Jella was holed up in the library examining the ancient documents of the Hersha clan.

As Cail had said, she had already searched for a way to prevent the dragon magic’s rampage long ago but failed. That was why she had chosen her own death…

‘But that doesn’t mean I can let Cail try to die the same way I did.’

In her past life, she had ultimately failed to find a way to prevent the rampage and gave up, but underlying that was a preconception that inevitably arose from knowing the flow of the original story.

She had regarded Arne as the only god of this world, and thus sought answers in Arne’s religious scriptures and ancient texts.

But now she knew that as the original story twisted, many rules of this world had been distorted.

‘Let’s go back to square one and think again. Just as I was revived when I should have died and the original story twisted, there must be a way to prevent the rampage.’

Fortunately, this northern castle contained many ancient documents of the Hersha clan related to the dragon magic Helasio.

However, unlike her confident declaration in front of Cail, finding a way to prevent his rampage was not easy.

So she was about to get up with a deep sigh of frustration when—

[Jella! Jella!]

Hearing a tapping sound, she turned her head to see Helasio fluttering his short wings and knocking on the window.

“What is it?”

To Jella’s indifferent voice, Helasio urgently shouted.

[Something terrible has happened! Cail…! Cail’s magical power is surging!]

“What…?”

[If we don’t go calm him down quickly, it’s dangerous…! Jella! Come with me!]

Before Helasio could finish speaking, she rushed out of the library and ran toward Cail’s room.

“Cai—!”

As she flung open the door calling Cail’s name, Jella was startled despite herself.

Along with the pungent smell of blood, a dense magical energy so thick it was difficult to breathe spread out.

Cail, who had been standing tall in that thick magical energy, slowly turned toward her.

His bloodshot eyes stared at her fiercely like a beast.

“Cail…?”

The moment Jella swallowed and called his name.

[It’s dangerous, Jella!]

Whoosh!

As Helasio cried out in alarm, Cail lunged at her.

But Jella didn’t avoid him. Instead, she embraced Cail as he rushed toward her.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch…

Cail struggled, sinking his teeth into her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Cail.”

Despite feeling pain on her skin, Jella soothed him with the gentlest voice she could muster.

“I’m here now, so everything’s okay.”

Did he recognize her voice? Cail’s movements gradually ceased, and then he mumbled in a muddled voice.

“Jella…?”

“Yes, it’s me. I’m right here.”

At that moment, Cail embraced her tightly.

“Don’t… abandon me.”

“Yes, I won’t abandon—”

As she was comforting him, Jella suddenly noticed his bloodied forearm and paused. Along with marks from scratching with his nails, his blood vessels had burst, dripping blood.

“Cail, why is your arm…!”

“…”

But Cail didn’t answer and embraced her even more tightly.

The body of the man embracing her was extremely hot.

[It’s a precursor to the rampage. His reason is clouded by desire, so he can’t hear your voice.]

Even without Helasio’s explanation, she could understand Cail’s condition.

Although she hadn’t experienced the precursors to magical rampage in her past life, the villain Jella Shunaibel in the original story had shown similar symptoms several times when she lost her reason.

She had harmed people and committed depraved acts in a state consumed by pain with only desire remaining.

But Cail, as if his only desire was her alone, strongly embraced her with both arms and clung to her. Along with that pitiful whisper begging her not to abandon him.

‘Even in this state, your only desire is not to be abandoned by me… That such a simple thing was a desire big enough to cloud your reason…’

Just as Jella felt her mind becoming distant at this realization and tightly closed her eyes,

[Hey, Jella. Can you help Cail?]

Helasio asked, glancing at her cautiously.

“What should I do?”

[Take away some of the rampaging magical power inside Cail’s body.]

“Take away magical power? Is that possible?”

[Yes, probably for you. Because you can read my energy.]

Helasio explained that through contact, she could temporarily alleviate the magical energy accumulated in Cail’s body.

The deeper and wider the contact, the better. But even if intense contact was uncomfortable, even a small touch like Cail had done would be better than nothing…

“Wait. What do you mean ‘like Cail had done’?”

Jella, who had been quietly listening to Helasio’s explanation, asked in a sharp voice.

[Huh. Did I just say that?]

“Speak clearly, Helasio.”

Helasio immediately realized his mistake and rolled his eyes, pretending not to know, but under Jella’s piercing gaze, he had to confess with a whimper.

[Since Cail is the successor of Hersha. For quite a long time, he read your magical power mixed with my energy and alleviated the magical energy accumulated in your body. While you were asleep.]

“Cail…”

[You didn’t think it was just luck that you never experienced precursor symptoms of magical rampage all this time, did you?]

A scene from the past flashed through Jella’s mind.

In the dark night, him standing like a statue, clutching her hair.

‘…So, that time too.’

Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up and her eyes grew hot.

The reason I didn’t experience magical rampage precursor symptoms, unlike in the original story, was because of you.

Because of you, who cleared my breathing without my knowing…

“I could breathe because you were there.”

Her small, murmuring voice became wet with emotion.

Jella slowly cupped Cail’s face and pressed her lips against his fever-hot ones.

For a moment, he flinched and tried to pull away, but Jella held him more firmly and kissed him.

The act of merely pressing lips against lips was too plain to be called a kiss.

But the heat rising between their connected lips was boiling hot.

As she felt the rampaging energy accumulated in his body transferring to her, a pain like her blood vessels were constricting swept over her.

In the midst of the throbbing pain, Jella thought.

Cail. You…

You’ve been trying so hard to protect me while enduring this sharp pain.

Yet you never showed it to me, how immense this heart of yours is.

Feeling the magical energy that had been violently raging inside Cail’s body gradually subsiding, Jella slowly pulled her lips away.

“Jella…”

Cail blinked slowly, looking at her with hazy eyes like someone who had just woken up.

“Why…”

His palm traced Jella’s wet face. Realizing what was moistening her face, he contorted his eyes painfully.

“Why are you crying…”

Even though his reason hadn’t fully returned, Cail spoke and acted as if that was all he could see.

At his immense heart, Jella’s throat painfully wavered.

Swallowing the rising tears, Jella said.

“I love you.”

Pause.

For a moment, Cail drew in a thin breath.

“I love you, Cail.”

“…”

“Because I like you. I like you so much that tears come to my eyes like this.”

“…”

Cail stared blankly at her face.

He stared at her, who was crying because she loved him.

Her confession of love made his head spin.

“I like you too…”

“This feeling is called love.”

“I want to be by your side. I’ll stay by your side.”

“Will you return to the capital with me?”

The sweet voices in his head that seemed unreal tangled chaotically, scattering his mind.

She loves me.

Because she loves me, she’s crying.

Because of me, she’s crying.

Yes, because of me…

But why am I…

Cail suddenly closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.

“I think I’ve finally gone mad.”

Seeing her cry because of him—that was what Cail Aleret feared most in the world.

But just now, ridiculously, while watching her cry because of him, he was so happy that she loved him.

He had the absurd urge to lick away all her tears.

He must have truly gone mad.

Disgusted with himself, Cail contorted his eyes.

“For the sake of this peaceful world that you achieved with your death, I should die…”

A painfully cracked voice seeped through his lips.

“And yet I love the love you give me so much.”

His large palm cupped her wet cheek.

“Even knowing that someday you’ll cry because of me, I want you to keep liking me. I want you to keep loving me.”

It was a truth he would never have revealed had he been his usual self, but his reason had not yet fully returned, and his emotions flowed out uncontrolled.

He would surely regret it when his senses returned.

Even thinking this, Cail couldn’t stop.

“Aren’t I too pathetic and miserable for wanting you even in this situation?”

“No.”

Jella shook her head.

“You’re neither pathetic nor miserable at all.”

She gently stroked the back of Cail’s hand that cupped her cheek and whispered.

“I want you to keep wanting me like this. Just as I want you, I want you to want me too.”

“…You know what, Jella?”

His voice trembled with barely contained restraint.

“This thin strand of warmth you offer has always been so sweet that it has always made it impossible for me to reject.”

And Cail realized that he had now reached his limit.

“Enough for a worthless slave child to hold you in his heart and dream futile dreams.”

The first thing he did at the moment of realization was to send Helasio flying far away. With a sudden gust of magical power, Helasio’s body flew out the window.

“So even knowing that you will be saddened by my death in the end, I am so happy in this moment of being loved by you.”

But neither Jella nor Cail paid attention to the flying Helasio.

As if only the two of them existed in this world where they stood, they looked only at each other.

“I cannot reject you.”

Eventually, their lips gently met.

“I love you, Jella.”

With that passionate confession, Cail consumed her.