Chapter 1

“Nice to meet you, I’m Louise, and I’m working here as a chambermaid from today!”

A beautiful woman with brilliant silver hair and clear crystalline eyes was greeted with vigor. Even Irene, who rarely smiles, was seen grinning broadly.

Normally, Irene would rarely smile.

Even worse, the last time she truly laughed out loud was about half a year ago.

But now, she was cordially welcoming Louise, along with the other people from Lavrenti’s mansion who gathered here, to welcome the new maid with the favour from her heart.

Because, the woman in front of Irene now is the original female protagonist, Louise, whom she had been waiting for so long in this life.

Finally, the heroine is back.

‘Finally! How long have I been waiting for this day!’

Louise shyly approached and spoke to Irene, who was singing delightedly inside.

“M-Miss Irene, I heard that you are my senior and the only chambermaid in this mansion. Please take care of me.”

She uttered in a heroine-like, gentle tone.

Although it had already been the seventh time she had heard this greeting without a single mistake, Irene patted Louise’s shoulder with a soft look without any hesitation.

“Yes. We’ll have to work hard, but let’s try our best.”

Usually, she would just roughly nod her head, but she wanted to give Louise encouragement today.

Today was the day Irene would hand in the letter of resignation she always carries in her arms, and finally, get out of this damn game.

It was the day.

* * *

A devastating harem otome game, 〈 Love or Die 〉

The world in which Irene was unintentionally transported into during her gameplay, and where she currently found herself in, was controlled by none other than—

Knox, the mafia group that ruled the underworld.

The world of Knox, where everything was shrouded in a veil, was the setting of the game called 〈 Love or Die 〉, where the aristocratic household of Lavrenti Garro was situated.

Louise, the heroine who came with a letter of recommendation from the owner of the mansion where she originally worked, became entangled with three men of the Lavrenti Family, wherein they exuded an alluring yet dangerous atmosphere…

… That was the game’s description.

So, what is Irene’s role here?

She is an extra.

Like the heroine, she was a character of Lavrenti and a mannequin-like being who says, “Good morning, Louise!” every time you turn on the game.

Oh, of course, she’s an extra, but there is a role she had to play.

She’s the save point.

By talking to Irene, the gameplay will be saved.

But, that’s just a part of the game system.

‘Whatever it is, I’m tired now.’

Irene took out her resignation letter from her arms, which she had placed in a fine envelope. Afraid it might have got wrinkled.

It was the letter of resignation she had been carrying.

When she first entered the game, Irene thought she would be able to return to reality soon.

‘I thought Louise would just have to find the real male protagonist, the ultimate goal of the game.’

There was a reason why 〈 Love or Die 〉 was a devastating otome game, as you can tell from just its name. This is because the ending is either you die or become impoverished by falling in love with the male protagonist.

Still, this game had a real male lead.

The final boss hidden in the storyline, something like that.

So, Irene thought she would be able to return to reality when she saw the ending where the heroine found the male lead and fell in love with him.

‘What if… the real male lead doesn’t exist?’

Irene was now living her seventh life in 〈 Love or Die. 〉

After going through all six endings, she was now in the seventh.

She watched Louise meet the three male protagonists, as she went through the ‘Love Ending’ and the ‘Die Ending.’

… No, it wasn’t just watching. She actually even helped orchestrate the endings.

Nonetheless, the results were devastating.

‘I am not going back to reality, this is like an infinite loop…’

Every time she saw the ending, Irene would return to the moment she was possessed into the game for the first time. And this was her seventh regression after seeing all the six endings.

In other words, regardless of the ending, Irene was completely trapped in this game.

Realizing that she could no longer return to reality, she decided.

‘Let’s quit the game and live my life.’

Since Irene knew she couldn’t live properly, she will now live her life like it is her own from now on. She will start by getting out of this house.

And today, the female protagonist, Louise, finally arrived as a new employee. Today, when the game began in earnest, was the day she decided to turn in her letter of resignation. Initially, she wanted to quit a little earlier, but she couldn’t submit her resignation because the only chambermaid in this mansion was Irene.

But, that was not the case any more.

Why? Because the new chambermaid, Louise, is here!

“Hoo.”

Still, Irene was a little nervous about giving her resignation letter, since she had accumulated affection from working at the mansion for such a long time. After all, she was a person who spent a lot of time here.

‘If I leave, the masters might feel a little feel down.’

However, they will soon forget about her and fall for Louise. Because… that was the game’s system.

Irene took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door of the office.

A cool yet heavy voice asked back.

“Who is it?”

Oh, this voice is the First Master.

“It’s Irene, Master.”

“Oh, Irene. Come in.”

The cold voice quickly softened.

The owner of the voice was a strict and cruel person, but strangely, he was always kind to her, so it wasn’t surprising.

Irene silently pulled the door outward and opened it, as she had been accustomed to, then closed the door behind her back before greeting the man in the room.

To be precise, to the men in the room.

The sunlight pouring in from the window filled one of the office walls, where three handsome men were standing inside.

“Hello, Irene. Today’s napkin was folded in the shape of a tulip. Did you not like the rose I folded?” A man with a smile as bright as the pouring sunlight greeted her warmly.

Curly ash-blonde hair and gentle eyes with slightly lowered ends, his face seemed as though he was constantly smiling.

Just by looking at his face, you might think he wouldn’t even harm an ant, but that man is actually Knox’s leader, who runs like a mad dog when he holds his sword.

“What brings you to me, Irene? Is there anything you want?”

This time, the man sitting in front of the desk in the office asked, in a voice mixed with pressure and coolness.

He was a ‘gentleman’s example’ in everyone’s eyes. However, in reality, he was a ruthless underboss who kills even a child without hesitation when he strips off a good day.

“Well, no, brother. Rea came to see me. Think about it, Rea. Didn’t you want to see me?”

Even with a gentle smile, the man could not hide all his ferocity as he approached Irene, calling her Rea as if they were friends.

He was the youngest of the three. Though at the same time, he was also the most dangerous of the three as well.

Although the other two mainly use knives as their weapons, this man, who is one of Knox’s executives, even uses his teeth to bite and attacks his opponents.

Even though these three people are incredibly dangerous, but if you look at them from the outside, you can say that they are from a family with excellent genes…

Well, goodbye to all these handsome faces.

Irene opened her mouth calmly. “I came to see the First Master.”

Disappointment flashed across their faces, except for the man sitting at the desk in the office, but Irenea put down the envelope in her hand in front of the desk without hesitation.

“It’s a letter of resignation. I’m leaving this mansion.”

As soon as she finished her words, the faces of the three men were distorted.

* * *

Irene recalled the last ending she saw.

Die Ending of Louise and Lavrenti’s eldest son, Ahivalt.

After Louise, who loved Ahibald but betrayed him and fled to the enemy base, he jumped into the base through a handful of soldiers.

Then, with a tattered body, he appeared in front of Louise, bleeding profusely.

“It’s not even funny. Did you think you could leave me with that, Louise?”

“Ah, Ahivalt… Your blood…”

Ha. A short, breathless breath fell from his mouth.

“Louise. If you were by my side, I would have promised you peace forever.”

Ahivalt crept up and hugged Louise as if in bondage.

“I only needed you, but you didn’t need me.”

There was a sound of flesh tearing. He slashed Louise on the back with a sword.

The long sword ripped apart not only Louise, but also his body. Despite the bleeding, Ahivalt smiled.

“I love you, Louise.”

And so, the two died, and Irene, who was watching the scene disguised as a soldier, returned with tears filling her eyes. Of course, after returning, she shed tears for a different reason.

There is a reason, obviously, for her sudden recollection of this scene.

“It’s not even funny. Did you think you could leave me with just a piece of paper, Irene?”

That was because Ahivalt suddenly recited the lines from the ‘Die Ending.’

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