I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 157

Lucius, who had let out a hollow laugh, frowned. The Saintess whispered something to Dion and left the banquet hall. Dion began handling the nobles who had been lingering around the Saintess in her place.

It wasn’t something someone who used to leave all interactions at banquets to Dietrich would normally do.

Lucius, watching Dion attend to the nobles on the Saintess’s behalf, asked Adrian, “Did you hear what the Saintess just said?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“She said her head was a bit muddled and she was going out for some air.”

Hearing Adrian’s reply, Lucius scoffed. “And he actually let her go alone. Adrian, assign someone to follow the Saintess immediately.”

Lucius gave the order in a cold tone. As Adrian stepped away from his side, Dion—who had been engaging the nobles—spotted them.

Dion excused himself from the nobles surrounding him and approached Lucius. Something about Dion’s expression said he had something to say, and Lucius felt an inexplicable chill.

He had a strong sense that he shouldn’t hear what Dion was about to say. It seemed like Dion had made up his mind about something, and Lucius had the gut feeling it wouldn’t be anything good for him.

“Sir Lucius.”

When Dion called him with a heavy tone, the foreboding grew even stronger. Lucius suppressed the urge to stop him from speaking and waited for what was to come.

Dion took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I have promised to marry the Saintess.”

The moment Dion uttered those words, Adrian, who had just turned to assign someone to follow the Saintess, abruptly wheeled around. Dietrich, who had been with Dion and had just arrived by Lucius’s side, looked utterly dismayed. He had been about to place a hand on Dion’s shoulder, but now his hand froze mid-air.

Adrian’s shocked face and Dietrich’s stiffened figure made the situation look almost farcical, but Lucius couldn’t laugh as he watched them.

“…He’s gone mad.”

All he could manage was to mouth those words with lips that barely moved.

***

<Lucius’s affection has greatly decreased!>

<Dietrich’s affection has greatly decreased!>

<Adrian’s affection has greatly decreased!>

<If a capture target’s affection drops too low, they can no longer be captured. Please be mindful of your progress.>

<Character [Lucius]’s affection is very low. The lower the affection, the more restrictions you will face when operating in the Imperial Palace.>

As I walked through a secret passageway in the Imperial Palace, I checked the system windows and hurried my steps.

It was clear that while I was away, Dion had told them he’d promised to marry me. Otherwise, there was no way to explain this sudden drop in affection.

<Dion’s affection has slightly increased.>

Right after the windows showing their affection drop appeared, a new one popped up saying Dion’s affection had slightly increased. It seemed that now that he’d announced his promise, he had resolved himself.

Seriously, he’s so easy to read.

The way I could predict everything Dion was doing without even seeing him made me smile faintly. He really was someone who was hard to hate.

Slipping into Lucius’s room undetected, I easily retrieved the document.

<‘Secret Document’ acquisition complete!>

• Opening the document will grant you the information necessary for the current play.

I didn’t have time to read it now. I stored the document in my inventory and used the secret passage to head toward the garden near the banquet hall. I intended to return naturally.

“Huh?”

Just as I was straightening my clothes and preparing to walk back in as if nothing had happened, I spotted someone suspicious and stopped in my tracks. The person was loitering near the entrance to the secret passage I had used.

What the… was someone else following me?

I had been relieved Dion hadn’t followed, but it seemed someone else had been sent. Entering the passage required either holy power or magic—or an item that could substitute for either.

That person had probably tried to follow me but couldn’t enter and was now investigating the area.

I couldn’t just let him be, so I approached silently.

“Looks like you’re in trouble. You seem to be searching for something—can I help you with anything?”

“Gah…!”

I placed a hand on his shoulder as I spoke. Seeing his startled face at my voice, I smiled as kindly as I could.

“Ah…”

The man stood there with his mouth hanging open, dazed. His eyes clouded over. I lightly altered his memory and withdrew my hand.

His eyes quickly cleared.

“No, nothing.”

He stared dazedly at the hand I had lifted from his shoulder, then bowed his head. He passed by me as if nothing had happened, and I frowned. The wound on my palm must have been pressed when I placed my hand on his shoulder—the sutured area throbbed. The sensation wasn’t severe due to the dullness, but it was definitely there.

It would’ve been a disaster if he had taken the same passage as me.

Since I altered his memory, he should remember me as having remained in the garden the entire time.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I entered the banquet hall. A piercing gaze struck me.

The most hostile gaze among them belonged to Lucius. His stare was so fierce that I quickly stepped close to Dion’s side. If I let my guard down this round, I might really get struck by lightning on a clear day, just as Orias had warned.

From now on, I should walk around the palace clinging to Dion’s arm. Surely they wouldn’t try to kill me with Dion attached, right?

I glanced at Lucius’s sharp, chilling gaze and thought.

If I had just let that man who was chasing me earlier go, I definitely would’ve hit a dead ending.

As I was breathing a sigh of relief, Dion quickly grabbed my hand.

I had been about to check Dietrich and Adrian’s expressions when I blinked in surprise and looked at Dion.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“I think the wound has reopened.”

Dion looked closely at my bandaged hand as he spoke. As he said, a bloodstain had formed on the bandage. The surface of the thickly wrapped bandage had soaked through, which meant the wound underneath was serious.

Because I had lowered the sensation slightly when it was being treated, the area had gone numb, and I hadn’t noticed.

“Oh… you’re right.”

“Please don’t move.”

When I reflexively twitched my fingers, Dion held my hand and stopped me.

“We need to visit the physician again.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

Dion replied as if it were only natural. After reminding me again not to move my hand, he draped a shawl over me and walked toward Adrian.

When Dion said something while pointing to me, Adrian nodded coldly in my direction. A system window popped up alongside his frigid gaze.

<Adrian’s affection has decreased.>

I gave Adrian a resigned smile.

I’d have to try capturing him several more times in the future, so I needed to get used to that kind of gaze. Looking at the system window, I did my best to accept the situation.

Alright, just like I used to—let’s think of this simply as a game. Even Adrian, who’s glaring at me right now, is just a character in the game.

“Saintess.”

As I tried to shake off my disappointment, Dietrich appeared before me with a smile. Behind him, Tricia caught sight of him and grimaced in disgust as she passed.

Tricia only seemed to become my rival character if I pursued Dietrich’s route. Dahlia, who had been standing beside Tricia, gave me a sidelong glance, but she passed by without showing any particular interest.

Since Tricia was doing fine, she had no reason to speak to me.

As I dazedly watched their retreating backs, which didn’t even acknowledge my presence, I turned my gaze back to Dietrich, who was still smiling.

He followed my gaze toward Tricia and then said with a laugh, “Miss Tricia tends to draw attention. She’s even more impressive during the Hunting Festival. Shall I introduce you?”

Dietrich spoke in a kind tone, but I rejected his offer immediately.

“No, if we’re meant to meet, there’ll be a chance to talk even without an introduction from you, Grand Duke.”

“To speak of fate—you’re quite the romantic, Saintess.”

Dietrich spoke in an exaggerated tone, blinking as though he hadn’t expected me to say that. His extravagant, laughing expression was exquisite.

I looked at Dietrich’s face as he tried to charm me with a dazzling smile and regained my composure.

Yes, now that Dietrich is acting like this, it feels like a game.

His face was so unrealistically perfect that even in real life, I sometimes felt a sense of disconnect when looking at him. He was almost too pretty to seem human when he smiled.

I smiled calmly, as though admiring a well-crafted character.

“You even injured your hand trying to protect Dion…”

Dietrich murmured as he looked at my hand. A cold light flickered in his narrowed eyes as he stared down at it. Then, changing his expression, he looked up at me.

“I heard that once the welcome banquet ends, you’ll return to Dion’s mansion.”

I tilted my head, focusing on what he was trying to say. I couldn’t tell what he was getting at.

What is he trying to say?

<Related Information Available>

• You may now check information related to Support Characters.

A soft exclamation escaped me when a system window appeared in front of Dietrich, who still hadn’t opened his mouth. Information began to populate the system window.

<Support Character>

• When entering a single-capture route, one of the capture targets transforms into a support character.
• Condition for transformation into a support character: (Before entering a single route, reach max affection with the support character)
• If you fail to reach max affection with the support character, the difficulty of gameplay will increase.

It was information I’d obtained while capturing Orias.

<[Dion] Single Route’s Support Character is [Dietrich].>

• If Character [Dietrich]’s affection reaches max, he can assist you in the events that follow.

I read the system and weighed my options.

It would be great to get help in the playthrough, but increasing Dietrich’s affection wasn’t easy. If I failed while trying to get his help, I’d probably just waste playtime.

While Dietrich hesitated in silence, Dion—who had finished talking with Adrian—walked straight toward us. It wasn’t until Dion arrived that Dietrich finally spoke.

“To prevent you from getting hurt again, Saintess, this time I’ll accompany you.”

“What do you mean…?”

Dion murmured in confusion, but Dietrich smiled as if gauging my reaction and waited for my answer.