“Romance is a garbage genre, but if I have to play, I might as well do it on easy mode.“
โก Book. Whispers in the Dark (WITD): Subtle Devotion, Lingering Shadows.
โก Word Count. 1,366
โก Yandere! Love Interests who donโt appreciate your attempt at speedrunning this otome hellhole by seducing minor NPCs.
โก Yandere! Love Interests who have already survived multiple assassination attempts from youโpoison, garrote, magic entrapment, even a sacred blade through the chestโand instead of dying like normal people, they decided this was romantic foreplay.
โก Yandere! Love Interests who, after watching you reject every romantic flag, every heartfelt confession, every predestined moment of emotional awakening, are forced to endure the ultimate insult: you, in your deadpan, anti-romance disgust, deciding that if you must complete a route, it will be with some irrelevant, bottom-tier, side-character background NPC.
You do not care that heโs an unimportant knight with three dialogue lines.
You do not care that his face sprite barely moves.
You do not care that he is written solely to make the main love interests look better.
You are logic incarnate.
If you must be trapped in this hellish world, then you will find the most harmless, disposable, and easiest-to-manipulate idiot to romance your way to an ending and finally escape.
Exceptโ
โก Yandere! Crown Prince who walks into the throne room just in time to see you smiling at a low-ranking baron. Who hears you utter sweet, rehearsed nonsense with all the emotion of a dead fish but stillโstillโsees your fingers lightly graze his sleeve.
It takes him 0.2 seconds to recognize the threat.
He laughs. Loudly. A dangerous, triumphant sound that echoes through the halls like a death knell. The guards, the nobles, the advisorsโevery soul presentโstiffens in collective terror.
Because it is not a sound of amusement. It is a sound of calculation.
“You,” he says, voice warm but distant, like a blade dipped in honey. “Would choose this man over me?”
You roll your eyes. “Yes.”
His gaze does not waver. His smile does not falter.
And then, without breaking eye contact with you, he runs his sword clean through the baronโs chest.
The entire room erupts into chaos. The nobles scream. Blood splatters across your dress, warm and sticky. You take a slow breath, calculating exit routes, already planning your next escape.
He steps closer. There is a terrifying, frenzied delight in his eyes.
“Try that again,” he murmurs, his breath warm against your temple, “and I will erase every man in this kingdom.”
โโโ
โก Yandere! Archduke who catches you attempting to flirt with a random scholar in the library.
You are sitting beside him, pretending to be interested in whatever history text he is reading, nodding along, offering the occasional hum of agreement. The scholar, barely able to believe his luck, stammers as he tries to keep up a conversation.
And thenโthe air turns cold. Suffocatingly, skin-pricklingly cold.
A shadow looms over the table.
“Ah,” the Archduke drawls, voice dripping with mockery. “I see you’ve found a new toy, darling. How precious.”
You do not react. You merely turn the page of your book. “Can I help you?”
The scholar, a fool, is still trying to piece together why his instincts are screaming at him to run.
The Archduke smiles at youโa perfect, fanged smile that does not reach his eyes. He leans over, placing one gloved hand on the table, the other coming to rest on the scholarโs shoulder.
“Did you know,” he muses, “that there is a rather fascinating execution method in the East?”
The scholar pales. “IโIโm sorry?”
“They strip the skin from a manโs fingers first,” the Archduke continues, eyes locked onto yours, waiting for a reaction. “Then they move onto the arms. Then the torso. All while keeping him alive.”
You sigh. “Subtle.”
He grins. “I do try.”
And then, with a single movement, he drives a dagger through the scholarโs hand, pinning it to the table.
The scholar screams.
The Archduke watches your face carefully, waiting for the moment when you might flinch, might show fear.
You do not.
You merely close your book, rise from your seat, and mutter, “Iโll find another one.”
His smile widens. “No, you wonโt.”
โโโ
โก Yandere! Supreme Mage who catches you in the act of slipping aphrodisiac-laced tea to an unsuspecting alchemist.
You figuredโif you must suffer, you will suffer efficiently. The alchemist is harmless. He will fall in love quickly. The route will be easier.
You do not expect the teacup to vanish mid-air.
Nor do you expect to feel a hand grasp the back of your neck, tilting your chin up to meet dark, unreadable eyes.
“Ah,” the Supreme Mage murmurs, inspecting you as if you are a particularly fascinating experiment. “Creative.”
Your expression remains unimpressed. “Do you mind?”
He does not release you. If anything, his grip tightens, a soft hum vibrating from his throat.
“This is fascinating,” he muses, studying you the way a scientist studies a specimen. “Tell me, did you choose him because he is weak? Because he is controllable?”
He tilts his head. “Or because you thought I wouldnโt notice?”
You stare at him, blank and unbothered. “Yes.”
For a moment, there is only silence.
Thenโyour body locks up.
Magic pulses through your veins, foreign, overwhelming, suffocating. Your lungs tighten. Your limbs refuse to obey. Your knees hit the floor.
The Supreme Mage kneels beside you, trailing a gloved finger down your cheek.
“You are so utterly resistant to romance,” he murmurs, “and yet so very good at manipulation.”
He leans closer, his lips brushing against your ear.
“How delightful.”
โโโ
โก Yandere! Demon King who burns an entire village to the ground because he saw you smile at a commoner.
The smell of charred wood and flesh fills the air. The screams are already fading.
You stand at the edge of the destruction, arms crossed, staring up at him.
He watches you in turn.
He does not speak at first.
Neither do you.
The silence is filled with the sound of flames crackling, of dying breath rattling in collapsed lungs.
Finally, he exhales. Slow. Almost measured.
“You are angry,” he notes, voice a low, gravel-raked hum of amusement.
Your fingers curl against your sleeves. You breathe in smoke, exhale exhaustion.
“That was unnecessary.”
His head tilts, considering. “Was it?”
Your eyes meet hisโburning, devouring, endless.
“Yes.”
He steps forward. The ground trembles beneath his weight.
“Then tell me,” he murmurs, clawed fingers reaching, gliding along your jaw with a touch as reverent as it is possessive. “Why do I feel so utterly justified?”
Your gaze does not waver. You have never feared him.
“You saw me smile at someone, and you slaughtered them all.”
He hums, deep and pleased. “Yes.”
There is no remorse in his tone. There never is.
You inhale againโslow, deliberate, as if to cleanse yourself of the rot curling at the edges of your reality.
“You would rather throw yourself into the arms of some pathetic, forgettable insect than accept me?”
“Yes.”
The smile that spreads across his lips is a slow, creeping thing. A patient, monstrous thing.
He lifts his hand from your jaw, brushing a clawed thumb across your lower lip, dragging it downโa promise, a claim, a warning.
“Then I will remove every option.”
Behind him, the last of the screaming dies.
There is only fire now.
And thenโgently, effortlessly, inexorablyโ
He tilts your chin up and kisses you.
The world behind you burns.
โโโโโโโโโโโโ
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General TAG LIST of โWhispers In The Darkโ: @keisocool , @elvabeth , @elloredef , @mjsjshhd , @lem-hhn , @yuki-istired
โค๏ธ Fang Dokja’s Books.
โก Book 1. A Heart Devoured (AHD): A Dark Yandere Anthology
โก Book 2. Forbidden Fruits (FF): Intimate Obsessions, Unhinged Desires.
โก Book 3. World Ablaze (WA) : For You, I’d Burn the World.
โก Book 4 [you are here]. Whispers in the Dark (WITD): Subtle Devotion, Lingering Shadows.
โก Book 5. Ink & Insight (I&I): From Dead Dove to Daydreams.
๐๐จ๐'๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ 