"Are you not satisfied with me?" Shin asked quietly. "Do you want to date a few more? Tristan... or Saeki perhaps?"
Yeri stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
"You... are you out of your mind? It was just a game! Why are you reading so much into it?"
"Am I?" Shin asked quietly. "Do you swear?"
Yeri couldn't even get mad because that meant he was right.
Back then, she really had thought about dating here and there.
She had even written it in her diary, wondering if she should start a harem. Marriage, however, had been completely out of the picture.
"Listen," Yeri said, taking a deep breath. "When you've been sick for most of your life and then suddenly wake up with a body stronger than you've ever imagined, of course you'd want to celebrate. You'd want to let loose and experience everything you never had the chance to before. I admit you were right. But ever since we got engaged, I've never had those thoughts again, let alone developed feelings for your friends."
"Then why did you marry Tristan and Saeki?" Shin asked indignantly. "You could've asked me."
Yeri "...?"
So they had somehow circled right back to this game issue again.
"Do you even play Tartarus?" she asked before shaking her head. "No, that's not even the point. Like I said, it's just a game."
"A game?" Shin repeated. "You didn't feel anything when you accepted a marriage status?"
Yeri was completely speechless, was this an interrogation?
"No. If you're implying I emotionally cheated on you, then you're wrong."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Shin asked. "No one bothered to tell me."
"Because... it's just a game?" Yeri muttered, feeling as though her brain was being put on trial. She was beginning to wonder if she had actually done something wrong.
"So all of you simply assumed I'd be fine with it because it was just a game?" Shin pressed.
Only then did Yeri notice the pain in her wrist, and pushed him away.
"Why are you acting like this? Brother Shin, if you were an actor cast as a husband or father, I wouldn't be petty enough to demand that you reject the role."
Instead of calming him, her words only seemed to provoke him further.
Shin pushed her back onto the bed.
"You even have the same excuse as Tristan," he said coldly. "Did the two of you rehearse this beforehand?"
Yeri's patience snapped. Wasn't he the one being unreasonable?
"Fine. Fine. I was wrong. I'm sorry. Are you satisfied now?"
Shin's expression darkened. "First, we aren't celebrities. Their lifestyle isn't comparable to ours. Second, we're engaged. It's only natural for us to discuss the things we do, no matter how trivial they seem."
"So you woke me up in the middle of the night just for this?" Yeri cut him off, her own temper flaring. "Since when were there rules in this relationship? We're not celebrities? Do you have any idea how hard it is to be your fiancée? The whole nation watches me, scrutinizing every move I make, practically counting every breath I take."
Her voice rose with frustration.
"Or putting jealousy aside... are you afraid people will think I'm promiscuous because of something that happened in a game? That it'll damage your reputation or make you look less of a man?"
"You know gaslighting doesn't work on me," Shin replied calmly.
That only made Yeri even angrier.
She tried to get off the bed, but Shin remained on top of her like an immovable mountain, blocking every escape.
"What exactly do you want from me?" she demanded. "You know what? Maybe it would've been better if the person I met that night had been Tristan Felan instead. You said he's an incubus while I'm a succubus. Maybe we would've gotten along just fine with no strings attached."
Tension filled the room.
Yeri immediately realized what she had just blurted out. Regret hit her almost instantly.
The look in Shin's eyes turned frighteningly cold, murderous even.
For the first time, she wondered if even being his fiancée and the woman he loved would be enough to stop him from ending her existence.
"That- I mean..."
Her anger disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced by unease. Giving up on explaining, she tried to make a run for it.
She managed to shove him away, but before she could escape, Shin caught her ankle and pulled her back.
"My dear Empress..." he whispered beside her ear, his voice low and dangerously calm. "Do you truly wish to replace me with Tristan?"
Yeri was in such a panic that she didn't even register what he had called her.
Before she could utter anything, he suddenly tore open her pajamas and seized her lips, kissing her fiercely.
She shivered, feeling his body heat against her skin like a sense of oppression.
But as long as not him wanting to snap her neck, she'd let him vent, after all it's not like they hadn't done this before.
Still, she underestimated this man's jealousy.
The two of them had already rolled around doing different positions but he wasn't done yet.
Yeri was almost convinced he wanted her to die from overdoing it as she fell asleep from exhaustion.
---
The next day, Tartarus began trending across the eSports community after the final boss of a certain dungeon suddenly went berserk.
Not only did it leave its lair, but it relentlessly hunted down two high-ranking players, even opening portals to chase them across maps.
"Is this a bug?"
"I've seen all kinds of programming glitches and player cheats, but I've never seen a final boss hunt players down. LMAO. What is going on with Tartarus? 🤣"
"Is Tartarus having server issues? A beta test? Aren't NPCs, including level bosses, supposed to be scripted? Why is this one acting like an actual player?"
"It's weird that it's only targeting two players. Damn, it's even going all out. What the hell did those two do? Did they curse the villain's ancestors?"
"Those two players are both married to the same player, but the boss isn't attacking her. HAHAHA. What is this, a love rectangle? Honestly, the people developing Tartarus must be smoking something."
As the comments grew more outrageous, Hexion's game division was bombarded with inquiries, phone calls, and emails.
After all, Tartarus was one of the world's most popular MMORPGs, boasting millions of active players.
No one knew that the two high-ranking players were actually Tristan and Saeki, as they were using usernames.
Only the three of them knew the truth that Shin had insisted they log in just so he could beat the living daylights out of their characters.
Apparently, beating them up in person hadn't been enough. Even their game avatars weren't spared.
---
Meanwhile, Tristan's villa was in complete chaos.
When the staff woke up that morning, they were greeted by the sight of their young master's villa in ruins.
To make matters worse, Tristan himself was severely injured and was currently being treated by the estate doctor.
He refused to elaborate, claiming only that he'd been swept up by a passing tornado.
Naturally, no one believed him.
If it really had been a tornado, why hadn't anyone heard it?
There had been no reports of unusual weather overnight. Stranger still, apart from Tristan's villa, the surrounding area was completely untouched.
What kind of tornado was so selective and so silent it moved like a ninja?
It didn't take long for the staff to come up with their own theories.
Most concluded that it had to be divine retribution. Others suspected it was revenge from one of Tristan's ex-girlfriends. After all, no matter how generous he had been with the breakup compensation, there were bound to be a few women who still held a grudge.
Meanwhile, Butler Hong was busy scheming.
He immediately suggested that Xati stay at Shin's villa for the time being, citing concerns for the child's safety.
-
At the medical clinic inside the estate, Saeki walked in and saw Tristan sitting on the hospital bed. His head was wrapped like a mummy, his face so swollen it was barely recognizable.
He couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I never thought I'd live to see you in this state. Big Bro really didn't hold back."
Tristan shot him a sidelong glance. "I heard Butler Hong had someone help get you down from a tree. How long were you hanging up there?"
"I was being smart," Saeki replied proudly. "Better than having him pull all his investments, isn't it?"
Tristan looked at him as though he were an idiot before turning his attention back to the laptop on his lap.
"How many times did your character die?"
The question instantly reminded Saeki of his misery as he threw his hands up in frustration.
"Don't even mention it! I already dropped several levels because Big Bro kept using the dungeon boss to hunt me down."
Just then, Prince Xati walked in through the door.
He gave Tristan a quick once-over, looking visibly upset then disappointed that Tristan was still alive.
What about his assets?
Tristan: "..."
For a brief moment, he wondered whether teaching the Demon Emperor's son a lesson would violate his loyalty oath.
Just a small beating would do.
Meanwhile, Saeki's gaze kept shifting between the little prince and Tristan, his expression changing every second.
Now that it was daylight, he could clearly see that the child really did resemble Tristan.
Then why did he insist on calling Shin his father?
As though a shocking realization had struck him, Saeki leaned closer to Tristan and lowered his voice.
"Tell me the truth." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did you and Big Bro have this child through surrogacy?"
Smack!
Tristan's hand landed squarely on the back of Saeki's head.
"Damn it!" Tristan snapped. "If you want to die, why do you have to drag me down with you? Instead of asking me, go ask Shin if you think he hasn't beaten you enough."
Saeki rubbed the back of his head, looking aggrieved.
"I'm not completely wrong, though. This kid looks a lot like both you and Big Bro."
"Did it never occur to you that we're related?" Tristan sneered. "I've met plenty of cousins who look like siblings, even twins."
Saeki thought about it for a moment before nodding.
His eyes drifted toward the little prince who rolled his eyes at him with an expression almost identical to Shin's.
"Did you see that?" Saeki exclaimed dramatically. "If you're really his father, then why isn't he as nice as you? He acts exactly like Big Bro. Not cute at all."