CHAPTER 02
“…?!”
I jerked my head up.
The man’s lips curved slightly, moonlight sliding across them at an angle.
The tall man slowly stretched out his arms, bracing them on either side of me.
“You’re ready to pay the price for making me wait, aren’t you?”
“W-wait a second!”
I quickly covered his lips with both hands as he leaned closer.
“W-what are you doing?!”
The man paused, then let out a faint scoff.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my voice, Serenity?”
“…!”
No way.
I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart pounded loudly in my head.
No… it can’t be.
But as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, his features became clearer.
Black hair. Arrogant blue eyes.
N-no way.
“…Rexton der Pellond?”
The male lead of the original story.
He stared at me as if he could swallow me whole, then lazily moved his lips.
“Usually…”
His lips brushed past my cheek and whispered near my ear.
“Don’t you call me Rex?”
“…!”
A huge red flag went off in my head.
A death flag.
I instinctively shoved his chest. He staggered back a few steps, frowning deeply.
“What kind of tantrum is this?”
“I-I’ll ask just one thing!”
I prayed desperately inside.
Please. Let it not be.
“W-we didn’t… do anything, right?!”
Rexton narrowed his eyes as if questioning what I meant.
Clutching my hands together tightly, I pressed on.
“I mean—anything worse than this! Did we?!”
“Hah.”
His thick eyebrows twitched in irritation.
“Do you not remember, or are you pretending to be innocent?”
“Did we?!”
Am I already doomed?
As I asked with a trembling voice, he let out a short, amused laugh.
“We were about to.”
“That’s a relief!”
“…What?”
I smiled brightly. Rexton’s expression crumpled in confusion, but to me, this was the best news possible.
I can still survive!
Forcing down the corners of my lips, I hurriedly made excuses.
“I’m sorry, but I’m very busy. Actually, I’ll be extremely busy from now on, so I don’t think we’ll ever meet again. Goodbye!”
“—Nonsense.”
The hand reaching for the doorknob was suddenly grabbed.
I was shoved back against the door with force.
Twisting my wrists together, he leaned in close, glaring at me with dark eyes.
“After acting like you’d finally give me that precious body of yours.”
“L-let go!”
“You knew this would happen. You may be naïve, but you’re not stupid—unlike that useless thing.”
What is he talking about?
I stared at him in shock, but he only seemed more agitated, breathing roughly.
I forced my trembling lips to move.
“…Useless… thing?”
“My wife in name only.”
“…?!”
My eyes widened.
He smirked as if he understood.
“What, are you jealous? Didn’t I tell you—it’s just a political marriage. Do you think I’d actually sleep with that idiot?”
My eyes widened even more.
Something was wrong.
Was the male lead always this shameless and awful?
In the original story, he was a regretful man, deeply remorseful. The kind who would throw himself at the villainess after her regression.
A man everyone liked—except me.
“…?”
“Behave yourself, Serenity. Like you always do.”
His low whisper was thick with desire.
His lips slowly drew closer.
I snapped back to my senses at the warmth of his breath and kicked upward with all my strength.
“Ugh!”
With a cracking sound, he doubled over.
I quickly grabbed the doorknob with my freed hand.
Run.
I tried to tighten my grip—
At that moment, a sharp shock pierced through me from my heart to my spine.
“…Huh?”
My breath caught. My eyes flew wide open, my body trembling like it had been electrocuted.
I couldn’t move.
At the same time, a command echoed in my head:
Don’t leave this room.
Fulfill your ‘duty.’
“You—!”
Suddenly, something yanked hard at my skirt.
Rip!
The fabric tore as my body lurched.
I barely managed to hold onto the doorknob.
Turning back through the pain, I saw Rexton kneeling on the floor, gripping my dress with a savage expression.
I have to… run.
My fading consciousness clung to that thought.
My fingers trembled as I resisted the command in my head.
I bit my lip until it bled and gripped my dress tightly—
Then pulled with all my strength.
Riiip!
The fabric tore apart, and Rexton’s face twisted in shock.
“—Serenity!”
I flung the door open, clutching the torn skirt.
“Haah… haah…!”
Gasping for breath, I ran out.
My heel snapped as I fled, sending me tumbling across the hallway.
“Damn it.”
I cursed and kicked off the broken shoe, then limped forward as fast as I could.
Even after leaving the building, I didn’t stop running.
“Huff… huff…!”
He could come after me at any moment.
My lungs felt like they were tearing apart, but I couldn’t stop.
My legs moved on instinct.
Looking around through blurred vision, I realized—
This was a familiar path.
Right. If I go through that narrow alley, I’ll reach Serenity’s residence—
“—Ah!”
The ground suddenly gave way beneath me.
Only then did I remember—there was a small hill here.
I tumbled down it helplessly.
“…Huff.”
My whole body ached as if it had been crushed.
I could smell blood. My vision blurred.
What… is this…?
As if things weren’t bad enough, the same piercing pain from earlier surged through my chest again.
This wasn’t in the original story…
The saintess was never described as being in pain like this.
So what is happening?
In my hazy state, I reached out blindly—
—and grabbed something.
A… person?
Focusing my vision, I realized I was holding someone’s ankle.
“…Let go.”
A cold voice came from above.
I forced my head up.
A man stood there, backlit by the moon.
A robe fluttering like the night.
Eyes that gleamed ominously even in the dark.
He looked like death itself.
Still, I struggled to speak.
“S-save… me…”
Tap.
Before I could finish, he shook me off without hesitation.
“Over there!”
Voices approached from a distance.
“Damn it.”
The man muttered under his breath.
“You brought this on yourself.”
He crouched and suddenly lifted me up, supporting my back.
My vision blurred again from the motion.
When it cleared—
“…!”
His face was right in front of mine.
One eye gold like the sun.
The other gray like the far side of the moon.
I was momentarily captivated.
“I’ll say this in advance—I don’t like this either.”
“…What?”
I blinked, trying to process his words.
At some point, his clothes had turned white.
Was I imagining things?
Before I could figure it out—
“Is it this way?!”
“Lower your voice. Do you want to get punished for failing your watch duty?”
“Ahem.”
A guard cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
“But… it’s not him, right?”
“Him?”
“You know… the black mage. If the rumors are true, we’d be dead…”
Another guard laughed.
“Impossible. Haven’t you heard? His Holiness went to another continent to capture him.”
“B-but if it is that monster—!”
“For a member of the Inquisition guard, you’re quite cowardly.”
“No, I’m just being cautious—!”
“Shh!”
Their voices stopped behind the bushes.
A heavy silence fell.
…What is going on now?
The guards stood there, pointing spears at us as if ready to attack.
I opened my dry mouth to explain—
Then suddenly—
The man’s lips came close.
So close they almost touched mine—
—and then his hand clamped over my mouth.
—Mm?!
I stared at him in shock.
He looked at me as if asking what my problem was.
Then, pressing his lips against the back of his own hand covering my mouth, he tilted his head—
From the guards’ angle, it looked like we were kissing.
You bastard?!
I struggled, but he had already grabbed both my wrists with his other hand.
“Mmph…!”
Was I suffocating?
Is this how I die?
Cause of death: random lunatic on the street.
“—Ahem!”
One of the guards suddenly cleared his throat loudly and pointed elsewhere.
“Shall we search over there instead?!”
“Y-yes, good idea!”
“Let’s go!”
“But this is such a good show—”
“Ahem!”
The more composed guard jabbed his companion in the side.
“Ugh!”
Grumbling, the man reluctantly turned away.
Footsteps faded.
The man stayed still for a while, listening carefully.
Only after the guards were completely gone did he release me.
“Gasp!”
I sucked in air desperately, my head spinning.
He casually wiped his saliva-covered hand on my clothes and asked,
“Are you alright?”
