I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 82

“Saintess! Are you here?”

“Oh no, Beatrice is back… again…”

Letting go of Lucius’s arm, I sighed deeply at the voice coming from outside. As Lucius rubbed the back of his hand, he raised a mocking eyebrow before standing up.

“I’ll step out for a bit. Sir Tricia is supposed to visit, so I’ll go meet her. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, yes. Please make sure to relay the message.”

As I slipped the paper with the crafting ratio into my pocket, Lucius rose and headed straight for the door. When he opened it, Beatrice was standing there, her eyes gleaming with intensity as she looked at me.

With a gaze that bordered on madness, Beatrice stared at me before greeting Lucius and approaching me.

“Saintess, I’ve told you repeatedly, haven’t I? Sir Lucius is…”

As Lucius exited the room, he waved a hand dismissively. Watching his irritating retreating figure, I replied half-heartedly to Beatrice’s words.

“Beatrice, I need to meet with Lady Tricia today, so I don’t have time to listen. Let’s leave it for another day…”

“Lady Tricia is visiting? Are you aware of how often Lady Tricia has been coming here since you started staying here?”

Beyond Beatrice’s constant nagging, I noticed a flash of red hair. Tricia was standing there, lightly tapping the hilt of the sword at her waist as if expressing her displeasure.

Clearly irritated, Tricia, while fiddling with her sword, addressed Beatrice.

“Is my frequent visiting a problem, Beatrice?”

“Ah, Lady Tricia, you’re here.”

“I was assigned to teach the Saintess self-defense techniques. You’re aware of that, aren’t you? What’s so problematic about it?”

Since gifting me a dagger and feeling guilty about the misunderstanding, Tricia had declared that she would take responsibility for her ignorance by teaching me self-defense. With Lucius’s approval, I had been training with Tricia ever since.

“Don’t you think it’s inappropriate for an unmarried woman of your age to visit Sir Lucius’s palace so frequently? It could lead to unsavory rumors.”

“I’ve already announced that I won’t be getting married…”

“Didn’t you chase after Sir Dietrich not too long ago? You didn’t seem like someone uninterested in marriage then, Lady Tricia.”

As the two began bickering with me in the middle, I raised a hand to greet Hella and Dahlia, who had accompanied Tricia.

The two children, who had been holding hands, bowed with smiles when I waved. Slipping away unnoticed, I approached them.

“Hello, Hella. Are you here to join today’s training again?”

“Yes, Lady Tricia allowed it…”

“Here, this. I made it in advance.”

I said as I smoothly retrieved an item from my inventory, making it seem as though I had pulled it from my pocket. It was a topical medicine I had prepared for Hella, who had begun accumulating small and large wounds from her relentless sword training.

“It’s an ointment, so don’t eat it, okay?”

“Thank you, Saintess! I’ll do my best!”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Hella’s voice was filled with gratitude as she accepted the ointment. Inspecting her hands, I thought to myself that the ointment would heal her recent minor wounds without leaving scars, so the scar treatment I had prepared wouldn’t be needed just yet.

Patting Hella on the head, I turned to glance at Tricia and Beatrice, who were now locked in a heated argument.

Their exchange was growing increasingly intense, as if they were ready to physically confront one another.

“That swordsmanship? Did you just call it insignificant swordsmanship?”

“Yes! Insignificant swordsmanship! I said that if I learned it, I could easily do what you do, Lady Tricia!”

“Oh, really? Then learn it!”

“Do you know how old I am? I’m too old to start learning swordsmanship…”

“You’re probably around my mother’s age! And my mother can still knock me down—you using age as an excuse?”

I had no idea how their argument had spiraled into this.

“Fine! I’ll learn swordsmanship and then teach the Saintess myself! And Lady Tricia, you’re to stop visiting Sir Lucius’s palace!”

Huh? Is she serious about learning swordsmanship?

“Change your clothes and come to the training grounds!”

“I will!”

Beatrice stormed off, her rage almost tangible as she walked away angrily.

Tricia, glaring at Beatrice, turned her gaze to us, her eyes gleaming with determination.

“Would it be okay to delay today’s training a bit?”

“Lady Tricia, are you upset?”

“I told you to call me Tricia, Saintess.”

“Ah, yes. Tricia.”

Despite her anger, Tricia still corrected my form of address. She exhaled slowly and replied, “I’m not angry… Honestly, I exaggerated a little because I remembered how much trouble Beatrice caused you last time.”

“I was troubled… Is this because I mentioned how Beatrice’s meddling was annoying?”

“Once she starts training, she’ll be too tired to bother you anymore.”

I hadn’t expected such a response. It was just a passing comment during training, but Tricia remembered it and acted on it?

“Saintess, don’t let Beatrice get to you. Just do what you want to do.”

“Dahlia…”

Dahlia, who had been quietly observing, tugged at my sleeve and spoke in a soft voice. She didn’t seem surprised by Tricia’s behavior, likely because she had guessed her intentions.

Receiving such unexpected kindness left me at a loss for words. I nodded awkwardly, feeling undeserving of their concern.

Given how little I had done, their warmth felt undeserved, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. At the time, my only thought had been that I didn’t care if it led to a Dead Ending.

It wasn’t so much about saving Tricia as it was about defying the system. Yet now…

“Before Beatrice comes back, let’s go. Didn’t you say you had things to do?”

Tricia smiled kindly at me as she spoke.

<The player’s emotional changes have increased the sensitivity level by 10%.>

• Current sensitivity level: 60%

The sensitivity level is being controlled to protect player ‘Haniel.’

Checking the system window that displayed the updated resonance level, I managed to return a faint smile to Tricia.

***

Beatrice was left in Tricia’s hands, and I began to wander the palace at a leisurely pace. As I walked aimlessly, I found myself near the Emperor’s palace, looking around.

How did I end up here?

Walking with a blank mind, I must have subconsciously followed the same route I had taken with Lucius last time. After examining the guards stationed around the palace, I turned back, intending to return to Lucius’s quarters.

“Saintess…?”

A voice I didn’t recognize called out to me. It was a delicate, hesitant voice.

“You’re the Saintess, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct… But who…”

As I turned toward the voice, I saw a man who seemed vaguely familiar, hesitating as he looked at me. I tried to recall exactly where I had seen him before, but nothing came to mind.

When I trailed off without speaking further, the man fidgeted awkwardly and spoke, “You don’t remember me, do you? We met before. I’m the Third Prince, Saintess.”

There’s a Third Prince?

Hmm, I remembered the Second Prince, the villain… Oh, right, there was one.

I met him when I first came to the Empire. He was a character who hardly interacted with the main storyline and had such an unremarkable personality that there was little reason for me to encounter him.

Apologizing for not remembering, I studied the Third Prince.

“Is that a violin?”

“Yes, it is.”

Noticing the familiar shape of the case he was carrying, I frowned slightly and asked. The Third Prince, carrying his own luggage without any guards, beamed as he replied.

“You recognized it right away?”

“I’m familiar with it.”

“Oh, then would you like to come with me?”

“Pardon?”

<Event! ‘The Third Prince’s Invitation’ has been triggered.>

• Objective: ???
• Reward: Entry into an event that increases Lucius’s affection.

How am I supposed to decide when they only tell me the reward and not the objective?

“Saintess?”

Like the system, the Third Prince offered no additional information, merely urging me to answer. Glancing between the case in his hands and the system notification, I clenched my fist and nodded.

Well, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

***

“Break time is over. Keep moving, Beatrice.”

“Lady… Tricia… I’ve only been sitting for a few seconds…”

Adrian, who had come to see Lucius, shook his head as he looked at Beatrice rolling around on the training grounds under Tricia’s supervision.

It had been two weeks since Tricia took charge of Beatrice’s training. Though it seemed Beatrice would quit in frustration, her competitive spirit had kept her going.

Thanks to this, Lucius had been free to focus on uncovering the cause of the Emperor’s illness with the Saintess, and they had made meaningful progress.

Adrian turned away from the sweat-drenched pair outside and approached Lucius.

“This is the information the Saintess obtained. The cause of the Emperor’s illness has been confirmed, and the Saintess is crafting a medicine to treat His Majesty’s condition.”

“Don’t you find it odd, Adrian?”

Lucius, reviewing the documents Adrian handed him, asked.

“Why is the Saintess so friendly toward me? What does she gain…”

“With all due respect, Sir Lucius, the Saintess is friendly toward me as well.”

Adrian interrupted Lucius’s murmuring, taking out a small vial.

“What’s this?”

“A medicine the Saintess gave me. She asked me to use it for scar treatment if I didn’t mind.”

“When did she make something like this?”

“How would I know?”

Adrian added coldly, “She made it on her own initiative without being asked.”

“I thought she was busy accompanying the Third Prince to meet the Emperor. When did she find time for this?”

Lucius muttered as he fiddled with the vial Adrian had handed him.

It had already been two weeks since the Saintess, after contemplating something in front of the violin gifted by Dietrich, performed alongside the Third Prince before the Emperor.

Her skill, good enough to satisfy the musically discerning Third Prince to the point of bringing her before the Emperor, was evident. Despite practicing music to soothe the Emperor, whose illness had made him irritable, she still found time to visit Lucius for idle chatter and even crafted a medicine to heal Adrian’s scars.

“She’s also been conversing with Lady Tricia and tending to the child she brought from the village every day.”

“Is that so?”

“She doesn’t seem to be friendly only toward you, Sir Lucius.”

After hearing Adrian’s words, Lucius shredded the finalized documents and responded, “She’s been staying up without sleep, getting by on restoratives. Is that really okay?”

“There’s a limit to what fatigue can be resolved with potions. No, it’s not okay.”

“Adrian, do you know the Saintess’s schedule for today?”

“Yes. Do you need it?”

“No. Cancel everything left on her agenda.”

With a wave of magic, Lucius completely destroyed the documents, dusted off his hands, and stood up.

“You can’t use someone efficiently if you don’t give them a day off.”

“Yes, sir.”

Adrian responded as Lucius spoke indifferently, but their conversation was cut short when the door burst open with a loud bang.

“Brother Lucius!”

The Third Prince stormed in, his voice filled with urgency.

“The Saintess is missing!”