In a space filled with eerie silence, the sound of a woman’s soft breathing echoed gently. As he confirmed she was deeply asleep, he spoke.

“Weren’t you the one who said direct contact helps?”

Why the interference? Roderick’s eyes conveyed annoyance at Noel, who was trying to wedge himself in between them to sleep.

Lying diagonally with his head propped on his hand, Roderick extended his arm to reach for Diana’s hand.

Thwack. A small hand smacked his arm away in between.

“We’re close enough as it is. Uncle, you’re trying to get too close. Eep!”

Hmm. As Diana stirred in her sleep, the two men fell silent.

Worried she might wake up, they whispered almost inaudibly.

“I held Diana in my arms until she woke up, just as you said when she absorbed your raging curse in the Black Forest.”

After she had fainted and did not wake up, Noel had suggested holding her in his arms.

So, the moment Diana opened her eyes, she saw him bare-bodied. But it was an emergency.

“But that was different from now! Why do you keep clinging to our sister?”

As Diana’s brows twitched, Roderick stood up.

He grabbed Noel by the scruff of the neck and strode across the room. Noel struggled, but to no avail. The sudden opening of the door had Daren asking in haste.

“What’s the matter?”

“Get rid of this.”

“What?”

“No! I don’t want to go!”

Trying not to wake Diana, Noel resisted in a hushed voice. Daren, flustered, still managed to firmly hold the boy’s armpits as Roderick handed Noel over.

“It’s adult time. Kids, out.”

Without a sound, the door closed. Noel glared at the closed door, puffing his cheeks.

Adult time. An oddly suggestive phrase. Daren, with a flushed face, coughed to hide his embarrassment and moved away from the corridor.

[@#%!@#!]

A man’s voice murmured incoherently.

Underneath her long lashes, Diana’s pink eyes opened. A black shadow flickered before her.

Squinting at the blurry focus, Diana gasped for breath.

[@#%!@#!]

A male figure’s shadow stood before her.

As Diana stepped back, she felt a lifting sensation and something behind her back. Turning around, she saw a portrait.

The portrait of the woman she and Noel had seen in the passage. But the frame was empty.

[@#%!@#!]

“What, what’s…”

The shadow grabbed her wrist. She couldn’t shake it off and looked down at the captured wrist.

The shadow’s hand started to disintegrate into blackness, then solidified.

On Diana’s wrist, under the man’s thick fingers, was an unfamiliar bracelet. Her outfit wasn’t hers either.

Diana was wearing the dress that the woman in the portrait had worn. What’s happening? Before she could comprehend, the man caught her gaze.

[Beatus.]

The shadow had transformed into a man, dressed in attire from several generations ago.

“….”

Diana couldn’t respond. The man, who had grasped Diana, was tearfully smiling in a manner that resembled Roderick.

Blue eyes with hints of blue in his black hair, a tall and robust body, a pale yet sharp face – it all seemed similar.

[Beatus. I’ve waited for you.]

She was indeed Beatus. But she knew she wasn’t the person this man was seeking.

[I’m so sorry to you…]

The man knelt tearfully, causing Diana to swallow her breath. She wanted to step back, but a solid wall blocked her.

“Um, there…”

The man clutched her dress’s hem and looked up pitifully.

[I accepted your curse.]

What?

[This is proof that I’m with you, right? That’s why… I’ve been afflicted with the curse of madness.]

Her heart clenched, and she felt breathless.

[Did I do well?]

The man’s face, wet with tears, was filled with ecstasy.

“……”

[Angela.] Obsession, even to the point of madness, settled deeply within him. His blue eyes felt chilling.

[Angela Beatus. My love.]

Flash. Her eyes snapped open.

“Diana!”

Heaving for breath as if struggling in water, she regained her composure thanks to his firm grasp.

Sweating profusely, she gazed blankly at Roderick.

His hands gently brushed away the hair sticking to her face. Calmed by his tender touch, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Diana. Did you have a nightmare?”

“A man.”

Her voice was hoarse, barely audible.

“A man?”

“A man was holding me and crying, I think.”

She couldn’t remember. It seemed a man had appeared, but what he said was unclear, leaving Diana clutching her head.

It felt important. Her chest felt tight.

“You were with me the whole time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, am I getting weaker?”

Sweating so much from a dream, she thought she might need to strengthen her body.

“Diana. Shall we take a bath first? I’ve prepared the water. Or, should I bring a washcloth?”

Roderick, waiting for her answer, didn’t even glance at the bell rope to call a maid.

It was as if he intended to do everything himself.

“You’re not going to bring it yourself, are you?”

“Why not?”

“Why bother when you have maids?”

He nonchalantly swept the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead with his bare hand.

“Who took care of you when you were asleep?”

His shrug suggested it was no big deal, leaving Diana’s mouth agape.