Help!! This Girl Is A Yandere!!!

Alice and Xavier sat on opposite ends of the couch. Xavier's cat, Jaffar, was curled up and sleeping peacefully on Alice's lap. Xavier could only stare in disbelief. Jaffar never let strangers touch him, let alone climb onto their laps.

"It's so cute," Alice murmured, stroking the cat with deliberate care. Her fingers trailed along his fur as if committing the texture to memory. She glanced at Xavier, her scarlet eyes gleaming with a mix of warmth and something he couldn't quite place.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, darling?" Alice asked, her scarlet eyes locking onto Xavier's. Her voice was light, but the way she emphasized the last word made Xavier's brow twitch.

"Hmm? What is it?" he replied, his tone light but his mind already spinning. Why did she seem so focused on him?

"Is Jaffar a male or female?"

"Male," he said simply.

"Oh? How old is he?" Alice's gaze didn't waver from Xavier's face as she spoke, as if the answer meant more to her than it should. Her fingers paused mid-stroke on Jaffar's back, her attention unnervingly precise.

Xavier hesitated, trying to recall. "If I'm not wrong, he's about ten years old now."

"Oh? He's still very young then." Alice said.

"Yeah, thanks to advanced healthcare, most species have a longer lifespan than before." Xavier agreed.

"..."

Silence reigned in the room. None of them spoke a word.

Alice fell silent, her gaze softening as she continued petting Jaffar. Xavier fidgeted under her affectionate stare. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Um, Alice?"

"Yes, darling?" Her voice was honey-sweet.

"Mind telling me a bit about yourself?" Xavier asked, attempting to break the strange silence.

"...?"

Her scarlet eyes flicked to his, and for a moment, he felt like he'd just opened a door to something he couldn't quite shut.

Alice brightened. "Of course! I was born on the 26th of July in the G.E. calendar, into the House of Dahaka. My life was pretty normal to be honest. I was born to loving parents who'd do anything for me so long as it was in their power. My dad, Baron Reeves von Dahaka, is however, very overprotective. My older brother, Reed, just like my parents, although busy would always find time to play with me. But..." Alice lowered her head as her expression darkened.

Xavier who noticed that her mood had turned a bit sour probably because of a bad memory spoke up.

"It's okay if you don't want to say it. No need to push yourself."

"No, I want to say it." Alice locked eyes with Xavier, her eyes filled with determination.

Xavier saw the determination in her eyes and decided to let her speak.

"If you wish to."

"Hooo..." Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

A second later, she reopened her eyes that were brimming with the same determination.

"I... never had any friends. Although my status was one of the reasons for it, the real reason was... people were afraid of me. Afraid because I... didn't like to... let go of things." Alice said her voice shaking by the end of her sentence.

"My family loved me. They spent whatever free time they had with me. But they were always busy with work."

"Dad was always busy with managing the matters of the Barony, my brother was also the same, trying his best to learn from dad in order to be a proper successor, my mother was also busy looking after the businesses in the Barony, that's why, I could only be together with my family for twice a month but, as I grew up even that changed to just once a month." Alice lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

"Alice, I..." Xavier wanted to apologize to Alice for asking such a question in the first place.

'I'm an idiot.' Xavier thought to himself with guilt. He blamed himself for asking such a question.

"But, that's why, I got to know about you, darling." Alice looked up and matched gazes with Xavier.

"...!"

Xavier felt blood rush to his cheeks.

'So pretty...' Xavier thought to himself as he looked at Alice. She had the most beautiful smile he had seen on her face today. Although, there were still tears in her eyes, it did nothing to ruin her beauty. Rather, she looked even more cute.

"Through spending time by myself, I was able to find out your novels. Reading your novels, especially 'RISE FROM THE ASHES' helped me overcome problems in ways I could never imagine. Your novels were a beacon of light in my dark and lonely world."

"After half a decade of reading your novels, I finally decided to find you in real life. I wanted to know more about you, about what type of a person you were. Hence, I used my dad's connections to find out where you live among other things. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you were my age."

"So, I started following you. I followed you in your university, which wasn't a difficult task as the university was owned by my family. I followed you when you went to buy groceries, clothes, took Jaffar for a walk, took your sister to a restaurant, bought her a present on her birthday, took a train for some reason."

Xavier's stomach sank as her words washed over him. Mall. Restaurant. Railway station. The list went on. Sweat prickled at his temples. She was smiling—fondly, almost shyly—but the implications of what she'd done left him speechless.

'No way… she was stalking me this whole time? Gulp... I just hope she doesn't know my browser history.'

"Slowly but surely, my heart felt drawn to you, but I wasn't sure if it was love or not. That's why, I observed the days you come home from buying supplies and matched the timing with mine and disguised myself as an old lady who needed help crossing the road. Honestly, I didn't have too much hope, that's why, when you helped me cross the busy road, your steady grip on my arm, your calm voice—it all touched my heart in ways I hadn't expected."

"...!"

Xavier's brows raised in shock. He couldn't believe she was the old lady he had helped that day.

'No wonder I thought that granny was so pretty. It was actually Alice in disguise. She probably used a Human Skinmask. But, aren't those things banned?' 

"But, still not sure, I came up with one final plan. I disguised myself as an average looking middle-aged woman who lost her pet in the railway station on the same time you take the train. It was to test if you'd prioritize a stranger in distress or your time. However, something unexpectedly terrible happened. Then… I fell onto the tracks." Alice's voice dropped, her expression shadowed.

***

If you like this, then please give my acquintance's The Sole Prince of the Fallen Kingdom a try.