A few hours later, at the Von Roseblood estate, Eren stood in his father's study, Duke Serlen Von Roseblood. His father, a well-groomed man in his fifties, had black and sleek hair that was already gleaming through with silver and a neatly trimmed goatee. Standing nearly two meters tall, he possessed the strength and dynamism of an angry bull. His broad shoulders, thick neck, strong arms, and muscular thighs spoke more of a warrior's life than an aristocrat's. At that moment, his father's suit was stretched so tightly that the fabric threatened to burst as he tensed every muscle in his body with rage.

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"Eren! What were you thinking? What was Gray thinking?" roared the Duke angrily at his son. Eren could only lower his eyes to the ground; his hands clenched into fists behind his back. Not because he wanted to rebel but because he did not want his hands to numb with fear.

He knew he had screwed up. And he had really screwed up this time. He also felt guilty for his sister, who had not been able to handle all the excitement and had passed out on the way home. Why had he acted like a deluded fool at that moment?

He thought about it all night but could not explain it. But as soon as he thought of Selene, his heart and thoughts changed utterly. He began to justify his actions and even blamed Elizabeth for everything. His head began to suspect, but his heart refused to listen.

Eren hesitantly raised his gaze to his father and immediately lowered it when he saw the intense violet gaze. His gaze now closely resembled Elizabeth's eyes on him in the carriage. Eren understood that his father wanted an answer from him.

"I do not want to make excuses, but it seemed right then. Gray had the evidence and the testimony of Lady Derevell. I was firmly convinced that Elizabeth had gone astray out of jealousy. It was only right to point out her errors and bring justice to Lady... Derevell... because... because..." As he began to speak confidently, his voice weakened until he could not continue. "Because why?" the Duke asked sternly.

Eren remained silent, staring at the floor. Why? Why? He frowned at his thoughts, for the only answers in his mind were 'Because she hurt Selene. Because she made Selene cry. Because Selene looked so unhappy.'

He wanted to say it, but even to him, it sounded like the whimpering of a small child.

There was something fishy here.

"Because WHY?!" Duke roared, and Eren looked up snappishly.

"I do not know!"

"You do not know!? You participated in something that harmed your sister and our name, and you do not even know why!?" the big man in front of him flushed with rage. Eren feared that all the seams in his father's clothes would burst, but the duke took a deep breath and let it out. The red color had left his face, but that did not mean he was less angry.

"Good. I never thought I would do this again at your age, but from now on, you are forbidden to leave the estate, and you will spend most of your time in your room until I say otherwise. Is that clear?"

Eren nodded. "Yes, Father."

Duke Serlen waved his hand. "Excellent. Now go."

Eren did not object and left the study. Sighing, Duke leaned back against his desk and resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair.

'What a mess.'

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Duke straightened up.

The young maid, assigned as his daughter's personal maid, entered the room.

The girl was a little older than Elizabeth, had brown hair carefully combed and hidden under a cap, and her black and white uniform was immaculate. Her light green eyes were modestly lowered as she announced to the Duke, "Lady Elizabeth is awake."

The duke nodded. "I will visit her shortly."

The maid bowed once more and then prepared her mistress for his arrival.

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Eliz felt like she was about to wake up. She heard someone moving around in the room, and the sound helped her to regain consciousness.

Slowly, she opened her violet eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. It wasn't even familiar to Eliz. Where the hell was she? It took a moment for Eliz to focus, and then a message appeared in her field of vision.

"Congratulations to visitor 257. You have made it through the first sequence of the story. Your status has been changed from visitor 257 to visitor 245. Please remember that your actions affect the world around you. Your reward has been submitted and can be seen in your status window. You are now entering the second sequence of the story. Good luck."

Eliz blinked a few times until the words faded, and she could see clearly again.

"Ah... that wasn't a dream," she groaned, covering her eyes with her arm. Now she was aware of where she was. It was Elizabeth's room. If she remembered correctly, the real Elizabeth had ended up here crying after the disastrous ball and vowing revenge.

But if she remembered correctly, she was not alone...

Eliz turned her head and looked at the brown-haired girl in maid's clothes who walked over to her bed without saying anything.

The girl looked at Eliz with attentive green eyes that hid her intelligence.

Alobela. Elizabeth's personal maid. One of the few characters Eliz really liked. The maid was loyal and intelligent. That's why she could never understand the author's thoughts by letting her die. It was so stupid that Eliz almost had to spit blood. Alobela was carrying a secret message for Elizabeth when she tripped and fell off a cliff in the middle of the night.

Just like that.

Eliz suspected the author thought he had made her too good and useful, so he killed her?

"My lady, is something wrong? Do you feel ill?" Alobela asked, still looking at her.

She pondered over the answer. Her head didn't hurt anymore; she felt relatively well. But she was still messed up. Eliz was stuck in some phantasmagoria without knowing how or why.

Eliz decided to change her answer. She felt terrible. And what was that voice muttering again? The status window? And why had her number changed?

She wanted to try it out. Eliz was honestly curious about the legendary status window but couldn't do it with Alobela looking at her.

"I feel fine. Why?"

"For two minutes, you just stared at me, my lady."

Eliz sighed. "I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you."

Alobela barely showed emotion, but Eliz thought her eyes widened slightly. Well, Elizabeth wasn't exactly one to praise anyone. Or appreciate.

Alobela didn't answer; she just turned and brought the breakfast tray over. It was the kind of wooden tray with legs that you could put on the bed and eat without getting up and going to the table.

Eliz looked at what she got, and it was a really... nutritionally balanced meal. An egg, a salad, a piece of cracker, a glass of orange juice, and a small bowl of fruit. She didn't see any meat. Eliz was a carnivore. A meal without meat wasn't a proper meal to her.

"Bacon?" she asked.

"It's not good for your figure, my lady," the answer came immediately.

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"Am I a horse that eats only leaves and vegetables?" Eliz complained unhappily.

"It's important that you stick to your diet, my lady." Alobela gracefully refused to budge.

Eliz began to wonder if she should take up her role and make a hysterical scene to get a piece of meat.

"Your father wanted to be informed when you woke up, my lady. Please eat in peace; I'll be right back," she announced and was gone before Eliz could insist on a portion of meat.

"If you don't give me a piece of meat next time, I may throw you off the cliff myself," Eliz muttered somberly. Then she began to eat. While eating, she looked ahead and tried to open the system window. It wasn't that hard. Just the thought of it was enough.

Name: Elizabeth Von Roseblood Role: Minor Villainess Position: Visitor number 245 Cycle number: 1 Number of available revivals: 1 Number of failures: 0 Number of followers: 0 Finance: 1500 gold Property: 0 Achievements: - Bonuses: -

Eliz watched with a fork, a piece of lettuce half stuck in her open mouth. She searched but found nothing indicating things like health, stamina, speed... It did not look like what she had expected.

"Okay, what about the number of followers? And property? It's starting to feel like some building game."

"No followers, so Alobela isn't a follower either? But isn't she my handmaiden? What does she have to do to get a follower?"

She was startled when she realized her role. Minor? What was that about? Wasn't she supposed to be the main villain?

Eliz wondered about that; the author probably added another villain later, but she didn't know anymore. If she had any idea what would happen, she would have read that crap all the way to the end.

Hearing the click of the doorknob, Eliz immediately closed the window and finally finished chewing the sad piece of lettuce in her mouth.

Alobela returned and silently approached her bed.

"Your father will be coming to see you soon, my lady. You must get ready," she said. As she said this, everything disappeared in the blink of an eye. Eliz still had her hand in the air where she had previously held the fork, but now she held only air.

When Eliz's brain calmed down again, she finally saw that the tray and cutlery had not only disappeared from her hand but that Alobela had placed them on a small wheeled cart. Eliz was amazed and glad that at least the piece of lettuce in her mouth hadn't disappeared!

She looked at Alobela again. She was skilled. That's why her stupid death made less and less sense to her. The author must have been a loser.

Eliz sighed and threw back the blanket. She looked down at her beautiful, flawless legs; even her knees were perfect. Lifting her eyes, Eliz finally took in the room. Purple was obviously Elizabeth's favorite color. Everything was white, purple, or had a dark brown wood color. It might have been a little too dark for some, but Eliz could tell it had style. The walls had purple wallpaper with a pattern of deep purple thorns; the ceiling, door frame, and windows were white.

Under the main window was a desk with a comfortable chair covered in purple suede, but its wooden frame was painted white. The floor was dark oak, matching the color of the tables, dresser, dressing table, and bed frame. The desk was neatly stocked with papers, an abacus, and a quill. Eliz was relieved that the sharpened bird pens were no longer in use.

The large window in the center was also the door leading to the balcony. An abundance of makeup and perfume stood on the dressing table. There was only one shelf of books in the room, but Eliz had the impression that they had never been read.

She returned her gaze to the dresser before her eyes wandered to the three doors in the room. One was the door to the outside, another had to be the bathroom, and the third... was clearly a closet. Elizabeth was known for her beauty and style. Therefore, she expected a huge closet. Eliz was more practical and worried about wearing clothes that were too tight and uncomfortable.

She blinked as Alobela came out of the closet door with a dress. When had she gotten there?

Even from bed, she saw the dress was elaborate and heavy. "Something simple today!" she quickly ordered. Alobela stopped and looked at her before returning to the dressing room.

Eliz breathed a sigh of relief. Alobela brought another dress that looked a little better - again, a combination of purple and white. There were too many strings hanging from it... at least it didn't have so many petticoats and skirt layers.

The torture began. Eliz had always thought that dressing up in novels was exaggerated. The heroine would need help to achieve that snobby look. How wrong she was. Eliz would probably end up a mess if she tried to do it alone.

But with Alobela, it only took 15 minutes.

The skirt was simple, ending above her ankles, the waist cinched with intricate ties, and the dress had puffy straps on her arms, exposing the tops of her shoulders and neck gracefully. Alobela further adorned Eliz's neck with a delicate silver chain bearing the Roseblood family crest. Then she sat down at the dressing table and applied subtle makeup.

Eliz looked at herself in the mirror, impressed and amazed. She still couldn't comprehend that this was her face. Elizabeth was truly beautiful. She could have had anyone she wanted. And yet she was stupid enough to fall in love with the jerk Gray, who suffered from a megalomaniac complex.

"Your father is waiting outside, my lady," Alobela said.

Eliz took one last look in the mirror before standing up. "Let him enter."

Alobela opened the door, and her father, Duke Von Roseblood, entered. Alobela tactfully left, leaving father and daughter alone.

"Father," Eliz greeted him, feeling nervous in her mind. The duke had been shown little in the story. But what she did know was that he was a capable politician and an even more capable warrior who had earned his promotion from baron straight to duke. He was supposed to be an intelligent and strategic man. And also, somewhat clichéd, a doting father. At least as far as Elizabeth was concerned.

Which was also his undoing. While Elizabeth sat in prison awaiting execution, he rounded up his entire household and set out to rescue her, even though she had been convicted of attempted murder. On the one hand, Eliz thought it was nice that he supported her against all odds. On the other hand, she had to condemn the author for getting the entire Roseblood family out of the way so he wouldn't have to deal with them in the story after the main villain was eliminated - except, of course, the treacherous Eren, who distanced himself from House Roseblood and became Gray's dog.

The big man smiled, reminding Eliz of a satisfied cat. This was quite a shock to her. She thought such things existed only in stories or cartoons.

"My child! How are you feeling? Yesterday must have been terrible for you!" He walked over to her with his arms outstretched.

Eliz's eyes fluttered around. Did he want a hug?

"It was not pleasant," she admitted and soon found herself in a hug.

Eliz felt uncomfortable at first, for he was a stranger to her. But she soon relaxed. It reminded her a lot of being hugged by her own father. It wasn't a bad thing. But it pushed away thoughts of her life and family back home.

She raised her hands and patted his massive back.

"It's all right, Father. Do not worry about a thing. You did not raise a weak woman," Eliz reassured him.

Her father let go of her, stepped back, and nodded in agreement. "That's right. I heard how you handled the whole situation. Well done, my child."

The father raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. It almost sounded like he was crushing something between his fingers, even if it was just air.

"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to drag that womanizer Gray here and make him grovel before you? Do you want me to go to battle against House Ironhoud?" He asked Elizabeth what she wanted to do.

Eliz gulped. Is this how a doting father behaves with power?

She walked over to the work table. "Nothing of the sort, Father. There is no reason for you to go so far. Besides, I could never ask you to argue with your good friend Duke Ironhound. Conflicts between children should not affect your relationships. Just send a message to break off the engagement."

Father frowned. "You're going to get involved? Just like that?" He asked.

Eliz shrugged her shoulders. "What more can I do? I have tried to keep Gray from making a mistake. I'm not going to do any more for a cheating fool." She smiled.

"Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that Gray will soon realize that things in life are not as simple as he thinks." Eliz turned away so her slightly evil smile wouldn't be seen. She was supposed to be the villainess. How could she not get her revenge? She would make sure that these two bastards wouldn't have it easy.

"I understand, my child. But what do you want to do now? Your reputation is damaged. Even though you handled the situation well, it still left a mark."

Eliz pondered this. She was at the story's beginning, but should she stick to it? What should she do next?

Of course, she wouldn't allow herself to be executed, but she remembered the reward she would receive if she got a follower. Ah, why should she stick to the script? The only thing she should avoid was death, right? The voice didn't make any more rules.

"Elizabeth?" Duke addressed his daughter.

Eliz turned to him. "Perhaps I should disappear from the public eye for a while. Why don't you leave me in charge of the Roseblood estate in the Eastern Province?" She asked.

The duke blinked. "Eastern Province? Do you mean the Blue Rose estate? But no one's been there in years. It's probably in terrible condition. The land will be neglected too, and we have long since relocated the residents to more prosperous areas."

"Then give me some more money, and I will fix everything. I will make it a prosperous place again." Eliz raised her hands to him, increasingly excited by the idea.

"Elizabeth, it's a long way and will take a lot of work and people..." The father hesitated.

So Eliz decided to use every daughter's secret weapon, guaranteed to work against any doting father.

She looked at him with an innocent puppy-dog look. "Please, Daddy."

"Ugh." The duke clutched at his heart as if an arrow had struck him.