“For someone as infatuated as Lady Sillion to speak of annulment, there must have been at least some pressure from her family.”

Aiger’s comment was surprisingly considerate, prompting Raylin to take a gamble and throw out the truth.

She would consider it a success if it piqued his interest even slightly.

“No. She no longer loves Duke Lucart. So she has no reason to hold on to the engagement. In the first place, she…”

Usually, anyone would have interrupted, eager to hear what came after “In the first place, she…”

But Aiger remained silent, offering no reaction.

Not easy to sway: Aiger Reinhardt.

She hadn’t expected him to be an easy target, but to not even ask?

Still, at least she had managed to alleviate some of his boredom. That was half a success… right?

Before Raylin could think of what to say next, Theron’s voice cut through the air.

“Annulment… That is not a matter a lady should speak of so lightly.”

Raylin’s momentary disappointment vanished as her focus sharpened once more.

“I know. There’s nothing I can do about it. But you, on the other hand—you must want nothing more than to annul this engagement.”

Theron’s brows furrowed, and instantly, a flood of emotions crossed his face—shock, anger, irritation, disdain—before an unexpected one emerged.

Curiosity.

But only Raylin, who could perceive emotions in words, noticed it.

Theron stared intently at Catherine.

Whenever their eyes met, his gaze felt like a swamp pulling her in, unsettling and unpleasant. But now, his eyes were as clear as a cloudless sky.

“This isn’t something to discuss in such a public setting.”

“I chose a public setting on purpose. Wouldn’t having witnesses when I directly request a breakup from Your Grace be better?”

Hearing her composed response, the word “curiosity” floating beside Theron deepened slightly.

Catherine took hold of her teacup and added,

“If Your Grace sends the annulment papers to my family, I will sign them immediately.”

Watching the scene unfold, Raylin muttered inwardly.

The empire’s most powerful and influential young duke and the only daughter of a marquis’ family were breaking off their engagement in a mere café.

Catherine had provided a plausible excuse for this setup, but this was nothing short of a literary device.

The first function of this setup was to make it known to all how drastically different Catherine had become before and after her possession.

The second was to leave a strong impression on Raylin Greuga, who desperately wished to break off her engagement with the crown prince—her story’s most formidable tool and villain.

It was an incredibly convenient device, allowing the female lead to resolve everything with just a few words.

Yet, instead of being deeply moved by Catherine’s words, as she was supposed to be, Raylin was too busy suppressing the furious twitch of her lips.

Regardless of Raylin’s feelings, events proceeded as they were meant to.

“Oh, when you send the annulment papers, could you deliver them in person? Otherwise, I might not receive them.”

It was a strange statement—who wouldn’t know if their annulment papers had arrived? Theron tilted his head slightly.

Similarly tilting her head, Raylin fumbled through the keywords of Re.Vil.Bre.

Hmm. The most prominent keyword was obviously #Villainess Possession. The second was…

#Family Regret Arc.

Catherine had been the outcast of the Sillion Marquisate.

Her father and two older brothers had either neglected or tormented her. Without recognition from her family, even the servants treated her with disdain.

They kept up appearances in public to maintain the family’s prestige, but inside, she had grown up rotten.

There was only one reason.

The Marchioness of Sillion—the sole love of the Marquis and the shining light of the Sillion family—had died giving birth to Catherine.

Most novels with the family regret tag followed this exact setup.

Even though the tea was fragrant, it tasted bitter, as if she had bitten into a piece of gall.

As the story progressed, Catherine’s family, seeing her complete transformation, came to regret their past actions and beg for her forgiveness deeply. In the end, she ultimately accepted them.

But the Catherine who truly deserved their apologies no longer existed.

What remained was an imposter wearing her shell—a psychopath who had killed several people out of delusional paranoia, all for the sake of her own goals.

Raylin closed her eyes, thinking about the real Catherine who had vanished, then shook her head to rid herself of unnecessary thoughts.

There was nothing she could do about it. She would allow herself only mourning and remembrance, nothing more.

As for the other primary keyword…

“I understand. This is no longer a conversation suited for a place like this. I’ll take my leave first.”

Without waiting for Catherine’s agreement, Theron turned his back and left.

Raylin narrowed her eyes at the blatant curiosity clinging to the back of his head.

#Regretful Male Lead.

A man who had once had a woman obsessed with him, only for her to suddenly change and try to leave—now, he was suddenly intrigued, unable to ignore her.

And another thing that would provoke such a man was #Reverse Harem.

Following Theron’s departure, Catherine also rose from her seat and left.

Raylin stared at the now-empty space, her mind a tangled mess.

There wasn’t much time left before that lunatic began her real game.

Catherine had always removed anyone who got in her way, whether it was those who had belittled and trampled on her or anyone else she deemed an obstacle.

In Re.Vil.Bre, this was all wrapped up nicely—she had eliminated villains and inadvertently contributed to the greater good.

But that wasn’t the truth.

Because Catherine foreknew the future, many innocent people who should have rightfully gained fame and success ended up perishing in obscurity.

Draining the accomplishments and wealth of others, Catherine shone as the victorious heroine.

In her past life, Raylin had been nothing more than a tool paving the way for Catherine’s grand ascent.

But in this life, she would become an insurmountable obstacle instead.

More ruthless and more cunning than the man before her, who had once sought to burn Catherine’s golden path to ashes.

No words hovered beside Aiger.

That meant he wasn’t feeling any emotion strong enough to be expressed in words.

There was no benefit in dragging this out any longer.

Raylin recalled the saying, “Well begun is half done,” and decided to wrap up today’s meeting at this point.

“Shall we leave as well?”

“Yes. We’ve spent enough time here.”

Aiger rose effortlessly, disappearing as noiselessly as he had arrived—like a ghost in broad daylight.

Watching him vanish before her eyes, Raylin muttered with distaste.

“For someone who isn’t even a mage, he sure knows how to use magic.”

In the world before possession, where magic did not exist, highly advanced science and natural phenomena were often called magic.

If all forces beyond human perception and understanding were lumped together as “magic,” then the movements of a world-class warrior who had trained their body to the extreme could also be considered magic.

As these pointless thoughts ran through Raylin’s mind, a tickling sensation lingered at the edge of her memory as if she were on the verge of recalling something.

Before the regression, for sure…

“… so if … then it’s possible… Raylin, just help a little…”

Judging by the haziness of the memory, it was something related to Catherine from quite a while ago.

It seemed like she had once manipulated physical force to be mistaken for magic to accomplish something…

No matter how hard she wracked her brain, nothing else surfaced, so Raylin sighed.

Well, if a similar situation arose, she would probably remember.

Though she wasn’t sure if such a situation would come again.

Since she was moving differently than in her previous life, the future was bound to change whether she liked it or not.

That’s why she only needed to use her past experiences as a reference—there was no need to cling to them.

More importantly, she needed to use the overarching keyword actively throughout the entire Re.Vil.Bre.

Among them were keywords she couldn’t change, yet it would have a profound impact on the future.

Family regret. And the regretful male lead.

‘Regretting after seeing Catherine change?’

That wouldn’t do. She couldn’t let them merely regret and dedicate themselves to helping shape her future.

Theron was curious about Catherine after today’s events.

But for now, that was all.

Over time, as they encountered each other by chance—or by design—due to the broken engagement, their curiosity gradually developed into interest, affection, and ultimately love.

If that was the case, all she had to do was prevent their encounters.

Fortunately, Catherine would be too busy earning money and distancing herself from her family for a while to have direct interactions with Theron. She would also be meeting other men.

In the meantime, she needed to keep Theron far, far away.

“Do you know the saying, ‘out of sight, out of mind’?”

“Huh? Of course. That’s why long-distance relationships are hard, right?”

“Exactly.”

After making such an out-of-context remark and nodding to herself, the maid, who had been watching her with concern, asked,

“You’re leaving now, right?”

“I will, after finishing this. Sit down. No need for unnecessary chatter.”

The maid, who had instinctively stepped back at the thought of sharing a table with a lady, quietly sat down.

Raylin slowly sipped the half-finished tea as she planned her next move.