I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 136

I left the temple with Ardal. Thanks to his knowledge of the temple’s layout, we were able to slip out without being noticed by the priests.

“Ardal, have you snuck out before? You seem to know your way around escape routes very well.”

“No, this is my first time leaving without permission… Ah, but I have caught others sneaking out before.”

Ardal hesitated before answering. Catching people who attempted to leave the temple without permission since he was young—it was such a typical Ardal response.

It seemed that following rules was in his nature. His answer made me laugh for the first time in a long while.

Ardal, who had been slightly awkward while mentioning his past of catching grown-ups, blinked at my laughter. As he stared at me in surprise, he uncharacteristically started chatting.

“The passage we just used was discovered by someone who frequently snuck out. He was quite upset when I finally caught him there.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and he even offered to let me use the passage in exchange for turning a blind eye just once…”

As if determined not to let me sink into my thoughts, Ardal continued speaking without pause. It was endearing to see the usually quiet boy struggling to find things to say.

Honestly, what Ardal was saying wasn’t particularly funny. But I still found myself laughing as I listened to him.

His desperate efforts to make me smile somehow reminded me of my brother. Selfless, kind, and willing to do anything for me—just like the child who had declared he would become Pope because I didn’t want to.

I was starting to understand why Ardal’s nature leaned so strongly toward pure goodness. It was rare to find someone who would go to such lengths just to make others happy.

Unless they were born with a naturally kind heart, like my brother or Ardal, it wouldn’t be easy.

Haniel, who was listening to Ardal, was laughing, but I, for some reason, felt deeply troubled. Haniel didn’t know the truth, but I already knew that Orias had taken part in killing my brother.

It was difficult to accept that Orias had contributed to the death of someone so kind. Orias’s childhood jealousy of Ardal had led to something so horrific.

In reality, Orias was said to suffer from nightmares. But was he even entitled to claim that? Rather, it was strange that he hadn’t felt guilt until now.

It was no wonder the system had suggested deleting him.

No… I shouldn’t be thinking this way.

I was starting to empathize too much with Haniel’s emotions again. My heart was leaning toward accepting the system’s suggestion to erase Orias.

It would be best to take a break for now. I should log out first…

<Logging out is temporarily unavailable in the Hidden Stage, [The Past].>

Just as I thought about logging out, a familiar system window appeared. Seeing the message, I gritted my teeth.

It had told me I could log out!

I wanted to vent my frustration by throwing a shoe at the system window, but my body wasn’t under my control. I could only glare furiously at the screen from within Haniel’s body.

As if sensing my anger, the system window faded slightly.

I had no choice but to continue watching Haniel’s past.

“Lady Haniel, may I ask what you’re holding?”

“This? It’s nothing special… It’s my brother’s old book.”

As he continued talking, Ardal pointed at the book I had been holding onto the entire time. I had been carrying it tightly in my arms ever since leaving the temple.

While searching for something my brother had left behind, this was the only thing I managed to find. It was filled with scribbles and casual conversations from Theodora’s lessons. Moments she had generously overlooked were documented throughout the pages.

I opened the book and showed it to Ardal as I spoke, “I’m going to use this to make a grave for Orias oppa.”

“That… would be difficult in the temple…”

“Yeah, I know… But still.”

I responded bitterly to Ardal’s hesitant words.

I had already thought about how difficult it would be to visit his grave freely if I made one within the temple.

Lost in those gloomy thoughts, I caught sight of Ardal’s concerned face and changed my expression, forcing a smile.

Pressing close to Ardal’s side, I showed him the writing in the book in detail.

“Look at this—my brother wrote this because he thought I wasn’t studying properly.”

“Oh, this is Lord Orias’s handwriting.”

“Yeah, his handwriting is nice, right? But he treated me like a child. A Guide for Haniel’s Smooth Education—what even is this? Was he trying to tease me?”

“He wrote detailed explanations on every page. It’s very easy to understand.”

“Yeah…”

As I showed the book to Ardal, I stopped walking and focused entirely on the pages. It felt like I could hear my brother’s voice in every word.

“He always studied everything first before teaching me…”

I muttered as I traced my fingers over the neatly written letters.

“Since he’s gone, now I have to do it myself.”

While Haniel was deep in thought, I, too, studied the writing carefully.

The handwriting felt oddly familiar. Wasn’t this the exact same handwriting as the text in the game’s guidebook?

My observation skills weren’t particularly sharp, so I couldn’t be completely certain.

“Priest Theodora taught me how to read and write holy script using holy power. There are even letters that only I can see.”

“Are these letters that I can’t see?”

“Yeah, they’re right here, but you can’t see them, right?”

“Yes. I can’t see them.”

Proudly, I pointed to the corner of the book. Ardal stared at the spot my finger indicated for a long time before shaking his head.

Ah, this was similar to how Lucius had read my game guidebook.

Back when I was capturing Lucius, he had startled me by reading the guidebook—something that should have been unreadable to anyone but the player. At that time, he had used magic to decipher the text.

“If you want to read something written using holy power…”

Right now, the way Haniel was explaining it to Ardal was strikingly similar to what Lucius had done.

Then, perhaps if I used holy power to read the game guidebook, I might be able to see something different? I should check the guidebook again once I log out.

I focused on Haniel’s explanation as attentively as Ardal did.

As we talked, we arrived at a hill near the house. I had already dug a hole where the book could fit, but I hesitated.

“U-uh, maybe we don’t need to put anything inside the grave? Since this is a keepsake, wouldn’t it be better if I kept it?”

When it came time to bury it, I found myself reluctant. I was hesitant to let go of the last trace of my only brother. Clutching the book to my chest, I looked at Ardal desperately.

Seeing me hugging the book tightly, Ardal hesitated before shutting his eyes and saying, “It would be best to bury it.”

“B-but wouldn’t it be more meaningful if I kept it…?”

“If you keep it, you will continue to think of Lord Orias. Of course, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.”

Ardal took a deep breath and opened his eyes again.

“But if you keep thinking of Lord Orias like this, I fear you might lose sight of other things.”

“…I see.”

“But I will follow your decision, Lady Haniel. Please tell me what you want to do.”

I couldn’t ignore the words of someone I trusted. Taking a deep breath, I slowly released my grip on the book.

***

After making the grave, I entered the empty house and locked myself inside the wardrobe.

Ardal, startled to see me crawling into the wardrobe, hesitated before squeezing inside as well. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with him, I quickly drifted off to sleep.

For the first time in days, I fell into a deep slumber, just as I had when my brother was still alive.

Ardal remained still, awkwardly stiff beside me. But when my breathing evened out, he carefully tilted my head onto his shoulder.

His shoulders were rigid with tension, every muscle locked in place.

A long time passed after I had fallen asleep. Then, the wardrobe door was yanked open violently.

At the loud footsteps rushing into the room, Ardal instinctively pulled me into his arms. Perhaps worried that the intruder was a threat, his heartbeat pounded heavily against my ear.

“Lady Haniel!”

Fortunately, the one who had thrown open the wardrobe was Theodora.

The sudden noise and light made me scrunch my eyes shut and burrow deeper into Ardal’s embrace.

“Ugh…”

“Priest Theodora.”

“Ardal, you’re here too…! If you were going to leave, you should have told me first! Do you know how worried I was—!”

“Please calm down. Lady Haniel is still asleep.”

I must have been exhausted from not sleeping for days. I couldn’t wake up properly, even with all the noise.

Seeing me frown in my sleep, Theodora lowered her voice. “…She’s asleep?”

“Yes.”

“I see… That’s good, then. Ardal, from now on, even if you don’t tell anyone else, at least inform me before you leave. When I saw that Lady Haniel was gone, I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Yes, I will be sure to notify you next time, Priest Theodora.”

“Since I have your promise, I’ll let it slide this time. Besides… it seems thanks to you, Lady Haniel was finally able to rest.”

Theodora spoke in a much calmer tone. A brief silence followed.

“Now that I think about it, Lady Haniel used to sleep in the wardrobe often when she was here.”

“She fell asleep the moment she got inside just now as well.”

“The wardrobe… I suppose I could have it moved to my room. If this wardrobe is what helped her sleep soundly, then that would be ideal…”

<Theodora’s Room>

• Item ‘Haniel’s Wardrobe’ has been added.

A system window briefly popped up during their conversation before vanishing.

“Let’s head back, Ardal.”

“Yes.”

Carried on Theodora’s back, I woke up just as we were about to reenter the temple. The cozy feeling I had inside the wardrobe faded like an ebbing tide.

As soon as I woke up, Theodora scolded me lightly for sneaking out.

Before we reentered through the passage that Ardal and I had used to leave, Theodora grabbed my hand and gave me a firm warning.

“The selection ceremony is scheduled for four days from now. El will go first, and then it will be your turn.”

Theodora continued to refer to Orias as “El.” Hearing her call him that gave me a strange sense of comfort.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke to Theodora, “Before the selection ceremony, please find out exactly what happened to my brother. I need to know before I can make my decision.”

“Your decision?”

“Whether I should let El become Pope as he wishes, or…”

I trailed off, then finished my sentence clearly.

“…Whether I should become Pope instead.”

<Character [Orias]’s mandatory event, ‘Erased Memories,’ progress updated.>

• Current progress: 90%.

Listening to Haniel’s now-familiar voice, I checked the system window.

It seemed that the selection ceremony, four days from now, would be the final event of this hidden stage.

I closed the system window, hoping—just once—that Orias would make the right choice.