I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 122

Playing a game within a game—is that even possible?

As I stood there in shock, the system flickered once more.

<From the third playthrough onward, you may set a starting point.>

1. Restart (Includes Tutorial)
2. Character [Orias] Affection Route Completed – Second Playthrough – (Recommended)
3. Character [Ardal] Affection Route Completed – Second Playthrough

The overwhelming confusion had passed, leaving me strangely calm. With a clearer mind, I examined the system window.

New options had appeared—options that hadn’t been available in previous playthroughs. A bold Recommended label was attached to the second choice.

“Is it… trying to help me?”

I had never seen any mention of setting a starting point from the third playthrough onward, even when I was back in reality.

The system didn’t respond, but I had a feeling my guess was correct.

Following the system’s suggestion might not be a bad choice.

I would never delete a character, but choosing a starting point was a different matter.

I focused my attention on the recommended option.

<2. Character [Orias] Affection Route Completed – Second Playthrough>

To unlock the restricted information, I needed to obtain Orias’s single route. If I started from the point where I had already completed his route, I could check it quickly.

The three choices condensed into one, leaving only the second option displayed on the system window.

Still, maybe I should think about this a little more before making a decision.

I had rushed into things before, and that had landed me in this mess…

<Would you like to set your starting point to option 2?>

“Wait, no—”

“Saintess, may I come in?”

“Hella? Yeah, come in.”

As I was shaking my head at the system window, a knock came at the door.

I had been about to refuse, but I quickly changed my response.

Hella, who had stepped out earlier, entered the room.

She had said she was heading to the training grounds, but her shoes were spotless, and she hadn’t been gone long. It seemed she had only lingered outside for a while rather than actually going anywhere.

“Did you finish what you needed to do?”

<You have selected option 2. Changes cannot be made.>

Ah.

I had been about to respond to Hella when I saw the system message, and my brow furrowed.

It completely ignored my “no” and just went with my “yeah” instead.

The system was dead set on steering me toward option 2.

“Saintess?”

“Mm, I finished.”

Pressing my fingers against my temple, I forced a smile as I answered Hella.

She tilted her head, gazing at the empty air where I had just been looking. Of course, she couldn’t see the system.

After a moment, she shifted her attention to my desk, staring at the paper lying there.

It was the same sheet I had been using to organize my thoughts just moments ago, but there was no need to stop her from looking. No matter what, Hella was on my side. Even if I had written something like “Kill the Pope,” she would have discreetly disposed of the paper for me.

Instead of stopping her, I leaned back in my chair.

“You’ll need matches, right?”

Her next move was exactly what I had expected.

After staring at the paper for a moment, she rummaged through a small pocket on her priest’s robe.

So she hadn’t gone to the training grounds—she had gone to get matches. It seemed she had planned this from the moment she handed me the paper and pen.

As she retrieved the matches, I handed her the sheet. Hella crumpled the paper and lit it with the match flame.

<The Saintess Is a Spy! – Third Playthrough – Now Available>

As she burned the paper, the system window gleamed as if urging me to start the game immediately.

The system, more than Hella, was the real problem.

I still wasn’t entirely convinced that it was on my side. Even if it was offering me conveniences, something about it felt off.

I rubbed my chin with my fingers, then noticed another system window lingering at the edge of my vision.

<Character [Orias] Deletion Proposal>

Even with other system messages popping up, that proposal refused to disappear. It was practically forcing me to choose between two options: delete Orias or start the game.

If I had to pick one, of course, it would be the latter. But since I hadn’t fully grasped the system’s intentions yet, I needed to be careful.

If I ended up unable to log out again, like last time, things could take a truly disastrous turn.

“Do you remember what I was going to tell you earlier?”

As I stared blankly at the air, Hella spoke up.

“I didn’t get a chance to say it because the Pope arrived, but I found something strange.”

Her voice was firm.

“Something strange?”

I frowned and asked, prompting Hella to explain without hesitation.

“Did you know there’s a restricted area near the Pope’s chambers?”

“No. There’s a restricted area?”

“Yes. It looks like an ordinary room, but no one is allowed to enter.”

“Hella, don’t tell me you—”

“Oh, no, I didn’t go in. I just asked the priests about it.”

I had nearly lost Hella before I even had the chance to investigate the restricted area. If Orias had designated it as off-limits, then there was no doubt that it contained some kind of trap.

She said she hadn’t gone in, which was a relief—but I couldn’t afford to relax just yet. The priests she had questioned were likely Orias’s subordinates.

Placing a hand over my chest, I exhaled in relief before speaking to Hella. “You did well not to enter. But it’s dangerous, so this time, it would be best if you return to the Empire first.”

“What?”

If the system hadn’t reappeared, I wouldn’t have been too worried. But now, I couldn’t predict what Orias might do.

The system was actively suggesting his deletion. If what Hella had discovered triggered something in Orias’s unstable state, the situation could become extremely dangerous.

Hella shook her head as if she didn’t want to accept it, but I spoke firmly, “Leave for the Empire tomorrow morning. I’ll secretly ask Ardal to prepare a horse for you, so depart before I come out of Orias’s room.”

“B-but…”

“Hella.”

A habit of hers, one that had completely disappeared while she was living with Dahlia, resurfaced. Lowering her head, she hesitated, stealing nervous glances at me.

She looked exactly as she had when she used to fear being abandoned.

I thought she had moved on, now that she was no longer a bound character and got along well with Dahlia and Tricia.

I rose from my seat and cupped Hella’s cheeks in both hands.

She had grown noticeably taller in the past few months, making it easy to meet her gaze. Hella, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, avoided my stare.

“I’m not scolding you.”

“B-but telling me to go first…”

“There’s something I need you to do ahead of time.”

Hella’s chest rose and fell deeply. She seemed to be forcing herself to hold back tears, taking slow, steady breaths before finally looking me in the eyes.

“Something to do…?”

When I nodded, she finally exhaled in relief.

In truth, I hadn’t planned on giving her a task, but this was the best way to get her to leave for the Empire without making a fuss.

People needed something to do to keep them from overthinking unnecessary things.

I wiped away the tears forming at the corners of Hella’s eyes and lowered my voice. “Yeah. I need you to take care of something. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes!”

“So…”

After explaining what needed to be done in case anything went wrong, I gave her one final instruction.

“If that happens, report it to Adrian immediately.”

Hearing my words, Hella nodded with a tense expression.

“Yes, I will.”

“I’m counting on you.”

With a determined look, Hella responded, “Don’t worry, Saintess! I’ll make sure to deliver the message properly.”

She truly was a reliable child.

Satisfied, I patted Hella’s head.

With this much preparation, things should be fine, even in the worst-case scenario.

***

“Ardal, may I come in?”

“Lady Haniel? What brings you here… Ah, please, come in first.”

Before heading to Orias’s room, I visited Ardal’s.

I had already informed him that I would be staying in Orias’s room tonight.

Freed from his escort duties for the night, Ardal was dressed comfortably, sitting on his bed. The bedside lamp was on, and he had been reading a book when he welcomed me.

“Am I disturbing you?”

“Disturbing me? Of course not.”

As he set the book aside to turn toward me, I caught a glimpse of a violin illustration on the cover.

A book about music?

“What were you reading?”

“Ah…”

When I glanced at the book, Ardal shifted subtly, blocking my view with his body. His reaction was a little flustered.

“I wasn’t sure how to properly maintain a violin… so I was reading about it.”

“Why are you looking up maintenance techniques?”

“I’ve heard that instruments, like swords, have their own methods of upkeep. But I lack knowledge in this area, so I was trying to learn…”

No, that wasn’t what I was asking. I wasn’t questioning the existence of maintenance techniques—I was asking why he needed to know them.

I tilted my head, puzzled. What need did Ardal have to maintain an instrument?

If there was any violin that needed maintenance, it would be mine. But I always carried my violin, the one I had received as a gift from Dietrich, and I took care of its upkeep myself.

As I furrowed my brows in confusion, Ardal quickly changed the subject.

“More importantly, Lady Haniel, what brings you to my room?”

Ah, I had almost wasted time getting distracted.

“I heard you would be staying with His Holiness tonight.”

I had come to see Ardal because I needed to arrange Hella’s departure from the temple.

“Hella needs a horse tomorrow morning. It must be prepared in secret. Can you arrange that?”

“Lady Haniel, if it has to be done in secret…”

“Yes, Orias must not know.”

“That is…”

Ardal trailed off. His expression was full of hesitation.

“It’s for a reason that’s been weighing on me. This won’t harm Orias.”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking, “Is this related to the system?”

“Ah.”

“This morning, you said you were startled because of the system.”

This time, I hesitated. Would it be alright to discuss the system with Ardal?

Lucius and Orias, who could sense the system, were both extremely hostile toward it. Among those connected to me, Dion and Adrian were the only ones who didn’t openly reject it.

Dietrich, perhaps because he had once used the system himself, seemed more curious about its limits than I was.

Ardal, on the other hand, wasn’t outright opposed to it, but he always became noticeably uneasy whenever the system was mentioned.

“Lady Haniel.”

Ardal pressed anxiously, urging me for an answer.

I couldn’t ask him to keep this from Orias while refusing to tell him anything.

After a moment of hesitation, I made up my mind—I would explain the situation to Ardal.