Heartless? I don't think so.

How? Just HOW can a living, breathing BEING be this freaking UNFORTUNATE?!

My heart hammered in my chest as I watched them. I'd managed to make them hesitate—my bluff had worked for a moment, enough to cause unease among the bastards. They'd begun backing away, fear creeping into their eyes. I could practically taste the victory of getting out of this alive, but then—of course—one of the idiots just HAD to remember who I was.

Damn it!

"You're right!" another one shouted.

And just like that, their hesitation evaporated, replaced by burning fury. They rushed forward with renewed determination, their faces twisted with anger. This time, I knew they weren't going to let me go without leaving a knife in my chest.

"Damn it!" I cursed again, spinning around to the injured princess. Her wide eyes and pale face told me she understood just how screwed we were.

"What do we do, princess?" I asked, forcing my voice to be as submissive and respectful as possible. Desperate times, desperate measures. Maybe, just MAYBE, she'd snap out of her daze and realize that I was her only ticket out of this mess.

"You... y..." Her voice trembled, and for a second I thought she'd faint on the spot. What the hell?! She sounded like a broken record.

I quickly scanned our surroundings. We were cornered in the garden behind the mansion, but then I saw it— a narrow path leading to the front. It wasn't much, but it could be our only shot.

Come to think of it, why hadn't any guards passed by yet? She's a princess, for crying out loud. They should have noticed her absence by now, right? Where the hell was the backup?

Tsk. Whatever. No time to think about that.

I lunged toward her, closing the distance between us in a heartbeat, and that seemed to snap her out of her trance. With a gasp, she threw up her hands, and a barrage of ice shards materialized in front of her. The sharp, jagged projectiles shot toward me like bullets.

"Fuck!" I screamed, ducking and weaving as the icy shards zipped past my face. One wrong move, and I would've been skewered like a damn porcupine.

"Don't come any closer!" she shrieked, her eyes blazing with fear and disgust. Her cheeks were flushed with a subtle red tint, but it wasn't exactly the time to wonder why.

What the hell is wrong with this bitch?! Can't she see I'm TRYING to save us both?!

Tsk. If not for one very specific reason, I would've left her to her fate. Let her deal with this mess on her own. But... I COULDN'T. Not when I was the one who caused this whole situation in the first place.

If things had gone according to how they were prewritten—she would've handled these attackers no problem. Hell, she should've been able to manifest that terrifying ability of hers by now. But she wasn't. She was just... standing there.

Sighing, I closed in on her again. Just before she could summon another batch of those icy projectiles, I did the only thing I could think of to stop her.

I punched her. Square in the face.

...What? It was either that or let her kill me!

The shock on her face was priceless. Hell, the attackers were probably just as confused as she was. Who wouldn't be?

Wasting no time, I scooped her up in a princess carry and bolted for the narrow path. I would've preferred to throw her over my shoulder, but I wasn't about to give her the chance to stab me in the back—literally. This girl had issues. And while I might be her only way out of this, she'd probably still rather kill me just to satisfy her psychotic tendencies.

To be honest... I actually liked her a bit in the game. Yeah, who am I kidding? I was a SUCKER for her.

Hear me out—she was one of those heroines with the highest chance of turning into a full-blown yandere. And while I would never want to deal with one in real life, in the game? I loved it. But that was as the protagonist.

The things she did... Man, that game was too damn realistic. Her reactions whenever I interacted with other heroines? Pure gold. Every retry brought something new—and way too many [Bad Endings] to count. But I never once considered avoiding her path.

In fact, I ALWAYS started out with her route. It was a hidden one, too. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Ahh!" I yelped as I felt something tighten around my neck.

Shit. She was practically STRANGLING me!

"Arck! Stop... doing that, you bitch!" I wheezed, trying to shake her off. "If I fall now, we're both toast!"

"How DARE you address me with such vulgar words?!" she snapped, her voice dripping with righteous fury. "You hurt a princess, you DARE to lay hands on me, and now you still continue to touch me with your FILTHY hands?!"

With each word, her mana flared wildly, and I could feel ice creeping up my neck. If I didn't do something fast, I'd be frozen solid.

Damn it. I really am going to die like this.

Desperate, I did the most unpredictable thing I could think of. I **dropped** her.

"What are you—!"

Thud!

She hit the ground with a loud, indignant scream. Cute.

But too bad. I wasn't going to die for anyone.

Not today.