Thud.
Thud, thud.
That sound again.
The knock of the late-night visitor mentioned in the rules.
“It was quiet for a while, and now this again…”
Half-awake and still groggy from sleep, I reached for the earplugs and blindfold I habitually kept beside my bed.
And just as I was about to put in the earplugs—
“Nadia.”
A low voice cut through the silence and struck my ears.
“Huh…?”
My drowsiness vanished instantly.
Just as I was about to bolt upright in surprise, I heard the click of a doorknob turning.
…The door opened.
It was too dark to see clearly, but the silhouette standing against the backlight belonged to a well-built man at least two heads taller than me.
“U-uh…?”
All I could do was sit there blankly and make foolish noises.
Still, even with my mind completely blank, something clicked.
“D-Duke Belmond?”
My uncertain call was met with silence, but the man made no effort to deny it.
“W-wait a second!”
Finally regaining my senses, I hurriedly lit the lamp on the bedside table.
The dim orange glow illuminated the room and revealed his face.
…
“Wow.”
He was ridiculously, breathtakingly attractive.
I’d been worried that the male lead’s face might also be glitched out into a black hole like everyone else’s, but that concern vanished instantly.
A perfectly toned physique. Muscular, but not bulky. If anything, his frame looked sleek and agile.
And his smiling face?
It was handsome enough to put most models to shame.
Most of all, though, it was his presence.
The dangerous aura surrounding him was strangely moving.
Thump. Thump.
Whether it was the bridge effect or something else entirely, my heart began beating faster.
As suffocating silence filled the room, Duke Belmond—or rather, Edwin Belmond—spoke.
“Are you so frightened that you can’t even scream? Understandable. It couldn’t have been easy staying sane while living here.”
His words seemed to contain some major misunderstanding, but unfortunately, they barely registered.
Ah, right.
I’d been too distracted by his overwhelming presence to remember.
Carefully, I voiced my suspicion.
“Are you… the ‘bad’ one?”
What I’d learned from the head maid was that his personality was split in two.
I had interpreted that as a good personality and a bad personality sharing the same body.
Judging by the current situation, I didn’t seem to be completely wrong.
Well, I’d obtained that clue fair and square, so mentioning it should be fine, right?
The system remained silent, as if confirming it.
“Oh, you’ve figured that much out?”
He didn’t explicitly admit it, but his reaction was close enough.
Step.
Step.
The way he moved was so natural that it felt as though this room belonged to him.
His leisurely footsteps circled my bed before coming to a stop.
“You’re smart.”
“Th-thanks?”
That was a compliment, right?
But when I glanced above his head, there was no change.
In other words, his affection hadn’t increased.
“How old are you?”
Aware of the tense atmosphere, I carefully shifted my gaze.
Honestly, his casual speech had been bothering me from the start.
I’d responded the same way, but…
Surely he wasn’t a minor, right?
Thinking that, I looked back at the “bad” Edwin.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well… we’re supposed to get married?”
“Married?”
Edwin let out a laugh that sounded almost mocking.
“Do you really think that?”
“…Uh, I’m your fiancée?”
His crimson eyes flickered strangely.
What?
Did he somehow already know that I could go down multiple routes?
“You really are… unsettling.”
“Huh?”
I could only stare blankly at the openly hostile remark.
‘Don’t tell me he starts with negative affection?’
But the system offered no hints.
A tip would’ve been nice right about now.
After a moment of thought, I decided to ask the obvious question.
“Anyway, why did you come here in the middle of the night?”
“Ah.”
As though he had just remembered, he tilted his head slightly.
“To find my axe.”
“Huh? An axe?”
“Where did you hide it?”
The sudden question made me blink.
I’d never hidden any—
“Uh…”
A memory flashed through my mind.
[Old Platinum Hatchet — 1,500 Diamonds]
…One of the items I had sold to make up for my lack of Diamonds.
“Was it important?”
“Of course. It’s my friend.”
“F-friend?”
What was this?
I’d thought he was just playing the role of a dangerous bad boy, but apparently there was more to it than that.
As I stared blankly, Edwin smiled.
“You seem to know something. Tell me where it is.”
“No, it’s just… uh… I sold it…”
The smile on his face froze instantly.
“What?”
“I-I sold it.”
“You sold my axe?”
The atmosphere turned ice-cold in an instant.
Panicking, I waved my hands frantically.
“N-no! It wasn’t on purpose! It just kind of happened! I was really poor!”
“How exactly?”
His narrowing eyes bore into me.
But only for a moment.
“Forget it. I’ll find out soon enough whether you’re lying or telling the truth.”
“You won’t find it no matter how hard you look…”
Was he in denial?
Ignoring my comment completely, he suddenly asked another question.
“Wait. What about the statue? Did you sell that too?”
“Th-that was yours too? The upside-down one? I just thought… since it was in my room, it’d be okay…”
“Unbelievable. Though I suppose getting rid of that annoying thing worked out in my favor.”
He stared down at me for a moment before casually leaning against the bedpost.
His shadow, cast by the flickering lamp behind him, completely swallowed me.
“You have no idea why I came here, do you?”
“N-not really?”
A surprise late-night intrusion event.
I still had no clue what kind of event this was supposed to be.
Sure, I’d guessed that the male lead would finally make his appearance once I completed the Please Take Care of Belmond Ducal Castle! quest…
But this wasn’t about to turn into some adults-only scenario all of a sudden, was it?
‘No way. His affection is still at rock bottom.’
Even if this game had a higher age rating, it wouldn’t just force something like that…
While I discreetly checked whether my pajamas were still in order, Edwin slowly reached out his hand.
Watching him nervously, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
Press.
His hand gently gripped my chin.
Then he turned my face from side to side, inspecting me with the detached indifference of someone examining merchandise.
The unpleasant sensation made me open my eyes.
Edwin was staring directly at me.
“L-let go.”
“Seriously weird.”
When I snapped back irritably, he released me surprisingly easily.
Then he frowned as though he couldn’t understand it himself.
Maybe there was something wrong with him beyond just having a split personality.
“What’s weird?”
“It’s killing the mood.”
“What?”
“My mood. It’s ruining it.”
The relaxed smile from earlier had vanished completely, replaced by a cold sneer.
“To be honest, I expected you to be terrified or half-insane. But this? Just how well have they been treating you for you to look this healthy?”
“Healthy-looking…?”
Well, expecting this type of character to be kind was probably my mistake.
Still, his sharp words quickly dried up the excitement I’d been feeling.
“You’ve been running around the castle doing whatever you want, changing things without permission, and selling other people’s belongings without permission.”
“N-no, that’s—!”
“Enough.”
As if expecting my excuse to drag on, Edwin cut me off before I could continue.
“Because of you, all my entertaining diversions have disappeared.”
“Huh?”
“So you’re going to take responsibility.”
“Excuse me?”
“Take responsibility. For me.”
…Hmm.
So this really was some kind of late-night affection event?
How did we even end up at that conclusion?
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