Chapter 57
That was…
“Run away.”
Yeah. Call me a coward if you want — I couldn’t help it.
But for Jeffrey to return to his senses, he needed distance from me.
“He lost his mind from being with me all day, so if we stay apart, he’ll get better again.”
With that thought, I left everything to Sir Greer. He was the Empire’s best physician; he’d surely find a way to bring Jeffrey back to normal.
After apologizing to the Duke and Duchess Douglas, I left the ducal estate. Even now, just remembering Jeffrey’s burning gaze made goosebumps crawl over my skin.
“Please… please, let Jeffrey come to his senses. Please…”
Every day, I prayed in silence in my room.
A few days later, thankfully, word came that Jeffrey had returned to normal. It was all thanks to Sir Greer — what a relief.
“Phew… thank goodness…”
Only then could I finally breathe easy.
The Jeffrey who’d looked at me with that feverish gaze — I never wanted to face him again.
Even thinking about it now was horrifying. I shuddered, trying to shake off the memory.
8. Pardon the intrusion, but I’ll be taking you to my house for a bit.
“Hoo… so today’s the day.”
With a resolute heart, I stepped out of the Veloa mansion.
Today was finally the day — the day I’d rehabilitate Tristan Callisto, Duke of the North.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been ages since I’ve met him.”
In this fourth life, I hadn’t gone to see Tristan even once.
That was quite a contrast to how I’d obsessed over the other male leads — Jeffrey and Gabriel — right from the start.
So why hadn’t I approached Tristan before?
“Because he was less obsessed with Julieta than the others?”
Absolutely not.
In fact, Tristan was the most obsessive of all the male leads — the kind who’d use any means necessary to possess Julieta.
In other words, he was the number one danger that needed to be “rehabilitated” for Julieta’s mental health.
So why had I avoided him so far?
For one reason only —
“Because Tristan is the Duke of the North.”
Right. The Northern Duke.
Tristan was terrifyingly strong — strong enough to easily crush the other obsessive male leads.
The source of that ridiculous power came from the Callisto family’s hereditary ability.
The Callistos inherited the power of fire. And those who carried that power were born with black hair and red eyes.
Unlike the other four ducal families, however, the power of fire was passed down to only one heir per generation — a severe disadvantage.
Yet despite that, the Callisto family had maintained enormous prestige throughout the centuries — all because the power of fire was unimaginably strong.
“Even if all the other ducal heirs joined forces, they couldn’t defeat one fire wielder.”
That’s how Tristan could singlehandedly sweep through the monster-infested North.
Truly, being Duke of the North wasn’t something just anyone could do.
And on top of that, Tristan wasn’t only gifted with the power of fire — he was also a master of martial arts and swordsmanship.
He was, in short, a monster wearing human skin.
Based on his settings alone, he was practically the true male protagonist.
Yet, ironically, Tristan had less screen time than the other male leads.
“Well, northern dukes don’t exactly have leisurely schedules.”
The North was always riddled with monster outbreaks. Even while obsessing over Julieta, Tristan constantly had to return to his lands to perform his duties.
“For a romance novel, that part was oddly realistic…”
Weirdly realistic, in fact.
I shook my head, brushing aside thoughts of the original story.
“Anyway, approaching Tristan carelessly is suicide.”
Even obsession has to be done strategically.
No matter how powerful I was as an Earth wielder, if I picked a fight with Tristan head-on, I’d be dead before I could blink.
So, I waited — quietly, patiently — for the right moment.
And finally, that moment had come.
It had been three days since Tristan entered Burwarin Forest, also known as the Forest of Death.
“If I remember right, this is when he gets seriously injured.”
That scene wasn’t shown in the novel, but after living through three regressions, I remembered clearly.
Around this time, Tristan was ambushed by a horde of monsters while patrolling the forest, suffering grave injuries.
That much the public knew — but I had to wonder:
How could that monster of a man be seriously hurt?
Had he been in poor condition that day? Or perhaps he’d encountered a legendary-class monster?
Whatever the case, the North kept the entire incident under tight wraps — likely because it concerned the Duke’s safety.
Still, I managed to dig up a decent amount of information using the Veloa family’s influence.
And what I found was…
“Tristan was bedridden for two whole weeks — completely unable to move!”
He’d lain unconscious in the middle of the forest for two weeks before finally being rescued by the northern knights.
“Perfect. That means now’s my only chance.”
The one time the much stronger Tristan was weakened — even slightly.
There was no better moment to start my “rehabilitation” plan.
I steeled my resolve and headed for the Forest of Death.
I hadn’t exactly wanted to step foot into a place like that —
“Haah… but for Tristan’s rehabilitation, I don’t have a choice.”
Burwarin, the so-called Forest of Death, was home to countless monsters — not just low-tier ones, but high-class ones too.
There were even rumors of legendary-class creatures like the Red Dragon lurking within.
“No wonder it’s called the Forest of Death.”
Once you entered, you only left as a corpse — hence the name.
“Ugh… I really don’t want to do this…”
Even though it was still midday, the forest entrance was dark and suffocating.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if a ghost popped out — and I hated both monsters and ghosts.
“Still… I have to go.”
If I didn’t rehabilitate Tristan, Julieta would end up suffering again.
I sighed deeply and stepped into the shadowed forest — praying I wouldn’t run into any legendary beasts.
Maybe I was luckier than I thought.
By the time I reached the forest’s heart, I still hadn’t encountered any high-class monsters.
Sure, plenty of low-tier beasts had crossed my path, but they were like pesky flies to me — no real threat.
“If I recall correctly, Tristan was found somewhere around here…”
In every regression, the northern knights always found him in the same place — near Lake Luna, in the heart of Burwarin.
That must’ve been where he’d been attacked.
“For him to fall unconscious, the monsters must’ve been insanely strong.”
Keeping alert, I searched around Lake Luna.
Even though I was an Earth wielder, a group of high-class monsters would overwhelm me easily.
And if I was unlucky enough to meet a legendary one…
“Ugh… please, no…”
Just imagining it made me shiver.
I gripped the dagger I’d brought for self-defense and continued my search.
Then, suddenly—
“Ugh… ah…”
A faint groan reached my ears.
I froze and perked up, listening carefully.
“Ugh… urgh…”
Definitely a human voice.
I quickly reasoned—
“The only lunatic who’d willingly enter the Forest of Death is Tristan Callisto himself.”
Right. No doubt about it.
I rushed toward the sound, excitement bubbling in my chest.
And there — beneath a massive willow tree — I found him.
Tristan.
“…Found you!”
Jet-black hair like ink.
A tall, broad frame fit for a duke of the North.
A strikingly handsome yet cold, forbidding face.
Just looking at him radiated overwhelming presence.
And above all… those blazing red eyes staring straight at me.
They glowed like rubies — strange, intense, and inhuman.
“Who… are you…?”
Tristan’s eyes gleamed sharply.
He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, yet he still managed to glare at me like that. Impressive, really.
I looked down at him and said calmly,
“Your Grace, pardon the intrusion, but…”
“…”
“I’ll be taking you to my house for a bit.”
“…What?”
Tristan blinked at me in disbelief.
I ignored his look and confidently tried to lift him — a full princess carry.
Thud!
Failure.
His body was as heavy as a boulder.
“Y-You… what are you…”
And then, to make things worse, Tristan fainted.
Huh? What the—
“D-Did he just faint because of me? No, no way… right?”
He must’ve just passed out from his injuries — pure coincidence.
Trying to convince myself, I pulled a magic artifact from my pouch.
I’d bought it from a magic shop just in case something like this happened.
“This is the weight-reduction sticker!”
Stick it on anything — person or object — and its weight drops to one-tenth.
I slapped it onto Tristan’s clothes and managed to lift him onto the cart I’d brought. Thankfully, much lighter this time.
After securing him tightly so he wouldn’t fall off, I opened my map. Fortunately, the destination wasn’t far.
“Good. I finally found Tristan.”
Now all that was left was to rehabilitate him — through pure, unrelenting obsession.
Smiling in satisfaction, I began to pull the cart forward slowly.
