Chapter 1: Encounter

“I am a hunter… I exist to capture my prey.”

Sylvia, who is mumbling phrases like that of a villain, has entered the royal ball. Finally, all of her preparations are complete. She has decided which specific character she is capturing.

“Regardless, there is a possibility that something can go wrong. If that occurs, I must quickly adapt and do the next best action.”

She clenched her fist.

This party aims to choose a fiancé candidate for the crown prince. For this reason, the royal family invited every unmarried lady in the kingdom. Likewise, all eligible men were gathered to find a potential spouse among the unselected participants—alas, it became a matchmaking ball. 

Sylvia didn't want to attend tonight's ball—she didn't want to participate in the search for the prince's fianće. However, she couldn't refuse a royal invitation without any good reason. 

Of course, the crown prince is one of the capture targets.

Arthur Felix Stride turns 25 years old this year and owns the fairest platinum hair. And specifically tonight, he will be disguising himself within the crowd.

While he remains unnoticed, Arthur will accidentally meet the heroine. This encounter will automatically start the prince's route, but Sylvia will decide not to proceed further.

Why? Because this prince has the most debauched setting among the characters.

*

The prince’s personality betrays his beautiful appearance. 

Among the six characters, his route predominantly contains long-drawn erotic scenes. Once the heroine gains an affinity towards him, she will suffer mercilessly under his reach.  

I can handle complaints and criticisms well. I am fond of outdoor activities, and I can last until morning. (Arthur)

When Sylvia used to play the game, Arthur was her favorite character. "Give me more! Arthur, you're best! I love you!" However, when she reflected profoundly on the prince's setting, Sylvia couldn't help but refuse his route.

“No, no, doing it excessively until morning is impossible for me. I will certainly break.” 

Because it is an R18 otome game, Sylvia thought that outdoor, bathing, and aphrodisiac plays are all acceptable conditions. However, doing it a sheer number of times is simply out of the question.

Although Arthur’s appearance and voice are Sylvia’s favorite, he was the first character that she removed from her list of candidates. Ultimately, she selected the simplest and easiest route to take—the knight’s route.

Sir Dietrich Wingstone, age 23, is the eldest son of the Earl’s family and the milk kin^[1] of the crown prince. He, being the sworn knight to that debauch prince, is best described to be stoic and reserved. 

Despite his aloofness, Dietrich's demeanor is always gentle and polite. He is recognized to be the only reasonable character in The Fingertips Series. In his setting, the heroine must first establish a mutual affection with Dietrich to trigger his erotic events. (While others are too quick to lay their hands on her)

Because of this, Fingertips players, who are mainly after the erotic events, would often get impatient and complain about the lack of action on his route.

Keep in mind, if you are in Dietrich's route, do not raise your affinity towards another character. If you do, you will meet a destructive end. As he is extremely vulnerable to betrayals, Dietrich will kill you and himself after. But, it will turn out fine if you are careful with him.

As long as there are no issues, Sylvia decided to aim for him.

“If you considering a lifetime companion, there is no doubt that he is the only suitable choice.”

The remaining characters are her brother-in-law^[2], the king, a playboy duke, and an assassin; none of them are normal.

Sylvia didn’t want to share a romantic relationship with her brother-in-law. Furthermore, she didn’t want to be the second wife of the king—a hidden character, whose age is much older than her.

As for that womanizing duke, he will be challenging to capture because he continuously jumps from one woman to another. At any rate, he is a character that enjoys playing around with women.

The duke's route begins when the heroine accidentally witnesses one of his sexual exploits. Being startled by the sudden intrusion, his companion will flee from the scene, and you will be pulled in as her substitute. For Sylvia, choosing a philanderer is a non-starter—she doesn't wish to be taken too lightly.

Lastly, the assassin is a masochist that enjoys neck bondage. Sylvia immediately declined his route without any further thought. Indeed, she enjoys erotic plays, but she doesn’t like inflicting pain to others.

“Why is it like this? Even though it’s such an appealing game, there are not many playable options in reality.”

Sylvia, who is deeply concerned for her future, can only advance into the knight’s route.

She sighed heavily. Sylvia thought that there is no use in being pessimistic now.

“This is fine. The knight's erotic events are enough for me to enjoy. It's the required affection from Dietrich that makes it tough to proceed from here.”

In the Fingertips Series, the gameplays are focused entirely on erotic events. (In other words, all other conditions are easy to achieve)

In the early stage, a strong affinity with a capture target activates his erotic events. If you succeeded in triggering several of it, everything else is a breeze; the same logic applies to Dietrich's route.

Sylvia was satisfied with her progress. Although she experienced a handful of frustrations, for her future, she must move forward.

“Alright, let’s go!”

First of all, she needs to go to where Dietrich is.

With full enthusiasm, Sylvia arrived at the royal ball.

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^[1]Or milk sibling. A person who is not one's biological sibling but was nursed by the same woman. (e.g., the child of one's wet nurse)
^[2]Sylvia's younger brother-in-law. The future chapters will further explain their relationship.

Shishido's Note:

The title is quite long. I've been thinking of ways on how to address the novel shorter. Can someone give me suggestions?