I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 24

<Event ‘The Threatened Saintess’ In Progress>

• Due to the effects of the poison, your actions are restricted.
• Knight of the Empire (Dion)’s affection has significantly increased.
• Grand Duke (Dietrich)’s affection has significantly increased.

The system window I saw before being poisoned reappeared as I checked it again. If the event was still ongoing, did it mean I could encounter more danger?

In any case, no one was telling me who had poisoned the Holy Grail. I suspected it was Dietrich, but…

“Saintess, what are you thinking about so deeply?”

I was currently dealing with Dietrich, who had barged into my recovery room uninvited. Considering how Ardal had silently prepared a space for him, it seemed unlikely that he was the culprit.

Tilting my head slightly, I glanced at Ardal, who stood quietly watching over Dietrich and me.

At this moment, Dietrich’s affection level for me was in the negatives. If he wanted to poison me, he could have done so easily.

“It’s nothing, Grand Duke.”

I replied with a dismissive smile, drawing a clear line between us. The thought that I should never be left alone with him consumed my mind. Currently, Dietrich’s charm stat far exceeded mine. If we were left alone, he would undoubtedly seduce me, and I wouldn’t be able to resist his allure.

As my tone hardened, Ardal’s gaze flicked toward me. Sensing my faint wariness, he subtly moved closer to my side.

When Ardal stood protectively near me, Dietrich furrowed his brows as if he found the situation unfair.

“I was the first to report the incident, yet I’m being treated so coldly.”

“What?”

First to report?

Dietrich answered my unspoken question, “I was the one who informed His Holiness that Zoro had poisoned the Holy Grail. Didn’t you know?”

“Zoro…?”

Zoro—he was definitely the man assigned as my etiquette instructor. But why?

Why would he, the person responsible for the player’s education in the game, poison the Holy Grail to try and kill me?

Unable to make sense of the situation, I stammered and echoed Zoro’s name. Watching me murmur his name blankly, Dietrich slowly nodded.

“You owe your life to me, Saintess.”

His casual tone made my brow furrow slightly. Dietrich wasn’t the kind of character to go out of his way to save me. For someone whose affection level was in the negatives, why would he voluntarily reveal the person who poisoned the Holy Grail?

It didn’t make sense. He must have gained something from it.

As I gave him a skeptical look, a system window appeared.

<The Grand Duke (Dietrich)’s affection has slightly increased.>

I couldn’t understand why my suspicion raised his affection, but it likely remained in the negatives. Dietrich returned my doubtful gaze with a playful smile.

“It’s true. Right, Commander?”

“It is true, Lady Haniel.”

Hearing Ardal’s reply, I finally nodded. Ardal would never lie to me, so it seemed there was some truth to it.

“Thank you, Grand Duke.”

“It was the least I could do.”

Dietrich smiled warmly, his expression openly friendly. He leaned slightly forward, his eyes following mine as they softened. Despite his affection level likely still being negative, he appeared incredibly amiable.

If I met someone like this in real life, I would undoubtedly be swayed by his kindness.

Fortunately, this wasn’t real life, and beside me stood Ardal, whose face was no less stunning than Dietrich’s. Whenever I felt myself being drawn to Dietrich’s charm, I turned to look at Ardal. Each time, Ardal moved even closer to my side.

Having Ardal near gave me a sense of complete security.

“It seems I make you uncomfortable, Saintess.”

Dietrich’s disappointed expression suggested he had picked up on my unease.

“Not at all, Grand Duke.”

I hastily denied his claim, but Dietrich rose with a knowing smile.

“You haven’t asked me to hold your hand today, either.”

“What…?”

Startled, I stared at Dietrich, wide-eyed. What did he mean? This was the first time we’d spoken in this playthrough…

As I puzzled over his words, my eyes fell on a scar on the back of his hand, like a red bloom.

Noticing my gaze, Dietrich covered the scar and spoke, “I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for your time, Saintess.”

Without offering an explanation, Dietrich said his farewells and left. Even as he passed Ardal and exited the room, he didn’t look back once.

***

Dietrich stepped out of the room, his expression twisting into a bitter smile at Haniel’s visible wariness. The mark of Haniel’s bite was etched red on the back of his hand.

“She bites me and doesn’t even remember.”

Rubbing the still-aching scar with his fingers, Dietrich muttered under his breath. Visiting her while she was recovering had left him with nothing but a frustrating wound.

Dietrich recalled Haniel’s face as she continuously glanced at Ardal as if afraid to be left alone with him. Her clear caution against him had been evident.

Whenever she turned to Ardal, he naturally moved closer to her side.

“Why is that?”

Dietrich found it strange. Haniel acted as though she knew his intentions toward her, though he hadn’t done anything yet.

There was no way she could know. If there was one thing Dietrich excelled at, it was endearing himself to others.

He knew exactly how people with affection behaved, having observed them closely. Faking affection was his most potent weapon.

The longer people spent time with Dietrich, the more desperate they became to give him everything. If they feared they might lose his attention, they grew anxious and threw everything they had at him to keep him close.

Even so, Dietrich liked the way the Saintess looked at him. He preferred those who regarded him with suspicion rather than those who simply admired him for his appearance and demeanor.

That was precisely why he kept the Crown Prince Lucius and the knight Dion by his side. They were not the type to take Dietrich’s actions at face value.

‘A pity.’

Had Haniel not been the Saintess, Dietrich mused, she might have been someone he could confide in, much like Lucius or Dion.

The thought was brief. Haniel was the Saintess dispatched to the Empire, and Dietrich’s role was to monitor her.

Rubbing the scar on his hand, Dietrich walked away.

***

<The Grand Duke (Dietrich)’s affection has increased.>

<The Grand Duke (Dietrich)’s affection has decreased.>

Closing the system window that had appeared without warning, I turned to Orias. The Grand Duke’s affection level seemed to rise and fall on a whim. What was he thinking when I wasn’t around?

“Orias, is it true that Zoro poisoned the Holy Grail?”

“Who told you that?”

“The Grand Duke did.”

Orias had come to check on my condition after finishing his schedule. While using his holy power to assess my state, he furrowed his brows and repeated my question. Hearing Ardal’s response, Orias gave a brief nod.

“Yes.”

“But Zoro wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Well, who knows? Perhaps he would.”

Orias replied with a cynical smile. Watching his slanted smile, I decided to change the subject. He seemed displeased, and it was better to drop the matter.

“In any case, I’m glad the coronation ended well. I was worried.”

As I steered the conversation, Orias’s face softened. A system window appeared in front of him, and a progress bar began to fill rapidly.

The bar, which had been around 30%, reached its limit. The system window was refreshed.

<The Pope’s Investigation -Second Round->

• Evasion Rate: 100%
• You have completely evaded the Pope’s investigation.
• The Pope’s trust level has increased.

“The coronation isn’t the issue; your health is, Sister Haniel.”

Orias softened his stern expression and spoke playfully. He gently ruffled my hair, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. The playful addition of “Sister” as a title felt strangely awkward.

Feeling uneasy about his strange demeanor, I wrinkled my nose awkwardly, only to notice that Orias’s affection level hadn’t budged.

Why hasn’t it gone up yet?

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Orias said with a gentle smile as he ran his hand lightly over my hair. Despite his kind demeanor, the final affection level seemed unwilling to budge. What was going on in this character’s mind?

Affections were supposed to rise quickly as they increased, yet even after such an incident, his affection level hadn’t moved. Wasn’t the player’s peril supposed to trigger an increase?

As I pondered the lack of progress in Orias’s affection level, I spoke to him, “By the way, I heard from Ardal that my departure for the Empire has been delayed.”

“Traveling to the Empire in your current condition would be difficult. It’s been decided that you’ll stay in the Holy Kingdom until you’re fully recovered.”

“When exactly will I leave for the Empire?”

What I was most curious about was the exact date of departure. I needed to use the time until then to max out Orias’s affection level and strategize my approach.

Though my condition wasn’t ideal, it provided a perfect excuse to stay close to Orias. Since he was healing me with holy power, I had a solid reason to remain by his side.

“You’ll likely stay in the Holy Kingdom for about ten more days.”

Orias paused to think before answering my question. A mandatory recovery period of a week, plus an additional three days—so, ten days in total?

It was longer than I had expected.

The Holy Kingdom would undoubtedly want to send back the Grand Duke and Dion, who had come from the Empire, as quickly as possible.

Most of the believers were aware of the Grand Duke’s tendency to approach the faithful while wandering the temple. Orias certainly knew about it, too, and had assigned guards to limit his behavior.

Yet he was choosing to tolerate this for ten days—all because of my recovery. Judging by this, it seemed like I had almost completely captured him, yet it still wasn’t marked as complete.

“That’s quite long…”

“It’s not long at all.”

Before I could finish my response, Orias interrupted.

For me, the longer I stayed in the Holy Kingdom, the more time I had to capture Orias, so it was naturally a good thing, but…

“Ten days is necessary for you to fully recover. The Empire won’t treat you, so you must be in perfect health before you leave.”

I found it increasingly difficult to predict the final condition for raising Orias’s affection level to completion.