’s no need for snacks. I’ll clean this up.”
With a slight nod, she disappeared into the kitchen.
Soon, I heard the sound of dishes clinking—she was doing the dishes.
…Something’s not right.
Shocked, I sat in silence, listening to the clatter from the kitchen.
She’s really different from the Estelle I remember…
I stared off into space, still stunned.
Something felt off.
She wasn’t like this in the game.
She always smiled brightly at me, ran into my arms, followed me everywhere…
But the real Estelle didn’t smile, didn’t hug me, didn’t follow me around—she didn’t even talk to me.
Even though we were living under the same roof.
I can’t let it stay like this.
So I made up my mind to spend time with Estelle somehow.
I used the excuse of buying her clothes to go out with her.
****
“Ugh…”
We were at the village’s best clothing shop, Julie’s Fantastic Dressroom.
The place was full of beautiful clothes, but I couldn’t focus on any of them.
My eyes were stuck on Estelle, who was standing outside the shop window.
I thought spending time shopping together would bring us closer…
But the result was disappointing.
After picking out just a few things she needed, Estelle said she’d wait outside and left the shop.
My expectations were crushed, and I looked like I might cry.
“Even the great Raina looks like this.”
I turned my head at the teasing voice and saw a woman leaning on the counter.
It was Julie, the shop owner and one of my childhood friends.
She was staring at me with a playful grin.
“What? Why are you staring at me instead of wrapping things up?”
“Just thinking the rumors must be true.”
Rumors? What rumors?
I gave her a suspicious look.
Julie burst out laughing and said,
“That the village kids’ favorite Raina is struggling with one girl—that rumor.”
“What?”
What kind of rumor is that?!
I jumped up in surprise and rushed over to her.
“Tell me more!”
“You know most of the kids you care for come to my shop, right?”
Of course.
Everyone in the village knows each other.
The kids know Julie and I are friends.
And I often bought little hats or hairpins for them from her shop.
But what about it?
I nodded, still confused.
Julie shrugged and continued.
“Every time they come in, they’re super upset. They say you’ve been ignoring them ever since that girl showed up.”
“What?”
“They’re going crazy. Even kids who never spoke to me before are demanding to know who this ‘Estelle’ is.”
My mouth dropped open.
It’s not like I’ve been chasing Estelle around that much… Wait. Have I?
I blinked and thought back on the past few days with Estelle.
Like that first breakfast together…
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
Her words hit me hard and left me feeling really hurt.
I’ve known you for so long… Even if you don’t remember me now…!
Still, I didn’t give up.
I believed this was only temporary—that she’d warm up to me eventually.
But then—
****
Trust: 0
****
Estelle didn’t let me in, not even a little.
Just like she said, she did everything by herself, without asking for help.
This isn’t good.
My goal is to raise Estelle into the emperor—to finally see the ending I missed in my past life.
And for that, trust is essential.
The higher the trust, the more she listens to me.
But at this rate, I’ll fail everything.
Even one messed-up stat can ruin the whole emperor route!
The emperor path isn’t like the others where you just meet the final stat requirements.
You have to meet specific stat goals at the right times.
That’s the only way to trigger the special events needed for the route.
But right now, her trust level is zero.
There’s no way I’ll even hit the stat benchmarks.
If this keeps up, I won’t get the emperor ending—I’ll get the bad ending, where Estelle leaves me behind.
I have to fix this quickly.
Feeling desperate, I tried my best to get closer to Estelle every day.
****
“You’re going to bed already?”
“Yes. Good night.”
“Okay. Oh, do you want warm milk with honey—never mind, you’re already gone.”
I tried to show interest in every little thing she did.
****
“Sorry I’m late! I went grocery shopping. You haven’t had dinner yet, right? I brought something tasty—let’s eat together!”
“No, thank you. I already ate earlier.”
“…Already?”
Estelle said she could handle herself, but as a food-loving Korean at heart, I still made her meals every day.
****
“Going out? You still don’t know your way around well, right? Let me come with you.”
“I brought a map. Goodbye.”
Whatever she was doing, I was always ready to help.
Today was the last day of my vacation.
Since she didn’t have enough clothes, I brought her shopping…
“You didn’t need to waste money because of me. I’ll definitely pay you back.”
****
Trust: 0
****
Still no sign of progress.
If anything, she felt even more distant.
At this point, I honestly felt like collapsing to the floor, crying, and screaming, “What do you want me to doooo?!”
“This is a first. You’ve never struggled with a kid before. Even the naughtiest ones calm down around you. It’s actually kind of refreshing to see.”
Julie said with a huge grin, clearly enjoying this.
Meanwhile, I had ruined things with Estelle and ended up as gossip in town.
Was this fun for her?
I slumped onto the wide counter, pouting.
It’s so hard… In the game, the trust score went up easily even if I did nothing.
Sure, I have personal reasons for wanting to see the emperor ending.
But in the end, it’s also what’s best for Estelle.
An emperor has power, respect, and no one can touch her easily.
Everyone looks up to her and loves her.
And yet, I’ve already messed it all up from the start.
Her heart is really… really closed off.
Unlike the other kids, it’s nearly impossible to reach her.
Maybe this is the difference between a part-time caretaker and a full-time guardian.
“How did Mr. and Mrs. Morris raise me, I wonder?”
I probably wasn’t an easy kid either.
I couldn’t help but think about the couple who first took me in—who must’ve been in a situation just like mine.
I buried my face in my arms and let out a groan.
“It’s weird though. You know you’re good with kids. Why are you struggling this time? Maybe you’re going about it the wrong way.”
“What do you mean?”
Julie lifted her head from her hand and stood upright, resuming her gift-wrapping.
“Remember when I asked you how you get close to kids so quickly?”
“…”
“You said kids may be small and fragile, but they’re smart. They can sense what someone’s true intentions are. So you always approach them with a sincere heart. That’s what lets you earn their trust.”
She finished wrapping the package and stepped out from behind the counter.
She shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Or maybe the kid’s just really prickly. You only need to look after her until she becomes an adult, right? If she doesn’t want to open up, you don’t have to force it. Don’t stress yourself out. If it’s too hard, just let her grow up on her own.”
Estelle wasn’t that young that she needed constant attention.
Julie placed the shopping bag in my hands and gently patted my shoulder.
