Chapter 2
“Julieta, you’re really acting like a fool. Are you really going to defend me?”
Julieta nodded as if it were obvious.
“W-well… we’re friends, after all…”
“I’ve never thought of you as a friend. That’s why I treated you so badly.”
“…”
Was my words too harsh? Tears welled up in Julieta’s eyes.
Hmm, was I too harsh again?
I wish I could throw her a handkerchief at times like this, but I couldn’t.
I hesitantly glanced at Julieta, fiddling with the handcuffed wrists.
“So forget about someone like me and live happily. Don’t bother coming back all mushy.”
“…”
“Live well.”
Yeah. Please, just live happily this time. Let me see a good ending for once.
Swallowing the unspoken thoughts, I turned away. Fortunately, the guard seemed to understand and led me back to the prison without a word.
And so, I ended up experiencing a prison life that I had never imagined even in my original world.
Of course, the place felt like a ‘prison’, but in reality, there were no hardships. It was a special prison prepared for high-ranking nobles like myself.
The facilities were good, there were private rooms, the food was delicious, and I could even take a walk every day.
It was actually better than living in the duke’s mansion, wasn’t it? I thought, somewhat satisfied. But then suddenly, a black whirlwind swept in from all directions…
Due to Julieta’s rampage caused by the protagonist’s obsession, the empire has collapsed, and we are moving to a RESET POINT.
Restarting due to unfinished business.
You are Ariadne Veloa, 18 years old.
“Oh… damn it…”
The familiar system window greeted me, and I reverted to being Ariadne at 18.
It was already the third time living as Ariadne.
“Does this make sense?”
It seemed like there was a problem with my plan.
I calmly settled my mind and organized my thoughts again.
First of all, the reason why “Julieta in the Cage” couldn’t be completed was because of the protagonist’s rampage. Perhaps because of her rampage, it seemed like the empire would collapse and all the citizens would perish.
So, I needed to investigate the protagonist’s rampage first.
Thus, I gathered information by scouring the Imperial Library and the Matap Library.
Fortunately, being a noble lady of Veloa, no one could say anything even if I spent the whole day locked up in the library.
After three months of effort, I found a clue about the protagonist’s rampage.
“Mana Rampage! This must be it!”
Mana Rampage. A phenomenon caused by the inconsistency between the mana in one’s body and their mana control ability.
The likelihood of it occurring was extremely rare, and there was currently no way to resolve this phenomenon, as written in the paper.
“Hmm? There’s no way to resolve it?”
But it wasn’t time to despair yet.
I abused my power to take Juliette and went to see the Archmage Benjamin.
At that time, we were merely acquaintances, but the obedient Juliette followed me as I asked.
“Is there a possibility that this child will cause a mana rampage in the future?”
I asked Benjamin directly, pointing at Julieta.
“Huh? Me? What are you talking about all of a sudden, Aria?”
Julieta seemed confused, but I didn’t respond.
At this moment, Benjamin’s answer was more urgent than anything else.
“Hehe… It’s a very interesting question.”
However, Benjamin seemed to regard my question as just a childish prank.
He spoke with a not-so-serious attitude.
“If I were to answer your question, there’s no possibility. Mana rampage is an extremely rare phenomenon that occurs maybe once every thousand years, and it would never happen to someone like Juliette here, who has excellent mana control abilities.”
“But what if she experiences extreme stress or her mental state deteriorates? In that case, her mana control abilities might decline. Wouldn’t there be a possibility of a mana rampage happening then?”
In the latter part of the original, Julieta becomes mentally unstable due to the obsession of the male leads, to the point where she cannot think properly.
In such a state, her mana control abilities might not function properly.
Thinking about that, I asked Benjamin.
“Hehe, it’s a common misconception among non-magicians. But mana control abilities are not affected by such things at all. It’s a purely innate ability.”
However, Benjamin immediately denied my speculation.
“No, then what was that rampage I saw in the system window?”
“Sir Benjamin, then, could it be… Juliette might rampage in the future and destroy the empire…?”
“When you have a question, you must ask it to ease your conscience.”
I clasped my hands together, waiting anxiously for Benjamin’s response.
“Ah, this is indeed an interesting question,” Benjamin chuckled, stroking his beard.
And then, he eloquently explained over the course of three long hours why such a thing would never happen.
“What a load of nonsense. Damned charlatan, calling himself a Grand Magus.”
“Yeah, a fraud, through and through.”
I traveled with Julieta, searching diligently for other Grand Magus scattered across the continent.
But their answers were all the same as Benjamin’s, and I despaired.
“No, there’s still the Archmage left.”
With the last sliver of hope, I sought out the Archmage.
The first 9th-class mage of the continent, a genius whose name would echo through history.
Though rumored to be eccentric and mad, Matopju’s unmatched skill in magic couldn’t be denied.
Yes, if anyone could solve Julieta’s problem like magic, it would be him.
But no matter how much money we spent or how we threatened, the Archmage refused to see us, extinguishing my hope.
“Sigh… What do I do now…”
After more than six months of toil, I had found nothing.
So, I boldly decided to abandon my investigation into Julieta’s rampage.
After all, I already knew the cause of her outburst. The system window kindly explained it every time I died.
Due to the obsession of the male leads, Julieta went berserk.
As a result, the empire collapses, and we move to the RESET POINT.
Yes, Julieta went berserk because of the male leads’ obsession. So, if the male leads don’t obsess, Julieta wouldn’t go berserk, right?
“Alright. Let’s reincarnate the obsessive male leads for Julieta’s mental well-being.”
And thus, the Reincarnation of Obsessive Male Leads to Create a Benz Project began.
Until then, I wasn’t a maniac, so I tried to calmly persuade the obsessive male leads with words.
“Your Grace, Count Callisto, please, if you develop feelings for someone, respect them. Don’t treat them recklessly or try to confine them.”
Meeting the northern duke, the protagonist 1, I earnestly tried to persuade him…
“Douglas Youngsik, if you truly fall in love with someone, I will break off our engagement. But please, do not try to suppress that person with twisted possessiveness. Please cherish them with care and affection.”
Meeting my fiancé, the protagonist 2, I earnestly tried to persuade him…
“Gabriel, please do not lose your kind heart like now even if you find someone you love. Treat them with the same kindness as you do now.”
Meeting the high priest, protagonist 3, I tried to persuade him tirelessly.
Of course, they were not the type to listen after one try, so I kept repeating until it became annoyingly repetitive.
And surprisingly, it seemed to have some effect. Everyone felt a bit more lenient than in the original story.
However, on the day of Juliet’s debutante ball, they became obsessed with her as if under a spell, and eventually, she couldn’t escape from the duke’s clutches.
“Darn it! Nothing seems to have changed from the previous episodes!”
With tears in my eyes, I headed to the Calisto ducal estate to rescue Julieta.
Defying the duke’s wrath was quite risky, but there was no other choice. If left unchecked, Julieta ‘s mental state would deteriorate again.
And just as I was about to infiltrate the ducal estate’s guest room to make contact with Juliet, I was apprehended by the guards and thrown into prison. Damn it!
“I’m going crazy! Please let me out! At this rate, the empire will fall again!”
“I couldn’t just sit still and die like this, so I went crazy in prison.
But no matter how much I begged them to let me out, nobody listened to me, and that’s how the empire fell.
Due to the obsession of the male leads, Juliet went on a rampage.
As a result, the empire has collapsed and moved to the RESET POINT.
Restarting due to incomplete.
You are 18-year-old Ariadne Veloa.
‘…What? Did I regress again? So, is this the fourth time?’
Familiar system window appeared before my eyes. But now, there were no curses.
“Haha, hahaha!”
Instead, laughter burst out like balloons. It was because I finally realized an important fact.
Right. It didn’t make sense to rehabilitate the obsessed male leads in a gentle way.
Why would the obsessed male leads be obsessed? If they were people who would listen to words and change, they wouldn’t have become obsessed male leads in the first place.
‘Right. There’s no way they could be rehabilitated in a normal way.’
So what should I use to rehabilitate the obsessed male leads? Surprisingly, the answer was simple.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Obsession for obsession.
So this time, I’ll rehabilitate the male leads with obsession. Until they tremble in obsession and never obsess over someone again.
‘’And the truth is, when it came to obsession, I was somewhat confident.”
