THGA 13

Chapter 13

When I looked at Sren’s appearance, I couldn’t help thinking that if an angel were ever to descend to the mortal world, it would look exactly like him. He was always expressionless, but when he smiled even slightly, he was so beautiful it made your head spin. And that only made my mood worse.

“Is that damn doll really the problem?”

I’d heard that for several days now, Sren hadn’t come out of the mansion at all. The reason, apparently, was that he couldn’t take his eyes off a woman named Rachel Famignion. What an impressive woman she must be. To think she could make someone like him—who seemed uninterested in everything—burn with such intensity. That only made me more jealous, and more envious.

“What is it about a human like that that’s supposedly so pretty? Why keep her hidden away like that, never letting her show herself?”

And of all people, it was none other than Sren Crochette. At that, Luisez spoke softly, showing interest in Rezmei’s words.

“Well, for a human, she’s not bad. That’s probably why she has Sren all to herself, right?”
“So that makes you want to see that face one more time? To me, she looked like nothing more than an ordinary woman—no different from any other human.”
“Hehehe. Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Luisez. What do you think we should do?”
“Oh, Rezmei. How about trying this?”
“What?”
“I think it’s a suggestion that might pique your interest.”
“So what is it?”
“Let’s use Arie.”

Arie de Ruavic Logan—she was the younger sister of the two. She was also Sren’s fiancée, a title forced upon him so that they could tie him to their side.

“I hear Arie’s been throwing a fit lately every time she says she wants to see Sren.”

At Luisez’s words, Rezmei’s eyes sparkled. Princess Arie was just as obsessively attached to Sren as they were. If she were to move, something interesting might finally happen—like rain falling on a parched desert.

It would add some new stimulation to their boring daily lives, and also serve as a way to see Sren. Two birds with one stone.

Rezmei nodded eagerly, clearly pleased.

“Oh, that’s a fantastic idea! Yes! Let’s tell Arie to bring that woman along as well.”
“Wouldn’t that be a little difficult? It sounds hard to pull off.”
“It’s Arie. She might be able to do it.”

More accurately, it was closer to not caring what happened to her life at all. Luisez nodded in agreement. Even if they couldn’t get every result they wanted, calming Rezmei down was more important right now.

“Alright. Then it’s decided.”

As Luisez snapped his fingers, a servant who had been waiting appeared.

“Could you summon Arie? There’s an important letter that needs to be delivered directly to the Crochette family.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty.”

Once he disappeared, Luisez bit his own finger until it bled. When the drops of blood fell onto the paper meant for the letter, crimson letters began to write themselves. Watching this, Rezmei’s eyes burned with dark desire.

Sometimes I think this must all be a nightmare. Otherwise, there’s no way something like this could be happening to me. When I woke up, it was early evening. I thought Sren might come soon.

Normally, I would have felt nothing and simply wished for time to pass quickly. But once I realized that even my death might not mean the end of everything, my thinking changed.

An unknown sense of impatience tightened around my throat. I rubbed my face restlessly, like washing it dry, and muttered,

“Ha… what should I do? I really don’t think I can face Sren right now.”

My confidence hit rock bottom. But if this wasn’t the end, then waiting for death like this was meaningless. Wouldn’t that just make me a moth throwing itself into hellfire?

As if trying to steady myself, I shook my head. Then I walked up to the mirror and looked at my face for the first time in a while. Thin and worn, befitting the protagonist of this game, yet Rachel’s face was still stunning—beautiful enough to rival even Sren’s.

Absentmindedly staring at my reflection, I ran my hand around my neck to check it. Despite how mercilessly Sren had bitten into me, there wasn’t even the smallest scar. All that remained was a faint bluish bruise.

Even that felt horrifying, as if it carried proof of Sren’s obsession with me.

That was when it happened. Near my ear, I heard the sounds—chik—puk puk—clatter clatter—of a train running. At the familiar noise, I turned my gaze toward the doorway. Passing straight through the closed door, a toy train that had come racing down invisible tracks from far away pierced the darkness and stopped in front of me.

It’s him! The NPC of this game—Phantom.

I hurriedly crouched down on the floor. Then the door opened, and Phantom stepped through, dressed in a black suit. Waving cheerfully at me, he spoke.

“Have you been well, Ms. Rachel Famignion? You may or may not remember me, but I am Phantom, the NPC of this game—”

Before he could finish, I grabbed him with my hands and shouted,

“You liar! You said if I died ten times, you’d let me die for good!”

Phantom clicked his tongue. He was still an incredibly insolent man. Staring at him in disbelief, I demanded,

“Sren said it himself. That even if I die ten times, nothing ends!”
“……”
“I didn’t even choose to come into this world in the first place. So why can’t I even decide how it ends? Please, just end this damn possession already!”

He straightened his disheveled tie with clear irritation and replied,

“Tsk tsk. To behave so uncouthly.”
“What did you say?”
“Thanks to that, my mood is quite foul right now.”
“Shut up! Do you have any idea how filthy my mood is? More importantly, answer me!”
“Hoo… you’re quite impatient.”
“Do I look like I wouldn’t be? I’m trapped in this game against my will, going through things I’d never see in my life! I… I want to stop now. It’s horrible. I really want everything to end!”

Emotion surged up all at once. What had I done wrong to be trapped in such a terrifying world? I’d only gone to check on a noise from my younger sibling’s room. And before I knew it, I’d possessed the protagonist of a horror game I didn’t even like. If it had at least been a romance fantasy novel I enjoyed, it wouldn’t have been this painful.

But what is this? Misery doesn’t even begin to cover it. It would’ve been easier to possess a villainess and reform myself. At least those stories don’t have insane yandere lunatics like this.

To begin with, horror games don’t even have a “male lead.” There’s only a fugitive and a pursuer. A protagonist and an enemy lurking in the shadows. As I despaired, Phantom spoke in a serious tone.

“That’s why I told you from the start. Collect the six Moonstones and escape.”
“……”
“But you, Ms. Rachel, didn’t make any effort at all. You only thought about dying.”
“Do you really think I did nothing? Try switching places with me. Do you honestly think escaping from here is even possible?”

They said no player had ever cleared this game. And someone like me—who doesn’t even like horror games—was supposed to succeed? When I mocked him with that implication, Phantom shamelessly defended Sren.

“Sir Sren carries many wounds. He looks strong on the outside, but he’s much more fragile than you think—”
“Don’t try to sell me on Sren in front of me. I seriously want to kill him.”

Fragile? In what universe?

At first, I thought so too. I wondered if I could change him if I tried hard enough. What a foolish, stupid thought. I could never be his savior. If half-baked salvation fantasies could reform him, I’d have changed careers long ago.

My stomach churned again. The image of Sren brutally carving up Adenhar kept resurfacing in my mind.

Before I realized it, tears slid down my cheeks. When I weakly let go of Phantom, he unexpectedly poked me with his small hand. When I looked at him in surprise, he pulled a handkerchief from his coat and offered it to me—apparently to wipe my tears.

“…Thank you.”

It seemed like Phantom wanted to comfort me. Looking at the tiny handkerchief he gave me, I found myself laughing, strangely, despite the unpleasant situation.

This is way too small to use.

It was so insignificant in size that it was useless for wiping tears. When I smiled like that, Phantom finally seemed relieved and spoke again.

“You’re smiling again now, Ms. Rachel.”

I pouted and protested,

“Don’t call me by that name. I’m not the real Rachel anyway.”

Phantom smiled faintly and asked back,

“Then do you remember your real name? The name you had before logging into the game.”
“Well, of course I—!”

…Huh?

That’s strange.

Normally, I should have answered instantly. But for some reason, the words caught in my throat.