No Way Out
"Have a pleasant evening." The judgment came swiftly. Perhaps this was the fastest my mind had ever worked in my entire life. If I didn't escape right now, I was in danger. I immediately sprinted toward the door, but—
Shhhk!
A dazzling array of defensive spells layered over the door in an instant. Since Lucia was a physical fighter, the magic activating now came from elsewhere—scrolls, most likely, stored in advance and triggered when needed. Inscribing magic into such items was absurdly expensive, and the storage process itself reduced efficiency.
"...How much did all this cost?"
Using three or four high-level magic scrolls just to seal a single door was the height of inefficiency. The short-range teleport ticket had been the same. This was pure, unadulterated money-flinging.
"Roughly... around 350,000 gold, I suppose?"
That was why I asked while trembling, but Lucia simply spread her fingers and gave a casual estimate. 350,000 gold. Converted to Korean won, that was 350 million. In other words, this insane woman had burned 350 million just to lock me in here for a single night.
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
The Klein Marquisate was one of the ten wealthiest families in the empire, but even so, this was excessive. I really needed to say something sharp—
"I have more money than I know what to do with anyway. Spending time with you is far more valuable to me."
But when she answered so adorably, how was I supposed to get angry? I suppressed the smile trying to creep onto my face, softened my tone, and spoke gently.
"Lucia, do you have any idea how much the average commoner earns in a year?"
She placed a hand on her head and thought for a moment before replying with a bright, innocent expression.
"Maybe around 150,000 gold?"
"Good heavens."
I had suspected as much when she spent money like water, but this Golden Sun truly had no concept of economics whatsoever. The prices in this reverse-harem novel were almost identical to those in Korea. Which meant Lucia was treating the average middle-class annual salary as 150 million won...
"Let's... discuss this slowly later."
The Klein Marquisate had a single son, which explained why they were overly indulgent with their daughter. Still, even if they weren't training her as an heir, they should at least teach her basic common sense.
"Eh?"
Look at that face—completely oblivious to what she'd done wrong. It was cute, but this world wasn't easy enough to survive on cuteness alone—
"Even if I don't know these things, you'll handle everything once we get married anyway, right? I'm going to live as the lady of the Orlannte family."
...Apparently this world operated on "Lucia difficulty" only. She was openly declaring she would hand over all property rights to me and live comfortably off the Klein fortune without a single worry. And because even that made me think she was adorable, I decided to stop thinking altogether.
"Forget it. Come sit next to me. Those spells are high-grade, so they won't open until tomorrow morning."
She sounded genuinely proud. If I tried to break the magic with Explosion over a long period, I might succeed, but Lucia would probably throw me onto the bed before that happened. Resigned, I trudged over and flopped down beside her.
"Aah... I told you not to touch meee..."
The moment I sat, Lucia started groping my thigh, forcing an undignified sound out of me. I quickly regained my composure and grabbed her hand, pinning it in place. She stared at me with sticky eyes and added,
"Don't show that... flustered look to any other woman."
I wanted to protest that no one else would grope people so freely, but Lucia's gaze was far too earnest for me to say it.
"...Understood."
I sighed and nodded. Lucia beamed, then pointed at the clock.
"It's getting late. Let's go to bed!"
It was only nine in the evening. This world had no electronics, so people's sleep schedules were earlier than in Korea, but nine o'clock still felt far too early.
"Wait a moment."
An idea struck me. Lucia probably intended to make me lie right beside her. But she had overlooked one crucial detail: even though she had a private room, the dormitory rooms were originally designed as doubles. Therefore, there were two beds. No matter how close we were, sleeping in the same bed was out of the question.
"I'll sleep in the same room, but I'll take that bed over there."
I pointed at the unused bed with a triumphant smirk. Heh, bet you didn't expect that. This was how one preserved one's chastity—
BOOM!
"...?"
"Now there's only one bed left."
Just as I moved toward the remaining bed, Lucia smashed it with a bat. She struck it dead center, bending the frame like a bow.
"Ah, don't worry about compensation. I'll pay for it!"
The Golden Sun was suspiciously wealthy. Apparently an academy bed was nothing to her. While I pressed a hand to my throbbing head, Lucia looked at me with those sticky eyes and added,
"We'll be breaking a bed every single day during our honeymoon anyway. Why make a fuss over one?"
"That's sexual harassment, Lucia."
I tried to put distance between us, but she immediately closed the gap.
"Every day, your pretty wife will lovingly attend to you. Why are you reacting like that?"
She grinned like a rabbit and mimed punching the bed. The mattress caved in where her fist landed, but she didn't seem to care.
"Family members don't do things like that."
I tried my best not to meet her eyes, but Lucia grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her, smiling.
"I'm planning to have about ten children. Even if they're not children, every single day we'll be passionately—"
"Be quiet."
Afraid I'd be swept along by her pace, I covered her mouth with my hand. Thankfully, she didn't lick it this time. Relieved, I placed a pillow on the floor.
"Lucia, then I'll sleep on the—"
Shhhk!
The moment I tried to lie on the floor, Lucia gave a signal and a bumpy, acupressure-mat-like object sprang up from the spot I had chosen. It wasn't a normal acupressure mat, though—the usual rounded bumps had been replaced with sharp, jagged stones.
'There's no way I can sleep on that.'
That was my first thought upon seeing it. If I slept there, my body would be pressed full of indentations by morning. A jagged mat in front, Lucia behind, and escape routes sealed with magic. A true deadlock.
"Hehe, nowhere left to run, right? Let's just sleep together now."
Seeing that I had realized there was no escape, Lucia smiled victoriously and turned off the lights before diving onto the bed with me in her arms. How frustrating. I hadn't even wanted to come in here in the first place. My perfect defeat.
"Jack, sleep facing my direction..."
She rubbed her face against my back, completely unaware of my feelings. I tried not to turn, but she kept tickling my back with her fingers until I had no choice.
"Haa, my husband is so handsome..."
She slowly stroked my cheek and smiled brightly. Normally I would have denied it and turned away, but after everything she'd done—the acupressure trap, the prepared magic—I could feel how much effort she'd put in. Just this once, I decided to play along.
...She won't actually eat me just because I do this once, right?
"You're incredibly beautiful too, Lucia. Like a goddess."
It was so cringeworthy my hands and feet curled, but I endured and looked forward. Lucia had completely frozen. She said whatever she wanted all the time, yet when I said something back, she turned to stone. She really was cute, no matter how many times I thought it.
"I must be blessed to have someone like you as my wife."
I pulled her head against my chest. A hissing sound escaped her—like steam venting from a rice cooker. It wasn't a metaphor; it was literally that sound. How on earth did she do that? Fascinating.
'Well, hearing the word "wife" still makes my stomach flutter a little...'
I never would have been able to say things like this before. Still, I'd improved quite a bit.
"Th-that's cheating..."
As I continued stroking her hair, she soon muttered in a sulky voice. I tilted my head toward her for a clearer explanation, but Lucia only moved her lips before suddenly wrapping all four limbs around me in a tight hug.
"You said you didn't like it, but then you suddenly treat me so kindly. That's completely unfair..."
She flipped over and climbed on top of me.
"I don't dislike it anymore. How could I keep disliking someone like this?"
I decided to be a little more honest to calm her down, but—
"Uuuuugh!!"
It backfired. She covered her face with both hands, twisted her body, then suddenly brought her face right up to mine. Grabbing my face with both hands, she spoke in a strained voice, as if desperately holding something back.
"Hey... Can I kiss you?"
I hugged her tightly and answered with a bright smile.
"Not yet."
She wouldn't hit me just because I said that... right?