Chapter Text
Bang!
The vase cracked shattered as Penelope threw it on the floor. But... If you were in her shoes, would you blame her? Yvonne, or whatever was possessing that poor child's corpse, returned to the Duchy. Though, it would be more accurate to say that thing infiltrated the place.
(I'm gonna lose my mind... Why is Laila here? HOW did she get here?! Right Eckles helped her get here, right... Let's calm down.)
Penelope sat down on the side of her bed, gripping the sheets tightly, her mind disoriented from the emotional turmoil she just had from seeing Laila.
(When me, Vinter and Callisto were at that cave, Vinter had mentioned some things about manipulation. Maybe Laila has a method of manipulation that helped control Eckles' mind and thus force him to bring her back to the Eckhart Duchy.. That seems to be the most reasonable answer..)
Penelope groans in frustration and bites her fingernail, hard enough that it got clipped off.
(Why....? After all my hard work, after everything I did to survive up until now..?!)
"...fuck!" Penelope swore under her breath, not caring whether or not someone outside the door heard her, tears of frustration forming at the corner of her eyes.
(There's only five days left until Penelope's coming-of-age ceremony... Can I survive until then?)
Then, suddenly, as if hearing her cries, the pop-up window appeared... and made it worse.
[New Route Unlocked:
Connected by Blood or Bond?
An unexpected challenge has appeared before you, you are backed into a corner and you have been given the chance to turn the tables!]
('Unexpected challenge', obviously! No Shit Sherlock!)
Penelope shouted in her mind, her heart beating like a drum from different emotions, anger, anxiety, fear, and above all, annoyance. It took her a while to calm down and even her breath before she noticed something else.
('A new route'...? Wait, so there was another route I didn't know about? 'Connected by Blood or Bond'... That's the name of this route, this route has a tittle unlike the others..)
Penelope looked at the pop-up window in curiosity. The other routes in the game were called 'The Sibling route', meaning Derrick and Reynold, 'The Route of the Crowned Prince', meaning Callisto, 'The Route of the Gentle Magician', meaning Vinter, and finally, 'The Route of the Knight', meaning Eckles. Each route were named after the person the pathway is aiming for in favorability. But this route, just telling by the name, isn't the same as the other ones...
(Is someone new who I don't know about gonna appear into the story?)
Looking at the pop-up window with the new route announcement and it's name, Penelope felt... hopeful, but the anxiousness brought by Leila's sudden appearance still lingered. Penelope closed her eyes to calm herself down even further, trying to go get into that calculating trance she enters when coming up with plans.
Click
Penelope opened her eyes again after hearing the sound that the pop-up window made whenever it changes what's written on it.
[Would you like to enter this route?
Cost: 375,000
Coins in your possession: 500,000
Accept Decline]
Penelope wanted to swear and shout at the top of her lungs...
"You've gotta be kidding.."
On the outside she just looked annoyed, but inside, she was having another emotional turmoil.
(I HAVE TO PAY FOR A CHANCE TO AVOID MY DEATH?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! I thought you said I was given a CHANCE, why do I have to pay for this shitty chance I don't know anything about!?!)
Penelope threw herself on her bed and rolled around in it like a child throwing a tantrum, she sunk her face deep in her pillow and muffled her voice.
"...why is it so expensive as well?!"
She sat up and looked at the pop-up window again.
"I have to spend 75% of my coins for this mysterious route and I'll only be left with 150,000, what will I tell the Duke when he finds out and asks me where I spent my money on..!"
She grumbled under her breath.
"But then again.. this is a 50/50. A better chance than what I have. Although I don't know anything about this route, if I play it right then maybe..., just maybe, I'll survive."
With bated breath, Penelope approached the pop-up window.
Click
She accepted it.
Penelope steps back from the pop-up window and watches as an incomplete circle appears and swirls around with the text 'Loading' above it.
"Loading? But it has never done that befo-"
.....sssSSSSWOOSH-!
Wind started gathering around Penelope's feet as a circle decorated with intricate writing, similar to embroidery, appeared.
-SSSSsshhhh....
Within a few seconds, she disappeared from her room, with no trace whatsoever.