The fatigue accumulated in her body dissipated. When had she ever felt such vitality?
The refreshing sensation spreading to every corner of her body felt like melting. She didn't want to part from the man.
"...."
"...."
Roderick looked down at the woman's head that had suddenly invaded his space.
As she came into contact, the fierce madness residing in him began to subside.
What was happening? As his breathing calmed, he started to assess the situation.
"Hey."
The woman didn't respond. Silence lingered.
"Move."
Even his icy voice didn't prompt Diana to budge.
She continued to rub her face against his sturdy neck until he forcibly detached her.
Thrown down by the man, Diana managed to stand upright. Her basic physical strength had returned.
Wiping off the drool that seemed to flow from her mouth, she looked up at the man in a daze.
Snapping back to reality, Diana's face flushed red with embarrassment. What a disgrace!
"I'm sorry!"
The man, who had casually tilted his head, lifted Diana's chin with the tip of his sharpened sword.
Her pink eyes trembled slightly as she glanced at the fearsome blade.
"Can't you just talk to me?"
His eyes narrowed, sizing her up.
"What's your identity?"
"If you remove this, I'll tell you."
Roderick didn't lower his sword. Diana couldn't blame him for being cautious, but she sighed.
"I apologize. I am Diana Beatus, the second daughter of the Beatus Ducal Family."
Ordinarily, anyone would have trembled under the overwhelming aura he emitted, but her demeanor was calm.
She defiantly raised her head higher, as if daring him to try something.
After a tense standoff, Roderick sheathed his sword.
"Why is the youngest of the Beatus family here?"
"You know me?"
"As much as others do."
"Then who might you be?"
After his brief reply, Diana nodded and took a proper look at the man.
Her use of the term 'sir' was influenced by his military uniform.
The wolf insignia on his scabbard identified him as part of the Northern Knights.
"I didn't get an answer. Lady, why are you here?"
"I'd like to know that myself. Woke up to find myself trapped in this castle. Let me ask again, who are you?"
Despite his cold demeanor, Diana examined him from head to toe.
His broad shoulders and well-balanced physique were typical of a knight, yet he exuded an aura only a ruler could possess.
The madness that had calmed in his blue eyes under the black hair subtly flickered.
"Roderick Schwarz."
Roderick, after briefly stating just his name, looked at his hand and clicked his tongue, removing his black leather gloves.
He then replaced them with a new pair from his coat.
Diana froze at his elegant motion.
Schwarz?! That Roderick Schwarz?
Who was Roderick Schwarz?
In the novel, the sub-male lead, Felice Schwarz's only brother.
Duke Felice was openly opposed to the Crown Prince.
The reason was the madness-induced deaths of his brother and father due to a curse. A curse born from magic.
The Royal Family was known for their magical prowess.
Only they could wield ancient magicians' power, capable of cursing others.
Felice believed his family's demise was orchestrated by the Royals, who controlled the North.
In the original story, Roderick Schwarz briefly appeared in Felice's flashbacks before disappearing.
Felice, mourning his dead brother, opposed the Crown Prince but found solace in the heroine's embrace, falling in love with her.
He, too, walked the path of a villain.
In summary, the man before her was also a walking time bomb, an antagonist who disappeared before the original story even began.
Why a villain? His brutality, exceeding even tyrants, was infamous in battlefields and neighboring nations.
He was said to have died in madness on the battlefield, a story heard before the novel's regression.
Diana, confined to bed, quickly learned various news through her chatty maid.
Was his end as painful as hers?
"Your gaze is impure."
Oh, admiring Roderick with sympathy for their shared plight, and he says this.
Quite a prickly man. Diana scanned him up and down again.
Not his appearance, but the cursed magic flowing through him.
A man harboring a curse several times stronger than the cursed dolls.
Yep, he passes.
With this man, she could quickly cure her illness.
What's the best way to stay close to him? Lovers? Spouses? She'd cling to him by any means for her life.
Too handsome to believe he'd soon be a disappearing villain.
"Something wrong with my gaze?"
Leaning close, his breath almost dizzyingly close.
"Looking at me with pity, as if feeling sorry. Am I wrong?"
Oh, he's quick-witted. Her pink eyes softened. Does it sound too perverted to find even his breath refreshing?
"No, you're exactly right."
It's a pity. Your curse can save me. Why did you only appear now?
Roderick's face remained expressionless, but the emotion lurking in his blue eyes was clear.
It was unmistakable displeasure.