'What do you mean by that?' Lathel asked nervously in his mind.
[You're on your own now.]
'What?' Lathel wanted to ask more, but a heavy drowsiness washed over him. His eyelids grew heavy, and his vision began to blur.
The last thing he saw was Catrina turning to look at him—her eyes filled with cold madness that sent a chill down his spine.
Moments later, Lathel fell into a deep sleep.
…
"Ugh..." Lathel slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an ornate, luxurious room—yet its decorations clearly belonged to a woman.
"Where... am I?" he muttered, scanning the surroundings. He noticed both windows were open but sealed by a faint magical barrier.
"This scent..." He inhaled softly. It was familiar—he'd smelled it countless times before.
Frowning, he tried to sit up, but—
CLINK! CLINK!
"Huh?!" Lathel froze. His wrist and ankle were shackled by iron chains.
"What the hell is this?!"
He looked around, confusion and dread growing inside him.
He tried to recall what happened, but his head throbbed painfully, as if someone had struck him with a hammer. Thinking only made it worse.
"The last thing I remember... I was sitting in the carriage with Catrina... and then I fell asleep..."
After that—nothing.
"Could it be... Alex? Did he finally lose control and kidnap me?"
"No... that doesn't make sense. He was unconscious back then. And this room—this clearly belongs to a woman, not Alex."
"Then... Lucia?"
Lathel shivered. Lucia was a villain—but so was he.
CRACK.
The door opened. A beautiful woman entered, pushing a silver tray laden with food.
When Lathel saw her face, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Duchess Catrina?!"
She was wearing a long white dress, her golden hair cascading down her back. But her expression—usually gentle, warm, sometimes shy—was now cold and shadowed.
A chill crawled up Lathel's spine. Something was off.
Catrina pushed the tray beside the bed, smiling faintly—a smile that sent goosebumps up his arms.
"Lathel, these are your favorite dishes. I cooked them myself. Come, have a bite."
Lathel stared at the fragrant food, then back at her, bewildered.
"Duchess Catrina, what is this? Why am I here? And why am I—"
"Lathel..." Catrina suddenly moved closer, sitting beside him on the bed. Her hand brushed gently across his cheek. Her tone was soft—almost sorrowful.
"I'm sorry for locking you up like this. But the outside world is dangerous. I can't let you get hurt."
"For now, you'll stay here with me. When it's safe again, I'll let you go. Besides..."
Her lips curved into a faint, unsettling smile.
"...in this place, I can give you everything you desire."
Lathel trembled, a cold sweat running down his back as a horrifying realization struck him.
'Wait... don't tell me... Duchess Catrina is a Yandere?!'
He sucked in a sharp breath, his heart sinking into icy dread—because he knew exactly what that word meant.
That lifeless, shadowed look in her eyes—it was the same as those girls from the manga he used to read back on Earth. The ones who smiled sweetly while hiding a knife behind their backs.
Lathel wanted to resist.
But he also knew what happened to men who resisted a Yandere.
And that knowledge alone was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.
If he died, it wouldn't be the end of the world—he still had one active resurrection.
But if the script collapsed and the world fell apart... he'd have to start over again from zero.
Restarting wasn't the worst part; not knowing enough about the plot was.
If he reset now, he'd still fail again later.
'Alright,' he thought grimly. 'I need to figure out why Catrina's keeping me locked up here.'
He took a deep breath, trying to summon every bit of manga wisdom he'd gathered in his past life.
"Duchess Catrina," he began with an awkward smile, "I know you're only doing this because you care about me. But at least tell me why you locked me up here, okay?"
Catrina tilted her head slightly. The faint glimmer of warmth returned to her eyes.
Yes—that was the key.
When facing a Yandere, resistance was suicide. The only way to survive was through gentleness, patience, and... obedience.
Catrina's eyes softened with emotion. Her voice trembled as she spoke, "Lathel... you understand, then? You understand that everything I do... is for your sake?"
Her hand clutched his tightly—too tightly. He could feel his bones protesting, but he forced himself not to flinch.
"Thank you, Lathel. I locked you up because..."
"Heh?!" Lathel's eyes widened—because her lips were moving, but no sound came out.
She seemed to realize it too. Her brow furrowed, her expression turning deadly serious—so serious that Lathel's anxiety spiked.
"Catrina, you—"
She smiled again, serene and gentle.
"Lathel, just stay here. Once everything is over, I'll let you out."
"Everything? What everything?"
Before he could ask further, Catrina stood up and pulled a crystal orb from her bag, placing it carefully on the table.
"Lathel..." Her voice was soft, affectionate—and terrifyingly calm.
"I know Arina has hurt you deeply. I'll make sure she pays for that. I just hope... that what I'm about to do will help your heart realize that there's someone in this world who loves you even more than you love yourself."
"Heh?! Duchess Catrina, you—"
But before he could finish, she turned and walked toward the door.
BANG!
The door slammed shut.
Lathel sat frozen, utterly dumbfounded.
He stared at the crystal orb on the table... then at the window.
Frowning, he walked over and reached out. The window was open, but a faint magical barrier shimmered in the air like a thin curtain.
He stretched out his hand—his fingertip brushing against the barrier.
ZZZZT!
"Shh!" He hissed, jerking his hand back. A jolt of pain shot through his finger—like touching a live wire.
"This... this is nothing short of a prison cell," Lathel muttered through gritted teeth, face twisting in frustration.
Trapped here—what the hell could he even do?
He glared down at the chain no thicker than his little finger and decided to try breaking it.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
He poured every ounce of strength into it, but the chain didn't even creak. Whatever metal it was made from, it was tougher than steel.
"Goddammit!" Lathel snapped, shouting in anger. "What the hell is happening?! I just wanted to finish the damn storyline—why does everything have to corner me like this?!"
He let out a long sigh and started pacing around.
After a few minutes, he realized the chain was long enough for him to walk around the entire room, even reach the bathroom. He could touch both the main door and the window—
—but every single exit was sealed behind a shimmering magical barrier.
Even worse, there wasn't a single sharp or hard object in the entire room. No knives, no forks, not even a splinter of broken wood.
Every piece of furniture was padded with thick velvet fabric.
Even if he wanted to bash his head against something, it'd feel like hitting a pillow.
He sat down with a dull thud. Even the floor was soft—carpeted thick enough to smother any hope of injury.
Lathel stared blankly around him, both horrified and impressed. 'Whoever prepared this place... was terrifyingly thorough.'
'Don't tell me... Catrina planned this room long ago—just waiting for the right person to lock inside.'
The thought sent a chill down his spine, but it made perfect sense.
He'd only been unconscious for a short time. There was no way she could've built a place this absurdly "safe" in such a short period.
"System!" he shouted internally. "The plot's already this far off-track—how the hell is this world still stable? Shouldn't it have collapsed by now?!"
[For now, the flow of fate has managed to self-correct the script, since the world's fracture isn't too large.]
[But if things continue like this, the world will collapse soon enough.]
Lathel scowled. "Then why the hell did Catrina kidnap me? What's going on? Don't tell me the world crack made the NPCs bug out or something!"
[You...] The System sighed heavily, tone full of exasperation.
[I've told you before—this world isn't fake. It's a real world. Every person here has their own thoughts, their own choices.]
[And as I said before, your job is to complete the storyline—that means giving every character here an ending that satisfies them.]
[Catrina loves you, and you know that. But you keep denying it. Her ultimate wish is simple—to be with you and be happy.]
[But now? Congratulations. She's gone full dark mode—Yandere version unlocked. The script's broken, her personality's flipped, and even the river of fate might not be able to fix it anymore.]
[You only have one option left—accept Catrina's love!]
"What?!" Lathel's voice cracked, eyes bulging.
"You've got to be kidding me!"