As soon as he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Nadia sleeping soundly, wrapped tightly in her blanket, apparently having not heard the knock.
“Mm…”
As she shifted in her sleep, her face slipped out from beneath the blanket. Even as the moonlight brushed across her eyes, she didn’t wake, suggesting she was sleeping quite deeply.
He slowly approached the bedside.
Then he stood there in silence, looking down at the sleeping Nadia.
For a brief moment, he imagined the pure white sheets soaked in blood.
Pushing that impulse aside, he quietly spoke.
“Nadia.”
“Mmm…”
“Nadia Windsor.”
At his second call, her lowered eyelashes fluttered open.
The moment her tired eyes focused and reflected his image, Edwin used Nadia’s golden eyes like a mirror and smiled with dangerous charm.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Gah!”
The instant Nadia recognized who was standing before her, she jerked violently like a freshly caught fish.
“W-What… are you doing?!”
She immediately sat bolt upright and scooted all the way to the edge of the bed.
Her dramatic reaction only made him more interested, and he deliberately softened his voice.
“I came to see you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s been a while. I guess you’re not happy to see me at all.”
Acting completely at ease, he sat down on the edge of the bed and narrowed his eyes with an unreadable smile.
“…I’m a little hurt.”
*****
Where am I… and who am I?
I’d just woken from a deep sleep, and for a moment I couldn’t tell whether this was a dream or reality.
That was probably because the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the unrealistically handsome face of a gorgeous man.
“Y-You scared me.”
Thankfully, I figured things out pretty quickly.
His gestures, the way he spoke, even his voice—it was completely different from the Edwin I’d met during the day.
No matter how you looked at it, this was definitely the “bad” Edwin.
The problem was that it was clearly the middle of the night.
After glancing at the pitch-black darkness outside the window, I looked back at Edwin, who had somehow already made himself comfortable on my bed.
“What brings you here…?”
“What brings me here?”
Even the gloomy expression on Edwin’s face looked like a work of art as he leaned slightly closer.
“You went out thanks to me, and now you’re pretending you don’t know?”
His arrogant attitude from before was nowhere to be found.
Instead, his voice was as sweet as if it had been coated in honey.
Thanks to him?
But the one who had given me permission to go out had been the nice Edwin during dinner.
“That was thanks to… me…”
“How disappointing. Are you pretending you don’t know I helped you?”
“Huh? Helped? Me?”
“Think carefully. Do you really believe that old-fashioned fellow would’ve agreed to let his fiancée do something that might put her in danger?”
“Oh.”
The moment he said that, a memory flashed through my mind.
The strange feeling I’d noticed during dinner with Edwin.
The atmosphere that had changed so suddenly, as though he’d switched masks in an instant.
“Don’t tell me… that was…?”
“You’re only realizing it now? I’m disappointed, Nadia. If you keep pretending not to notice, I might stop helping you.”
“Oh, r-right… um… th-thank you?”
Wait…
Did he seriously come all the way here in the middle of the night just to make sure I acknowledged him?
Completely unable to figure out what he was thinking, I awkwardly thanked him.
“Just with words?”
“…Huh?”
A large hand gently brushed across my cheek.
“If you’re truly grateful, shouldn’t you show it with your whole body?”
“What?”
“If you’re sincere, isn’t that what you should do?”
Unexpected physical contact.
Suggestive words.
That captivating expression.
Unlike my frozen body, my heart refused to calm down.
But he didn’t stop at simply touching my face.
As the hand stroking my cheek slowly slid down to my neck and shoulder, I finally realized something was very wrong.
I might have very little—no, absolutely no—dating experience.
Even so, I knew that this kind of contact, late at night while I was completely defenseless, was dangerous.
This is because it’s an adults-only game, isn’t it?
If I did what Edwin was suggesting and showed my sincerity…
Would that mean we’d… actually end up going that far?
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
It was just a game.
But everything felt so incredibly real that my heart pounded as though it were actually happening.
Is this really okay?
Then another thought crossed my mind.
Sure, this was an adults-only game.
But it probably wasn’t the kind where someone simply climbed into your bed and things automatically happened.
Besides, hadn’t one of the developers said something during the introduction?
“We’ve carefully designed many elements so it feels like you’re truly dating someone in real life. However, even though only adults can play, you’ll be in for a rude awakening if you think this is simply a game meant to provide sexual stimulation!”
Right.
If I just went all the way with him here, that would make conquering the romance route far too easy.
Come to think of it…
Wasn’t it strange that he suddenly started coming onto me like this?
Could this all just be a fake?
Even if we were technically engaged, would he really jump straight to physical intimacy and spending the night together?
Without any affection points?
Once that suspicion appeared, every one of Edwin’s actions started looking suspicious.
I immediately went on guard and tried to push him away.
Or at least…
I tried to.
“W-W-W-Wait!”
Grab.
As his hand quickly moved lower, panic overwhelmed me and I instinctively grabbed his wrist.
“What is it?”
“I-I… I literally just woke up, and, um… doing this already feels a little embarrassing!”
“What does that matter? You seem to want this too.”
“Huh? I-I do?”
Maybe it was because he was absurdly handsome.
Or maybe it was because Edwin was charging ahead like a two-ton truck with the accelerator floored.
Either way, instead of calmly organizing my thoughts, I ended up stammering.
“I-I don’t! W-What makes you think that…?”
“Are you planning to lie? Every time I come closer, I can hear your heart pounding this loudly.”
That…
…was true.
Just as he’d said, my heart was hammering as though I’d just sprinted four hundred meters.
“H-How…?”
“I have very good hearing.”
“It’s because you startled me!”
At my excuse, Edwin let out a small laugh.
“Liar.”
This time, the hand he’d withdrawn reached toward my forehead.
As one firm finger pushed against it, I quickly lost my balance and fell backward.
Thump.
The soft mattress absorbed all the impact, but the atmosphere alone was enough to leave me breathless.
A moment later, Edwin’s shadow completely covered my body.
“My fiancée.
I can grant whatever you desire right now.”
The instant our eyes met—those crimson eyes—I felt as though the entire situation had become a spell.
As if everything would be solved if I simply nodded.
“I-I…”
I was just about to unconsciously answer, Okay.
But I stopped myself.
Despite acting as though he was deeply attracted to me…
His affection level still hadn’t appeared at all.
In a dating simulation, shouldn’t you be able to see the romance target’s affection level?
Remembering how I’d watched the head maid’s and the chef’s affection values go up and down, I returned to the thought I’d had earlier.
That’s right… There’s no way this is the proper route.
A situation like this happening without any effort?
No.
This had to be a fake.
There was no way winning over the male lead would be this easy!
Considering he has split personalities, maybe accepting one of them means I’d never be able to end up with the other… or maybe that’s how the game increases the difficulty.
If that was the case…
I couldn’t fall for one side’s scheme.
“I-I don’t want to!”
Just before his lips could touch mine, I managed to shove his face away.
Edwin stared blankly at me, clearly caught off guard by my sudden rejection.
“…Why?
You want this too.”
His question sounded almost empty.
I hurriedly shook my head.
“Doing whatever you want just because you want it… that’s no different from being an animal!”
“An animal?”
“Yes.
People live by exercising self-control.
And more importantly…
I don’t want to cross that line with someone whose feelings and mine don’t truly meet.”
“So you’re rejecting me?”
Seeing the corner of his mouth twist upward, I hesitated for a moment.
The truth was, Edwin really was overwhelmingly attractive.
If the good Edwin gave off the restrained, disciplined aura of a knight, the bad Edwin radiated a dangerous charm that felt capable of toppling an entire convent.
And naturally…
The bad one was much more seductive.
If demons truly existed to tempt people, surely they’d look something like the man standing before me.
“Answer me.”
“Ugh…”
Looking at Edwin as he pressed me with that dangerously alluring expression made my heart ache.
“Say it, my fiancée.”
“……”
“Tell me you’ll accept me.”
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