PLML 03

CHAPTER 03

Theoris suddenly stood up, putting distance between himself and Jayna.

“W-what are you saying?!”

His voice was thick with panic. Clearly flustered. Jayna smiled playfully, her eyes curling at the corners.

“What’s the problem with a married couple sharing the same bed?”

“…I’ll have to decline.”

Cute little thing.

Jayna wanted to tease Theoris a bit more, but decided to hold back. There was something more important than teasing him right now.

“More importantly, when are we eating?”

Food. Yes, food.

It was already well past dinnertime.

Of course, when she was locked up in a tiny room at the Count’s estate, Jayna often went without meals. The maids frequently “forgot” to bring her food. So skipping a meal or two wasn’t all that unfamiliar to her.

But that was the old Jayna. The Jayna who stood here now had no intention of enduring hunger.

“Please wait a moment.”

Theoris headed—not to the door—but to the desk. Jayna watched curiously as he opened one of the drawers.

From inside, he pulled out four small white pill bottles and what looked like a tiny chocolate bar, handing them to her.

“What… is this?”

“Nutritional supplements and a meal bar.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Take two pills from the bottle on the far left, and one from each of the others.”

“That’s still not what I meant.”

“…”

Theoris fell silent.

Jayna figured he probably had a puzzled look under that mask, wondering what the problem was.

“Where’s the dining room?”

“On the first floor.”

Jayna set the items down and stood up. She began walking toward the door. Theoris just stood there blankly, watching her.

“What are you doing? Come guide me.”

“Weren’t you going alone?”

“I just got here today! How am I supposed to find the dining room in this giant castle? Honestly, you’re not very considerate, husband.”

Without a word, Theoris began to lead her to the dining room. As she followed him down the dim corridor, Jayna found herself thinking:

‘Is it really okay for me to keep acting like this?’

So far, her behavior was pretty far removed from the Jayna Blake of “How to Love That Obsessive Man.”

Jayna Blake was a cheerful heroine with a smile that could brighten any room, confident and warm to everyone she met.

That’s who she was supposed to be.

‘I need to rein it in a bit.’

She’d been so focused on avoiding the bad ending, she’d forgotten what kind of person Theoris really was.

Why else would the game have 50 different bad endings? Every single one of them—his fault.

Sure, he was polite and respectful now, but who knew when he might change? Cross the wrong line, and you might hit a dead ending before even reaching the imprisonment route.

Jayna decided she would be more careful with her words and actions around him from now on.

Unfortunately, that resolve lasted less than five minutes.

“…What have you been eating up until now?”

“Only what I showed you earlier.”

“You mean, until I came here, you’ve been living on just supplements and water?”

“Yes.”

What are you, some tragic character from a BL novel? No—even a tragic character would at least keep some bottled water in the fridge. What kind of place has a kitchen pantry with nothing but dust?!

Jayna slammed the pantry door shut, the sound echoing loudly.

“Sigh… Fine. It’s already late. I’ll make do with these supplements or whatever for tonight.”

They returned to the room without having gained anything useful. Theoris followed at a cautious distance. He asked her quietly:

“Are you… angry?”

“What do you think?”

“If you want proper food, I’ll go out and find some.”

“In the middle of the night? What, are you going to hunt monsters or something?”

She’d said it half-jokingly, but Theoris nodded seriously. He looked like he’d rush out to fight monsters if she asked him to.

“Forget it.”

Jayna lay on the bed after chewing through the slightly off-tasting supplements and the strange meal bar. Theoris sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed, standing beside it at first.

“…I’m sorry.”

The sudden apology left Jayna confused. Technically, Theoris hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, the idea of him surviving on only water and pills was upsetting, but that was her personal reaction.

“Sorry for what?”

“…I don’t really know. But I thought you were upset because of me, so I wanted to apologize.”

Jayna liked that. The honesty in admitting he didn’t know why, but still wanted to make amends—it was refreshing. She hadn’t noticed during the game, what with being stuck in bad ending after bad ending, but Theoris was someone who tried to be considerate.

“Apologizing without knowing what for isn’t a great habit.”

“Then… what should I do to make you feel better?”

“Hm…”

Jayna sat up and looked him straight in the eyes behind his mask.

“Take off your mask.”

“…”

“You said you wanted to cheer me up. Was that just talk?”

“It wasn’t.”

“Then take it off.”

Slowly, Theoris raised his hand. His fingers, buried in his messy hair, hesitated—then froze, like something had short-circuited.

Jayna knew why he didn’t want to take it off.

“It’s okay.”

She gently wrapped her hand around his. Together, their hands lifted the mask. The dull silver fell away with a soft clink, and Theoris’s hidden face was revealed.

An unreadable expression flickered across his features. He blinked slowly, his eyes seeming both frightened and angry. Jayna brushed his hair aside and met his gaze head-on.

“You’re beautiful.”

“…”

Only after she said it did she realize—maybe “beautiful” wasn’t the compliment a man wanted to hear. But no other word fit.

Skin as pale and clear as hers. Lips tinged red like glossed fruit. A strong nose and deep-set eyes. No wonder the face made up for his otherwise plain appearance.

And he covers this up with a mask? That’s a crime against beauty.

“I’ve never been called beautiful before.”

“Did it bother you?”

He looked like he was about to say something, then closed his mouth and shook his head.

“If it did, just say so. Don’t bottle it up.”

“It’s fine. I’m not bothered at all.”

Jayna laughed as she noticed his ears turn red. Finally, she realized—he was embarrassed.

Our cute little male lead… You’re already falling for noona, aren’t you?

“…How long do you plan to keep touching me?”

His soft whisper made Jayna snap back to reality. She’d been caressing his face ever since the mask came off.

“Oh—ah! Sorry! You’re just so pretty, I couldn’t help myself!”

You know, like when you see a cat or dog and instinctively want to pet it!

“Don’t you find it strange?”

Theoris asked, avoiding her gaze as he picked up his mask again.

Jayna quickly grabbed his wrist.

“You finally showed me that beautiful face—why hide it again? What’s so strange about it?”

“…Everyone I’ve met so far has hated my eyes. They said they looked wrong.”

His pale silver irises shimmered like glass marbles.

Jayna found them breathtaking. Seeing white irises on-screen was one thing—but in real life, they were ethereal. She wanted to reach out and touch them.

But for Theoris, those eyes had brought him nothing but rejection.

Even in Elrn, a world where many races and appearances coexisted, Theoris had never been accepted. People feared his rare eyes and the immense power he was born with.

Whether in filthy slums or the royal palace—he was never welcomed. He was always met with labels like “monster,” “illegitimate child,” or “half-demon.”

Idiots. Don’t they see how perfect black hair and white eyes are together?

And someone that strong—he should be celebrated!

Jayna wondered what words might actually comfort him. Just as she was searching for the right thing to say, a set of dialogue choices appeared.

[It’s not weird at all! Your eyes are as beautiful as glass marbles.]

[What do you mean weird? They’re gorgeous…]

[Don’t worry about others. You have me now.]

Jayna didn’t like any of them.

They were all too scripted.

The third probably increased affection the most.

But if she didn’t choose one, the conversation wouldn’t continue. She needed to say what he wanted to hear—for the sake of the game.

But she didn’t want to do that.

She truly found his eyes beautiful. But would that really comfort someone who had been hurt because of them? Could anyone just not care about others’ judgment so easily?

I don’t want to say something empty. What I really want to tell him is…

What Jayna wanted wasn’t to offer hollow reassurance.

So she ignored the choices flashing insistently before her, looked him dead in the eyes, and said:

“Who the hell said that crap to you?”