I'm Obsessed With the Reverse Harem Male Leads - Chapter 1
Act 1
I was a person who had a genuinely unfortunate fate.
As a child, I was abandoned by my parents and placed in an orphanage, and I was forced to leave as soon as I became 19.
I barely managed tuition from a part-time job while in high school and graduated with a full scholarship due to good grades.
Various sponsorships helped me grow, and even though I had no college debts, I was overjoyed to live freely at the age of 23.
A desperate existence had finally gained some stability, as I had been hired at a giant firm, G Company, without any special recruitment.
The interview was tense beyond words.
Breathing seemed to be causing my heart to race.
I overcame the competition hundreds of times with such ferocious effort.
I was overjoyed that I had accomplished this with my hands!
“The winning numbers for this round, the 929th round, are 7, 9, 12, 15, 19, 23, + 4.”
It was a number that was not even one digit different from mine!
Working for a large firm while also winning the lotto!
Even though I grew up without parents, I had a good upbringing thanks to the orphanage director who looked after me and the nun who occasionally taught me piano.
I had hoped that I might bloom someday.
I had no idea this bloom would be smashed in such a way.
Life is like a flower, but my blossom is more like a dandelion.
“ACK!”
“Miss, are you okay?”
“Oh, what has happened!”
My head was smacked hard, yet it didn’t hurt.
My body curiously did not move, but the noises faded away, giving me the impression that I was dreaming.
My thoughts appeared clear yet dazed as if I had taken a sleeping pill.
“It appears that lady fell from the sky!”
Someone had to have fallen on top of me.
Yes, I have had such awful luck for 23 years, but absurdly, I have lived so desperately.
To be hit by a human rather than an automobile and die.
Darn it, what a life of a beggar.
* * *
“Gasp!”
It was such a terrifying dream!
Nonetheless, the spot where I slept seemed strange.
So, where am I because I don’t have a bed?
-Click-clack-
Sounds permeated the state-provided dwelling.
The robotic vacuum cleaner did not create the noise but by human footfall.
Intricate patterns of expensive red silk with gold thread were embroidered on the bed’s ceiling!
What on earth is this?!
“Huh? What is this?”
Looking around, I noticed that the room was large and that the spot where I was lying was a bed.
The bed was massive.
It was so big that you could jump around on it like it was a trampoline.
“What is this?”
Is this the home of the woman who knocked me down and is holding me here as retaliation?
If so, there should be an IV, but no needle traces were on my left hand.
Take a deep breath…
“Ah, what was my name again?”
My head ached, and I couldn’t recall my name.
⌈ Hello! ‘Player 2’, welcome to ‘The Princess’s Men!’ ⌋
My thinking felt faint as a light blue window appeared before my eyes.
‘The Princess’s Men,’ I’m not sure where I’ve heard that terrible name before.
After seeing such a cringeworthy title, I couldn’t possibly forget that.
⌈ ‘Player 2,’ you are the Bastian Empire’s second princess! ⌋
The throbbing got more terrible, whether because my skull had been smacked or my memory was affected.
The light blue status pane automatically flipped between the screens, revealing the next one.
⌈ However, because you are not a legitimate player, you need full access to the information on your targets.⌋
What exactly is this?
Is this a nightmare?
⌈ You must be wondering why you’ve come here, right? ⌋
What is this…?
⌈ If you win this game, you can make one wish, whatever it is. It is feasible, for example, to grow richer than Bill Gates. ⌋
⌈ Also, ‘Player 2,’ you have unlimited access to the status window, so please utilize it carefully if you want to survive.⌋
“Is this a survival game, not The Princess’s Men? And what does the fact that I’m not a legitimate player imply?
⌈ You can win the game if you do one of the three things listed below. ⌋
I was utterly disregarded.
⌈ 1. Assassinate Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastian.
- Depose Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastian and replace her with Gracie Fletcher Gabriella Bastian as the Empress.
- Have Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastian apologize to you. ⌋
“Who’s Kiira and Gracie?”
⌈ Bonus! The status window’s heart is feeble! (Tears!) ⌋
⌈ Initially, this should have been prevented! But, since ‘Player 2’ knows nothing, I’ll be gracious.⌋
⌈ When you have beginner’s luck, you can use the status window. (Applause!) ⌋
⌈ However, this is only for a week! ⌋
⌈ Continue accepting quests if you wish to extend the period! ⌋
⌈ I wish you tremendous fortune! ▼⌋
“Hey!”
⌈ p.s. A severe penalty will be enforced if you do not complete any quests!
In addition, depending on the circumstances, quest rewards may be omitted. ⌋
Perhaps because it’s written in Korean, it casually exploits my passion.
The light blue status window has vanished.
I slapped my cheek to see if I was still dreaming.
Smack, smack!
It hurts exhilaratingly.
My smacked cheek is swollen, and I hold it before getting out of bed.
This can’t be true.
This is most likely a dream.
They said you can have hallucinations while unconscious, and this appears to be one of them.
“I hope to be healthy and do a good job when I return.”
I eventually joined a huge firm, but if I am hurt and unable to work, I won’t be able to do my job correctly.
Even if I’m not in excellent health, I’ve won the jackpot of 7 billion!
I don’t even have as high aspirations as Bill Gates!
So long as I get the 7 billion!
-Knock, knock, knock
“Did you call, Your Highness?”
I’ve never received particular attention, yet it appears in my dream.
⌈ Caroline
: Semi-noble / Princess Gracie’s maid
▼Caroline is terrified by your melted face.⌉
The status window becoming red was concerning.
I stayed mute as Caroline neared, and she began to talk tremblingly.
“I brought the, the, the, the washing water…!”
“Game over!”
There is no reaction.
I glanced at the woman in front of me calmly.
Why is she trembling so much?
Furthermore, why did she come in if she isn’t someone I know?
Was she mistaking this place for another?
If that’s the case, why is the status window red?
It was once blue.
Do I have to live another life plagued with worries?
Should I act like a fool because it’s just a dream?
No, if it’s a nightmare, I could be caught in a state similar to sleep paralysis.
What happens if I don’t wake up?
⌈Tip! The service of the kind-hearted status window⌋
⌈’Player 2,’ your washing water contains the contaminants listed below!
Cadmium, lead, and mercury… If you wish to look into it more, please push ▼!⌋
Nothing needs to be pressed.
As I peered at what she had brought, she grimaced as if she had seen something horrifying.
My first hesitancy evaporated totally.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, you.”
“Yo-Your Highness, why, why, why are you doing this?”
“Huh.”
Why, as a princess, do I just have one maid?
Shouldn’t a princess have more than one?
“You.”
“…Yes, yes?”
“Try drinking this.”
“What?”
I had no intention of losing, even in my dreams.
My life had been a battleground up until this point.
I never gave up on that battlefield-like existence.
So, even if it’s just a fantasy, there’s no need to give up.
“Drink it up. Did you not hear me?”
Why on earth would she bring heavy metal-laden water and call it washing water?
Is she attempting to poison me with mercury?
Does she wish for Minamata’s illness or something akin to that to me?
***
noun
- chronic poisoning by alkyl mercury compounds from industrial waste, characterized by (usually permanent) impairment of brain functions such as speech, sight, and muscular coordination.
***
“Hey!”
I yelled, but no one entered the room.
Even in a dream, this princess’s predicament is pitiful.
“Yes? Oh, no! Why should I drink this?”
“Why? Isn’t it not even water?”
“It, it’s water!”
“Then why can’t you drink it?”
I could almost tell what she was thinking by how she rolled her eyes.
It was said earlier that she’s not my person.
So someone else must be behind this.
Why must they do this to a poor person in my dreams?
But I, who was almost slain by this pitiful individual, am the most pitiful of all!
“Should I drink it then? To test if I’m still alive after drinking it.”
“No… That…!”
Most novels and films depict you waking up from a dream if you die.
Let us then die!
Drinking it would be a direct hit compared to absorbing it through the skin.
If it’s all a dream, I’ll wake up the moment I die.
Please allow me to wake up in excellent health and ready to work!
“Eek!”
I’m going all in!
I drank down whatever was in the washing machine.
⌈Caution!⌋
A frightening, blazing red system window filled the room and obscured my eyesight.
My body trembled uncontrollably, possibly because the concentration was too high for something designed to be absorbed through the skin.
Isn’t this just an attempt to murder me?
* * *
I was again dazed and found myself in a hospital gown.
My entire body felt immobile, and my eyes were so dry that I couldn’t even blink.
The feeling of the IV needle in my arm and the liquid entering it was extremely cold.
“Who is this patient’s guardian?”
“None.”
-Beep! Beep! Beep!
“We need CPR. Get the defibrillator ready!”
“What’s going on?”
I could see the sticker on my naked chest.
Even if it was my body, the current flowing through it was not reaching me.
“Excuse me, can anyone here hear me?”
“Again!”
The electric shock shook my body as the machine was controlled, causing it to lift and then plummet.
The doctor placed gel into what looked like an iron, massaged it, then pressed it against my chest and passed a current through it.
“Again!”
The beeping sound in my ears became rhythmic after several attempts.
The sight of a third party watching my collapsed body was terrifying.
* * *
What in the world is this?
My vision became engulfed in blazing red once more, and enormous characters flashed before my eyes.
⌈ You have been detected attempting to exit the game illegally and will be punished.
☆The game’s difficulty will rise slightly!
If you do not complete the game, your body will perish.
→ Pay a visit to Duke Clayton de Lebois and complete the following task.
Quest! For his return, give a flower of congratulations. ▼ ｣
After delivering this tough lesson, the quest appeared to be simple!
Is this still a nightmare?
No way could a dream be this vivid.
I’d been in an accident, and my body had probably been near death.
If nothing is certain, all choices must be considered.
What if this is true, and my actual body is in danger?
Then I must not defy the status window.
I pressed the ▼ symbol as the status pane went blue, sweating profusely.
｢ ▼
Tomorrow, Duke Clayton de Lebois will return. Find his favorite flower by following the clues in the room.
▼｣
I had no idea, even at this point.
What an X-rated game this was.
｢ ▼
If you do not complete the first task, your body will perish.
* * *
The room was meant to be full of hints, but it was so large that I couldn’t find any.
If they were going to ask me to look for something, they should have given me a hint!
“Did you call, Your Highness?”
I backed up.
When the maid I had seen earlier resurfaced, I was about to hunt for a clue.
Even though I had just seen her, her brown hair and eyes felt strange.
“I, I have brought what Your Highness has commanded…!”
I couldn’t go through the same thing again.
“Fine. Leave it there and go. Otherwise, I’ll force you to drink it all.”
Her wide-open eyes met mine.
I seemed to be royalty being ignored by a maid.
Otherwise, how could a lower noble of royal lineage stare at me so openly?
However, I wanted to make a good decision out of ignorance.
｢ Quest! Discover the flower for Duke Clayton de Lebois! ▼ ｣
In this situation, the presence of the status window was silly, but investigating this ample space alone was undoubtedly overwhelming.
I stared at the maid, then around the room.
There were bookshelves, two tables and chairs, two sofas, and a king-sized bed.
A terrace could be seen in the distance.
Pictures were put on the walls here and there, but finishing the mission would undoubtedly be faster than seeking here.
｢ ▼ Caroline is a bad-tempered maid! Shouldn’t you then punish her?
Choose one of the choices below to obtain a hint about the mission.
Option 1: Slap her.
Option 2: Cut her hand.
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Ceroy
Cut her hand….