I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 147

“You said once you log in, you could sleep for days, so why do you keep waking up? It’s distracting—I can’t get any work done.”

“It’s not like I want to wake up! Ugh, the chance of getting that ability is six percent, so why isn’t it coming out?”

Rubbing the spot on my chest that still felt like being pricked with a needle, I frowned. I had boldly logged into the game, but every time I failed to acquire the ability ‘Eyes of the Wraith,’ I kept resetting.

So far, I had triggered [Heat] twenty-eight times, [Potion Crafting] seven times, [Telepathy] three times, and other abilities like [Swordsmanship], [Cleaning], and [Command Word]. The total came to forty-nine.

Dion, who had seriously seen me off with concern, changed his expression every time I logged out—now, he looked obviously annoyed.

Considering he had stopped trying to leave forty-nine times after checking whether I was asleep, I could understand why he was fed up.

Letting out a short sigh, Dion said to me, “If you’re going to get up again, at least give me a heads-up.”

“This time it won’t happen. Even if I don’t get the ability, I’m just going to move forward with it.”

Grinding my teeth at his weary tone, I lay back down on the bed with a firm resolution. Just as I lay down and pressed near my chest, Dion stopped me.

“Wait a second. Are you sure you’re not hurt somewhere?”

“Ah.”

“You keep, you know, rubbing your chest…”

Dion averted his gaze downward as he spoke. He didn’t linger long, but when his eyes returned to my face, his cheeks had turned slightly red.

I pulled down the collar near my chest and checked the spot where a phantom pain lingered. The area that had been bloodied in the game was completely clean without a scratch.

Dion didn’t know, but my method of resetting was by taking my own life. Even with the sensitivity lowered, stabbing myself with a blade was something I couldn’t easily do in a rational state.

So every time I came to, I kept rubbing my chest unconsciously.

Still, since my real body hadn’t suffered any injury, I lightly shook my head.

“I’m fine.”

“If you’re hurt, don’t hide it—just say so.”

“I said I’m not hurt. Do you want to see for yourself?”

“…It’s not like I want to see or anything!”

When I tugged at my collar and spoke, Dion shouted with a flushed face. As I looked calmly at his expression, he opened his mouth wordlessly and then avoided my gaze.

“If you don’t want to see, then don’t—but why are you yelling?”

He had shouted so confidently, but there was no way I didn’t notice how his gaze swept near my chest. After seeing Dion’s throat bob with a heavy swallow, I quickly lay back down on the bed and pushed him away.

“I’m not hurt, so don’t worry. I really won’t be waking up again, so don’t wait around.”

There was something bothering me more than Dion, who was blushing in front of me right now. It was Ardal’s changing reactions every time I reset.

To reset, I used the dagger while in Ardal’s arms, since he was the closest. At first, Ardal hadn’t reacted at all, but the more I repeated it, the more his behavior changed.

He started furrowing his brows even before I approached him, or twisting his body to avoid my touch when I stepped down from the altar.

Orias, Dion, and Dietrich hadn’t changed from the beginning, so maybe I was imagining it…

Tilting my head in thought, I opened the system.

<The Saintess Is a Spy! – 4th Playthrough (50)->

<The time ratio between game and reality is 1:1.>

<While the game is in progress, your real body will remain in a sleep state.>

Since I hadn’t cleared the playthrough normally, the 4th run was still in progress.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I received the Holy Grail from Orias. Staring wearily at the holy water I had grown sick of drinking, I shut my eyes tightly and gulped it down.

This is really the last time. The end.

I don’t care if it’s [Heat] or whatever—whatever ability I get, I’ll use it to clear Dion’s route.

<The holy water grants you a mystical ability.>

• You have acquired the mystical ability [Eyes of the Wraith].

As I opened my eyes with everything resigned, I blinked blankly.

Uh… it appeared.

<Ability Acquired: [Eyes of the Wraith]!>

• The higher the ability level, the longer it can be used.

After forty-nine resets, I finally got it. Having actually obtained it, I felt oddly dazed.

“Haniel, focus.”

Orias called my name softly as I stared blankly at the system window. I quickly closed the system. I wanted to examine the ability in detail, but there were too many eyes watching.

I had finally gotten the ability—I couldn’t let this playthrough end in failure!

Forcing myself to calm down, I focused on the ritual.

***

• Can faintly see things invisible to ordinary people.
• Usable once per day, for 30 minutes.
• Special Note: This is a required skill to enter character [Dion]’s perfect ending.

Being able to see faintly was a small relief, I supposed.

“Haa…”

With my heart still pounding, I confirmed the ability and let out a long sigh.

Seriously, this was the last ability I ever wanted to level up.

Departure to the Empire was tomorrow. I considered trying the ability once before leaving, but decided against it. Just thinking about it was terrifying—if I used it alone in my room, I might literally die from shock.

How could I die so meaninglessly after all it took to obtain this ability?

I buried myself completely in the bed, trying to force myself to sleep, but the irritating sound of the wind made me open my eyes and sit up.

Before logging into the game, Dion’s words kept echoing in my head. I rubbed my arms that were covered in goosebumps, recalling the scary stories he had excitedly told me, and looked around.

As I scanned the dark room, I noticed a faint light coming through the crack of the door and got to my feet.

A shadow was shifting in the light beneath the door.

Was it Ardal?

I hesitated and opened the door. Fortunately, Ardal was leaning against it.

He didn’t even notice I had opened it—he was deep in thought. A dark shadow seemed to hang over his eyes as he stared straight ahead.

“Ardal?”

His expressionless face was always hard to read, but tonight it was worse than usual. I thought maybe it was because I was about to leave for the Empire, so I reached out to comfort him.

“Ugh!”

Before I could place my hand on his arm, my wrist was seized in a harsh grip.

His movement was so quick that it was hard to believe he had been lost in thought just moments before.

Even as I frowned from the pain of his grip, Ardal made no move to let go. He stared at me with his usual blank expression.

“That hurts—let go…”

“What are you trying to do?”

“…What?”

A low, sunken voice came from his lips. His eyes scanned me with a cold sharpness I hadn’t seen before.

“Is there something you’re looking for on me?”

I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. Twisting my wrist, now bloodless, I asked, “What are you talking about? Let go first—it hurts.”

His aggressive attitude was more worrying than frightening. Ardal had always protected me.

“Ardal!”

When I raised my voice, Ardal’s confused expression returned and he released me. He looked flustered as he noticed the red mark left on my wrist.

“I’m sorry, Lady Haniel. I…”

“It’s okay… Ah.”

“Ah.”

Ardal, who had been examining my wrist as he apologized, once again grabbed it sharply when I placed my hand on his chest.

It seemed like a reflexive reaction.

I frowned and pulled my hand back, confused by his strange behavior.

Why is he acting like this today?

He was overly sensitive whenever I touched him. Even when I visited Orias in the second playthrough, he hadn’t reacted like this.

“…I’m sorry.”

Ardal bowed his head, clearly unsettled. His face, full of confusion, tilted toward the floor.

Instead of scolding him, I took him by the wrist and led him into the room.

During the second and third playthroughs, I had no time before leaving for the Empire because I was focusing on Orias’s route. But now I was pursuing Dion, so I had more time. Even if I used that time to calm Ardal down before leaving, it wouldn’t interfere with the capture route.

Once I brought Ardal into the room, I turned on the light and gently pushed his back to force him into the chair. When I placed my hand on his shoulder, he stiffened with tension.

He didn’t grab my wrist this time, but I could feel just how nervous he was.

Why is he acting like this? I don’t understand.

I thought to myself as I helped him remove his outer coat. I wrapped it over my arm, but just as I was about to hang it over the chair, I felt something heavy.

It was the same dagger I had used to reset at the coronation ceremony.

My hand was familiar with the dagger after using it many times. As I idly spun it, the grip snug against my palm, I felt a gaze on me.

Seated in the chair, Ardal had turned his head to look at the dagger in my hand. His eyes slowly traveled from the dagger to my face.

After staring into my eyes for a long moment, he suddenly snatched the dagger away. The moment our eyes met as he seized it with a fierce grip, a chill ran down my spine.

It was as if he couldn’t even tolerate the sight of the dagger in my hand.

I knew that gifting a dagger to a saintess carried a negative connotation, but this wasn’t a gift—it was something I had only held for a moment.

Ardal’s reaction was excessive. He looked like someone who knew I had used that dagger to take my own life countless times.

Come to think of it, Ardal had always been strange in certain ways. When I logged out, he would sometimes stare into empty space, as if sensing something beyond my body. It was like he was sensing my soul, not my physical form.

Even as I recalled those odd behaviors, I couldn’t draw any solid conclusions.

All I could do was calm the trembling Ardal, whose eyes flicked anxiously toward the dagger every time my gaze landed on it—and offer him this final night in the Holy Kingdom.

***

<Updating character [Ardal] ending-related information>

1. When Ardal’s favorability is maxed out and the player experiences more than 50 forced terminations (deaths) in a single playthrough, Ardal’s hidden ending can be unlocked.

• Ardal’s hidden ending is the only confinement ending available in his route.
• If you enter the confinement ending for character [Ardal], the playthrough cannot be concluded until the player, Haniel, dies of natural causes.