[A Crazy Man vs An Even Crazier Man]

In a quiet study with a monotonous atmosphere and somewhat rigid feel. The owner of the room, whose personality didn’t match the study’s atmosphere at all, looked with worried eyes at the man lying before him.

Grand Duke Rian Nospero Royte.

A man who was born into a family with nothing to envy in the world, but grew up so unfortunately that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had the most unhappy childhood in the world. His kind and affectionate personality gradually became quiet and timid, while another self that inherited his violent father’s blood grew larger. Eventually, the child who couldn’t endure his unhappy life found his own escape by destroying his mind.

Two personalities that divided his duality into two. That was the escape he found.

Font sighed as he looked at the two aspects of his friend before him. He thought he hadn’t seen him for a while, but whatever had happened during that time, his friend’s personalities had split even more perfectly than before. They were even showing aggression toward each other…….

Rian, who had closed his eyes under Font’s hypnosis, was now fiercely fighting with someone. Font felt devastated as he alone watched this secret that no one should know. He could do nothing while watching his friend’s insane behavior. All he could do was just watch and answer questions.

“Font.”

“……Ah, yes?”

Font swallowed hard at the fierce voice suddenly calling him. Of all times, it had to be that fierce personality addressing him.

“Why the hell did you send this bastard?”

“……Sigh…… He suddenly came and asked me to hypnotize him. I thought he had remembered something.”

“Don’t you know meeting me won’t do this bastard any good?”

How was I supposed to know you two would meet like this?

Feeling frustrated, Font frowned and asked back.

“What exactly happened with the Grand Duchess that’s causing all this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? This idiot said some nonsense and got what he deserved.”

Rian’s twisted, sneering lips returned to normal. Seeing this, Font clutched his head.

“You parasite secretly living in my body, how dare you use my body to lust after my wife and still be so shameless.”

“You’re the parasite. How can you call me shameless when you just whine and hide behind me at every turn? And Belita is my wife.”

“I was the one who brought her.”

“Yes, you’re the one who bought your wife with money. And that’s not all—instead of protecting her, you neglected and ignored her. Is that all? Not realizing your own fault, you shamelessly made her out to be an immoral woman, and in the end, you were the fool who received divorce papers. You.”

His straight lips trembled and then stretched into a grin. Then he gritted his teeth and smirked again. Font clicked his tongue at his friend’s bizarre appearance, which was almost too grotesque to watch alone. Even he had never seen him like this before. If their bodies had also split, the two would surely be entangled in a fistfight with plenty to spare.

‘Ah, I’ve done something unnecessary.’

He had casually assumed his friend wanted to find some lost memories when he suddenly visited and asked for the date before requesting hypnosis. But who would have thought he’d witness such a grotesque scene? And their conversation was becoming increasingly embarrassing to listen to as it grew more intense.

“Leave my body while I’m still asking nicely.”

“This is my body. And Belita needs me. Not a bastard like you.”

“Don’t casually call my wife by her name!”

“Hmph, why are you suddenly pretending to be so affectionate when you had no feelings for her? Perhaps you can’t forget tasting her body in my place that day?”

“You monstrous bastard…!”

“When I was whispering words of love to Belita, you were the one talking about divorce. If you can’t protect her, just hide behind me and watch like you’ve always done. I can protect both the Grand Duchy and Belita better than you.”

Rian’s expression changed grotesquely again. He laughed, then got angry, then sneered, then suddenly frowned. And the final expression that remained was his straight lips. But his voice was much more fierce than before.

“Fine. I admit it. That you are me, and I am you. But that means I can also act like you.”

“Ha! What exactly can a bastard like you do…? Do you think you can even come close to me with that weak mind of yours?”

“I may not know about other things, but I can do that.”

“……You bastard…!”

Rian’s lips curled up in a chilling manner. Judging by his expression alone, it was impossible to tell whether it was Crazy Rian or Grand Duke Rian who was smiling. But from their conversation, Font could guess what kind of crisis the Grand Duchess was facing. Both selves were obsessively competing for his wife.

“I never intended to do this my whole life, but thanks to you, I now know. I’m grateful for that.”

“What!?”

“I never knew my wife was such a passionate woman. I couldn’t resist that temptation. So while I’m awake, I’ll create a child with her. And I’ll make her despise your existence. Oh, and of course, I’ll make sure you can’t come out as much as possible.”

“Hmph. Then let’s see whose child comes first? Hmm, perhaps Belita already has my child in her womb. I came inside her quite often.”

“Both of you, stop! Haaa……”

Listening to this insane conversation, Font felt like he was going crazy himself. It seemed Rian’s mind was already damaged beyond repair.

“Oh my, sigh…… Rian, stop it. I really can’t listen to this anymore.”

“Font! Put this bastard to sleep!”

“Font, isn’t there a way to completely get rid of this parasite? Prescribe me some medicine. I’ll take it faithfully.”

“Yes, give this bastard some medicine to put him to sleep!”

Again, the same voice with different speech patterns shouted loudly. Font really wanted to give him some medicine. But if this problem could be solved with medicine, he would have given it to him long ago. Unfortunately, this was an issue Rian himself had to overcome.

“Alright, please shut up and listen to me first.”

Rian closed his mouth at the rare sight of Font getting angry. However, it was impossible to tell whose will it was.

“Sigh…… Both of your stories—no. Ha! This is really driving me crazy.”

Font roughly ruffled his hair and looked up for a moment to suppress his frustration. It was both ridiculous and irritating that he kept seeing Rian as two people.

‘I should quit being his doctor if I want to stay sane.’

He wanted to break the hypnosis right away, but feeling that both personalities needed to hear what he had to say, Font calmed himself and spoke.

“Fine. You two, ah…, damn it. Ah, whatever. Yes, I’ve heard both your stories. But you know what.”

Rian’s lips twitched as if he had something to say. Before that mouth could burst open again, Font hurriedly continued.

“What confidence do you have? Why does it seem like the Grand Duchess’s opinion isn’t reflected at all in your conversation?”

“Belita unconditionally follows my words. She’s quite submissive to me. She does have provocative moments sometimes, but that’s cute in its own way and tolerable.”

“Yes, she was a submissive and virtuous woman. She’s only temporarily strange because of this guy. If we talk enough.”

“Haaa…… You stupid bastards.”

“What!?”

“!”

Font growled with an expression even fiercer than Rian’s.

“You said you received divorce papers. That means the Duchess already has not even a speck of feeling for you! Do you know how divorced women are treated in the Empire? It means she finds you so horrible that she’s prepared for that!”

“She promised a future with me. If this bastard doesn’t show up, there’s no problem with our relationship.”

“If you hadn’t stirred her up, we would still be peaceful like before!”

‘There’s no one more stupid.’

Font blurted out the insult he had been thinking.

“You stupid bastards. The one she notified of divorce is Rian Nospero Royte. Not one of the two selves inside your body!”

Glaring coldly at Rian, whose lips were squirming, Font broke his hypnosis with these final words.

“Listen carefully, whoever wakes up. If you want to keep the Grand Duchess, you’d better act differently than now. Don’t upset her. You idiots!”

Snap!

Rian’s eyelids slowly opened.

* * *

Because Rian hadn’t returned until sunset, Belita had to spend the whole day in anxiety. He had clearly seemed to change earlier, but he hadn’t returned even by dinner time. Although she hoped he wouldn’t come back, knowing that he eventually would made her restless. Constantly biting her already ruined nails, Belita stood by the window checking if his carriage was arriving.

And after a while, the carriage carrying her fear entered the Grand Ducal residence. She had spent all day preparing herself and thinking of ways to respond no matter who appeared, but now that he had returned, her mind went blank again.

“Sigh…… I just need to keep my wits about me. He wouldn’t kill me, would he?”

She massaged her tingling hands and tried to reassure herself. The carriage stopped, and he got out. Soon his gaze turned to the window where she was standing. When their eyes met, Belita was startled and hid behind the curtain.

As her heart pounded, she took deep breaths to try to calm her racing chest. In her mind, she searched for crazy Belita to prepare for the judgment time that was approaching. When she slightly pulled back the curtain to look down, he was gone. The thought that he would soon burst in here made her dizzy again.

She led her staggering legs to the sofa and sat down. Her legs were too weak to face him standing.

“Sigh…… Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”