Surviving marriage in yandere world

Velvet Demon Castle — Throne Hall of Collapsed Sanity.

The chandeliers still dripped wax like mourning tears. The marble floor bore craters from dragon fire and eldritch tentacles. And in the middle of the ruins sat Rei, knees shaking, staring into the glowing blue box floating before him like the devil's final joke.

[System Final Mission: Choose One Wife.]

[System Deadline: 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.]

[Warning: Hesitation = World Collapse. Emotional Damage = Already Permanent.]

Rei pressed both palms to his temples. His veins bulged. His left eye twitched.

"This… this is worse than any boss fight. This is worse than exams. This is worse than forgetting your phone charger at an airport!"

The brides surrounded him in a trembling circle. Their faces were streaked with tears, but their gazes burned like molten brands. They weren't simply waiting for an answer—they were ready to fight for it.

And then, like the last straw snapped by divine cruelty—

Seraphina, the radiant holy princess, suddenly clutched her stomach. Her sapphire eyes shimmered with fake innocence. "Oh… oh dear. Rei… I-I didn't want to say this so soon… but… I might be carrying your child."

Rei's soul left his body again. "EXCUSE ME?!"

Drakana roared, sparks flying from her mouth. "Lies! He never touched you! The only womb that carries his seed is mine!" She thumped her scaled belly with the thunderous pride of a dragon announcing her hoard.

Lilia stepped forward, holding a sheaf of suspicious-looking papers. "Actually, according to these legally notarized medical documents—"

"They're forged!" Rei screamed, snatching them. His eyes bulged. "This says my pillow impregnated you!"

"…so?" Lilia's voice was deathly calm. "You sleep with it every night. You sweat on it. In the eyes of the law, it counts."

Rei dropped the papers. "This world has no law. It has only pain."

Mira, sweet Mira, wiped her eyes and whimpered, "W-well… if we're confessing things… I've been raising our imaginary children for years in my diary…"

Rosette finally spoke, monotone as ever, but her words sent shivers down everyone's spine. "I… already carved our children's names into gravestones. To make them real."

The Demon Queen Lucivella tilted her head, her serene smile curdling into cruelty. "Pathetic, all of you. I don't need lies. Rei is already my divine husband. If I wanted, I could create children with a single command to the cosmos. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

[System Alert: Detecting surge of False Pregnancy Energy.]

[System Advisory: Please note, pregnancies cannot be verified with daggers, fireballs, or imagination. Please consult a licensed healer.]

Rei slammed his forehead into the floor. "I'm done. I quit. Somebody uninstall me."

The circle of brides grew tighter. Their tears glistened… but their daggers, wings, and holy swords glistened more.

Seraphina pointed at Drakana. "You beast! You only want him for his bloodline!"

Drakana bared her teeth. "And you only want him to legitimize your throne!"

Lilia hissed, waving her stitched contracts. "Both of you only want titles. I built his entire wardrobe, his dignity, his public image! Without me he'd still be in torn pajamas!"

Rosette's voice cut through like a blade. "Without me, none of you would be alive to fight. Who do you think poisoned the rivals you don't even know existed?"

Mira's soft whimper somehow stabbed the hardest. "Y-you're all so loud. I just… stayed with him. Does that mean nothing?"

Lucivella only smiled, sipping wine conjured from nowhere. "It means nothing. Because you've already lost. He was mine before he was yours. Even the world calls him my husband now."

Rei clutched his ears. "This isn't a love confession circle… this is a bloody political debate!"

[System Notification: Politics = Just romance with daggers.]

"Shut up, system!" Rei howled.

The tension cracked like a whip.

Seraphina suddenly rushed forward, falling to her knees before Rei. She cupped his face in trembling hands. "Rei… darling… even if you never choose me, even if I must return to my kingdom in disgrace… let me have one last kiss."

Before he could protest, her lips pressed against his. Holy light exploded around them, painting the rubble gold. Rei's brain fried like an egg on a dragon's breath.

Blood geysered from his nose.

[System Alert: User's Hemoglobin Level Dropping.]

[System Analysis: Cause = Kissing Overload.]

"P-princess, w-wait—"

But it's too late. Drakana ripped Seraphina away with one clawed hand. Her crimson eyes burned with fury. "You dare touch him first?! Then so be it! Rei, mate, accept my kiss of conquest!"

She yanked him into a crushing embrace, fangs grazing his lips. Sparks of dragonfire lit the air. Rei's brain went from fried egg to full barbecue.

"MMMMF!!!"

When she pulled back, his pupils were spiraling.

[System Warning: Heart Rate = 280 bpm. Nosebleed Risk = Fatal Fountain Mode.]

"STOP! STOP, STOP, STOP!!!" Rei flailed.

But the others weren't stopping.

Lilia shoved Drakana aside, clutching Rei with trembling desperation. "No… if this is the end, if you never sew your life into mine… then let me at least stitch this moment into my soul."

She pressed her lips to his—soft, careful, shaking. For once, she kissed like she might actually break, not kill. Rei felt the tears running down her face against his cheek.

When she pulled back, she whispered, "Now even if you throw me away… I'll have this."

Rei whimpered. "Please stop killing me with affection…"

Rosette stepped forward next, silent, expression unreadable. Without a word, she tilted his chin up and kissed him—swift, sharp, final, like a dagger thrust. Her lips lingered only a second before she drew back into the shadows.

"…Proof," she muttered.

Lucivella approached like a queen claiming tribute. She didn't kneel, she didn't shake. She simply bent down, claimed his mouth with terrifying grace, and whispered against his lips: "Mine. Forever."

Finally—Mira. Little Mira, who trembled so hard she nearly fell. She clasped his face with both hands, sobbing openly. "I-I know I can't compete… but… but please, just once… let me dream."

Her kiss was salty with tears, clumsy, pure.

Rei's nose finally erupted into a volcanic spray. He collapsed backward, limbs twitching.

[System Critical Alert: Blood Loss Approaching Comedy Anime Levels.]

[System Advice: Stuff tissues immediately.]

Flat on the floor, surrounded by six pairs of tearful, trembling eyes, Rei twitched like a man who had just taken mortal damage from affection. His shirt was ripped, his lips swollen, his soul completely shredded.

"I… can't… do this…" he croaked.

The brides leaned closer, each convinced their kiss had sealed their victory.

The violin swelled into a tragic crescendo. The chandelier above cracked again.

And Rei, overwhelmed by love, betrayal, fake pregnancies, and kisses too powerful for mortal comprehension… fainted face-first into the rubble.

[System Notification: Mission Status = Still Pending.]

[System Side Note: User Rei is pitiful.]

The brides screamed in unison:

"HE CHOSE ME!!!"

And the hall erupted into violence once more.

Rei's body hit the ground like a fallen martyr of romance. Dust puffed up around him, glittering faintly as if even the rubble pitied his fate. His limbs twitched once, twice, then went limp.

The six brides froze—only for a single heartbeat. Then came the explosion.

"He collapsed into my arms last!" Mira screamed, clutching at his sleeve like a lifeline. "That means he chose me!"

Seraphina's sapphire eyes blazed, hair shimmering like molten silver. "No, foolish child! He kissed me first! The heavens themselves bore witness!"

Drakana let out a thunderous laugh that cracked the nearest pillar. "Ha! Witness? Hah! My fire left his lips scorched! That is the mark of true bond!"

"Lies!" Lilia hissed, veins popping on her forehead as she brandished her bundle of contracts. "Look here! I have signed documentation proving he acknowledged my kiss as binding!"

"Those papers are blank," Rosette said in a monotone, already drawing her dagger. "But it doesn't matter. He whispered my name when he fainted."

"He whispered 'peace,' you lunatic!" Seraphina shot back.

Lucivella's calm voice cut through like silk sharpened into a blade. "And yet he fainted after my kiss. His body could not bear my love. Clearly, that is proof he belongs to me."

[System Note: Bride Logic Detected = Highly Illogical. Recommend popcorn.]

"STOP COMMENTATING!" Rei's muffled voice came from the floor, his face buried in the marble. His hand twitched weakly as though swatting at invisible demons. "System, if you don't shut up, I'm uninstalling myself."

[That feature is unavailable ♥.]

The brides ignored his plea. Their voices overlapped, rising into a crescendo of betrayal and desperation. Swords clashed, dragon fire lit the hall, Lucivella summoned an army of shadow bridesmaids, and Lilia hurled enchanted wedding veils like lethal nets.

Meanwhile, Rei lay motionless, watching his soul float above his body again. The soul sighed, holding a sign that read: "I told you so."

Rei whispered hoarsely, "I just wanted… to sleep in peace…"

But peace was dead.

The six brides lunged for him simultaneously, each determined to cradle his unconscious body like a trophy. Their arms tangled, their daggers clashed, their spells detonated. The entire throne hall trembled, sending chunks of ceiling raining down.

[System Alert: Structure Integrity at 12%.]

[System Suggestion: Consider marriage insurance.]

A chandelier finally gave way, crashing to the ground beside Rei's limp form. The shockwave flung him sideways—straight into the waiting arms of… all six at once.

They froze. Rei dangled like a ragdoll caught in a tug-of-war, his body stretched at six impossible angles.

The cursed violin, as if on cue, played a dramatic love ballad. Blood dripped from Rei's nose like an eternal fountain.

[System Warning: Nosebleed reaching "Shounen Protagonist Bathhouse" levels.]

[System Countdown: 23 Hours, 12 Minutes remain.]

Rei managed one last twitch, his swollen lips parting as he croaked out a single word:

"…help…"

The brides ignored him. And with war cries fueled by love, obsession, and desperation, they tore the ruined castle into yet another battlefield—each fighting not just for victory, but for the title of Rei's one, true wife.

The violin swelled louder. The world trembled and Rei's sanity continued its final freefall.

To be continued…