I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 129

Pushed out of the torture chamber by the system, I leaned against the wall, feeling nauseous.

<Find the room of Priest [????] and collect information.>

<Currently collected fragments of [???]’s memory: (0/3)>

System windows popped up one after another, but the gruesome scene I had just witnessed wouldn’t leave my mind.

I had known that Joruo had suddenly disappeared during the second playthrough, but I had never imagined he had ended up like that. To be honest, I had never cared enough to wonder.

Yet, seeing him in such a state in a place I hadn’t known about left me with an unpleasant feeling, and I let out a quiet sigh.

There was a reason Ardal had been unable to meet my eyes when he told me about this place.

“Lady Haniel?”

As I absentmindedly leaned against the wall, a familiar voice brought me back to my senses. I had let my guard down since this corridor wasn’t frequented by priests.

“How did you…?”

Fortunately, the one who had come looking for me wasn’t Orias but Ardal.

His hands were full of what appeared to be medicines meant for Joruo. When I stared at his hands, he awkwardly hid them behind his back.

“This is, well…”

“Were you going to give them to Joruo?” I asked indifferently, and Ardal lowered his head heavily.

“…Yes.”

“Do you have any painkillers? It looks like treatment would be difficult, so at least easing his suffering would be good.”

“Did you meet Joruo? The door was locked—how did you get in?”

Ardal, who had been unable to meet my gaze, lifted his head in surprise at my offhanded remark.

I couldn’t tell him that it was the Ardal from the second playthrough who had given me the means to enter, so I changed the subject.

“I need to wash my hands first. Ardal, you go in. I’ll wait in the garden.”

I raised my hands as I spoke. Seeing the dried blood and filth on them, Ardal frowned slightly before replying.

“Understood.”

“Don’t tell Orias that I was here. I don’t want to needlessly worry him.”

<[Ardal]’s capture has been completed.>

• The result of the event ‘The Commander’s Dilemma,’ ‘Ardal’s Oath,’ has been activated.
• No matter what request is made, Ardal will never refuse ‘Haniel’s’ request.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t wish for it, Lady Haniel, I won’t tell anyone.”

I had been slightly worried about whether he would comply, but Ardal answered with unwavering certainty.

He was behaving exactly as the system had described.

I briefly wondered what his response would have been if I hadn’t captured him, but the thought didn’t last long.

As I watched Ardal’s retreating figure disappear into the torture chamber, I rubbed my hands together.

The bloodstains wouldn’t come off.

After washing my hands five times, I lifted them to check.

Ardal arrived just as I was still inspecting them.

It still felt like there was a faint reddish tint on them. Should I wash them once more?

I frowned and examined my hands carefully. I could see faint streaks of red caught between the fine lines of my palms.

As I debated whether to wash them again, Ardal approached and grabbed my hands.

I twisted my wrist slightly as he tried to wipe them with a white handkerchief.

“There’s still blood on my hands…”

“Joruo is receiving the punishment he deserves for attempting to harm you. You need not feel any guilt over it.”

As he wiped my wet fingers with the handkerchief, Ardal spoke calmly.

Even though he wasn’t applying any force, I couldn’t pull my wrist free. I let my hands go limp, worried that his handkerchief would be stained with blood.

I didn’t feel guilty for Joruo’s sake.

I just thought the punishment he was receiving was a bit excessive. According to the information the system had shown me, he would suffer in that condition for another 65 hours before dying.

“Did you give him the medicine properly?”

“I left the painkillers with him. He should be able to sleep without pain for the next six hours.”

I nodded slightly in response.

After thoroughly wiping both my hands, Ardal finally let go.

There were no bloodstains on his handkerchief.

“But Lady Haniel, how did you find that place?” Ardal asked hesitantly. “The only ones who knew about Joruo’s location were His Holiness and myself. If another priest or knight provided you with this information, could you tell me who it was?”

Even though he hesitated, his tone was filled with certainty that someone had leaked the information.

There wasn’t a hint of suspicion directed at me.

“What are you talking about?”

As Ardal and I locked eyes, a new voice interrupted us. We both turned our heads at the same time.

Orias, who had been following a priest, dismissed them with a wave of his hand and approached us.

“This isn’t a matter Your Holiness needs to concern himself with.”

Ardal stepped beside me as he spoke. It was the first time I had seen him attempt to deflect a question.

I immediately thought that his attempt would only pique Orias’s curiosity further.

As if to confirm my thoughts, Orias let out a quiet chuckle.

“Now that you say that, I’m even more curious. What were you talking about?”

It seemed he had the same thought as me.

At Orias’s question, Ardal simply lowered his gaze and clamped his mouth shut. Anyone could see that he was hiding something.

Orias, finding his reaction strange, turned to look at me with a questioning gaze.

“Haniel?”

“I was talking about the abilities I acquired.”

“If it’s about that, then isn’t it exactly the kind of conversation I should be interested in?”

It wasn’t something I could keep hidden for long. If I stayed silent, the Ardal of the third playthrough might get caught up in unnecessary trouble.

I decided to claim that I had obtained the information through my abilities, which had been granted to me by the holy water.

Orias responded with a tone of amusement, “Ardal, keep watch and make sure no one comes near.”

“Yes.”

As Ardal sharply scanned his surroundings, Orias turned to me and asked, “Will you tell me what kind of ability you’ve gained?”

How should I explain it? A skill for finding people?

No, that wouldn’t explain how I managed to unlock the restraints in the torture chamber.

“Haniel?”

“It’s difficult to explain precisely. I still don’t fully understand what kind of ability it is myself…”

“Try explaining.”

“I just came from meeting Priest Joruo.”

The smile on Orias’s face slowly vanished. He turned to Ardal with a hardened expression, suspicion flickering in his gaze. He seemed to be wondering if Ardal had told me about Joruo.

“Ardal didn’t tell me anything. I found him on my own.”

“Then how did you unlock the restraints?”

“Well, I… saw the method.”

Of course, I hadn’t seen anything, but I lied with confidence.

Orias had the ability to manipulate memories, but he wasn’t capable of detecting lies. However, perhaps because I hesitated slightly, his expression remained doubtful as he studied me.

“From what you’ve told me, it’s difficult to determine exactly what kind of ability it is. Tell me more, Haniel. Have you ever consciously wanted to seek out Joruo?”

“No, never…”

“Then it wasn’t your own will that led you there. That’s quite the unique ability. It might even be dangerous,” Orias said with an unreadable expression.

“Dangerous?”

“Joruo was someone who tried to kill you. If your ability is to find people like that, wouldn’t you consider it dangerous?”

“Oh, I suppose that’s possible.” I agreed absentmindedly.

“I should increase your guards. Avoid moving around alone—it’s too risky.”

“What?”

“There’s no guarantee that there aren’t more people like Joruo. Ardal, you agree, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

This is bad.

I bit the inside of my cheek and forced a smile.

I need to find one more priest’s room, but how am I supposed to do that with increased surveillance?

“If you find something with your ability and need to investigate, make sure to inform either me or Ardal first before moving.”

Orias gently swept my hair back as he spoke in a warm tone.

“That way, you won’t get hurt.”

***

<Logging out of the game.>

I clutched my head and sat up abruptly.

I was doomed. I could already tell that this playthrough wasn’t going the way I had intended.

“Damn it…”

This game didn’t allow manual saves or resets to a previous point. The only way to restart was by dying or reaching an ending.

Right now, I didn’t have the luxury of starting over.

I had only been given three months. Within this playthrough, I had to uncover everything about Orias.

“You’re awake.”

“Ardal.”

I had said I would take full responsibility, but I had ended up in a situation where I could barely move as I wished. It made me want to cry.

Seeing Ardal appear at just the right moment, I reached out toward him.

Right now, I just wanted to whine to someone, and Ardal was the perfect person to console me.

As he sat on the bed, he asked, “Did something bad happen?”

“I need to find the priest’s room, but I can’t locate it…”

“If you know who the priest is, I may be able to help.”

Leaning against Ardal’s chest, I let out a long sigh.

“The problem is, I don’t know the name. And now that I have extra guards, I can’t even move around freely.”

“…Lady Haniel, have you considered searching that place?”

After listening quietly, Ardal spoke in a calm tone. I tilted my head slightly, peeking up at his face.

What place was he referring to?

As I turned the question over in my mind, I suddenly recalled something I had completely forgotten due to the current situation.

“Oh, you mean the place Hella mentioned…?”

“Yes, the restricted area.”

“Why didn’t I think of checking there? I need to investigate it immediately.”

If there was any important location in Orias’s route, it had to be that place. Even if it wasn’t the priest’s room, I might be able to gather new information.

Suddenly energized, I pushed myself up from Ardal’s embrace.

“Are you planning to go right away? You’ve been lying down all this time, so your body must be stiff. Shouldn’t you at least go for a short walk first…?”

Seeing me spring to action, Ardal hesitated for a moment, then cut himself off. He must have realized he was speaking out of turn.

Instead of finishing his sentence, he forced himself to adopt a more formal tone.

“Never mind, please disregard that.”

Hearing the subtle disappointment in his voice, I finally took a moment to look around the room.

It had been arranged in a way that prioritized my protection.

Aside from a few slices of bread on the table, there was nothing prepared for Ardal. Since I didn’t need food while inside the game, he had likely been sustaining himself with minimal rations.

He didn’t complain, so I had to make sure to take care of him. Suppressing my guilt, I reached out and took his hand.

“Then let’s take a walk and have a meal together. I’m hungry.”

“There’s not much food left…”

“That’s why you should have been eating properly even when I wasn’t awake.”

Ardal flusteredly glanced at the table before furrowing his brows in distress. I laughed at his expression and clung to his arm.

“I’ll make sure to prepare better next time.”

“You shouldn’t just prepare—you should actually eat properly. Otherwise, how can I trust you to take care of me?”

***

Information 1. <Support Character>

• If a single capture route is entered, one capture target will act as support.
• Support character selection conditions: Achieve maximum favorability before entering a single route.
• If the support character’s favorability is not maxed out, the game difficulty will increase.
• Support characters provide significant assistance to the player.

<Support Character Information>

1. [Orias]’s single route support character is [Ardal].