I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 95

The reason he’s stepping forward, even though he knows he must ascend to the throne, must be because of me.

If the Second Prince hadn’t sent assassins after me, Lucius would have let his behavior slide as he had up to now. Even if the Second Prince had sent assassins after him personally, he might have done the same. However, the Second Prince was hell-bent on killing me.

There’s no way Lucius, a captured character, would stand by and watch that happen.

Lucius is not a character who would turn away from me, even if it means stepping into a role he dreads.

And he would do whatever it takes to keep me by his side. Seeing Lucius, willing to do something he hates for my sake, made me feel both sorrow and joy. Letting myself rest in his embrace as he sighed deeply, I grasped his hand.

For me.

A phrase I’d never associated with myself now came naturally to mind. As I comforted Lucius and relished the sense of fulfillment, I met Adrian’s gaze. The moment our eyes met, time, which had been so still, began to flow rapidly again.

<Event! ‘Interception Preparation’ has been triggered.>

• The outcome of ‘Interception Preparation’ will be determined based on the player’s actions.
• The player can select a character to proceed with during ‘Interception Preparation.’
• Each character possesses a ‘specialized ability’ that influences the event. Choose a character who will assist the event carefully.
• Selectable characters: [Lucius] [Dion] [Dietrich] [Adrian]
• By proceeding with the event alongside the selected character, you can increase their affection and trust levels.
• If the selected character has been fully captured, their ‘help’ can be utilized even if they are not directly involved in the event.
• The capture target ‘Lucius’ is viewing system information. This information appears encrypted to characters who do not possess holy power.

When the system window appeared, Lucius lifted his head. He was looking directly at the spot where the system window floated beside Adrian’s face. Startled, I quickly closed the system window.

Spending these past few days with Lucius has been exhausting. I’ve realized that Lucius can access the system while in contact with me, and that information appears encrypted to characters who lack holy power.

If Lucius were to collaborate with Orias, who does possess holy power, they could probably decipher the system’s information. Luckily, there’s no chance of those two cooperating.

Even after the system window disappeared, Lucius’s eyes, glaring at the empty air, were terrifyingly fierce.

Honestly, this is when Lucius is truly frightening. It feels like he could drag me into a confinement route at any moment.

After all the characters I’ve captured so far, it would be a waste for things to end with a confinement ending.

I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms as I stepped away from Lucius’s embrace. Once I had moved far enough that his hands couldn’t reach me, I reopened the system window, and a prompt to select an ally appeared.

<Select a character to proceed with the event.>

• [Lucius – Authority]
• [Dion – Combat]
• [Dietrich – Psychology]
• [Adrian – Intelligence]

Since proceeding with the event would increase affection and trust, it seemed like spending more time with the chosen character was inevitable. Being around Lucius makes me uneasy due to the system, so he was the first to be ruled out.

Among the others, Dion was the most comfortable to be around. However, his specialized ability, combat, didn’t seem particularly relevant to this event. Lucius wasn’t staging a coup. There was no reason to seize the throne through force.

That left Dietrich and Adrian as the most viable options. Both psychological warfare and intelligence seemed equally important. Who should I choose?

<If the selected character has been fully captured, their ‘help’ can be utilized even if they do not directly participate in the event.>

Lost in thought, I read this line from the system window and quickly snapped out of my indecision. It was information I had missed in my haste to close the window earlier.

Oh, captured characters can provide assistance? In that case, there’s no need to worry about choosing the wrong person.

Feeling reassured, I closed the system window and immediately selected Adrian’s name.

<You have selected the character ‘Adrian’!>

• During the event, ‘Interception Preparation,’ intelligence will increase by 500%.
• Gathering information about the Imperial Palace will become significantly easier.

<Linked event: ‘Adrian’s Request for Cooperation’ has been triggered!>

Adrian, who had been quietly observing my actions, spoke up.

“There’s something I would like your help with. Would you cooperate, Saintess?”

As soon as the event was triggered, Adrian spoke, furrowing his brows slightly. Watching his knitted brows, as if he wanted to retract his words, I nodded.

Seeing Adrian’s hesitant expression, I thought of Tricia. Tricia, who was often controlled by the system, frequently wore a similar expression. It was the uneasy look of someone carrying out actions against their own will.

Adrian wasn’t the only one who wore such an expression. Reflecting on the early stages of the game, I remembered Ardal, Orias, Dion, and Dietrich had also made such faces. Lucius, of course, was still doing so in the present.

Glancing at Lucius, who was still seated on the bed, I fiddled with the ring on my finger.

The system creates a stage that’s convenient for me, the player, and moves the characters accordingly. Are the unnatural flows of events intentional designs by the developers of Saintess is a Spy!, or are the characters acting outside the developers’ intent?

Maybe I was overthinking it because I was too immersed in the game. The idea of game characters moving and thinking independently was something from the early days of virtual reality gaming.

Back then, promotional phrases for virtual reality games were plastered with slogans like, “Meet a new dimension of yourself!” Ultimately, even that was just part of a developer-crafted story, with the concept of other dimensions being entirely fictional.

Still fiddling with the ring that refused to come off, I moved forward to begin the new event.

“If you need my help, sir, of course, I’ll assist.”

After all, these strange moments are probably just part of the game’s realism-enhancing scenarios. Instead of dwelling on useless thoughts, I should focus on increasing Adrian’s affection.

***

As expected, my time spent with Adrian increased noticeably, but the amount of time we actually conversed was about the same as when I was with Lucius. No, it felt like it had decreased.

I shook my head while sprawling out on the reception room sofa. Adrian worked all day long. Unless he was eating lunch or meeting with Lucius, it was rare for him to leave his office. He woke at dawn and didn’t sleep until late at night.

My plan to increase Adrian’s affection and capture him was thrown out the window on the first day we spent together. This workaholic man was using me as effectively as possible.

<Event ‘Interception Preparation’ progress has been updated!>

• Progress: 20%

Ugh, only 20% so far? Is this a joke?

To someone like me, who barely managed two hours of proper sleep each day due to Adrian’s demands, this was a brutal figure.

<You are experiencing extreme fatigue. Rest through ‘sleep’ is recommended.>

Give me the time to rest first before recommending it…

Closing the system window that advised me to rest, I pulled out the restorative potion I was now sick of drinking. Dion had brought it from the herb chamber after seeing me stumbling around. It was an improved recovery potion, and it worked wonders.

<You have consumed a high-grade Restorative Potion.>

• Stamina has been restored.
• Work efficiency increases by 30% for 30 minutes!

I had consumed so many of these potions that the overall stamina increase effect was long gone. Setting the empty bottle on the table, I stretched out languidly.

As I raised my arms and rubbed my shoulders, I saw Adrian emerging from his office and waved at him.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you today, Sir Adrian.”

“Yes, hello.”

“I looked into the matter I mentioned last time. Do you want to hear it now?”

Adrian glanced at the empty potion bottles lined up on the table and nodded as he sat down across from me.

<Adrian’s affection has slightly increased!>

Adrian placed the document he had been holding down and looked at me directly.

“I investigated where the research funds provided to the herb chamber for the Emperor’s medicine development were being funneled, and as you suspected, the money was being siphoned off to Gillian. Upon further investigation, I found evidence of Gillian colluding with the Second Prince.”

“I don’t recall asking you to go that far.”

“Isn’t it insufficient to stop at Gillian? You need evidence of the Second Prince’s involvement to make it conclusive, don’t you?”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t uncovering that take a lot of time?”

“I even managed to bring documents tracing the flow of funds. Some have Gillian’s seal on them. Will this help?”

I handed Adrian the documents I had stored in the system inventory. As he calmly examined them, his eyes widened in shock.

“How did you get these? They inspect everyone and check for missing documents when you leave the archive…”

Smiling broadly at the human expression that briefly surfaced on Adrian’s face, I kept my lips sealed. It hadn’t been too difficult.

If you put documents into the system inventory, body searches wouldn’t detect them, and as for ensuring no missing documents…

“Don’t tell me yesterday’s fire incident was…”

Adrian, who had widened his eyes in surprise, furrowed his brows and muttered.

I had received a bit of help from Hella while digging for information in the herb chamber. While chatting with her briefly, Hella had told me about a location where the herbs she had once used to trap Dion and me were stored. These herbs were on land owned by the Tricia family. Access to the area was highly restricted, but as soon as I expressed interest in going there, Tricia personally guided me and even helped collect the herbs.

“Come by anytime if you need more, Saintess.”

“Thank you, Tricia.”

“Oh, there’s no need for such gratitude… Well, I’m off to whip Beatrice into shape—I mean, help her train. Let me know if you ever need anything.”

Tricia, visibly delighted by my gratitude, waved enthusiastically and disappeared, saying she’d help me further by tormenting Beatrice.

When I brought the herbs to the herb chamber, the researchers were thrilled, calling them rare. However, due to a ‘mistake,’ the herbs were burned, and after that…

Smiling faintly in front of Adrian, I kept my mouth shut.

“I thought the fire incident report seemed odd. Was it your doing, Saintess?”

After the fire caused chaos in the herb chamber, proper reporting was impossible. The flames had reached the archive, burning some critical documents. In the midst of the commotion, I had sneaked into the archive, put the necessary documents into my system inventory, and slipped out unnoticed.

The fame I had gained from capturing characters helped. Approaching the knight guarding the herb chamber, I trembled and claimed something strange was happening inside. He didn’t doubt me for a second.

As soon as the knight entered the herb chamber to check, he shut the door again and escorted me to another knight.

“This is not something the Saintess should witness. Please leave the fire suppression to us and return to your room.”

Recalling the knight’s stammering words and flushed face, I smiled at Adrian as I replied.

“You don’t need to worry about the fire incident report. There’s no one left in the herb chamber who can explain what happened.”

<Adrian’s affection has slightly increased!>

Adrian, now slightly less uneasy, carefully organized the documents in front of him.