He racked his brain, trying to piece together the absolute clownery that led to this mess.
From what he vaguely recalled, between cursing the author and cursing fate, Lucien was tied to the fate of the female leads in this novel!
Why? Who knows. How? Also a mystery. But what did it mean?
It meant that his life was an actual endurance trial.
A certain line from the novel echoed in his head, one that the person who cursed Lurien said, which then Lucien repeated in a middle of a fight between him and the Aldren:
"Play love like a game, and it will play you back—ripping you apart with a smile .You'll crawl through lifetimes, begging for hearts that were never meant to beat for you. And when you fail, as you always do… you'll die. Then rise again, cursed to chase what you'll never have."
Great. Just fantastic.
This basically meant that in order to survive, He had to rip apart couples and steal at least one of their women.
Steal the main female leads.
The problem? The female leads had one collective brain cell, and it belonged to the Male leads.
It didn't matter what he did, how many times he attempted to seduce them, or even if he charmed their entire bloodline, those women would always, inevitably, without fail, fall in love with the Male lead.
And when he failed?
He would die.
And he would regress.
Back to stage one.
...
he could already feel a migraine forming.
"You should be grateful, Lucien. Even after your shameful behavior, I still find myself merciful enough to let you stand by my side."
The man, who is now lurien, blinked, tilting his head. "Merciful? Ah, yes. Like how one might be merciful to a cockroach they refuse to step on."
Aldren was surprised. He did not expect his little brother to retort, especially when he was always begging for his attention.
Then, he walked over to lean his face closer. "Watch your tongue. It was your honor to be my brother."
"And yet here we are." Lucien sighed, rubbing his forehead. "The way you speak of our brotherhood, one would think I bribed our parents to make it happen."
The meek girl awkwardly shifted to the side, clearly regretting being within hearing range of this conversation.
"You always did have an arrogant tongue. Perhaps if you were more obedient, I would have found you more bearable," Aldren hissed. The sudden change of Lucien left his eyebrows furrowing from confusement.
"Obedient? Oh, forgive me. I wasn't aware you were looking for a dog. Did you want me to bark as well?"
"You may act high and mighty, but at the end of the day, you are nothing but my little brother, you will live your whole life in my shadow, and nothing you do can change that."
Ah.
There it was.
The urge to vomit.
The undeniable, bone-deep disgust that came from hearing this man speak.
Then as expected, Elira, the ever-fragile, ever-weeping heroine, finally broke her silence.
She stepped forward, eyes glistening like freshly polished glass, lower lip trembling as if she were moments away from spontaneous combustion.
"P-Please don't fight..." she whispered, voice so delicate it could be swept away by a light breeze.
Lucien internally rolled his eyes. Right. Elira Valthorne. The epitome of softness, kindness, and a complete lack of backbone.
Every novel needed a heroine, after all. And in this one, Elira specialized in whimpering, trembling, and providing Aldren with the perfect opportunity to act like a savior.
Predictably, the man wasted no time.
Aldren swept toward Elira, cupping her face with all the tenderness of a man who had never known hardship in his life.
"Oh, Elira," he murmured, as if her single tear was a national disaster. "Do not trouble yourself over this waste of a man. He does not deserve your kindness."
Lucien watched, unimpressed, as Aldren dramatically wiped her tear away, a single, barely-there drop that she could have handled herself if she had functioning hands.
Elira sniffled. "I-I just don't want anyone to get hurt..."
"You are too good for this world," Aldren sighed, shaking his head in what he probably thought was admiration. "Unlike some people."
The girl then turned to Lucien. "I-I'm sorry, lord Lucien..."
"No need to apologize, girl," Aldren comforted, also facing Lucien, About to announce something.
That made Lucien cringe. This novel was totally written by a 15 year old and it showed.
'It is so obvious, He is ganna announce he ganna marry her, and make a scene her,' Lucien glanced at the two.
Just as Lucien was about to verbally demolish Aldren and Elira for being the walking plague of her sanity, a dreadful chill crawled up his spine.
[System Calculating...]
[WARNING]
[A critical event is unfolding. Irreversible consequences imminent.]
[You've unknowingly crossed into a kill-path.]
[Resolution: Elimination.]
[Mark yourself into a target immediately with a kiss.]
[Penalty: Immediate application of brutal curses.]
[Time: 10 Seconds]
Before he could blink, a wave of absolute suffering crashed into him like a divine punishment.
[Applied curse: Blurred Vision]
[Applied curse: Weak Knees]
[Applied curse: Suffocation]
[Applied curse: Sudden Fever]
The moment the curses struck, it was as if his soul had been drop-kicked into the depths of hell.
His vision blurred into a nauseating swirl, the suffocating corset crushed his ribs like a vice, and a fever burned through his veins, leaving him lightheaded and delirious.
His knees buckled, refusing to support him, and every breath felt like he was inhaling molten air.
It was pure, undiluted suffering.
Then, he slowly turned to look at the abundance of unfortunate souls standing within arm's reach.
'Well. Shit.'
Ten seconds left. Ten measly, cruel seconds. And there was one option he could take.
He had already suffered one soul-crushing heartbreak. He refused to let her dignity take another hit.
So, he did the only logical thing.
He grabbed the arm of the lesser evil.
The heroine.
"L-Lord Lurien?!" Elira squeaked, eyes wide with pure, unfiltered shock.
Without hesitation, he crashed her lips against the trembling girl's, cupping her soft face as gasps and scandalized whispers erupted around them.
…