Chapter 36
Adrian Theodor von Bregenz.
The Second Prince of the Bregenz Empire.
He was mentioned a few times through dialogue with other characters in the game, but I had never once encountered him directly during actual gameplay.
So, like the Tower Master, I thought he was just part of the world-building—someone the developers gave a backstory to, but never actually implemented in-game.
‘Well, I guess it makes sense if he’s royalty.’
I did suspect he might be the Crown Prince at one point. Hardcore Arc players knew that this sewer dungeon was technically royal property—intentionally abandoned for some mysterious reason.
But in the end, this suspicious knight wasn’t the Crown Prince or any known Swordmaster… He was someone completely new.
And that deeply unsettled me.
‘Why is everything diverging from the game?’
Up to now, my in-game knowledge had been useful.
But if this continues, what I know might become worthless.
My head ached. With the system’s future “objective” unknown, throwing in this kind of variable now felt like a death sentence.
If I get the execution ending, what happens to me?
Just then, Adrian abruptly asked a question.
“Why did he infiltrate the palace?”
That snapped me back to reality.
Right. Whatever the case, I was now face-to-face with a royal—one of the most authoritative figures in Arc’s universe.
I needed to stay calm.
“…He said he was commissioned to assassinate the Emperor. But he doesn’t know who gave the order—they wore a mask.”
“Interesting.”
He smirked. It looked like something out of a villain reveal scene.
A new theory popped into my mind.
‘Is he the villain?’
Maybe the reason he never appeared in the game is because he was secretly pulling the strings behind everything?
Considering Arc was constantly updated with new hidden lore, this wasn’t an impossible theory.
And royalty in Arc always had a shady side.
Just take the Crown Prince—one of the hardest, but most rewarding marriage targets in the game.
He looked perfect on the outside, but in true Arc fashion, he was far from normal.
Hermann developed obsessive tendencies as the romance deepened. Getting locked up once was practically standard procedure for his ending.
In short, if Randolph was a creepy deviant who role-played a savior while going overboard, Hermann was a dangerous yandere who imprisoned the woman he loved.
It was fun to play on PC. But in real life?
‘Absolutely not.’
Which meant I had to be cautious with his brother—the Second Prince, Adrian—as well.
Granted, we weren’t close or anything, but I just wanted to trade and move on. Once I sold him the magic stones, we’d have no further business.
So I firmly stated:
“That’s all I know. And I can’t dig further. I almost died just now thanks to the assassin guild master, and there’s no guarantee I’ll be safe going forward. So I’m done here.”
It sounded obvious, but it was the honest truth.
At least I knew Randolph’s identity. If he had been some random killer who didn’t hesitate to stab first and talk later, I’d be dead.
And dying here likely meant game over.
The system had made it clear: if I didn’t achieve my objective, I wasn’t going back to reality.
I wanted to live.
If I could survive a year and reach the ending the system talked about, then I’d get to return home.
“Anyway, as promised, I’d like to proceed with the magic stone trade. You remember, right?”
Maybe I had spoken too quickly. Adrian gave me a strange look, then nodded.
“…I remember. But we should at least introduce ourselves before the transaction.”
“Oh.”
Right. I had peeked at his info, but we hadn’t exchanged names formally.
I nodded.
“Yes. I’m Adelheid Ulmer, adopted daughter of Duke Ulmer.”
“…Duke Ulmer’s adopted daughter?”
As in the game, Adrian didn’t recognize me personally, but he did know that Duke Ulmer had taken in an adopted daughter. Either that, or he recognized me as the crazy girl the Duke had taken in.
He stared at me curiously for a moment, then calmly introduced himself.
“I am Adrian Theodor von Bregenz.”
“……”
“A prince of this Empire.”
With that, he removed his black mask.
Honestly, I wanted to play dumb, pretend I had no idea who he was…
But as the adopted daughter of a noble house, I couldn’t exactly pretend ignorance of a prince’s name.
“A-a-are you the P-Prince?! Oh my! I’m absolutely shocked! Oh my goodness gracious!”
I stumbled back, feigning surprise.
Even while acting, I could tell my performance was horrendous. But what choice did I have?
Feigning ignorance was my best move here.
…Why isn’t he saying anything? Should I throw in some flattery?
“It is an honor—no, a double honor—to serve under your orders, Your Highness. If my father knew I was assisting you in service of the Empire, he would be beyond delighted. And—”
“That’s enough.”
Adrian cut off my wild flattery with a single line.
“I’ll trade with you, as promised. Duke Ulmer’s adopted daughter.”
It was what I’d been waiting for.
And yet… I was so tense, I felt like my heart might explode.
Because what I was about to do… was bold—maybe suicidal.
I was going to increase the already generous price I’d been offered.
I mean, just twice the market price after all that suffering?
I nearly died. Twice the price? That was insulting.
Besides…
· Persuasion: 7 (+50)
I still had about three minutes left on my persuasion buff!
Would it work? I wasn’t sure—but it was worth a shot.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath and spoke solemnly.
“As Your Highness knows, I’m offering you a top-tier magic stone. The current market value is 25,000 darlings.”
“25,000?”
Adrian’s brow furrowed.
Well, yeah. That was five times the original price.
“Of course, I understand it sounds expensive. But this particular top-tier stone is so rare it’s on a different level even among its class…”
Even as a seasoned Arc player, I’d never tried to scam a prince before.
But I wasn’t doing this blindly—I had proof.
[Everything’s Going Downhill…]
Author: anon
Sent my daughter off to adventure, bought her weapons, sword lessons—went bankrupt lol
Then came a cold snap. Dungeon was blocked.
Got forced into unemployment due to karma lmao
Duke Ulmer won’t give allowance. Just yells when I ask.
Tried stealing Paula’s jewels twice. Now it’s like Fort Knox. Not even the White House is this tight.
Kid’s headed straight for a thief ending at this rate.
↳user1: Just go grave robbing?
↳author: Tried it. No graves left. RIP.
↳user2: Scam a love interest lol (glasses emoji)
↳author: How do I even do that T_T
↳user2: If you’ve built rapport with a noble character, accept their quest and scam them. Nobles love their pride—if you demand double the reward, they’ll usually agree. (link)
↳user3: If it’s a high-ranking noble, you don’t even need rapport. Just go for it.
With those forums and 1 minute 30 seconds of persuasion boost left…
I began what I called “persuasion”—but what was basically forceful haggling.
