I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 181

“This kind of item is popular for engagement rings.”

The jeweler spoke as he showed off a ring with a large gem. He himself wore a similarly oversized gemstone ring on his chubby finger, which he wiggled as he made the recommendation.

Dietrich smiled outwardly but looked indifferent.

Naturally, nothing in this shop could possibly please his eyes.

To be honest, from the moment we entered, there was no gem that outshone Dietrich himself. Any jewel would lose its sparkle next to him.

The jeweler, noticing how he stood out even in plain clothes, was desperate to sell him more and more expensive pieces.

It was obvious from his expression that he was trying to figure out whether I or Dietrich was the noble’s mistress. Nobles wouldn’t normally come to shady places like this for stolen goods.

After glancing between us a few times, he seemed to have settled on me being the mistress.

Because… that man kept winking at me.

‘If you resell this gem, you could get quite a bit for it.’

It felt like that’s exactly what he was saying. He knew Dietrich would make the purchase the moment I nodded.

He must’ve seen this kind of situation more than a few times—he winked with seasoned ease.

“Shall we go with this one then?”

This was the sixth jewelry shop. Dietrich seemed to be getting tired of this game. He’d shown some enthusiasm through the second shop, but by the third, he was clearly bored.

Still, should I be thankful that he made it to the sixth?

Or should I just assume we were both growing weary while waiting for the rain to pour?

I nodded as I looked at a particularly large jewel with a gaudy cut.

By now, the rain was falling heavily. The sound of it pounding the glass window was intense. Lightning flashed above the dark clouds with a rumble.

“You’ve made a great choice. You clearly have an excellent eye!”

The jeweler, eager to close the sale before we could change our minds, rushed us through the payment, and we stepped outside.

Raindrops splashed up from the ground, soaking our shoes. As always, umbrellas weren’t perfect at shielding us—my collar was quickly damp and clinging to my skin.

My hair drooped and curled with moisture. A chill wind carried the dampness through the air.

Dietrich, standing on the windward side, was blocking the wind for me—his own collar was wetter than mine.

As he shielded me from the wind, he asked, “It’s really coming down. Should we try that restaurant over there?”

He pointed to a typical inn-style restaurant—one of those setups where the first floor is a dining area, and guests can go straight up to their rooms afterward.

The moment he pointed at it, a system window popped up.

<Event Triggered! ‘Dietrich’s Trap’>

• If you proceed to the indicated location, you will fall into Dietrich’s trap.
• The outcome of this event will be determined through conversation and action with ‘Dietrich’.
• Primary Objective: Infer personality traits (0/2) through Dietrich’s actions to unlock the next step
• Secondary Objective: Complete the capture based on his traits and return to the imperial palace
• Reward: Significant increase in Dietrich’s affection, connects to ‘Dietrich’s Capture Event’

<This is a mandatory event for the Dietrich Route.>

• If you avoid the event, the Dietrich Route will be destroyed.

As expected.

I skimmed the event description and closed the system window.

No surprise—this was all part of his plan.

<The supporting character for the Dietrich Route is ‘Lucius’.>

• Supporting characters often assist the capture target.
• During this event, beware of ‘lightning strikes’.

These people again…

This whole ‘support character’ thing feels off.

Calling someone a support character just because they help Dietrich, not me, seems like a stretch.

The warning about lightning suggests there’s a real risk of death involved.

If I tried to avoid the trap, I’d probably get hit by a bolt instead.

I was originally going to accept the trap, but this makes things a bit trickier.

Still, maybe that’s what makes it fun.

Making choices I’d never make in real life could feel strangely liberating. And the way Dietrich had foreseen all of this and hinted at it felt like playing a game within the game. It was intriguing.

“Since my predictions have been right so far, how about a little wager? Spend some time with me.”

Dietrich’s predictions had been mostly accurate so far. Once I returned to reality and spent more time with him, others might start trying to predict my behavior just like he had.

What if this became a trend?

“Haniel. Is it inconvenient for you to move to that place?”

While I was lost in thought, Dietrich, who had been shielding me from the pouring rain, couldn’t wait any longer and asked. Seeing the ends of his short hair soaked in contrast to me, I finally came to my senses.

Dietrich must be cold.

First, we should head inside, warm up, and see how the trap unfolds.

I placed my hand on his arm and said, “Not at all. Shall we go quickly? My parasol’s so small, the rain’s getting in.”

“Right, I should’ve expected the rain. That’s my mistake. Let’s get inside and out of the rain.”

Another lie.

He had anticipated that my clothes would get wet and make movement difficult if I relied only on a small parasol.

Both his collar and mine were thoroughly soaked.

At least I was wearing a short-length dress today—thank goodness.

I glanced down at my wet shoes and thought. The thin lace stockings were unpleasantly damp. I wanted to take them off right away.

As I looked down, I could feel Dietrich’s gaze following mine. His eyes traveled from my wet shoes to the water-spotted stockings, then slowly up to my knees exposed beneath the short dress, lingering without the slightest intent of looking away.

In his damp, purple eyes, something deep flickered.

If it were the Dietrich in reality, it would’ve been affection—but the emotion in this Dietrich’s eyes wasn’t that.

I called to him gently.

“Dietrich.”

<Dietrich’s affection has slightly increased.>

I closed yet another affection-increase notification that appeared unusually often today.

Affection wasn’t solely based on love—it could be influenced by positive or instinctive emotions. Realizing what kind of instinctive emotion was causing his affection to rise, I felt like I already knew what would happen once we reached that inn.

Dietrich slowly raised his head. From waist to neck to face, his gaze met mine under the small parasol.

Because he had tilted the parasol toward me, his body leaned forward as well, bringing him so close that his hair nearly touched me.

He stared down at me blankly, only snapping out of it when a raindrop hanging from his hair fell onto my cheek.

“Sorry, the raindrop splashed. Let’s get going.”

He looked at me with his calm, subdued eyes.

As the raindrop rolled down my cheek, he wiped it away with the back of his hand. His hand was so damp it felt as though he’d wiped away a tear. His own hand was already wet too, so my cheek still felt cold.

Seeing me like that, Dietrich raised his own hand, then chuckled awkwardly when he saw it was just as wet.

“I wanted to wipe it for you, but I’m soaked too.”

Occasionally, he said something sincere—and this time, it was.

“It’s okay. It’ll dry soon.”

At my words, his expression stiffened slightly. As if he’d heard something about my feelings drying up as well.

“I see…”

He replied in a reluctant tone.

“It’ll dry soon, I suppose.”

It felt like I could hear the voice of the Dietrich from reality behind his rain-soaked face.

‘I’ll realize your affection for me and won’t want to let go. Without even knowing it, I’ll be soaking in that feeling.”

Dietrich’s sigh, the way he softly spoke as he gently ran his hand through my hair.

“I’ll know immediately when you try to let go of me. I pick up on things quickly.”

He had murmured those words, his face buried against my shoulder.

“So I’ll be able to tell right away when you stop loving me, Saintess.”

To me, who couldn’t help but love the Dietrich in reality, he had said that.

If I wanted to soothe his anxiety, I had to quickly finish the capture here and leave.

Suddenly thinking of reality again made me start to worry about Dietrich.

Would he be doing alright? I hoped he wasn’t too anxious.

Unlike the Dietrich here, that Dietrich becomes uneasy when I’m not there…

With that thought, I began to walk—unaware that the Dietrich in the sixth playthrough was watching me with growing impatience.