VILLAIN'S HAREM IN OTOME GAME

Chapter 34: The D-day

"It’s perfect," Norelia breathed, her voice exhausted yet satisfied.

"Yeah," Eren agreed, his blue eyes locked onto the shining device. "It really is too damn perfect."

"Excuse me, but what the actual hell is this thing?" Mira interjected, leaning over the table with a disturbed squint. "This doll looks incredibly creepy. Are you guys practising some kind of forbidden voodoo ritual?"

Norelia’s temper instantly ignited. She slammed her small hands onto the desk, face flushing with pure outrage. "How dare you, you uncultured maid! This simulation doll was painstakingly crafted by my own hands to perfectly replicate the internal mana circulation network of a human body!"

The three of them stood gathered around the workbench, staring down at the rather test doll adorned with their newly patched, Astreus-powered prototype.

It was the result of four brutal hours of continuous labor that would have made underpaid modern corporate workers weep tears of absolute pity. RIP to the previous simulation doll, which had tragically suffered during the last unpatched test phase.

Its sacrifice was noted down in their history.

Mira blinked, completely failing to process a single line of the magical engineering subject, but her amber eyes instantly brightened with a bubbly, incredibly supportive energy. "Oh! So Miss Norelia really is a top-class, legendary genius after all!"

Norelia was completely caught off guard by the maid’s weaponized positivity. Her aggressive posture collapsed, and she looked away, muttering into her collar with a flushed, embarrassed face.

"Of... of course I am. I’m a prodigy of manaengineering, after all. A minor simulation layout is basic for me."

Eren chuckled at the two girls’ banter, then turned to his busty maid.

"Alright, Mira. Step back a little, stand near the entrance. If the testing fails, this room is going to become an ancient ruin."

"Wait, Young Master, what about you? Is it safe?"

Norelia let out a snort. "Don’t worry about him, girl. Your precious young master is an absolute human tank. Even if the core detonates, he’ll just end up with some ruined clothes and a minor headache."

Reluctantly, Mira stepped back near the entrance with a lingering, worried look.

Norelia sighed, expression turning serious as she locked her crimson eyes onto the doll’s chest.

"Initiating the live simulation of Mana Hyper-Accumulation Disease... Phase One." She placed her hands onto the doll, and a high-density mana surged out from her palms, flooding directly into the doll’s simulated channels.

The internal pathways lit up; the Astreus Stone at the center of the device began to glow a dull red. It was absorbing the incoming surge—but beautifully, the energy flow remained entirely stable without strain.

"Battery is steady. Mana leakage is effectively zero. The dampening channels are holding," Eren reported.

"Then I’m advancing to Phase Two." Norelia’s brow was sweating as she pushed her limits.

She pushed another wave of mana, but the stone read the same intensity as before. The dampening channels were rerouting the excess mana.

"Phase Three!" Norelia shouted, her voice straining under the massive magical output.

A blinding green light completely enveloped the doll, simulating the absolute worst-case crisis scenario of a terminal failure. The workbench vibrated violently, the air thick with the smell of ozone.

Yet, despite that, the Astreus Stone maintained its glow. The foreign energy was being compressed and stored.

Zero leaks. Zero explosion.

It’s perfect.

The green light faded away as Norelia cut the power feed, collapsing weakly against the desk with a triumphant gasp.

Before her head could hit the desk, Eren rushed forward and caught her by the waist, effortlessly lifting the petite girl straight up against his chest like she was nothing more than a lightweight plush toy.

"We did it, Norelia! You are an absolute, undisputed engineering deity!" Eren announced, his booming voice echoing off the walls.

Driven by joy of success, he began spinning around in a circle, holding her tightly against him.

The unexpected force immediately sent Norelia’s brain into absolute shambles and her vision was swimming with nausea, yet she flatly refused to complain. Instead, a bright burst of giggles escaped her lips, her hands clutching his shoulders as she happily shared the victory loop with him.

After a few dizzying rotations, and the moment her boots touched the floor, Norelia staggered slightly, clutching her churning stomach, but she forcefully held back the nausea.

"Finally..." she wheezed out. "With the contract officially closing, I can finally return to my sacred, beautifully lazy lifestyle baseline."

She took a breath, looking back up at Eren with an intensely focused expression. "Well, shouldn’t we take the miracle prototype to our actual patient now?"

***

Meanwhile, in the Duke’s office, Emma sat stiffly at her desk, actively executing her temporary duties as the Duke’s administrative assistant.

But her storm-grey eyes were locked onto the second division captain who was currently standing before the Duke’s grand desk, delivering a high-priority report.

"Your grace, our intelligence units successfully investigated the background of those six neutralized intruders. We can confirm these intruders are not affiliated with any recognized shadow guilds or mercenary syndicates. Furthermore, our scouts have tracked the missing assassin, he’s attempting to cross the southern border checkpoints. Thanks to the Young Master’s help with the sketch."

Emma gripped her pen tightly in frustration. ’If the brat hadn’t installed those weird image things, we’d be hunting ghosts right now.’

She desperately wanted to enter the field and personally catch him, but Duke Alfric had explicitly restricted her from joining the active investigation as she was pushing herself for two weeks.

Bam!

The office doors were slammed open with a force that shattered the room’s professional mood entirely.

Every single person in the room instantly snapped their heads toward the entrance to see who had the audacity of the intrusion.

But standing there with terrified expression was the elderly head caretaker of Liora.

"How dare you barge directly into the Lord’s private office layout unannounced? Explain your lack of protocol immediately!" Emma immediately rose from her chair as her professional authority snapped back.

"P-Forgive me, Your Grace!" the old caretaker cried out, her voice trembling violently as she clutched her apron, completely ignoring the breach of etiquette. "It’s a critical emergency! The Young Master... Young Master Eren has just locked himself with another girl inside Lady Liora’s private chambers!"

Duke Alfric’s sharp, commanding facade instantly vanished.

"Explain yourself, woman," the Duke commanded, his voice carrying heavy pressure. "What exactly is my son doing in his sister’s room?"

"I... I don’t know, Your Grace!" the caretaker squeaked, her eyes wide with absolute panic.

"Young Master ordered every servant to leave Lady Liora’s room immediately. He refused to let anyone remain inside. Your Grace... I’m terrified something has happened to the Young Lady!"

Duke Alfric’s blue eyes widened to their absolute maximum limit as he stood up, making his way towards his daughter’s room.