‘The Empress ordered me to keep an eye on you? I don’t get the situation at all.’
That was the first thought that crossed my mind.
‘For starters, that guy is definitely an idiot.’
That was the next thought that followed.
I didn’t know what the Empress wanted from me or what commands she had given him, but I was pretty sure that her blatant order to surveil me didn’t mean anything good.
Who actually says, “I’m going to watch you,” and expects not to intimidate the target’s actions? The very act of saying it must be to achieve some kind of ulterior motive.
However, listening to this guy, it seemed that he truly intended to keep an eye on me. This was no casual statement—he was serious.
‘Nothing has changed from the game.’
The commander of the Golden Dusk Knights was one of those NPCs who prided himself on his skills and would constantly engage in self-aggrandizing antics—essentially, a comedic character. Plus, his personality was total trash.
Of course, unlike the equally narcissistic lord of this city, who made a nuisance of himself to everyone, this guy lived only for his own amusement, making his case somewhat different.
It’s typical in narratives that when two rival factions exist, one is composed of the virtuous and righteous, aiding the protagonist, while the other is corrupt and obstructive. The two knight orders in the imperial palace followed the same pattern.
The Silver Dawn Knights can become full-fledged allies, joining the protagonist depending on story progression and route choices. On the other hand, the Golden Dusk Knights had none of that.
‘And their capabilities are worse, too.’
All the commanders of the Silver Dawn Knights were named bosses with soundtracks for the battles, while the regular members absorbed by the Golden Dusk Knights were simply mobs with the special title “Elite.”
Contrarily, the members of the Golden Dusk Knights were referred to straightforwardly as “Knights of the Imperial Palace.” Moreover, even the only commander in front of me was treated like a mid-boss, not a true boss.
It was clear what the creator wanted to convey.
“Who are you watching right now?”
“Hey, quit the nonsense and just explain already, will you? I’m starting to get really angry. What are you doing to our newbie?”
Lize’s gaze turned icy at the mention of surveillance, while Claudia, who had approached silently, tightly gripped her shoulder. Claudia’s eyes glinted with an equal intensity, showing how furious she was too.
The Golden Knight shot back without a hint of hesitation.
“I’ve told you repeatedly. It’s the Emperor’s command. For the next two weeks, I’ve been ordered to watch over the newbie knight who has just joined your Silver Dawn Knights.”
“Newbie, did you do something wrong?”
“Not that I can recall?”
“Why on earth would the Emperor…”
“I don’t know either. That’s why we’re in this situation.”
The three of us exchanged bewildered comments, looking at each other in confusion.
It was true.
I had welcomed the Emperor as I had in the game, responded to his inquiries as I couldn’t not reply, and the only attack I had blocked was one that would have certainly killed me otherwise.
There was really nothing particular that stood out afterward. Aurora was the one who followed the Emperor around; I had simply remained silent and trailed behind.
The Emperor hadn’t bothered to talk to me as I followed along quietly.
‘……Where did it all go wrong?’
Since this was a completely new experience, the absurdity began to fade, and the doubts started creeping in. I thought I was following the main story of the game perfectly.
In the end, I had joined the Silver Dawn Knights, defeated the Headless Armored Cavalier, dealt with the lord using a demon, and had a safe encounter with the Emperor.
While the details had indeed differed considerably from the game, it was only due to the mod changing the outward appearances and personalities of the characters, which was unavoidable.
Yet somehow, an event I had never seen occurred.
The Emperor sends the commander of the Golden Dusk Knights to surveil the player—that was an entirely unheard-of scenario. I hadn’t even heard of anyone else having such an experience.
Could this be a hidden event in the game? I briefly considered that thought but quickly dismissed it.
Brightest Darkness 4 had been fully data-mined by users already; if there had been a hidden route, it would have been dissected and the guides posted in the community by now.
‘Wait a minute. Did their personalities change too?’
As this thought struck, I inexplicably felt I was getting closer to understanding the reason for the current situation.
The genders and appearances of the NPCs had shifted, and naturally, their personalities followed suit. Honestly, it seemed like counting the characters that hadn’t changed would be quicker.
Thus, it was only natural that reactions to the player’s actions were altered as well.
‘……Ugh.’
As I realized I hadn’t figured out this simple fact until now, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
What if the Emperor’s personality had also changed, just like the others? Instead of simply praising me for blocking his attacks, he might actually find himself intrigued by me?
‘I’ve got some thinking to do.’
I might have been completely mistaken in my thoughts up until now. It looked like serious contemplation was necessary.
“…….”
I needed to think, but time was running out.
‘Ah, this is ridiculously annoying, seriously.’
Even now, I felt the footsteps of the Golden Knight trailing a few meters behind me, making my skin crawl.
Lize, who had accompanied me while hunting the monsters, was a much better watch. Actually, under that kind of gaze, I could have accepted it cheerfully—after all, a busty beauty was smiling sweetly at me.
But this guy was different. Since he openly declared he was watching me, he hadn’t taken his eyes off me for a moment.
Whether I roamed inside the castle, ate in the dining hall, or went to slay monsters for leveling, there was always the sight of golden armor lurking somewhere in my peripheral vision.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t even focus on leveling properly after taking down the monsters. There was no way I could distribute my stats while he was watching.
Even more maddening was the fact that I was only two days into this surveillance ordeal. Just two days of this was already enough to drive me insane, but I now faced two full weeks of it—my mind was nearly going blank.
A few days ago, when Iris and Erica returned from their patrol, they were equally baffled by the situation, but it seemed they, too, had no real means to shake it off.
Despite being a blatantly arrogant and prideful person, he was, after all, the commander serving the Emperor in the Imperial Palace.
This meant he wouldn’t simply throw around the Emperor’s name as a lie. The very fact that the Emperor had ordered him to watch me raised the question of how we could stop it.
But while we lacked solutions, it seemed like I wasn’t the only one irritated by this guy; the other commanders felt the same way.
“Hey, newbie. What’s with that guy?”
“I don’t know. I can understand the minds of smart people, but I can’t fathom an idiot’s mind at all.”
“Fair point. He does seem a bit dim-witted.”
“I think he heard that.”
“I’m saying it for him to hear. It’s annoying as hell having him here!”
Lize and I whispered to each other while clashing wooden swords. The Golden Knight was taking notes on everything, as slick as a henpecked husband. Lize rolled her eyes in annoyance at that.
What on earth is he jotting down? I checked briefly and saw it was a notebook chronicling my movements.
It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but ask why on earth he was writing such things, only to find out he was also writing that I asked him why he was writing such things. I mean, this isn’t some historian from the Joseon Dynasty—what is the point of that?
‘It’s so distracting, I can’t think straight.’
I have a mountain of issues to contemplate, yet he was stealing every bit of focus I had. With an exhausted sigh, Lize and I adjusted our stances again.
“So, we’re stuck like this for a while?”
“Probably. It’s a bit uncertain since things don’t come with warnings, but we don’t have a set schedule at the moment. As long as nothing else happens, we should have no obligations.”
We exchanged words while swinging our wooden swords. The thud, thud of them hitting each other echoed rhythmically in the training ground.
Ultimately, the story itself seemed to require me reaching level 20 and unlocking runes to progress. While I couldn’t be entirely certain yet.
As I deflected all of Lize’s three hits, my body suddenly felt heavier. I repositioned my legs and steadied my posture. The combat fatigue slowly dissipated, and my senses gradually returned.
‘To remove this debuff, I need to level up quickly.’
Thinking about when I’d reach level 20, I couldn’t help but sigh. That was indeed the problem.
Unlike in the game, where you could easily take down all the mobs in a region and rest at a base before returning to find them respawned in perfect health, now I had to wait a specific amount of time.
After circling the area and wiping out the nearby monsters, leveling up left me with unoccupied time while I waited for respawns.
Little by little, I started sensing that while I was in a game-like world, it wasn’t really a game.
“Pathetic.”
‘……Huh?’
Just as I was calculating in my mind that I’d probably hit level 20 after one or two more rotations, I heard a mocking voice from somewhere.
The source was, of course, the Golden Knight, still tailing me.
“Hey, what did you just say?”
Lize reacted aggressively, growling back. The golden knight replied yet again, unfazed.
“I said it’s pathetic. It’s plainly evident the level of sparring.”
“Since you’ve come to watch the newbie, how about you keep your mouth shut and do your job? Just being here is irritating enough, why start trouble? Wanna fight?”
“Do you think you can win if we fight?”
“Are you cocky—umph!”
Before the situation escalated further, I clamped my hand over Lize’s mouth. She shot me a confused look, wondering why I was doing that, but I maintained my grip and forced a smile.
“Lize, the knight commander, will have to adjust her level to mine. It can’t be helped since the only ones I can spar with are the commanders. Given we’re barely holding back, it’s only natural you’d feel that way.”
“No matter how much you try to match levels, it’s still too trivial. You can’t survive fighting monsters like that.”
I had already taken dozens of monster heads. Soon I’d be facing thousands more. While I wanted to question where he got off, I kept my inner thoughts hidden and smiled.
“That doesn’t seem to be a comment for the commander to make, does it?”
“What did you say?”
Taken aback by my light provocation, the golden knight fired back. The guy was easily riled up.
With a ridiculously inflated ego over trivial matters, it was an unbearable insult for a newbie knight to talk back to him.
Lize, seeing my smile, seemed to instinctively sense what was about to unfold and calmed down.
“Isn’t that right? Anyone can offer commentary from the sidelines. Given you aren’t stepping in directly, maybe it implies a lack of confidence in your own skills? If you were truly skilled, you wouldn’t settle for mere words; you’d show me firsthand.”
That was the final blow. The golden knight couldn’t hold back a cliché retort, declaring, “How dare you speak to me like that!” and stormed off to find a wooden sword.
I released my hold on Lize’s mouth. She patted her lips where my hand had been, then winked and reminded me not to go overboard.
Her playful smile was filled with trust.
Fighting this guy would mark the first encounter of this sort for me, but given that he had already come to challenge the Silver Dawn Knights, it wouldn’t matter if I went easy on him.
‘He started it, after all.’
He’d always been a pain in the game, so why not get my revenge while I was at it?
Somewhere, a pair of eyes quietly observed this sparring match, unseen by anyone else.
