Chapter 240: Quest 1003

—

[Quest 1003: Sincerely win her heart.]

How does one deal with a girl who has completely “darkened”?

There were many possible solutions. But ever since Will had felt the “witch’s” emotions through Leah, since he had responded to her in a way that brought her joy, and since he had given her the staff that helped her regain some clarity…

He decided to take this gentler path.

—To sincerely win them over.

To do this, he needed to analyze Treya’s “darkening” process using the information he had.

Using the current page as a draft, Will began jotting down everything he remembered.

From his earlier notes in The Quest System, he recalled:

The first key event was Treya’s birthday, where she had come to understand her “desires” and, as a result, earned the favor of a “demon.”

This allowed her to participate in the royal power struggle not as a naive “innocent princess,” but as someone wielding true Entark swordsmanship granted by demonic power.

Back in Novice Town, when their adventuring party had just formed, Will hadn’t noticed any strong “darkening” tendencies in Treya. She had seemed like a princess with slightly more cunning than before.

At most…

She had shown a somewhat strong desire to control him.

For instance, she had been completely opposed to him meeting Shuna—just like Leah. The only one who supported him at the time was Eir, who always stood by his side.

“…Maybe I should’ve noticed something back then,” Will muttered.

Then came…

The two months they spent apart.

Those two months created a significant distance between them, as Treya’s chosen path and Will’s diverged completely.

But thanks to the world’s gradually advancing technology, certain news traveled quickly, bridging that gap somewhat.

Something must have happened during those two months to push Treya further down the path of “darkening.”

“What could it have been?”

“If I had to guess…”

“It was probably that damned newspaper with the photo of me and Shuna together.”

After all, Leah had reacted the same way.

From Treya’s perspective, she might have believed that Will had left due to some political or family emergency. But then she saw him seemingly on vacation with another woman, living a carefree “couple adventurer” life. Honestly, even Will couldn’t blame her for being upset!

Still, this realization gave Will an important insight—

“If I want to truly understand her, maybe I need to approach this like profiling—by seeing things from Treya’s perspective.”

…

It was a calm morning in the royal palace. Warm sunlight streamed through the windows as Treya sat by the window. Though she felt excited inside, her expression remained cold as she took the newspaper handed to her by a subordinate—the one said to contain news about Will.

“Let me see where Professor Will is… Oh… here he is…”

“Professor Will wasn’t gone because of some urgent matter…”

“He’s just out there enjoying a happy ‘couple adventurer’ life with another woman…”

“No… he’s not that kind of person. Maybe… it’s because he has other ‘duties’ besides me…”

—These were the lines Will imagined Treya saying as he dramatically mimicked her cold tone while ensuring no one was around to hear him.

What a scumbag!

Will had fully immersed himself in that scenario.

While there was some misunderstanding involved…

The truth was, during his time adventuring with Shuna… well… it had been pretty enjoyable.

If he hadn’t enjoyed himself so much, he might’ve been able to lie to himself and call it a misunderstanding.

But he had enjoyed it. And now, he felt he had to take responsibility for that enjoyment.

“But she didn’t post the missing person notice immediately after learning about this. It took about two weeks. During that time…”

Will hit a bit of a roadblock in his analysis.

Those two weeks had been spent in Moonlit Frost, where time had been accelerated for him.

He had been… “missing.”

What felt like mere hours to him had translated into two weeks outside—a period during which he could neither send nor receive any information.

So what could have happened during those two weeks?

From the missing person notice she posted and the turmoil within the royal family, Will could infer something about her deeply hidden feelings—perhaps this was what she hoped her “Professor Will” would do for her.

First, the unrest within the Entark royal family led to the recall of three married princesses from outside the capital.

This likely served as the catalyst for Treya’s return to the capital from her northern destination.

Second, the Seventh Princess suddenly moved to impeach the Fourth Prince in what appeared to be a desperate attempt at self-preservation. The impeachment was highly successful, stripping the Fourth Prince of his long-held military power within just a week.

And this…

For “Will,” the most inconvenient part was…

He had mentioned this possibility to Treya before.

At this point, based on various descriptions, Treya didn’t seem to have taken any direct action regarding this matter…

When she was tense or anxious, she tended to focus intensely on one thing—like practicing swordsmanship—to calm herself down…

She would likely have spent hours swinging her sword while silently repeating in her mind—

“For the royal family, struggles like this are common. Yes, Professor Will told me so.”

“Do you know?”

“You told me yourself that something terrifying would happen.”

“So you should be here now, helping me like you always do.”

“But… where are you?”

“You’ve disappeared…”

“Do you not want to see me?”

—

Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!

Imagine it—the palace in chaos due to the loss of military power, and the one who had predicted all of this—”Professor Will”—not only failed to show up as he always did but also vanished entirely from Entark!

Treya’s stress levels must have skyrocketed!

No wonder she began posting missing person notices nationwide in search of him.

It wasn’t just about “capturing” him. It probably wasn’t even entirely her decision—given the state of the royal family, it was unlikely she could mobilize such resources on her own.

—

“Meanwhile, the long-standing tension between the Sixth Prince and Eighth Prince escalated into a ‘duel’…”

Unfortunately, Will hadn’t been able to learn the outcome of this duel from his eavesdropping on the streets. According to what people said, only members of the royal family and their close confidants were allowed to witness it.

This tied into another point Will had mentioned earlier—

For Treya, this duel represented yet another looming “crisis.”

“Although it was a duel between the Sixth Prince and Eighth Prince, Treya might have received an invitation as well. But…”

She would refuse.

She was an excellent student who trusted Will’s advice.

So…

As a dutiful member of the royal family, she would attend the duel on time but would not participate…

“Professor Will said this is dangerous…”

“So I shouldn’t get involved…”

“But… why haven’t you come back yet? Look—it’s exactly as you predicted. You showed me this dark path.”

“Please appear…”

“Professor Will…”

—

This version of Treya—written from Will’s perspective—was precisely why her “darkening” weighed so heavily on him.

In her own way, she burdened Will with an overwhelming sense of responsibility through her feelings.

And in doing so, she suffocated herself as well.

“Huff… Is this how you are, Treya?”

Some might criticize Treya for being too “fragile” and “lacking ambition” compared to other members of the royal family.

But Will understood…

In the original story—a narrative that maintained an overall lighthearted tone—Treya had been introduced as the most innocent and naive character. Yet she faced some of the most difficult circumstances and ended up with one of the most tragic fates.

Her royal family was overthrown. Her siblings crippled one of her eyes. And in the end, she bore the burden of “revenge,” leading what remained of Entark’s forces in an attempt to restore its former glory.

Because of this…

Will didn’t just teach her swordsmanship so she could defeat her destined opponent—the “Ghost Swordsman.”

He wanted her to survive—to live on with both eyes intact.

“So… what has she been doing recently?”

“If… if she still believes in me like she used to—even though I haven’t truly responded to her feelings…”

Will stared at the words on his page.

This wasn’t information he had gathered directly but rather something he inferred from every sunny afternoon he’d spent with Treya—

“Professor Will said I need to ally with…”

“His father.”

“Even though negotiating with others—especially those skilled at deception—is incredibly difficult…”

“I have to try.”

—

A bead of sweat formed on Will’s forehead.

It was hard to imagine that after all this time, the person he trusted least—the one he feared most and wanted to avoid above all else—was still his father.

Carver was like a visible manifestation of “fate’s darkness.” You knew it ran deep and hid countless secrets…

But you could never fully see what it was. He always stood just beyond your reach—one step outside your grasp within fate’s web of inevitable outcomes.

“She’ll meet with Carver—or maybe she already has—but… this isn’t good timing.”

Will regretted telling Treya too early that “those who control dungeon resources will be the winners.” Perhaps he shouldn’t have introduced Carver into her plans so soon.

“No, no, no…”

Panic began creeping into Will’s thoughts as he flipped to the next page in his notebook.

[Reward: Princess Treya.]

Right. There were no other options now.

“Tomorrow—if that sword isn’t ready by then—I’ll go find Treya myself. Before Carver makes his move, there’s still time…”

Looking out at the moonlit and starry window before him, Will saw his faint reflection growing dimmer as his candle burned low and night deepened further.

It was time for him to rest.

Tomorrow, he’d wait at the blacksmith shop. After all, if Treya had a proper weapon, she could gain an advantage in any potential “duel.”

Having analyzed everything up to this point, Will felt confident about how he would save Treya—and how he would be “sincere” when they met again.

He extinguished the candle and stared at his darkened desk. There was no longer a thick copy of The Quest System sitting there. But having seen that book so many times before, its image lingered like an afterimage in his mind.

Something felt off…

Ever since waking from that dream earlier today, that sense of unease hadn’t left him—it was what drove him to sit here and review everything so thoroughly.

Had he missed something?

Misjudged… something?

No, that couldn’t be… This was all calculated based on his knowledge of fate—and his deep understanding of Treya, whom he had personally nurtured.

Everything should…

Be fine.

—Just like before.

—Right?