I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 54

After pondering over my words for a while, Dion spoke with an admiring expression.

“To think of confining someone in the very place where they imprisoned you.”

“Dion, could you please take care of the village chief?”

“You’re truly ruthless. With that mindset, no one would believe you’re a saintess.”

“S-Saintess isn’t ruthless!”

Hella, speaking up as she watched Dion’s expressionless teasing, seemed to muster some courage, but her trembling legs, like those of a newborn deer, made her attempt far from threatening.

I comforted Hella as I explained, “Hella, he’s just joking.”

“J-Joking?”

“Yep. Even if he says that, he doesn’t mean it. Just ignore it and think of it as his way of showing affection.”

“Don’t distort my intentions. And who exactly did you tell her to ignore?”

Dion frowned as he asked. I shrugged in response but immediately winced and clutched my shoulder at the pain.

“Ah.”

Hearing my groan, Dion quickly came over. Gently removing the hand covering my wound, he loosened my clothing to check on it. The slightly healed wound had reopened.

Dion frowned as he closely examined the wound. “It’s reopened. You’ve lost a lot of blood—are you feeling dizzy?”

“A little dizzy.”

“Then we should give the cure to someone else to administer and return to the palace…”

“I’m fine. I can bear it. Please stop the bleeding again.”

“Haniel.”

“I promise I won’t be stubborn anymore once we confirm the cure works.”

At my persistence, Dion sighed and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

“You’re making a promise.”

I had no intention of staying in this village any longer. Once the event was over, I’d return to the palace and sleep until I was fully rested.

No—wait. Since I could now move to ‘Haniel’s Resting Place,’ I should log out first. It would be much more comfortable to sleep after leaving the game.

In the real world, the pain I was experiencing now would disappear, and I could rest in peace. With that thought, I replied to Dion.

“Yes, I promise. So, Dion, please hurry and leave the village chief in the herb chamber.”

Dion, pressing down on my wound, looked at me incredulously.

“You’re serious about that?”

“Of course.”

***

<Event: You have completed ‘Adrian’s Request’!>

• You have identified the cause of the plague.
• You have successfully cured the villagers’ illness.
• You have completed the hidden event, ‘Determining Adrian’s Disposition.’
• Reward: Adrian’s affection has slightly increased (applies upon meeting Adrian in person).

“Thank you, Saintess!”

“We’re alive thanks to you, Saintess. Truly, thank you!”

Since all the sick villagers were gathered in one place, administering the cure didn’t take long. Leaning against Dion, I smiled at the grateful villagers. Though I felt dizzy from the blood loss, I was relieved to have successfully completed Adrian’s request.

The event was over, and my prediction had been correct. Even after leaving the village chief lying on the herb chamber’s altar, the event concluded successfully. The system hadn’t penalized me for whatever happened to the chief.

I wasn’t sure whether to think of it as merciless or to appreciate the game’s high degree of freedom. If I could exploit the system’s loopholes, the gameplay would undoubtedly go more smoothly—but I wasn’t confident I could figure them all out.

“Um, Saintess…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Where is the village chief? We haven’t seen him since yesterday. Could he have fallen ill too?”

While pondering the system, a villager approached and asked.

“The village chief is fine. He’s in the herb chamber right now.”

“The chief… is in the herb chamber?”

“Yes, he’s probably checking on the herbs.”

I replied to the man, who blinked at me as if the idea were absurd.

“He said he’d come out in a week. Go fetch him then.”

By then, he’d probably be hungry enough to eat the herbs. Since it was certain the herbs caused the plague, the rest depended on the chief’s luck.

If he was lucky, he’d survive without falling ill. If not, well, he’d die. Let this be my revenge for him trying to use Adrian and me to cultivate herbs.

What happened to the chief after this was none of my concern. Even if he died somewhere out of sight, I didn’t care. While I disliked personally killing a character with my own hands, I had no qualms about a character disappearing from the game unseen.

After all, it was just one character created by the developers. As long as it didn’t affect capturing other characters, what happened to him didn’t matter to me.

Tilting my head, I thought indifferently.

***

“Adrian?”

Dietrich called Adrian with an exaggeratedly serious tone. He barged into Adrian’s office under the pretense of helping him with his work. However, rather than assisting, Dietrich’s presence only distracted Adrian, leaving him extremely irritated.

Working in the reception room instead of his office was already frustrating enough, but having Dietrich sitting in front of him made it worse. Adrian took a sharp breath before speaking.

“You said you came here to help.”

“I did feel that way when I first walked in.”

“If your feelings have changed, then please leave my office immediately.”

“I’m not even in your office; I’m only sitting in the reception room. And now you want to kick me out as well? That’s not happening.”

Dietrich, rolling the magic orb he always carried, stood abruptly. In doing so, he carelessly knocked over the documents in front of him, scattering them everywhere. Adrian’s expression twisted in frustration.

Pretending not to notice Adrian’s grimace, Dietrich moved to the window and pulled open the curtains, letting bright light flood the reception room.

“Close them.”

“I heard you asked the Saintess for a favor.”

“Yes.”

“I heard she went to the village you lived in.”

“That’s correct. Is that what you wanted to know? If your curiosity is satisfied, please leave now,” replied Adrian while squinting against the strong light.

Dietrich, who was idly running his fingers along the window frame, ignored Adrian’s authoritative tone and opened the window fully. As the fresh air poured in, Adrian began tidying the scattered documents on his desk before standing up.

“I couldn’t care less about what happens to the Saintess, but why did you send Dion along with her?”

“I warned Sir Dion about the dangers of the village chief in advance,” replied Adrian indifferently.

“That’s not the issue, Adrian.”

Dietrich, who had been gazing out the window, turned to face Adrian. His soft lavender eyes were fixed entirely on Adrian. Slowly, he toyed with the magic orb as he spoke.

“Dion is weak to emotional attachments. You shouldn’t give him excuses to get closer to the Saintess.”

“You’re worrying over nothing. Sir Dion isn’t someone who acts without discretion.”

“Who knows? Considering what I saw at the banquet, I’m not so sure.”

Dietrich sneered as he glanced out the window. Following his gaze, Adrian slowly turned toward the window as well.

Through the billowing curtains, they saw a familiar knight carrying the Saintess carefully in his arms. The knight, who had dismounted in front of the office, cradled the saintess by her thighs and gently carried her inside.

The Saintess, who had gotten off the horse, pushed against Dion’s shoulder, but he continued holding her as he entered the building. Witnessing this lack of boundaries, Adrian’s face contorted in displeasure.

“We’ll have to relocate the Saintess’s quarters.”

“I’ll have to agree with that.”

“Let’s assign Dion somewhere else temporarily, and I’ll take care of the Saintess. As long as we keep her out of Lucius’s sight, it should be fine.”

Still staring intently at the building where Dion and the saintess had entered, Dietrich muttered softly.

“She doesn’t seem to know how to ride a horse. Perhaps I should teach her.”

***

After returning from the village and completing the event, I went to Adrian to give a report. As I entered the reception room, I saw Dietrich standing by the open window and Adrian glaring at me with a displeased expression.

Dion, who had been holding me until just before we entered, stepped to my side under their scrutinizing gazes. As Dion supported me, Adrian’s scowl deepened, while Dietrich smiled as if basking in the light of the world—though I could tell he was far from pleased.

The hostility they harbored toward me was palpable, to the point of overflowing.

A system window popped up in front of the hostile capture targets who didn’t bother to hide their animosity.

<You have received the rewards for ‘Adrian’s Request.’>

• Adrian’s affection has slightly increased.

<Dietrich’s affection has slightly decreased.>

<Adrian’s affection has slightly decreased.>

What? Why would just showing up make their affections drop?

Despite completing the event and receiving affection as a reward, Adrian had instantly reduced it. After everything I went through to help him in the past video, this treatment felt entirely unjustified. Feeling indignant, I moved to confront Adrian, but the sharp pain in my shoulder where I’d been stabbed made me flinch.

Clenching my fists as I faced the drop in affection, I felt a surge of determination.

I’ll capture them. No matter what, I’ll capture them both.

I hadn’t planned on looking up walkthroughs, but this was too much to bear. As soon as I log out, I’ll memorize every detail of Dietrich and Adrian’s routes before logging back in.

Struggling to maintain a composed expression, I opened my mouth.

“You’re here too, Grand Duke?”

“Yes, Saintess. I’ve been waiting to deliver some news.”

“News?”

Dietrich replied in a leisurely tone, “We’re relocating your quarters, Saintess.”

“Sorry?”

“What does that mean? Explain in detail—”

Dion’s body, which was supporting me, tensed slightly. Before Dion, speaking in a flustered tone, could finish his sentence, Dietrich interrupted him with a bright smile.

Adrian explained, “It’s a directive from Sir Lucius. Sir Dion, you’ll be reassigned.”

“Sir Lucius ordered me to guard Haniel… no, the Saintess.”

“Not anymore. Effective today, the Saintess’s quarters will be relocated, and you’ll no longer be her guard.”

“I cannot accept this. Leaving the Saintess alone in the palace is unacceptable…”

Dion protested to Adrian. As his voice rose, Dietrich, who had been smiling quietly, furrowed his brow and stepped forward.

“Dion, what’s the problem if I’m going to be guarding the Saintess?”

“Dietrich.”

“This isn’t something that will change just because you refuse to accept it. Adrian has authority over matters regarding the Saintess’s quarters, and you must comply.”

Dietrich’s soft yet oppressive tone left no room for objection.

“Or is there a reason you don’t want to comply?”

At his subtle question, Dion pressed his lips into a thin line. His hand, resting on my shoulder, gripped slightly tighter. Gently, I placed my hand over his. Meeting my gaze with somber eyes, Dion finally broke his silence and raised his head.

“Though it’s full of absurdities, I’ll comply.”

Pulling me closer to his chest, Dion spoke softly. Facing Dietrich and Adrian directly, he added in a low voice, “I know that sending me away doesn’t stem from any ill intentions.”

Oh, this is familiar.

Listening to Dion’s words, I realized they weren’t meant for Dietrich but for me.

Intentionally avoiding my gaze, Dion continued, “Removing me from her guard doesn’t make any sense…”

It was the same thing he had said when we were gathering materials for the cure in the village.

“But I’ll comply quietly.”

As he finished speaking, Dion’s grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. He was clearly urging me not to do anything that would draw attention.