How to Survive as a Princess in a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 174

“It’s only for Your Highness’s safety. You should leave now.”

Having said his piece, Isaac turned away. His demeanor appeared as rational and composed as always. To anyone who didn’t know him well, he would have seemed perfectly calm.

But to someone who had watched Isaac since childhood, he looked anything but.

His face was stiff beyond necessity. His gaze, while seemingly directed at Reno, was slightly off-center. He was clearly shaken.

And yet he claims this is all for Nepheli’s safety?

“You don’t even know what expression you’re making…….”

Isaac paused at the murmur behind him but soon resumed walking as if nothing had happened. When he returned to the bedroom, a palace maid was waiting.

“Her Highness has gone to bathe. She said she’ll return shortly and asked you to wait inside.”

Following the message, Isaac entered the bedroom to wait. But Reno’s words kept echoing in his mind.

That comment about his expression.

“Are you… jealous?”

Such emotional nonsense.

Normally, he wouldn’t have paid it any mind. The very idea was impossible. For Isaac, jealousy required seeing Nepheli as an equal—a romantic interest.

But Nepheli was simply his liege. Respect was permissible, but loving her as an equal? Unthinkable. To harbor such feelings for her would be sinful. Who was he to dare?

So there was no reason to dwell on it, no need to let it trouble him…….

Click.

The sound of the door opening snapped Isaac from his thoughts. Normally, he would have sensed her approach from afar, but this time, he hadn’t noticed until the door moved.

“Sorry to keep you waiting again.”

“Not at all.”

As Nepheli approached, the sweet scent of her mana grew stronger—like flowers in full bloom to lure bees, or syrup simmering with sugar.

Even those who disliked sweetness would find it intoxicating. No matter how many times he smelled it, it never grew stale. Instead, it felt new each time, increasingly bewitching.

It wasn’t just the scent. The warmth of her skin, her breath, her movements—all of it was unbearably enticing. Enough to occasionally shatter his reason.

Yet the stronger the fragrance, the more dangerous Nepheli’s condition. If even he, who struggled to remain composed, could lose control, how much worse would it be for Reno?

He couldn’t entrust Nepheli to Reno in this state. This was purely a matter of concern.

“Has Reno left?”

“Yes. I sent him away.”

That seemed to be all she wanted to know. Without another word, Nepheli brushed past him and climbed onto the bed.

Meanwhile, Isaac extinguished the lamps in the room. After he had been stabbed, they had kept the lights on for a while.

But his wounds had healed now. Though scars remained, they wouldn’t reopen. There was no need for caution anymore, so extinguishing the lights had become a habit again.

Once on the bed, Isaac carefully cupped Nepheli’s cheek. Her scent, closer than ever, was mesmerizing. Just as he leaned in to kiss her—

“Tonight… just do it. No kissing.”

Nepheli pushed against his chest.

“……Are you certain?”

“I’m certain.”

This was unusual. In the past, aside during emergencies, they had always engaged in at least minimal foreplay. At some point, taking it slow had become natural.

‘Is it because of Reno?’

There was no other reason for her sudden change in attitude.

Isaac had long prepared himself for the day Nepheli would take someone else. It might be Reno, or Killis, or even someone unexpected—like Robeum, who had boldly asked her to dance at the banquet.

He had always been ready for this. So why did this inexplicable discomfort gnaw at him from deep inside?

But rather than dwell on his emotions, Isaac focused on the present. With Nepheli’s life hanging in the balance, he couldn’t afford distractions.

Isaac reached out and grasped Nepheli’s clothing. The thin negligee stretched easily under his fingers, slipping down with the slightest tug.

Even in the dark, as his gaze trailed down her pale skin, Nepheli shivered. He pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat, then her narrow, rounded shoulders, moving slowly downward until he reached the soft swell of her b*****s. Her body twitched at the unfamiliar sensation of his breath.

When she tried to scoot back, he gripped her waist and pulled her close. Nepheli gasped but didn’t resist.

“Ah, nngh……!”

Each time he buried his face in her chest, finding and sucking her hardened n*****s, she whimpered softly.

Though he knew nothing would come out no matter how much he licked or nibbled, the concentrated sweetness of this area was addicting. He would gladly do this forever if allowed.

After lavishing equal attention on her other b****t, Isaac moved lower. Instinct drove him toward an even sweeter spot, past her flat stomach, until—

“Ha~hh, Isaac—wait.”

Slender fingers tangled in his black hair, gripping tightly. The gesture brought him back to his senses. Lifting his head, he exhaled heavily.

Even now, rational thought clashed with the vulgar desire to indulge in her body.

If even he struggled this much, how much worse would it be for others? So his intervention had been justified. This wasn’t jealousy.

“That’s… e-enough, hah… stop~~”

Nepheli’s voice was breathy, her words trailing off. Though the sentence was incomplete, he understood.

Isaac removed the rest of his uniform. It didn’t take long for his large shadow to engulf her much smaller frame.

* * *

[<Character> Isaac Harsen

―Affection: 1 / 100 (Warning)]

“Back to 1 again…….”

Seeing Isaac’s Affection stat, I sighed reflexively. Ugh. With a groan, I leaned back against the sofa, letting my head tilt backward.

What was the point of raising his Affection? It just kept falling back down. And whenever I gave up and stopped caring, it would rise again, only to drop…….

Honestly, he was impossible to understand. Killis was the same. His Affection, which I’d painstakingly raised to the 90s, had dropped to ’87’ and stayed frozen there.

Not that I wanted to provoke him like before, but it still felt unfair. I’d thought I was almost done with his Affection, only to be blindsided like this.

‘What kind of game is this hard? Shouldn’t it stay raised once it goes up?’

Grumbling quietly, I decided to check the rest of the Affection stats since I’d already opened the window.

[<Character> Reno Harsen

―Affection: 82 / 100 (Intimate)]

‘It did go up, just like he said.’

‘I was worried it might have dropped because of Isaac.’

Though relieved, I still felt unsettled. Even after learning I’d shared mana with Isaac, his Affection hadn’t decreased.

I kept feeling like I was the only one overcomplicating things. Yesterday, while kissing Isaac, I’d remembered kissing Reno and couldn’t continue.

‘Thank goodness Isaac is still on guard duty today.’

Truthfully, even Isaac was hard to face, but not as much as Reno. When swept up in Reno’s confession yesterday, I’d only felt excitement. But looking back now, I had no idea how to act around him.