“Now tell me. Who am I?”
Jester asked again, his voice clear, flat, and almost completely without emotion. The girl kneeling before him looked visibly shaken, as if the pressure on her shoulders was growing heavier with every passing second.
“Your Highness,” the girl answered again in a quiet voice.
“Stand up.”
Jester spoke once more, but this time his tone was completely different from before. It carried a quiet authority that made the girl immediately stop trembling. After a brief hesitation, she slowly gathered the courage to raise her head.
“Your Highness,” she said again.
“Tell me. Who am I?” he asked, his voice calmer than before.
“I... I...” she stammered. “You are a Player.”
“Yes. I’m a Player.”
Jester turned his back to the girl and stretched his stiff muscles.
“I’m not the prince who was supposed to enter this room. Do you know what happened to that prince?”
The girl slowly shook her head as Jester glanced back at her over his shoulder.
“I... I don't dare imagine what might have happened to His Highness,” she whispered.
“Exactly what you're thinking,” Jester replied calmly.
Elora lowered her gaze.
“When you first entered this room, you looked exactly like His Highness Prince Caelan. But then... you suddenly returned to your original appearance.”
“That's right,” Jester replied quietly. “I'm not Caelan. Now, just stay in this room, okay? You don't have to do any of the work anyone forces you to do here. Just live as an attendant like everyone else. Or, if you want, you can return to your family once all of this is over. I'm sure you understand the price you would have to pay if you chose otherwise, don't you?”
The girl remained silent.
“I’m going to relax in the bath for a while. Lock the door, and don’t let anyone come inside.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the girl answered. She quickly stood up, walked to the massive door, and secured the lock.
[Elora, the prince's personal bedchamber attendant, bows her head and accepts you without resistance. Captivated by your overwhelming presence and charisma, she chooses to follow your every word.]
[Chaos +10]
“Hmm…”
Jester thought for a moment.
Why had the System specifically shown his interaction with Elora from her perspective? Why hadn't it done the same with anyone else, like Igrio or the red-haired princess?
More importantly, the interaction had even rewarded him with 10 Chaos.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had spoken to the girl while using his original Clown form.
Could there be some kind of follow-up to this interaction?
Something similar had happened when he tried to tame the Dire Wolf. After enough interaction, the wolf had chosen to follow him, and the System had recognized that decision by unlocking a new relationship.
Could something like that happen with this elf girl as well?
Surely the System wouldn't establish some kind of master-and-pet bond with Elora the way it had with Fang.
Jester quickly pushed the thought aside.
At the very least, Elora now understood exactly where she stood. He wasn't too worried about her telling anyone what she had seen. Aside from being fairly confident in his reading of her personality, the System's notification had already given away enough for him to understand her decision.
She would obviously choose to pretend she knew nothing about the prince being a Player rather than continue doing the work she had been forced to endure.
Serving that lecherous Prince Caelan...
Tch.
Either the prince's reputation was unbelievably awful, or perhaps this kind of behavior was simply normal among royalty. After all, even kings often had more than one wife, along with countless concubines.
Maybe Caelan was no different.
Jester paid little attention to her after that. He immediately opened the door leading to the bathroom.
“…Whoa.”
He paused for a moment in surprise. A wave of warm steam drifted across his face as soon as the door opened.
Beyond it was an enormous bathing chamber. At its center lay a wide natural hot spring pool, large enough to comfortably fit more than a dozen people. Smooth stone floors surrounded the steaming water, while carved pillars and elegant decorations gave the room the luxurious atmosphere expected of royalty.
Jester quietly closed the door behind him. The clothes he was wearing soon slipped off one by one until only his underwear remained.
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“Well, since I’m already here, I might as well enjoy the perks of being a noble.”
He let out a small grin before walking toward the steaming hot spring.
Enjoying a bath inside the game only gave the illusion of feeling refreshed. The sensation existed solely through his senses, along with a level of comfort that, somehow, the game capsule was able to recreate perfectly for the human body.
Meanwhile, his real body was still asleep inside the capsule. It was probably even sweating out there.
Ah, whatever. Just enjoy it.
Jester stepped into the steaming hot spring, letting the warm water slowly rise around his body. A pleasant heat spread through him as he sank deeper into the bath, easing the tension in every muscle.
“I could stay here for hours,” he muttered.
More importantly, though, this gave him time to think.
At first, Jester had planned to use the prince's identity to gain as many advantages as possible. Instead of benefits, however, he had inherited a pile of problems.
First, this prince was an absolute idiot. Rather than surrounding himself with allies, he seemed to have made enemies wherever he went. He was far too arrogant, though perhaps that arrogance came from growing up alongside his older siblings, who apparently shared the same personality.
There was no denying that pretending to be the prince granted Jester access to opportunities he could never obtain otherwise.
But it also came with complications.
The Harvest Mask had its limits, and he couldn't freely leave the palace and return whenever he wanted. If too many people noticed the prince constantly disappearing for days before suddenly reappearing, it would naturally raise suspicions about his whereabouts.
Then again, there was a simple excuse. People would probably assume the prince was spending his time with a new woman.
Elora could simply remain in his room whenever he went out to handle something, or whenever he needed to log out.
Even so, the situation was still troublesome.
Especially because of Igrio. That man had remarkably sharp eyes. He felt far more capable than he let others believe.
While Jester was still lost in thought, he suddenly heard the bathroom door open.
The sound pulled him back to reality. He turned around and saw the elf girl standing quietly by the entrance.
“Your Highness... please forgive my interruption.” She lowered her head. “If you would allow it, I would like to attend to you. I can wash your back or assist you with your bath.”
Fortunately, she was still wearing her maid uniform.
“I don't really need any help,” Jester replied. “But I suppose you can stay here. I need someone to talk to, and you might be able to answer a few questions for me.”
The girl looked surprised. She bowed once more, gently closed the door behind her, then slowly walked closer until she stopped a respectful distance from the edge of the pool.
“Forgive me, Your Highness...” she said hesitantly. “Should I... remove my clothes before serving you?”
Jester swallowed hard at those words.
This game is seriously ridiculous.
The level of realism was almost absurd.
Then again, the developers had placed one very strict limitation on that realism. Any sexual features remained completely locked unless a player entered an official marriage with either an NPC or another player.
So, despite appearances, the underwear he was wearing couldn't actually be removed. It was effectively locked by the game's system until those conditions were met.
“No. Just stay like that. Sit over here.”
Jester gestured toward the stone ledge beside the pool.
“But...”
“Do it.”
“Yes... Please forgive me.”
Elora carefully stepped closer and sat where he had indicated. She lowered herself onto the edge of the bath, letting her legs slip into the warm water while keeping the rest of her body covered by her maid outfit.
“Is this position acceptable, Your Highness?”
“Yes. Just stay there.” Jester leaned back against the edge of the bath. “I'm not the 'Your Highness' you think I am. But it's fine if you still want to call me that. At least you're already used to it.”
“I understand...” The girl answered much more calmly than before.
Jester continued soaking in the hot spring, enjoying the warmth. He was more relaxed now, though noticeably more aware of his surroundings with someone else in the room.
“So, Elora,” he said, “tell me about yourself. How did you end up here? As far as I know, elves have their own homeland, and it's actually quite rare to see one traveling alone. They usually move in groups, and most of them have fairly high average levels.”
The girl quietly nodded.
“I... am not from one of the major elven races, Your Highness,” she answered softly. “My race is quite rare.”
She hesitated before continuing.
“Our race has darker green hair,” she said quietly. “Our ears are slightly shorter than those of most elves, and our mana is better suited for nurturing life than fighting. We have a strong affinity with plants and natural energy, but our physical abilities and combat talent are much lower than those of other elven races. Because of that, we're considered one of the weaker bloodlines.”
“I see.”
Jester thought for a moment.
“I've heard Princess Rania's elven race is considered one of the strongest. Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Elora replied with a nod. “Princess Rania belongs to one of the strongest elven royal bloodlines. Her people are known for their exceptional strength, talent with mana, and long history of producing powerful warriors.”
“But you still have a level, don't you?” Jester asked. “What level are you?”
He turned to look at her.
Elora froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the question.
“I... I...” she stammered, lowering her eyes. “I only reached Level 150 recently, Your Highness.”
“...Level 150?!”
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