Lathel stared at the system prompt, his brain short-circuiting.
'What the hell?' he cursed inwardly. 'System! Are you insane? Forcing me to pick Choice 3 — are you kidding me?'
The first two choices gave a decent amount of Exp, but apart from that they offered nothing but useless items.
And yet they matched the script.
Choice 3, however, offered not only 1,000,000 gold coins and an S.VIP membership card for Spring Garden, but also an Active Resurrection.
Wasn't the System basically forcing him to pick option three?
[You've got it backwards, buddy. There's a difference between 'following the script' and 'completing the script'.]
"Heh?!" Hearing the System's voice, Lathel frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
[Simple. What you think of as "following the script" means you're trying to imitate the exact events in the script I showed you beforehand.]
["Completing the script," on the other hand, means you must give each person the ending they truly want — let them be satisfied and live happily when this "story" ends.]
Ah! Lathel seemed to catch on. So… I don't have to act out every single beat exactly as written. I only need to help people achieve their goals, give them satisfying endings, and then I'll be considered to have "completed the script," right?
[Bingo! Took you long enough. So here's the deal—the choices I give you won't always match the script word-for-word.]
[After all, this is a real world. Each person has their own thoughts; their actions won't always line up with what's written in a novel. That means your work will be complicated.]
Lathel listened and at last clearly understood his situation.
To put it precisely: the script can change. He didn't have to act out every prewritten detail literally.
He only needed to help everyone reach their intended goals and find happiness — then he would have truly "completed the script."
So… the question now was: what endings did each person want?
'Easy question. Male leads in these novels always end up the same way—godlike power, peak of humanity, every hot girl in the world. Simple.'
The female leads want one thing: to be admitted into the male lead's harem.
[Why are you so certain?] the System asked curiously.
'Why? Because I've read a hundred of these stories. They all end the same way,' Lathel answered the System with certainty.
While Lathel conversed with the System, Catrina gazed at the vivid bouquet full of colors, then looked again at Lathel. Her eyes softened as she watched him, though something flickered there—disappointment, maybe. Or was it jealousy?
Of course, Arina and Alex paid no attention to Catrina—their gazes were fixed on Lathel, waiting to see what he would do.
'Huh!' Alex sneered internally. 'Just a clown playing dress-up. He thinks his mother's status protects him? The Northern War God's disciple doesn't fear some duchess's spoiled brat.'
'Heaven's wide open for him, but he'd rather walk into hell. Fine by me. Today, if he dares to confess or come near Arina, I'll break his leg.'
Alex thought it and wore a contemptuous smile.
The surrounding nobles began gossiping loudly.
"Hahaha… Finally! The show's about to start."
"Wait, wait—I need to record this."
"Wow! That's a 'Memory Snapshot Stone,' isn't it? I heard those are expensive."
"Hahaha… it's fine," one of the nobles said with a grin. "You can use a Memory Snapshot Stone multiple times. Just erase the old images with magic and record again. With something this entertaining happening tonight, not using it would be a crime!"
Hearing that, others quickly activated their own Memory Snapshot Stones, eager to capture everything about to unfold.
"I bet Arina's going to curse Lathel out like a dog."
"No way. Look at her—she's already on the verge of snapping. I'll wager ten thousand gold coins that she's going to blast him with magic."
"Look at Alex—his fists are clenched. God, I hope they fight. That'd be worth the price of admission!"
"Hahaha… I hope so too."
The crowd buzzed with excitement, but Lathel ignored them entirely. He was focused only on his conversation with the System.
[You sure about this? Every choice has consequences, you know.]
'Of course!' Lathel responded in thought. 'Giving flowers to Catrina is harmless. It's not like she's gonna fall for me over some flowers. She's still gonna end up with Alex.'
'Relax. It's the best option anyway. I'll even get an Active Resurrection—perfect for emergencies.'
'Besides, when has a heroine ever fallen for the villain in these trashy novels? Never!'
[Ah… fine! I was just reminding you. The final decision is yours.]
[Ding! Choice confirmed!]
The mechanical chime of the System echoed in his head.
Lathel gestured for the servant to step back. Taking the vibrant bouquet himself, he walked forward—straight toward Arina.
Arina's brows furrowed instantly, her eyes brimming with disgust and loathing.
Alex clenched his fists tightly, teeth grinding. 'How dare this useless bastard even look at my woman? Seems like he's tired of living.'
Arina inhaled sharply, crossing her arms and snapping, "Lathel! I've told you countless times that I—heh?!"
She froze mid-sentence.
Lathel had walked right past her.
The entire hall fell silent as he stopped in front of Catrina.
He smiled warmly, offering the bouquet to her and spoke gently, "Aunt Catrina, thank you for coming to my birthday celebration. These flowers are for you. Please, accept them."
Everyone: "…"
Alex: "…"
Arina: "…"
The hall went dead silent. You could hear people breathing.
No one saw that coming. Not a single person. They just stood there, frozen, trying to process what just happened.
The entire hall stood frozen.
Even Catrina herself couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
"This… Lathel, Arina is over there," she said softly, biting her lip.
"Hahaha… Aunt Catrina," Lathel replied with a natural smile, "as I said, this bouquet is for you."
"For me? But…" Catrina glanced toward Arina, who was staring in utter disbelief. Taking a deep breath, her heart fluttered wildly like a startled deer as she asked, "Lathel, why?"
"Hm…" He frowned in thought, then said calmly, "Aunt Catrina, ever since I came to this kingdom, you've helped me so much. So… I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me."
"Ah… I—" Catrina hesitated, torn between refusing and accepting the gift.
At that moment, Lathel's tone softened. "Aunt Catrina, do you… not like it?"
"No! I love it." The words came out before she could stop them. When she saw the sadness on his face, her chest tightened painfully. "Thank you, Lathel."
As Catrina buried her face in the bouquet, Lathel caught something in her eyes—something that made his stomach drop.
It wasn't gratitude.
It wasn't surprise.
It was... hunger.
[Congratulations! You've triggered a Hidden Route.]
[Warning: Proceed with caution.]
Lathel: "Heh?!"
But he didn't have much time to look at the System notification, and hurriedly handing her the bouquet. "I hope you'll continue to look after me. After all, I'm just an ordinary, fragile person."
"Of course." Catrina lifted the bouquet, hiding half her face behind the blossoms so no one could see her cheeks glowing red—like ripe apples, beautiful and radiant.
"You… you…" Arina stammered, pointing at Lathel. "What the hell are you doing, Lathel?!"
"Hm?" Lathel tilted his head in confusion and replied calmly, "Can't you see? I'm giving flowers to your mother."
"You bastard!" Arina's voice cracked like thunder. Her red hair started rising on its own—no wind, pure magic surging out of control.
"Arina! What are you doing?" Catrina snapped. "Lathel merely offered me flowers to thank me. What are you thinking?"
"Mother!" Arina, furious and unsettled, stammered, "He… he must have bad intentions toward you."
Catrina sighed, about to say more when she saw a dark figure lunging at Lathel.
She moved without thinking—one second she was holding flowers, the next she was standing between Alex and Lathel, her body a shield.
Whoosh!
Krit!
Alex skidded to a stop, one foot digging into the floor as he slid forward. He looked up at Catrina, puzzled. "Mother! Move aside!"
"Alex, what do you intend to do?" Catrina frowned.
Alex ground his teeth. "I plan to kick his leg to break it because—"
"Back! Off!" Two words. Cold as ice, sharp as a blade. Even Lathel felt a chill run down his spine..
'So women can be terrifying when angry,' Lathel thought, suddenly feeling fearful.
"Mother! I—" Alex tried to speak, but Catrina's words cut him off: "Are you not listening to me?"
Alex met Catrina's steel-cold gaze and felt a swell of discomfort. Then, a thought crossed his mind about why she acted this way.
Maybe she's protecting me, Alex reasoned. 'That must be it. If I break his leg, his mother—the Duchess—will certainly make trouble for Catrina.'
"Hahaha… Mother, don't worry. I'm the sole disciple of the Northern War God. How could trash like him ever harm me?"
'But… if the Duchess exerts pressure on Catrina, it could get messy. Better to stop for now.'
Alex narrowed his eyes and slowly retreated. "Sorry, Mother."
"Don't call me 'Mother'. I still don't acknowledge you as my son-in-law." Catrina frowned. "Leave."
Alex slowly turned and exited the grand hall. He walked down a dark corridor, one hand shoved in his pocket, the other gripping a small gem. He crushed it with force.
Crack!
The little gem shattered into countless streaks of light that swirled around Alex's hand.
He flicked his wrist and traced a strange sigil in the air. The symbol glowed faintly, then faded.
From the shadows, Alex sneered, "Lathel, Killing you would be too easy, Lathel. No... I'll take everything from you first. Your wealth. Your status. Then your mother—she'll make a fine trophy."
"Hahahaha…" Alex forced a laugh, then his figure dissolved into the darkness.