I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 40

<Adrian’s Request>

• Visiting Adrian may trigger a special event.
• Time remaining: 52:12

This time, it was an event initiated directly by a capture target. The fact that Adrian, someone notoriously difficult to meet, was personally involved made it all the more intriguing. The mention of a “special event” in the description also piqued my interest.

A special event? What kind of special event could it be? Would it increase Adrian’s affection?

Suppressing my growing anticipation, I turned to Dion and asked, “Is Sir Adrian still in his office?”

“Yes. It’s not too late, so he should still be there. However, I can’t guarantee he’ll agree to meet twice in one day…”

“He said to come to him as soon as I’m done.”

“He said to come, but he didn’t say he’d meet you,” replied Dion with a completely serious expression.

Hearing his response, I recalled Adrian’s profile. Adrian disliked meeting people. While he was known for handling tasks meticulously, he treated everyone equally, regardless of status.

Combining Adrian’s profile with my brief interaction with him earlier, it was clear that his idea of equality wasn’t positive. Adrian treated everyone with equal indifference. As Dion said, Adrian had told me to come to his office, but he hadn’t promised to meet me.

“Let’s go to his office first.”

The countdown on the system window was steadily decreasing, leaving me with a sense of unease.

***

“Please, go in.”

Ah, what a relief. We didn’t have to wait. My worries were unfounded, it seemed.

The servants, who greeted us as we entered after changing into indoor shoes, opened the door to the reception room without even asking about our business. Watching them promptly open the door, I let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed Adrian had instructed them to let us in if we arrived.

“It looks like Sir Adrian was expecting us.”

“That doesn’t sound like him…”

While I spoke with relief, Dion muttered suspiciously. His brows furrowed as he scanned the dimly lit reception room. 

Dion’s behavior made me curious about his relationship with Adrian. Dion was undoubtedly of noble birth. Dietrich was a Grand Duke, and Lucius was the Crown Prince. So, what about Adrian? How were Adrian and Dion connected?

I once heard from Dion that he’d been friends with Dietrich since childhood, but I couldn’t recall hearing anything about Adrian.

From Dion’s actions, it was hard to tell whether he was close to Adrian or not.

Since Adrian hadn’t arrived in the reception room yet, I decided it was a good opportunity to ask.

“Dion, are you close to Sir Adrian?”

“What?”

Dion, who had been examining the reception room, raised his eyebrows and glared at me. His gaze was sharp and intimidating.

“Oh, so you’re not close?”

“We’re not close. Nobody is close to Adrian.”

Dion shuddered as he replied. Watching his reaction, I cautiously asked another question.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Just look at this reception room. It’s not prepared to accommodate guests at all. The only thing here is that clock.”

“Hmm… But saying nobody is close to him feels like an exaggeration. This is an office, after all. His work and personal spaces could be different, right?”

I tried to defend Adrian, but Dion scoffed. He walked over to the clock by the door.

“Why do you think the only thing in this room is a clock?”

“Obviously, it’s there to check the time.”

“If it were for checking the time, it would be placed where the guests could see it. This clock is positioned so that only Adrian can see it. Unless a guest turns around, they can’t see it at all.”

Dion tapped the clock roughly and continued, “This is Adrian’s way of saying he won’t give visitors more time than he deems necessary. For your information, Adrian has similar clocks in his private rooms, not just here.”

“Oh…”

“Do you think someone like that could have close friends?”

Before I could process his words, Dion added with a cynical tone. I realized Dion’s behavior was unusual. He wasn’t the type to dislike someone so extremely, nor would he normally voice such negative opinions in front of me.

Though he was complaining about Adrian, Dion didn’t seem genuinely angry.

Listening carefully to his subtle tone, I asked, “Dion, did you want to be close to Sir Adrian?”

“…What?”

“It seems like you’ve been to his private rooms before and spent time with him. Isn’t that the case?”

Watching Dion rest his hand on the clock, I smiled faintly. Dion stared at me in silence before letting out a quiet sigh.

“That was a long time ago. Not anymore.”

Taking his hand off the clock, Dion approached me. He sat down heavily beside me and spoke in a low voice.

“And…”

“And?”

“Adrian has sharp ears. He might be listening to everything we’re saying from inside. Let’s wait quietly now.”

Dion spoke with an uneasy expression. Did he complain so openly just so Adrian could hear him?

I wanted to learn more about Adrian, but Dion didn’t seem interested in continuing the conversation. Reluctantly, I nodded. There was no point in gathering unnecessary information now and risking Dion’s affection dropping.

Once I fully maxed out Dion’s affection level, I could ask all I wanted about Adrian. For now, it was more important to finish this event smoothly. Since “The Herb Chamber’s Request” was connected to Dion’s affection event, the reward for completing “Adrian’s Request” would likely also increase Dion’s affection.

Dion’s affection level had already reached three hearts. Once affection levels became viewable, characters usually grew more favorable toward me, so capturing Dion shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Dion, do you mind if I rest for a bit while we wait for Adrian? I’m really tired…”

Even though the restorative potion had replenished my stamina, the mental fatigue from crafting potions lingered. With Dion’s permission, I leaned my head against his arm and closed my eyes.

At first, Dion flinched when my head rested on him, but he soon relaxed and let me rest against him.

Adrian had come out about fifteen minutes after we arrived earlier, so I assumed it would take a similar amount of time this time around.

<Adrian’s Request>

• Visiting Adrian may trigger a special event.
• Time remaining: 37:29

After checking the system window, I closed my eyes.

***

<Stamina has been restored.>

“Gasp!”

I inhaled sharply as I woke up. I had intended to rest briefly, but I had fallen into a deep sleep. Judging by how much my stamina had recovered, I must have slept soundly.

Adrian. Hasn’t he come out yet?

The reception room’s design made it impossible to tell the time. Glancing at Dion, I saw that he, too, had fallen asleep in a still position. He must have dozed off alongside me. Watching Dion’s steady breathing, a chill ran down my spine.

Could it be… has time already run out?

Panicked, I quickly opened the system window.

<Adrian’s Request>

• Time remaining: 0:37

Damn it!

Time was rapidly running out. With less than a minute remaining, Adrian showed no signs of coming out to the reception room.

Without thinking, I bolted upright from my seat.

The objective was to “find Adrian within an hour.” Sitting idly in the reception room was clearly a mistake.

If Adrian wasn’t in his office, this event was doomed to fail. As I stood abruptly, Dion, who had been leaning against me, swayed from the sudden movement, but I couldn’t pay attention to him.

Berating myself for my complacency upon arriving in the reception room, I dashed toward Adrian’s office. The sound of my footsteps, something Adrian reportedly detested, echoed loudly through the space.

“…Saintess!”

Dion, now awake, called out to me, but I ignored him and grabbed the door handle to Adrian’s office.

<Time Remaining: 0:06>

Pushing the door open, I was met with an even darker room than the reception area. Illuminated by minimal lighting, Adrian was sitting at his desk, glaring sharply at me.

“Saintess, you do not have permission to enter my office.”

Thank goodness… he’s here.

Relieved to find Adrian inside, I leaned weakly against the doorframe. The countdown finally stopped.

<Objective Complete! You have successfully found Adrian.>

• Event “Adrian’s Request” triggered.
• Reward: Decrease in Adrian’s affection.

What kind of reward is this?

<Adrian’s affection has significantly decreased!>

Significantly?

Staring in disbelief at the system message, I leaned against the door and responded to Adrian.

“You weren’t coming out no matter how long I waited. I thought something might have happened to you.”

“There’s always something happening. And let’s be clear, you weren’t waiting—you were sleeping, weren’t you?”

Adrian replied in an indifferent tone as he rose from his seat. Dion, who had followed me, reached out to steady me as I leaned against the door, my strength drained.

Watching Dion support me, Adrian spoke coldly, “Let’s move to the reception room. Stop blocking the doorway and take a seat.”

Adrian picked up a document from his desk and began walking toward the reception room. As Dion helped me walk unsteadily, he scolded me.

“What exactly were you trying to accomplish by running in here?”

“Sir Adrian wasn’t coming out…”

“You should consider yourself lucky he left your wrist intact.”

Dion tended to exaggerate when speaking about Adrian. He had warned me before, and now he was doing it again. Still, Adrian was a capture target—why would he harm my wrist?

I was about to argue with Dion when another voice interrupted us.

“If you weren’t the Saintess, I would have cut it off.”

“Excuse me?”

“Of course, there won’t be a next time. Consider this your only warning.”

It wasn’t Dion but Adrian who had responded. When did he even get here? Adrian, now standing by the office door, addressed me as he closed it behind him.

Is it normal for a capture target to threaten to cut the player’s wrist?

Hearing Adrian’s chilling threat, I turned to the system for answers. But the system remained silent.

“Saintess, he’s serious. You’d do well to remember that,” Dion whispered near my ear, seemingly replacing the unresponsive system.

Adrian brushed past me with a cold demeanor and took a seat, motioning for me to do the same.

“Sit down.”

Surely he wouldn’t assign me a dangerous task… right?

Feeling a growing sense of unease about the favor I had promised Adrian, I nervously sat down across from him.