I ended up finding the date with Esther to be pretty boring, okay it was a good attempt because she wanted to do something fun, but the truth is she doesn't know how to plan a good date.

So our date ended up being something rather dull. After the auction, where most of the things I bought were valuable objects, she just took me to buy dresses and eat at a restaurant.

But there was nothing special about any of it. It was just the standard stuff anyone could repeat. Honestly, even she realized I wasn't enjoying myself, and we ended up cutting the date short and going home.

"Esther..." I say to her as we enter the mansion. She looks at me for a moment before turning her back, trying to walk away frustrated. I grab her hand, stopping her.

"Hey, don't be mad. I liked the date," I say while she takes a deep breath, her chest rising and falling irregularly.

"Don't lie. You didn't like anything about our date. The only thing that made you happy was some of the purchases you made. You didn't enjoy a single thing I did for you..."

"B-But... I..." I don't know what to say.

"See? You didn't even try to pretend to be interested... What's the point of all the effort I put into the date if you weren't going to like it anyway?" She pulls her hand away, and now I'm the one getting irritated.

"I didn't ask for this date. And going to an auction, then shopping for dresses, and then dinner at a restaurant? Could it be any more cliché? It's like you were just trying to follow some manual!"

"There was no emotion in the date at all. Did you even really try?..." I say, frustrated by her frustration.

"...Tsk..." She clicks her tongue and leaves. I don't try to stop her again as I head to my room. Sometimes we have these silly fights over stupid reasons.

And it all happens because I don't feel much for Esther's attempts to create something special, and when she sees it's not working, she gets frustrated for no good reason. But how does she expect me to feel anything about that kind of thing?

Gifts, attempts at pick-up lines, flirting, and now this date... Most of it feels soulless, without any real emotion, as if it were taken straight from a book. Which, frankly, I don't doubt, since Esther already admitted she learned most things about feelings by reading books.

"Haa..." I return to my room with a tired sigh. At least she bought plenty of nice things for the two of us, and because of what just happened, I guess we won't be spending the night together.

"...Eve? Syl'Vyr? Faye? And Clarissa too? What are you all doing here?" When I open my bedroom door, I see the four of them inside, which is strange because it's late afternoon, around 11 PM.

"Evelyn-chan, it's serious! Look at this!" Syl'Vyr raises her hand, showing a little blue and black sphere. I sense Esther's magic in it.

"Okay... I'll pretend I know what that is. So, for those of us who don't, could you explain?" I say as a joke to calm my nerves after what happened with Esther.

"Evelyn-chan, this is mind control magic! It has three functions: inject memories, erase memories, and enforce loyalty! It works through a three-month process!! And it was inside Clarissa's head." When she says that, I'm shocked.

"..."

"I don't know what spells she used to create this, but it's dangerous! If Esther uses this on her servants, what's to stop her from using it on... hey! Hey!! EVELYN-CHAN?!" Syl'Vyr shouts as I start running, going after Esther.

I run through the halls thinking about this, this absurdity. It never came up in the game that Esther used brainwashing magic on her servants, and seeing this breaks my heart.

Not specifically for the servants, but because of what she said in the game. During one of the romantic scenes, Esther tries to control Grace's mind, who is protected by her sword.

During the scene, the two fight badly, but soon reconcile when Esther says she just wanted to know what Grace liked and was "afraid" to ask.

But she promised she had never used it on anyone for long, that she was wrong to use it and would never do it again. The point is the promise of never having used it on anyone for long.

And now Syl'Vyr proves she uses it all the time. I use my abilities to look into Syl'Vyr's head. As my puppet, she has to give me access to her recent memories, and I can see them.

And I can see how it all happened. Syl'Vyr helping Clarissa, removing the magic from her, and discovering what the magic does.

I had forgotten she had this magic, because it's such a sneaky thing. And if Esther tried to use it on Grace and Grace only resisted because of her sword, what's to stop me from being a target too?

I know she never made that promise here. She never said anything about not using this ability much. But still, here is the proof. This is why her servants seem like a bunch of soulless zombies.

"ESTHER!" I swing open the door to her study, furious and scared. Scared that I might be affected by this. I know she's in the study because that's where she goes when she's frustrated.

"Evelyn, I don't want to talk now and—"

"Shut up!! You're using mind control on the servants!" When I say this, she's surprised. I see her surprised look turn calculating.

"Evelyn, keep your voice down. How did you find out? I—"

"Are you using it on me? Are you going to use it on me in the future? What assurance do I have?!! How can you expect me to trust someone who destroys her servants' minds like that?" I say, full of indignation.

"What? No! I would never use it on you! I love you... I only do this to keep the staff under control. It prevents betrayals, unlike the important servants! I've never used it on important servants." She speaks with complete objectification, with zero respect for others' lives.

"You love me? Funny thing to say. And what if I don't love you? Are you going to do something? Control my mind so I love you back the way you love me?" Her eyes shift away. She doesn't deny it. The fact that she doesn't deny it is like a slap in the face because I only blurted that out on impulse.

"You... you really thought about it..."

"It was just once! And I wasn't going to do it! Besides, you're probably immune! Since this magic affects the brain, but your puppet body doesn't need its brain, so dominating it wouldn't make a difference!" She admits and jumps to justification, but her admission is all I need to hear.

"...You thought about controlling my mind... You say you love me, but you wanted to control me even in that... you fake! Viper! Liar! You... you... YOU MONSTER!" I hate this. Someone wanting to imprison me like that. It makes me feel a horrible anxiety and makes all the fear I had before the wedding seem even more justified.

"...Did you even really try to make me happy this past month?" I question.

"O-Of course I did! I studied hard! I read lots of books and did as they described!!... I changed for you!" She admits something that truly hurts me.

"Esther... you just copied content from a book? The gifts... the date, and our training together... was it all just because you saw it in a book?" When I say this, she realizes she said what she shouldn't have.

"...Well, I... may have done things as the books said... but I worked hard to find the content, that should count for something, right?"

"You haven't changed, Esther. You didn't even really try to change for me while saying you love me! You only pretended to change. You copied stupid tips from books that know nothing about real relationships!"

"I don't need stupid fancy gifts, or dates that seem lifted from cliché games! I just needed you to do something from the heart! Something special and made with real feelings! Not this stupid copied content from books!" When I say this, her face contorts with pure anger and indignation.

"I tried! You think you can judge me? You bitch, you're just a trophy I won. You're being very arrogant to think you can talk to me like that! You don't know half of what I've done for you until now! How much I've risked to defend you these past days..." Before she can finish speaking, I interrupt her.

"A trophy? That's still how you see me? Well, know that this trophy hates you! And despises you, just as it feels disgust for this controlling, objectifying marriage." When I say this, a single tear rolls from her left eye. Just one tear as her expression turns dark.

[Esther's Favorability -22 (Total = 50/100)]

[Esther's Favorability -30 (Total = 20/100)]

[Esther's Favorability -10 (Total = 10/100)]

[Esther's Favorability -5 (Total = 5/100)]

[Esther's Favorability -5 (Total = 0/100)]

Esther's Favorability, which was a solid 72 before, has fallen to 0. Favorability was always easier to lose than to gain, and it seems this is the limit.

"Great... great then. If that's how you want it..." She speaks in a cold, dark tone, so icy it gives me chills and makes my heart race wildly.

"Get out. Get out of here, Evelyn, before I dismantle your body like the wooden toy you are. Vanish from my sight before I can no longer restrain myself in the face of such ingratitude."

"Because I swear, if I lay eyes on you now, I will make you regret your recent rebellion. I am not that complacent, and I am tired of giving you second chances."

"If you think my effort to change for you was worth nothing, then I won't change anymore for someone who doesn't deserve my effort to be different." Her gaze is disturbing. I bite my lip and leave her study, hearing the sound of things breaking.

'Dammit... why are my feelings such a mess.' I start running through the corridors, uncertain of what to do. But seeing Esther's current favorability means I destroyed our relationship in just a few words.

And now I feel strange about it all, and I feel bad because maybe I overreacted. Maybe I should have given her more time. But my pride, my fear, and my cowardice stop me from going back there to apologize.

I don't have the courage to apologize and ask for things not to change, all because my feelings overruled my reason and I went to fight with her over a magic she has.

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