* * *
Arriving just before the gates closed had allowed him to avoid a thorough search, and entering after sunset meant anything hidden inside his clothes wouldn’t be clearly visible.
Nothing had been left to chance.
Ranshel had a goal and a plan.
The only thing he hadn’t accounted for was that the body he entered belonged to a twenty-five-year-old man named Cha Eunseong.
A force of nature—an unavoidable system’s cruelty.
His original mission had been washed away by the storm of fate, but the preparations he had made remained.
Ranshel reached into the hidden pocket and retrieved a pair of gloves and a glowstone.
“Now, let’s see.”
He turned the sack inside out.
Clink.
A cascade of items spilled onto the floor.
Gloves on, Ranshel carefully arranged the shards of glass he had collected while tidying Zavad’s room, making sure they didn’t overlap.
Then, he cupped the glowstone between his hands.
As it absorbed his body heat, the glowstone lit up, shining far brighter than Gary’s candle outside.
It was bright enough to clearly see the fractured edges of the glass.
The reason he had given Gary the candle was to keep him from noticing this glow.
Ranshel had no reason to worry about Gary.
“I’ve got my own problems to deal with.”
Ranshel began assembling the broken pieces, as if piecing together a shattered puzzle.
“Ranshel, you’re not falling asleep in there, are you?”
“Sorry, seems like I’ve got a nasty case of constipation!”
Even as he called out to Gary, who knocked on the door in protest, Ranshel’s eyes and hands never stopped moving.
He had gathered all the fragments he could, but this wasn’t a simple puzzle—it was just scattered, unidentifiable shards.
For the average person, reconstructing the original form would be next to impossible.
It could take until morning, and even then, they might never figure it out.
But Ranshel’s character traits—and the knowledge of Cha Eunseong, who fully understood the game’s mechanics—pushed the odds of success infinitely higher.
[Support Skill ‘Exceptional Focus’ is now active.]
[Item restoration success rate has increased.]
This game had always featured mini-games.
After all, a romance simulation wasn’t just about romance.
[Item restoration successful!]
[The broken object has regained its original form.]
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Ranshel squinted at the notification.
[Item registered in the compendium= ‘Broken Vase’.]
So, it was a vase.
Now knowing what the shards had once been, Ranshel crossed his arms and fell deep into thought.
Restoring an item didn’t mean that broken objects would return to their original state.
However, by registering the item in the compendium, he could check its details.
When playing the game from the heroine’s perspective, he used this compendium to raise character affinity.
But now, the situation was entirely reversed.
‘I need to build resentment instead.’
He had to raise Ranshel’s event contribution while lowering the other villains’ contributions.
[Item Compendium]
[Broken Vase]
A vase with a lingering scent of Primula. ]
‘Primula?’
Was that the name of a flower?
Ranshel rested his chin on his palm, deep in thought.
There was a broken vase, but no flowers.
‘Instead, there was a stone.’
Ranshel rolled a pebble in his palm, having taken it from under the display case.
Someone might have used this stone to break the vase.
Did they throw it from outside?
In that case, the window should have been shattered.
If the window had been open?
Zavad was far too noble to open a window himself.
Then did it happen while the previous servant, before Ranshel arrived, was airing out the room?
‘No.’
If that were the case, they would have immediately cleaned up the glass shards.
The servants regularly inspected the rooms when the attendant was present.
This must have happened during the few days when no one was managing the room—after the previous servant left and before Ranshel arrived.
So, someone threw a stone, but without breaking the closed window, they managed to shatter only the vase?
For that to be possible…
‘Ugh, my head hurts.’
Ranshel pressed his fingers against his temples and let out a deep sigh.
For now, registering the vase in the compendium would have to be enough.
He soaked the luminescent stone in cold water until its glow completely faded in response to the temperature, then tied up the sack with a rope and lowered it outside the window, just as he had set it up before arriving.
When he opened the door and stepped out, he saw Gerry leaning against the wall, snoring away while clutching the candelabra tightly to prevent it from toppling over.
He had been drooling in his sleep the entire time Ranshel was sweating over piecing together the shattered glass.
‘Should I just leave him here…?’
Ranshel seriously considered it.
The next day, as expected, the physician visited the castle.
“Please see the young master first.”
The attendant standing beside him guided the physician.
Ranshel naturally followed along.
Normally, it would have been his duty to escort them, but he had acted like such a complete rookie that they probably didn’t trust him with the task.
However, when the attendant noticed Ranshel following, he shook his head.
“I’ll handle the escorting. You go help in the kitchen.”
“…Why?”
“What kind of question is that? Just do as you’re told and stop talking back!”
“…Okay.”
The sharp reprimand made Ranshel reflexively comply.
As he watched their backs disappear down the hallway, he tilted his head in confusion.
‘So this isn’t my job, huh?’
But wasn’t this exactly what a personal attendant was supposed to do?
The person always by the young master’s side should be the one informing the physician about his condition.
Pondering it over, Ranshel eventually changed direction toward the kitchen.
While peeling a pile of potatoes, he casually asked the servant across from him, who was busy skinning onions.
“Why was I reassigned here today?”
“Oh, on the days the physician visits, the personal attendant is required to leave the room. From now on, just say hello and head straight to the kitchen on those days.”
“Why?”
“Hm? I don’t really know. That’s just how it’s always been.”
“I see. The attendant didn’t explain, so I had no idea. He just kicked me out all of a sudden.”
“He’s got a nasty temper. Honestly, most of the long-time staff in this castle are a little weird.”
That was true. Ranshel nodded in agreement.
His curiosity wasn’t exactly satisfied, but there didn’t seem to be any way to get a better answer, so he simply continued peeling potatoes.
Before he knew it, the basket was full.
“I’m done.”
“Wow, already? You’re good at this. If you weren’t assigned to the young master, I’d ask them to keep sending you to the kitchen.”
“Well, I’ve done a lot of this kind of work.”
The servant looked at the neatly peeled potatoes, debating something.
“Let’s see… There’s still a while before we start cooking. What should I have you do?”
“I’m good with my hands, so I can handle any task.”
Ranshel glanced around before flashing a playful smile.
“I used to help the gardener with flower arrangements before, too.”
“Oh, then how about helping out in the garden? If you go, I’ll set aside a snack for you later.”
“Yes!”
With a newfound enthusiasm, Ranshel jumped to his feet.
Snacks! Snacks!
Humming to himself, he made his way to the garden and approached the gardener, who was tending to the flowerbeds.
“I’m here to lend a hand.”
The gardener, wearing a straw hat, turned to look at him.
The man’s face was covered in burn scars.
He scanned Ranshel from head to toe before clicking his tongue.
“A scrawny brat like you? What help could you be in the garden? Go back to the kitchen.”
“I already finished there.”
“Then go to the stables or something. There’s no work for you here.”
The gardener dismissed him without interest, carefully trimming the wilted leaves from the flowerbed.
* * *
