[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining":3,"chapter-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-91":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","QT: I hijacked a harem system and now I'm ruining every plot(GL)",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1854680,2462,"Chapter 91: Concern","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-91",91,"\u003Cp>Chapter 91 – Daphne POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room is dimly lit by late-afternoon sun bleeding through thick red curtains. The walls are lined with dark wood and endless rows of books I doubt he’s ever read. A single painting of a golden sea sunset hangs above the fireplace, too perfect, too deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sit where he’s told me to—on the pale velvet chair that sinks under my weight like it’s trying to swallow me whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did he call for me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady Daphne,\" he says again, more gently now, folding his hands over a stack of carefully arranged parchment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would you like tea?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I can answer, a maid walks in with a silver tray and a delicate clink of porcelain. She pours, bows, and vanishes like smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lift the teacup, mostly for something to hold, not because I want it. It’s warm against my fingers. Steadying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duke watches me from across the desk, elbows resting on polished wood, expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he stands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stiffen immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he rounds the desk and makes to sit beside me, my entire body reacts—I flinch, very obviously, and without apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He freezes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he quietly changes course and lowers himself into the opposite chair, the one behind the tea set. He doesn’t comment. Doesn’t acknowledge it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I breathe again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady Daphne,\" he says, gently now, like a man approaching a wounded animal, \"thank you for coming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod. My hands are folded neatly on my lap. My spine straight. My eyes trained just past his shoulder, at the red curtains and golden sunset bleeding through the window. I don’t say anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How have you been doing?\" he asks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have been... okay, Your Grace.\" I keep my voice soft. Vague. Carefully, politely uncomfortable. It’s all in the body language—I shift just enough to make it clear I don’t want to be here, but not enough to be rude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He studies me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stare at the teacup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry. This is probably a surprise, isn’t it?\" he says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I merely nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes shift, something uncertain passing through them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was afraid I was neglecting you,\" he admits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please continue neglecting me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What brought this on?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I narrow my eyes slightly. Why now? Why me? Is this guilt? Boredom? Mid-harem leader syndrome?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve realized...\" he continues, \"perhaps I’ve been too focused on... other duties. I didn’t mean for anyone to feel abandoned.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ve been quiet at the tea gatherings,\" he says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The others—Viola, Clarissa, Miriam—they’ve found ways to participate. I suppose I just wanted to make sure you were... comfortable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Comfortable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I force a breath through my nose. I glance at the teacup again, then at his face. His brow is furrowed—not in frustration, but in something that unnervingly resembles concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, no.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am not troubled,\" I say at last, polite, distant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You needn’t worry about me, Your Grace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth tightens faintly. He leans forward a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s just it,\" he says, eyes meeting mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do worry. Not because of obligation, but because I know what it’s like to feel out of place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the actual fuck?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh. Hell.No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of fantasy novel does he think this is?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does he genuinely believe we’re kindred spirits? Like we’d bond over trauma tea and the shared pain of being \"sodifferent\"?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eye twitches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sip the tea instead of saying the very real, very aggressive response building in my throat. I need to be careful—if I say anything too real, he might think we’re close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe I should fake a fainting spell. Maybe throw up and blame \"nerves.\" Or pretend I’m fasting for religious reasons? Or maybe under the guise of PTSD I could give him a couple of pu—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Host!!!] the system screeches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right. I forgot I unblocked it. I didn’t need its commentary when I was having the Duchess ride my—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[PLEASE DO NOT FINISH THAT THOUGHT.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smile sweetly across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m... fine, Your Grace. Truly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I even lower my lashes for extra effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the most peace I’ve had in... well, perhaps ever. I spend my days painting, walking the gardens, enjoying the quiet. No expectations. No pressure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilt my head, add just the right touch of wistful weariness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you for your concern, Your Grace, but... unlike the Duchess and the other ladies, my family isn’t powerful enough to be used as a foothold. Your attention on me might be... misconstrued.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A perfect blend of \"humble,\" \"grateful,\" and \"please don’t ever talk to me again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nods slowly, the message clearly received.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, thank the gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sip my tea again, posture still impeccable, eyes focused just past his shoulder like I’m too polite to show boredom and too delicate to show disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please take the hint. Please go away. Please don’t monologue at me again about how hard it is to be the main character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long pause, he finally stands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you for your time,\" he says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bow my head just enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, Your Grace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the door clicks shut behind me, I exhale hard enough to blow out a candle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the fuck was that?\" I mutter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It was character development.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Shut up.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Could he have had his character development elsewhere?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like, I don’t know... in a war? In a rebellion? In a tragic backstory monologue with a dramatic thunderstorm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[No, according to the original narrative, that’s the scene where you fall in love with him.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stop walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Really? That’s it?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...Yes.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’The bar is clearly underground.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Some say it’s emotional maturity.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Some say he smells like goat cheese and misplaced ambition.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shake my head, genuinely feeling pity for the original Daphne. She didn’t deserve that. After an abusive trashy family that’s the man she was supposed to fall in love with?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sigh, deeply. The kind of sigh you release when your favorite series kills off the best character for shock value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Well,’ I mutter,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’fortunately for us both, this Daphne has taste.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that taste wears corsets tighter than sin, has eyes like sapphire judgment, and rides me harder than—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[HOST!!!]\u003C\u002Fp>",1034,"2026-06-09T07:29:29.584Z",1,"novelbin.me","915714eeae5be6dac54b1954127da2a298e9140469a6512a47498b48714dfb1b","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-92","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-90",399,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fqt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-cover.jpg"]