Diana felt a cold sensation. Her body trembled as all her warmth seemed to be drawn to one spot. She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids and opened her eyes with difficulty.

“Where… am I?”

Diana frowned. Just as she tried to get up, she realized the unfamiliar space felt strangely familiar.

Wait.

This was the room where she had died in her previous life, inside the villa.

They had thrown her on the floor without even lighting the fireplace. Diana could easily imagine what kind of feelings Clive harbored toward her.

She tried to get up but couldn’t. Her body was tied with ropes. Diana lay on the bare floor with ropes binding her wrists, chest, and ankles.

This makes escape impossible…

Diana struggled, trying to free her wrists from the ropes by thrashing her arms and legs, but it was useless.

“Is anyone out there?”

Though she suspected they had either recruited or detained the villa’s caretakers, she wanted to call for help. She hoped someone might be there to help her.

But only Diana’s voice echoed through the room; no helping hand appeared. Realizing no one would come to her aid, Diana needed to think of a way to escape on her own.

If only she had that thing now…

She remembered the self-defense tool Edwin had given her on the day she was nearly kidnapped by bandits. If she had it now, cutting through these ropes would be easy.

She had thrown it away after Edwin rejected her, so it was long gone, but now she desperately needed it. However, wishing wouldn’t make it appear.

There was a dangerous item that could substitute. The dagger Edwin had given her as a gift was hidden inside her dress.

She carried it because it was Edwin’s gift, but she had never needed to use it. She had considered it merely an accessory, never imagining she would actually need it like this.

She had been surprised when she received the gift, but now she needed to thank him.

Diana had never told anyone about the gifts she had received from Edwin. Not even Marie. She had wanted to keep them as her own secret, and now it seemed that had been a wise choice. 

No one had searched her body because no one would have thought she carried a dagger.

Somehow, she needed to use this dagger to cut the ropes binding her. If only she could reach it…

Just as she was twisting her body, trying to loosen the ropes, she heard footsteps in the hallway. They were a man’s heavy footsteps.

Could it be Clive?

There was a clicking sound of a lock opening, and as expected, Clive opened the door and entered. He nodded to the servants who followed him, and they approached Diana and lifted her to her feet.

She tried to resist by tensing her muscles, but she was powerless against the strong men. Her feet lifted off the ground momentarily before touching the floor again.

When she raised her head, she saw Clive had already approached. He gestured for the servants to untie the ropes and leave.

After confirming the door was closed, Clive grabbed Diana’s chin. Their gazes met in midair.

“If you break off your engagement with Lord Lauderdale and promise to marry me, I’ll send you back to the Winchester estate.”

Clive’s face was full of arrogance. Diana was infuriated by his confidence that she wouldn’t refuse his proposal. What kind of confidence was this?

“You don’t think this kind of threat will work, do you?”

“We’ll see about that.”

Haha. Clive laughed loudly. This was the first time his appearance looked so despicable. It was a face she had never seen before. Thinking that he might have ordered her murder with that same expression in her previous life made her blood boil with anger.

So this was the real Clive. A greedy man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He had hidden his true nature well.

Bastard. Even tearing him apart wouldn’t be enough.

What nobleman would act so cowardly? Did he think the imperial family would recognize a promise made under threat?

“Do you think I’ll accept? That will never happen!”

“It doesn’t matter if you refuse. If I say we enjoyed a secret rendezvous here, everyone will believe it.”

A rendezvous?

Wasn’t one of the recent nasty rumors about Diana related to her relationships with men?

That she had used her power to become engaged to Edwin, but was dissatisfied because he wouldn’t look at her. So she was satisfying her loneliness through other men.

Recently, there had also been rumors that lewd sounds had been heard coming from her bedroom. Of course, implying the partner wasn’t Edwin.

She had wondered who spread such rumors, but now it seemed Marie was the culprit. She must have heard them making love that night while passing through the corridor. Probably to damage Diana’s reputation.

“Yeah, right. Who would believe I’d have a rendezvous with a man like you?”

Diana had no intention of meekly following Clive’s words. When she snorted derisively, he grabbed her neck and pushed her against the wall.

“Ugh!”

Pain was clearly visible on Diana’s face.

“You shouldn’t have made the mistake in the first place. Duke Winchester told my father how much he liked me, but then you chose Lord Lauderdale instead. How could that happen!”

Instead of answering, Diana glared at Clive.

“When I heard from my father that you two might break off your engagement, I thought I had another chance. So I proposed to you, and do you know what Duke Winchester said?”

Diana still gave no answer. Clive continued, needing no response.

“He said he would never make me his son-in-law. D*mn it all.”

Diana had clearly told her father she would never marry Clive, and it seemed the Duke had relayed those exact words to him.

“That’s because you act like this.”

Diana finally spoke. She had no intention of submitting to a man trying to subdue her by force. She spat in Clive’s face.

“You crazy b*tch!”

“The crazy one is you. Do you think I’ll move according to your wishes?”

Clive approached until their lips nearly touched and whispered in her ear with a confident face.

“What’s the problem when I can just put my seed in you until you’re pregnant?”

Seeing his evil smile sent chills down her spine. His eyes looked ready to carry out those words right now. If Diana became pregnant, many would believe his story.

If she had a child, Diana couldn’t be free from Clive, and she would likely be forced to marry him.

Her father and mother thought Diana had gone to the villa for recuperation and wouldn’t look for her, so his plan wasn’t impossible.

Marie wasn’t the only one who had betrayed Diana. Someone working with Marie would surely report that Diana had gone for recuperation.

If they sent a letter in Diana’s handwriting, no one would find it strange, so their plan had a high chance of success.

Even if the circumstances changed, would the past where she married Clive remain unchanged? 

The thought alone made her spine stiffen.

What was more horrifying was Clive’s body touching hers now.

Clive wrapped his arms around Diana’s waist and pressed against her, but his manhood was small. It hadn’t changed. What use was that thing?

“Pathetic bastard. You call yourself a man?”

Diana sneered without thinking.

“What did you say?”

Clive’s eyebrow twitched, his nerves clearly touched. Diana could see his clenched fist trembling.

“I was just thinking how pregnancy would be difficult with that pitiful thing. What are you going to rub that against?”

“Are you finished speaking?”

Feeling humiliated, Clive immediately stepped back from Diana. His face gradually contorted with rage as he looked at her.

“Did I say something wrong? It’s not even half of half of Lord Lauderdale’s… no, it’s incomparably smaller.”

Diana deliberately provoked him by touching his body.

“Look at this. Not only is it small. No muscles either. Who would like such a weak man?”

She hoped the angry Clive would beat her rather than *ssault her. She wanted to buy time any way she could.

Slap!

A sharp sound cut through the air and echoed in the room. Furious, Clive raised his hand, threatening to strike again.

As Diana closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head, she caught sight of Clive’s inadequate lower body. She reached out and grabbed his manhood. Then she twisted it like she was wringing out laundry.

“Urgh!”

Clive let out a shallow gasp and his body staggered slightly.

Now’s her chance!

Diana quickly pulled out the dagger hidden in her bodice and stabbed Clive’s manhood. Not satisfied with that, she dragged the blade downward. This was the quickest way to prevent pregnancy.

“Become a eunuch!”

“AAAAGH!”

Blood sprayed everywhere when she pulled out the knife. Clive’s screams echoed throughout the room.

Hunched over with his knees pressed together, Clive writhed in agony. Men who had heard his screams came running.

Some rushed to Clive to stop the bleeding from his wound, while others ran toward Diana.

Just before being caught, Diana shouted urgently.

“You see? Young Master Orkney’s plan has failed. So you all need to choose wisely. Will you make an enemy of the Winchester family, or help me now and avoid severe punishment?”

The servants’ movements halted at her words. They looked around nervously, hesitating over whose orders to follow.

“D-don’t be swayed by her! No one knows what happened at the villa, so you’d better listen to me. The Second Prince is backing me!”

Upon hearing about imperial involvement, the servants looked back and forth between Diana and Clive with troubled expressions.

“What are you waiting for?”

Diana walked toward the door, pushing past the men who stood frozen in place, and went outside.

“C-catch her. Catch her! And bring a doctor. Can’t you see the state I’m in?”

Diana didn’t stop walking but turned her body slightly and shouted.

“You don’t think no one knows I came here, do you? If you lay hands on me, you’ll be arrested as accomplices. But if you follow my instructions now, I won’t press charges.”

“Listen to me, AAAAGH!”

Clive’s face contorted further as his pain intensified. The hesitant servants still stood dumbfounded, merely observing the situation. They still seemed confused about whether to follow Clive’s orders or Diana’s.

Fearing the servants might change their minds, Diana grabbed her dress and began to run. Creating distance between them was the priority. Her hands were soaked with Clive’s blood, but this was no time to worry about that.

“No one knows Lady Winchester came here! I’m the lady’s personal maid. Only I and my accomplices know! So hurry and catch her!”

When Marie arrived late and shouted, the servants finally moved to catch Diana. There was only one place Diana could flee to escape them: the cliff edge.