MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin
Chapter 31 CH 29: PIVOT

Sae's apartment was quite spacious, even though it was clearly a student house. There was only one room with a large bed and a TV as well as a monitor on the table. On the side, one could see a small kitchen and there was another room that was used as a bathroom.

What made this room stand apart from the rest was the decorations adorned all over the place. Everywhere one could see there was an unconventional sight to witness— fluorescent lights illuminated the room giving it a dark vibe, on the wall, posters of anime characters were hung, a PC with numerous stickers on it stood above the desk, and a console was placed behind the tv with a limited edition anime-themed controller.

It was a room out of a Geek or an Otaku's wet dream.

"Your room is as impressive as always."

It wasn't the first time Adam came to her room. Though generally when he did he was with Natasha and Alberto and they were busy studying.

They would also gather sometimes to watch anime at night or see movies and play games in leisure. The place really held some good memories for the group, he couldn't deny that fact.

"Help me to the bathroom please, I feel gross and need to clean myself."

Adam chuckled and helped her walk to the bathroom. Once inside, he held her hair while she vomited all she was worth in the toilet.

He then helped her wash her face with cold water and made sure that there was some hot water ready for her if she were to need it.

"You should take a shower and brush your teeth, I will make some coffee for us. The sugar is still at the same place, right?"

"Hmm…."

Sae groaned a barely audible whisper of confirmation as a response. She felt so ashamed, being treated like a baby like this. She was currently feeling quite a bit helpless.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but direct strange glances toward Adam, looking at him in a different light.

The fact that he showed no hesitation in helping her or no disgust in cleaning her was quite the surprise.

After all, few people would help a girl that was vomiting like this. The scene itself was gross enough for them to not bother themselves with this mess, but he showed none of that attitude and helped her as best as he could.

"Okay, be careful to not fall. The shower should help you wake up and mitigate the hangover."

Once he was done with saying his piece, Adam closed the door of the bathroom and walked out. It didn't take long for him to hear the sound of the running shower and the drizzling of falling water.

He then went and brewed a coffee for the two of them. Once again he knew where most things were placed in this room and Sae was someone who liked keeping things well organized.

While Adam was brewing the coffee, he couldn't help but think about what happened a few moments ago when he snapped the bones of those two men.

Adam didn't really understand what had happened. In the case of the first man, he could say that he had underestimated his strength when throwing the trash can cover, but what he did to the second man had been completely intentional.

He had acted based on his emotion and had inflicted needless violence and pain on two human beings.

Adam had once been a fighter. So violence and pain were not something foreign to him. But there had never been any malice involved.

In a ring, he would hit someone because he needed to and would not try to make them suffer for fun. Just the minimum required for him to go over the edge and win the bout, that's all.

But this time…had been different. He could tell…

'Does the book influence me?'

[Do not put the fault on me. You are the one who should control your instincts.]

Adam was upset at Genesis' remark,

"Are you saying that this is my nature."

"Adam, you speaking to someone?"

His discussion was interrupted as Sae walked out of the bathroom. This time, she was wearing a large shirt that nearly reached her knees.

Her hair was still damp with droplets of water still dripping from the tips, and even the oversized shirt she wore couldn't do anything to hide her large bosom as it seemed like the pair of milkers were fighting to show themselves to the world.

Adam sighed in exasperation, "You know I am still a man, right? Are you trying to seduce me?"

Sae simply shrugged in response, "What if I am?"

He could not give an answer to that provocation of hers as she approached him and took a cup before filling it with coffee.

"Sigh… I really feel alive now."

She went to retrieve the snacks and sat down on a chair.

"So, when do you plan to explain what happened? I have never seen you so drunk."

Sae chuckled bitterly at Adam's question but answered nonetheless, "I just wanted to become wasted."

Her eyes became dazed and unfocused as she began to reminisce painful memories she'd rather forget.

"Before talking about my problem though, I wanted to know how you are doing. Father said you were at the hospital. But wow, look at you. You like you walked out from some kind of fancy party."

"You are stalling, Sae…"

In reality, Adam was also beating around the bush. He couldn't exactly say the truth to her now, can he?

Sayings something along the lines of, I started working as a Gigolo for a crime lord that rules over K-town. I am also very close to her and, in fact, am treated like her little brother.

Yeah no. No way in hell was he going to reveal that to her.

Sae was indeed taken aback by his words, before nodding her head with another bitter chuckle. "Indeed. I guess I don't want to face the reality."

She sighed, "I got rejected by Steven."

Even though her voice was calm, one could feel the bitterness and sense of loss rooted in her voice. "I wanted to confess during Halloween but I caught him kissing Marlen."

'Who the hell is Marlen?'

Adam really wanted to ask but he didn't. After all, it wasn't really important. "When I saw him doing that I nearly lost it. But I didn't want to make a scene and embarrass us all in front of our friends. So later I took him aside and asked just what the hell was going on."

"His answer was clear and blunt. He had been courting her for a few months now and she recently accepted his advances. He also added that he had only seen me as his sister. This was why he had acted like he hadn't understood my first confession."

She chuckled, "I never felt so desperate and humiliated in my life. I have been in love with him since I was a kid. I never hung out with men alone so that he wouldn't have the wrong impression. I never went on a date, stayed at home for prom even though I received many invitations, and didn't even hold hands with anyone much less experience my first kiss.

"But you know what the worst thing is? I can't even scream at him. After all, I am the one who had been deluded in my own illusions and fantasies."

Her voice became hoarse and slowly…tears began to stream down her face while her gaze stayed hollow and blank.

"I wonder if I had looked like a clown all those years in his eyes. Yeah, Sae the clown, Haha, kinda fits, don't you think?"

Sae was a very rational woman and this rationality hurt her all the more. She was not Steven's girlfriend, nor were they engaged nor did he ever show any signs of seeing her as more than a friend.

His love life was his own and he owed her absolutely nothing. She could not throw a temper tantrum at him like a spoiled kid. So she left the party and decided to smash herself with as much booze as she could take in.

Her plan had only been to drink slightly and calm her frustrations, but the more she thought about the years she wasted, the angrier she got and the more she drank till she physically couldn't stand the abhorrent drink anymore.

"In hindsight, I was a complete idiot. I should already thank my lucky stars that no one put something weird in my drink."

Going alone in a bar in a skimpy outfit and drinking until her mental capacity was affected was certainly not the smartest decision of her life.

"Thankfully, father taught me how to shoot and you appeared to save me."

She wondered why someone who should have been in the hospital was walking around in K-town. But she wasn't much intrigued, Halloween was a day of festivity after all.

"So, what will you do now?"

Adam asked, not particularly shocked by Sae's revelation. This wasn't an anime. From the moment she already confessed once and was tactfully rejected by him, it was clear that he had no interest in her.

Adam had long since deduced this truth and most likely Sae did as well. She had just refused to accept reality until it was quite literally thrown at her face.

"What will I do now?"

Sae only gave a hazy smile as she stood up and walked close to Adam before facing him.

Since he was sitting on the bed, even the short Sae could see the crown on his head. Meanwhile, he was face to face with her impressive assets.

This was why he did not see the sneak attack incoming as he felt a moist sensation on his lips before it disappeared just as fast as it came.

"The first thing to do is to get rid of that thing I have kept carefully for the last twenty-one years. Will you help me?"

The air in the room became far more ambiguous than he thought it could ever become and as if on cue, the book manifested and turned to a blank page with letters being inscribed on it at breakneck speed…

[Pivot: Luxuria

Description: Love and Lust are one of the most primordial instincts of humanity. Accept her advances.

Reward: +50 karma]

[Pivot: Castitas

Description: Be a gentleman to the bitter end. Refuse her.

Reward: +50 Karma]

[WARNING: Pivots are choices, important or unimportant at the instant, that might change the direction of the future ordeals given to you…]

(AN: I may have to give a warning but the Pivots will be very important in the future same for the Ordeal followed Black/Grey/White color. As they will slowly shape Adam personalities. Those moments that. I slightly changed the last chapter for the Minor ordeal Black knight Description and the result. as of 5/01/23)