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I froze.

‘…Can I really leave this place?’

To be honest, the current situation was suspicious.

How had the original heroine managed to enter the deepest part of the mansion?

How had she slipped past the strict security?

And what gave her such confidence when she said she could help me escape?

My head was full of questions and doubts.

And yet…

Before I knew it, as if entranced, I found myself nodding.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Marguerite, who had nodded along with me, asked once more.

“Then, can you wait just a little longer until the right moment comes?”

“…The right moment?”

“Well, it won’t take long.”

Marguerite gave me a sweet, reassuring smile and reached out her hand.

“For now, get some more rest.”

As soon as she said those words, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over me.

It was as if the whole world was urging me to sleep.

Unable to resist that pressure, I closed my eyes.

And my consciousness plunged into a dark abyss.

* * *

Elze’s hair, resembling withered roses, whipped wildly in the bitter wind.

‘Elze?’

Dante’s eyes widened in shock.

She was standing at the very edge of a towering cliff.

‘Why are you standing in such a dangerous place?’

He called out to her desperately, over and over again, but Elze didn’t look back.

Instead, she took a step into the void.

‘Elze!’

Splash!

Her body sank swiftly into the depths of the lake.

The water turned bright red.

‘…Elze?’

Dante staggered and ran to the shore.

The waves crashing against the shore were as red as blood.

‘Ugh, ugh…’

A raw scream clawed its way up from the depths of Dante’s throat.

He grabbed his head with both hands and screamed.

‘Aaaaaah!’

At that moment.

Dante’s eyes flew open.

His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

The quiet room.

Only the echo of his own scream lingered, ringing in his ears.

“Elze…”

Dante sprang up from the bed.

He staggered, heading straight for the door.

He was about to run to Elze’s bedroom immediately.

‘She’s not dead, is she?’

He had to see with his own eyes that she was alive and safe.

Otherwise, he felt like he would lose his mind.

But just then—

Bang!

The door burst open.

A man rushed into the room.

“My lord!”

It was Liam.

He looked at Dante with a bewildered expression.

“That scream just now… what happened, sir?”

“Move.”

Dante tried to push past Liam and leave the room.

“Elze… she’s going to die…”

Listening to his incoherent mumbling, Liam’s face twisted in concern. Dante was clearly not in his right mind.

Unable to watch any longer, Liam grabbed Dante’s shoulders firmly.

“My lord.”

“…”

“My lord!”

Liam raised his voice, calling out to Dante.

But Dante’s crimson eyes remained vacant, showing no sign of the sharpness he usually possessed.

“I’ve checked on Lady Elze!”

At the mention of Elze’s name, Dante flinched for the first time, reacting to something at last.

“Lady Elze is in her room! She’s sleeping soundly!”

“…”

“So please, calm down!”

Only then did the tension slowly drain from Dante’s body. Liam looked at him with a mixture of pity and frustration.

“And besides, are you planning to show yourself to Lady Elze in this state?”

“…”

“What do you think Lady Elze would think, seeing you like this?”

Though Dante was known for his vices, constantly indulging in alcohol and cigarettes, he always made sure to appear impeccably clean and well-dressed when he went to see Elze. But right now, he had clearly tried to put himself to sleep with a heavy dose of whiskey.

“Damn it,” Dante muttered, cursing as he stumbled away from Liam. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and sighed deeply.

“…Hah.”

Finally regaining a bit of composure, Dante headed toward the door.

Liam tried to stop him, still looking conflicted.

“My lord?”

“I won’t wake her.”

Dante responded curtly.

“I won’t disturb her… I’ll just watch from afar.”

He staggered forward, his steps unsteady.

Liam, watching him with a complicated expression, quickly followed behind.

Dante moved swiftly down the hallway, and carefully opened Elze’s door, making sure not to make any noise.

The room, with the curtains drawn, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

In the distance, Elze was sound asleep.

“…”

Dante’s gaze, filled with a turbulent mix of emotions, fell upon her.

Resentment, fear, and a powerful love he couldn’t let go of—all these feelings tangled together, sinking deep into his heavy stare.

After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, still looking at Elze.

“…The dispute with the Latrang Merchant Guild.”

Liam’s eyes widened slightly, filled with a glimmer of hope.

Dante sighed before continuing.

“I suppose it’s best… if I give her some space and leave for a while.”

“…”

Liam felt as though a heavy stone had lodged itself in his chest.

‘It’s always about Lady Elze in the end.’

It seemed as if Dante couldn’t make any decisions anymore without considering her.

It was frustrating, yet also sad to witness.

“But I can’t leave her alone for too long.”

Dante added resolutely as he stared at Elze.

“Make sure everything’s prepared so I can handle it all in one day.”

“Yes, my lord. As you command,” Liam replied with a respectful bow.

* * *

It was a rare, sunny autumn day.

I had dragged a chair out to the balcony and was soaking up the sun.

A maid stood behind me.

Officially, she was there to attend to me, but in reality, it was to make sure I didn’t do anything suspicious.

‘But seriously, what was that last night?’

The heroine of this world, Marguerite, who had smiled at me.

Marguerite.

‘Did I really see a hallucination?’

But her appearance had been so vivid.

Her dazzling silver hair cascading like a waterfall, her lively green eyes…

She was like a fairy from a summer forest, radiating freshness.

[Let me ask you bluntly. Do you want to leave this place]

[Then wait just a little longer until the right time comes, okay?]

[It won’t take long, I promise.]

…And that confident voice of hers.

I furrowed my brows.

At that moment—

“Elze.”

I stiffened and turned around quickly.

It was Dante.

‘What’s going on?’

I looked at him with a bit of surprise.

Usually, he wore simple shirts and pants, but today, he was dressed in a crisp, formal suit, as if he were preparing to go out.

“I have to leave for a bit today.”

Dante reached out and adjusted the shawl draped over me, pulling it tighter around my neck.

After securing it snugly, he looked down at me with a complicated expression.

“So, just relax and rest.”

He spoke as if implying that I could only relax if he wasn’t around.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

“…”

I didn’t respond.

I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I might say something like,

‘You’re telling me to rest when you’ve imprisoned me here? Are you even sane?’

That thought burned at the tip of my tongue.

Dante stared at me silently for a while before he turned and left the balcony with heavy steps.

A moment later, I saw him heading toward the carriage outside.

Just as he was about to climb inside, he suddenly looked up at me.

“…”

“…”

Our gazes locked.

His crimson eyes were fixated on me, unrelenting.

I immediately looked away, refusing to meet his stare.

Dante bit his lip, then turned sharply and stepped into the carriage.

The carriage began to move.

“…Hah.”

Only then did a long sigh escape my lips.

* * *

The mansion was relatively peaceful today.

With Dante gone, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease, and I felt a little more at ease myself.

I even managed to treat the servants with a bit more kindness than usual.

‘Maybe the day will pass without any trouble.’

But that was just my wishful thinking.

By early evening, something had gone terribly wrong.

Boom!

Suddenly, the mansion shook violently.

I frowned, lifting my head as I sat on the bed, lazily stirring a bowl of thin soup.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll go check right away.”

The maid attending to me rushed out in a hurry.

But no matter how long I waited, she didn’t return.

Instead—

“…Ah!”

“There’s an intruder!”