“Are you very sleepy?”

Not answering was probably the best answer.

He gathered me closer, turning his body halfway. He lay beneath me, and I could feel his warmth beneath.

His hands gently stroked my head and spine, pulling my consciousness more quickly and deeply into sleep.

“Ai.”

His breathy whisper gathered at my ear. He took advantage of my drowsiness to confess.

“I want you to be my grave.”

“......”

“I want to be buried and die like this.”

He’s struggling with his mental state again.

I had no time to scold his cruel words. Instead, I sank into sweet sleep as if steeped in sugar water.

✠

It was the darkest part of the night, just before dawn.

Reid lay on the bed holding sleeping Ayleth, his gaze lost in empty space. Though his tight embrace might feel suffocating, her even breathing remained undisturbed.

He wanted to laugh with his voice and sigh deeply at the same time. He wasn’t sure if his unending strength was stamina or desire.

Still, there were two reasons why he refrained from pushing further and simply protected her quietly as she slept.

One, he had considerable patience; two, the dungeon’s rules manipulated his body at will.

Outside, faint light was seeping through the window, but his eyes grew darker.

His fingertips stroking her hair stilled. He felt his other senses shutting down one by one.

The rate and cycle of deterioration were faster than the original story, but Reid seemed unbothered, his expression calm.

All he needed was ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) ears to hear her confession.

His lips replaced his motionless hand and kissed her hair.

His voice echoed as if chanting a spell.

“Longer, just a little longer like this... may we stay here.”

✠

Am I really the kind to get possessed? I was surprised at how well I adapted to this explicit dark imprisonment story.

Days repeated of waking with Reid, eating, walking, and sleeping together.

The second-floor couple’s bedroom that once held only a bed was now fully furnished, almost feeling like a proper honeymoon suite.

Reid showed utmost care and tenderness, as if compensating for my restrained freedom, and I decided to accept the situation peacefully.

‘No matter how much I fret alone, nothing will change.’

If he had been willing to open the exit gate by talking, he would have done it long ago with the dungeon master’s authority.

No, more than that — he was the great Chaos Evil. He had the power to trigger a dungeon burst. Whether to leave or not was always Reid’s choice.

So for now, I decided to wait. When the right moment came, I’d try talking carefully again. Whenever that may be.

Without confessing love or discussing escape, we spent affectionate days like lovers.

Of course, hidden conflicts sometimes caused strange friction.

Especially Reid’s deteriorating mental state was vulnerable to the poisonous air of this dark dungeon, leading to perilous moments.

I was outwardly normal, but he seemed to suspect my appearance and feelings might be opposite.

He often tried to check my state indirectly.

‘The longer I stay here, the more it feels like I’m patched into a dark story...’

Still, it was bearable. Whenever Reid showed instability, lying together on the bed or sitting close on the sofa restored calm quickly.

Otherwise, no particular problems. Accepting the situation, life in the mansion was even more comfortable than reality.

Supplies for living, food, and shelter were abundantly provided by the dungeon’s rules and magic — practically an automated luxury hotel.

‘Yeah, I’ll just enjoy the comfort for now.’

[‘The World-Building Word Spirit’ sighs in relief, saying your mind is surprisingly healthy for such a dark story.]

While Reid briefly left, the Word Spirit kept me company.

Hearing about mental health, I suddenly recalled the subscription service I started at tutorial’s end.

Paying 99,000 cash monthly for a mental protection filter really helped keep me steady.

‘Thanks to the Word Spirit’s blessing, I grew healthy in body and mind. But it’s not just that I’m not worried now.’

[‘The World-Building Word Spirit’ wonders what else could be the reason.]

Actually, I had faith that things would work out. Because...

‘I think the villain imprisoning me is still Tesilid Arzent.’

His true nature gave me certainty. He wouldn’t make selfish choices until the end.

[‘The World-Building Word Spirit’ curiously asks your thoughts on Reid’s sincere commitment to this genre.]

I felt my god was asking while knowing everything but answered earnestly.

‘Reid said he wants to stay in the dungeon because he likes the imprisonment ending, but that was probably just an excuse.’

Reid’s real feelings hid in other things he said.

— For me, this mansion is a safe zone escaped from the world. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He wanted to escape the world. That’s why this small world of just the two of us was appealing.

The reason was obvious.

He had lived a thousand years and gone through a hundred regressions, etching wounds named betrayal and loss deep into his soul.

Being fallen or mad didn’t suddenly heal or erase those scars.

Before the final villain, he was still human. It’s natural to want to avoid pain, especially severe pain.

Just before coming to this dungeon, we had conquered the Kingdom of Winchester. Reid had faced the people who tormented him most in the place that caused him the greatest suffering.

Suddenly, I realized.

“Thinking about it, Reid has...”

Why did it only dawn on me now?

“No home...”

Not just physically, but no home even conceptually.

He never had a place his body and mind could relax in, feel safe, and rest.

His two legs always precariously stood on shaking ground.

Yet he entered this dungeon, isolated from external stimuli, arranged as a self-sufficient grand mansion, and...

‘Imprisoned within the role he must play.’

Everything Reid wanted was here. From his perspective, it was perfect.

“Phew, I should have cared for his mental health first. I was too careless.”

I looked down at my teacup as if reflecting. The tea mixed with a melancholy breath seemed bitter enough to numb my tongue.

Though I hadn’t opened a window, a breeze drifted in then. I smiled softly, feeling it gently stroke my head.

I immediately knew it was the god’s touch.

Recovering briskly, I said,

“If I get out of here, there’s somewhere I want to visit before the summit of Mt. Altio. Together with Reid.”

[‘The World-Building Word Spirit’ sends an encouraging smile, saying he will surely like ‘that place’.]

I was still naturally envisioning the future with Reid. It was something I could do because I trusted him.

✠

The Word Spirit had gone back to work. Since I was left alone, I had some thoughts.

“Hmm.”

I put down the teacup and sat at the vanity. Looking in the mirror as I calmly brushed my hair, I wore a serious expression.

Just moments ago, I was relaxing as if eternal imprisonment were someone else’s problem, but now I recalled a troubling secret of this mansion.

‘Something’s a bit off.’

On the vanity lay the clues I’d gathered so far: the diary, the mansion’s rules, and the platinum rose. Three items.

According to the diary, the wager between the Countess and the Guest was that the one who confesses love first loses. Their goals were revenge and obsession respectively.

Given these goals, it’s natural the Countess tries to tempt or kill the Guest for revenge. But the Guest is strange.

‘The Guest only needs to tempt, so why does he also have the option to escape?’