I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 191

“I’ll return to the Holy Kingdom.”

I didn’t answer Dietrich’s question.

I simply concluded that this world’s Dietrich and the real Dietrich were the same person, and left it up to this playthrough’s ending to determine whether he would reach that conclusion himself.

He stopped trying to persuade me and fell deep into thought. His trembling eyes, shaken from the shock, were clearly visible.

Dietrich didn’t say a word for quite some time, not even when Ardal came in. He simply looked down at me in silence, then left the room.

“Lady Haniel, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Could you please prepare for my return to the Holy Kingdom?”

Ardal, who had been staring intently at Dietrich’s retreating figure, asked cautiously, perhaps because Dietrich’s gaze had looked excessively gloomy. I nodded with a smile and answered him.

Ardal responded with relief and said he would.

As I watched him begin preparations to contact the Holy Kingdom, I looked down at my immobile leg.

Before that, I would need to meet with Gillian and erase the memory related to the binding seal.

My fingertips, resting on the soft bedding, felt particularly cold today. As I rubbed my cold fingers together, I stared at the door through which Dietrich had exited.

The ending of this playthrough would change depending on when Dietrich reached his conclusion. I could only hope he wouldn’t take too long.

***

Returning to the Holy Kingdom wasn’t going to be easy. They said it was because I’d been gravely injured in the explosion.

Identifying the culprit was difficult, and the fact that I had been injured didn’t serve as definitive proof that the Holy Kingdom hadn’t caused the explosion.

Anyone with common sense would think it ridiculous that I would orchestrate such a scene to injure myself—but Gillian clearly had no intention of letting me go.

Since he couldn’t frame me as the culprit, it seemed he planned to delay my return, causing me to miss the optimal treatment window and lose the use of my leg.

That alone would be enough to tarnish my reputation.

Because of that, the opportunity to speak with Gillian alone came more easily than expected.

He visited me under the pretext of needing to check my holy power due to lingering traces of magic. Publicly, it was not known that I possessed holy power.

“So, you’re saying you need to confirm my holy power.”

“That’s correct. As someone who once oversaw the Crown Prince’s magic education, I’ve been tasked with the verification.”

“I may be a saintess, but I do not possess holy power, Sir Gillian.”

“It’s just a formality. I would appreciate your cooperation. The claim that you have no holy power comes from the Holy Kingdom, after all.”

He held something like an enlarged version of the orb Dietrich had once used and reached toward me as he spoke.

I had never attempted to manipulate memories through touch before. With my current ability, it would probably be difficult.

But Gillian made a mistake. When he requested a private audience with me, he didn’t dismiss Ardal. Ardal’s route was complete. He was someone who would carry out any command I gave him without question.

I signaled to Ardal to apprehend Gillian.

Watching from a distance, Ardal caught my signal and moved swiftly.

Gillian didn’t even realize he was being captured until the moment Ardal seized and restrained his arms.

And that moment was all I needed.

I reached out and placed my hand on Gillian’s forehead.

<Dietrich Capture Event: “The Source of Fear”>

<Objective “Erase Gillian’s Binding Seal” has been completed.>

Erasing Dietrich’s deep-rooted fear was a very easy task.

***

Dietrich stewed in frustration.

When had she stopped looking at him?

Before she said she loved him, she had definitely been looking at him—with eyes full of interest and uncertainty.

He should have been suspicious of that interest. Before feeling jealousy over who she might be seeing in him. Before she stepped in front of him to block Gillian.

Or maybe when Haniel always seemed to find him so easily.

She acted as if she knew everything he did.

Dietrich felt like he was wandering in a fog.

It was as if Haniel was seeing someone else behind him—someone who moved and thought just like him.

“That wasn’t me.”

Dietrich muttered in a voice laced with anger. Just then, a thought rose that seemed to quell his fury.

Then why did she stand in front of me when Gillian appeared?

He was someone clearly terrified of Gillian—and she knew it. Even when she saw the binding seal engraved on his chest, she had no reaction—

As if she already knew it was there.

Gillian. The moment his thoughts reached him, the fear that had consumed him for so long reared its head once again.

A fear that had continued since the moment the binding seal was engraved.

It was at that moment that he felt a strange sense of liberation. Dietrich looked down at his body, which felt unusually light.

‘The binding seal… is gone?’

Right now, Gillian was having a private meeting with the Saintess. If so, the one connected to this phenomenon must be her.

Dietrich, still sunk in gloom, rose to his feet.

No matter who she might be seeing, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to a moment that could be dangerous.

And he had to find out what she was doing now.

Dietrich immediately headed for Haniel’s quarters. Gillian’s subordinates were stationed around the door.

No one could stop him, the Grand Duke—and since he often met with Gillian, he easily made his way into Haniel’s quarters.

“…Haniel!”

What he found upon entering her room was an oddly peaceful private audience.

Gillian looked dazed, as if in a dream. Behind Haniel stood the escort knight he had seen before—Ardal—standing stiffly.

“Dietrich?”

Haniel was seated across from Gillian, and the blanket covering her lap was askew, as if she had just been leaning toward Gillian.

Dietrich narrowed his eyes and studied Haniel’s expression.

For someone facing the man who had once threatened her, she looked far too calm. It was as if she were certain that he posed no threat to her.

At first, Dietrich wondered if it was because of Ardal standing behind her—but that didn’t seem to be it.

Had she already forgotten the question he had last asked? Haniel looked genuinely glad to see him burst into the room.

Seeing that joyful expression, Dietrich became sure of it.

The person who removed the binding seal was Haniel.

Gillian, unaware of Dietrich’s entrance, kept sipping tea with a dazed expression.

Haniel, fixing the disheveled blanket, asked, “Did you come to see me before I return to the Holy Kingdom?”

“…Haniel. Was it you?”

“If you’re talking about the binding seal—yes, it was. I tampered a bit with Gillian’s memory.”

Haniel’s expression was serene as she spoke with composure. Seeing her, Dietrich realized something as if it had always been obvious.

That the person Haniel had been looking at was not him—and yet, it was him.

That she could identify the binding seal and sense his fear of Gillian meant that in the end, the one she had been watching all along… was him.

***

<You have completed Dietrich’s capture!>

I brightened as the system window joyfully appeared.

Before I could return to the Holy Kingdom, Dietrich had come to a realization and the capture route progressed.

System windows popped up one after another.

<Ending progression has been updated.>

1. ‘The Source of Fear’ progress: 100%

<Ending ‘The Source of Fear’ is now available for viewing.>

<Play will automatically end after viewing the ending.>

<Would you like to view the ending ‘The Source of Fear’?>

‘View.’

I selected the prompt to view the ending. As Dietrich’s face drew closer to mine, the figures of Gillian and Ardal faded away.

In a space where only the two of us remained, Dietrich approached me.

“Haniel.”

He knelt to meet my gaze.

“The one you were watching all along… was me.”

I lifted my hand and gently cupped his cheek. He gave a twisted smile, as if he had sensed something.

It was the look of someone who knew I was about to disappear. Feeling like I was about to leave this world’s version of him behind, my eyes stung.

As if to soothe me, Dietrich lightly brushed a kiss to my lips and said, “I love you, Haniel.”

And with that, my vision began to fade into black.

<Collecting character [Adrian] Normal Ending: ‘The Source of Fear.’>

<The game will now shut down automatically.>