“….Alright.”

‘Still hesitating.’

Diana nervously handed over the medicine bottle.

“……If you don’t want to, you can take it and apply it yourself. You can treat others too.”

Raoul silently watched Diana’s behavior, then rolled up his tunic top and turned around.

“Apply it for me.”

Oh my goodness…..

The beaten areas were swollen up like snakes coiled on his back. Not only that, but his entire body was covered in bruises.

‘Where did you get beaten up like this…..’

At least since meeting Diana, she had never seen him injured this severely.

She could vividly imagine how much he must have suffered before being brought as a war slave.

She applied the medicine as gently as possible to avoid causing pain.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

The wounds were so large that it was impossible to imagine the pain.

‘I selfishly forced my fairy tale love on someone struggling so much with life. How thoughtless was I.’

While she was afraid of falling in love if she met Raoul, in truth, she was more afraid of feeling guilty.

Look at this young boy. He threw himself into danger without hesitation to save someone in peril.

She didn’t want to dwell on how many sins she had committed for such a kind person to become so cold.

She also wanted to ignore the fact that she had painfully chopped away at an unyielding tree until it was worn down.

As self-reproach led to many thoughts, she naturally became less talkative.

The winter lake was silent, and the day was cold.

“Are you done applying it?”

Feeling no more movement, Raoul glanced back slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It must have hurt a lot.”

As Diana’s voice trembled faintly at the end, Raoul lowered his tunic with a bewildered expression.

“It doesn’t hurt much……”

“How can this not hurt much.”

Diana felt upset. She felt bitter, wondering how much he must have been beaten throughout his life for such wounds to feel like nothing.

That’s when it happened. An unknown presence was felt behind the bushes.

‘Scouts?’

Raoul noticed first and put a finger to his lips. Avoiding the approaching lights in the distance, the two hid behind a tree.

They could hear the voices of two men who appeared to be scouts talking.

“What? There’s no one here?”

“Seems it was just a wild animal, sir.”

The footsteps drew closer.

Diana’s hands became clammy with the tense situation.

As she tried to breathe as quietly as possible and only swallowed hard, she felt warmth on top of her tightly clenched fist.

Raoul had gently taken her trembling hand and was giving her a look telling her to stay calm.

“Well, unless they want to be roasted, they wouldn’t leave the castle walls. Let’s go.”

“Yes sir.”

Thump. Thump. Diana felt her pulse racing.

This wasn’t the emotion of a young girl falling for a 10-year-old boy’s composure, but rather a sensation similar to some kind of longing.

‘You’re still the same.’

Feeling strangely confused, she hurriedly stood up as soon as the voices faded away.

“Sh-shall we go now too?”

“Alright.”

Raoul looked down at his empty hand for a moment before standing up.

As they walked through the silent forest with only the sound of water trickling, she stole glances at the boy’s profile beside her.

‘I still can’t get used to it no matter how much I look.’

Perhaps because he was still young, his facial features were very soft. It was impossible to think he would become the hero who would be the number one contributor to the rebellion in the future.

“What’s wrong…?”

Aware of her gaze, Raoul met her eyes and asked.

“…It’s nothing. More importantly, aren’t you cold?”

Now that she looked, Raoul was wearing only a thin tunic.

“I’m fine. My body temperature is high.”

It’s true that lycans have higher body temperatures than humans, but she was still worried since his body was young.

Diana carefully untied her ribbon and draped her coat over his shoulders.

“Here, wear this…”

After giving him her coat, Diana was left in just a thin pajama dress. She tried to smile as if it was fine, but her teeth were chattering.

It was too late to ask for it back now, so Diana sniffled and started walking again.

After about three steps, a warm sensation settled on her shoulders.

“You’re the one who’s going to freeze to death.”

Raoul had not worn the coat and returned it to Diana.

“But you’re injured…”

Before Diana could finish her sentence, she was left speechless. For whatever reason, there was a faint smile on Raoul’s face.

There was no trace of hostility, and his guard seemed to be down.

“You’ll catch a cold. Let’s hurry.”

He started walking ahead. Diana followed as if in a trance, taking in his back view.

‘Ah, to think this is the last time…’

It was the first time in her life that he had smiled comfortably at Diana.

They didn’t seem to have walked far, but soon the edge of the forest came into view. Diana couldn’t hide her disappointment.

‘We probably won’t meet again, right?’

She knew it shouldn’t happen, but she had lived 20 years as the original Diana from the story. Meeting Raoul again was bound to feel special.

She carefully examined the boy’s face one last time.

Pretty face, pretty eyes, pretty nose. A gentle smile appeared on Diana’s lips.

‘Take care.’

Just as she was steeling herself to say goodbye, Raoul spoke first.

“Do you often come for night walks?”

“…No. Why?”

“This forest is quite dangerous. I saw small monsters earlier too.”

“Ah, I see. I didn’t know…”

Raoul lowered his gaze to her injured ankle and asked.

“Are you planning to come alone again?”

Somehow, it sounded like he was worried about her.

“…Um, no. I probably won’t come again.”

“…Why?”

Diana answered honestly to the unexpected question.

“I used to meet a friend here long ago, but they’re not here anymore.”

It wasn’t a lie. Raoul remained silent.

Instead of waiting for a response from the pensive Raoul, Diana said goodbye first.

“Well then, I’ll be going now… Make sure to apply the medicine.”

The longer the farewell, the more regret would grow. Diana turned around without lingering.

After walking for a while, she faintly heard Raoul’s voice behind her.

“Then I’ll…”

The rest of his words faded, but it was too late to turn back now.

Diana just smiled and waved her hand.

‘Goodbye, Raoul.’

The image of him she saw again would be remembered for a long, long time.

[This is the timeline separator]

“I hope nothing happens…”

“What do you mean?”

Diana, who had been sitting absentmindedly as Angela brushed her hair, looked worriedly at the snowy scenery outside the window.

‘Those guys must have seen Raoul’s face, what if they do something to him?’

Diana was constantly concerned about Raoul who had returned to the slave camp.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind lately.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot to think about…”

Even if it wasn’t about Raoul, Diana had been having headaches lately.

She had to think of ways to accumulate funds, and for that, she needed to build connections to gather information.

‘Isn’t there an easy way to make money?’

Diana lifted her head to look at Angela and asked.

“How much money would I get if I sold all my jewelry?”

“Well, since you rarely attend social events, you haven’t bought much…”

Ha. Right.

That’s something only outgoing young ladies would do, not a ‘Raoul-obsessed’ Diana who hardly had any jewelry.

“Angela, I think I need to start making friends actively now.”

“Oh my, all of a sudden?”

“Just… I feel like I’ve become a frog in a well, staying cooped up at home.”

“I’d be so happy if you attended social gatherings, miss. I’ll make you look your prettiest…!”

“Mmm…”

Just thinking about social gatherings drained her energy. Having no experience attending such events since childhood made it even more awkward and distressing.

Her mother had passed away early, and her father was a warrior who had been traversing battlefields since she was old enough to hold a spoon.

He wasn’t the type of man to tighten his cravat and dance like a butterfly.

He was the emperor’s sword, the guardian of the empire, and the nightmare of enemy armies.

He never attended balls or unnecessary hunting parties except for imperial events he absolutely had to attend.

For various reasons, Diana also avoided social gatherings.

People treated her like an outsider, so it was clear what kind of treatment she would receive at gatherings of young ladies.

Given her timid personality, she didn’t want to embarrass her father by tarnishing the family’s reputation.

‘But what does that matter now… I don’t need to look good for the villain anymore…’

Whether collecting expensive jewelry or doing business…, she had to be more proactive after her regression.

‘The family’s destruction happens after the protagonist Ayla becomes an adult, so at least 10 years left, or 11 years if we go by when the civil war breaks out in the original story…’

Diana needed to save up money to leave the empire and settle elsewhere by then.

‘Isn’t there an easy way to make money…?’

She needed the kind of success like buying stocks in a major company after regression.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Shall we braid your hair today?”

“However you like.”

Angela was always like this.

Diana’s daily routine consisted of nothing but lounging around the duke’s mansion all day, yet Angela always wanted to make her look pretty somehow.

Diana alternately looked at the girl reflected in the mirror and Angela with her orange hair.

Though her words were blunt, Angela was a lovely young lady with a casual charm.

Diana, on the other hand…, took after her late mother and had looks that were completely unsuited for a romance fantasy novel.

She had never seen her mother’s face since she passed away during childbirth, but whenever she came across portraits, she was surprised by how their features seemed to be carbon copies.

‘The wonders of genetics…’

While she looked so much like her mother, she didn’t resemble Duke Carlyle at all.

Though the duke was a shady person, his looks could rival even the protagonist’s.

Blood-red hair, matching red eyes, a straight forehead, sharp eyes, and a jawline so chiseled it was dizzying.

She was grateful just for being given birth to, but sometimes she wished she had taken after her father.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she had that thought again today.

‘In modern society, I might have been considered average-looking…?’

But this was the world of romance fantasy.

In a world where impossibly gorgeous different races ran rampant, where did Diana stand? It wouldn’t be wrong to say she was an ugly duckling who couldn’t even show her face.

In any case, Angela wanted to spruce up even this pumpkin.

Angela gestured towards the mirror with a sparkling ‘Ta-da!’ effect.

It was too proud to say anything, but this was rather…

Incongruous.

It felt like a girl with an incredibly fierce appearance was forced to have a cute hairstyle.

Still, she didn’t forget to say thank you.

Diana got up from the dressing table and looked out at the forest behind the distant buildings.

‘That was already a week ago.’

She hadn’t seen Raoul since then.

‘Didn’t they say they were using war slaves for castle wall repairs?’

She couldn’t help but worry about that young body carrying stones.