<CHAPTER 01>
A Pathetic Guy Who Falls for a Face
It was her twentieth birthday.
Ehilie remembered her past life.
In her previous life, she had been an avid reader of romance fantasy novels.
And this world was the same as the one in the last romance fantasy novel she had read in her past life.
Ehilie: “Why does it have to be here!”
The title of the novel was ‘The Saint Wears a Collar.’
The keywords of the novel were…
#HighLevel #Hardcore #CoerciveRelationship #Tragic #ObsessiveMan #ArrogantMan #WoundedWoman
In short, it was an adult, high-level, tragic story full of explicit scenes.
The male leads in the novel were all insane obsessives.
And Ehilie, the saintly heroine, eventually met a very bad ending due to their obsession.
‘I absolutely must not get involved with the male leads, no, with those trashy guys!’
Fortunately, Ehilie remembered her past life before encountering any of the original characters.
She immediately left her previous home and moved to a remote rural village.
Just in case, she found a hut near the most secluded mountain in the village as her residence.
She spent peaceful days in that small hut.
Ehilie: “That is…”
She spotted a figure leaning against a large tree and cautiously approached.
At that moment, the clouds covering the sky cleared, casting bluish moonlight.
Ehilie: “Kyaa!”
In the moonlight, the figure’s appearance startled her into letting out a scream.
There lay a man, covered in blood from head to toe.
Ehilie: “B-blood…”
Was he dead?
Ehilie: “E-excuse me…? Are you okay?”
She took slow, careful steps, trying to steady her breathing in the shocking scene.
Ehilie: “Hellooo?”
Even after calling again, the man didn’t move.
Step by step, she closed the distance.
Ehilie: “Huh…”
When she got close enough to see his face, she gasped in surprise.
Ehilie: “…Wow, he’s disgustingly handsome.”
His hair flowed in the wind like well-groomed black horsehair.
Thick, neat eyebrows above sharp eyes.
Lips stained slightly with red, as if holding blood.
A strong but sleek jawline and prominent neck muscles.
A face so unforgettable that one glance would etch it into memory.
Perhaps it was the moonlight?
Pale, flawless skin glowed with a soft radiance.
Ehilie traced his face as if mesmerized, then snapped back to reality with a serious expression.
“In romance fantasy, a guy this handsome is probably the male lead…”
Ehilie recalled the descriptions of male leads in the original novels: blond, silver, red hair, etc.
None of them had black hair.
‘So, this probably isn’t a male lead…’
She stared seriously at the man, pondering.
* * *
At that moment, the blood-soaked man in front of her had been observing everything from the start.
Redemberg Lu Edeltein was his name.
Born as the sixth prince of the demon world, he had the most powerful magical energy in its history.
In the demon world, where strength dictated order, he naturally rose to the top.
If something displeased him, he solved it with power.
If he desired something, he claimed it with strength.
But eventually, he grew bored of having control over everything.
Redemberg: “How long must I live this dull life?”
He sought new stimulation.
Thus, he occasionally ventured into the human world.
Though it was not particularly interesting, it was better than spending every day in the demon world.
Tonight, he had come on a stroll in disguise.
Redemberg: “Peaceful.”
The stars and the moon shone brightly in the night sky.
Leaning against the tree, he unusually indulged in admiration while looking up.
Rustle—
The sound of grass brushing against itself reached his ears.
‘I can feel divine power.’
Divine power was fatal to demons.
Although it was not fully refined, its purity was clear.
The human’s presence wielding this power was very faint.
Redemberg did not bother to block the human’s approach.
He had no particular intention to harm a human.
He simply found it bothersome.
As he waited with eyes closed, the human approached and let out a scream.
Ehilie: “Kyaa!”
It was the voice of a woman.
Ehilie: “B-blood…”
Ah, of course.
On the way, some unknown individuals had threatened him, causing minor bloodshed.
In handling them, their struggles covered him in blood.
Not a drop of his own blood stained his clothes.
Ehilie: “E-excuse me…? Are you okay?”
The woman approached boldly despite fear.
Her voice trembled as she kept calling out.
Redemberg, strangely intrigued, observed her.
He wondered what this trembling, fawn-like woman would do to him.
So he pretended to be unconscious, eyes shut, unmoving.
Ehilie: “Huh!”
Upon seeing his face, she gasped again.
Ehilie: “…Wow, he’s disgustingly handsome.”
Her voice made Redemberg twitch his lips.
The trembling woman’s admiration was amusing.
Though he had heard “handsome” countless times, hearing it from a human felt new.
Ehilie: “In romance fantasy, a guy this handsome is probably the male lead…”
She muttered something he couldn’t understand.
Male lead… probably meant “male protagonist”?
Romance fantasy? What’s that?
Ehilie: “Should I… pick this up or leave it?”
She seemed to ponder seriously.
After standing there for a while, she cautiously approached.
She bent slightly and carefully started unbuttoning his blood-soaked shirt.
She intended to check his injuries.
Of course, his torso was completely unscathed.
Ehilie: “Wow… his chest is insane… No, no. What am I saying in front of an injured person?”
Admiring Redemberg’s strong body, she pulled back, then gently touched him.
Ehilie: “There’s no wound… then what’s all this blood?”
Her probing touch stirred a strange heat in him.
He recalled similar sensations.
Perhaps when struck by a high-ranking priest wielding supreme divine power.
If mere touch could give such stimulation, the woman might be a strong priest herself.
Divine power and magic were opposite forces.
The stronger the magic, the more sensitive one was to divine power.
As king of demons, it was natural for him to react strongly to divine energy.
Unable to resist the vague stimulation, Redemberg finally reached out.
Ehilie: “Kyaa!”
He grabbed her thin wrist and opened his eyes.
Ehilie: “Wh-what are…”
…you doing?
Her image in his red eyes was simply… too beautiful.
Snow-white hair brighter than the moonlight.
Skin white and soft like freshly baked bread.
Pale sky-blue eyes like morning dew and rose-colored lips.
A small, delicate body that could fit in one arm.
At that moment, Redemberg understood what it felt like for the heart to stop.
‘An angel? …No, a demon?’
For a demon, calling her an “angel” felt almost like an insult.
Her appearance was too holy.
Even if wings sprouted behind her back and she declared, “I am a holy spirit here to kill you,” it wouldn’t be strange.
Ehilie: “…Kiyo!”
Redemberg’s red eyes stared blankly at her.
He didn’t even want to blink.
He did not want to look away for even a moment.
In over a hundred years, he had never experienced this.
Mesmerized, he suddenly remembered something.
Redemberg: “Do you know how many pathetic guys fall for a woman’s face and give her everything?”
He had heard it from his subordinates.
‘Was I really a pathetic guy who fell for a face?’
Ehilie: “E-excuse me!”
Could she help it?
If she didn’t fall for this face, she must be a strange person with eyes only for decoration.
Yes, that would be a truly odd person.
Ehilie: “Hey! Are you listening to me?”
Redemberg: “…Ah.”
At last, her voice reached him.
Its clarity was like the chirping of early morning birds.
He realized her voice was beautiful.
Ehilie: “Please let go of my hand.”
Her firm voice made Redemberg immediately release his grip.
He reacted physically before even thinking.
Following someone’s request… this too was new.
As she freed her wrist, the woman quickly stood up.
Redemberg panicked, fearing she would run away.
Redemberg: “After groping my chest like that, you’re running away?”
