I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 188

The engagement ceremony was held grandly.

So grandly, in fact, it felt as though every noble in the Empire had attended.

I scanned the faces of those who filled the vast hall one by one.

As Dietrich had mentioned regarding the guest list, I spotted a few familiar faces from the Holy Kingdom. Of course, the Emperor, who was bedridden, did not make an appearance.

Still, seeing that all the princes had attended, the ceremony had paid sufficient respect to me.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t respect for me, but for Dietrich—but still.

This time, even Gillian, who had been formally invited, was present, though Ardal had yet to appear.

I had definitely used the Ardal Summoning Ticket.

Strange. Ardal would never be late to such an event.

Had something happened? I found myself growing concerned.

As that thought crossed my mind, I looked over at Dietrich, who was smiling and chatting beside Lucius.

Though Dietrich was mingling with other nobles away from me, he pointedly avoided looking in Gillian’s direction. Watching him, my thoughts deepened.

Dietrich couldn’t face Gillian. He couldn’t confront his fear and was always running away. I had been the same while progressing through this playthrough.

Unable to face the Adrian in reality, I always ran away…

And in doing so, I only gave more reason for the people who worried about me to be even more concerned.

That wasn’t how things should be.

Once this capture was over, I would face Adrian properly. I would tell him what happened in the previous playthrough and overcome it together.

The process might be difficult, but ultimately, I believed it would be for the best—for both Adrian and me.

Just as I was thinking that, the system created an event.

<Dietrich Capture Event ‘Overcoming Fear’ has been generated.>

• Face the root of Dietrich’s fear and eliminate its source.
• Objective: Remove ‘Gillian’s Binding Seal’
• Information for removing the binding seal can be obtained through securing the secret document.
• This is the final event of the Dietrich capture route.

It was the final event in Dietrich’s capture.

Securing the document was something I had already taken care of. Though the difficulty had increased slightly because Dietrich hadn’t left me alone lately, and had been keeping an eye on me since I met Adrian, I had still managed to complete the task without much trouble.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Saintess.”

“Congratulations. When are you planning the official wedding?”

“Congratulations to you.”

Before I could even continue thinking about the capture, people came up to me with questions. These were faces I hadn’t seen before.

According to the original capture route, this would be around the time Tricia made her entrance, but perhaps because I had blocked the system’s involvement with her, she was only sitting idly at the ceremony with a bored expression.

Dahlia, possibly frightened by the crowd around her, clung timidly to Tricia’s arm.

I spotted the bright red hair of Tricia and Dahlia in the distance, but suppressed the urge to go to them and instead smiled at the people who had approached me.

“The wedding date hasn’t been set yet. Dietrich and I plan to decide together.”

“It seems His Grace hasn’t made up his mind yet.”

There were still plenty of people subtly mocking me.

If there was anyone in the Empire who would be ostracized, it was bound to be me—the one dispatched from the Holy Kingdom. And though Dietrich himself insisted otherwise, he was a widely beloved man, so likely half the guests at this party were here out of jealousy toward me.

“The engagement ring… it’s quite extravagant.”

One of them glanced at the ring I was wearing and said.

“The Grand Duke must really cherish you, Saintess, giving you such a lavish ring.”

“Indeed.”

“Though it is a bit excessively flashy.”

They chuckled among themselves. At this rate, they might as well just mock me openly.

I laughed along with them, watching as they didn’t even bother to hide their ridicule.

I knew full well this was the kind of outcome they were hoping for when they gave the gift.

And Dietrich was probably regretting it terribly right now.

Even while speaking with Lucius, Dietrich’s gaze kept drifting toward me, so it was easy to tell.

Though he was conversing with Lucius, he kept turning his body toward me, restless with the desire to come closer.

The one I hoped would come to me, Dietrich, didn’t—

Instead, an unwelcome guest sought me out.

“Saintess, congratulations on your engagement. Now that I’ve been formally invited, you won’t be able to throw me out, will you?”

It was Gillian.

As he approached me, others offered their greetings and stepped back. Whatever people might say, it seemed he still held considerable power due to having served as Lucius’s tutor.

I hardened my expression and faced him.

The system had designated the objective as erasing his memory of placing the binding seal on Dietrich.

But my goal went beyond that.

To erase all memories within Gillian that had oppressed Dietrich. That was one of the objectives I wanted to accomplish in the Empire.

Because if such memories remained, he would continue to harm both Dietrich and Lucius.

I didn’t know what would become of this world after I logged out, so I wanted to eliminate as many risks as possible.

Meeting Gillian’s gaze, I twisted my lips. “Of course. This engagement ceremony is open to anyone, after all.”

“Anyone… Ah, that’s right. Saintess.”

Gillian dragged out the end of his sentence as if displeased by the word “anyone,” then suddenly opened his mouth as if something had occurred to him.

“I heard you spent the night with Dietrich. Surely such a thing couldn’t be true before an engagement, so it must be nothing but a filthy rumor, correct?”

Hmph. So he’s coming out this openly.

Indeed, spending the night with him before an official engagement could be considered scandalous.

Since Dietrich couldn’t defy Gillian, he would have had to admit it, so I was already prepared for the rumor to spread.

Knowing that, I didn’t feel even slightly flustered. I wasn’t some first- or second-time player—there was no reason to be rattled by something like this.

I opened my mouth as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I don’t see how spending the night with one’s betrothed could be considered filthy.”

“Haha, in ordinary cases, perhaps. But the partner is a saintess, is it not?”

And who’s really the filthy one here?

I didn’t think my actions were wrong—Gillian’s attempt to humiliate me in such a setting was what was out of line.

I could hear nobles nearby whispering after hearing Gillian’s voice. Some among the Holy Kingdom delegation blushed as if they were the ones who ought to feel ashamed.

Maybe because they came from the temple, they didn’t seem accustomed to this kind of gossip.

Gillian snickered in mockery. Just as I let out a sigh and was about to respond, a system window flashed red before me.

<Warning! Incident ‘Gillian’s Threat’ will occur in 10 seconds!>

• If a character suffers major injuries in the explosion, the incident may be attributed to the player. (Player excluded)

What?

As I read the flashing red text, my eyes widened and I scanned the words quickly.

“Gillian’s Threat”? The text below it left me extremely alarmed.

What kind of incident was this supposed to be?

Was it saying that if someone got hurt, I might be mistaken as the one who caused the explosion?

<Explosion in the banquet hall in 7 seconds>

It seemed this was a highly urgent event, as the system was rushing to convey the warning.

I frantically looked around.

Was someone important going to be injured?

Not knowing where the explosion would happen, I focused on checking the faces of people I knew.

I had to quickly identify the ones who absolutely couldn’t be harmed.

Tricia and Dahlia were far off. Lucius and Dietrich were also at a distance. Dion wasn’t present…

Adrian!

Adrian, who was in the banquet hall, was looking around with a furrowed brow. It seemed he had picked up on an unusual sound with his keen hearing.

But he didn’t seem to recognize it as the sound of an explosive.

As he knit his brows, he turned his head as if he had located the source of the sound.

It was a flower vase, closer to him than it was to me.

<Explosion in 3 seconds. Please lower your body.>

No! Forget lowering my body!

If he got injured now, not only would I be blamed for the explosion, but relations between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire would suffer, and this entire playthrough’s capture would be ruined.

As it stood, Adrian—who was closer to the source than I was—would be seriously hurt.

Even if the system hadn’t said so, that was something I absolutely couldn’t allow.

If I logged out, my wounds would disappear—but not Adrian’s!

I rushed past Gillian and shoved Adrian’s body out of the way.

A sharp blast rang out, and my eyes met Adrian’s.