It all started with a sock, not even his sock.
Rosette had given him a carefully pressed "laundry schedule," complete with high-level alerts for each girl’s preferred fragrance-based proximity rating. (Yes, that’s a thing now.)
And sohow, while fleeing from Drakana’s latest "affection tackle," he’d slipped, fallen, and crashed through Lilia’s half-open door... with the worst possible timing.
"Uh," Rei said from the floor, dusting himself off, "this isn’t what it looks like."
Lilia stood frozen by her bed, a black lace nightgown fluttering slightly from the window breeze. Her violet eyes glead with a light I’d learned to recognize: part embarrassnt, part wrath, part possessiveness, and part ’I’ve already prepared the wedding rings.’
"You stepped into my sanctuary," she said softly.
"I was frad," he muttered. "By a sock."
Lilia tilted her head. "Would you like to see sothing?"
That was the mont he should’ve run but he didn’t because he was an idiot.
She walked to the far wall of her room, fingers brushing the curtains drawn across it with one smooth motion, she pulled them open.
And there it was a shrine.
Not a small one, or a modest one. A wall-sized photo mosaic of... him.
Or i say sleeping him. So with his mouth open, so of snoring and so of mid-drool and one with a daisy tucked behind his ear.
"...WHAT IN THE GLITCHY SYSTEM IS THIS?!"
Rei staggered back, his heart lurching. "Is that—how—WHY are there so many?!"
Lilia’s cheeks turned the faintest pink. "One for each year when you were asleep. They are twenty in total."
She walked up to the wall and gently touched one of the photos with the kind of care one might give to an ancient relic or a cursed vampire lover.
"I took a picture every morning," she said softly. "It was the only ti you ever looked peaceful."
[SYSTEM WARNING: Yandere Affection Levels Exceeding Safe Emotional Stability Thresholds.]
[New Tag Unlocked: "Coma Crush: Love Beyond Consciousness."]
"Lilia," he said, trying to sound calm while casually backing toward the door, "do you... think maybe this is... a bit much?"
She looked genuinely puzzled. "Too small, you an? I’ve already started building the second wall behind the wardrobe."
"No, that’s—definitely not what I ant—wait, WHAT?!" he darted over, yanked open the wardrobe.
A second photo wall was under construction.
Each photo was carefully labeled with tistamps, weather data, and a brief note like:
"Rainy Day #14: He twitched slightly. I cried."
"Winter #6: He sneezed once. I almost proposed."
"Sunny Day #19: I considered cuddling. I resisted. Barely."
Rei’s brain was short-circuiting.
The system, unhelpfully, chose this mont to chi in.
[SYSTEM ALERT: You Have Unlocked a Secret Room – "The Shrine of Sleepy Love!"]
[New Hidden Trait Detected: Sleepy Charisma Lv. MAX]
[Passive Buff: Won are now 80% more attracted to you when unconscious.]
"WHY IS THAT A BUFF?!"
Lilia stepped beside him and held up a Polaroid cara. It was black and silver, with his initials engraved.
"I can add one for today," she whispered. "You look adorably panicked. That’ll go next to Coma Year #12."
He backed away. "Lilia, this is—this is next-level! This is shrine-level! This is unholy-level!"
Her expression softened, but her eyes burned with a quiet, unwavering devotion. "I waited twenty years. I docunted your every breath. I know you better than anyone."
"Yeah, including what my nose hair looks like while I sleep!"
"It’s cute."
He scread internally.
Then he initiated Desperate Escape Plan #232: Reverse Psychology
It’s ti for genius tactics.
"Okay, okay," he said, while raising his hands, "I admit it. This shrine is amazing, super touching. Let’s celebrate by going outside for a bit, huh? For a nice romantic walk?"
Lilia blinked. "Outside?"
"Yes," he said, nodding furiously. "Fresh air, sunlight and caras that aren’t immortalizing my REM cycles."
She hesitated. "Only if I can bring the cara."
"Sure!" Ilhe said too quickly. "Sure. Absolutely. Great. Wonderful."
[SYSTEM QUEST TRIGGERED: "Run Before the Flash Goes Off!"]
[Objective: Evade Lilia’s photo ambushes for 60 consecutive minutes.]
[Reward: Privacy, maybe.]
[Penalty: Your blushing face will beco Shrine Wall #3’s centerpiece.]
Location: Royal Garden Maze
Lilia followed him through the winding rosebush pathways, skipping slightly. Her cara clicked like a sniper rifle.
"Smile Rei," she cooed. "Look terrified, Rei."
"You don’t need that many expressions of suffering!"
"Every emotion you feel is precious."
At one point, she ambushed him from a bush and took a photo mid-sneeze.
"That’s going in the ’Seasonal Allergies Album,’" she said dreamily.
He collapsed against a marble fountain, wheezing.
Lilia knelt beside him. Her fingers brushed against his. "You’re not upset, are you?"
"I... just need to sit for a second. Maybe two or eternity."
Her lips curved upward. "I could take a picture of this mont too."
He sighed. "Why not, Immortalize my emotional defeat."
She gently raised the cara and he gave her the most exhausted, ’this-is-my-life-now’ expression possible.
Click.
She bead.
"That one," she said softly, "will be my favorite."
And then she hugged him. It was a gentle hug, not bone-crushing, nor tackle-hug, Just... warm. A real hug.
And for a second, he forgot that he was still in a nightmare cody version of a romance visual novel written by a deranged god.
Just for a second.
Until she whispered, "If you ever fall into another coma... I’ll make you a scrapbook this ti."
[SYSTEM ALERT: Yandere Pressure Building. Estimated Explosion Ti: 3 Days.]
[New Feature Unlocked: "Coma Care Plan."]
[User Feedback: Rei has stopped blinking.]
Nightfall: Return to the Scene of the Shrine
He returned to Lilia’s room after dinner. Against his better judgnt. Now he needed closure or a fire spell but instead of running, he stood in front of the wall.
Lilia stood beside him, quietly.
"You think I’m scary," she said.
He shook his head. "I think you’re..."
"A terrifying goddess in the shape of a fiancée?"
"No. I think you’re the kind of person who loves with her whole soul. Even if that soul might smother with a pillow while humming a lullaby."
She laughed quietly. "Not unless you ask."
"That’s not as reassuring as you think it is."
Still... he glanced at the wall again.
Twenty years, she’d waited, She’d watched but she never gave up.
It was creepy and over-the-top.
And it was also—Kind of amazing.
But he’d never tell her that. He liked his kidneys right where they were.
"Goodnight, Lilia," he said finally.
She smiled, reached for her cara.
"Smile, Rei."
"NOPE—"
Flash.
Too late, she’d already taken one more for the wall.
To be continued...
Reviews
All reviews (0)