The Terrifying Boss Tucks Me In

I was born fragile and spoiled rotten, the kind of heiress who threw a fit if the tea was a degree too cold.

So, when night fell, I did what I always did. I ordered my handsome, fiercely loyal butler to my room to keep me company until I fell asleep.

But suddenly, lines of bizarre, glowing text floated across my vision without any warning.

The floating words claimed that a terrifying final boss was currently slaughtering players outside, and absolutely did not have the time to coax me to sleep or tuck me in.

The text sneered that I was nothing more than a pet kept in this gothic manor by the monster, a fragile little toy for his amusement. It told me to stop acting like a high and mighty princess.

Worse still, the words predicted that the moment this boss met the smart, resourceful heroine of the game, he would grow utterly disgusted by a whiny diva like me. The text said he would torture me using the most twisted methods imaginable before eating me alive, bite by bite.

I trembled violently, yanking my velvet quilt all the way up over my head.

A second later, a pair of ice-cold hands gently peeled the blankets back.

A voice, incredibly soft but laced with a bone-deep, shadowy chill, hovered right above my face. "My lady, whatever is the matter?"

My whole body shook even harder.

Those hands paused for a fraction of a second before moving to cradle the back of my head, touch impossibly tender.

Just like he had done for countless nights before.

His thumb stroked through my hair, the pressure absolutely perfect.

"Are you feeling unwell tonight, my lady?"

Silas sounded exactly the same as always. Deep, soothing, laced with genuine concern.

He reached out to check my forehead for a fever.

A floating comment slid past my eyes:

"Can't blame the spoiled brat for not suspecting a thing. If I hadn't literally just watched the boss snap a player's neck with a smile on his face, I'd fall for that gentle mask too."

Snap a neck?

My spine locked up. I slapped his hand away the second it came near me.

The brief contact with his palm was so freezing it sent a violent shiver straight through my bones.

"Get away from me! Your hands are like ice. Are you trying to freeze me to death?"

I forced myself to sit up, desperately putting on my usual arrogant, untouchable act.

Silas wasn't angry. He simply withdrew his hand, a look of indulgent amusement actually playing on his flawless lips.

"My apologies, my lady. I was just dealing with some frozen goods. The cold must have lingered on my skin."

Frozen goods?

My eyes darted to the crisp white cuff of his dress shirt. There was a faint, dark red smear on the fabric.

A flurry of text rolled past:

"LMAO frozen goods. You mean those players he dismembered and shoved into the meat locker?"

"Good thing the diva is lazy and loves rotting in her room. If she actually took a walk around the manor, she'd realize how screwed she is."

"I read the leaks. This brat gets sliced into sashimi by the boss and eaten raw at the end."

"Well, the boss grew this ingredient himself. At least he knows she's organic, haha!"

Sashimi?

Me?

As the words kept scrolling, pure terror seized my chest. My body was already weak, and the sudden spike of adrenaline sent me into a violent coughing fit.

Silas immediately sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing circles into my back while guiding a glass of warm water to my lips.

It tasted faintly of honey. Sweet and soothing.

The coughing finally subsided, and my racing heart began to settle.

I looked up, really looking at the man in front of me for the first time.

As the most attentive butler in Blackwood Manor, Silas always wore a pristine black tailcoat. His facial features were sculpted and deep, his skin carrying a sickly, vampiric pallor.

Every move he made dripped with dark, aristocratic elegance.

He didn't look like a butler. He looked like the true master of the manor.

Noticing my unblinking stare, Silas swallowed. I swore a flash of crimson cut through his silver-grey eyes.

He raised his hands and began loosening his tie.

I immediately realized what was happening and panicked. "Stop! Keep your clothes on!"

His jacket was already off. His fingers paused right at his leather belt.

He looked at me, a flicker of genuine confusion crossing his face before realization dawned.

"How thoughtless of me. Allow me to shower first, my lady. I will change into that servant outfit you adore so much."

Before I could even open my mouth to protest, he vanished from the room like a ghost.

I had never regretted anything more in my life.

The manor was massive and suffocatingly dark. Even though Silas had decorated my bedroom to look like a cozy haven, with warm tapestries on the walls, fluffy wool rugs, and beautiful porcelain dolls lined up on the shelves, I was still terrified of sleeping alone.

Every single night, I commanded Silas to come in and coax me to sleep.

The kind of coaxing that involved him getting into my bed.

I always made him strip off that stiff, formal tailcoat, leaving only a thin, white undershirt. He would pull me against his chest and read me fairy tales.

I never actually listened to a word of those stories. I only cared about the feeling of being pressed against his rock-hard abs and the sharp V-line of his hips.

Floating text:

"Damn it, the diva is making the boss strip and cuddle her again!"

"Move over and let me tag in! The boss is so hot, I want to sleep on his chest and feel those abs!"

"You guys are delusional. This monster is a bloodthirsty psycho. Everything you see is a trap. Humans are just bugs to him. Who falls in love with a bug?"

"Only the brave, smart heroine gets his affection! This spoiled brat is a coward with a dirty mind. It's a miracle she's survived this long ordering him around."

Me, the walking miracle, was currently having a mental breakdown.

I hadn't even processed half of what the floating words were telling me. In the blink of an eye, I had gone from the pampered lady of the house to a literal snack.

So, when Silas returned wearing my favorite unbuttoned shirt and pulled me into his arms to read, I felt absolutely nothing.

Even with his firm chest pressed flush against mine, the mood was dead.

He noticed. He stopped reading, casually popping open two more buttons on his shirt to expose more skin.

In my mind, Silas was now a merciless, slaughtering demon. I was terrified of him.

But old habits die hard, and my hand instinctively slipped inside his shirt.

His body was just too perfect.

My fingers traced his skin, slowly drifting downward.

Silas let out a low, muffled groan. His breathing grew heavy, the rhythm ragged.

A moment later, his large hand clamped gently over my wrist, stopping me.

"My lady, you cannot go any lower."

Floating text:

"Ahhh keep your hands off him! Let me do it!"

"See? The boss only sees her as a pet. He'd never actually let her cross the line!"

"He belongs to the heroine! Get your filthy hands off him, you brat!"

I bit my lip. The comments were right.

Silas let me get away with murder on a daily basis because I hadn't pushed his actual boundaries yet.

Normally, I would have thrown a tantrum and kept going. He was just a butler. He couldn't refuse his master.

But now, all I could think about was becoming his midnight sashimi.

I squeezed my eyes shut and yanked my hand out of his shirt.

Silas froze.

He clearly hadn't expected me to actually back off. He lowered his gaze, his expression suddenly dark and utterly unreadable.

"My lady, if you truly desire it, I could..."

"I don't. Get out of my room right now. I don't want to hear any more stories. You don't need to come at night anymore."

I scrambled out of his arms, wrapping myself tightly in the quilt and turning my back to him.

The moment the words left my mouth, the temperature in the room plummeted.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel it. The heavy, suffocating weight of Silas staring unblinkingly at my back from the darkness.

It felt like the cold, slimy coils of a viper slithering over every inch of my skin.

"Are you dissatisfied with my performance tonight, my lady?"

It was a trap. A deadly, literal trap.

My heart hammered against my ribs as my brain desperately spun a lie.

"Isn't it obvious? You're freezing! You're so cold I can't even get comfortable!"

The comments mentioned that monsters ran colder than humans. I technically wasn't lying.

Silas didn't say a word. The silence in the room was deafening.

I swallowed hard, fully preparing myself to die right there in my bed.

Suddenly, the warmth returned. That crushing, horrific pressure vanished completely, as if I had imagined the whole thing.

The mattress shifted as he stood up. He even paused to tuck the edges of my blanket in.

"I understand."

"Sleep well, my lady."

He walked out.

It took hours for the tension to leave my muscles. That oppressive, murderous aura he had just leaked... it was terrifying.

So that was the real Silas.

After that night, the floating text showed up all the time.

I walked out into the grand corridor.

Text:

"The diva is so clueless. Has she never actually looked at the wallpaper?"

I stiffly turned my head toward the walls.

The elegant crimson floral patterns I had passed a hundred times suddenly snapped into horrifying focus. If I squinted, those flower petals weren't flowers at all. They were bloody handprints, dragged downward in pure agony by people trying to escape.

I slapped a hand over my mouth and practically ran to the main parlor.

The parlor was a masterpiece of gothic luxury, brightly lit, with a massive crimson carpet covering the stone floor.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief...

Text:

"The boss literally entertains the players here before massacring them. That carpet isn't red fabric. It's dyed with human blood."

"Those candles burning on the tables? Rendered from human fat."

"And the grand chandelier up there is sculpted from cracked skulls."

I had nowhere to hide.

Through the lens of these floating words, the gorgeous manor I called home melted away into a blood-soaked slaughterhouse.

The quiet, efficient maids and footmen? Flesh-eating monsters in disguise.

The beautiful rose bushes in the garden? Carnivorous plants that drained humans dry.

And Silas. The true lord of the manor.

He was the most brutal anomaly in this entire horror dimension. He delighted in hunting players in the most agonizing ways possible. No one had ever survived more than three nights here.

Except me.

Not only had I lived in luxury for three years, but I had strutted around treating this psycho boss like my personal footstool.

I was officially panicking.

According to the text, the heroine was arriving in half a month. That would be my execution date.

I had to find a way out of this game.

I had to get away from Silas.

When I casually brought up the idea of taking a stroll outside the manor grounds, Silas gracefully lifted my hand and pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles.

"My lady, I have told you before. The outside world is far too dangerous."

I faked a bratty scowl. "I don't care! I'm suffocating in this dusty old house. I want fresh air!"

A thoughtful look crossed his pale features.

"If you insist. I will accompany you."

I wasn't surprised. I wasn't planning to run today anyway; I just needed to map out the escape routes.

I spun around to head out the doors, but Silas's arm shot out to block me. My stomach dropped, thinking he'd changed his mind.

Instead, he took a thick velvet cloak from a terrified-looking maid and meticulously draped it over my shoulders.

"It is bitterly cold outside, and your constitution is delicate. We must keep you warm."

His expression was so serious, so focused. He looked like a devoted caretaker genuinely terrified I might catch a cold.

My spoiled, impossible personality was honestly entirely his fault for enabling me this much.

Fully bundled up, we set off.

The woods surrounding the estate were damp and pitch black, echoing with the distant, guttural shrieks of monsters.

But with the ultimate boss walking right next to me, nothing dared to show its face.

I barely walked a mile before I got tired.

Out of pure habit, I ordered Silas to carry me.

A split second later, I realized that acting like a diva was a fast track to the meat locker. I opened my mouth to take it back, but I was already swept off my feet into his arms.

His signature scentcrushed pine and winter frostfilled my lungs.

I pressed my face against his chest as he walked, his stride effortless.

"Next time you wish to leave the house, simply tell me to carry you from the start. You needn't tire your own feet."

I blinked in surprise. Mostly because he didn't feel like a corpse anymore.

"You're... really warm today."

Silas looked down. "Does this mean I am permitted to return to your bed tonight, my lady?"

Staring into those hypnotic silver eyes, my brain short-circuited. "Yes."

The corner of his mouth curved into a breathtaking smirk. He pressed his lips to my forehead.

"It would be my absolute honor."

The forest was massive, and the manor sat at its dead center. We only mapped the inner perimeter before heading back.

As soon as we returned, my coughing flared up again.

Text:

"She's just a normal human. Staying inside a horror dimension this long is rotting her body from the inside out."

"Even if the boss doesn't kill her, she'll drop dead on her own pretty soon."

Silas walked in carrying a steaming bowl of medicine. He blew on every spoonful until the temperature was perfect before pressing it to my lips.

When the bowl was empty, he pulled a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and gently dabbed the corners of my mouth.

Then he left to prepare my afternoon tea.

The truth was, Silas hadn't known how to take care of a human when I first met him. I had trained him.

Sometimes, I found myself drowning in the custom-built paradise he created for me.

The comments were right. Monsters were natural-born manipulators.

But I didn't belong here.

I snapped out of my daze. My resolve hardened. I had to escape.

That night, Silas showered and came to my room.

Just like old times, he pulled me against his chest and started reading.

His body heat was completely normal now. Out of sheer reflex, I snuggled deeper into his embrace.

He stroked my hair. "Comfortable, my lady?"

I nodded.

Even while telling myself to stay sharp, the next morning I woke up sprawled all over him. My arms were locked around his neck, my leg thrown over his waist.

It was muscle memory at this point.

I opened my eyes to find him staring at me, those silver-grey eyes crinkling at the corners.

I went completely rigid. "Good morning, Silas."

"Good morning, my lady."

His voice was naturally raspy and unfairly sexy in the morning. He sat up, dropping a lazy kiss on my forehead.

"Sleep a little longer. I'll go prepare breakfast."

Once he was gone, I jumped out of bed and started pacing the halls.

If I was going to run, I needed cardio. Pacing a castle this huge was a solid workout.

After a while, I noticed how eerily silent the manor was today.

Text:

"A fresh batch of human players is getting dropped into the meat grinder today."

"Shame the heroine isn't in this batch. She could have met the boss early."

"Can the diva just die already? She's living the dream up there and I'm jealous!"

New players? Today?

Thinking back, the manor did receive "guests" every now and then. I had just never cared. I stayed up in the penthouse suite living my best life. I had no idea what happened downstairs.

Whenever I heard screaming, Silas just told me the staff was catching rats.

...

I assumed tonight would be like all the others. I went back to my room to stretch.

Suddenly, my bedroom door burst open. A man covered in blood and dirt stumbled inside.

He stared at the pink plushies and lace curtains in absolute shock.

When he spotted me, he immediately leveled a rusted pipe at my head.

But after a few seconds, realizing I was just a human girl in pajamas, his aggressive stance broke into frantic desperation.

"How did you get up here? I didn't see you downstairs!"

I was just as stunned as he was.

I couldn't believe a player had actually survived the monsters, evaded Silas, and made it to the forbidden top floor.

He clearly thought I was just another player trying to survive the game.

The guy lowered his pipe and rushed over, sweating profusely.

"You used an item to teleport up here, right? Listen to me, almost everyone downstairs is dead. The boss is going to realize we're gone any second. We have to run!"

My eyes lit up. "You know a way out?"

His face fell. "I found the secret escape tunnel. But the door is locked, and the master key is on the boss. It's impossible."

He gripped his hair in despair, his voice cracking. "We were so close. We're going to die here..."

Keys?

I casually reached into my bedside drawer and pulled out a massive iron ring heavy with brass keys. "I've got all the keys right here."

His jaw hit the floor. "How the hell did you get those?!"

Silas had personally handed them to me, of course. I needed them to access the locked conservatories for my walks.

I lied through my teeth: "Found them under the bed."

He snatched the ring, tears of relief in his eyes. "Oh my god. We're getting out. We're actually going to escape!"

I was thrilled. What a stroke of luck.

Following the guy's lead, we practically sprinted down the hidden servants' stairs and found the iron door to the tunnel.

The key turned with a heavy clack.

We both let out a massive breath and slipped inside.

The tunnel was damp and seemingly endless. A single candle flickered on the stone walls every fifty feet, providing terrible visibility.

The deeper we went, the darker it got.

After what felt like hours, a faint bluish light appeared in the distance.

The guy choked back a sob. "The exit! We did it! We're actually clearing an SSS-rank game!"

The crushing weight on my chest finally lifted. I picked up my pace.

"Careful, babe, the ground gets uneven here," the guy called back.

I nodded, but a second later my foot caught on a jagged rock. I pitched forward.

Before I hit the dirt, a strong arm clamped around my waist, catching me effortlessly.

"Thanks for the catch," I breathed.

Up ahead, the guy stopped. "What? I didn't catch you. I'm over here."

My blood ran cold. The absolute worst premonition slammed into my gut.

A second later, freezing breath brushed against the back of my neck.

A dark, amused whisper slid directly into my ear.

"You should be thanking me, my lady."

The moment the words left his lips, every single unlit candle in the mile-long tunnel violently erupted into dark red flames.

The claustrophobic space was instantly illuminated in a hellish crimson glow.

Silas's terrifying aura completely swallowed me from behind, drowning me in his cold pine scent.

The guy ahead of us slowly turned around.

When he saw the man holding my waist, his pupils shrank to pinpricks. He stumbled backward, his legs giving out completely.

"T-The Boss!" he screamed, dropping to his knees.

Silas didn't even look at him.

He was staring down at me, the silver in his eyes rapidly bleeding into a predatory red.

"I told you," Silas murmured. "Next time you wish to leave the house, simply tell me to carry you. You needn't tire your own feet."

"Walking this far... my lady must be exhausted."

My heart battered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

The guy on the floor scrambled up, completely losing his mind to the terror. He bolted toward the exit light.

"Sorry, babe! Better you than me!"

His footsteps echoed wildly until they faded into nothing.

Silas didn't chase him.

He just kept his glowing eyes locked onto mine.

Text:

"She's dead. The brat finally played herself. Direct elimination."

"The boss hates disobedience more than anything. Prep the carving knives, she's dinner."

My mind went completely blank.

Silas scooped me up into his arms, turning his back on the exit, and started walking us all the way back to the manor.

The flickering red flames cast sharp, demonic shadows across his perfect face.

The light of the exit grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.

I spent the entire walk trying to formulate an excuse, but my throat was closed tight.

When we entered the manor and walked past the kitchens, I squeezed my eyes shut and played dead, waiting for the butcher's knife.

It never came.

I was gently lowered into my own plush, feather-soft bed. I opened my eyes, utterly confused.

Silas stood over me. The gentle butler act was gone. His expression was dangerously dark.

This was it. He was going to kill me.

He leaned over me. I flinched, trying to pull away, but he pinned my shoulders to the mattress.

His face stopped inches from mine.

Somehow, during the stumble in the tunnel, I had scraped my temple. A tiny bead of blood welled up on the skin.

Silas leaned in, and the rough heat of his tongue swiped across the scratch.

Wet. Slow. Agonizingly deliberate.

My heart skipped a beat.

A bizarre, electric shiver shot down my spine, making my toes curl.

I let out a tiny, involuntary whimper.

The mix of absolute terror and undeniable attraction was making me lose my mind. I stared at the sharp line of his throat, the dark hunger in his eyes, and before I could stop myself, I tilted my chin up to kiss him.

He pulled back instantly.

"My apologies, my lady. I overstepped."

His voice was perfectly controlled again. "You were out in the damp for too long. I will fetch you some hot milk so you do not catch a chill."

He turned and walked out.

He didn't ask a single question. He didn't ask why I was in the tunnel, he didn't ask about the player, and he definitely didn't say the word 'escape'.

When he returned with the glass of milk, I stared at it, half-convinced it was laced with cyanide.

But if Silas wanted me dead, he could just snap my neck.

I chugged the whole glass.

Silas stood perfectly still, watching me. As I swallowed, his own throat bobbed in tandem.

"Drink slowly, my lady. Do not choke."

I gripped the empty glass, desperately trying to do damage control.

"Silas, that weird man burst into my room spouting absolute nonsense about games and escaping. I didn't understand a word of it."

I paused, forcing my tone to pitch into its usual bratty annoyance.

"He dragged me out of my room! I was terrified, so I just followed him! He was totally insane."

Silas took the glass from my white-knuckled grip and placed it on the nightstand. He reached out and gently smoothed my hair back.

"Outsiders are always spouting nonsense," he agreed softly.

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping into a dark, intimate purr meant only for me. "They only want to trick you into leaving this safe place."

"But I am the only one in this world who truly cares for you."

He smiled, his long fingers hooking under my chin, forcing me to look directly into his eyes.

"Isn't that right, my lady?"

Text:

"Holy crap the tension. The butler dominating the master. This is spicy."

"The boss isn't playing along anymore."

"The power dynamic just flipped. Let's see the diva act tough now."

I was genuinely terrified of the look in his eyes.

I nodded quickly.

Satisfied, he released my chin. "Good girl."

"It is late. Time to coax you to sleep." He stood up. "I will shower first."

The moment the bathroom door clicked shut, I let out a massive breath I didn't know I was holding.

My brain scrambled to figure out how to get back to that tunnel.

Text:

"Lmao she doesn't even know the tunnel was fake."

"The boss rigged that passage a long time ago. The real exit looks nothing like that."

"Haha that poor bastard ran all night only to realize the 'exit' led directly into the manor's torture chambers. The monsters down there are having a field day with him right now."

"Honestly, out of all the players, he got the worst death."

My blood turned to ice. I clutched the sheets, horrified.

The exit was a trap.

The comments kept rolling:

"For the record, the real exit is the dried-up well in the back gardens."

"If you jump in, you leave the dimension. But no one's ever made it. Those man-eating roses turn players into fertilizer before they even get close."

"Plus, the boss is always home. Who'd risk it?"

The well.

The back gardens.

I burned the words into my brain.

For the next few days, I played the part flawlessly.

On the surface, I was the same demanding, insufferable heiress. I ate the extravagant meals, complained about the tea, and let Silas pamper me.

He was even more attentive than before, testing the temperature of my water against his own wrist before handing it to me.

But I noticed the changes.

A massive antique mirror suddenly appeared in the hallway. When I walked past it, my reflection smiled a fraction of a second too late.

A little porcelain cat statue was placed on the staircase railing. No matter what angle I walked from, its black glass eyes followed me.

Even the ghost-like servants who usually hid in the shadows started mopping floors and arranging flowers right outside my doors.

They were watching me.

Every single pair of eyes was a silent reminder: Silas hadn't forgotten my little field trip. He just chose not to speak of it.

My skin crawled constantly.

At night, I lay against his chest, listening to his deep voice narrate a story about a cursed village's blood sacrifice.

I watched the text float above us. It mentioned that Blair, the legendary heroine he was destined to fall for, would arrive in exactly one week.

I shifted, burying my face into his shirt.

He stopped reading, looking down. "My lady?"

"Keep reading," I muttered into his chest.

"As you wish."

His hand patted my back in a slow, rhythmic motion, like he was soothing a temperamental cat.

I closed my eyes, running the garden route through my head.

I knew the path. But with the monster patrols and my own pathetic stamina, there was zero chance I could sneak past them alive.

Then, a crucial line of text caught my eye:

"On the night of the full moon, the boss falls into a forced slumber. All the monsters in the manor become sluggish and blind. It's the only weakness in the system, but no player has ever lived long enough to see the full moon."

The full moon.

I opened my eyes and stared out the heavy glass window.

The moon hanging in the dark sky was almost completely round.

Three days. I just had to wait three days.