DRMB Chapter 6

The true despair unfolded when she tried to appease him with kindness and understanding.

It began with the cold words, “Boring and tedious,” followed by the administration of drugs.

‘There was no specific mention of what it was, but it was probably some kind of illegal drug, like narcotics.’

After the drugs were administered, Ipersha, as if her mind was clouded, would always ramble deliriously.

Phelix wouldn’t stop there, continuing to dose her until her mind was broken, forcing her to look only at him, even branding her body with a mark signifying his ownership. He didn’t stop treating her like a toy until her frail body finally succumbed to death.

‘The way she became withered and broken beyond the screen felt so real that it sent chills down my spine.’

She had witnessed that scene so many times that she couldn’t bear to watch anymore, to the point where she ignored all the subsequent choices in that route and restarted, choosing a different option.

‘How can I earn the respect of someone who doesn’t treat others as a living being, let alone an equal?’

In truth, as she approached Phelix’s bedroom, the image of the game’s female protagonist, withering away on the screen, seemed to flicker before her eyes, making her to start feeling anxious and desperate.

The thought that she had become that very female protagonist made her feel a bit hopeless.

However, she tried to suppress her anxiety and persistently searched for a solution. Although she hated to admit it, the system’s words proved true; her experience of failure in the game was now coming in handy.

She already knew the two choices she had to avoid at all costs.

’Not too indifferent, and not too rebellious. To persuade him at a suitable compromise…’

After much deliberation, Ipersha chose deception.

‘In the game, the oracle only revealed the existence of the cure, without any further explanation. The fact that madness is suppressed through contact had already been discovered by Phelix, but at the same time, that’s all he knows.’

Based on this, she devised a plan to deceive him.

‘Hoo.’

Taking a deep breath, Ipersha raised her hand to knock on the door. Just then,

The door suddenly burst open, and before her curled hand could even knock, a large hand snatched her slender wrist and pulled her inside.

In that instant, Ipersha was dragged in by the forceful pull and her back slammed hard against the wall as the door slammed shut behind her.

“Ouch!”

“Are you planning to annoy me until dawn?”

A heavy, threatening voice echoed close to her ear. Wincing at the sharp pain in her back, Ipersha raised her gaze.

Small lamps softly illuminated the room, allowing her to clearly see him despite the darkness of the night.

After a moment of bewilderment, Ipersha felt a throbbing pain in her wrist. Seeing that he was still gripping it tightly, she tried to pull it free.

But he grabbed her other hand as well, completely binding her and closing the distance between them.

“Hmm? I’m asking you.”

Droplets of water, like the color of a cloudy night sky, dripped from the tips of his dark gray hair trailing down his throat, as if he had just washed up. His loosely buttoned shirt, damp with water, subtly revealed his skin. He had a visibly strong physique.

Her gaze, which had been traveling up his body as if exploring it, stopped the moment their eyes met. A flickering madness was visible in his red eyes, the color of blood, as they locked onto hers.

“……”

Ipersha unconsciously held her breath.

She hadn’t felt anything when she saw him through the game screen, but facing him directly in person was a completely different experience.

Disheveled and consumed by madness, he was intensely decadent and alluring. At the same time, he seemed poised to devour her, filling her with fear.

Suddenly, with a clear chime, a bright screen appeared behind him.

「Phelix Obern, 28 years old. Head of the Obern Dukedom. (Capture Target)

• A Transcendent One who freely wields darkness. The lord of the underworld, holding all illegal activities in his grasp. Cruel and somewhat twisted.」

‘…There’s no need for me to be afraid.’

Seeing the basic description of Phelix Obern’s, the same as the one in the game, calmed her trembling heart. Ipersha took a small breath and gathered her resolve.

No matter how real it seemed, he was still just a character in a game.

“I need time to prepare myself as well.”

Her green eyes, previously filled with fear and trembling, hardened. 

Phelix cocked an eyebrow at the change.

“You’ve changed.”

“……”

“Just this evening, you were so terrified you refused to eat or drink. It’s like you’ve become a different person.”

Ipersha felt a pang of guilt at his sharp words.

However, she had anticipated this kind of reaction from the moment she decided to deceive him.

‘In order to prevent the dark storyline as much as possible, I can’t act like Ipersha in the game.’

Moreover, she had only seen dead ends without even reaching the mid-to-late game where the story deepened. Even if she could imitate Ipersha from the game now, it would definitely become difficult as the game progressed.

‘In this case, it’s better to change my attitude from the beginning. Rather than raising suspicions later on when things are going well.’

This would change the game and the story, but it really didn’t matter much.

She didn’t know the latter part of the game anyway, and if she succeeded in deceiving Phelix, the future captures would occur earlier than in the game’s timeline. Besides, unlike the game, she had to reform everyone. This meant that the story would inevitably deviate from the original.

Staring intently into Phelix’s red eyes, Ipersha spoke,

“Because I know you won’t let me go.”

“It seems the confinement has been effective. You understand your situation quite well. So, have you finally decided to give up?”

“No.”

Phelix’s eyes narrowed as if frowning at the unexpected answer.

Ipersha glanced at the bright screen behind him and then looked back at him.

“Let’s make a deal.”

The last line of his description was written in thick blue letters.

「Characteristic: Madness surges most intensely on the night of the full moon.」

This was information she hadn’t known while playing the game.

Ipersha finally understood why Phelix, who had left the heroine alone, had forced himself on her on the night of the full moon.

He could no longer endure the madness.

‘He must be desperate right now. This is my chance to deceive him.’

It was an unexpected advantage. When someone is pressed for time, they tend to overlook things, even if they are usually sharp and cautious.

Ipersha dared to predict her success.

But Phelix, taken aback by her boldness, let out a scoff and growled.

“Why should I?”

“Ugh.”

He then grabbed Ipersha’s face roughly. Her expression contorted in pain. Her jaw ached as if it would shatter in his grip. He brought his face so close that their noses almost touched.

“I can just take you right here and now, and it’ll be over.”

“……”

“Since you still don’t seem to understand, let me tell you. No one will care if a woman who rolled around in the filthy red-light district and slums dies here. No, they won’t even know what happened.”

He wasn’t wrong. Considering their social and status positions, he was a high-ranking nobleman and a Transcendent One, while Ipersha was even weaker than a commoner.

However,

“No. I know my situation better than anyone. God told me.”

Ipersha spoke resolutely, unfazed by the stinging pain.

“That if I’m not even slightly willing, the cure… won’t work properly.”

“……”

“When we first met, the effect worked because the surprise of the sudden contact was greater, but… I doubt it would be the same if you forced yourself on me.”

It was a lie. 

If that were possible, the game wouldn’t be a dark romance fantasy. Because the capture targets wouldn’t act recklessly to win Ipersha’s heart.

That was precisely what she was aiming for now.

‘No one knows whether it’s true or not anyway. Phelix is no exception.’

Calming her pounding heart, Ipersha watched as his madness level on the screen slowly decreased.

If the cheat key the system had given her was this screen, it was quite useful.

She knew from the game that the effect was weak unless there was contact involving bodily fluids, but it was reassuring to see the actual numbers directly.

It made her lie more believable. She quickly added,

“Even though we’re in contact now, the effect is minimal. Isn’t that right?”

Phelix faltered at her words.