It was truly an absurd statement.

They were just in the same hideout because Dietrich had insisted on being confined.

The rooms were different, and Vivian didn’t even sleep at the hideout every night.

But spending the night together? What? Spending the night?

Anyone in this world would misunderstand!

Vivian wanted to grab Dietrich by the collar and shake him hard, but lacking the courage to do so, she could only feel frustrated inside.

‘No, but why is that guy smiling and making such a fuss like he’s done something good?’

While she was feeling deadly serious, Dietrich was looking this way with a very relaxed and joyful expression as if it wasn’t his business, which made Vivian’s blood boil.

He was the one who created this situation, yet his attitude was truly that of a mere bystander.

‘There’s absolutely no way that guy will come forward and explain… Let’s calm Ruby down first.’

Having barely collected her thoughts amidst the confusion, Vivian struggled to open her mouth.

“Um, Ruby? I’ll explain slowly, so come over here first. It’s dangerous to step on the glass with your shoes.”

Ludovica’s face, which had been full of discomfort, seemed about to soften, but with Dietrich’s following words, it ended up becoming even more fierce than before.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to explain what happened between us, Miss Vivian? I thought that was our private matter.”

You, you, you crazy lunatic.

Vivian almost fell backwards grabbing her nape like a supporting character in a K-drama, but quickly regained her sense of reality due to the eerie atmosphere emanating from Ludovica.

“Ru, Ruby! That’s all nonsense. It’s just, really, literally! We were just ‘in the same building’! The same building! Okay? The same building!”

Vivian, with a tearful expression, frantically waved her hands trying to explain, but Ludovica maintained an expressionless face as if she couldn’t hear any of it.

Crunch.

Stepping on the glass shards scattered on the floor with her shoes, Ludovica approached Vivian one step at a time.

‘She might get hurt at this rate…!’

For a moment, Vivian was about to stop Ruby out of concern that her friend might get hurt, but she hesitated.

Ludovica’s fierce gaze had left her speechless.

“Vivian.”

Gone was the familiar term of endearment, and Ludovica called her friend’s real name in a tone as cold as the winter wind.

At the unfamiliar address, Vivian sensed that things had gone terribly wrong.

“…Yes?”

She replied with difficulty, holding back tears inside. Then, at Ludovica’s next words, she let out a deep sigh.

“Didn’t you say earlier that he was a stranger?”

“Ah…”

Am I really this stupid?

No matter how flustered she was, Vivian couldn’t help but be astounded at her own stupidity.

It was then. The sound of laughter erupted from behind.

“Pfft, hahaha!”

Ludovica and Vivian’s heads naturally turned towards the back.

Dietrich, who had been sitting leaning against the bench, was bursting into laughter while clutching his stomach.

His choking appearance made it seem like he might pass out at any moment.

“Ah, really. I can’t hold it in anymore, pfft!”

The icy atmosphere shattered in an instant.

Ludovica and Vivian looked at Dietrich with puzzled expressions.

The backyard, which had been quiet with only the three of them, was now filled with one man’s laughter.

‘No, this guy. Even if it’s before his turn to evil, has he thrown away all dignity as the original villain?’

Vivian resigned herself at the sight of Dietrich, who was now laughing so hard he was shedding tears.

‘Sigh, I don’t know anymore. Really.’

Ludovica and Vivian waited for Dietrich’s laughter to subside.

After a few minutes, he finally calmed down, stood up from the bench, and approached them while wiping the tears from his eyes with his index finger.

Then he naturally put his arm around Vivian’s shoulder.

Given their significant height difference, it was more appropriate to say he placed his arm on her shoulder.

“Thanks to Miss Vivian, I had quite an entertaining show. I think it’s been 15 years since I’ve seen this one’s face contort like that.”

“That sounds like you’re saying you lied to tease me.”

Ludovica glared at Dietrich, whose face was full of smiles, with a look of contempt.

“Ah, it’s not a lie. We did spend the night together.”

“…?”

“In the same building, different rooms.”

Ludovica’s expression, which had been distorted, froze coldly at Dietrich’s another trick.

“Why are you making that face? I never told a lie.”

He pretended to be nonchalant, but couldn’t hide the corners of his mouth twitching up and down.

Vivian stared blankly at the two siblings, not even thinking of pushing away Dietrich’s arm around her shoulder.

‘No, didn’t he say she was his beloved little sister… Is this right?’

Vivian recalled a passage that appeared in the original work.

『The demonic sword, which always boasted a color darker than pitch-black, was now stained with red liquid.

Dietrich looked down at his parents’ bodies, miserably sprawled on the floor.

The blood on his hands was still warm, as if proving that he was the murderer who had killed his parents.

He gripped the demonic sword again.

This time it was his turn.

Dietrich tried to stab his own heart without hesitation.

But at the last moment, the face of his beloved little sister suddenly came to mind.

The sword that had already pierced halfway into his chest paused for a brief moment.

“This kind of end wouldn’t be fitting for a true villain…”

He had to live. No, at least he had to stay alive for now.

Until the day Ludovica found new hope, he had to make her live on, even if it was only out of a desire for revenge.

For the sake of his beloved sister, more precious than anything in the world, he could willingly become a villain and a sinner.』

‘He cherishes her so much that he would go to such absurd lengths. He treasures her more than anything in the world!’

However, his current attitude made it difficult to say he was someone who cherished his younger sister.

Rather, he seemed like a person desperate to tease his sister.

His behavior was so annoying that even Vivian, who was standing beside him, was getting irritated.

Naturally, Ludovica only sent a hate-filled gaze towards her elder brother.

“Ah, even I get hurt when you look at me with such eyes. Don’t you agree, Miss Vivian?”

Dietrich stared intently into Vivian’s eyes, feigning an ill-fitting pitiful look.

Ludovica clicked her tongue in disgust and forcefully pushed away Dietrich’s arm that was around Vivian’s shoulder.

“Elder brother, just keep your mouth shut. And take your hands off Vivian.”

No sooner had Dietrich’s arm left her body than Ludovica pulled Vivian towards herself.

“Hmm, I’ll have to refuse that. I think Miss Vivian would prefer to be by my side, don’t you?”

This time, Dietrich grabbed Vivian’s shoulder and pulled her back into his embrace in one swift motion.

The same thing repeated several times.

Like a ping pong ball in a match, Vivian was dragged back and forth between their arms, unable to resist.

After going back and forth with a dazed expression, Vivian finally settled in Dietrich’s arms.

Then, as if planting a flag to mark his victory, he ostentatiously rested his chin on top of Vivian’s head.

“See? Didn’t I say she’d prefer to be by my side? Miss Vivian really likes my face. So much that she kidnapped and confined me.”

Confusion clouded Ludovica’s face, which had been angry at having her friend taken away.

“Kidnapped…? Do you mean Vivian kidnapped you as well, not just me?”

To this confused question, Dietrich only responded with a smirk instead of an answer.

The atmosphere became serious again.

The corners of Ludovica’s mouth dropped endlessly.

Vivian, who had lost her senses from being dragged around, belatedly grasped the situation and shouted at Dietrich in surprise.

“H-how could you say that!”

“Oh, was it a secret? I’m sorry, Miss Vivian.”

However, contrary to his words, his expression didn’t look sorry at all.

‘That person… He definitely knew and said it on purpose!’

Vivian was about to protest more strongly to Dietrich but hesitated.

At a glance, Ludovica seemed to maintain her composure with an expressionless face, but strangely, she looked sad, which concerned Vivian.

“I guess… my being special was just an illusion.”

She mumbled in such a small voice that it wasn’t perfectly audible, but Vivian could roughly guess from her lip movements.

That Ludovica was disappointed.

She looked at Dietrich and Vivian alternately with eyes that seemed devoid of emotion, then turned around to leave the place.

Vivian boldly pushed away Dietrich’s arm, then grabbed Ludovica with urgent hands and turned her around.

And then she firmly grasped both of her hands.

“No! Ruby, you are special! You’re the first woman I’ve ever kidnapped!”

The first… The first…

Words that sounded like a line from an old-fashioned novel echoed throughout the garden.

Only then realizing how absurd her words were, Vivian’s face flushed red.

‘Are you really crazy, Vivian Schmidt? Who speaks such outdated lines?’

Just as she thought Ludovica might ignore her, fortunately, an answer came back.

“Just the first?”

“…! The last! You’re the last too!”

Vivian gazed into Ludovica’s red eyes with sparkling eyes.

Ludovica, who had been quietly receiving that gaze, chuckled and grasped her friend’s hands that were holding hers.

“…Vivi is cute even at times like this. You’re also the first woman who has kidnapped me.”

Vivi.

She definitely called her Vivi.

Noticing that she had returned to the original nickname, Vivian smiled brightly.

It was truly a relief that Ludovica seemed to be in a better mood.