“Call me a good-for-nothing scoundrel who does nothing but cause trouble…”

Barmas was about to say “don’t leave my side,” but he closed his mouth. The words simply wouldn’t come out.

Nevertheless, Barmas couldn’t easily let Romei go. He had no intention of discarding her and wanted to tell her that he was willing to do anything for her as long as she didn’t leave his side. So he continued caring for her.

He spent time quietly watching Romei’s sleeping face. As soon as the morning sun rose, he ordered a servant to bring lukewarm water and medicine.

While the servant prepared a small tray with a cup of water and a pill, Barmas cradled Romei’s neck in his arm and lifted her. He needed to support her this way because otherwise her head would tilt backward, unable to stay upright.

“Lord Barmas, I’ve brought what you ordered.”

The servant, now accustomed to these repeated commands, approached him with the tray. Barmas would then take the cup, hold a sip of water in his mouth, put the pill in, and kiss Romei.

He forced her lips open and transferred both the medicine and water simultaneously. Romei reflexively swallowed.

Only after hearing the sound of her swallowing and confirming her mouth was empty would Barmas dismiss the servant. He would then carefully lay Romei back down in her original position.

Until lunchtime arrived, Barmas would sit at the table decoding the encrypted text Romei had thrown into the fireplace.

Many parts were completely illegible from ink saturation or cut off mid-sentence. However, though it required effort, most of it remained readable.

At first, the contents were a jumbled mix of notes about the trap he had meticulously planned and executed, along with records about the mansion and castle.

[I thought it was a dream. I was somewhat embarrassed. Though I had borrowed and read romance novels, that kind of arrogant type wasn’t really to my taste…]

[…I realized it wasn’t a dream, and it gave me chills. It was a method using hallucinogens and aphrodisiacs. He exploited the fact that while holy knights can detect magical power, they cannot detect the use of drugs…]

[…It’s vast but desolate. Outside the castle was an empty plain, with nothing to hide behind if one tried to escape, making detection inevitable. However, beneath it lies a large-scale magic circle. It’s said to block the use of magic. This gave me a hint about why we couldn’t find any traces despite searching the forest for so long…]

[…So I’m writing this down thinking I might never be able to escape.]

The records continued with detailed and accurate observations, somehow gathered even while she was physically intimate with him every day.

Eventually, either running out of things to report or becoming emotionally invested in the writing, the content gradually became more like a diary.

Romei had also written about Barmas, which was both the most interesting part and currently the most valuable information.

[Barmas. He said his name was Barmas. He looks perfectly suited to the name Barmas.]

At this part, Barmas burst into laughter involuntarily. The evaluation, written in a matter-of-fact tone resembling a biologist documenting a newly discovered species, was quite amusing.

He continued reading the next sentences.

[…He is clearly an extremely wicked devil. Additionally, he is surprisingly strong. Though I don’t remember, I might get answers if I ask Captain Brodie…]

[He greatly enjoys tormenting me. There are moments when his eyes sparkle while I’m suffering and struggling—he takes pleasure in my pain. Each time, I’m convinced of the fact that he is a devil of unparalleled wickedness…]

[…He looks like a poisonous plant. His entire being broadcasts how dangerous and malicious he is, yet he remains captivating. That makes him even more dangerous. Anyone who sees him would understand. One must be careful…]

At this passage, Barmas laughed once more. He found it amusing that she had described him like some poisonous mushroom. It was the first time in his life he’d been compared to a toxic plant.

However, after reading the next section, the smile disappeared from his face.

[I owe him my life once. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. After much deliberation, I expressed my gratitude. Though he is wicked, I believe God would gladly forgive me for thanking someone who saved my life.]

[I occasionally felt a sense of déjà vu from his words and actions, and thinking about it now, he resembles… Reading that novel would make the similarity obvious.

It was quite entertaining when I read it, but after meeting someone similar, I can’t understand how the maid developed feelings for him. How could she envision a future with such an arrogant and selfish man…]

[…I don’t understand why I thought he was worried about me, even in retrospect. Perhaps I momentarily forgot he was a devil. Yes… there’s no way he would worry just because I bit my tongue.]

[My tongue is fine. He healed it. Writing this feels strange, but since it’s the truth, there’s no other way to record it.]

Having read that far, Barmas neatly arranged the papers and placed them on a shelf of the cabinet. Then he summoned a familiar from his shadow.

“You called for me, Lord Barmas.”

A man with bright red hair bowed his head toward Barmas.

Barmas gave him an order.

“Go to the human realm and gather every novel featuring a maid and a prince.”

“Yes, understood… What?”

Having heard from others that Barmas had been acting strangely lately, the familiar was determined to obey absolutely to avoid upsetting him.

However, the command that reached his ears was so bizarrely unexpected that he couldn’t help but stop mid-response and look up questioningly.

Surprisingly, Barmas didn’t get angry (this part frightened the familiar most). Instead, he calmly repeated his order.

“Bring me novels featuring a maid and a prince. I believe they’re romance novels, but just in case, bring everything that includes those characters regardless of content.”

“…Yes, understood, Lord Barmas.”

The familiar concealed his bewilderment and accepted the command.

Though he couldn’t understand why he was suddenly being ordered to collect romance novels read by humans, he had no choice but to fulfill the request while serving Barmas.

‘They said he’s even more frightening when he’s acting normal—that was true after all.’

The red-haired familiar thought that the recent lamentations from another familiar about Barmas weren’t unfounded as he vanished from Barmas’s presence, heading for the human realm.

Barmas briefly stared at the space where the familiar had been before turning his attention back to Romei.

Romei still showed no signs of waking, sleeping deeply like someone dead.

‘She says I’m identical to a prince in a novel. If princes in stories wake sleeping beauties with countless kisses, shouldn’t she pretend to wake up after one of mine?’

With an expressionless face, Barmas entertained such idle thoughts while quietly passing time by her side.

* * *

Romei opened her eyes again in the deep hours before dawn. It was the darkest time, just before daybreak.

She quietly gazed at the pitch-black ceiling. Perhaps from sleeping too long, it took time for her sense of reality to return.

‘After sleeping this much, he’ll be furious like before, and since he won’t act affectionate like he used to, he’ll discard me, right?’

The thought that she would no longer need to endure the pain from irreversible events, no longer suffer from what might be self-pity or guilt, made her heart feel lighter.

All that remained for her was to say goodbye to Barmas, her only future.

With this thought, she turned her head and immediately met a pair of red eyes, clearly visible even in the darkness.

Romei flinched involuntarily.

It was Barmas.

‘Shouldn’t he be asleep at this hour…?’

Romei looked up at him in surprise. Barmas stared at her in silence for a long while before finally speaking. His voice carried deep fatigue yet was tinged with relief.

“You’re awake.”

With that brief statement, lights came on in the room. An orange glow softly illuminated the two of them, just enough to dispel the thick darkness.

Revealed under the light, his face looked as tired as his voice had suggested, but showed neither anger nor irritation, causing Romei’s eyes to widen in surprise.

Barmas asked in a low voice. His question was disarmingly simple considering she had disobeyed his orders, making it all the more confusing.

“Did you sleep well? You slept for quite a long time.”

“…Aren’t you angry?”

Romei asked. Her voice came out cracked and dry from disuse.

When she coughed several times due to her parched throat, Barmas, with a look that suggested he had anticipated this, reached for the bedside table and offered her water.

But Romei refused it.

“I don’t need it.”

“Drink. I haven’t added any poison or anything like that.”

“You should have said you added poison. Then I would have drunk it.”

“Then shall I say it contains poison?”

“There’s no one here anymore who would believe your obvious lies.”

Romei stated firmly.

“At least not in this room.”

Since only Romei and Barmas were in the bedroom, her meaning was clear. She would no longer humor him or cater to his whims.

Yet Barmas, far from getting angry, pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile. The person who should have been irritated, demanding why she wouldn’t obey him, was instead laughing.

Romei wondered if he had gone mad while she was asleep. There was no other explanation for him to be laughing in this situation.

But Barmas was sincere.

“It feels like we’ve gone back to the old days for a moment, and that makes me happy. Back then, I found your retorts annoying, but now I don’t know why they bring me such joy.”

Romei was equally baffled by the reason for his delight.