Shun POV:

‘Keuk!!’

My eyes shot open, followed by a head-splitting pain that sent tremors down the right side of my face. I rolled out of the bed, crashing to the floor as I failed to orientate myself.

‘What the??!’

I blinked multiple times, but the blanket of darkness covering my right eye clung to it. This was bad.

This was very bad.

It was still dark outside and with one eye lost to the side effects of the drug I had created, navigating my way through that forest would take even longer.

I scrambled to my feet in a panic, throwing on my underwear and the rags that I had stashed in the corner before remembering the most important thing I needed to do.

‘Right! Chloe!!’

I spun my head in her direction, only to be greeted with an unexpected sight. Her body was sprawled out on the bed, and her breathing was shallow. My lips curved into a sadistic smile and I reached for the kitchen knife I had hidden in my pocket.

‘?!’

I searched all over, but it was nowhere to be found. How? It didn’t make any sens–

‘Ah.’

My gaze shifted to the long knife that lay underneath the bed. The extract had dulled my sense of hearing, so I didn’t see nor hear it fall out of my clothes earlier.

My hand shot forward, and I grabbed the knife in one smooth motion... At least I thought I did. When I looked back down at my hand, I wasn’t holding anything.

‘...’

I took a deep breath and let it out. I bent down once more and inched my hand closer towards the knife. This time, I grabbed hold of it, causing my eyes to curve upwards with glee.

I dashed to Chloe’s side and swung the knife down, aiming right for her heart when it happened again. My hand stopped inches away from her breasts as I observed the knife’s existence dematerialise before my eyes.

It was at that moment I truly realised the extent of the drug I had created.

The Lavender oil had combined with the Reverie extract, creating several new components in the process.

This new creation amplified the hallucinatory effects of the Reverie extract. As a result, no matter how hard I struggled, I wouldn’t be able to pick up that knife.

‘DAMN IT!!!’

I had to move now.

Not only was I wasting time here, but I could also feel the right side of my body becoming more numb as time went on.

I kicked the door open and fled to the 1st floor in a panic. I observed each corner I turned before bolting down the hallways. Once I arrived at the staircase to the 1st floor, an obstacle appeared: Mildred Summerstone.

‘...’

There was no time to plan anything else; I just had to go for it. I darted down the steps and charged towards Mildred. She turned around just as I wrapped my arm around her waist. I kissed her exposed neck, causing a soft moan to leave her lips.

Taking advantage of that opening, I brushed my lips past her ear and whispered into it.

“You’re my maid, Mildred.”

“Y-yes... M-master... S-Shun...”

She passed out in my arms as steam rose from her head. These past weeks, I had observed everyone’s habits, speaking patterns, and emotions. I made detailed character profiles on each of them, so I knew how to handle Mildred.

Despite her obligation to her duty, I was aware of the strong affection she had towards me. I probed her to see how well she took compliments multiple times in order to confirm the profile I had created. It was clear that she wasn’t lacking in confidence regarding her looks, yet she wasn’t accustomed to receiving compliments.

You see, if a written sentence could make Mildred so flustered, what do you think would happen if it was physical contact instead?

The answer was simple.

Mildred would either become too flustered to make sense of what happened or she would run away out of obligation to her duty.

I had tested this theory beforehand when I pressed my finger against her lips. Her body pretty much instantly went limp, and she almost collapsed to the floor.

‘...’

Mildred’s sensitivity to touch must have meant she was brought up in an isolated environment. The fact that Cedric referred to her by her surname must also mean that the Summerstone family were nobles.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I placed her body in a nearby room and turned my attention back towards my escape. I dashed out of the mansion and ran down the long road leading to the dark forest.

‘System mission.’

[Mission: Escape from Chloe Ravendawn

Difficulty: SS

Chloe Ravendawn has expressed her desire to marry you. This is an official proposal from a Ravendawn. Escape the Ravendawn Estate as soon as possible; otherwise, your fate will be sealed.

Time Remaining: 3 hours.

Rewards: Freedom.

Failure: Live your life as a puppet.]

[The time remaining has dropped below the minimum threshold.]

[A countdown timer will be permanently displayed.]

[Time Remaining: 2:59:50...]

Multiple red windows flashed into the left side of my vision at once, and I clenched my teeth in annoyance. This damn system was blocking up the little vision I had left!!

*Bang*

My head crashed into a large tree, and I flopped to the ground in agony. There was no time to wallow in pain, so I got back to my feet and started running through the dark forest again.

‘When I find out who made this system, I’m going to kill them!’

The flashing timer finally decided to shrink its size down to a small bar in the corner of my vision. I cracked a wry smile as my feet continued to move in a sluggish manner.

‘Play your games all you want while you can because once I kill Chloe, you’re next.’

***

Chloe POV:

“Ugh...”

I forced my eyes open, only to be greeted with another layer of darkness. I stretched out my hands, reaching for my sweetheart—I wanted to be held in his arms, but...? I couldn’t find him. I couldn’t feel him, nor could I sense his presence.

“Keuk!”

My head flopped forward as a warm liquid spurted out of my nose along with several sharp pains that stabbed into my brain. They wriggled around inside before stabbing a different area, causing multiple pained moans to leave my mouth.

‘He... Poisoned me?...’

“Heuk!”

A mouthful of blood splashed over my hands. The sound of blood vessels popping in my eyes was almost inaudible due to the impairment caused. Red tears splashed against my cheeks, but the corners of my mouth rose.

I trembled.

I giggled.

The extent of his love amazed me.

‘I’m immune to poison, but his love found a way to break through it.’

I welcomed the torrent of pain with outstretched arms in the sea of darkness. The sincerity of his heart had reached me, and I could only describe the time we spent together last night as phenomenal.

‘I accept it all, my sweetheart.’

The poison inside of me swirled. It rushed from every corner of my body, forming a sticky black ball in front of my Ki Center. The accumulation of poison melted into the core, surrounded by 9 circular rings, and seconds later, my vision was restored.

‘My love.’

I ignored my blood that had dyed most of the bedsheets dark red before moving over to his side of the bed. The faint smell of Dream’s Devotion wafted into my nose as I rubbed my cheek against his pillow.

‘Reverie extract and something else. Impressive.’

His creativity made me giggle. Herb knew I was immune to even the poison of reverie, so he must have warned him in advance to not go through with it.

But I welcomed it.

Because I accepted all of my sweetheart’s love. A memory from a few days ago drifted to the forefront of my mind: it was a conversation I had with Cedric.

***

*Knock knock*

“Come in.”

Cedric stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He ruffled his hair before letting out a long sigh.

“Your lover wants to escape from here.”

I interlocked my fingers on the desk. A bright smile waited for Cedric to correct his own impoliteness.

“...My lady.”

I nodded and pointed to a chair, but he simply waved his hand away. My eyebrows twitched and sensing the incoming danger, he sat down on the seat I had directed him to.

“And when did he tell you this?”

“Today, ...My lady. Ha... To be honest, he had a panic attack once I told him to accept his fate. Not only that, but according to Camille and Rollo, he was suffering from some sort of illness that took away his ability to speak.”

I remained neutral. Only the slight dip of my eyebrows revealed a semblance of emotion. However, on the inside, a wide smile formed at the news Cedric had delivered. It meant that he loved me so much that now he only wanted to use his words to communicate with me.

A panic attack was just the sign of his withdrawal symptoms from being away from me for too long. His love had stepped into the next realm along with mine, and I knew that there was no limit to how deep our love could go.

I failed to stop the blood from rushing to my cheeks in front of Cedric. He half rolled his eyes and proceeded to open his mouth to complain about my sweetheart. He closed it seconds later, choosing to not say anything of the sort.

“He managed to drag himself back to his room while unconscious, but you should probably check on him, my lady.”

My eyes widened with joy before a hand covered most of my face.

“...You’ve done well, Cedric. You may leave now.”

He bowed his head, let out another sigh, and closed the door behind him. The heat that I was trying my best to control rose from my cheeks. I licked my lips multiple times in an attempt to taste his.

‘I love him. I love him. I LOVE HIM!!’

My eyes arched toward the ceiling. Tremors ran down my limbs at the vivid imagery of him crawling back to me, unconscious.

It was unfathomable.

If this was not pure love, then what was?

‘I won’t let him go! I-I... I... Yes...’

I pressed my hands against my cheeks. My lips spread into a wide smile that almost touched the edges of my eyes.

‘I will marry him, and we will be together forever.’

***

I cuddled his pillow, pressing it between my breasts for a while. I wrapped the bloody duvet around me and sat up in the bed.

‘Oh. How sweet.’

My gaze shifted to a large kitchen knife resting on the carpet. The fact that it wasn’t broken meant that my sweetheart didn’t try to stab me with it, despite the perilous condition I was in.

‘He must have really enjoyed last night.’

It was reassuring since I had no experience in the bedroom. He was my first and my last. I buried my hot face into his pillow. His smell, his touch, his skin, his eyes…

Everything.

I loved everything about him.

I rocked side to side, drowning myself in his scent. Nicholas no longer watched over the mansion; it was a by-product of my sweetheart’s determination to make me feel special. Nicholas felt it was no longer necessary to watch him.

‘Hehe.’

I welcomed the dancing of butterflies in my stomach. Every time I replayed the moment of him giving me an assortment of reverie, their numbers increased.

Love.

It was pure love.

If this occurred over a month ago, I would have let him run. I would have let him experience a glimpse of hope, only to crush it and deepen the hatred he already had for me...

But I was different now.

I took a bite out of his red heart; my name engraved on it, revealing how deep my sweetheart’s love went. I wasted little time in putting on my clothes before shaking off the numb feeling the poison had caused. A melodic hum graced our sanctuary and added to the rhythmic motions of the stretches I performed.

Now, I didn’t want to let him out of my sight. I would keep him close to me so that I would never lose him. That alone would be enough to foster the hatred—the love inside of him.

Never.

He’ll never... NEVER be able to escape my grasp. The reason why was simple. It was because...

“You… are MINE!!”

I bolted right through the reinforced window, shattering the glass around me. Love-filled laughter warmed the night sky with its presence, and the pursuit began.