As it was a hidden quest, neither rewards nor penalties appeared. I stared at the system window in front of me with a puzzled expression. Khan seemed to think that my gaze was directed at him and sneered at me with a cold gaze.
"I can't grasp what's going on with you. Acting all pitiful and innocent, then pretending to lose your mind. Have you decided to behave as you please now?"
There were many things I wanted to say, but if I said them all, I felt like I might run out of breath. So, I shamelessly raised my chin.
"Look at my face."
"I am looking."
"What are you thinking?"
Without giving him a chance to answer, I continued.
"It's beautiful. Innocent. Fresh. Elegant. In a word, amazing. Well, that's probably what you're thinking."
"Huh?"
"I am the Daffodil of the empire with this beauty alone. You can't expect me to remember all the things that follow me."
In reality, Del Narcissus's face was stunningly beautiful, breathtakingly so. Since I acquired this body, looking in the mirror has been incredibly amusing. Perhaps because he was a male character who had to conquer male protagonists, he was more of a beautiful man suited for the term "pretty" than "handsome." Either way, his appearance was spectacular.
"So, I have no intention of going to some trash village or whatever. Rather, send that maid there. She's the thief who stole Your Grace's belongings."
Khan was fundamentally a conqueror. Fighting monsters, relentlessly subjugating prisoners, making them bow under his feet like a doormat, an alpha male who forced everything disobedient into submission through strength. Saying that I willingly wanted to go to a trash village might trigger an instinctive aversion, and who knows, he might decide to drag me into his bedroom.
So, I had to say the opposite. If I wanted to go to the trash village, I needed to pretend that I didn't want to go, and if I wanted to save Miriam, I had to demand her death. That was the analysis of the player, me.
[Khan Alexis's favorability has decreased by -1!]
As expected, I inwardly formed a triumphant smile.
"Del Narcissus, if you don't go to the trash village, you'll stay here as my prisoner. Do you understand what that means?"
Khan left the unconscious Miriam behind and approached me step by step. His golden eyes sparkled strangely.
"It means I'm going to chew you up from head to toe."
A rough and sharp excitement flickered like flames in his eyes. As he approached me step by step, an overwhelming sense of intimidation emanated from him. The winter scent carried by the northern wind was thick in Khan as well.
[Khan Alexis's favorability has decreased by -1!]
As he approached, there was not a trace of a smile on his face, his cheeks were flushed, and he focused intently on me. It was as if... he had been granted permission to attack an enemy, like a hunting dog.
Although his favorability was steadily decreasing, something seemed off. Why did his face appear as if he was expecting something? After all, he should be disappointed in me in real-time as a human.
Shouldn't he expel me to the trash village immediately?
"If that's what you want, there's no choice. Rather than leaving your punishment to the trash of the trash village, I can only reform you."
Saying that, Khan grabbed my chin with one hand.
His large hand was rough and strong. I awkwardly smiled as sweat began to bead on my forehead.
"You will do whatever I want?"
[Khan Alexis's favorability has decreased by -1!]
"Yeah. As I said, you're the most interesting prisoner I've ever seen..."
Khan lowered his head and lightly bit my earlobe.
"Eek!"
Whether I made a strange sound or not, he whispered in my ear.
"Because you're a naughty one."
He said that and then attempted to rush towards my lips. Well...
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, an intense pain struck the tip of my toe. I staggered towards Khan, groaning, and he caught me reflexively. Our gaze shifted down to my foot.
There, Miriam, with bloodshot eyes, was grotesquely laughing as she stabbed a knife into the sole of my foot.
"Die, Del Narcissus!"
She pulled out the knife embedded in my foot and attempted to stab me again. As the knife came out, a more intense pain struck my foot like a lightning bolt.
"Ahh!"
Blood sprayed from my foot like a fountain. The thin leather indoor shoes and the surrounding floor were completely soaked in blood. Khan, who was holding me, quickly kicked Miriam's hand away with his foot, deflecting the knife elsewhere. Then, he loudly called the servants outside.
"To the prisoner's room! Everyone, come in now! Capture this maid!"
"Del Narcissus! Go to hell!"
And slowly, within the uproar, I began to lose consciousness. The pain, felt at 200% sensitivity, was truly horrifying. Before passing out, my last thought was about the magnitude of that sensation.
However, before closing my eyes, I couldn't help but see the contents of the blue window flickering in my field of vision.
[Khan Alexis Hidden Ending: 'Beautiful Three Tongues' – Failed.]
Huh...? A hidden 'ending'?
***
Without bothering to understand what that meant, I let go of consciousness. Khan, with a pale face, looked down at Del lying on the bed. His beautiful blond hair was soaked in sweat, sticking to his forehead and cheeks, and his delicate golden eyelashes were constantly trembling. Occasionally, seeing his forehead scrunching adorably, it seemed like the pain from the sole of his foot was significant.
Khan, looking at Del's face, commented briefly, "Certainly beautiful." In a word, it was a jackpot. Khan quietly chuckled to himself, recalling what Del had said earlier.
Khan suddenly laughed while looking at the prisoner who became a patient, and the doctor treating Del on the side gave Khan a puzzled look. Khan paid no attention to such glances and casually asked the doctor,
"Is the treatment finished?"
"Uh? Oh, yes. Just need to secure the bandages."
The doctor hastily finished wrapping the bandages.
She scratched her head and said, "It was quite a deep stab. It will take some time for this foot to recover since the nerves are damaged. Until then, he might not be able to walk properly."
"That's fine."
As Khan smirked like a villain and spoke, the doctor sighed.
"Well, it shouldn't matter much for a prisoner... But this person seems to have a more sensitive perception than others. Despite taking painkillers and losing consciousness, he continues to feel pain."
"So what? Are you suggesting we use divine power on a prisoner like him?"
"Well, it would be good, but... as a disgraced noble exiled from his family, as Your Grace mentioned— Is there a divine official coming to heal this prisoner? Anyway, I've done everything I can as a doctor." She politely greeted and then left the room.
Alone in the room, Khan silently looked at Del and extended his index finger to press on his forehead. However, the smoothing of the wrinkles on his forehead was temporary, and even the area touched by Khan's index finger caused Del to shudder slightly. A soft moan of "uhh..." escaped from his red and plump lips.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Khan asked with genuine curiosity. Of course, there was no response from Del.
Khan pondered on this unpredictable "Daffodil", When he first saw Del in the carriage, Khan was actually so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment. He stiffened for a few seconds and the only thing he managed to say was something pitiful like 'What is this?'.
At first glance, Del looked like a snow crystal. A mysterious and intricately crafted flower petal made to protect the white and desolate North. He was extraordinary, not behaving like an ordinary prisoner, meticulously caring for his knight or leaping out of the carriage for a noble death. Yet, Del was witty, possessed an unpredictable innocent charm, and had a background similar to his own.
Unexpectedly losing his family at some point, just like him.
"Forever...I will never end up in a picture like this"
Del said that, and for a moment, Khan foolishly thought he wanted to be a family to Del. When he saw his tender lips trembling while looking at the family portrait, he wanted to hold him in his arms and comfort him, even if only for a moment. A loser of the North. The owner of the Ice Prison, Khan Alexis!
Yes, honestly, Khan was drawn to Del. When he saw him, his body and mind were in sync. He was curious about how Del, who revealed himself on the bed, would cry and feel after exposing his naked body on the bed.
But, Khan's rationality knew that Del was a prisoner.
Even if he had been exiled to the North with a false accusation, the fact that he had driven the maid's aura to death seemed true. He admitted it himself, and looking at the forsaken eyes of the maid, the weight of Del's committed crime was discernible.
Earlier, he considered directly reforming Del, but his thoughts changed after Del was stabbed. We do not embrace prisoners who cannot be rehabilitated.
Ironically, that was Khan's own standard.
Khan took one last look at Del and left the room. Then, he gave instructions to the butler waiting outside the room.
"Finish the treatment within a week and send him to the garbage village."
Khan said, brushing back his gray hair.
"Summon the Priest."