chapter 03
An outskirts area of the capital, about 10 km away from Hildes Street.
With few residents and slow development, even public safety here was far from good.
And at the end of a particularly secluded alley—so quiet it seemed even animals wouldn’t pass through—there was a hidden door.
Though disguised as a shabby wall, it was actually a passage leading somewhere else.
After confirming there was no one around, I naturally stepped through the hidden door.
This was my hideout.
A place I created to monitor Hildes Street and imprison the handsome men I captured.
It was built to hold up to ten handsome men at once, but since I had given one room to my subordinate, it could now hold nine.
Meanwhile, as I leisurely walked down the corridor, I waved toward a recording device that functioned as a surveillance camera.
It was my subordinate’s monitoring shift right now.
He was probably watching me in real time.
Just then—
Someone rushed out of the surveillance room.
My subordinate spotted me immediately and strode over.
Hair the warm color of melted milk chocolate.
Skin as pale and soft-looking as kneaded flour dough.
Eyes that seemed infused with the freshness of spring.
On the face of a man exuding a refreshing aura like a pine tree rested a gentle smile.
He was my subordinate and accomplice—Ren.
“Lady Vivian, I’m sorry you’ve just returned, but a target has appeared.”
At the regretful news delivered in his sweet, low voice, my mood dropped.
To have to go out again the moment I arrived…
“Alright, Ren. Let’s get ready quickly.”
We entered a room where we kept our kidnapping tools.
Ren naturally took the basket of oranges from my hand and soon draped a robe hanging on the wall over my shoulders.
He busily moved around, preparing me.
When I looked in the mirror, my short hair had already been neatly tied together.
“Lady Vivian, please lift your head.”
As I followed his words, he reached toward my earlobe. It seemed he was fastening my earring.
His touch was careful and gentle.
Unlike his usual ever-present smile, Ren kept his lips tightly closed, completely focused on me.
I quietly looked up at his face.
He really is pleasing to look at, no matter when I see him.
His face was exceptionally handsome.
I wasn’t lacking in looks myself, but standing before him made everything pale in comparison.
If pure, beautiful nature were shaped into a person, wouldn’t it feel like this?
His clean and refreshing face was not only pure but also handsome—just looking at him felt like walking through a forest filled with phytoncides.
When I first brought him here, he was so dirty I had no idea he’d be this good-looking.
Admiring my own aesthetic sense, I kept staring at his face.
“It’s done. Don’t lose it this time.”
Last time I lost the earring, Ren had gone through quite a bit of trouble.
I nodded vigorously.
If it were an ordinary earring, it wouldn’t matter—but this was a special communication device.
And the only one of its kind in the world.
It was a legendary magical item that first appears in Part 2 of the original story. Based on my memory of the original, I had found it in advance.
Once I find Calis, I should return it to its original place.
I glanced sideways at Ren, who wore the matching earring, and stood up.
“By the way, what kind of person is this target?”
“A man with black hair and black eyes.”
Black hair and black eyes.
At those words, a character from the original story suddenly flashed in my mind, and I ran into the surveillance room in shock.
Dozens of screens showing Hildes Street.
It wasn’t hard to find the target Ren mentioned—the aura radiating even through the footage gave him away.
I observed the handsome man for a moment, then shook my head.
“Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be him.”
For a second, I wondered if that man might be a villain from the original, but fortunately, he seemed to be someone else.
There’s no reason for Dietrich Belvedus to be in this area at this time anyway.
Realizing it wasn’t the person I feared, I felt relieved and stepped out of the hideout.
Vivian Schmidt—the serial kidnapper of handsome men.
It was time to move.
* * *
The female protagonist of the original novel “The Blood-Stained Flower,” Ludovica Belvedus, had an older brother.
His name was Dietrich Belvedus.
He was both the person she trusted most—and the one who would drench her life in blood.
The tragedy of the Belvedus family.
Six months from now, Dietrich would brutally murder the Duke and Duchess of Belvedus.
A man already rumored to have sold his soul to the devil.
After committing such a horrific act of patricide, people no longer dared to even speak his name.
If he could kill his own parents, what reason would he have not to harm others?
Commoners and nobles alike all tried to avoid him at any cost.
By his side, abandoned by everyone including his beloved younger sister, only his long-time adjutant Nils remained.
And even today—long before the tragedy—Nils stood by Dietrich’s side as usual.
“Young Duke, the prisoners have arrived.”
A calm voice broke the silence of the office.
Dietrich lazily responded with a slight gesture and unfolded the newspaper on his desk.
Accustomed to this, Nils called in the knights waiting outside and had the prisoners brought in.
Two prisoners entered with their heads deeply lowered, their wrists bound with rope, trembling in fear.
No doubt due to Dietrich’s infamous reputation.
The knights soon forced them to kneel before his desk.
Their crime was tax evasion—but one of them had also committed assault.
Even tax evasion alone was a serious offense punishable by severe penalties.
The two trembled, seemingly certain that death awaited them.
Since the Duke and Duchess had gone into seclusion about eight years ago, all duties had naturally fallen to Dietrich.
That included passing judgment on criminals.
He had punished countless offenders—and today was no different.
Nils glanced at the prisoners, then at his master.
Dietrich leaned arrogantly in his chair, his legs resting on the desk.
He was absorbed in the newspaper, showing no interest in the prisoners kneeling miserably before him.
Silence filled the office.
It was unclear whether he was even turning the pages—there wasn’t a single sound.
The prisoners cautiously raised their heads, but the newspaper blocked their view; they couldn’t even see a strand of his hair.
The silence dragged on.
They couldn’t understand what was happening.
The man before them was none other than Dietrich Belvedus—the one rumored to have sold his soul to the devil.
It would be natural for him to immediately sentence them to death.
Yet he remained quiet.
After several more minutes, Dietrich finally spoke.
“What do you think?”
A sudden, incomprehensible question. The prisoners blinked in confusion.
Dietrich folded the newspaper twice and tossed it aside.
Catching it naturally, Nils read the headline aloud:
“It’s the Times. ‘Those who wish to prove they are handsome, go to Hildes Street?’”
“Yes. I’m curious what you think about that.”
With that, Dietrich’s face—previously hidden—was revealed.
Black, hollow eyes.
Hair as dark as the universe.
A sharp impression as if he had swallowed all the world’s evil—yet paired with a decadent, breathtaking beauty.
The prisoners stared, mouths agape, momentarily forgetting their situation.
Is this what they meant by selling his soul to the devil? Because of that face?
It was a beauty that hardly seemed human.
One prisoner snapped back to his senses and stammered:
“W-what exactly are you asking?”
Dietrich replied expressionlessly:
“I’m asking whether you think I would be kidnapped if I went to Hildes Street.”
The two prisoners exchanged uneasy glances.
They felt they needed to give the answer he wanted—but couldn’t tell what that was.
Then—
“I’m not very patient. Yes… you, the rapist. You answer first.”
Pointing at one of them, Dietrich prompted him.
“S-Young Duke! Aren’t you the greatest magic swordsman in the Empire? It’s absurd to think someone like you would be kidnapped by a mere criminal!”
The other prisoner sighed in frustration—he had thought of the same answer.
But Dietrich’s reaction was unexpected.
“No. No. That’s not the answer you should give.”
He shook his head in disappointment.
“E-excuse me?”
Dietrich ignored him completely.
The prisoners didn’t understand—but Nils did.
Bind his limbs, castrate him, starve him for a month, then execute him.
Nils immediately spoke to the knights:
“Take him away.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knights dragged the screaming prisoner out, but Dietrich didn’t care.
“Now, you answer.”
He looked down at the remaining prisoner.
Stiff with fear, the man blurted out:
“O-of course you would be kidnapped! Your beauty is beyond human! If I were the kidnapper, even knowing you’re a magic swordsman, I’d still be blinded by your looks and abduct you!”
At last, a faint smile appeared on Dietrich’s lips.
“Do you truly think so?”
Hope flickered in the prisoner’s heart.
Was that the correct answer?
“Yes! Your beauty is comparable to that of a god. No kidnapper could resist unless they were blind!”
“Haha… My face is indeed quite special. You have a good eye. Nils, send this one off intact.”
“Yes, understood.”
Nils had the knights escort the prisoner out.
The man walked lightly, thinking he had been spared.
Does he think he’s been saved…
Nils shook his head with a sigh.
“Send him off intact” did not mean spare his life.
It means return his body intact to his family.
People often misunderstood that.
“Is that all for today’s work?”
Dietrich asked.
“Yes. You should rest today. Starting tomorrow, you must prepare for the noble council in a week.”
Dietrich nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly smiled.
“Nils, let’s go out for a bit.”
“…Where are you going all of a sudden?”
Putting on his coat, Dietrich replied:
“To Hildes Street.”
“The place where kidnappings are happening?”
Though Dietrich sometimes acted unpredictably, Nils had no idea what he was thinking this time.
“Yes. I want to see what the real kidnapper thinks of my appearance.”
Nils realized something was going very, very wrong.
