As the cloth fell, a slightly faded painting was revealed. It was a family portrait, featuring a man dressed in a black uniform adorned with a gold insignia, a woman draped in a fur coat, and a child who seemed to be around four or five years old, all looking expressionless towards the viewer.
I examined the child closely, with silver-gray hair that almost resembled silver, and eyes with a hint of gold, except brighter. Aside from the hair color, this was undoubtedly Khan Alexis.
His parents died early in an accident.
Apart from the hair color, Khan closely resembled his mother. All three individuals in the painting had striking beauty, and the aged feel of the artwork added a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Besides that, I couldn’t find anything specific to discover in this painting.
‘Maybe this is not it…’
I bent down again to cover the painting with the cloth. However, I was taken aback when I saw a black boot standing right behind me.
“Ahh!”
Surprised, I screamed, and as I turned, there was Khan Alexis, the owner of the black boots, looking down at me with a cold expression. His eyes glared fiercely.
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well, I, I just took the wrong path and…”
Khan averted his gaze from me, who was obviously making excuses, and his eyes were now fixed on the painting.
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
Oh, damn it…
I staggered backward, unable to regain my composure, as the notification window continued to appear frantically before me. It seemed like it might fade away or disappear if I stepped back, but naturally, that didn’t happen, and Khan’s face only twisted more menacingly.
“Tell me why you were looking at this painting.”
In the blink of an eye, he reached out and grabbed my throat, pushing me against the wall.
Thud.
My back hit the wall, producing a terrifying sound.
“Cough!”
My breath caught, and my vision blurred. I desperately struggled, trying to pry Khan’s hand off my throat.
[Warning: If the male protagonist’s affection falls below 0, you will encounter a ‘Death’ ending!]
What? Why mention it now?!
Well, even without an explanation, it made sense when I thought about it. After all, the reward for this quest was an affection increase of 10, and the penalty was death. The contrasting criteria were centered around affection. Essentially, this quest (or perhaps all quests) was a relationship-building event.
I blinked nervously, confirming the text hovering above Khan’s head.
[Khan Alexis/Duke/Master of Tears/Affection 0]
His affection level was now back to 0. If it dropped by just one more point, I would meet my end at his hands. My head began to spin. The fear of death gripped me, suffocating me, but I had to do something. I needed to show some expression, say something.
“F-Family… I-I miss my family.”
A strained, metallic sound escaped my tired throat. Khan looked at me with an unchanged expression, as if urging me to explain further. The grip on my throat loosened slightly. I seized the opportunity and began to speak.
“Father or… mother… either of them, I miss them so much. It looks like a family photo, no, like a family portrait…”
I rambled on, speaking whatever came to mind. Instead of discussing Del Narcissus’s story, my own story spilled out. As someone who grew up in a mundane divorced household and became independent early, these were sentiments I had never shared with anyone.
Nights filled with longing for someone, anyone, to be by my side. Days when I filled an album, lacking even a single ordinary family photo, with screenshots from gaming moments. Memories of the foolish loner who stuffed cup ramen or ordered delivery food down my throat flashed through my mind.
“Did you say you were abandoned by your father?” Khan asked quietly. Perhaps it was a whisper to himself.
I nodded in response. Whether it was Del Narcissus or me, being a discarded child was essentially the same.
“I… have no family either. I’m alone. That’s why I was curious, why you covered up the family aspect… I wanted to know.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
Khan completely released his grip on my throat. For a moment, my legs felt weak, and I almost stumbled, but I bit my lip and endured it.
Khan, staring at my pale, shaken face, asked something like a test.
“If you could leave from here, would you go back home?”
It was a question about whether I would return to the father who had abandoned me.
I emphatically shook my head. My mouth moved on its own, as if possessed. This time, it was not the system guiding me but my instinct.
“Even if I want to see them, my family won’t welcome me back. I’ve been alone since the moment I was abandoned.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
“Returning would only burden them.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
The more I spoke, the more Khan’s affection increased, and I felt miserable. My gaze naturally shifted to Khan’s family portrait. This family, too, eventually scattered due to a disaster. However, until that tragedy occurred, they were a real family who could not have imagined parting ways.
“I’ll never be part of a picture like this in the future.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
Amidst the continuous affection increase notifications, I lowered my head. My eyes became warm, and the tip of my nose felt spicy. I quickly bit my lips, fearing that tears might spill at any moment. With a sharp sound, my lips burst open, and the taste of bitter blood coated my tongue.
“Del Narcissus.”
Khan’s large, rough hand suddenly entered my field of vision, lifting my chin. Our eyes met. He looked at my tearful face, then furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, he licked my lips. His warm and moist tongue, as if wiping away the blood, swept through my lips and soon began sucking on the wounds vigorously.
“Ugh!”
The wounds on my lips hurt. However, apart from the pain, there was a faint sense of excitement as he sucked my lips. I could sense a reaction below, which had become more sensitive, even without looking. Perhaps it was due to my body sensitivity, which had increased to 200%.
After thoroughly sucking my lower lip, Khan pulled away, smirking.
“Blood tastes strangely different.”
At that moment, a blue window appeared in front of me like fireworks.
[Congratulations! ‘Secret Door’ quest successful! Khan Alexis’s Affection +10 as a reward!]
Thus, Khan’s final affection reached 14, and I narrowly escaped death.
“Since this is the bedroom of the former Duke and Duchess, don’t ever come in by mistake again.”
Saying that, he firmly grabbed my buttocks.
“Ah!”
“If you ever enter this room one more time, it won’t end with just the lips.”
Khan said that and left the room first. The lips he had sucked and the buttocks he had gripped felt slightly itchy. He was a man with tremendous strength.
I stood up awkwardly and pressed down on the slightly bulging front of my pants.
Because my body was too sensitive, if this continued, I might succumb to desire first and attack Khan. I sighed and left the room.
I couldn’t remember with what mindset I returned to my room. I became extremely tired, sad, and with the lingering aftermath of fear and excitement. After sleeping a little and waking up, I gained enlightenment in the darkness.
‘I raised his affection too much!’
It was a belated realization. I got up from the bed and began pacing around the room.
“As long as it doesn’t drop below zero.”
I muttered to myself while planning for the future. I already knew how to lower affection, but I needed to control the extent. If I mistakenly went into the negatives, I’d have to endure the fear of death again, just like today. That was out of the question.
Tomorrow morning, let’s start by finding Khan. Go to him, act a bit cute with a short plea, and reduce his affection by around 5.
Just then, a faint knock sounded from the door. I instinctively looked at the wall clock placed in the corner. The current time was 2:20 in the early morning. It wasn’t the time for someone to knock. Something was off.
I quickly rushed to the bed and lay under the blanket, hiding. The door creaked open, and someone entered the room without making any noise.
The intruder approached my bed and observed me. I felt the blanket I had flipped over being quietly pulled down, and a lamp being brought closer to my face. All this time, I kept my eyes tightly shut, making no movements, and only exerting effort to breathe naturally.
Finally, the intruder seemed to conclude that I was asleep, and they took the lamp away. They turned around and walked cautiously somewhere in the room. I slowly opened my eyes to subtly figure out where they were going. The faint silhouette of a small maid with twin tails and a petite figure wearing a maid uniform was illuminated by the lamp light.
Huh? Isn’t she the maid who informed me about Khan’s room earlier?
Suddenly, she turned around and looked at me.
As the cloth fell, a slightly faded painting was revealed. It was a family portrait, featuring a man dressed in a black uniform adorned with a gold insignia, a woman draped in a fur coat, and a child who seemed to be around four or five years old, all looking expressionless towards the viewer.
I examined the child closely, with silver-gray hair that almost resembled silver, and eyes with a hint of gold, except brighter. Aside from the hair color, this was undoubtedly Khan Alexis.
His parents died early in an accident.
Apart from the hair color, Khan closely resembled his mother. All three individuals in the painting had striking beauty, and the aged feel of the artwork added a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Besides that, I couldn’t find anything specific to discover in this painting.
‘Maybe this is not it…’
I bent down again to cover the painting with the cloth. However, I was taken aback when I saw a black boot standing right behind me.
“Ahh!”
Surprised, I screamed, and as I turned, there was Khan Alexis, the owner of the black boots, looking down at me with a cold expression. His eyes glared fiercely.
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well, I, I just took the wrong path and…”
Khan averted his gaze from me, who was obviously making excuses, and his eyes were now fixed on the painting.
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
[Khan Alexis’s Affection -1]
Oh, damn it…
I staggered backward, unable to regain my composure, as the notification window continued to appear frantically before me. It seemed like it might fade away or disappear if I stepped back, but naturally, that didn’t happen, and Khan’s face only twisted more menacingly.
“Tell me why you were looking at this painting.”
In the blink of an eye, he reached out and grabbed my throat, pushing me against the wall.
Thud.
My back hit the wall, producing a terrifying sound.
“Cough!”
My breath caught, and my vision blurred. I desperately struggled, trying to pry Khan’s hand off my throat.
[Warning: If the male protagonist’s affection falls below 0, you will encounter a ‘Death’ ending!]
What? Why mention it now?!
Well, even without an explanation, it made sense when I thought about it. After all, the reward for this quest was an affection increase of 10, and the penalty was death. The contrasting criteria were centered around affection. Essentially, this quest (or perhaps all quests) was a relationship-building event.
I blinked nervously, confirming the text hovering above Khan’s head.
[Khan Alexis/Duke/Master of Tears/Affection 0]
His affection level was now back to 0. If it dropped by just one more point, I would meet my end at his hands. My head began to spin. The fear of death gripped me, suffocating me, but I had to do something. I needed to show some expression, say something.
“F-Family… I-I miss my family.”
A strained, metallic sound escaped my tired throat. Khan looked at me with an unchanged expression, as if urging me to explain further. The grip on my throat loosened slightly. I seized the opportunity and began to speak.
“Father or… mother… either of them, I miss them so much. It looks like a family photo, no, like a family portrait…”
I rambled on, speaking whatever came to mind. Instead of discussing Del Narcissus’s story, my own story spilled out. As someone who grew up in a mundane divorced household and became independent early, these were sentiments I had never shared with anyone.
Nights filled with longing for someone, anyone, to be by my side. Days when I filled an album, lacking even a single ordinary family photo, with screenshots from gaming moments. Memories of the foolish loner who stuffed cup ramen or ordered delivery food down my throat flashed through my mind.
“Did you say you were abandoned by your father?” Khan asked quietly. Perhaps it was a whisper to himself.
I nodded in response. Whether it was Del Narcissus or me, being a discarded child was essentially the same.
“I… have no family either. I’m alone. That’s why I was curious, why you covered up the family aspect… I wanted to know.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
Khan completely released his grip on my throat. For a moment, my legs felt weak, and I almost stumbled, but I bit my lip and endured it.
Khan, staring at my pale, shaken face, asked something like a test.
“If you could leave from here, would you go back home?”
It was a question about whether I would return to the father who had abandoned me.
I emphatically shook my head. My mouth moved on its own, as if possessed. This time, it was not the system guiding me but my instinct.
“Even if I want to see them, my family won’t welcome me back. I’ve been alone since the moment I was abandoned.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
“Returning would only burden them.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
The more I spoke, the more Khan’s affection increased, and I felt miserable. My gaze naturally shifted to Khan’s family portrait. This family, too, eventually scattered due to a disaster. However, until that tragedy occurred, they were a real family who could not have imagined parting ways.
“I’ll never be part of a picture like this in the future.”
[Khan Alexis’s Affection +1!]
Amidst the continuous affection increase notifications, I lowered my head. My eyes became warm, and the tip of my nose felt spicy. I quickly bit my lips, fearing that tears might spill at any moment. With a sharp sound, my lips burst open, and the taste of bitter blood coated my tongue.
“Del Narcissus.”
Khan’s large, rough hand suddenly entered my field of vision, lifting my chin. Our eyes met. He looked at my tearful face, then furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, he licked my lips. His warm and moist tongue, as if wiping away the blood, swept through my lips and soon began sucking on the wounds vigorously.
“Ugh!”
The wounds on my lips hurt. However, apart from the pain, there was a faint sense of excitement as he sucked my lips. I could sense a reaction below, which had become more sensitive, even without looking. Perhaps it was due to my body sensitivity, which had increased to 200%.
After thoroughly sucking my lower lip, Khan pulled away, smirking.
“Blood tastes strangely different.”
At that moment, a blue window appeared in front of me like fireworks.
[Congratulations! ‘Secret Door’ quest successful! Khan Alexis’s Affection +10 as a reward!]
Thus, Khan’s final affection reached 14, and I narrowly escaped death.
“Since this is the bedroom of the former Duke and Duchess, don’t ever come in by mistake again.”
Saying that, he firmly grabbed my buttocks.
“Ah!”
“If you ever enter this room one more time, it won’t end with just the lips.”
Khan said that and left the room first. The lips he had sucked and the buttocks he had gripped felt slightly itchy. He was a man with tremendous strength.
I stood up awkwardly and pressed down on the slightly bulging front of my pants.
Because my body was too sensitive, if this continued, I might succumb to desire first and attack Khan. I sighed and left the room.
I couldn’t remember with what mindset I returned to my room. I became extremely tired, sad, and with the lingering aftermath of fear and excitement. After sleeping a little and waking up, I gained enlightenment in the darkness.
‘I raised his affection too much!’
It was a belated realization. I got up from the bed and began pacing around the room.
“As long as it doesn’t drop below zero.”
I muttered to myself while planning for the future. I already knew how to lower affection, but I needed to control the extent. If I mistakenly went into the negatives, I’d have to endure the fear of death again, just like today. That was out of the question.
Tomorrow morning, let’s start by finding Khan. Go to him, act a bit cute with a short plea, and reduce his affection by around 5.
Just then, a faint knock sounded from the door. I instinctively looked at the wall clock placed in the corner. The current time was 2:20 in the early morning. It wasn’t the time for someone to knock. Something was off.
I quickly rushed to the bed and lay under the blanket, hiding. The door creaked open, and someone entered the room without making any noise.
The intruder approached my bed and observed me. I felt the blanket I had flipped over being quietly pulled down, and a lamp being brought closer to my face. All this time, I kept my eyes tightly shut, making no movements, and only exerting effort to breathe naturally.
Finally, the intruder seemed to conclude that I was asleep, and they took the lamp away. They turned around and walked cautiously somewhere in the room. I slowly opened my eyes to subtly figure out where they were going. The faint silhouette of a small maid with twin tails and a petite figure wearing a maid uniform was illuminated by the lamp light.
Huh? Isn’t she the maid who informed me about Khan’s room earlier?
Suddenly, she turned around and looked at me.
