Raise Me, So That I Can Eat You Up - Chapter 2

“Status window.”

Waking up late in the morning, I started my day by checking my status.

Extreme numbers that threw balance to the wind caught my eye.

[Health-55/999]

[Energy-23/999]

Still as weak as ever today. Well, I am the precious daughter of a Viscount. Setting aside the crawling health and energy.

[Character-3/999]

Is it because I lost my mother early and grew up spoiled by the maids?

Even Ariella’s character was beyond salvation.

“Well. Things like personality might just hinder survival.”

What can I do? I have to live as I am. Being moderately inconsiderate was easier for surviving in this crazy world.

[Charm-Immeasurable/999]

A thrilling number no matter when I see it. I smiled contentedly as I bit into a macaron.

To have such unwavering beauty even while eating this sinful treat filled with filling first thing in the morning.

Isn’t this a much-improved life compared to before when I had to experience starvation as soon as money was deposited?

But, wait a minute…….

[Karma-985/999??]

I guess my prayers are lacking. What on earth did I do to have karma like this?

I put the macaron I was eating into my mouth, clasped my hands, and bowed my head.

“Dragon Lord. Today too, I will not be swayed by the male lead’s temptation.”

What I want is very modest. Sleep in late every day, and eat macarons when I wake up. I want to live comfortably, cooped up in my room like now.

May this earnestness be conveyed to the Dragon Lord as well!

After finishing my desperate prayer, I opened a gossip magazine as if nothing had happened.

Up-to-date information was essential for survival, after all.

<Prince Henry, Engagement Ceremony Suddenly Canceled!>

<Why Did the Prince Break Off the Engagement?>

The newspapers were plastered with articles about the prince canceling his engagement ceremony.

Henry was, in fact, a prince in name only. Having lost his father, the previous emperor, at a young age, and with his uncle inheriting the throne, he had become an outcast.

He was alive only because he wasn’t a threat to the throne. He was always living a precarious life.

Perhaps because he always brought scandals with him despite having no political power? He was a favorite prey of the press.

It must be because of the prince’s womanizing. No. They say he was caught with a secret hobby by Lady Hayworth. They say Henry actually likes men, and so on.

With the announcement of the broken engagement so close to the ceremony, all sorts of speculative articles were rampant.

‘Gossip magazines are the same here too.’

I was used to such things. Like being congratulated on a new life just because my belly got a bit bigger during the off-season.

Or when rumors of my disappearance circulated because I didn’t go out for two weeks out of laziness.

‘Somehow, I feel a bit sorry because it seems to be my fault.’

It’s pitiful, but Henry’s pride is at stake while my life is on the line.

In fact, I’m in no position to worry about others.

#RegretfulMaleLead #BodyAndMindPure #PregnancyEscape #RunawayFemaleLead

I mulled over Henry’s keywords.

If I were to target Henry…….

1. After the deed is done
2. Get pregnant
3. I had to run away. But what I needed to do now was the exact opposite. I like home. Because leaving home means a hard life. No runaway female lead for me. Except for the brush of fingertips yesterday, I hadn’t accumulated any physical purity either. Unless it’s a mythical figure, there was even less chance of getting pregnant. ‘But why is he crying and making a fuss?’ No matter how I thought about it, it was strange. Although they were engaged, it was almost entirely Ariella’s one-sided love. From the beginning, Henry belonged to everyone. He starts to fall only after Ariella runs away. That is, after realizing there’s his child in her belly. ‘But the crying comes even after that.’ I decided to check the affection level.

“Affection. Henry Grant.”

[Henry Grant’s affection is 81%. (Relationship: Stranger)]

It was strange. Despite rejecting him with baseless words, there was no change from the affection level I checked yesterday.

‘What’s this? Has it not updated?’

If that was the case, it was strange that the relationship had changed from ‘fiancé’ to ‘stranger’.

“Ah, whatever. With articles already out, what can he do?”

It seems to take some time to sort things out.

I decided not to worry about it, as there were already many headache-inducing matters.

Anyway, with this, ‘Ariella Hayworth’ officially became single.

***

The social world was in an uproar over the broken engagement with Henry. It wasn’t just because of the scandal.

The empire’s unparalleled beauty, ‘Ariella Hayworth’, was back on the marriage market. The men wouldn’t leave it alone.

As expected, marriage proposals flooded in.

Everyone was desperate to claim the spot next to Ariella.

Of course, I flatly rejected them all. If I could reject the male lead, extras were no problem. It wasn’t difficult.

I had been in seclusion, wanting to avoid troublesome matters.

[System: Quest! The borrowed book’s due date is today. Please return it within the deadline.

(Time remaining until library closure: 19 minutes 30 seconds)]

The problem was the untimely quests that popped up.

‘Ugh. Bothersome.’

As usual, I put it off until I arrived at the library just before closing time.

There was one reason why I avoided this quest.

The librarian was none other than the second male lead, ‘Benedict O’Neil’.

He would become a great magician in the future, but for some reason, he was working as a librarian.

‘He’s generally quiet, so he won’t be bothersome.’

Fortunately, I hadn’t exchanged a single word with Benedict yet.

Due to his extremely introverted personality, I used to actively look for opportunities to approach him in the game.

Perhaps that’s why. The game regularly made me face him through ‘library quests’.

He was a taciturn, cold character, and there was a certain charm in conquering him.

‘Scary. It’s like frost is forming.’

Shimmering silver hair, snow-white skin, mysterious purple eyes.

Even his indifferent, cat-like upturned eyes.

Benedict was exuding a cold aura as he sat at the librarian’s desk.

As expected of a male lead. Even his expressionless face was overflowing with charm.

‘I want to break him down. I want to leave a blemish called me on that perfect face…….’

Oh my, I haven’t come to my senses yet.

I shook my head vigorously to shake off the temptation.

#BrainSexyMan #ModestMan #ColdWallMan

These were Benedict’s keywords.

To target him, I would need to:

1. Borrow thick and difficult books
2. Engage in intellectual and elegant topics
3. Persistently strike up conversations Of course, my actions would be the exact opposite. I silently returned three books.

<When the Beast Nerd Takes Off His Glasses> <The Noble Lady’s Secret Hobby> <The Northern Grand Duke’s Night is Long>

Last week’s reading list, was deliberately selected for the most outrageous titles.

Benedict slightly furrowed his brows, counted to make sure there were three books, and put them in the return basket.

Then he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized my face.

It was clearly a look of contempt.

‘Good. That’s a look that sees me as perverted trash.’

I did it. I felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction inside.

‘I should choose even more erotic books next time.’

I had no intention of ever speaking to him. This way, I wouldn’t get entangled with the taciturn Benedict.

‘I must become perverted trash that he doesn’t want to associate with.’

As I was turning around with this resolution, there was a thud behind me.

Startled, I turned back to see a stack of books placed on the counter. Exactly three books.

Sure enough, purple eyes were staring at me intently.

“I thought you might like these.”

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

‘Did he just speak to me? To me?’

I froze, my eyes wide open in shock.

“…Pardon? To, to me?”

“Yes.”

His robotic-like demeanor, speaking only what was necessary with empty eyes.

It felt like an AI recommending a list of books based on preferences.

I swallowed hard and looked at the titles of the three books.

<The Circumstances of the Virile Male Lead> <A Thousand and One Nights with a Younger Man> <I Broke the Princess’s Bed…….>

My face flushed red as I unexpectedly received book recommendations from Benedict.

‘Stay calm. This is when I need to act even more shamelessly.’

This was the perfect opportunity to finally acknowledge that I was perverted trash.

“It’s nice not having to think too hard. I’ll take these.”

I gladly decided to borrow the books he recommended.

[System: Quest! Season of Reading! Borrow books to read for a week. (3/3)]

Right. Now that I’ve been certified as perverted trash by Benedict, I felt I could walk around comfortably from now on.

At this point, I was curious about how rock-bottom my reputation had become.

[System: Insufficient intimacy. Unable to check ‘Benedict O’Neil’s’ affection level.]

Of course. How could I check anything when we’ve barely exchanged words?

‘With that expression, it’s obvious anyway.’

I decided not to waste energy on unnecessary things.

***

“Here, your glasses.”

Benedict quickly took the glasses handed over by the librarian and opened a book.

“With such poor eyesight, why do you take off your glasses?”

“Just because.”

The librarian tilted his head, looking at Benedict.

Every Wednesday, just before closing, he would ask to play hooky and have the librarian take over the checkout duties.

‘It’s fine by me, but what kind of playing hooky involves working?’

He was truly an eccentric. With no expressions and being taciturn, it was hard to know what he was thinking.

“‘When the Beast Nerd Takes Off His Glasses?’ Did you like this kind of book, Mr. Magician?”

“Well. Maybe I do.”

He twisted his lips into a smile. A smile spread like buds sprouting from a frozen ground.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Benedict smile.’

Something must be happening, the librarian thought.