Faendal's plan was, as expected, to deliver a fake letter. Since I'd been neglecting my duties as a courier lately, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to actually deliver a letter for once.
However, I had no intention of delivering a forgery. I'd come up with an experiment I wanted to try.
Namely, how would Camilla react if I delivered a perfectly normal, sincere letter instead?
Honestly, every time I played the game, I wondered who Camilla actually liked more.
'Since I've been transmigrated into Skyrim, I can't just let this pass.'
If Camilla accepted the confession, it meant she preferred Faendal. If not, she liked Sven more. This was the perfect chance to settle my curiosity.
"I think you're looking at this the wrong way. You're just trying to eliminate a competitor. There's no personal growth in that," I said, using my smooth-talking skills to sway him away from the fake letter plan.
"Is that so...?" Faendal muttered.
"How about this? Just write your honest feelings in a letter and send it with a flower."
"That's way too ordinary."
"But if she has feelings for you, she'll definitely accept it. You and Camilla are somewhat close, aren't you?"
At my question, Faendal answered with a somewhat dejected look.
"To be honest... I've talked to her a few times, but she doesn't seem to see me as a man. On the other hand, that fellow Sven doesn't know how to do anything but play music, yet he's always hanging around her."
Then Faendal added, "If only he weren't so damn handsome..."
Faendal's eyes flared with jealousy.
Seeing this side of him actually made me want things to work out for the guy. Eventually, swayed by my persuasion, he wrote a letter, picked a single flower, and handed them to me.
Ding!
[Speech Skill Increased!]
ㄴ Current Speech Level: 33
Oh, an unexpected profit. Persuading Faendal had granted me experience.
"Please... let me know her reaction..."
"Sure thing. I'll go deliver it now."
It was time to do my job as a courier for the first time in a while.
As Faendal's confession mission was being put into motion, Camilla was sitting on a chair in the Riverwood Trader, her chin resting in her hand. Perhaps because it was close to lunchtime, the shop was quiet.
A certain someone kept flickering through her mind—the adventurer who had brought back the Golden Claw just yesterday.
'It's strange... Why do I keep thinking about him?'
It wasn't unusual to feel grateful to the man who returned the family heirloom, but the emotions she was feeling went far beyond that.
However, having zero romantic experience or knowledge, she hadn't yet realized the nature of her feelings. She could only clutch her fluttering chest and sigh in confusion.
I stood in front of the Riverwood Trader with the flower and the letter I'd received from Faendal. I told him I'd give him an update later, but the impatient elf insisted on watching from a distance behind me.
When I opened the door and walked in, Lucan Valerius welcomed me warmly.
"Welcome! You are always welcome here, sir!"
Since I had something to deliver to Camilla, I asked him where she was.
"Is your sister around, by any chance?"
"She said she had to meet someone and headed over to the inn just a moment ago."
'Meet someone at the inn?'
Only three people really came to mind who frequented the Sleeping Giant Inn: Delphine the innkeeper, Orgnar the server, and Sven the bard.
Sven spent a good chunk of his day playing music at the inn. Was she hanging out with him?
'This might be a bit heartbreaking for Faendal.'
Well, that's just how love is. You grow by dealing with these things. Regardless, I had a letter to deliver, so I immediately turned my steps toward the Sleeping Giant Inn.
Meanwhile, at the inn—
Unable to bear her restless thoughts, Camilla had eventually stormed out of the shop and entered the Sleeping Giant Inn. Since he was an adventurer, this was the only place he'd be staying.
She hadn't thought about what she'd actually do when she saw him, but sitting still wasn't solving anything. Her plan was to just see him and figure it out from there.
The place was the same as always: Delphine behind the counter, Orgnar sweeping the floor, an adventurer eating at a corner table, and Sven playing the lute right next to that adventurer, trying to strike up a conversation...
'Sven?'
Sven didn't even glance at Camilla as she walked in. He was busy throwing pick-up lines at the female adventurer eating at the table. However, the adventurer with blue hair that looked like the sky barely pretended to listen, focusing entirely on her meal.
'And here I thought he'd follow me anywhere...'
It wasn't that she liked Sven, but Camilla hadn't minded the attention from the handsome, musically gifted man until now. Seeing this, her opinion of Sven hit rock bottom instantly.
'Don't even think about saying hi to me from now on...!'
Having made up her mind, she approached the innkeeper, Delphine.
"Hello, Delphine. Which room is the blonde Nord in leather armor staying in?"
Delphine stopped cleaning and looked up. "Good to see you, Camilla. I'm sorry, but I can't just give out guest information to anyone."
Even though Delphine liked Camilla, who was known as the kindest girl in town, she couldn't just compromise a customer's privacy. Protecting a guest's privacy was the basic duty of a business owner.
"Ugh..."
The reasoning was too sound for Camilla to argue. Just as she was thinking she'd have to wait for him to return, a voice spoke from behind her.
"A blonde Nord? Are you looking for Mister?"
It was the woman Sven had been hitting on. Hearing her refer to him as "Mister," Camilla assumed they were quite close. She turned around and gasped in surprise.
Camilla wasn't the arrogant type, but she was fairly confident in her looks. There were plenty of men in town who followed her around, after all. Yet, even Camilla was momentarily stunned by the elven beauty before her.
Actually, Camilla wasn't the only one surprised.
'Whoa, she's gorgeous! She looks like a celebrity.'
Choi Ha-neul, the Dragonborn, was equally impressed by Camilla's beauty. A brief silence hung between them as they stared at each other.
"Ahem. Anyway, you're looking for my Mister, right?"
The Dragonborn was the first to break the silence.
'My Mister?'
Camilla didn't like how intimate that sounded, but she didn't let it show on her face as she replied, "Yes, that's probably him. It sounds like you two are very close?"
"Huh? Oh, well, I guess we've gotten pretty close. Hehe."
'This is irritating for some reason.'
Camilla found the Dragonborn's giggling annoying. At that moment, Sven appeared from behind the girl.
"Hey, Camilla! Care to listen to my song today?"
Normally, she would have played along politely, but today was different. On top of her foul mood, seeing him act like nothing happened after he'd just ignored her made her blood boil.
"No. I'm busy. If you want to sing, find someone else."
Sven was taken aback by her unusually cold reaction. "Is... is that so? That's a shame... Then, elven lady, shall we finish our conversation from earlier?"
They hadn't even had a conversation—he'd just been talking at her—but she shot him down too.
"I'll pass..."
"Hmph! Fine! See if I care!"
With his pride thoroughly bruised, Sven stormed out of the inn. Once he was gone, the Dragonborn turned to Camilla.
"So... why are you looking for Mister...?"
"I think that man... did something to me."
"What?!"
The image of the reliable man she'd been traveling with shattered in the Dragonborn's mind. 'I thought he was a good person. I'm so disappointed!'
"Are you okay? What on earth did he do to you!"
"Ever since I saw him, my chest feels tight and he won't leave my mind!"
"Huh?"
After listening to more of her symptoms, the Dragonborn—who wasn't as oblivious as Camilla—instantly realized what was going on.
'She's in love...'
He was certainly kind, brave, and dependable, but she didn't think he had the kind of charm that made people fall in love at first sight.
'I misunderstood him. Sorry, Mister! But man, he's got skills. How did he hook a woman this beautiful?'
—Click
Just then, the source of the problem appeared.
"Mister! What exactly did you do?!"
"Mr. Adventurer, what did you do to me?"
"Huh? What are you both talking about all of a sudden?!"
I stood there with Faendal's letter and flowers, utterly bewildered as both women rushed toward me.
"Wait! So, to sum it up... you've felt strange since I brought back the Golden Claw, and Ha-neul, you think she's in love?"
"Yes, that's right, Mister!"
"No..." Camilla muttered, "You made me like this, so take responsibility."
"Guys, please, let's lower our voices a bit..."
There were other guests in the inn. Several people were already secretly eavesdropping, pretending not to be interested.
"Now that I look at it, what's with that letter and the flower? Don't tell me! Mister, are you planning to propose?" the Dragonborn shouted, pointing at the items in my arms.
"What? No, this is—!"
"I understand," Camilla interrupted before I could explain. "It's a shame you don't have an Amulet of Mara, but I'll accept your feelings anyway."
"No, you've got it wrong! Listen to me!"
At that exact moment—
"You absolute piece of trash!!"
Faendal, who had been peeping through the window, burst through the door with enough force to break it. He grabbed me by the collar.
"You've already laid a hand on Camilla and you dared to mock me by pretending to help? You're dead meat!"
"Faendal! Let him go right now!" Camilla cried.
"Camilla! To think you'd give your heart to an outsider so easily... I feel like a fool for loving you all this time!"
It was a total mess.
"Should I stop them?" Orgnar asked from behind the counter.
"Leave them. This just got interesting," Delphine replied.
Even though she was a veteran who had seen it all as a member of the Blades, a messy love triangle between young people was always entertaining. 'Ah, the youth. How amusing.'
It might have been fun for Delphine, but it was hell for me. My head was spinning. I needed to think rationally.
As I was being harassed by Camilla, Ha-neul, and Faendal all at once, I let my brain work at full speed. There had to be a reason for Camilla's behavior.
'Right, let's think about this in terms of game logic... think, think...'
'Wait, could it be?'
I finally reached a conclusion.
Skyrim has a unique marriage system. Camilla happens to be a marriageable NPC. Usually, you need to wear an Amulet of Mara and have high favor with an NPC to propose.
In the game, Camilla doesn't react if you just wear the amulet and talk to her normally. However, the moment you complete the Golden Claw quest, her favor hits maximum, making marriage possible.
In other words, in this reality, completing a quest for a marriageable NPC functions like a goddamn hypnosis app—it makes them fall in love with you instantly to facilitate the game mechanic.
Even I was impressed that I could figure that out in the middle of this chaos.
Well, identifying the cause was fine and all, but it wasn't exactly something I could explain to them. More importantly, an enraged Faendal looked ready to murder me. Even Ha-neul was now trying to hold him back.
'I have to tell the truth.'
"Faendal! I haven't done anything to Camilla. I'm innocent. If you don't believe me, ask her!"
Given Camilla's personality, she wouldn't lie. Faendal would have to believe her.
"Camilla. Is what this guy saying the truth? You're telling me I should believe you just fell in love at first sight?"
"Yes, it's true. He hasn't done anything inappropriate to me."
Faendal clutched his hair in frustration.
"Urgh—damn it! I hope you step in some fresh horse dung on your way out!"
Faendal spat out a Nord-style insult—fairly mild compared to Korean standards—and stormed out of the inn.
'Sorry, Faendal.'
Now all that was left was Camilla.
Whew-whew!
Camilla was now clinging to my arm. Choi Ha-neul was whistling as she watched us. I was briefly tempted by Camilla's exceptional beauty, but I snapped out of it.
I grabbed Camilla by her shoulders, looked her in the eye, and shouted.
"Camilla!"