Chapter 82 – Divorce (8)

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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[There is 1 message from the game developer. Would you like to check it?]

“…”

Actually.

I could not easily open that message.

So far, two people had been revealed as ‘game developers.’

A certain man who was the CEO of Cthulhu Games.

And my mother, the CEO of Salvation Project.

Assuming it was the CEO of Cthulhu Games who started this possession, it was highly likely that the one who sent this message was also that man.

However, since the game that man made was merely a dating sim at the start, it could also be my mother who left a message for me through the system.

One might wonder why I hesitated to open the message sent by my mother, but…

‘But I have been resenting that person all this time.’

What if I opened the message and inside was written some kind of circumstance where she had no choice but to abandon me?

If I could go and hear it in person after logging out, I could argue or at least say something, but I did not want to hear it unilaterally in a place like this.

‘This… next time.’

In the end, I gave up on opening the message.

Praying that what was written inside was, hopefully, not important.

* * *

The next day.

I got scolded by Luna because I forgot to pick her up after leaving her with the commander.

I quietly looked at Luna, who was angry with me.

‘If Luna Moon is indeed my mother, and this guy is also the real Haydam… does that make him my older brother?’

[I told you, I’m not Haydam!]

Anyway.

I headed to Daphne’s mansion with Shin Eun-jo.

Along with a few preparations.

Shin Eun-jo looked back and forth between the object I handed over and me, then asked.

“……What is this?”

“The key to opening Daphne’s heart.”

At that, Shin Eun-jo’s expression became subtle.

“These are… tarot cards. And extremely crude ones at that.”

“Hey, don’t call them crude. I worked hard to make them all night.”

Although I failed to open the game developer’s message last night in the end, I pondered hard on how I could meet Daphne and hear her inner thoughts.

The tarot cards were the result of that contemplation.

“What on earth are we supposed to do… with these tarot cards?”

“You just need to utilize your major.”

“So what is that?”

“Tarot reading.”

[What is a tarot reading?]

‘Should I call it a skill that can read inner thoughts…?’

[You asked me if I had a lie-detection function, and now you made one yourself?]

‘Well, something like that.’

Unlike the naive Luna, Shin Eun-jo resisted stubbornly.

“Cut that tarot reading crap. I’m a shaman.”

“No, listen. I know you’re a shaman too.”

“You know?”

“But if you say you’re a shaman, do you think Daphne would just accept it?”

“Are you saying she’ll accept a tarot reading as normal?”

“At least tarot readings fit roughly into the worldview.”

“…”

Shin Eun-jo was speechless for a moment as if dumbfounded, then let out a sigh.

“…Seriously, I don’t know how to read tarot cards.”

“It’s fine. I’m not asking you to really read them. You just have to pretend to know what you’re doing.”

“Pretend to know?”

“When Daphne picks a card, you just look serious and ask if she has any troubles regarding a man.”

At that, Shin Eun-jo nodded as if she understood what I meant.

“Simply put, you’re telling me to scam her.”

[You think of nothing but scamming people.]

Since this scam is not for my own benefit, I hope you will overlook it generously.

“No, more than that, troubles regarding a man? Are you still curious about Daphne’s thoughts on Meursault? I’ve told you repeatedly, Meursault is not a capture target.”

All the way to Daphne’s mansion, Shin Eun-jo muttered that she did not understand why she had to dig up thoughts about Meursault even by performing a tarot scam.

To that Shin Eun-jo, I said only one thing.

“When you meet Daphne, open Character Info.”

“……?”

“By the way, it’s a secret that we are players. Act like a child who knows nothing as much as possible.”

Shin Eun-jo looked at me with a face that asked what on earth I was talking about.

It must have seemed strange to her that I told her to look at an NPC’s Character Info, and that I reminded her once again to keep the fact that we are players a secret.

But in a little while, everything would make sense.

“It’ll be best if you don’t get too surprised.”

Giving Shin Eun-jo a final warning, I entered Daphne’s mansion holding Luna in my arms.

With a pure white fur draped over her shoulders, which I had seen before, a dazzlingly beautiful silver-haired woman came down the stairs.

Because I had been hit by that beauty before, I had changed my title in advance to neutralize the item effect, but Shin Eun-jo was dazed for a moment.

“I heard you’ve been carrying a cat around lately… but you have another companion?”

Daphne had a face of surprise that I had brought a companion.

Since she must have thought I came to ask about the reason she refused to meet Meursault, it would have been even more puzzling that I brought an unfamiliar person.

Nevertheless, Daphne smiled gently at Shin Eun-jo.

“You must be that child from the rumors. Follow me. I will treat you to warm tea.”

While following Daphne’s guidance, Shin Eun-jo whispered to me.

“Was it to not be surprised because she is too beautiful?”

How could that be?

‘Character Info.’

I only mouthed the words, and fortunately, Shin Eun-jo seemed to understand and shifted her gaze toward Daphne.

And a moment later, Shin Eun-jo’s expression twisted bizarrely.

As if she were someone who had seen something she shouldn’t have.

She must have been surprised by the fact that she was a player, too.

‘Meursault’s Wife is a rather shocking nickname, after all.’

However, if she learned about that nickname and the fact that Daphne was a player, she would understand why I had said it was Daphne’s side that wanted the divorce.

Arriving at the salon where artworks were placed, we sat facing each other across a small tea table.

As soon as I sat down, I asked Daphne.

“Why did you refuse to meet Meursault?”

When I asked this, there were two expected reactions.

If Daphne became flustered by my question while minding the presence of Shin Eun-jo, an unfamiliar stranger, it would not be bad.

In that case, if I remained alone to listen to her story, there was a high possibility she would honestly tell me her circumstances.

However.

“You are still young, so you don’t know well, Haydam. The only men who can enter my mansion are Hayden and Haydam, just the two.”

It was not good to act as if she had no idea what I was talking about like this.

I clearly remembered her telling me that she would summon the courage to confess to Meursault, so seeing her say that now, it was highly likely that there was a change of heart in the meantime, and due to that, she was trying to dismiss everything she had said so far as if it never happened.

‘I prepared the tarot reading because I thought this would happen.’

In this case, it was better for me to leave this spot.

Even if I stayed here, Daphne would only show that kind of mechanical smile.

As I stood up, Daphne showed a surprised expression.

Looking at her eyes shaking slightly in anxiety, it was clear she was hiding something.

“Actually, I came to ask you to look after this child today. Since my surroundings are swarming with only dark, gloomy men, there is no one to watch over her.”

“Ah…! So that’s why you brought her.”

“Could you keep her company as a conversation partner for today?”

“That’s not difficult. Since a guest of Haydam is as good as my own guest.”

Seeing that I had no intention of asking more about Meursault, Daphne felt visibly relieved and willingly accepted my proposal.

Shin Eun-jo, who had been sitting with a thoughtful face, looked at me with a betrayed face for a moment, not expecting me to dump all the remaining work on her and leave, but she soon looked at Daphne and smiled shyly.

[It’s too much to dump her on me and leave like this.]

‘A girl who even played the role of a cult leader in her own zone won’t fail to butter up Daphne.’

[Still, she’s a bit pitiful.]

‘No need to feel pity. Because you have to stay too.’

[What?!]

‘We have to watch to make sure Shin Eun-jo doesn’t say useless things to Daphne, right?’

[Eeek…!!]

Luna was helplessly lowered from my arms and transferred into Shin Eun-jo’s arms.

At any rate, rather than me, who was Hayden’s son and Meursault’s closest confidant, Shin Eun-jo, a complete stranger, would be a much easier person to open up to.

Above all, Daphne was careful with her words because she knew I was not an ordinary child.

She wouldn’t dream that the person left in front of her was a veteran player even more tenacious than me.

* * *

Shin Eun-jo returned to the commander’s residence only when it was close to evening.

Finding me idling on the bed in my room, I saw Shin Eun-jo’s fists trembling.

“How was it? Did you talk well?”

[Haydam is a dummy!]

Having returned in Shin Eun-jo’s arms, Luna shouted that in a pout and went back inside the ring.

Was it a bit too much to leave her in someone else’s hands twice in a row?

Unlike Luna, Shin Eun-jo, who seemed to have resigned herself to being abandoned by me, plopped down on the bed and spoke.

“I don’t want to admit it… but the tarot reading was a good idea.”

“Really? How did it go?”

“I did exactly as you told me. Then, before she even picked a few cards, she told me everything.”

Fortunately, the tarot reading strategy seemed to have worked.

Actually, even if she had brought some other counseling-like thing instead of tarot reading, Daphne would have opened up.

Since she was a person who told me all of her stories like an explosion of built-up emotions as soon as she learned I knew she was a player.

“So… why did she change her mind?”

“She was afraid.”

“She was afraid?”

I sat up straight and asked.

“Of what? Confessing to Meursault?”

“No. Divorcing Commander Hayden.”

“Hmm?”

Blinking my eyes, unable to understand why she was afraid of divorcing Commander Hayden at this point, Shin Eun-jo continued with a sigh.

“I heard that you cleared out two pro-Daphne executives recently. Max and Anton.”

“No, I didn’t do that. They brought it upon themselves.”

“If those two had preserved their power fully, Daphne wouldn’t have feared divorce. But after you purged the pro-Daphne faction… I think even I would be afraid of divorcing Commander Hayden.”

Ah, did it get tangled there?

So all of Daphne’s previous words about wanting to divorce the commander were sincere.

That was strictly a story when she held power equal to the commander.

Now, no matter how one looked at it, power had tilted toward the commander.

Because of that situation, I judged that divorcing Daphne would cause little damage to the commander, but conversely, it became something that would inevitably deal a heavy blow to Daphne.

I hadn’t thought that far, but now I understand why Daphne’s attitude changed.

“Since I told her to divorce my father and marry Meursault after clearing out her close aides, it was reasonable for Daphne to suspect my real intentions.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“If she can’t divorce because she’s afraid, I just have to make her not afraid.”

“Given your personality, it’s not like you’ll reinstate Anton…”

Of course not.

Because there is someone else to solve this.

* * *

“…What did you just say, Master Haydam?”

Meursault asked back, looking as if he doubted his own ears.

“To make Lady Daphne divorce… what did you say we have to do?”

I smiled and repeated exactly what I had said to Meursault just a moment ago.

Meursault looked at me with a face that lost its words for a moment.

“…Do you seriously think that is possible? No, in the first place, this is just madness!”

“Didn’t you know, Meursault?”

Marriage is originally a crazy thing.