Is It So Wrong that I Like Seeing the Villain Suffer? - Chapter 1

“Save her, no matter what happens.”

Through blurry vision, I could see the silhouette of a man.

…Who is it?

I want to get up, but my body won’t move.

“…Who…”

As I struggled to open my mouth and mumble, the man turned to look at me.

He slowly approached and reached out to place his hand on my forehead.

“It seems the fever has subsided somewhat.”

He muttered while looking at me.

“…Lize Allenheim.”

Huh?

That name sounds familiar.

While I was trying to recall where I’d heard it, the man who had fixed his gaze on me spoke again.

“I won’t let you die like this.”

Huh?

You know me? More importantly, my name isn’t Lize….

There was so much I wanted to say, but even though my lips moved, no sound came out.

After silently looking at me for a moment, the man turned away.

He spoke to those standing guard behind him.

“Take good care of her while I’m gone. Keep her alive by any means necessary.”

“Yes, Lord Arkle.”

As I tried to follow the retreating figure of the man, my vision kept blurring.

‘Arkle, huh? This name is familiar too….’

After the man left the room, I could hear the chatter of those left behind.

“Will that woman be able to hold on until Lord Arkle returns?”

“It might be difficult… She’s been adamantly refusing to eat.”

“Maybe we should start preparing a coffin? Heh heh.”

“Well, how long could the noble Saint of Allenheim possibly last here in House Cayennehold?”

Allenheim, Cayenne….

Those words sparked something in my mind.

The high-intensity, dark romance novel <When the Red Moon Sheds Tears>.

Allenheim and Cayenne were the families of the male and female protagonists in the novel, respectively.

‘No way, no way…’

Did I really get reincarnated?

‘It seems I really did get reincarnated, right? My goodness… Am I going crazy?’

I really….

‘Love it!’

<When the Red Moon Sheds Tears>, or <Red Moon> for short, was a high-intensity, dark romance novel famous for its provocative content.

‘It’s totally my style.’

Having been sickly since birth, I had to spend half of my life in hospitals.

Painful treatments, the sighs of family members bearing the medical expenses… Among all that, what troubled me the most was the boredom.

Lying in bed without a single visitor, only the stimulation through fiction made me feel alive.

As if to counteract the reality where all stimuli were blocked, the more intense and provocative the story, the more vitality I gained.

In that sense, <Red Moon>, which even made enthusiasts shake their heads, could be said to be a novel perfectly made for me.

‘So this is… salvation.’

It’s much better to live a short but intense life in my favorite fictional world than to live a long, boring life in reality.

‘Wait, but who have I become?’

“Lize Allenheim… The head of the family sure made a bold move.”

As if to confirm, one of those whispering in the distance looked at me and spoke.

This confirmed my identity.

‘Allenheim? …Haha, I’m doomed.’

Just a few seconds ago, I felt saved, but now I feel like cursing.

Lize Allenheim, the body I’ve been reincarnated into, was the younger sister of the male protagonist.

She gets kidnapped by the Cayenne ducal family, the greatest villains in this world, and dies even before the main story begins.

‘No, I’m not complaining about falling into such a messed-up world…! I actually like it!’

But dying without even getting to live a bit is a bit unfair!

Along with this feeling of injustice, I suddenly burst into a fit of coughing.

“Cough, cough–!”

“It’s starting again. Quickly, give her the sleeping pills.”

Huh? Sleeping pills?

No, if I’m coughing and have a fever, you should give me fever reducers, not suddenly force sleeping pills on me…!

Before I could say anything, a woman in a maid’s uniform approached and shoved a spoon into my mouth.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t treat you as well as you were in Allenheim.”

As I swallowed the medicine on the spoon in surprise, my eyelids began to feel heavy.

My already blurry vision started to narrow even more.

‘I finally fall into my favorite fictional world, only to be a character who dies quickly….’

But there’s nothing to worry about.

In the original story, Lize died not because of her health, but for psychological reasons.

On the contrary, while my body was weak, I had a mentality tempered by all sorts of dark stories.

In other words….

‘This body has found its rightful owner.’

Thinking that, I grinned widely just as my consciousness completely faded.

❖ ❖ ❖

When I opened my eyes again, my body felt a bit lighter.

‘It seems the fever has gone down.’

I slowly looked around the room. Everyone must have left after I lost consciousness, as I was alone in the room.

I painfully raised myself from the bed.

‘Ugh– I can even walk safely.’

Having always been confined to a hospital bed, the sensation of walking after so long felt unfamiliar yet welcome.

I carefully made my way to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

Dazzling silver hair reaching down to the waist.

Snow-white skin without a single blemish, light pink eyes like delicate flower petals.

Delicate features with an infinitely kind expression, a beautiful woman giving off a somewhat holy aura.

This confirmed it.

‘I really have become Lize Allenheim.’

The appearance before my eyes matched surprisingly well with the description of her appearance in the novel.

Among the characters in <Red Moon>, which was famous for having no normal people, she was the only one with a sound mind — or rather, problematically too sound.

“Take good care of her while I’m gone. Keep her alive by any means necessary.”

That man, Arkle Cayenne, was the only hope that might be able to heal him.

The younger brother of the female protagonist in the novel and the second son of the Cayenne family, Arkle Cayenne had an enormous amount of magical power residing within him.

It’s said that if he wanted to, he could annihilate the entire empire’s population.

The reason Arkle obtained such powerful strength was because the first head of the Cayenne family was a contractor with a demon.

In exchange for gaining power beyond human limits, the first head would periodically experience tremendous pain called magical resonance.

Unable to endure the pain, he eventually lost his mind and massacred his own family.

‘From then on, the Cayenne family was called the demon’s clan.’

The magical power of the first head was passed down through the bloodline, and Arkle was the one who manifested it in this generation.

That’s the reason why the Cayenne family kidnapped Lize.

As a saint, Lize Allenheim was born with the power of healing.

They thought her holy power, which could alleviate pain just by touching a patient, would work on Arkle as well.

‘Whether it actually worked or not, we couldn’t know because Lize died before Arkle returned.’

Lize, who grew up in the clerical family of Allenheim, had a pure and delicate personality.

She was already terrified by the fact of being kidnapped, and it was by the Cayenne family of all people. Gradually losing her mind, Lize eventually broke down mentally and hanged herself.

After that, Lize’s brother and the male protagonist, Jean Allenheim, infiltrates the Cayenne family without knowing his younger sister has died, which is the beginning of <Red Moon>.

Jean Allenheim gets entangled with the female protagonist Martha Cayenne, engaging in some intense romance, and around the middle of the novel, he learns that Lize has died and decides to seek revenge.

After a meticulous plan, Jean succeeds in his revenge by causing the three Cayenne siblings to kill each other, but feeling only emptiness, he too takes his own life.

In short, a total destruction for everyone.

House Cayennehold where I am now was a gathering place for the lunatics who contributed the most to making this novel a dark story.

From this perspective, my situation seemed quite desperate, but….

‘Honestly… I’m kind of excited.’

The Cayenne family was my favorite family among all the novels I’ve read.

You know how some people are more attracted to villains than protagonists?

I was exactly that type.

Whether due to the demon’s power or not, the Cayenne clan possessed appearances so outstanding it was hard to believe they were human.

With their unrealistic looks and incredible abilities….

‘Honestly, how could a reader not like this?’

Of course, from the perspective of someone who’s been kidnapped, it might look different, but that can be corrected when the time comes.

‘Alright, I’ve decided.’

I’ll try to survive in this world for as long as possible!

One lifetime of just lying in bed unable to do anything is enough.

Besides, if I can hold out for just three months here, the male protagonist will come to rescue me.

Then I can spend the rest of my life comfortably in Allenheim.

‘They might not be as rich as Cayenne, but it’s still a rich and wealthy family.’

Although they say they live frugally, there should be more than enough to live on without problems.

‘I absolutely won’t commit suicide like in the original story. I’ll endure by eating well, sleeping well, and resting well.’

Just then, a growling sound came from my stomach.

Right, let’s start with a meal first.

It was said that Lize refused to eat or drink right after being kidnapped.

Whether she thought they would release her if she did so, or if she really couldn’t swallow food, I’m not sure, but I had no intention of starving myself.

‘I need to recover my strength first, whether to survive or to indulge in my fandom.’

It didn’t seem like anyone was waiting outside the room.

If that’s the case, I’ll have to find the servants myself and ask for a meal.

‘Fortunately, the door isn’t locked.’

They must have underestimated Lize so much that they didn’t even consider the possibility of her escaping.

‘Then I’ll go out… Oh, wait.’

Just before leaving the room, I quietly slipped a pointed, skewer-like statuette from the bedside into my sleeve.

‘Just in case, for self-defense.’

I don’t think I can defeat the people of the Cayenne family with this.

If worse comes to worst, I plan to use my life as a bargaining chip.

‘Since Arkle said he would definitely keep me alive, they probably don’t want me to die.’

As of now, my life is the only, yet quite powerful, weapon I have.

‘Alright! Shall we go out?’

I carefully opened the door and stepped outside.

As expected, there was no one guarding the door.

Even as I passed through the corridor, I couldn’t sense anyone’s presence.

‘Aren’t they being too careless, even for this situation?’

It was an ideal situation for escaping, but I had no intention of taking the initiative to attempt an escape.

‘There’s no need to complicate things unnecessarily. The male protagonist will come to rescue me in three months anyway.’

The chances of surviving and escaping House Cayennehold are much higher if I receive Jean’s help rather than doing something reckless on my own.

Compared to me, whose only weapon is my life, Jean is an excellent mage who infiltrates House Cayennehold after thorough preparation.

‘The kitchen should be on the first floor, right?’

I came down the stairs and reached a spacious hall, but still, no one was in sight.

‘This is strange. Did I come to the wrong place…?’

As I was looking around, a voice came from behind me.

“You there.”