Transmigrated As The Villainess' Boyfriend With A... SSS Harem System?

Doubting whether to enter, I lingered.

What could I say to her? How could I appease her anger?

Yes, she had been hurt because of me, but I had done it for her...

Why did I keep telling myself that? The truth was that this time I did it out of my own selfishness. I wanted to prove to everyone that Lianza D'Tariel's personal bodyguard wasn't just painted on the wall, that I wasn't the Dog at Her Heels.

But the price was being judged by the Empero Council. In The Throne of Ashes and Thorns, the most common punishment for misuse of Empero ranged from being flogged or expelled; the severity varied depending on what malpractice you had exercised... But none of that applied if you were a member of one of the seven most influential houses.

Still struggling to believe why I was saved. What did Theren want from me to have appealed for me?

Leaning against the wall by the door, my hands on my knees. Looking up toward the window Layda had been observing moments ago.

Drizzle struck the hallway windows.

[Reward delivered: +10 Pts Base Empero.]

I don't think I've ever asked you, but I don't know how this Base Empero thing works, I asked the System, seeking something to occupy my mind while protecting Lianza outside the infirmary.

[Seriously? Now? With Princess D'Tariel irate behind the wall? I'm surprised that this time it isn't me making things harder for you, but you yourself. 😲]

I believe I was very clear.

[Fine. Base Empero is the energy reserve that fuels your ability. Think of it as a well. The deeper the well, the more water you can draw.]

And how much do I have?

[Your innate Base Empero was 50,000. After my rewards, you've accumulated 35 points. Each point equals 1,000 Empero.]

Wait. Each point is a thousand?

[Yes, Romeo. Did you expect each point to be one? What kind of system do you think I am? 😒]

So... I have 85,000.

[Correct. 50,000 innate + 10,000 from flirting with Alexia + 15,000 from the waltz with Layda + 10,000 from today.]

Whether that was enough was uncertain. I needed to compare myself with the other nobles to know.

Could you tell me how much the others have?

[Ardwyn: 1,111,111. Lianza: 888,888. Average nobles: 100,000 to 400,000.]

Eight hundred eighty-eight thousand eight hundred eighty-eight.

The difference between Lianza and me was 803,888.

And the difference between Ardwyn and me was 1,026,111.

Was the gap that wide?

[You're not the main character of this novel, Romeo. In fact, I'm surprised you've lasted this long, considering the difficulty of this novel for the villainess and the fact that you're a noble of such low birth. 🤔]

Once again, an ant among elephants.

[But hey, Romeo. Elephants lack both intelligence and control. They're just brute power. Elephants can't write orders in the air, like you do with your Writer's Empero. Besides, with my help and your ingenuity, you have the potential to surpass them all. 😉]

Wait, are you motivating me and acknowledging my capabilities? You? Am I going crazy or something?

[Forget the previous message. 😒]

A bitter laugh escaped me inwardly.

You're truly hopeless... Hey, Harem System, why didn't you just choose someone like Ardwyn? He's the hero of the original web novel, having a harem would be very easy for him. You'd fulfill your purpose without any difficulty.

[And miss watching you suffer while you squeeze your mind to the max trying to be faithful and save your beloved villainess from her tragic end? Pass. Watching you suffer is too much fun to deny, Romeo. 😂]

Yes, I definitely hate you more than Ardwyn the imbecile.

[I love you too. 😉]

Rolling my eyes, I sighed.

"Whatever."

Standing up, I headed toward the infirmary. Sooner or later I had to face Lianza, and the longer I put it off, the more frozen I'd end up.

The infirmary's interior was full of freezing wind; so much that vapor came out of my nose when I exhaled.

Lianza was sitting, head bowed.

"I made it very clear that I didn't want to see you here, Dariel Elcronne."

"You make many things clear to me, my lady."

She looked up at me. Her Empero began to vibrate.

"Then why are you here?"

"I was sworn in," I explained, "by Zaleador D'Tariel to protect you, my lady. Whatever it takes. Even if my life goes with it."

"I don't care. What I gave you was a direct order."

Bowing, exactly as she had taught me a few days ago.

"I believe it goes without saying that your father is the king and you are the princess, my lady..."

Lianza stood up.

Noticing her bandaged side.

"Your wounds, my lady..."

"I care little for that," Lianza pointed her finger at me. "Repeat what you just said, Dariel Elcronne."

Lianza's character was too strong... It was one of her charms.

Kneeling, I maintained my bow.

"I... swore to protect you with my life."

"That's not what I meant."

"You don't understand, Lianza," I said, immediately realizing I had called her by her name.

Lianza's Empero exploded in a freezing blast.

Raising both arms to shield myself.

Attempting to move, my legs had been covered in ice, leaving me no option but to remain in the bowing position.

"Not only do you disobey me, but you also lie to me. Nothing but lies keep coming out of your mouth, Dariel Elcronne!"

I stayed silent.

"Do you know what it feels like?" she whispered. Her voice cracked. "Do you know what it feels like when the person who... when the person you trust hides something from you?"

"Lian..." I corrected myself instantly. "My lady..."

"I haven't finished so you can speak, Dariel Elcronne."

She walked toward me. Each step of her shoes leaving a trail of ice on the stone floor. Her hand approached my chest. Her cold touch seeped through the fabric of my uniform.

"I couldn't create ice, Dariel. My Empero didn't obey me. In the middle of a match that, although it was training, you knew I couldn't afford to lose. Not in front of more than thirty nobles. Not as a D'Tariel."

Her hand was slowly freezing my chest.

"And the worst part is that you... you knew. I don't know how or in what way, but you knew. You knew I couldn't use my ice." Her eyes filled with tears. "How could you do that to me? I trusted you..."

Lianza crying. My greatest weakness. Damn it! Do you see what you cause, Harem System?

[Shhh 🤫. The show is good. 🍿]

"I didn't know it would be..." I tried to answer, but when Lianza was upset, even my answers froze.

"Liar!"

The cold intensified. My lips went numb. My sense of touch grew weak.

"The only thing I trust is my power. Do you know what it feels like when even that fails you?" The garnet Empero emanating from her hand on my chest kept freezing me. "It feels like dying while still alive, Dariel Elcronne. As if your identity had been ripped away. Something that was always part of you."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't feel sorry. You only awakened your Empero a week ago. I've had mine my whole life. It's the only thing I have. The only thing that has protected me since I gained consciousness. And it was snatched from me."

"It was only for one match."

"That's not the issue! The issue is that it was taken from me and you knew. In that match, without my Empero to defend me, for the first time in my life, I felt cold. The cold of death, Dariel Elcronne."

"It won't happen again, Lianza, I promise."

"'I promise,'" she repeated with scorn. "None of that, young master. No promise or apology will save you this time. Now I'll make you feel the same way I felt in that match."

She concentrated more of her Empero on my chest. The cold began to pierce through my ribs, reaching my lungs.

My mind was starting to go numb...

But I didn't move. After all, I deserved the punishment for failing her.

"You don't plan to defend yourself?" she asked, showing a gleam in her eyes. Remorse?

"N-no..." I said shivering.

"You don't plan to explain it to me?"

"I c-can't."

"Why?"

"B-Because telling you would hurt you more, L-Lianza. I can't afford to d-do it again."

"That makes no sense."

"Does love have to make sense?"

Lianza pressed her lips. Her eyes scanned my body. My numb lips, my frozen chest. All the way down to my legs anchored to the floor in a bowing position.

"You're an idiot."

"An idiot who must let himself freeze because the truth would be worse than any cold."

Lianza closed her eyes. A tear slid down her cheek. And like all the previous ones, it froze halfway.

The ice on my chest stopped growing.

"Tell me something true, Dariel." Her hand trembled on my chest. "Something that isn't a lie or a half-truth. One thing. Anything."

Looking at her, I cursed under my breath. Even with her garnet eyes full of tears and swollen, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Opening my mouth and exhaling vapor, I told her the one truth that, no matter what happened, would change everything:

"I love you."