In the servants’ quarters, Erf was fortunate enough to find some suitable clothing.

It was a bit ragged, but the owner was a neat fellow, so it was in pretty good shape.

Seeing him properly dressed, Pandora curled her lips into a tight line.

She thought people didn’t wear clothes, clothes wore people.

Even in a plain shirt and suspenders, Erf glowed.

Fearing that nonsense might spew out the moment she opened her mouth, Pandora moved her position with her lips tightly shut as if she had no lips.

She had been nagging Erf, saying things like “This isn’t the time” and “Focus,” but if she opened her mouth now, her strong desire to divert the topic and avoid the escape and other matters would be evident.

“Why are you so late?”

Back in the workshop, Frederick’s frosty eyes greeted them both.

He stood stiffly by the window, arms crossed, and glanced at Pandora and Erf as they entered.

Erf shrugged and returned the cloak to Frederick.

“I apologize. It was a matter of business…….”

“And does that excuse have anything to do with my head throbbing?”

Frederick accepted the cloak, referring to the time he was hit in the head and passed out.

Then he threw it out the window.

The cloak fluttered in the wind and landed in the garden.

“That one’s tainted, Pandora. I need to get a new one.”

Pandora nodded thoughtfully.

She had taken Frederick’s clothes and put them on Erf, so it was only right that she should take responsibility.

But Erf looked at her, embarrassed and apologetic.

Pandora smiled at him, reassuring him not to worry.

If Erf was the cat that jumped out of the canvas, Pandora was his owner.

And Pandora was a very wealthy owner, willing to throw money around for him.

“Should I send it to the Grand Duke?”

“No. Bring it to me yourself.”

Frederick glared, emphasizing the word “yourself”. He wanted to use this as an excuse to see Pandora one more time.

But Pandora heard his words with one ear and waved them away.

‘Ah, this personality.’

Pandora shook her head and told him what she had realized.

Frederick frowned a little more, but didn’t seem too surprised.

“So what do we do now?”

She calmly thought about the next step.

Erf answered Frederick’s question.

“We should probably head back to the maze first.”

Pandora chimed in.

“What if I draw another maze?”

“If our hypothesis is correct, we won’t go back, we’ll go to a new maze, and we’ll probably go deeper and deeper.”

“Then we’ll have to see if our hypothesis is correct.”

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that the mansion is empty.

Maybe everyone was out of town, or something happened in Pandora’s absence.

Maybe Pandora’s eye hasn’t gotten worse again, maybe it’s just a stroke of luck.

It was an optimistic thought, but she couldn’t rule it out.

“Let’s head out to the old town for now.”

???????? ?? ???

The three of them headed to the carriage to go out.

Of the three, Frederick was the only one who knew how to drive a carriage.

“…….”

“…….”

After a silent exchange of glances, Pandora led Erf and slowly climbed into the back seat of the carriage.

When Frederick looked at her, she froze.

“Pandora. You ride beside me. If I, the Grand Duke, is going to be a coachman for you, you’d better have a conscience.”

Pandora was about to blurt out, “What conscience?” when a square window appeared in front of her.

1. (Smiles shyly) Okay, I’ll sit next to you.

2. (Blushes) Ugh. Sure.

3. (Clicks her tongue) It’s noisy. Why don’t you just drive the carriage?

‘What is this…… what…… a dating sim……?’

Pandora’s mouth dropped open in disbelief as she looked at the three glittering options.

She doesn’t know why these options are here, as it should only appear when the female protagonist of the game ?Villain’s Way of Love? , Vivian, is pursuing the male leads.

Maybe the game service is down, or the option is at the wrong address.

Interesting, but…….

‘Do I really have to choose between these?’

All three were bad.

Why would she smile so shyly, and why would my cheeks blush? It’s not a ‘shy’ situation at all!

Plus, the last option was a bit rude.

They would have to walk a long way to the city center if an angry Frederick threw up his hands and refused to drive the carriage.

Pandora waved her hand to clear the square window.

Then a message popped up that said, “If you don’t make a choice within five seconds, it will automatically select anything.”

“Shit.”

Pandora hesitated, then quickly selected one.

“It’s noisy. Why don’t you just drive the carriage?”

It was the best and worst option.

Rationally, she should have picked the number one or two, since she was trying to please Frederick, but she would rather die than to make a shy face at the another man in front of Erf.

In any case.

? Favorability has increased by +5.

Suddenly, a number flashed above Frederick’s head.

The number was 40 when it appeared, and in the blink of an eye, it had changed to 45.

Frederick’s ears reddened as he glared at Pandora in annoyance.

Pandora shuddered at the ominous sensation running down her spine.

‘He likes it? Are you kidding me? The world is about to end, and you want me to play a real-life dating sim?’

She picked a lame line that would have made her look like an jerk, but it actually made her look more likeable.

‘That guy. He’s got some weird tastes…… I think he’s weird…….’

From what she could gather from the jar search box, northern Grand Dukes are generally good-hearted and like women who are warm as the sun.

This one, Grand Duke Frederick Bourbougue, seemed to have unusual tastes.

‘Hmm. That could be true. Let’s not make the error of hasty generalizations.’

Pandora decided to respect Frederick’s unusual tastes, and vowed to become a human sunbeam.

A warm ray of sunshine that giggles at every falling leaf.

‘I will always go against your tastes.’

Not knowing what Pandora was thinking, Frederick harnessed his two horses to the carriage and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Giddy up! The carriage set off towards the old town.

???????? ?? ???

The old town, about a half-hour’s ride from Pandora’s house, was bustling with people in the midst of a festival. Unlike the empty mansion, it was packed with so many people that the carriage could barely fit.

Stepping out of the carriage, Pandora caught a whiff of savory, sweet bread. Her mouth watered at the smell of delicious food wafting from everywhere.

The chatter of tourists. Street performers. Vendors hawking their wares.

The bustle and excitement of the festival had Pandora’s mind racing.

Hypothesis testing and whatever, escaping and all that.

She wanted to blend in with the crowd, grab an ice cream cone, and wander through the vendors’ stalls.

“Hey, Erf, look, there’s a bunny masked vendor giving out cotton candy!”

Couples on dates, families, and children were enjoying the festivities, grabbing cotton candy one by one.

“Wow! They’ve put up a huge balloon over there! Oh my! Later, when the sun sets, they’re having a lantern-launching event by the river! Maybe we can even enjoy a boat ride if we’re lucky!”

Pandora turned her head this way and that, reading what was written on the banners and posters. There were so many exciting events to think about.

The more excited she got, the more her head cooled down.

This place had to be fake, no matter how she looked at it.

‘There’s no way they’re having this much fun when the crown prince is missing.’

Pandora looked back at Frederick and Erf. They seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Now, how do we get back to the maze?

She could just wake up from the dream, but she had no idea where to go to find the exit to escape from a painting within a painting.

Moreover, the festival seemed to be a reflection of Pandora’s mind as she painted.

As she painted the mansion’s workshop on the dirt floor, she kept thinking to herself.

‘I can’t wait to get home, clear my name, and go on a date.’

All she wanted to do was run around and play with Erf in the lively streets of the city, and that’s how Pandora’s wish came to life in the form of a vibrant festival.

Suddenly, she thought to herself.

If this is a space that reflects her wishes.

If she fulfills her wishes, can she leave the painting?

Painting is an art of emotions.

Whether it’s negative or positive, the painting shows the artist’s emotions.

All of the paintings that the male leads were trapped in were paintings of Pandora’s emotions, so why not just release them?

Well, isn’t it that if you resolve the grudges of a ghost, they can achieve nirvana or something like that?

It’s a different story, but whatever. It was a theory worth testing. Although time is of the essence as she has one week to seal all six plagues…….

With no other option, Pandora decided to trust her instincts and judgment in the moment rather than wrack her brain for the right answer.

“Why don’t we fill our stomachs first?”

Pandora gestured excitedly to the food stalls.