14. affection level 100? (2)

“What……”

Lysith’s mouth fell open, then quickly closed.

‘I don’t want to know about that!!’

Was it crazy? It must be truly insane. Just as she was getting used to that crazy main quest demanding she seduce four men including her ex-husband and roll around in bed with them, now this…

‘It’s using a euphemism. This is just…!’

It meant to have outdoor s*x.

She sat there seriously contemplating for about 5 more minutes, but it was definitely insane.

No wonder it had been holding back the level 9 quest and slowly loading it—this was the reason! What difference was there between this and telling her to do it here, at this hunting festival!

Even worse was the content of the tip.

TIP! As for beasts, shouldn’t you only worry about the man right in front of you?

It seemed like the system would handle the beasts at the hunting festival, but the problem was…

‘It won’t handle people, right?’

Whether she did this quest with Dietrich or Verheigen, if there were witnesses, there would be no solution except cutting their throats.

She wondered if it would be harder later if she didn’t do it now, but she couldn’t tell. There were only two targets left, and both seemed difficult to catch at the right moment outdoors.

“My human rights……”

Tears welled up in Lysith’s eyes.

She had once thought, ‘There’s a limit to losing human rights—surely not in a place like a garden.’ But now she was experiencing an even greater loss of rights.

To be honest, she didn’t want to do it.

Naturally… unless one had specific preferences, who would enjoy doing such things in a wide-open space like this? Lysith didn’t have such preferences.

But when in life could one only do what they wanted? Sometimes you had to do things you didn’t want to, like swallowing bitter medicine while crying.

After spending 10 minutes simultaneously contemplating and giving up, Lysith calmly organized her thoughts and jumped to her feet. The hunting festival would begin in a few minutes, so she needed to follow before then.

If she was late, she might have to enter the forest alone to find her target.

He wouldn’t be where they had just parted, so he was probably sitting in the emperor’s seat, but going there to find him in this situation would be no different from saying, “Everyone, please look at me.”

So Lysith’s choice was…

“Mr. Serul.”

“Ah, hello, my lady……”

She decided to ask Serul, who somehow looked like he had aged 10 years since she last saw him.

“If it’s alright, could you relay a message to His Majesty later? After it begins.”

“He seems determined to do well this time, so I’m not sure if it’s possible, but I understand.”

The two were standing behind the tent where the nobles had gathered.

In front of that tent stretched the forest, with a wide space beside it for hunters to place their game after finishing, and on the opposite side were separate seats and tents for the imperial family.

After Serul left to deliver the message, Lysith heard the sound of the hunting festival beginning from the front of the tent not long after, and she paced in circles for no reason.

“Ha……”

She couldn’t believe it. This situation. She had accepted reality, but that didn’t mean her thoughts had simply changed.

There was no special reason she had chosen Verheigen. Or rather, in a way, it was important.

If she did the level 9 quest with Dietrich, wouldn’t that mean having their first intimate relationship in the forest of the hunting festival? Of course, looking at the current situation, it seemed possible to clear the main quest by doing it just once with Dietrich.

But the problem occurred when she checked the main quest while contemplating earlier.

[Main Quest]

‘Form relationships with all four male protagonists and achieve 100 affection with each!’

Reward – Escape and return to your original world

Failure – Death

Additional condition – Clear sub quests level 10 or higher

So, out of nowhere, this kind of additional condition had appeared. As if it wouldn’t allow her to escape this game quickly.

In any case, this meant she would have to do level 9 with Verheigen and level 10 with Dietrich, but what could she do? Whatever appeared for level 10, she would have to accept reality just like now.

“This is driving me crazy.”

“What is?”

“Ah!”

Startled by the strong arm that suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind while she was off guard, Lysith jumped. Then a face as handsome as a sculpture appeared next to her face, revealing who it was.

As if trying to calm her, he gripped her waist more firmly and gently stroked it.

“I rushed over when I heard you wanted to see me……”

“When did I say that?”

What she had asked Serul to relay was that she had something to say and wanted him to spare a moment. How on earth could that be interpreted that way?

But regardless of Lysith’s astonishment, Verheigen, who had interpreted her words as he pleased, held her body tightly against him as if to trap her completely.

“So? What did you want to say?”

“Um… j-just a moment, this way……”

In truth, she hadn’t thought much about it. Well, how could she come up with some brilliant strategy in such a short time for something like this?

Fortunately, the other party was as docile as a lamb in response to her words and actions, and what she needed to do didn’t require “persuasion.”

‘Maybe I can just… somehow… muddle through this?’

When she struggled to free herself from the arm around her waist and took his hand instead, he followed where she led. It was a sight where no one would ever guess this man was the emperor.

What he wore now wasn’t his usual imperial attire, but hunting clothes similar to what Dietrich had been wearing earlier. Though the colors were completely opposite to the man who had been dressed in black from head to toe.

But as she walked ahead holding the hand of this man who was a head taller than her, a question came to mind.

“What if someone targets Your Majesty? Why are you following me like this?”

“Would you target me?”

“What if I were acting on someone else’s orders.”

“Are you trying to make me laugh with what you’re saying right now?”

“……”

Even when she expressed genuine concern.

“I’m not.”

“Why would you target me? If that were the case, you wouldn’t have drunk the poison in my place.”

“That was something Your Majesty did in the first place!”

When Lysith turned around with an incredulous expression, lowering her voice, Verheigen was smiling mischievously as if he had expected this reaction.

“This kind of response is cute.”

Hadn’t someone said that once you find everything the other person does cute, it’s already over? Receiving his gaze, Lysith closed her mouth, unable to find a retort.

That red gaze that had coldly shone during their first meeting, scrutinizing her thoroughly, was still vivid in her memory, but now his gaze was…

Clearly affectionate.

If before it had been a predator’s gaze that seemed ready to devour her completely, now it seemed like he was trying not to miss a single glance or gesture from her.

Anyway, as she held his hand and walked wherever her steps took her, they soon found themselves near the path leading from the imperial palace to the hunting grounds.

‘We’ve come here, but…’

The problem was that she didn’t know what to do next. They couldn’t just roll around on the road.

What stopped her contemplation was a wagon approaching from the direction of the imperial palace. Startled, Lysith pulled Verheigen into the bushes. Only after the wagon passed did Lysith come to her senses and mutter in an embarrassed voice.

“Why did I hide……”

Behind her was a tree, and in front of her stood a man larger than herself. She had rushed in to hide, but how they ended up in this position was unclear.

“Indeed. Were you thinking something strange?”

“I wasn’t!”

Lysith jumped up again, vehemently denying it as if caught red-handed, and Verheigen’s eyes narrowed. His excellent intuition was working well again.

“You were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Hmm.”

Verheigen caught Lysith’s hands that had been fidgeting around his waist and brought them up to frame his face before lowering his head.

“Really?”

His whispering voice was lower and more subtle than usual, as if someone might be nearby. When Lysith couldn’t find a place to rest her gaze with his face just a finger’s width away, their lips briefly touched as if to capture her wandering eyes, then separated.

“Tell me the truth, my Lysith.”

After making her wrap her hands around his neck, he lowered his thick, strong hands. Thin arms, straight back, slender waist, and further down.

Somehow, their heated breaths mingled. The once-clear air in the bushes had grown warm and sticky against their skin.