VILLAIN'S HAREM IN OTOME GAME

A comfortable silence settled over the room as the warm drink completed.

Eren and Emma sat side by side on the sofa, watching through the window as the capital caught rays of the morning sun. Across the room, Mira and Norelia sleeping peacefully together in the huge bed, their breath served as a background hum to them.

Eren let out an audible exhale, his blue eyes locked at the light reflecting off the glass before shifting toward the stunning, pink-haired tomboy beside him.

"Are you truly certain about all of this, Emma?" Eren asked quietly, his voice devoid of its usual playful arrogance. "We’ve only crossed this line for less than a month. Sure, we’ve known each other since we were kids... but back then, the notorious Eren Volsver was an insufferable, arrogant brat for everyone."

Emma didn’t answer.

She just tilted her head, letting it rest gently against his shoulder, her gaze remaining fixed on the rising sun.

"Don’t beat around the bush with me, Eren," Emma replied in a murmur. "I am entirely sure about you. And more importantly... I know that you want to ask something from two days ago."

"Alright, jokes aside... why are you really here in the capital, Emma?"

"I know you love me," Eren continued, his tone turning grounded. "And I love having you by my side. But your sworn duty has always been serving as my father’s primary shield. Why did the Duke’s most trusted personal knight abandon the post for serve as an academy swordsmanship instructor... especially right after the assassination attempt against the Duke?"

Emma stayed quiet for a long moment. Her strong fingers held his palm, gripping his hand with an intense tightness as if she were terrified he vanish.

"It’s true," Emma began, her voice barely a whisper. "Even with everything between us...my lifelong vow was sworn to the Volsver name. My absolute responsibility was to serve as His Grace’s shield."

She trailed off, her grey eyes darkening as the that blood-soaked night flashed across her mind.

"Duke only survived that night because of your warning," Emma continued softly, leaning harder against his shoulder. "If you hadn’t asked me to keep an eye on him ... the Duke would be dead."

"Yeah, and if I recall correctly, a certain gorgeous knight captain gave me a kiss as reward right after," Eren teased with a cheeky smirk.

Thump.

Emma drove a pinpoint jab straight into his ribs, drawing a breathless, theatrical groan from the idiot.

"Oof—alright. Proceed with explanation. Captain."

Emma immediately reclaimed his hand, squeezing his fingers again. Her playful annoyance vanished, replaced by the grim shadow of a seasoned veteran.

"The entire operation was unnervingly precise, Eren. The strike team knew our exact patrol routes and the locations of the rooms. They knew the guard rotations down to the second, and they calculated the exact time it would take for me to sprint from my room to the Duke’s room."

Emma’s jaw tightened. "It was an exquisitely coordinated suicide run designed solely to kill His Grace. When I dragged the final surviving assassin to the dungeon, he avoided interrogation... but before he told us their objective. It wasn’t political enmity or territory. It was the complete, systematic eradication of the entire Volsver bloodline."

Eren’s swag still.

He knew that already.

In the original timeline of the game, that was the exact sequence of annihilation. First, Eren dies accidentally in a duel with a blue-haired simp. Then Liora’s death in coma, followed by the Duke’s bloody assassination. With the patriarch dead and no heir left, House Volsver dissolved before the main story even hit its third act.

"So that’s why you left the manor?" Eren asked quietly, studying her hardened face. "Because you knew whoever orchestrated the hit would eventually hunt down the useless heir?"

"Call me a disgraced knight if you want," Emma admitted, her voice trembling with emotion as she stared down at their laced fingers. "The moment His Grace ordered me to follow you to the capital under the guise of an instructor, I accepted without a single second of hesitation. Because when that bastard whispered that they were going to end the Volsver bloodline... I didn’t picture the Duke. I didn’t even picture Liora."

She turned her head, her grey eyes shimmering with devotion.

"All I saw was your face, Eren. The thought of losing you... it paralyzed me. His Grace swore he would no longer hold back his power, tripled the fortress guard once Liora recovered, and practically shoved me out the gate so I could watch over you. And..."

Emma paused, her brow furrowing deeply as she hesitated.

"And...?" Eren prompted. "What else, Emma?"

"There was something deeply unnatural about those assassins," Emma whispered. "During the fight, their physical parameters were absurdly high, far exceeding their rank. But the truly horrifying part came during the autopsies. The medical corps discovered that every single intruder’s mana nerves were entirely severed and artificially fused shut... forcibly compressing an mana directly into their cores."

A suffocating silence descended.

Eren sat entirely frozen, his blue eyes widening with a sudden realization. His grip on Emma hand tightened.

The Substance.

*****

Meanwhile, back at the capital at the imperial palace, the morning sun bathed the Rose Palace in a deceptive, pastel-pink warmth.

The exclusive residence belonging to the imperial concubine—Prince Theo’s birth mother.

The silver-haired golden retriever prince stood before the arched windows of the antechamber, watching the morning dew glisten on the royal rose bushes below.

Theo reached into his pocket and pulled out the small glass vial Cinon had secured from the raid. He held it up against the rising sun, watching the dark purple liquid swirl inside the glass, casting a violet prism over his pale fingertips.

He sighed quietly as he tilted his head, his brow furrowing with genuine curiosity.

"I really don’t get it..." Theo murmured softly to himself, tapping the glass with the tip of his thumb. "Why is Sera being so ridiculously overly cautious about a tiny liquid? What makes this little bottle worth all that fury?"

The soft, rhythmic click of heels against the polished marble interrupted his thought.

The double doors at the end of the waiting room swung open. An attendant maid in an imperial uniform stepped into the waiting room, stopping a respectful few paces away before bowing low at the waist.

"Your Highness Prince Theo," the maid announced politely. "Her Grace the Imperial Consort has concluded her morning tea and is now ready to receive you."

Theo slipped the glass vial back into pocket, his grim expression instantly vanishing behind a charming smile.

"Wonderful," Theo replied pleasantly, adjusting his cuffs. He paused, his violet eyes locking onto the attendant with a curious glint. "And what about our other expected guest?"

The maid raised her head, blinking in confusion. "Our... other guest, Your Highness? Her Grace was only expecting a private audience with you this morning."

Theo chuckled, amused, waving a dismissive hand.

"Oh, don’t worry about the scheduling oversight. Inform my mother that my dear sister, Princess Seraphina would be utterly delighted to have her join us for morning tea right this second."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!