Ch.9191. I Should Have At Least Tried It Once.

It seems that people find it truly difficult to abandon their arrogance.

Clearly, Seri Familia was a dangerous woman.

When I first met her, I was so wary that I repeated this to myself several times, not letting my guard down for even a moment.

But.

As I gradually grew stronger, my vigilance began to loosen at some point.

Wasn’t that the case with Reagan’s incident?

After deciding not to get involved, I firmly believed that I could eliminate the Strom family just as the protagonist had done.

That’s why I committed that mistake.

I had similar thoughts about this.

No matter how much Seri Familia was labeled a villainess in the original story, she wasn’t particularly strong.

She was merely obsessed with human and monster corpses, and blood.

Someone I could easily subdue with my current abilities.

However.

I realized how much arrogance had permeated my shallow thinking.

By the time I regained consciousness, I was lying on a bed, and hearing Seri Familia’s voice beside me as if she had sensed my presence.

“Are you awake?”

In the pitch-black darkness, I couldn’t make out any of Seri Familia’s features.

Anyone who has fainted before would understand.

There’s that hazy feeling in your mind, like when you wake up from sleep.

Without responding to her question, I tried to recall what had happened to assess the situation.

As Seri Familia had instructed, I walked to the end of the right corridor ten minutes later.

But with each step up the stairs, my surroundings grew darker.

And that wasn’t all.

When I reached the second floor, it was completely dark, as if my vision had been shut off.

“Fireball!”

When I tried to conjure a flame above my finger by controlling my mana, something felt blocked.

Well, this is a family mansion, so they must have installed control stones.

Just as I was about to turn back, her voice echoed faintly in my ears.

“S-Selden Alphonse?”

“Yes, it’s Selden.”

“Where are you right now?”

“I came up the stairs as you said, but I can’t see anything.”

“I’m in my bedroom, and I can’t see anything either. It seems there’s a power outage.”

A sudden power outage?

While it wasn’t impossible, given that I was dealing with Seri Familia, I spoke with a suspicious gaze.

“It’s so dark, I can’t even find the door.”

“I’m inside the room right now. But there’s a bug in here, and I’m terrified.”

“Then I’ll go downstairs and call for a butler.”

“W-wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t leave me… I’m really scared.”

It was strange that Seri Familia would feel fear, but I’ve often seen even large, supposedly fearless people trembling before bugs, so I thought it could be possible.

I sighed briefly and continued.

“Miss Seri Familia, I don’t know how to turn on the lights.”

“C-can’t you just stay in the corridor until the lights come back on?”

A power outage without rain? What on earth was happening?

Resigned, I leaned my back against the corridor wall.

“…Alright, I understand.”

“I’m sorry for troubling you. If I hadn’t suddenly found a bug in my room, this wouldn’t have happened…”

“By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you come to my room? If it was about chasing away a bug, couldn’t you have asked one of the servants?”

“You were just the first person who came to mind. Was I being too rude?”

I was indeed annoyed at being called when I was about to rest, but how could I say that honestly?

Furrowing my brow, I continued.

“It’s fine. Perhaps you didn’t want to show your fear of bugs to the servants.”

“Y-yes, that must be it. That’s probably why I went to you.”

I already knew from Baron Byron that Seri Familia had feelings for me.

It was an obvious lie, but I dismissed it casually.

After all, I had absolutely no intention of marrying her.

Still leaning against the wall, I crossed my arms heavily.

“It seems this might take longer than expected. Wouldn’t it be faster if I went downstairs to call someone?”

“Then take me with you! I’m too scared to stay alone.”

“I can’t find the door because I can’t see anything.”

“Can’t you come towards the direction of my voice?”

I felt like I’d stepped in something unpleasant.

Normally, I wouldn’t have even considered coming to the Familia household.

I only came because it was a hurdle I had to cross eventually.

Well, fortunately, things had been mostly resolved through my conversation with Baron Byron.

Promising myself never to visit the Familia household again, I pushed myself off the wall.

“Keep talking. I’ll try to find you.”

“Over here!! I’m over here, Selden!!”

Waving my hands like a blind person, I slowly moved forward in the direction of Seri Familia’s voice.

Fortunately, her calls gradually grew louder.

I placed my hand on the wall and moved along it, step by step.

“Are you over here?”

“Yes!! I think you’re almost at the door now!”

Just then, I felt the hard wall, and then something with a different texture touched my fingertips.

I made a fist and lightly knocked on that spot.

Knock-knock!

“Is this it?”

“I think so!! There should be a doorknob there, right?”

Fumbling around, I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

Still, I couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black darkness.

As I slowly stepped inside…

“I’m coming in, where are—ugh!!”

With a thud, stars flashed before my eyes, and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was lying on what felt like a bed.

After piecing together the situation, I clutched my still-throbbing head.

Then, Seri Familia’s chilling voice whispered in my ear once more.

“…Selden, I know you’re awake.”

“Why did I lose consciousness?”

“Well, you walked right into the trap I set up in front of the door.”

Thinking back, I did feel something blunt hit my face.

Rustling, I sat up, checking if my clothes had been removed.

Fortunately, I wasn’t tied up, which was somewhat of a relief.

“Hah… A trap? Do you realize what you’ve done?”

“What does it matter? We’re going to be married anyway.”

Not only were we not in that kind of relationship, but is it acceptable to set traps and knock out your potential husband?

I was already on the verge of exploding with irritation, and the continued darkness only fueled my anger.

“Are you joking right now?”

“My, you have quite the intensity. I knew you were just pretending to be proper…”

“…Forget it, I’m leaving.”

I know well that there’s no point in talking to a crazy woman.

Feeling my way across the bed, I slowly placed my feet on the ground.

I still couldn’t see anything, but I moved my body, determined to escape somehow.

“My room is quite spacious, so you might find it hard to locate the door. By the way, the lights in my bedroom really don’t work. I deliberately broke them.”

“If I keep feeling along the wall, I’ll eventually find the door.”

“As expected, Selden, you have both patience and perseverance.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, doing something like this, but even if our fathers are close, this isn’t something I can just overlook.”

At that, Seri Familia let out a giggling laugh.

“Is that so?”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I like you, Selden.”

“And why exactly do you like me?”

“I prefer men with patience.”

Moving along the wall, I spoke with an irritated voice.

“Do I look patient to you right now?”

“A man should know when to get angry, shouldn’t he?”

Just as I was about to retort, white light seeped into the room along with a presence.

Turning my head, I saw light filtering through the door crack, indicating that the corridor lights were on.

‘Found it!!’

I strode towards the door without looking back.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing my father, Baron Byron, and Baron Rene.

“F-Father!”

“What on earth are you doing!?”

“…Pardon?”

For the first time, I saw Baron Byron’s face, red with volcanic anger.

He glanced behind me once, then quickly turned his gaze back to me.

“You said you had no intention of proceeding with the marriage, but what reckless act have you committed now?!”

I had a very, very bad feeling.

Why would Seri Familia set up a trap to knock me out in the first place?

And the impeccable timing of Baron Byron and Baron Rene’s appearance.

If this entire situation was not a coincidence but all according to her plan…

Swish-!

With a tense heart, I slowly turned my head.

With light filtering in from the corridor, the interior of the bedroom was now clearly visible.

Swallowing hard, I directed my gaze towards the bed.

Sure enough, there was Seri Familia, without a stitch of clothing, lying on the bed.

She covered her private areas with her arms and palms, and with tears welling in her eyes, she spoke.

“Selden, let’s be honest about our relationship now…”

Wow…

I never thought I’d fall victim to such a well-executed scheme in my life.

I was so dumbfounded that I clapped my hands and laughed loudly.

“Hahaha!! If I had known it would come to this, I should have at least had a taste of Seri Familia.”

As I laughed hysterically, clutching my stomach, Baron Byron, enraged to the tips of his hair, grabbed my collar and shook me.

“You insolent brat… What did you just say?”

“…Hourglass.”

“What?!”

Facing Baron Byron, who couldn’t understand what I was saying, I raised my voice with the corners of my mouth turned up as much as possible.

“HOURGLASS!!!!”

* Hourglass: Upon activation, this skill turns back time by thirty minutes.

However, the skill permanently disappears after 3 uses.