Whenever my mother talked about the novel, she would say:

“We should just watch without interfering. If we meddle and the story goes wrong, troublesome things might happen. Be especially careful never to get involved with the villain.”

She earnestly warned me not to go anywhere near him, saying that since the villain was malicious, heartless, and cruel, it would be disastrous if I got entangled and caught in the crossfire.

When high-ranking nobles attended parties, they were surrounded by so many people that a lady like me couldn’t even approach them.

As the daughter of a baronet father who was a noble in name only, practically a commoner, I had no reason to be involved with the Grand Duke in the first place.

That’s how it should have been.

***

“Love! Love!”

As I ran into the house, Love, the only maid in this house, dropped the apple from her mouth in shock.

“Miss? You’ve come back looking like a madwoman with disheveled hair. What happened?”

“A bag! I need to leave the capital right now!”

“What? What have you done to be running away like a thief in the night… Did Madam cause trouble again?”

“This is even more serious than that!”

“How could anything be more serious than that?”

I rushed up to my room on the second floor in one breath and pulled the curtains to cover the windows.

Kaien didn’t chase after me, but his composure made me more anxious.

In the novel, the villain was portrayed as a meticulous man.

He controlled everything around the female protagonist according to his plans with persistence.

Would such a person not chase after someone who discovered his secret?

The way they suddenly blocked the road claiming construction and guided me into the alley didn’t make sense, and then he carelessly revealed his curse.

“He intends to dispose of me without leaving any trace since we’ve broken up!”

My body trembled at this lightning realization.

If he anticipated I would run away, wouldn’t he have placed people in ambush around my house?

Suppressing my anxiously beating heart, I held my breath and carefully pushed the curtain aside to observe outside.

I could see a few suspicious people loitering around without any apparent business, but having lived a life completely unrelated to swordsmanship, I couldn’t identify professionals.

“I need to escape.”

I took out a small travel bag I had used at the academy and poured jewelry into it.

Looking around the room, I also packed rare books that could be converted to cash, but left clothes behind as they were too heavy.

“Miss, wait a moment. Please explain to me! How serious is this situation?”

Love grabbed my shoulders and stopped me, her face completely devoid of humor.

Though she was slick, never immediately doing what she was told, and always slacking off, she was still a reliable and dependable maid who took care of me while making me do chores when my mother was away for days.

“How much did Madam borrow? Did they take you as collateral for a small amount of money? The Baronet is so feeble that continuing to go to work and receiving a salary is the best way to get money reliably.”

I can’t escape alone.

“Listen carefully, Love.”

I have a family.

“When Father comes home, tell him it’s an emergency and to leave the capital immediately while pretending to go to work tomorrow. Tell him I’ll be waiting at the inn where he has memories with Mother. He’ll know which one. You should go hide at the house you know.”

“Is the situation that serious?”

“It’s at the highest level. Hurry and pack Father’s things!”

“……I’ll call for a carriage then.”

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Love didn’t question further and turned to leave the room.

“Ah, Love. That book, the thin one with nothing written in it. Did Mother take that book she cherishes with her this time too?”

“Yes, she took it with her.”

“I see, alright.”

My mother treasured the novel so much that she always carried it with her. It’s fortunate that she’s traveling now and not at home.

“He wouldn’t really kill me, would he?”

That’s what I thought, but I couldn’t be certain, which made me anxious.

During our brief relationship, Kaien showed a different side from the villain I had read about in the novel.

When troublemakers approached us at the night market we visited:

“Shall I let you leave with that wrist cut off?”

He threatened them like that, or:

“I’ll remove both your legs so you can never do this again.”

These were merely verbal threats, and the troublemakers, intimidated by Kaien’s gaze, retreated obediently.

He was someone who knew where to draw the line and was kind to me.

Our first meeting also began with his kindness.

***

My father, a baronet, worked at the imperial treasury and was essentially a salaried employee no different from a commoner, barely able to afford a small two-story house in the capital.

Having moved up from the provinces after marriage, my father had no significant connections or relatives in the capital.

Therefore, he had neither a mansion to host a ball for his grown daughter nor the money to rent a hall, and it wasn’t easy to attend balls hosted by other families either.

Ordering a single dress would cost my father’s entire month’s salary.

After struggling for a month to order a custom dress for my debutante, I gave up on such ambitions.

My friend Isilla Rosiette, dissatisfied that I didn’t have high expectations for marriage, was desperate to get me to attend balls.

“Even if your family isn’t wealthy, you’re still a noble. If a ‘decent man’ falls head over heels for you, conditions won’t matter.”

Isilla at that time was like a countryside aunt desperate to marry me off.

“But how do you meet such a man? You absolutely must attend balls!”

Isilla was stubborn and even lent me her dress to get me to attend Marquis Rosiette’s ball.

Because I couldn’t wear the same dress every time.

That’s how I uncomfortably attended the ball.

Isilla Rosiette, who became my friend at the academy, is the Emperor’s beloved niece and a lady of the marquis family, so the ball was more splendid than anywhere I had ever been, with many guests.

Matching Isilla’s hair color, expensive fresh pink roses and purple lavender were used as decorations, filling the air with floral scents wherever one went, and a massive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, making the entire hall overflow with sparkling light.

The atmosphere was fantastic, but I couldn’t concentrate because of someone annoying hovering in my peripheral vision.

After dancing three times, changing partners and circling the hall, I told Isilla I was going to the powder room and left the hall.

When I entered the white gazebo, a garden pavilion installed to provide shade during walks,

“It seems the lady has also come to rest.”

Viscount Scott with brown hair approached.

‘He followed me all the way here!’

Viscount Scott, who had come up from the provinces for the social season to find a marriage, was from a noble family that had ruled the area near my father’s hometown for generations.

He was a rude person who emphasized class difference, saying that if my father hadn’t been lucky enough to receive a title as a commoner, I would never have even faced him.

Yet he kept pestering me to marry him and go down to his territory.

“No man will propose to you except me.”

I’d rather live unmarried!

Worried about causing trouble for relatives still in my father’s hometown, I avoided him instead of rejecting him to his face, but he was so insensitive that he persistently followed me.

I often ran into him because the parties during the social season were all similar.

“It’s cold out here. I should get a shawl. Please rest here.”

As I tried to leave the gazebo, he blocked my path.

Having never experienced such behavior from a man before, I hesitated and accidentally stepped on the inside of my dress.

“It must be stained. I need to return it to Isilla.”

“Let me give you my coat. If you leave like this, it would seem like I interfered. Let’s sit together for a while.”

If people see a man and woman together in the garden at night, what kind of rumors would spread!

‘If I wear a man’s coat, people will misunderstand and think we have that kind of relationship!’

Controlling my boiling emotions, I pulled up the corners of my mouth.

Isilla could curse well even with a smiling face, but I couldn’t do that, which was regrettable at times like this.

“I’d like to, but I’m not feeling well. Cough. Viscount, I’ll take my leave first.”

However, I couldn’t escape as easily as I wished.

The carp-faced Viscount Scott extended his arm to block my path.

He was not only insensitive but also rude. Or perhaps he was rude because he didn’t care about others’ feelings.

“Your father is a baronet, but you’re mistaken if you think you’re a noble too.”

This conversation again.

Wow, he’s really testing my patience.

Not wanting to cause any misunderstandings by continuing the conversation, I tried to ignore him and leave, but the Viscount grabbed my forearm.

When the Viscount’s arm touched me, I felt a chill run down my spine as if a bug were crawling on my neck.

An instinctive disgust and aversion rose within me.

“Viscount, let go of my hand. You’re being rude.”

“Rude? When your baronet father with a life peerage dies, you won’t even be called a lady. Then you’ll be a commoner who must listen when nobles speak.”

The Viscount’s hot breath on my face was disgusting.

“Stop playing hard to get and come to me with flattery. I’ve given you enough attention and boosted your self-esteem, so stop pretending now.”

So this is what it means to be dumbfounded.

When did we ever have a good atmosphere between us? Why is he alone riding this subtle current of romance?

“Le-let go! If you don’t let go, I’ll scream!”

“Go ahead and scream. What will people say when they see a lady alone with a man? They’ll think Viscount Scott and some lady are enjoying a secret rendezvous.”

His threatening demeanor, lowering his voice in case someone might hear, made my teeth chatter.

A lady concerned about rumors might not speak up here, but I’m someone who will live well whether I’m a noble or not.

“Wh-who says I can’t scream? Ah!”

As I opened my mouth to scream, Viscount Scott pulled me forcefully.

“Let go! I’ll tell everyone about your rudeness!”

“I’ll just say the lady seduced me first.”

“You vile—! Ah!”

I shook my arm but couldn’t shake him off. The voluminous dress kept wrapping around my legs, preventing me from kicking the Viscount’s shin.

The Viscount maliciously dragged me toward the bushes behind the gazebo.

Into darkness that seemed to swallow anything that entered.

“Let go!”

“Stay still!”

“H-help!”

A thick hand from behind covered my mouth and firmly grabbed my shoulder.

In front was the Viscount trying to drag me away, and behind was a strange man too!

‘They’re working together!’

I couldn’t handle two men alone.

Tears welled up in despair. I should at least kick one of them!

But the Viscount, who had been threatening me with harsh words until now, turned pale when he saw the man behind me.

“I’ll help you, so be quiet.”

A husky voice like smoke settling on the ground echoed in my ear.

“I hate noise.”

A chilling sensation ran up my spine, making me shiver slightly.

‘Who is this?’