I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 187

Fortunately, Dietrich had time to observe Haniel. But the result could hardly be called fortunate.

Haniel would sometimes look at Adrian with a fearful yet affectionate gaze.

And it only seemed to happen when she thought he wasn’t watching.

Every time he saw that poorly hidden emotion peeking through, Dietrich felt twisted inside.

Since preparations for the engagement ceremony began, he had more reasons to see Adrian’s face, and with that, Dietrich found himself acting irritably whenever they crossed paths.

Just like when Dietrich treated him kindly, Adrian showed no reaction to Dietrich’s behavior, yet it became harder for Dietrich to hide his self-loathing at his own foolish conduct.

That emotion reached its peak when he saw Haniel secretly handing Adrian an ointment for scars.

Because it was an action that crossed the line Dietrich had set.

“Haniel, may I have a word?”

Haniel’s eyes widened at the sight of Dietrich running a hand through his hair in annoyance. Since he often brushed off even serious situations with a smile, she seemed taken aback by his rare display of irritation. Even knowing that, he couldn’t bring himself to change his demeanor.

With a sigh, Dietrich asked, “I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw the ring color. Do you have feelings for Adrian?”

“What?”

The blunt question flew out of his mouth. Even he found it hard to believe he’d said it.

He really was acting like a jealous lover.

Realizing how ridiculous he looked, Dietrich tried to regain his composure and adjusted his tone.

“Even if you look at him like that and try to win his favor, he has no interest in you. You should give up.”

Changing his tone didn’t stop his true feelings from slipping through.

Haniel looked genuinely flustered, unable to respond, just blinking in surprise. Seeing her innocent expression, as if she had done nothing wrong, made Dietrich want to thump his own chest.

Chasing after Adrian with her eyes while feigning ignorance—

At last, Haniel opened her mouth.

“I-it’s not like that… It’s just… Adrian has a lot of scars on his hands, so I couldn’t help but notice. I haven’t sought him out since giving him the scar ointment.”

“…You’re not close enough to be giving him medicine.”

“As you said, we’re not close, but I didn’t want to pretend not to notice. But if it bothered you, I won’t do it again. I’m sorry.”

Haniel apologized with a subdued expression. Seeing how dispirited she looked, Dietrich felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

Haniel had only been kind. It was simply out of kindness that she had noticed Adrian’s scars and brought him the ointment.

And Dietrich, seeing the ring and connecting it to Adrian, had been consumed by jealousy.

As he looked at Haniel, her shoulders hunched and eyes lowered, Dietrich moved to sit beside her.

When he pulled her by the shoulder, Haniel’s body relaxed into his. She leaned into him as if this situation were second nature.

***

For the first time in a while, I was too shocked to speak right away.

Dietrich had been watching me from behind as I approached Adrian several times under the pretense of finding the secret documents.

I had made sure no one was watching before I moved—if I had made just one wrong move, I might’ve really gotten caught.

What Dietrich had been watching was the time I spent with Adrian.

I had almost been caught stealing secret documents.

As Dietrich came to sit beside me and pulled me into his arms, I let out a tense breath.

I had really almost been caught.

‘Check the document.’

<Contents available for viewing>

• Information 1. Method for removing ‘Dietrich’s Binding Seal’

<Accessing Information 1: Method for removing ‘Dietrich’s Binding Seal’>

• Method 1. Participate in the Hunting Festival and use the winner’s authority
• Method 2. Use Haniel’s ability to erase the memory related to ‘binding seal’ from Gillian

I checked the contents I had obtained by securing the secret documents while in Dietrich’s arms.

What I wanted this time was information on how to remove Dietrich’s binding seal.

Previously, I had removed his binding seal by transferring it to myself through a blessing at the Hunting Festival. That method wasn’t available now, so I had been pondering what to do, and the system provided an answer.

Using holy power to remove the binding seal was impossible, but manipulating Gillian’s memory was within reach.

If I used my holy power to erase Gillian’s memory of inscribing the binding seal on Dietrich, I could make him forget it altogether.

Since seals were influenced by the caster’s thoughts, tampering with his memory could nullify Dietrich’s seal entirely.

I had learned this method thanks to the system’s hint, but my worries remained.

To do that, I would have to lay hands on Gillian…

The question was whether Gillian, who was knowledgeable about magical power, would allow me to get close enough to touch him. If I could render him unconscious, it would be ideal—but as the Saintess, I couldn’t very well bash his head in.

While I only needed a very brief window to interfere with his memory, it was my first time touching a memory so old, so I wanted to buy as much time as possible.

When and how could I incapacitate Gillian?

I thought long and hard.

Gillian rarely engaged in outside activities, so it would be difficult to run into him by chance. But there was one moment I knew he would certainly make an appearance.

My engagement ceremony with Dietrich.

On the day of the engagement, Gillian would undoubtedly attend—if only to redeem himself after the disgrace at the last banquet.

That would be the only confirmed opportunity to approach Gillian in this playthrough.

The only downside was that I had no one in the Empire to assist me.

The person whose capture was complete would be my ally, but Dietrich’s capture wasn’t finished yet.

Lucius, a support character, had no meaningful connection with me—so rather than being helpful, I’d be lucky if he didn’t get in the way.

While I was continuing this train of thought, I recalled the “Ardal Summoning Ticket” I had received after completing Ardal’s route.

It was my only card, which I had used effectively even during Adrian’s capture.

It would undoubtedly be painful for Ardal to attend my engagement ceremony, and I felt sorry about that…

But if I needed to buy time to deal with Gillian, using that card was the right move.

Ardal wouldn’t know unless the memory was passed on to him, so using this method was probably the best choice.

Even as I thought that, I couldn’t suppress the sigh that slipped out.

I always seemed to end up doing things I felt guilty for when it came to Ardal. Like using his sword to finish the game last time.

I suddenly recalled how Ardal had become more sensitive with each playthrough. He had acted sharply toward me, as if he knew I had been dying over and over.

Could it be that some effect of the system was influencing Ardal?

“Haniel.”

The one who cut off my train of thought was Dietrich. Perhaps realizing how irritated his attitude had been earlier, he spoke in a gentler voice than usual.

“There are a few people from the Holy Kingdom on the engagement guest list. Are they people you know well?”

“No. I didn’t spend much time in the temple, so I hardly know any of them.”

The only people I knew were Orias and Ardal, so there was no need to even check the list. Still, it was convenient that Dietrich had brought up the topic I’d wanted to broach.

I mentioned Ardal in a light tone.

“There’s someone I’d like to add to the list.”

“Who would that be?”

“Ardal… the commander of the Holy Knights…”

The moment I brought up Ardal, Dietrich’s expression turned cold. It didn’t seem to be solely because Ardal was Orias’s closest confidant.

“I’m sorry, but I’d prefer if you refrained from inviting him.”

Dietrich flatly refused.

Even if he refused, I could still use the Ardal Summoning Ticket to invite Ardal through the system in a natural manner, so I didn’t bother resisting.

I quietly observed as Dietrich’s mood soured again, just after it had improved while we talked about Adrian.

The fact that he was wary of Ardal and Adrian was a good sign for the capture.

These days, he came to find me more often, and the way he was on guard around other men as well…

The more things that occupied his mind, the better. Because the higher the difficulty of the capture, the more closely he paid attention to my actions.

I chose to interpret it in the most positive way possible.