I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 180

As always, the day began with me searching for Dietrich—but today was different.

It was actually a good day for him to be found quickly, since today we were supposed to shop for items in preparation for our engagement ceremony.

“Haniel.”

Perhaps that’s why. Dietrich, unusually, came to find me on his own.

Dressed more plainly than usual, he smiled with his eyes.

The items we were to prepare together were rings, a dress, and his ceremonial uniform. For such an outing, his attire was strangely modest.

I pondered to understand his intentions.

What’s he trying to pull this time?

It wasn’t hard to figure him out. It seemed he had no intention of giving me anything good.

There were two ways to mock me.

The first: prepare something extravagant and turn me into someone ostentatious on the day of the engagement.

The second: prepare rings and attire fit for commoners, and humiliate me.

He’d already used the first method at the banquet, so this time Dietrich had chosen the second.

I had thought our relationship had grown more intimate, so his choice left me a little disappointed.

After the Gillian event, his affection level had risen quite a bit—he even had three hearts now—yet he was still behaving like this.

Unlike Ardal or Dion, who steadily showed more affection the more time we spent together.

Dietrich was the type to give everything once he opened up, but it was so hard to even get within that boundary.

“Does this count as one of the thirty?”

“Let’s count it as one.”

When I asked the question and held out my hand, Dietrich responded with a smile in his eyes.

Asking me to find him thirty times also meant spending time together thirty or more times—he probably wanted to reach that count quickly.

Because once those thirty were over, our engagement would likely end as well.

That’s what the Dietrich in reality had told me.

That there was no way he’d actually want to be engaged to me. He’d just take what he could and then discard me.

The Dietrich with three hearts was certainly capable of that.

To truly step into his inner circle, I’d need at least four hearts.

Before then, he was someone deeply entrenched in denial.

“I’ll do the guiding, so Haniel, just follow me.”

Though his tone was reassuring, there was no doubt the place he would guide me to would be unpleasant.

Since I could have everything in reality, I had no desire for material goods or displays of wealth, so I just nodded indifferently.

It might be me who’d be humiliated, but it wasn’t really me. I could just log out and it would be as if it never happened.

***

True to expectation, the first place Dietrich took me was a street lined with cheap jewelry shops.

Shops that dealt in stolen goods or fakes.

Even if I looked like a saintess who knew nothing of the world, it was hard to pretend I didn’t recognize this. I narrowed my eyes.

When I stared at Dietrich like that, he gave a soft smile and offered an excuse. “Places like this might seem shady to most, but if you’ve got a good eye, you can find real treasures. I’m confident in my judgment when it comes to jewels—so leave it to me.”

That part was true.

But with that keen eye, he was probably going to pick out a counterfeit.

I hid that thought behind a polite smile, narrowing my eyes as he had.

“Whatever you choose is fine. Pick something you like, Dietrich. I’m only concerned that your choice might tarnish your reputation.”

I didn’t care what he picked, but I still didn’t know how long this world would last.

If the world continued to exist even after I exited the game, the rumors about me following Dietrich around would be worrying.

Like the sound of Adrian’s sobbing that still lingered in my ears from the last playthrough.

Just as I was feeling a bit down, Dietrich, as if sensing it instantly, took my arm. “Let’s go, Haniel. Shall we head to the nearest shop first?”

“Ah, okay.”

“Do you have a favorite color? If I recall, you like blue.”

I liked many colors—blue, purple, green, black, and gold. I also liked brown and silver.

People often said that blue suited me well, so whenever I had to choose something, I tended to be drawn to shades of blue.

“Yes. I like it.”

“…I see. Then shall we look at mostly blue tones?”

“I like that too, but I also like the colors you like, Dietrich. What color do you like?”

The Dietrich in reality had come to like blue and gold after meeting me. That was because back when I had captured him—before my eye color changed—my eyes were blue.

<Dietrich’s affection has slightly increased.>

Maybe it was because I now knew so much about them, but unless it was the affection window, the system rarely showed much information anymore.

I closed the now-familiar pop-up window showing Dietrich’s affection increase and met his gaze.

He stared at my eyes, then smiled and answered, “Purple.”

A thoroughly narcissistic remark. It was obviously a lie.

‘Check Dietrich’s affection level.’

<Dietrich: ♥♥♥♡♡>

So, just over three hearts now? Still, it had risen more than I expected.

If I completed the required conditions, I should be able to raise it to five hearts.

Should I try fulfilling those conditions today?

Dietrich’s capture route required some of the most difficult prerequisites, which was why I’d never wanted to go through it again…

‘Check capture conditions.’

<Engaging with capture target ‘Dietrich.’>

• First Trigger Phrase: Any phrase implying a desire to leave (Completed)
• Second Trigger Action: Submission to Dietrich

Since I already knew the information, I was able to view the conditions just by willing it.

Dietrich himself had told me that the first trigger phrase was when I murmured that I wanted to leave after being poisoned by the Holy Grail. He was the one I had clung to and whined at.

So the first trigger condition was already complete…

What mattered now was the second trigger action.

The condition about submitting to Dietrich wasn’t exactly clear.

Would it be like last time in the chapel, submitting inside a trap set by Gillian? Or perhaps a moment where I was forcibly confined somewhere and had no choice but to submit…?

Oh, wait.

As that thought occurred to me, I looked up at the sky, which seemed unusually gloomy today.

Dark storm clouds were pushing in from the distant sky, as if a downpour was about to begin.

The wind felt chilly, and the trees rustled with an eerie sound.

There were signs of an impending heavy rain.

The carriage that had brought us into the city was too extravagant to fit in on this street, so we’d already told it to wait somewhere else before entering the area lined with jewelers.

I slowly looked up at the dark sky and carefully examined the structure of the place.

The street where the jewelers were located was set on a sloping hill, higher than the surrounding streets. The uphill climb wasn’t easy—no doubt Dietrich had calculated that as well.

I side-eyed Dietrich again as my thoughts continued.

If it rained heavily, we might end up in a situation where we were forced to stay put.

Did Dietrich plan for all of this when he came to find me today?

Looking up the slope lined with jewelers, I asked, “Are all the shops on this street jewelers?”

“No. Up to the middle are jewelers, and above that are inns and restaurants. Though I wouldn’t recommend them to someone like you, Haniel—they probably wouldn’t suit your tastes.”

“Before I became a saintess, I lived quite ordinarily. I think I’m the one who shouldn’t recommend anything to you, Dietrich.”

“Haha. Then after we’ve looked around, shall we get something to eat at one of those places? Let’s see which of us fits in less.”

Seeing Dietrich laugh and reply like that, I nodded. “I’m confident it’ll be you, Dietrich.”

“That’s a rather hasty conclusion.”

A hasty conclusion? Perhaps.

Because I was now fully convinced that a heavy rainstorm would trap us here.

And that Dietrich and I would end up spending the night at one of those inns he said didn’t suit us.

It wasn’t hard to predict how much rain would fall—and if Dietrich wanted to isolate me, he’d have asked Lucius to strike lightning in just the right spot.

If lightning struck and cut us off, the Dietrich event would begin.

But before that—first, we had to buy the engagement ring.

I followed Dietrich’s lead toward one of the jewelers.

And as I stepped inside, raindrops began to fall one by one behind us, leaving short trails across the glass window.