I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 99

His trembling shoulders and pale face betrayed his state of mind. Adrian, lips slightly parted, looked as though he had just witnessed something impossible.

Trembling pitifully, he raised a hand to cover his mouth. His green eyes, filled with moisture, quivered as he stared silently, barely daring to breathe, before finally speaking.

“No, this… this can’t be happening.”

<You have entered the special event: ‘Reunion.’>

The people observing me shifted their attention to Adrian upon hearing his voice.

I thought nothing of his childhood self remained, but his flustered expression was exactly as it had been back then. Adrian, mumbling in a voice that naturally evoked pity, shook his head and covered his eyes.

“It’s impossible… It can’t be true.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Even though that person recognized me… It can’t be. That’s not possible.”

Tricia, watching Adrian shield his eyes, asked quietly, but no one responded. Naturally, I was the only one who understood why Adrian was acting this way.

With a deep sigh, I pushed Dion’s supporting arm aside. His hand, which had been helping me stand, fell away limply as he turned his gaze toward Adrian’s odd behavior.

Although my original plan had been to reveal my scars to Adrian when we were alone, the circumstances left me with no choice. I needed to proceed with capturing Adrian immediately.

As I approached him, someone stepped forward and intercepted me. It was Hella, her tearful gaze fixed solely on me. She ignored Adrian completely, likely because she had no idea who he was.

“Saintess…”

“Hella, why are you crying?”

“I-I hurt you, Saintess.”

While I was preoccupied thinking about how to approach Adrian smoothly, I was startled by the sight of Hella, tears streaming down her face.

What’s going on with Hella all of a sudden? Ah, right—I got hurt because of her.

“No, Hella. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I, I…”

Grasping her hands in mine, I tried to reassure her. Still, Hella, guilt written all over her face, shook her head vehemently and bit her lip.

This was the same child who, years ago, wouldn’t have blinked an eye even if I were bleeding profusely. Back then, she had even told me not to waste my blood and to lie down on the altar instead.

As I struggled to calm my dismay, those old memories resurfaced vividly. Masking my unease, I gently wiped away Hella’s tears.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t cry over something like this.”

“Sniff…”

Tears kept pouring, making wiping them pointless. I gave up on trying to dry her tears and instead pulled Hella’s trembling body closer to me.

Her sobbing hiccups echoed in my ears. Holding her tightly, I gently stroked her trembling back, soothing her slowly.

“I intervened because it seemed dangerous. It was an unforeseen situation, so it’s only natural you couldn’t react in time.”

“No, it’s my fault. I should have stopped my sword when I saw you stepping in…”

Hella’s tearful voice turned into a distressed wail.

She doesn’t understand. I decided to protect Beatrice through the system, and there was no way a mere character could override it.

How do I explain this to stop Hella from crying?

<Capture target ‘Adrian’ is in an unstable state!>

• Appropriate action is required.

While I was gently soothing Hella, I inadvertently met Adrian’s gaze. He had lowered his hands and was watching me. His green eyes, brimming with tears, seemed to reflect himself in Hella’s distress.

“Sir Dion, doesn’t he seem unwell?”

“Yes, his condition seems quite serious…”

Dion and Tricia whispered to one another in hushed tones. Adrian, despite likely hearing their conversation, remained frozen, staring at me and Hella as if rooted to the spot.

Now both Hella and Adrian are in a state of panic.

Though I wanted to console Adrian, leaving Hella to cry alone wasn’t an option either.

“Could something have happened?”

“I’ll go ask him.”

While I continued to comfort Hella, Dion, who had been murmuring with Tricia, stepped forward with a resolute expression. Cautiously, he approached Adrian and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Adrian.”

Since Dion was handling Adrian, I turned my focus back to Hella. Calming her quickly and then addressing Adrian seemed like the best course of action.

<Capture target ‘Adrian’ is in an unstable state!>

Letting out a sigh of relief as Dion spoke to Adrian, I gently pulled Hella away from my arms. Though another system window appeared, calming Hella took priority for now.

When I moved her aside, Hella’s face twisted in shock, her body trembling visibly.

As if convinced I was rejecting her, she clung to my hand with desperate strength.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Her grip was unnaturally strong for someone so young, her force wrapping tightly around my hand. The pressure almost made me wince, but I maintained a composed expression.

“Hella.”

“I did something wrong, Saintess… I’ll do better from now on, so please don’t abandon me… I don’t want to go back. I hate being alone in the herb chamber.”

Hella spoke frantically.

“I like staying here. It’s bright, clean, and Dahlia is here too…”

Her desperate plea continued as she tightened her grip on my hand.

“Please, don’t abandon me.”

“Hella…”

I thought I heard Dahlia’s voice, but I couldn’t be sure. I twisted my hand free from Hella’s grasp, and a teardrop fell onto the back of my hand. Hella, who had been so composed when I brought her out of the herb chamber, was now crying uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst.

Even if I reminded myself that it was programmed behavior, the sight of her was pitiful.

All I’d done for Hella was take her out of the herb chamber, yet she clung to me as if I were her entire world.

I called her name firmly. Startled by my tone, Hella flinched and raised her head. Her tear-streaked eyes met mine, but she blinked rapidly, as though trying to avoid my gaze.

I cupped her cheeks with both hands and spoke, “You are not my possession. It’s impossible for me to abandon you in the first place.”

“I came here because I followed you, Saintess. If you abandon me, I’ll have to return to the village…”

“No, if you want, you can stay in the palace.”

“Only nobles can live in the palace. How could I possibly stay here?”

“That’s for you to figure out. You can continue learning swordsmanship like now or study something else if you prefer. It doesn’t matter what, as long as you find something the palace needs. That’s why I’m supporting you.”

Hella’s wide eyes stared at me, brimming with tears. Her gaze seemed unusually sharp, almost intelligent, compared to her usual demeanor. As she continued to stare at me, her voice broke into one of joy.

“If I become someone useful, I can stay here, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then even if you abandon me, I can stay by your side!”

“I said I wouldn’t abandon you.”

Hella leapt toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck and nuzzling her head against me with a bright smile. Sighing as I accepted her affectionate gesture, I raised my head and noticed Dahlia watching us.

Dahlia’s expression was filled with emotion as she stared at me. Nearby, Tricia and Beatrice were watching as well, their expressions similarly moved. I had no idea how long they’d been observing.

Feeling slightly awkward under their gazes, I shifted my focus elsewhere. At the same time, a system window appeared.

<The bound character ‘Hella’ has been released from her bound state!>

• Bound Characters: (0)
• Hella’s Freedom has increased!
• Hella’s Willpower has increased!

<The character ‘Hella’ will now stay by the player’s side of her own free will.>

• Characters with high freedom may refuse the player’s commands.

Since I had no intention of issuing commands to Hella, it was a notification I didn’t need to worry about.

“Ah… that’s where I’m hurt…”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!”

While reading the system notifications, I winced as Hella’s head pressed against my injured shoulder. She quickly pulled away and began inspecting me with wide, worried eyes.

“Does it hurt a lot? I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not too bad. Don’t worry about it.”

“I wish I’d gotten hurt instead…”

“No, I’m glad you weren’t hurt, so don’t say things like that.”

<The capture target ‘Adrian’ recognizes the player!>

• Stored affection has been converted to current affection!
• Stored Affection: ♥♥

<Adrian’s affection has significantly increased!>

<Adrian’s affection has reached its maximum level!>

<The capture target ‘Adrian’ has reached maximum affection.>

• Maximum affection achieved without entering a route.

<A new route will be generated to match the affection and current feelings of the capture target.>

<The Adrian Route ‘Aberration of Virtue’ has been created.>

• This route has a high likelihood of leading to a dead ending.
• Proceed with caution.

<Adrian Route: ‘Aberration of Virtue’>

• Progress: 60%

Huh?

Distracted by soothing Hella, I stared blankly at the system notifications. Seeing the stored affection converted into current affection was a positive development.

This should have been my opportunity to enter a multiple-capture route and proceed to complete all character captures. However, because I’d been focused on Hella, I hadn’t paid attention to Adrian, and now I’d stumbled into a troubling route.

Is this still a route that allows multiple captures?

Frowning, I stared at the system window. As I pondered the text, a new notification appeared.

<To view detailed capture information, at least one instance of ‘relationship’ is required.>

Still, since I’d reached maximum affection, it shouldn’t be hard to…

“Why did you pretend not to know me?”

“Adrian, who are you talking to…”

“I’m asking why you pretended not to know me, Saintess.”

Startled by the cold, clipped voice, I froze. Adrian’s voice, filled with reproach, was directed squarely at me. Dion, clearly caught off guard, called out to Adrian, but Adrian’s focus remained fixed on me.

When Dion saw Adrian’s intense gaze on me, he frowned and asked, “Haniel pretended not to know you? What are you talking about?”

Adrian shrugged off Dion’s hand, which had been gripping his shoulder, and strode toward me. The sharp sound of his shoes hitting the stone floor echoed with each step.

Not as sharp as his expression, though.

Adrian approached me, where I sat on the ground with Hella, and gave her a frosty glare. He shoved Hella aside, almost carelessly, and reached for me.

“Wait, Adrian…”

His hand grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. As he forcibly lifted me, his grip dug into my skin, making my face twist in pain. The strength in his grip was overwhelming, leaving me unable to hide my discomfort.

Ow, that hurts.

“Let go of me.”

I raised my free hand to remove his, but he leaned in close and whispered sharply.

“You remember me, don’t you?”

His somber eyes, heavy with resentment, bore into mine.