I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 173

“Come to think of it, I don’t remember when I hurt my ankles at all.”

“You injured them rushing to help me. You really don’t remember anything?”

“No. And it’s not just one—it’s both feet… Honestly, I feel like I’d be more helpful not being here at all.”

“…Please don’t say that.”

I was eating and talking with Adrian. Maybe he thought I had lost my mind—Adrian was responding as if my words matched his idea of the situation.

Just like the young Adrian from the past—clumsy and inexperienced.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be able to stand like this, like this.”

That’s what Adrian said. He responded calmly, his face looking at peace.

At first, Adrian had tried to determine whether I was faking amnesia, but after a few days, he became convinced that I had truly lost my memory.

“No, Adrian. Even without me, you would have escaped from here. And you would’ve ended up at the Imperial Palace.”

“…Are you really not going to tell me who you are? Even just your name—or your age?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t tell you.”

I answered gloomily. Remembering that time when I couldn’t give Adrian any information, I responded in kind, and Adrian pressed me impatiently.

“Tell me. Even if you couldn’t back then, you can now.”

“There’s no way… This must be the price I pay for interfering with you, Adrian. Until the day you come to find me, I have no choice but to wait.”

Watching Adrian bite his lip, I gently stroked his head. “It’s alright, Adrian. You promised to find me, remember? The harder it is, the better, you said.”

Adrian looked up at me in a daze as I stroked his hair.

His pupils didn’t move at all as he stared into my eyes. I narrowed mine slightly and said, “Adrian, I believe you’ll find me.”

<Adrian’s guilt level has risen significantly!>

• Even if you make a difficult request of Adrian, he will not be able to refuse the player.

Watching Adrian’s dangerously wavering face, I said with a smiling expression, “I really want to get out of here. I want to see the sunlight.”

Adrian hesitated for a moment, then after some thought, said, “…Seeing the sunlight is possible. I can’t let you go outside, but if it’s just seeing the sun…”

“Really?”

“Yes, come here. I’ll help you up.”

“This isn’t helping me up—you’re carrying me, Adrian. I think I used to carry you. When did you get big enough to carry me? Is it possible to grow this much in just a few days?”

As Adrian lifted me into his arms, I babbled stupidly in his embrace.

It seemed he was now convinced that I was the one who had once saved him. But when exactly was he planning to apologize?

There’s only so far I can go pretending that the grown-up Adrian is still the same boy he once was.

When he lifted me like this, I honestly didn’t know how to react.

Adrian, unaffected by such things, replied calmly, “Yes, it seems so.”

“Really? Then I guess it’ll be hard for me to carry you anymore. What a shame.”

“It’s fine. I can carry you instead.”

His answer was utterly shameless.

As if he were simply stating a fact, Adrian, who had once imprisoned me, carried me out of the room and into the herb chamber.

The herb chamber was as dark as the place Adrian had kept me.

Adrian gently set me down and felt along the wall. He ran his hands along a wall without windows, then pushed something thick aside.

“A window?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, how is there a window…?”

“I was surprised when I discovered it, too.”

It was a device I hadn’t seen even in reality. As I fumbled around, Adrian replied shamelessly again, his tone not the least bit surprised.

It must have been a temporary wall. As Adrian pushed it aside, the window that had originally been there came into view. A thick curtain had been drawn to block out any light.

Before opening the window, he looked back at me and said, “If you see light again after so long, it could hurt your eyes. Keep them closed until I tell you to open them. Once you’ve adjusted, then slowly…”

“No.”

“You said you wanted to see the sun.”

“Then let me open it. Adrian, you haven’t seen the sunlight in a long time either, right? I’m fine, so let me do it.”

“…Please keep your eyes closed.”

“Adrian!”

Adrian replied firmly and approached the window. Leaving me behind, unable to move because of my broken ankle, he slowly opened the window.

As the light began to stream in, my eyes flinched.

I covered them with my hand and waited for a while—until Adrian approached and gently pulled my hand away.

Maybe it was because it had been so long since I had seen the light, but my eyes welled up with tears.

Squinting, I said, “You’ve been locked up longer than I have, but you seem perfectly fine?”

“My eyes are strong.”

He thinks I’ve lost my mind, but isn’t he brushing this off way too casually?

As I watched Adrian respond to me like he was humoring a five-year-old, I thought about pointing it out, but just laughed it off.

“I see.”

What do I mean, ‘I see’? Even I thought my reply was absurd, but Adrian ignored it and lifted me into his arms again.

The sunlight pouring in after so long made me feel genuinely happy, and my expression relaxed without needing to act.

“…Are you feeling good?”

“Yeah. But I wonder—if I jumped from here, could I escape?”

“No, there’s a trap down below.”

“Huh? As far as I know, there weren’t any traps around here…”

“Aren’t you tired? You should get some sleep.”

“No, I’m not tire—”

“You must be very tired.”

As I shifted to try and look down beneath the window, Adrian moved toward it but then suddenly stopped. He stepped back and spoke stiffly.

The moment I shook my head, I felt a sharp impact to my neck. Adrian had knocked me out as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

As my limp body slumped, he muttered, “You’ll feel refreshed after a little nap.”

Adrian, seriously… You just keep pushing it because I keep letting it slide…

<Due to strong impact, you will temporarily lose consciousness.>

***

“See? There’s a trap.”

Adrian spoke as I reopened my eyes, not long after I had fainted. This time, he showed me what lay below the window.

“…You’re right.”

There was no doubt he had set up the trap while I was unconscious.

Sharp iron spikes were now loosely arranged below the window. Pointing at those brutal spikes, Adrian said, “Because of those, you can’t escape through this side. Opening the window to see the sunlight is all you can do. I’ll find another way. Just wait a little longer.”

Adrian, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly stiffened like he was on alert.

He quickly closed the window, then picked me up and carried me into the room inside the herb chamber.

The urgency in his movements made it clear—someone was approaching his office.

It could have been Lucius, Dietrich, or even Dion, who had been forcibly removed from the palace.

“What’s wrong?” As he set me down and quickly turned to leave, I grabbed the sleeve of his robe and asked.

Adrian replied with a tense face, “I think someone’s coming. I’ll go check on the situation.”

Matching Adrian’s tense expression, I nodded my head.

***

“Adrian!”

Just after concealing the door to the Saintess’s room and locking the entrance to the herb chamber, Lucius burst into Adrian’s office.

Lucius, who opened the door without permission, looked thoroughly enraged.

“What’s going on, Sir Lucius? Even for you, it’s inappropriate to enter my office like this without consent…”

“Do you think you have the right to talk like that, knowing what you’ve done?”

“…That’s rather harsh.”

“What have you done to the Saintess?”

Lucius handed Adrian the documents he was holding as he spoke. Adrian lowered his gaze and reviewed the crumpled papers.

Lucius, struggling to control his heavy breathing, slumped down harshly into the chair in Adrian’s office.

Adrian’s expression didn’t shift as he examined the documents, but Lucius spoke as though he already knew everything.

“It’s been a month since the Saintess disappeared. The Holy Kingdom is accusing us of hiding something about her condition. They said they’ll be sending a knight commander to confirm her status directly.”

“The Saintess left the palace of her own will.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense. She’s here.”

“She is not.”

“Should I list everything you’ve bought recently to make you admit it? Adrian, I’ve always respected you, but this is too far.”

At Lucius’s words, Adrian let out a sigh and placed the documents down.

“If this is the only evidence you have that I’m confining the Saintess, is it enough to convict me?”

“You just gave me another. That iron spike trap you placed around your office—it’s clearly to keep her from escaping.”

“That wasn’t my intent.”

“Adrian, I don’t know what happened, but you need to get a grip. The Emperor is on the verge of death. This isn’t the time for this.”

At Lucius’s words, Adrian fell into thought. After a long silence, he finally asked, “When is the Holy Kingdom’s knight commander scheduled to arrive?”

“In two days. They wanted to come immediately, but I barely managed to delay them.”

“Understood. I’ll resolve this before they arrive.”

“Can I trust you?”

“Yes.”

Adrian responded calmly.

“I’ll handle it. For today, please go back.”