#Episode 3

It was the moment he took off his mask and revealed his face.

“Huh?”

Jet-black hair as deep as the night, a sharp, high-bridged nose, skin as pale and delicate as the first snow.

‘I already knew, but still.’

He roughly swept back the bangs falling over his forehead, and his reddish-brown eyes gleamed sharply.

‘Breathtakingly handsome.’

No, wait a second.

Why do I know this face?

And right then, a chill ran down my spine.

‘Oh, dear god.’

I knew this gaze all too well.

How did I not realize it until now?

This man is Jeralach Cygnus!

Leoni’s lover, the man who gives everything for her.

The cold, cruel man who hangs me at the gallows for her peace.

The very man I kept dodging and avoiding just to survive.

The male lead of Tumultuous Leoni!

‘Wow, brain, you on vacation or what?’

Yes, you stopped working ever since you drowned yourself in wine.

Honestly, it wasn’t just the drinking—it’s also because I’d never seen him this close, face-to-face.

In my past nineteen lives, the only time I saw the Grand Duke was from the execution platform, resigned to my fate.

Even then, I remember thinking how pathetic I was, distracted by that deathly beautiful face.

‘No, seriously. Why is Duke Cygnus here? Has he met Leoni yet?’

My mind was a whirlwind, but my lips wouldn’t utter a single word.

As if someone had poured wax over my head and sealed it.

“You were chattering like a parrot, and now suddenly silent?”

Jeralach tilted his head and asked me.

But now was not the time to respond to that.

“P-please forgive the rudeness I’ve shown until now, Your Grace.”

Not trying to cosplay a proper lady here.

It’s just that I’ve lived enough lives to know how temperamental he can be, so I’m treading carefully.

At that, Jeralach tilted his head again.

“This is our first meeting, and yet you know me?”

“Ah, well…”

Oh, right.

The Grand Duke and I had never properly met.

Of course he doesn’t know me.

What do I say now? How do I explain this?

“There’s no one in Mütten who wouldn’t recognize Your Grace.”

It was a vague excuse, even I knew that.

In truth, Jeralach had lived with a cousin for some reason, and only returned to Mütten after his father passed, to claim his title.

“Th-think of it as the parrot’s information network.”

I added with a sheepish grin, and he let out a soft chuckle.

He laughed.

Wow. Thank you for not digging deeper.

Taking advantage of the softened atmosphere, I raised my hand timidly, like a student with a question in the teacher’s office.

I was already in “summoned-to-the-office” posture.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

I swallowed dryly and steadied my breath.

When I opened my mouth again, Jeralach leaned in slightly.

As if expecting something amusing.

This man looked like he was watching a monkey in a zoo.

“Why are you here?”

Excuse me, Your Grace. This is not where you’re supposed to be.

When Leoni left the ballroom, you were supposed to be walking in the garden.

And you were supposed to fall in love with her! So why are you here?!

“What?”

“I mean, I was just wondering why you’re here.”

Jeralach slowly blinked those large, deep eyes.

“Is it strange that I’m in my own home?”

“…….”

“And yet you being in my home isn’t strange?”

This man really knows how to deliver passive-aggressive burns under the guise of politeness.

And yes, I’m very sorry.

But you’re supposed to meet Leoni today, and I’m worried things are getting off track.

If he doesn’t meet Leoni today, what happens to the story?

Then it hit me—someone else I’d forgotten.

‘Wait, where’s my fiancé?’

While Leoni is outside the ballroom falling for the male lead, I was supposed to meet my own fiancé, Nathan, inside.

Nathan, who praised me like an angel, only to propose to Leoni in the end.

I glanced at Jeralach. But asking him where Nathan is? That didn’t sound like a great idea, so I kept my mouth shut.

Yeah, forget him.

There’s something more important right now.

“I’m sorry. I think I made a really big mistake. So, actually…”

I don’t care what happens to me, but I don’t want Leoni’s life to unravel.

She’s a kind, delicate woman who deserves to meet the male lead.

She did nothing wrong.

If only I hadn’t caused this pointless fuss tonight, she would have met the man she’s meant to love.

Thinking of Leoni’s gentle smile made a wave of sorrow crash over me.

“What time is it? Is it still night?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because there’s someone you absolutely have to meet tonight.”

“What?”

“I know it sounds strange. But there’s someone you must meet tonight.”

Ugh, how can I phrase this so it sounds a bit more believable?

I’ll live my life however, so please, just go fall in love and live happily with her.

I don’t want to destroy the original story.

The dark-haired duke belongs with the golden-haired beauty, after all.

“You really are…”

“…….”

“Quite the mystery.”

“Huh?”

“You seem like someone scared enough to die over a drunken mistake, and yet you say things like that with no fear at all.”

The Grand Duke murmured lazily, and then—

“What if I said no?”

—he placed his hand over my mouth.

But I’m not the kind of woman to back down here.

What do you think I’ve been doing? I’m a woman who’s died nineteen times.

“Aren’t you curious who I’m talking about?”

Modern theory says humans are creatures of curiosity, after all.

I’d use his curiosity to get him out of this room.

“No.”

“…….”

“Not curious.”

Guess modern theory doesn’t work on this medieval heartthrob.

‘He shut that down fast. Better to retreat for now.’

Like he’s going to suddenly go running off to find Leoni just because I said so. That’d be ridiculous.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast! Hoping that modern wisdom works a little bit here, I sighed deeply.

Then Jeralach, who had been staring at me for a while, smiled charmingly.

“I just want to stay here and play with you, Liverata Bernadette.”

I instinctively clutched the blanket tight.

Just like he said—I’d been chattering like a parrot, but now I was struck dumb, unable to say a word.

His gaze was too intense. His eyes too suggestive. I could feel the alcohol flooding back through my veins.

“I want to hear more of your story.”

He had a sensual scent.

And his face up close was so perfect, it was impossible to describe.

“My story?”

Jeralach still couldn’t take his eyes off me, curiosity blazing.

But unfortunately, I didn’t have much to tell him.

I was just a character created to highlight the female lead.

A woman full of jealousy and envy, twisted up in inferiority.

No—I had to be that woman.

The only memories I could share with him were about all the times I ran from death, and the different ways I died.

What else could I say?

“I’m just the Countess of Almaz’s dear friend… just the daughter of a plain old marquess.”

That’s when he frowned, as if something about my answer bothered him.

“That’s a strange way to answer.”

“…….”

“When people talk about themselves, they don’t usually start with their relationship to someone else.”

Fair. But Leoni’s a special case.

Still, somehow, his words stirred something deep inside me.

I’d never been upset about not being the protagonist.

I just wanted a quiet, ordinary life.

“I honestly don’t know who I am.”

It was impulsive.

But once it started, I couldn’t stop.

“What kind of person I am, why I’m living this way, whether there’s a reason for it. Why I’m even here. This place… it’s not where I belong.”

I should’ve stopped there.

“Everything’s just… confusing. And scary.”

In the end, I confessed my fear.

Was it because the mood demanded it?

Because of the alcohol?

Or was it his unwavering gaze, never leaving me?

The villainess frame had always choked me.

Even without doing anything wrong, the same ending repeated. Maybe that’s why I acted out tonight.

And when I finally said I was scared, I had no choice but to face the anxiety I’d tried to ignore.

Then, Jeralach slowly opened his mouth.

“What is it that troubles you so deeply?”

“I don’t even know. Everything just frightens me.”

I couldn’t say anything more—because of what he did next.

He reached out his large, warm hand and wrapped it around my shoulder.

As I crumbled into his arms, that human warmth melted both my body and heart.

I knew I shouldn’t stay like this, but I didn’t want to leave.

Even though he said nothing, I felt his comfort.

How long we’d spent together, what he knew about me—it didn’t matter.

In this dim and cozy room, there was only a frightened woman and a man who found her pitiful.

“I must be broken. This version of me, I mean.”

Everything around me felt surreal.

Like I was the only unnatural thing here.

I was never meant to be here in the first place.

I couldn’t finish the thought, and instead looked up at Jeralach.

In those mysterious reddish-brown eyes, I saw a small girl, shrunken and afraid.

And for just a moment, I wished he would keep looking at me like that.

But no—I can’t get entangled with this man.

Just as I was about to slip out of his arms and pretend I hadn’t said anything rash—

His grip on my shoulder tightened, holding me in place, and he whispered:

“I have this sudden urge to kiss those lips that just confessed their fear.”

“…….”

“Now, tell me—does that make me normal?”