THGA 14

Chapter 14

No matter how hard I tried, my original name just wouldn’t come to mind.

What’s wrong with me? My real name… what was it again?

Phantom, who had been watching me quietly, let out a faint metallic sound, as if sighing in pity, and whispered,

“What you know is not everything. You may not even be aware of it yourself, Lady Rachel.”

A chill ran down my spine. My lips trembled as a wave of anxiety washed over me. I barely managed to calm my wildly pounding heart and asked him carefully,

“I’m about to face my tenth death. Did the other players slowly lose themselves like I am?”

I wanted him to say yes.
But Phantom remained silent.

“Why… aren’t you answering?”

Only then did Phantom smile and reply,

“I apologize. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.”
“…What?”
“Not a single one of them ever forgot who they were.”
“…!”
“They all had a clear awareness of their own identity. So why do you think you’re different, Lady Rachel?”
“That’s… something I don’t know either.”
“Have you ever considered this possibility? That perhaps you are the true Rachel Faminion herself.”
“…!”

Crazy. What kind of ridiculous nonsense was that? For a moment, I thought I’d misheard him. My memories of the world I used to live in were so vivid—how could I possibly be the real Rachel Faminion?

“Don’t joke with me.”

When I said that coldly, Phantom gave a crooked smile and spoke uneasily.

“Then perhaps you’ve been assimilated into her.”
“…!”
“I warned you early on, didn’t I? Ten times. No matter what it took, you were supposed to find the Moonstones and leave the mansion before that.”
“You never said that at first.”
“Was there any reason I needed to tell you?”

Now that I thought about it, he was right. Even if he was an NPC, there was no reason for him to be on my side. Left with nothing to say, I lashed out in frustration.

“That’s not fair! You’re an NPC!”
“Heh. That’s an interesting thing to say. Then let me ask you this—what would you do if I weren’t actually an NPC?”
“…!”
“You trusted me because I said I was an NPC in this game, didn’t you?”
“Well…”
“Anyone can lie easily if it helps them get what they want. And yet you believed me without a shred of doubt. You’re rather naïve, Lady Rachel.”

Damn it. I had no rebuttal. He was right. Why had I believed everything this man said so unquestioningly? There was no guarantee that following his instructions would really let me escape this place. I just wanted to believe it would.

Because believing was easier.
Because it was better than facing this bleak reality head-on.

That was why I never once doubted Phantom’s words. As if reflecting on my own foolishness, I grew somber.

So… there really is no one on my side here.

I fell into silence. Then, out of nowhere, Phantom burst into cheerful laughter and waved his hand dismissively.

“Hey now, don’t get so serious.”
“…!”
“You just looked so depressed that I thought I’d tease you a bit.”

That bastard. I was being completely serious, and he was joking around like this.

He tapped his chest confidently with a clenched fist and said,

“I swear on my life. Don’t worry. If you find the six Moonstones and leave the mansion before your tenth death, you really will be able to log out of this game forever. That part is true.”

Still, hearing that didn’t actually change anything for me. I only had one chance left. I’d failed over and over again—there was no way I’d succeed in just one try.

“Ha… haha.”

And yet, I couldn’t let go of hope. The contradiction of it all made me feel hollow, and I found myself laughing like I’d lost my mind.

Still smiling vacantly, I asked,

“Why me?”

Why did it have to be me? Why was I so cruelly thrown into this godforsaken game I never even cared about?

At my question, he answered without hesitation,

“Because you are the person who best meets Lord Sren’s desired conditions.”

It was still an unconvincing answer. Gently placating me, he continued,

“You still have one chance left. Why not try a little harder?”
“But I—”
“For what it’s worth, Lord Adenhar is still alive.”

That made me flinch.

Adenhar… is alive?

I’d been so busy struggling to survive that I hadn’t even thought about him. I couldn’t help but be surprised that Sren hadn’t killed him yet—normally, if I didn’t intervene, he always did.

Come to think of it, at some point, Sren stopped bringing me Adenhar’s corpse.

When did that start?
Ah—around the time I began taking my own life.

As I mulled over the memory, Phantom spoke gravely,

“This time, won’t you let Lord Adenhar escape safely?”

The dice of the final round had already been cast. Running away any longer wasn’t a wise choice.

Yes. This time, it was my turn to give back everything Sren had done to me.

I smiled coldly and answered,

“Fine.”

That day, I made up my mind—to become crazier than Sren himself. No matter what, this time I would save Adenhar and escape alive.

From him.
From this horrific world.

As always, Sren came to see me today. Whatever was going on with him, he was rougher than usual in the way he desired me. But I accepted him without resistance.

Then, as he looked down at me, Sren chuckled and asked,

“You’ve been really strange lately.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t hate it like you used to. If anything, you act like you want me.”

That couldn’t be true. Yet he muttered as if convinced.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his body and buried my face in his chest.

“No… actually, I don’t think I ever hated you.”
“…!”
“I like you, Sren.”
“What?”

His body stiffened. I looked up at him and smiled softly.

“You’re the strange one. I thought you’d be happy, but that expression says otherwise.”

As if he’d heard something completely unexpected, Sren looked uncharacteristically stunned. Then he frowned and asked,

“Are you being serious right now?”
“Yeah. I love you.”

And I pressed my lips to his first.

When I smiled shyly afterward, his gaze grew even deeper.

“Really? You like me that much?”
“Yeah.”

At my answer, which came without a second thought, Sren let out a quiet laugh.

“That makes me happy. What should I do? I’d rather show you my answer instead of saying it. Is that okay?”

When I nodded, he immediately claimed my mouth. I wasn’t surprised—I’d expected it. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck encouragingly, mingling my tongue with his in time with his breathing.

Compared to our clumsy first kiss, I’d grown fairly accustomed to it.

But then—suddenly—my vision went dark.

He had blindfolded me with his necktie.

Startled, my heart began to race. Sren whispered in my ear in a sweet voice,

“This way, you can focus better on the sensations I give you.”

That was only the beginning.

“Ah…!”

His lips roamed all over my body, biting, licking, sucking relentlessly. Marking my skin with bruises as if claiming territory was something he especially enjoyed.

Damn bastard. Even after staining my entire body red, he showed no sign of stopping.

In the end, I was the one who pushed him away first. When I untied the necktie from my eyes, I saw Sren smiling as if he’d expected this all along.

Was it intentional? Was he testing me?

Of course. This was Sren—weapons-grade paranoia incarnate. There was no way he’d trust me so easily.

He needed to keep everything under his control to feel satisfied. But unfortunately for him, I had no intention of dancing to his tune anymore.

I climbed straight on top of him. Just then, my eyes caught the handkerchief with his initials, placed on the bedside table.

I slowly bit my lower lip, picked it up, tugged it lightly, and asked with a leisurely smile,

“Do you like being blindfolded?”

He blinked in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected this reaction.

Smiling innocently, I said,

“Then I guess we have the same taste.”
“…!”

Using the handkerchief, I covered his eyes.

Then, biting his earlobe in return, I whispered,

“I’ll be looking forward to it—how you react to the sensations I give you.”
“…!”
“So from now on, stay bound to me alone.”