There is a kind of suffering that poets never mention. Perhaps they think it's the kind born of loss, or the kind that lingers after surviving a war.
Nothing like that.
You see, there is a kind of suffering that comes from walking down a hallway knowing the woman you love is three classrooms away, unable to go after her, because the last time you did, a countess told half the room that 'La D'Tariel had her dog glued to her heels.'
Yes. In that piece of gossip, I was the dog.
Three classrooms. One hallway and two doors. That was the distance between Lianza and me.
And it hurt more than I should admit.
I was walking toward the main hall, mentally reviewing the day's list of events, when something changed. Not in the hallway. In me. Or rather, above me, around me, in the space my body occupied, but didn't belong to me.
A light appeared before my eyes. It was square, floating, with edges as defined as a tavern sign, and inside it, a single symbol.
[🏪]
I stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. To everyone else, I was an idiot staring into thin air.
"What the hell is this?"
The screen changed.
[🎰]
Then text appeared. White letters on the floating square, so crisp they hurt my eyes.
[Welcome to the Harem System. Your subscription has been activated.]
"I didn't subscribe to anything."
[Let's just say it's a... mandatory subscription.]
"Then I'm canceling it."
[Your feedback has been registered and we will do our best to solve your problem... Nah, just kidding: your opinion has been sent to the trash. 🗑️]
I felt something unhinge in my head. No pain. Just an absurd sensation. Like when you read a footnote and discover that everything you thought you understood was a lie.
[Mandatory Mission: Flirt with Alexia Vane.]
"Excuse me?"
[Refusing this mission will have consequences.]
"What kind of consequences?"
A new screen unfolded. This time it was a parchment bearing the royal court seal of all Earolden, and inside, handwriting I recognized because I had read its description in the novel: an arrest warrant for Lianza D'Tariel for attempted murder.
The date: three weeks from now.
"That doesn't... this didn't happen this soon. In the web novel, it was after the ball."
[Oh, Romeo. Do you still not get it? The story is destined to change. And if you don't play with me, your beloved villainess will wake up in three weeks with her hands stained with blood she didn't spill. Isn't that exciting? 😊]
"You're blackmailing me."
[😏]
"And you're doing it so I'll flirt with another woman..."
[You have 45 minutes. And relax, I'm not asking you to marry her. Just a little bit of romance. Or are you scared you might actually like it? 🤭]
[Target: Alexia Vane. East wing. South hallway, by the windows.]
[Completion Reward: Choose one → A) 10 Affection Points (Alexia Vane) | B) 10 Experience Points (attribute of choice) | C) 1 Mystery Item: what could be inside? 🎁]
My throat tightened. The mere thought of doing such a thing generated a disgust and a rage so thick I could barely swallow.
Alexia Vane. Daughter of the duke of the southern lands, the region ruled by House Jahke. In the novel, she was a secondary character, one of the prince's suitors. Brunette hair and a smile that popped up in every background scene. She wasn't important or dangerous.
But flirting with another woman...
Lianza would kill me. And not in a metaphorical way. She literally would. She'd plunge the dagger she hides under her dress into me, and finish me off with the one under her pillow. And she'd call it a 'training accident.'
But if I didn't do it, the System would fabricate evidence. I was in a world where magic was called Empero, where mythological creatures existed, and a pantheon led by three great gods ruled. I couldn't afford not to believe it.
If I failed, Lianza would be arrested before I could even move a single piece.
Forty-five minutes on the clock.
"I don't have any other choice, do I?"
[🤐]
I clenched my fists. I had no other choice.
I walked toward the east wing.
I found Alexia by the windows in the south hallway. She wasn't alone. Two girls flanked her like a pair of earrings: a blonde with tight braids who wouldn't stop talking, and a black-haired girl who hid her boredom behind a fan and nonchalant sips of tea. The three of them were laughing at something that surely didn't matter.
Alexia held a small, closed fan between her fingers. Her brown hair fell in curls over her shoulders. Reddish freckles splashed across her nose, her cheeks, and the lower part of her neck, right between her collarbone and her chest.
She was pretty. I mean, objectively speaking, she was.
And that made me gag.
I stood in front of the group. The three of them went silent. Six eyes judged me, as wary as a fox stalking a henhouse.
"Sir Dariel," Alexia said, blinking. "Can I help you? Are you looking for the princess?"
Outside these doors, I was Lianza's personal guard. Her father had hired me due to my proximity to her at Mayorka. In the web novel, Dariel Elcronne was a lowborn noble turned bodyguard. Thanks to that closeness, and after the hero's rejection at the Welcome Ball, their relationship began. In my case, I had made sure to speed up the events.
"I'm not looking for the princess," I said. "I was passing by and it was impossible not to stop."
Pause. Alexia's friends exchanged glances.
"Why?" Alexia asked, her gaze cautious.
I forced the most charming smile I could muster. Even though on the inside, my stomach was doing flips.
"I was sure the sun was shining brightly in the gardens today. But I was mistaken…"
I waited a couple of seconds. The blonde's eyes went wide. The one with the fan snapped it shut and hurriedly took a sip of tea to cover it up.
"All the light in this academy comes from the shine in your eyes, Miss Vane."
Every syllable felt like a punch to the throat. I don't know how I kept a straight face.
Her two friends stifled gasps behind their gloved hands, shooting each other knowing giggles. Alexia went rigid. Then she blinked. Once, then again. Her cheeks turned a red that reminded me of a tulip.
The truth was, the blush made her freckles stand out.
They were beautiful freckles... Objectively speaking.
"S-Sir Dariel," she stammered, looking away. "The things you say!"
"I only speak the truth," I added, bowing my head. "Call me Dariel. There's no need for formalities between us."
Alexia opened her mouth. Closed it. The blush spread to her ears.
On the other hand, I wanted to bite my own tongue off.
"I-I..." she stammered. "Thank you, Sir Dariel. I didn't know you..."
Alexia turned to exchange whispers and giggles with her friends.
[Bravo! Bravo! You brought tears to my eyes. Truly, Romeo, you have talent. Have you considered doing this professionally? 😘]
[Mission completed. Choose your reward:]
[A) 10 Affection Points → Alexia Vane]
[B) 10 Experience Points → Attribute of choice]
[C) 1 Mystery Item 🎁]
I looked at the options. Affection points for Alexia. Just what I didn't need: for the System to measure how much a woman who wasn't Lianza liked me. Experience to strengthen myself. Or an item that could be anything, from a potion to a rock pulled off the street.
"B," I muttered. "Experience. Base Empero."
[10 Experience Points assigned to Base Empero. Congratulations! You are marginally less pathetic. ✨]
The screen floated before my eyes and vanished. I stood there in front of Alexia, who was now twirling a lock of hair without looking at me, with the feeling of having committed the greatest act of betrayal since Judas sold his master for a few coins.
"Would you like me to accompany you to Botany?" she finally said, her voice carrying that shy pitch of a flattered girl. "I know of some petals that add a unique flavor to tea."
I glanced for a moment at Alexia's friends, which prompted them to turn and talk to each other to pretend they didn't care about the conversation between Alexia and me.
They were quite clever in advising her. Today, Botany would be empty until sunset. It was the perfect place for two people who desire each other to meet without raising suspicions... However, all I could think about was Lianza inviting me to that hall, with only the plants as witnesses.
"I can't," I finally replied. "I have to go..." I gestured vaguely toward the door. "Thank you for such a wonderful conversation."
I walked out at a brisk pace. I didn't run. Running would have been admitting something was wrong. Let's just say I walked with the dignity of a man who has just sold his soul for a crumb of bread.
I turned the corner. I took refuge in the gap between two decorative suits of armor. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall; it felt cold.
Great. It was official now. I had flirted with another woman. I had fed soap opera lines to someone who wasn't Lianza. I could taste the lie on my palate.
A thousand deaths. I would suffer a thousand deaths and one more before truly betraying Lianza. This Harem System, this sadistic being that kept sending me emojis while reveling in my suffering, could force me to say all kinds of things.
But I decided the value of those words.
It couldn't force me to feel them. What I felt was for Lianza. Only for and because of her. The woman who stifled her crying through the wall. The one who calls me an idiot in the same way she might say 'I love you.'
But as I swore this to myself, the System returned.
[New notification: Today is the first day of school, so, as they say on Earth, we must start off on the wrong foot. 🦶]
[You still have four missions to be delivered over the course of the day. When?, you might ask, but that would be boring to tell you, so let's leave it at that: the deadline is for today.]
Four more missions? I had barely managed not to collapse with the first one.
Four...
Damn it. Four.