A house on the outskirts of the capital, belonging to Vivian.

In a house that looked somewhat shabby for a noble to live in, Vivian was finally taking a peaceful rest after a long time.

It was a precious time for her, who had been staying mainly at the hideout recently because of Dietrich.

However, there were unwelcome visitors who came to see her while she was in deep sleep.

Bang bang bang!

Someone knocked hard on the front door.

Vivian’s eyes flew open, and she rushed to the front door in confusion.

The sound of her stumbling could be heard as she hurried out.

The two unwelcome visitors stood waiting in front of the door with their arms crossed.

“Who is it?”

A puffy face that hadn’t been washed peeked out from behind the door.

Yawning, Vivian rubbed her eyes that wouldn’t open properly and checked the identity of the unwelcome visitors.

‘Why are these people here…’

In an instant, her sleepiness vanished.

Faces she hadn’t seen for a long time, but couldn’t forget.

The unwelcome visitors were the direct maids of the Marchioness Schmidt.

These two women, who were no different from the right hand of the Marchioness, often participated in tormenting Vivian.

Vivian, extremely tense, quietly gripped the doorknob, ready to close the door at any moment.

“Why are you here?”

The unwelcome visitors sighed at her wary tone.

“Lady Vivian. We’ve told you not to use such a tone. It seems you need to be re-educated.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”

They were people who had never once visited Vivian during the two years since she left home.

It was clear they hadn’t come for idle chatter.

“The Marchioness has ordered you to visit the mansion within three days.”

“No, ah…!”

She was about to refuse right away, but they had already forcibly placed a piece of paper in Vivian’s hand.

Due to their inconsiderate action, her thumb was cut by the paper.

Bright red blood flowed from the straight cut, but the maids showed no sign of remorse.

Rather, they maintained a nonchalant expression as if nothing had happened.

Vivian, not wanting to engage in a meaningless argument, slowly swallowed her anger.

Then she examined what she held in her hand closely.

The paper of high-quality material was an invitation. And it was in the name of the Imperial Princess, no less.

Vivian skimmed through the contents and bit her lip.

She never wanted to return to the mansion, but now something had come up that required her to go.

“Fine, I understand. I’ll visit in two days.”

She said curtly and closed the door with a bang.

The Marchioness’s maids were wide-eyed.

“Tsk, leaving the family has made her think she’s something special.”

“The Madam should see how arrogant she’s become.”

The malicious words full of mockery and contempt seeped through the cracks of the old wooden door.

Vivian sat down quietly, listening to those sounds. The trauma of her childhood days overwhelmed her.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Lady Vivian, are you alright?”

Ren asked in a worried tone to me, who had been dazed and unfocused all day.

“Yeah, of course I’m fine. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

Not wanting to worry him unnecessarily, I scratched the back of my head and brushed it off casually.

If he knew that people from the family had come, he would surely be concerned.

“You’re not fine at all. I should really tear those bastards to pieces…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Ren, who seemed to be muttering quietly, shook his head and gave a refreshing smile.

“It’s nothing. More importantly… you’ve got a wound here.”

I had completely forgotten about the small injury due to the pressure of having to return to the mansion.

Ren took my hand and examined it closely. His leaf-like eyes were filled with sadness and worry.

Why was he making such an expression over this?

After all, it was just a small paper cut, but Ren looked more pained than I was.

“It’s nothing, really. You don’t have to worry about it!”

I tried to pull my hand away out of embarrassment, but Ren wouldn’t let go.

“No, Lady Vivian. Even a small wound can fester if left untreated.”

Ren gathered various medicines and carefully treated the wound.

His attentive actions came as a comfort to me.

‘With Ren caring so much for me, I shouldn’t be feeling so down.’

Having regained some energy, I clenched my fist tightly, trying to pull myself together.

If I kept on like this, I might miss a handsome man appearing on the street.

But… wait a minute?

Ren pointed to the third video orb and started to zoom in urgently.

Hildes Street had several shopping areas, and at this time, the third video orb was showing the panorama of a place where weapon shops were gathered.

In the suddenly zoomed-in screen, a man was captured.

“Lady Vivian, there’s a new handsome man.”

“Ah, indeed there is.”

The man with a slender build was the owner of an extremely gorgeous face.

Red eyes boasting intense depth and features that grabbed attention.

The man with an androgynous charm exuded a mysterious atmosphere.

‘He’s handsome. But somehow familiar…’

I felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the man’s face, which I was certain I was seeing for the first time.

“Ren. Are you sure we haven’t kidnapped this handsome man before?”

“No. Firstly, those red eyes are not common. We’ve never kidnapped anyone with red eyes before.”

Ren’s memory couldn’t be wrong.

But why do I feel so uneasy?

Am I just tired?

I hesitated for a moment, still puzzled, then stood up.

Anyway, now that we’ve found a target, we should go and catch him.

Something feels off, but Vivian Schmidt, the handsome man kidnapper, is setting out again today!

[This is the timeline separator]

Ludovica Belvedere, the female protagonist of .

I am the only princess of the Belvedere family, said to make even birds fall from the sky.

With the elegance of a woman from a classic masterpiece and an overwhelming strength that was unapproachable.

Many people tried their best to befriend her, admiring her enviable background.

However, all of this is just a story of the past.

Ludovica Belvedere.

The red-eyed villainess, or the madwoman of Belvedere.

Now, she is merely an object of fear among the nobles, enough to be called by such epithets.

There was an old saying that those born with red eyes craved blood like demons.

It might seem like a prejudiced statement, but in a way, it might be true.

Red eyes were a trait mainly manifested in the Belvedere family, and the infamy of that family was great.

Because of this, when she first appeared in society, people admired her but couldn’t easily approach her.

It was also because her brother Dietrich had made quite a commotion with his social debut.

However, as time passed, people gradually gathered courage to approach her.

Ludovica didn’t welcome them, but she didn’t prevent them from staying by her side either.

People of all ages and genders flocked around the beautiful person of power.

Like moths gathering to a flame, her surroundings were always full of those trying to strike up a conversation.

But one year after her social debut, an incident occurred at an outdoor banquet.

Ludovica unilaterally beat up the son of Count Weiss.

The eldest son of the Weiss family was a knight who had just completed his appointment ceremony at the time.

He fought her like a knight, drawing his sword, but was utterly defeated. Despite Ludovica being barehanded.

Unable to even counterattack, he was reduced to a half-dead state in no time.

Though he narrowly escaped death, he ended up with an incurable disability.

Moreover, he could never show his face in noble society again.

People recalled the fear they had buried at this shocking incident that occurred during a daytime banquet.

The supreme infamy and terrifying rumors of the Belvedere family.

When people saw Ludovica’s blood-red eyes, they began to tremble as if by instinct.

Reading the deep fear engraved in their eyes, she used this as an opportunity to disappear from society.

Even after the incident, invitations to the Belvedere princess continued to come in large numbers, but she burned them all.

Instead, she became a recluse and focused more on another hobby. It was magic swordsmanship.

Currently, the only magic swordsmen active in the empire were the siblings of the Belvedere family.

Magic swordsmanship, which simultaneously possesses the properties of magic and swordsmanship.

As difficult as it was to master, it had many advantages, so many had challenged it so far, but mostly failed.

Magic power beyond that of a mage, physical abilities beyond that of a knight, and on top of that, innate battle sense.

To practice magic swordsmanship, one had to be born with many talents.

Therefore, it was only natural that there were no magic swordsmen other than the members of the Belvedere family, the founders of magic swordsmanship, who possessed all of these qualities.

Magic swordsmen did not need weapons.

What they used was not weapons, but magic power.

The magic sword created by condensing their own magic power had destructive power incomparable to ordinary weapons.

So, people of the Belvedere family generally didn’t have the hobby of visiting weapon shops, but…

Ludovica was an exception.

She liked to study various weapons and create new forms of magic swords through this.

Because of this, she often visited weapon shops, and today was one of those days.

With her long golden hair that reached her waist hidden in a short black wig, she was out on Hildes Street.

Dressed in clothes popular among commoner men recently, she looked like a pretty boy at a glance.

Ludovica always cross-dressed like this when she went out on the streets, because people who recognized her often caused a commotion.

Fortunately, thanks to her tall stature and large frame, just changing her hair and clothes allowed her to naturally blend in among people while hiding her identity.

Sometimes there were those who feared red eyes, but it wasn’t much of a problem.

If she could have changed her eye color too, it would have been a perfect disguise.

She sometimes thought it was bitter, but unfortunately, there was no such method within her knowledge.

At least not among methods humans could use.

But cross-dressing alone was helpful enough, so she could roam the streets freely like this in her own way.

Before she knew it, Ludovica entered a weapon shop and unconsciously reached out towards a displayed mace.

“…I didn’t expect this to be here.”

A flail-type morning star.

At the appearance of this uncommon weapon, she curled up the corners of her mouth and smiled ominously.

The owner, who was about to shout not to touch the weapons carelessly, hesitated upon seeing that smile.

It was clearly a beautiful smile, but the expression was somehow chilling, making it difficult to open his mouth.

Ludovica’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the various forms of morning stars on display.

She picked up one weapon and examined it closely here and there.

It was a mace with a spiked metal ball connected to the handle by a chain.

It had been a long time since she had seen a weapon this satisfying.

Ludovica quickly paid and left. She wanted to return to the mansion and start training right away.

But then.

“?”

For a moment, everything went dark, and an intense wind pressure hit her as if she was running through the air.

A short time, not even a second.

‘An ambush?’

Ludovica immediately took a defensive stance and began to guard her surroundings.

However, she couldn’t feel any hostile energy.

While still on guard, she looked around and belatedly realized.

This was not Hildes Street, but a completely different space.

One she had never been to before.