The interrogation by Dietrich began in a suffocatingly tense atmosphere.

“Did you kidnap me knowing who I am?”

“I’m not crazy enough to do that. I was just so distracted by your face that I grabbed you without realizing who you were. Hah… If I had thought about it a little more, I could have noticed who you were.”

Then I wouldn’t be facing death like this.

Of course, it was my mistake, but I felt strangely wronged by this situation and rambled on with explanations.

But was it my imagination?

The corners of Dietrich’s mouth seemed to twitch as if pleased.

“We’ll hear more about that later. Let’s move on to the next question. How many handsome men have you kidnapped so far?”

“It was thirty-three… including you, it would be thirty-four.”

The actual number of incidents was well over 40, but there was one guy who had been caught nine times. I answered considering him.

“Hmm, thirty-four?”

“…Yes.”

Dietrich started asking various questions while occupying the largest and most comfortable chair in the monitoring room.

It was a bit absurd how he boldly took over my chair as if he owned the place, but I refrained from mentioning it, thinking it might only provoke him.

But had my answer already shortened my life?

He frowned as if something displeased him.

“Um, is there a problem?”

“Not a problem, just curious. Was that incident in the newspaper a few days ago your doing?”

“A newspaper from a few days ago… Ah, the Times?”

Dietrich nodded slightly in affirmation.

“Yes, that was me. It hasn’t been long, so that handsome man is still confined in a room. I was planning to release him after a month…”

If I die today, I won’t be able to do that.

I resisted the urge to say those words.

“Including that man, shouldn’t there be thirty-one people kidnapped so far? Why thirty-four instead of thirty-two, including me?”

You sure have a lot of questions. Someone might think you’re an investigator.

‘Was Dietrich originally such a talkative character?’

Where did the taciturn Dietrich Belvedere from the original work, who would silently behead people, go?

‘Could it be because it’s still before that incident?’

The tragedy of Belvedere.

In the original work, Dietrich first appears in the scene where he brutally murders the Duke and Duchess.

‘Did his personality change 180 degrees before and after that incident?’

I began to think that the Dietrich before me might be a different person from the one I knew in the original work.

That would make sense, because if he were the one from the original work, my head would have flown off the moment our eyes first met.

A small hope arose. Maybe I could survive if I managed to soothe Dietrich.

I decided to stop being snippy and cooperate as much as possible.

“That’s because there are people who were kidnapped by me but didn’t report it even after being released.”

“Two such people?”

“Yes, there were two.”

“Then maybe there will be three now.”

“What? What do you mean…”

I asked back, unable to understand the meaning of his words, but Dietrich, leaning languidly in the chair, completely ignored my question.

He looked down at me sitting on the floor with a strange expression.

I tried my best to lift the corners of my mouth into a smile.

‘Harmless expression. Harmless expression! I have to look as harmless as possible to survive.’

Making my efforts futile, Dietrich, who had been staring at me with an arrogant gaze, suddenly came down from the chair and approached.

‘Aack, he’s going to kill me after all!’

I closed my eyes tightly in fear, but surprisingly, nothing particular happened.

I carefully opened my eyes.

Then I saw his face with a villain-like smile at a distance close enough to feel his breath.

A smile that was incredibly beautiful yet exuded an eerie aura.

Is this what a devil who seduces people would look like when smiling?

I swallowed hard in tension.

“Now, Lady Vivian.”

“Y-Yes?”

I instinctively answered to his voice calling my name, but I belatedly realized something was odd.

“By the way, how did you know my name…”

“I boast a memory as perfect as my appearance. I remember all the names and faces of the imperial nobles.”

“I see…”

What’s with that self-praise?

But since that wasn’t important right now, I didn’t bother to point it out.

“I didn’t expect the rumored serial handsome man kidnapper to be among them.”

Hahaha.

I scratched my cheek and smiled.

It was embarrassing enough that I was a serial kidnapper without him constantly bringing it up.

“Now I’ll ask my final question, Lady.”

“Y-Yes…”

I prayed desperately in my heart.

Please don’t let it be a question about how he’s going to kill me!

But did my prayer reach God?

Dietrich’s question was far from what you’d expect from the main villain’s mouth in the original work.

“Do you remember your answer to my first question?”

“That I kidnapped you without knowing your identity?”

“No, not that. The part where you said you were so dazzled by my face that you had a mental lapse and mistakenly kidnapped me.”

I didn’t say it quite like that.

It was a statement with arbitrarily added details, but I nodded without pointing this out.

“You said you’ve kidnapped as many as thirty-four handsome men so far.”

“That’s right?”

“Then, if you were to rank the faces of all the handsome men you’ve kidnapped, what place would I be in?”

“…Huh?”

What on earth is this guy saying?

I tilted my head, unable to believe what I was hearing.

“Answer how handsome I am.”

Seeing me frozen with a dumb expression, Dietrich added in a slightly gruff tone.

Finally coming to my senses, I still didn’t quite understand the situation, but I decided to speak up to survive.

“O-Of course, you’re number one! Absolutely number one!”

However, this seemed to be the wrong answer. Judging by the slight crease between Dietrich’s brows.

“Lady Vivian.”

“…Y-Yes, you called?”

“As a marquis, I’ve met countless people. So I can tell just by looking at someone’s face whether they’re being sincere or not.”

“…”

“Let me give you a piece of advice. I particularly dislike flattery or pretense in this area.”

“I see…”

Dietrich summoned a sword made of what looked like obsidian-like magic.

Then, exuding an ominous atmosphere, he lightly traced the blade with his index finger.

The well-honed blade glinted as it caught the light from the lamps.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

“I’ll give you one last chance. It would be better to answer honestly this time.”

Terrified of Dietrich looking down at me menacingly while holding the sword, I bit my lip.

‘What should I do? What on earth should I do? I’m doomed.’

You call yourself a villain? A villain!

What kind of villain kills someone for flattering them about their looks?

Even if this is before his villainous transformation, his personality is way too strange.

‘He’s not a villain, just a madman.’

The problem is that my life depends on this madman.

I felt like bursting into tears at the hopeless situation, but I held back. Crying would make my words less convincing.

I quickly tried to think of an answer while holding my head.

Meanwhile, Dietrich was twirling the sword precariously in his hand while smiling ominously.

It was clearly a sign of impatience.

“Does my face look that unappealing to you, Lady? This doesn’t seem like a question that should take so long to answer.”

You said you’d kill me if I lied.

Words full of resentment rose to the tip of my tongue but went back down.

‘I don’t know, damn it. Whatever happens, happens.’

I decided to blurt out my honest thoughts as they came.

“Your face is so beautiful it’s hard to put into words, but since you seem to want it, I’ll try.”

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I started rattling off praises about Dietrich’s face as if I were rapping.

“You are the perfect handsome man among handsome men. Let’s examine the reasons one by one. First, look at this hair. What kind of oil do you use to maintain it? If you sold that oil, you could become the richest person in the empire. How perfect is this glossy, flowing hair? Even the fur of mythical creatures couldn’t be this soft, bouncy, and shiny. The color is so black it seems to absorb all the light in the world. But here’s the catch! Your face emits such an intense light that it can’t possibly be overshadowed by that hair. Your face is glowing, glowing! Are you a person or a light bulb? But that’s not all! The languid, elongated eyes exude an air of boredom, creating a mature atmosphere, and then there’s the nose. Words are unnecessary. And is that center part intentionally charred? The masculine forehead flowing into the prominent bridge of the nose boasts a more perfect harmony than a statue crafted by an ancient master.”

For over 20 minutes, I praised Dietrich’s face without a moment’s pause.

Fortunately, just looking at his face kept giving me more things to compliment, so it wasn’t too difficult aside from my throat getting sore.

Dietrich listened to my long speech with his eyes closed, nodding his head.

Satisfaction and contentment were evident on his face.

While I couldn’t read his inner thoughts precisely, his expression seemed to say, ‘Every word is absolutely correct.’

‘The atmosphere seems good, right?’

I carefully watched Dietrich’s reaction as I cautiously brought up the main point.

I had to answer his question.

“…Anyway, so it’s not a lie that you are overwhelmingly number one.”

But at that moment, his eyes, which had been nodding in satisfaction as he listened, suddenly flew open.

Those pitch-black eyes that seemed to draw you in instantly filled with disappointment and anger.

“It seems the Lady doesn’t value her life very much. To continue with such insincere remarks.”

Dietrich rose from his seat and came closer and closer to my face.

Black magic leaked threateningly from his sword.

‘Damn it. Please spare me.’

At least listen to the whole story.

Faced with his menacing attitude that seemed ready to kill me at any moment, I inwardly swallowed my tears.