From Useless Wife To Dungeon Boss Chapter 2

On my first day as the reigning Boss, I accidentally picked up a man.

A new game cycle had begun. I remembered the Bullet Chat saying I was invincible in this dungeon, and I decided to see if it was true.

As the new batch of players materialized in the courtyard, I smoothed my skirts and walked right up to them. They froze, sweat beading on their foreheads.

I tapped the shoulder of the player closest to me, wanting to ask if he’d mind hitting me with a low-level spell just to test my defenses.

The next second, he let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

I blinked, confused.

An older, more experienced player hissed, "Stay calm! It's the Duchess! Don't look at her eyes!"

They all squeezed their eyes shut and started hurling items at me—holy water, iron daggers, enchanted stones. Everything bounced off me without leaving a scratch.

The Bullet Chat didn't lie!

I was so thrilled that I picked up a small girl standing nearby and spun her around three times in celebration.

Seeing their weapons fail, the players shrieked and scattered. Within seconds, the courtyard was empty, save for a breathtakingly handsome man and the trembling little girl in my arms.

The man was stunning—more beautiful than any NPC I’d ever seen. His skin had that marble-cold paleness of someone who never saw the sun, and his ice-blue eyes were clear but vacant.

When I looked closer, I realized his pupils weren't focusing. He wasn't running because he couldn't see me.

A damp warmth on my chest reminded me of the girl. She was tiny, maybe six or seven years old. As soon as I set her down, she covered her eyes with her hands and huddled at my feet like a terrified kitten.

"Please," she whimpered. "Don't kill me. My mommy is waiting for me. She’s sick, and it hurts every day. I have to go back."

The first lesson they teach you at NPC school is: Never show mercy.

But I wasn't an NPC anymore. I was the Boss. And a Boss does whatever she wants.

I knelt down beside her.

"I have a hidden quest for you," I whispered. "If you eat this little cake I made, you clear the dungeon instantly and get a ten-fold reward. Do you dare to take the challenge?"

The girl kept her eyes squeezed shut, her face a mask of terror. She thought about it for a long time, then shook her head.

"Uncle Kay said monsters always lie."

I sighed and pressed a piece of candy into her hand instead. "Fine. But when the 'Great Hunt' starts, I'm going to hide you."

Before she left, the girl gathered her courage and looked up. She stared at me, awestruck.

"Sister... they said we shouldn't look at your eyes. Is it because they're too pretty?"

I let out a genuine laugh. It was the first time I’d felt truly happy since I took the job.

The girl ran off to find her team, and I turned to go back inside. At the castle gates, I finally lost my patience and turned to the player who had been shadowing me the whole time.

It was the beautiful, blind man.

"Listen, player," I said, trying to sound as menacing as possible. "Respect the game. If you step one foot inside this castle, I will kill you."

Then, he walked right in.

The Butler and the maids looked at each other, then at me. I was floored. NPCs need a 'trigger condition' to kill, but Bosses don't. Still, I lacked the experience. I couldn't just execute him.

The man turned his head toward me with eerie precision. His pupils were still dilated, but I felt like I was being pinned down by a predator's gaze.

"Caspian," he said softly. "That is my name."

"Duchess... you remind me of someone I used to know."

"May I call you Rose?"

I stared at him. The nerve! And how did he know my name was Rosalind?

"Rose, may I stay?"

His voice was like silk, each word carrying a hypnotic pull that made my defenses crumble. My head spun, and before I knew it, my body had already betrayed me.

"You may."

The Bullet Chat exploded:

[Wait, why is the secret antagonist in the Duchess's dungeon? Isn't he the final Boss of the Female Lead's ultimate arc?]

[The Duchess is such a fool. That's not a player; that’s one of the strongest Bosses in the game. He’s a High Siren. His whole thing is soul-manipulation.]

[Did you guys skip the lore? The Duchess saved him when they were kids. He’s been obsessed with her for centuries. He finally got strong enough to take her, only to find out she was married. He must have seen the death announcement for the Duke and hauled ass over here.]

[I don't remember this in the original script?]

[In the original, the Duchess was supposed to find out her husband faked his death, get pissed, and go hunt the FL. The Siren came by, but she wasn't there. Later, when he heard the FL killed the Duchess, he designed a 'Hell Mode' dungeon specifically to torture the FL. Wait... why is she still here?]

What?

Caspian wasn't a player?

I searched my memories, but I couldn't find a trace of him. I took a cautious step back. If he was as powerful as my husband, I was in way over my head.