After confirming that Ren was no longer chasing me, the place I ended up heading to was ultimately home.

‘So much for saying I wouldn’t go home, all those fancy words and now this…’

Originally, I had planned to go to a hotel alone.

However, seeing everyone’s sidelong glances at me sobbing on the street, I lost my nerve and decided to just return home.

‘Is it their first time seeing someone crying on the street or what.’

I was already exhausted from wailing, and now with people’s attention on top of that, it was unbearable.

Having barely arrived, I flopped down onto the bed.

My mind was so chaotic I felt like I was going crazy.

‘To think that Ren, of all people, was actually Callys…’

The old saying about it being darkest under the lamp was spot on. That’s exactly what I was like now.

“If he had given me some hint beforehand, maybe…”

If I had been able to prepare myself even a little, the sense of betrayal might not have been this great.

‘Why did he hide it in the first place?’

I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t revealed his identity until now.

It was still hard to believe, but Ren, no, Callys was none other than a hidden prince.

An ability that everyone would dream of for royalty. Yet throughout the long history of the empire, those who possessed it could be counted on one hand.

Due to its rarity and symbolism, all those who had it naturally became emperors.

And it was Ren who had this amazing ability, and on top of that, excelled in all other abilities as well.

He must have realized he had the power to take revenge on those who had tormented him in the past, so why had he stuck by my side?

“Hah…”

I let out a deep sigh.

In fact, there was a more important issue at hand now.

‘It’s not just that the original story went off track, it was wrong from the very beginning.’

The beginning of the original story started with me kidnapping Callys, and then the scene where Ludovica and he met.

That day, after Ludovica saved the dying Callys, they parted ways and went their separate paths.

Ludovica returned to the mansion, and Callys left for training to become stronger.

As time passed, their reunion took place right after the tragedy of the Belvedere family, which greatly changed Ludovica’s life.

After their first meeting, the two should have faced various events.

During that busy period, I had been monopolizing Callys.

In other words, the original story had gone off track from the very beginning.

‘I’m really embarrassed about constantly talking about the original story all this time…’

I thought the original flow had gone off track because I kept kidnapping handsome men, but it had all gone wrong from the moment I made Ren my subordinate.

Still, the fortunate thing was that I now knew which period of the original story this corresponded to.

‘It’s been about a year and a half since I kidnapped Ren… So the time is approaching soon.’

No matter how much I had destroyed the original story and caused a butterfly effect, there were surely parts that remained unchanged even in the midst of it all.

The tragedy of the Belvedere family would be no exception.

This was clearly an event that wouldn’t change no matter what commotion I caused outside.

I recalled the contents of the original story.

So, although he was a severe narcissist, why did Dietrich, who was otherwise a sane person, commit the atrocity of killing his parents…

There were reasons for all of this.

The people of the Belvedere family had to go on an expedition every year to exterminate monsters in a place called the ‘Black Tree Forest’.

That forest was a habitat for monsters, and even when they thought they had completely eradicated the monsters’ seeds, new monsters would appear again after a short while, making it a strange place.

It was as if monsters were being supplied from somewhere.

If left unchecked, there were cases where monsters escaped from the forest and devastated human villages, so the Belvedere family members had to exterminate monsters every year.

The Duke and his wife were no exception to this obligation.

Skilled in combat, they always went into the forest alone to defeat the monsters.

But this was precisely the problem.

The Black Tree Forest was a place with extremely dense demonic energy.

It was a place where ordinary people would fall into a state of Rima immediately upon entering, as demonic energy seeped through the cracks of their souls.

The Duke and his wife could endure for a long time due to their strong physical bodies and resistance to demonic energy.

However, no matter how strong they were, they were still human in the end.

As the number of exposures to demonic energy increased, even they eventually fell into a state of Rima.

The souls of the Duke and his wife went mad, and grasping the last thread of sanity, they confined themselves underground.

Not wanting to show their mess of a state, they only received care from servants and didn’t meet with their children.

As time passed, their condition worsened.

And on the day when they could no longer squeeze out even the last bit of sanity, the two massacred all the servants.

This was soon discovered by Dietrich.

Realizing that his parents had killed innocent people in their madness, he decided to end his parents’ lives with his own hands.

That was the truth hidden behind the tragedy of the Belvedere family.

Immediately after the incident, Dietrich tried to take his own life as well.

However, at the very moment he was about to pierce his heart, Ludovica’s face flashed through his mind.

If he killed his parents and then himself, Ludovica would have no one left to rely on.

His beloved younger sister might lose her will to live.

So Dietrich decided to become a thorough villain.

He hid the secret of his parents’ death and decided to become the target of revenge.

As he expected, Ludovica burned with the desire for revenge, and eventually, he lost his life at the hands of his sister.

‘I can’t just sit back and watch the same thing happen this time.’

Fortunately, I vaguely remembered that the method to treat someone who had fallen into a state of Rima due to dense demonic energy was mentioned in the original story.

‘Elaine grass. If I can just find that, it’ll be fine.’

And to find it…

I would need Dietrich and Ruby’s help.

Finally having organized my thoughts, I clenched my fist with a determined expression.

‘Let’s visit the Belvedere mansion as soon as the day breaks tomorrow.’

To do that, I needed to sleep soon…

I tried my best to clear my mind and close my eyes, but Ren’s face kept flashing through my mind.

With my heart in turmoil, I couldn’t easily fall asleep.

The next morning.

In the reception room of the Belvedere Duke’s residence.

“I’m sorry for coming without notice like this.”

Ludovica shook her head at Vivian, who apologized first after suddenly visiting.

“No, Vivi. Between us. Rather, what I’m curious about is…”

She stood up from her seat and sat next to Vivian.

Then she gently traced Vivian’s slightly swollen eye area with her finger, which was just a bit puffier than usual.

“You’ve been crying?”

Startled.

Vivian was surprised as if caught with something she didn’t want to be discovered and laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, yes. I read a sad novel yesterday…”

However, Vivian had no talent for making up excuses.

“That’s a lie.”

Ludovica wrapped one arm over Vivian’s shoulder.

“So.”

“…”

“Who made our Vivi cry?”

At the gentle patting on her shoulder, Vivian’s eyes gradually reddened.

Just from that reaction, she could roughly guess who Vivian had fought with.

Ruby, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the moist eyes, spoke softly.

“It’s that guy, isn’t it? Ren, was it?”

Finally, when that name came out, tears that Vivian had been holding back flowed like a bursting dam.

“Hue… Ah, I didn’t come here to cry like this…”

As Vivian sobbed with unclear pronunciation, Ruby embraced her with both arms and stroked her hair.

Inwardly, she mocked Ren for his foolish actions.

Where had Ren gone, who had shown such intense possessiveness towards Vivian not long ago?

Back then, he acted as if he would never let her go… but now, thanks to him, Vivian was here in her arms like this.

It was then, as she was patting Vivian’s back, who was crying with shaking shoulders.

Dietrich was seen entering the reception room.

Ludovica, who had erased her smile in an instant at Dietrich’s mood-breaking appearance, silently mouthed an order to him.

‘Co. Co. A.’

Dietrich gave a look as if to say, ‘Surely you’re not sending me on an errand for drinks right now?’, but his sister merely jerked her chin towards the outside.

It meant to bring it immediately.

He made a wronged expression but surprisingly followed his sister’s instructions obediently.

Ludovica handed the cocoa to Vivian.

“Calm down a bit first.”

Vivian, whose eyelids had already swollen like sausages, obediently accepted and drank the beverage.

Ludovica almost burst out laughing at how cute she looked.

Finally, Vivian seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“I’m sorry for showing such an unsightly state…”

“No, it’s nothing between us. Rather, what I’m curious about is if you came to see me because of that guy.”

Despite barely being able to open her eyes properly, Vivian quickly shook her head.

“Actually, I came because I have a favor to ask.”

Although she had a headache from crying so much, Vivian once again organized the plan she had set in her mind.

The ‘Elaine grass’ that must be obtained to prevent the tragedy of the Belvedere family.

This was a special grass that could only be found in the Black Tree Forest.

The problem was that numerous monsters inhabited the Black Tree Forest.

In other words, to find the Elaine grass, one had to learn how to deal with monsters.

Having finished her thoughts to some extent, Vivian put on a grave expression.

“Teach me how to deal with monsters.”

Others might not know, but for Vivian to utter these words, it took a lot of courage.

Having already crossed the boundary between life and death twice due to monsters, fear of monsters was already engraved in the deepest part of her heart.

‘But I can’t stay curled up like this forever.’

For Dietrich, for Ludovica.

It was time to face her fears head-on in order to save the two people who had become her friends.

“I know it might be a difficult request. But I’ll do anything. Help me to be able to defeat monsters with my own strength.”

“When you say you’ll do anything, does that really mean anything?”

“Yes. As long as it’s something I can do.”

Ludovica, with her characteristic eerie smile, stroked Vivian’s chin with her index finger.

“Are you sure?”

Seeing Vivian nod her head with certainty, Ludovica decided to ask something she had been curious about for a while.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while. Can you also tell me how you kidnapped me before?”

The red heterochromatic eyes shone brightly as if testing Vivian.