Chapter 4

Daisy and I arrived at the player plaza.

Mom, Dad, and Asher immediately rushed to Daisy's side, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Seeing Daisy’s swollen face, they nearly cried with heartache.

My half-brother, Asher, launched into a furious rant at me.

"How did you protect Daisy? You're her sister, for crying out loud!"

"Do you think this is a horror dungeon for sightseeing?"

"Useless trash."

Seeing this, Daisy let two perfect tears trail down her cheeks.

"Mom, Dad, Asher, boohoohoo, my face… Alice hit me!"

"Alice! How dare you!"

Asher raised his hand, intending to slap me.

I stepped back, my voice cold.

"Don't forget what the system said."

"Besides, this is a role-playing dungeon. Daisy, as my maid, was bossing me around. Is that my fault?"

"It seems you only see Daisy as your daughter. If that's the case, there's no need to acknowledge me either."

Asher angrily retracted his hand.

Mom and Dad exchanged glances, then tried to soothe me.

"It's Mom and Dad's fault for not asking clearly, but you shouldn't just hit your sister."

They were heartbroken for Daisy, immediately using a high-grade healing card on her.

I held out my hand to them.

"What about me? You just cursed me out, and Asher almost hit me. No compensation?"

Asher wanted to curse me again, but Mom held him back.

She shook her head at him gently.

Then handed me two low-tier Pain Nullifier cards.

"Alice, Mom and Dad don't have many cards left. These are all we have. Take them."

…

Besides us five, there were seven other players in the plaza.

This was a twelve-player dungeon.

The difficulty wasn't too high; after all, the first dungeon is rarely too hard.

The remaining players, hearing I was the bride-to-be, showed envious glances.

"Sister, you're really lucky. As long as you don't actively court death, you won't die."

"Ah, a bride-to-be. That's a one-in-a-million chance to draw that role."

"Yeah, yeah, unlike me, I'm a damn brothel madam. Dealing with guests and the girls, I'm exhausted."

"Heh, who's worse than me? I'm a vagrant… My Act One quest was to eat trash to gain sympathy from nobles. I literally threw up!"

Tragic, truly tragic.

My parents were the white-clad prince's parents, also characters designed to be almost unkillable, unless they actively seek trouble.

Hearing this, I was even more relieved. If I had chosen the white-clad prince, who knows how those two would have tormented me to death.

Asher, he was my half-brother. Yes, the Earl's daughter's half-brother.

The other players grew increasingly envious.

"Your family is really lucky. These are all hard-to-draw roles."

I snorted. This wasn't luck; it was a special ability.

Only Daisy gritted her teeth in frustration.

She was probably thinking she shouldn't have given me the bride-to-be role.

The system notified, two minutes of rest time remaining.

After exchanging intel, the other players dispersed.

Only us five remained in the plaza.

The few of them exchanged glances, then grabbed my hand.

"Alice, you chose the black-clad young man?"

"Oh no, that's wrong! Why didn't you listen to Daisy? It's a trap!"

"This dungeon, though simple, has many traps! That's the biggest one!"

"Listen to Mom and Dad. Later, you just tell the Prince you made a mistake, that you want to marry the servant outside."

"The Prince likes you so much, he'll definitely agree. You're both Mom's darlings, Mom really can't lose you!"

She said, wiping away tears that weren't there.

Crocodile tears.

I gave a few perfunctory replies and returned to Maxwell Manor.

The maids were waiting to do my hair and makeup.

My hair was styled by my game mother herself.

She wept as she did it.

"Alice, if that Julian boy dares to bully you, tell Mom! Mom will go teach him a lesson!"

"You're my only daughter, boohoohoo."

She continued, tears streaming down her face.

I sighed. My game mother was better than my real parents.

I turned and hugged her, my voice light.

"Don't worry, Mother. Julian is someone you've watched grow up. He cares for me too much to ever bully me."

She slipped a bracelet from her wrist onto mine.

I touched it and nearly laughed out loud.

Aside from its valuable price, just feeling its texture,

I estimated it was a dungeon item.

Brilliant, just brilliant!

This truly was a good role!

After getting ready, I waited for the carriage.

But I didn't expect Asher to be so impatient.

He actually came directly to my courtyard.

But he was smarter than Daisy; he paid his respects to Mrs. Maxwell first.

Mrs. Maxwell's face tightened when she saw Asher.

"Are you here to bring your sister a wedding gift?"

Asher paused, then bowed.

"Mother, may I have a moment alone with my sister?"

Mrs. Maxwell's brows furrowed deeply.

"Impudent! Your sister is getting married today. Not only do you not bring a congratulatory gift, but you want to talk to her privately? What could you possibly want to discuss?"

"Get out! I won't say it a second time."

Asher gritted his teeth, pulling a small box from his sleeve.

"Sister, this is my wedding gift for you. Don't despise it."

I took the box and opened a tiny slit.

My eyes widened.

It was an item card!

A high-tier defensive card, a protective shield.

He must have really gone all out just to talk to me.

Mrs. Maxwell's expression softened. She sat in her chair, picking up a teacup.

"Speak your mind then, don't dilly-dally."

After a while, Asher realized she had no intention of leaving.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then leaned close to me, lowering his voice.

"Alice, I'm your brother, I wouldn't harm you."

"Mom and Dad used an item card and learned part of the story. You absolutely must say it when Julian comes to pick you up."

I tilted my head.

"Say what?"

"Say you won't marry him, that you want to marry that servant!"

I looked at my freshly manicured nails, a light laugh escaping my lips.

"Brother, are you suggesting that I, the esteemed daughter of the Earl, marry a mere stable boy?!"

My voice wasn't intentionally lowered.

It reached Mrs. Maxwell's ears perfectly.