A shiver shot down my spine as her lips grazed my neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. My fists clenched the sheets, torn between pulling her closer and forcing myself to breathe.
She shifted, sliding fully onto the bed and straddling me with sinful grace. Her gown rode higher, the slit parting to reveal the smooth line of her thigh brushing against my hip.
"Tell me," she purred, lowering herself until her chest pressed against mine—soft, heavy, maddening. "Does your heart beat this fast for other women… or just me?"
Her mouth claimed mine before I could answer.
Hot. Soft. Devouring.
I'd kissed girls before—but never like this. This wasn't just passion; it was a claiming. Her tongue teased at the seam of my lips, demanding entrance, tasting me as if I already belonged to her.
And gods help me… I let her.
Heat pooled in my gut, rushing lower, stronger. Her hips shifted against me, grinding until I gasped into her mouth. My hands—traitorous—slid up her sides, over satin, until I felt the bare curve of her waist. Her skin was silk beneath my palms.
The gown slipped lower on her shoulders. She broke the kiss just long enough to guide my hand higher, pressing it against the swell of her breast.
Every nerve in my body screamed.
Her breath quickened, her lips reddened, her eyes blazing with hunger. "Carl…" she moaned, rolling her hips again. "Take me."
Then—
> [Critical Choice Detected.]
[Do you wish to proceed with the Princess? Y/N]
My heart lurched. My body screamed yes, desperate to surrender, to drown in her.
But somewhere, beneath the haze, a thought cut through:
None of this is real. It's just a game.
I turned away, breaking the kiss. My chest heaved, sweat slicking my temples. "I… I can't."
The words tore me apart.
The Princess froze. For a heartbeat, shock flickered across her eyes. Then her lips curled—not in anger, but in something far more dangerous.
A smile.
"Oh," she breathed, thick with lust and amusement. "So you do have restraint."
She slid off me with languid grace, her gown falling back into place, though the heat of her body lingered like a brand. She leaned close one last time, her lips brushing my ear.
"You'll beg me for it next time."
And then she slipped away, leaving me burning, trembling, and more awake than ever.
I stared at the ceiling, the taste of her kiss still on my lips. My body throbbed with frustrated need, but regret pressed heavier on my chest.
The system chimed again:
> [Hidden Stat: Willpower +2.]
I laughed, bitter and breathless. "Thanks, I guess."
But one thing was certain—sleep wouldn't be coming tonight.
---
I lay in bed, thoughts clouded by want and regret, replaying everything. My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, each one reminding me how close I had come to losing my virginity.
For a while, I just stared at the ceiling, tracing patterns in the stone with my eyes, trying to ground myself. The silence of the room pressed in on me, broken only by the distant hum of the castle at night.
The memory of her weight lingered—the way her body fit against mine, the warmth of her breath, the sweetness of her lips. The taste of her still clung to me, maddening and impossible to forget. And yet, over it all, the voice of reason gnawed:
None of this is real.
Slowly, my mind drifted away from the heat of what had just happened.
Something didn't add up. This wasn't like the game I used to play. I didn't remember any of these events when I was just a player. Back then, choices were scripted, encounters predictable. But this… this was different. Unscripted. Too real.
Now, I wasn't playing the game—I was inside it.
Hmmm.
Something's fishy… though I don't even know if they have fish here.
I chuckled to myself, the sound strange in the quiet room. Humor was a weak shield, but it was something.
Desperate to distract my mind, I resolved to indulge in any activity I could do from the comfort of this bed.
"If only I had a screen," I muttered under my breath.
And then, it appeared.
The cursed purple screen—my torment. It had done nothing but impose absurd quests, inconvenient power-ups, and consequences at the worst possible times since I was dragged here. Sometimes I swore it was intentional, as if it wanted to watch me squirm.
But this time, the screen was blank.
[Voice command activated]
There it was.
"Voice command?" I whispered.
[Trigger word: Screen]
So… I had summoned it myself. That was new.
There was still so much I didn't know. During my sparring matches with Kaela and Liora, and even during interactions with the Princess, the system had always displayed notifications. Like… what was it again?
Ah—right.
"Show me my stats and power-ups."
[Reflex Surge Lv.1
Effect: Boosts reflexes in critical danger moments.
Trigger: Auto-Assist activation.
Counterstrike Lv.1
Condition: Activates when dodging a thrust within 0.5 seconds.
Risk: 20% chance of self-injury if mistimed.
Max stamina: 43%]
I stared at the glowing text, the faint hum of energy buzzing in the air around me.
I see.
So now I could summon the system at will. That would make things far less of a nuisance.
For a moment, I just studied the words, tracing their lines with my eyes as if they would reveal more the longer I stared. The thought that this "system" wasn't just a game mechanic but something alive—or at least reactive—made my skin crawl.
Still, a small smile tugged at my lips. Having some control over when it appeared felt like progress. And in this world, progress was rare.
Unrelated, but… now felt like a good time to jerk off. I remembered reading in a magazine once that doing it daily helped reduce stress.
I smirked at the absurdity of the thought. From nearly losing my virginity to a princess… to considering stress relief like a peasant. Truly, I was living the dream."
But as I goofed off, trying to get in the mood for some alone time—
Shadows shifted outside my door.
The Princess might have come and gone in secrecy, but secrecy only worked if no one else was watching. And someone, it seemed, had been watching.