(Y/n) had been gradually showing signs of insanity as time passed. Each excruciating hour forced her mind to warp reality, making her sensitive to each little thing. Though she tried to keep herself contained in her room, pacing around erratically while choking down anything with an ounce of caffeine, it didn't prevent her psychosis from terrifying everyone else in the manor.

The third day straight she was awake was the day she started seeing things that weren't there. She couldn't tell if it was that pink-haired male's doing or if it was the sleep deprivation casting a haze over her mind. Either way, she began to see eyes start peeking out of the walls. They stared at her as wide as possible, secreting a slimy membrane like tears, continually pooling on the floor. Paranoid, she began to gouge them all out of the wall, watching closely as they deflated into a black blob, combining together on the floor to create a twitching mass.

The eyes kept coming back no matter how many of them she dug her nails into. In fact, some never went away, persisting only to laugh at her, speaking in a language she could not understand but that was still eerily familiar to her. She swore one of them kept saying her name, only to move to another corner of the room and repeat it. It was horrifying to hear someone call her true name to her. Her body convulsed violently every time, expecting to be under someone else's thrall.

The name was repeated more and more on the fourth day straight she was awake with the added pleasure of constantly feeling like she was being touched. Locked in her room, she knew no one was there but the touching didn't stop. At first, they were just light taps, forcing her to dart her head around to see nothing but the eyes and monsters that had been plaguing her since the beginning. Then it got worse. The touches didn't stop at taps. They caressed her all over, groping onto places no one had in a very long time. And though she clawed at her thighs, trying to get it to stop, it persisted, even when her frustration bubbled over in the form of exaggerated tears.

Throughout it all, her mind, seeking just one sliver of rest, forced her eyes to close at random points beyond her control. For a few seconds, she was completely motionless, in a state of microsleep. But she wasn't granted reprieve in the slightest, the baku waiting for her to unleash even worse nightmares that made her jolt back awake and shriek at the top of her lungs. Her screams were heard by every single person in the manor, terrifying maids and scarring other attendants.

"Is your mind somewhere else again, Takuya?"

The white-haired male glanced back up at the woman, giving a concerned expression. He hadn't been able to take his mind off of the younger girl even when his mother was trying to help him. It was shameful. The male ducked his head to show his understanding of his flaws, his mother giving a scoff as she dropped the whip. She was even disgusted with the way he flinched at the sound it made. He really hadn't learned anything at all. The thought made his lip quiver.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, balling up his shirt in his hands, "I keep thinking about...(Y/n). Um, mother? Do you think I should take her to the hospital? I-I know she hates hospitals, but...would it make me a bad boyfriend if I...made her go?"

"Takuya."

"I-I know she'll be mad at me, but, if this keeps up, s-she might die! And she won't listen to me and I don't know what to do and I can't even - "

"Takuya," the woman emphasized again, getting the male to glance up at her despite his panicking, "No hospital. If there is anything that girl has proved it is her stubbornness. She'll be fine. You need to focus on you. For all we know, you're the cause of all of this."

"...me?"

As the male considered such a possibility, the woman put her hand on his shoulder from behind, giving a false sense of support. It was always so easy to get Takuya to trust her. Ichika just had to spout nonsense about him failing as a potential spouse for him to focus on her words. Ever since he was a kid, just hearing "husband" made him snap to attention, so, of course, when he wasn't focusing on his lessons, she made sure to take full advantage of it.

"I-I know you're probably right," the male thought aloud, "but I can't...figure out why she's acting like this if it's because of me."

"It should be perfectly clear," the woman tsked, hitting the male upside the head as if it would help him believe her more, "You're driving her insane. Your flaws, your weakness, your lack of attentiveness; all of it. You didn't make her feel safe in her own home. Isn't that why you came crying to me?"

"But I protected her! S-She thanked me for getting rid of the intruder! That can't be why she's mad at me!"

"Then think, Takuya. What reason could she have to act like this? What did you do? Did you give her presents?"

"Yes! She loves when I buy her desserts!"

"Did you run the household properly?"

"Yes! She complimented me on it!"

"You cannot be this stupid, Takuya! I taught you better than this! Use that pathetic head of yours and figure out why that girl can't stand you!"

Amidst his mother's continued shouting, the male could only cower, weeping at how pathetic he felt. The woman was right. He wouldn't ever be of use to the self-functioning (h/c) haired girl if he couldn't even figure out why she was upset. The only thing he had ever been confident of with her was helping her with paperwork. It was his only talent and, while she loved having him as her assistant in the student council, it meant nothing in their professional lives. She wouldn't let him help with anything. How was he supposed to be of use to her when she didn't need him?

"Useless!" Ichika yelled, kicking the male in the stomach repeatedly.

Takuya was used to that. When she could think of nothing else to insult him with, she would just go for the gut before digging her heel into his thighs. She started prodding him with things he could have done wrong, but, for the life of him, he wholeheartedly believed he had been doing things right and could not claim responsibility for the follies she listed. It only made her dig her heel into his thigh more, the male biting back whimpers. Still, he shook his head, knowing it couldn't have been such things that made the girl be driven insane.

"Nothing?!" the woman roared, "Do you think you're faultless?! That you're better than everyone else?!"

"...of course not."

"This is why no one can stand you, Takuya! It's why you've never had anyone that sticks by your side! That Yasojiro kid that you call your friend? Where is he now?! Not here to help you! And what about the young master of the Hisaki family and his bitch of a mother?! Or the Akahito brat and his servant mother?! A servant! And yet she's still adored by your pathetic 'friends'' families?! If they were your friends, they would have respected your mother, too!"

"...sorry."

"And if you had just done what I told you, none of that would have mattered! I would have already married you to a princess who would have given me respect and thanked me for wasting my life teaching you! But no! You wanted some good-for-nothing smart-ass of a girl! Why do you never bring me any respect?! The only thing you ever bring me is disappointment! You did one thing right in your entire life bringing Isao to me, but you had to go and wreck that, too, didn't you?!"

Upon the mention of the ravenette's name, Takuya gasped, quick to bring his hands up to his mouth. His mother was still speaking. He needed to be silent and obedient. Though, the moment he made the noise, he knew he had already made a mistake. The woman slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could, sending him to the floor. He couldn't bite back a whimper that time, pressing his hand to his cheek in a vain attempt to suppress the knife-like stinging. No doubt she had cut him with her nails. It was a familiar sensation. Even so, he understood his priority was to mutter out constant apologies to her, squeezing his eyes shut as he did so. She didn't like it when he cried. It always made her angrier.

"What could you possibly have to think about when I'm talking?!" she roared, forcing him to shiver uncontrollably.

"I-I just remembered what I...might have done wrong. I'm sorry."

"And?! Out with it for fuck's sake!"

"I...," A pause as the male thought back to the younger girl. "But I...don't think it would have made her - "

"You thought, did you?! It's for me to decide if you've messed up again, now isn't it? Since when did you have a say in anything?! Spit it out!"

"I just get so nervous when she shows interest in someone else that I - "

Again, the woman hit the male in the stomach, using all of her strength to knock the wind out of the male. He struggled to breathe for a while, scampering to his hands and knees while trying to choke down air, his eyes tearing up even more. Very barely could he get a breath back into him, only for it to escape immediately. As his mother yelled at him for the grievous, selfish mistake, he kept gasping, trying to signal to her that he needed help. But, of course, his pleas went unanswered.

"How many times have I told you?! No woman will ever be completely yours! You'll only be loved if you let her explore her other options! She wants to fuck another man?! Let her! Clearly you're not satisfying her enough! Let her do whatever she wants and make use of yourself by devoting yourself to learning how to be better!"

Takuya shook his head, unable to reply with the lack of air. Still, he knew that wasn't true. He had been constantly stressing over her refusal to have sex with him, but, somehow, he believed it when she said she didn't want it at all from anyone. And, yes, he was possessive over her, but, for some reason, he was sure she wanted it that way. If he could just let himself believe her words, it would mean she didn't want anyone else; that he was enough for her. He...so badly wanted that.

"You think you know better about what a woman wants? Or are you stupid enough to believe she'll only ever love you?" the woman sneered, scoffing as the male averted his eyes in an admission of guilt, "The only thing that girl loves is money. Why do you think she accidentally found herself at the center of attention in your 'friend' group? Do you think it was all a coincidence?"

Even if he could talk, the male would have refrained from saying anything. (Y/n) had already admitted to intentionally drawing their attention. At the time, it devastated him to hear it, but he understood why she would do that. She needed someone to save her. Moreover, she probably thought money would have helped keep her safe. Him and his friends just happened to have a lot of it, so she was inevitably drawn to them. It should have made him feel used, but, on the contrary, he was just glad he had at least one thing that attracted her to him.

"She was weighing her options," Ichika continued, "I know she was. She wasn't greedy enough to try and go for the Vethelan prince or the Akahito brat. She knew she couldn't control them; that she would only get burned in the end for it. Reasonably, she passed on the Yasojiro boy, probably because his pathetic parents were gambling away their wealth. She couldn't have wanted the Otsu bastard because he would never inherit his grandfather's fortune. You weren't her first choice either. Don't be stupid enough to think you were. You might have had money but you came with so much neediness. Too much trouble. That girl was going for the Hisaki's 'young master'."

Yes. Takuya assumed as much. She refused to be bought food from the cafeteria unless it was from Yamato. She also smiled the most when he was around. It made sense. He was down to earth, strong, and reliable. Even when they all locked her up, he was the one that followed the rules the most; who made it a priority to keep her safe from whatever lunatic wanted to kill her. But...even he couldn't be comparable to Narahashi Shiko.

"Do you see my point? You wouldn't be near the top of any of her lists, so she will always be looking for someone better. Don't get comfortable. And don't think you can try to fix that on your own. If you want to marry that girl, you need to swear to me right now you will listen to every single word I say, take every punishment I give you, and never do anything on your own!"

Takuya bit down on his lip, slowly recovering his breath. She...was right. No matter what (Y/n) said - no matter what promises she made about wanting only him - he had to listen to his mother. She was the only person that could help him get happy ever after. So, he sat there, taking every little criticism she spat to heart, willingly receiving countless beatings, and relearning everything she had ever taught him. He was in pain? Then he wasn't strong enough. He was tired? Then he wasn't dedicated enough. He was scared? Then he wasn't trying hard enough.

Takuya just had to brave his way through it. Only after countless hits and tears could he even begin to be a candidate for marriage. If he wanted to be a hero worthy enough of a princess, he had to face his trials. And he wanted so, so, very badly to marry his princess that he would take any abuse.

Then came the seventh day straight his princess was being driven insane.