I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 70

I tilted my head as I looked at Tricia, who remained silent.

“Lady Tricia?”

Tricia, who had been staring blankly at me, suddenly lost strength and collapsed. I quickly reached out to catch her before her head hit the ground. Luckily, I managed to stop her from falling completely.

Oh, she fainted. There doesn’t seem to be any injuries, though…

“Saintess, the hunting festival has ended.”

A calm, emotionless voice spoke to me as I checked Tricia’s pale complexion. Adrian, who had been watching from outside the arena, had somehow entered the grounds. The gates were fully open now, and injured participants were being carried out. Amid the busy scene, I noticed Dahlia running toward me.

“Saintess!”

“Dahlia.”

Dahlia trembled as she looked at the unconscious Tricia. After hesitating a step away, she slowly approached and tightly hugged Tricia’s limp body.

“Ugh… Sister.”

“Dahlia, it’s okay. She’s not hurt.”

“Thank you so much, Saintess.” Dahlia sobbed, tears streaming down her face, as she expressed her gratitude.

I stepped aside to let her take Tricia and replied, “I didn’t do anything.”

Truly, I hadn’t. All I had done was make eye contact with Tricia.

When I spoke casually, Dahlia blinked her reddened eyes and said, “No, it’s all thanks to you, Saintess.”

“Pardon my interruption, Saintess, Lady Dahlia. We need to transport Lady Tricia to the treatment room.”

“Oh, yes. Dahlia, could you step aside so they can move her…?”

It was only after hearing Adrian’s words that I noticed the people waiting with a stretcher to carry Tricia. However, Dahlia didn’t hand her over.

“I can carry her myself.”

Due to the difference in their physiques, Tricia’s legs dragged on the ground, but Dahlia didn’t appear to struggle.

Carrying Tricia on her back, Dahlia bowed her head toward me and said, “Thank you, thank you so much. I’ll contact you when my sister wakes up.”

As I watched Dahlia and Tricia’s retreating figures, Adrian extended a hand toward me.

“Get up. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Adrian asked with a dry, emotionless expression. When his scarred hand grasped mine, he pulled me up. With his strong grip, my body was effortlessly lifted.

Unlike the soft hands of the young Adrian I had held while writing together, his now solid, sturdy hands felt unfamiliar.

“Since Lady Tricia fainted, the winner of this hunting festival is you, Saintess. Congratulations.”

Still holding my hand, Adrian was the first to speak.

After a brief hesitation, he released my hand and muttered, “You didn’t hesitate to kill. It’s your first time participating in a hunting festival—weren’t you scared?”

“I was fine.”

“I see.”

<Adrian’s affection has slightly decreased.>

I responded indifferently to Adrian’s question. Hearing my reply, Adrian let his arms drop in defeat and nodded.

<Adrian Capture Event (Special): ‘Suspicion’ is in progress.>

• Adrian’s ‘Suspicion’ event has two possible outcomes:
• Outcome 1 (Certainty): Reward: Increase in Adrian’s affection.
• Outcome 2 (Disappointment): Reward: Decrease in Adrian’s affection.
• Current progress: Certainty 20%, Disappointment 80%.

Noticing Adrian’s visibly disappointed expression and the system notification, I replied briefly, “I’m fine. It’s a relief that Lady Tricia wasn’t hurt.”

Hearing my quiet voice, Adrian frowned slightly and gazed at me. His usually sharp, intelligent eyes seemed unusually hazy.

“You…”

“Adrian.”

“…Sir Dietrich.”

Adrian, who appeared to be struggling with his judgment of me, seemed ready to say more when Dietrich suddenly interjected with a cheerful expression.

“Saintess, your clothes are dirty. Do you realize how dangerous it was toward the end?”

“It wasn’t me who was in danger; it was Lady Tricia.”

“Saintess, you were the one in greater danger. I’ve explained several times that Lady Tricia has consistently excelled in past hunting festivals. The situation earlier was something she could have handled on her own.”

Was that so? She seemed ready to sacrifice her arm…

Dietrich stepped between Adrian and me, straightening my collar as he laughed. Scolding me lightly in a warm tone, he sighed and added, “Well, you did well. Better than expected.”

Dietrich spoke kindly, but the system notification that appeared didn’t match his affectionate expression.

<Dietrich’s affection has decreased.>

<Currently exploring Dietrich’s route.>

<No routes available at the current time.>

<Unable to create a new event for Dietrich’s route.>

It seemed Tricia’s absence had a larger impact than expected.

What happens if there are no available routes? Does that mean I have to give up on capturing Dietrich?

<Dietrich is wary of the player.>

• Current suspicion level: 90%.
• Suspicion is extremely high. If the level reaches 100%, capturing Dietrich will become impossible.

To make matters worse, the suspicion level was nearly maxed out. I furrowed my brows at the precarious situation.

What am I supposed to do about this?

It was a frustrating predicament. Without an event being generated, I couldn’t act appropriately, leaving me clueless about what to do next.

***

“The final step is the winner’s prayer.”

Time passed steadily as I pondered how to approach Dietrich’s capture. As Adrian had mentioned, I had become the winner. Following the ceremonial steps, I moved as instructed, snapping out of my thoughts when I heard a voice beside me.

“A prayer?”

“It is the winner’s privilege. You can make any wish. You don’t have to say it aloud if you don’t want to, but you may. Lady Tricia often prayed silently.”

“A prayer…”

Repeating the priest’s explanation under my breath, I nodded.

“Yes, understood.”

I obediently responded, even as I wondered what meaning there could be in praying to a god within a game. At one point, I had considered the god of this game to be its system.

If the game’s god really was the system, it might grant a lighthearted wish.

I wanted to wish for a logout, but who knew what might happen if I did? What should I wish for instead?

As I deliberated, I noticed Dietrich watching me. When our eyes met, he smiled softly. His lips moved as if to say something, and I focused intently on his mouth.

‘Ring.’

Ring?

Mouthing his words, I wiggled the fingers on my left hand toward him.

This?

Dietrich pointed at the red ring on my left index finger, then spoke with a mischievous expression.

‘Wish to have that removed. It won’t come off, right?’

Ah, right.

Unexpectedly recalling his suggestion, I rubbed the ring, falling silent.

I did want to get rid of this thing…

Watching the gentle curve of Dietrich’s lips, I stopped rubbing the ring and thought to myself.

Even though his affection level isn’t high, he remembers all these small details.

I can’t make sense of his personality. He doubts me yet cares about trivial things, enjoys being domineering during intimacy while pretending otherwise, faints from nervousness after meeting Gillian but acts composed in front of others…

As thoughts of Dietrich grew more convoluted, I shook them off.

Ugh, never mind. I’ll just wish for something random.

Tearing my focus away from the captivating ring, I bowed my head. A ring directly connected to logging out probably wouldn’t come off from this prayer.

Instead…

I impulsively thought, I wish the binding seal on Dietrich would transfer to me.

<Winner’s Prayer of the Hunting Festival>

• The prayer’s effects are activated.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, a fiery sensation spread across my chest as if I’d been burned. That searing feeling confirmed it for me.

The binding seal really did transfer to me.

Did anyone else notice?

I looked around. First, I checked Gillian’s face, but he didn’t seem aware of the transfer. His eyes still glinted with greed as he stared at me. Skipping over Gillian, I searched for someone showing signs of disturbance.

The one who noticed the anomaly was Lucius, the owner of the magic maintaining the binding seal.

Lucius, who had been watching the prayer indifferently, abruptly stood as soon as the binding seal transferred. Shock painted his usually emotionless face.

Adrian, seated beside him, briefly furrowed his brows as he followed Lucius’s gaze, which was locked on me. Realizing the attention on him, Adrian placed a hand on Lucius’s shoulder.

“Sir Lucius, is something the matter?”

Adrian’s voice reached me easily since the distance wasn’t far. However, Lucius didn’t respond to Adrian and instead fixed me with a piercing stare.

It was as if his eyes were asking, What are you plotting?

“Brother Lucius, is there a problem?”

“No, there is nothing wrong.”

When the second prince questioned him, Lucius finally gathered himself. Composing his expression, he sat back down. Although his face returned to its usual indifference, his fingers, resting on the chair, twitched sensitively.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was no reason for me to cower under his glare. Tilting my chin upward, I turned my head away.

System windows began popping up chaotically.

<Dietrich’s suspicion has been converted to affection.>

• Current suspicion level: 90%

<Suspicion has significantly decreased!>

• Suspicion level: 0%

More noticeable than the shocked Lucius was, unsurprisingly, Dietrich.

Clutching his chest near his heart with one hand, Dietrich stared at me. The soft and gentle smile he’d worn earlier had vanished completely.

<Dietrich’s affection has significantly increased!>

<Dietrich’s affection has significantly increased!>

System notifications repeatedly announced his rising affection. Watching Dietrich, who seemed dazed and blinking blankly, I slowly lifted the corners of my mouth.

<Dietrich’s affection is now at a viewable level.>

<An abnormal change in Dietrich’s affection has been detected.>

I delightedly observed the unexpected confusion on Dietrich’s face. Smiling brightly, I met his gaze.

<Searching for a new route.>

Ugh, can’t the system wait for a more appropriate moment to pop up?

I immediately closed the system window obscuring Dietrich’s face and focused on him again. He remained frozen in a daze.