Chapter 4

I thought our days would continue like this—my indifference against his madness, until three days later.

Three days later, on the kingdom's annual Lovers' Day, Adrian said he wanted to take me to Saint Aurelia's Abbey outside the capital.

It was the place where we first fell in love three years ago.

“Bella, let's ask for another blessing together, all right?”

He looked at me, hope shining in his eyes.

“Let's pray for a lifetime together. For us never to be separated again.”

I nodded.

“All right.”

The carriage rolled out of the capital and headed west.

But when it reached a secluded mountain road, it suddenly came to a stop.

Shouts erupted from all directions.

A group of masked men dressed in black burst out of the forest, each carrying a sword and wearing a murderous expression.

“Ambush! Protect His Highness!”

The guards drew their weapons and rushed into battle.

Chaos erupted instantly.

At that moment, one of the attackers broke through the defensive line and charged straight toward me.

The man hoisted me over his shoulder and sprinted deep into the mountains.

Eventually, we arrived at an abandoned chapel.

Inside, seven or eight ragged-looking vagrants were already waiting, leering as they watched me.

“So this is His Highness's precious lady?”

The leader threw me onto a pile of straw and lit a bundle of dried herbs.

A moment later, a thick, sickly-sweet scent spread through the ruined chapel.

“Izabella, are you awake? Are you scared?”

“Sharon, what you're doing is a serious crime,” I stated matter-of-factly, though discussing laws in a place like this felt almost ridiculous.

“Hahaha!”

Sharon's laughter was sharp and grating.

“Do you know whose idea this was?”

“This was all approved by Adrian! He said all we had to do was scare you a little and make you cry.”

Then her tone suddenly darkened.

“But I have no intention of following the plan. I want to ruin you right here.”

She pointed at the men behind her.

“I want them to destroy you. By the time Adrian arrives, the woman he's been obsessing over won't be here anymore. All he'll find is a broken, worthless woman.

“Let's see if he'll still want you then.”

The moment she finished speaking, she turned and ran.

The men had already received their instructions.

They grinned and began closing in on me.

The sweet, cloying scent grew stronger by the second.

Heat began spreading through my body, while my limbs gradually lost their strength.

The burning herbs had been laced with a powerful aphrodisiac.

“System.” I called out in my mind, my voice remaining calm. “Run a diagnostic.”

The system sounded horrified.

“Host, this is bad! It's Bliss Dust, one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs known to man! Not only does it induce desire, but in a large enough dose, it can cause heart failure!”

Just as I expected, a wave of nausea rose in my stomach.

“When you sent me here, you personally guaranteed my safety,” I reminded the system.

“Are you seriously telling me I'm supposed to endure this?”

The filthy hands of the men were already reaching for my skirt.

Their ugly faces loomed closer and closer.

“Don't be scared, sweetheart. We'll take good care of you...”

The system's voice trembled.

“I did promise you'd be safe, but I never expected the supporting female character to go this far... And I certainly didn't expect the male lead to approve a kidnapping...”

“Then what part of this qualifies as safe?” I asked.

The system suddenly sounded guilty.

“Ahahaha... but your three months aren't up yet...”

“You failed to uphold your end of the agreement first. Now you need to minimize the damage.”

My eyes turned cold as I watched a filthy hand reach toward my skin.

“Activate the emergency extraction protocol.”

My voice left no room for argument.

“Apologies, Host! Your vital signs are collapsing due to a fatal overdose. Emergency extraction conditions have been met. Extracting now!”

My vision blurred.

The next moment, my soul was pulled free from my body and returned to the dark system space.

A massive screen hung before me like something from a theater, displaying everything still happening on the other side.

After my consciousness departed, the body still retained a few lingering signs of life.

The men were just about to make their move when the woman lying on the straw, my abandoned body, suddenly convulsed violently.

A mouthful of blood burst from her lips.

With the soul anchoring the system-created body now gone, her heart was the first thing to stop.

Then the entire body went limp like a puppet with its strings cut.

Her eyes remained wide open, lifeless.

The men froze in shock.

One of them shakily reached out to check for a pulse.

Moments later, panicked screams erupted throughout the chapel.

“She’s dead?!”

At that exact moment, the chapel doors burst open.

Adrian arrived at last.

A sword hung in his hand as he charged inside, his face filled with panic and desperate devotion.

“Bella! Don't be afraid! I'm here!”