Chapter 6
While Belona was still trying to process how the situation had somehow spiraled into this, Deminic continued speaking as if everything were perfectly reasonable.
“You told me not to burn down the temple. You told me not to use dark magic recklessly. You’re asking quite a lot from me, so letting me stay here for a little while shouldn’t be a problem.”
Belona finally regained her composure and answered with difficulty.
“I only said things that should be considered common sense. Could you please stop making it sound as though I made some outrageous demand?”
“But I did exactly what you wanted.”
She truly hadn’t expected him to listen this well.
Part of her wanted to pry open his skull just to see what was going on inside his head.
Still, she gave up surprisingly quickly.
Rather than trying to throw Deminic out, Belona decided it would be more productive to figure out how to successfully complete her unexpected short-term project: hiding a black cat.
“…Maybe I can say I’m feeling unwell and upset because of the engagement issue, so I want to be left alone.”
“An engagement? Who are you engaged to?”
Belona shot him an annoyed look when he stubbornly latched onto her muttered remark.
“No one. I have absolutely no intention of getting engaged, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Is this one of those predictable stories where your family already chose a fiancé for you, but you’ve fallen for someone else?”
Deminic’s leisurely interrogation reminded her of a predator refusing to let its prey escape.
Why was he so interested in someone else’s love life?
If she actually had a romantic interest, she wouldn’t feel nearly this wronged.
“Unfortunately, there’s no one.”
A headache was beginning to creep in, and Belona rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“This isn’t something you need to know. Whether I marry someone or not. Whether I accept an unwanted engagement or not.”
Judging by how one of Deminic’s eyebrows had climbed toward the heavens, he seemed distinctly displeased.
Watching him rub one eyebrow with his finger while sighing, she suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
No, familiarity wasn’t the right word.
It was a memory.
A memory of the Deminic she had encountered in her previous lives—the same consistently arrogant, infuriating man.
“A dark mage? On the contrary, Count Rosentin, I’m the one who earned recognition for capturing a dark mage. I believe you’ve misunderstood.”
“Please stop spouting nonsense, Duke Roxellern. You bribed the temple with money.”
“If you’re interested in my wealth, there’s always the option of becoming the Duchess of Roxellern.”
Belona abandoned all pretense of politeness and snapped back.
“Stop saying things you don’t mean and focus on preparing for your own funeral.”
“You aren’t even bothering with formal speech anymore. Such an ill-mannered little countess.”
Lately, every conversation with him seemed to turn into this strange tug-of-war.
“Don’t you dare mistreat Davien, you lunatic.”
“Now you’re finally looking at me properly. It’s not easy to capture the attention of the great Lady Rosentin, is it?”
Countless memories from her previous lives began to overlap.
Which life was she remembering now?
The memories were becoming increasingly blurred.
As she’d lived through life after life, both her fear of Deminic and her attachment to life itself had gradually faded. She suspected that was what had caught his attention.
Deminic had always been drawn to unusual things.
“You know an awful lot about me, and I’ve willingly told you things about myself. Yet I still have no idea what you’re really thinking.”
His voice carried a note of dissatisfaction.
“I just want to know everything about you. As much as you know about me.”
Only then did Belona remember what they had been talking about and finally pull herself out of the fragments of old memories.
“My life isn’t anything special. Other than the things I’ve already told you, I’m just… an ordinary noblewoman. I don’t have some extraordinary background.”
Technically, she could have spoken openly about the people close to her.
But even if she had completely altered the future, she still felt uncomfortable bringing up Davien’s name first.
That was because Deminic’s interest in Davien—the saintess and original heroine of the story Belona knew—had always remained unwavering.
She already knew that when the stigmata eventually appeared on Davien’s forehead, Deminic would once again be there.
And she already knew the expression he would wear as he looked at her.
Pure admiration.
And then, immediately afterward, desire.
Yes.
That was always where everything started to go wrong.
But what authority did Belona have to stop the future Duke of Roxellern from attending a ball? How could she stop him from seeing Davien?
If they were in the same place, it was only natural that Deminic’s attention would drift toward her.
And who could blame him?
Davien, with her radiant smile, gentle personality, and lovable nature, was so elegant and beautiful that anyone could fall in love with her at first sight.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Belona, who had been lost in thought with her chin resting in her hand, blinked as she met Deminic’s gaze.
He was studying her with unusual seriousness, as though analyzing every expression on her face.
“If I were to get engaged and marry the man my father chose for me, just like every other noblewoman, would that really seem so strange to you?”
It was an honest question.
He had been repeatedly questioning her future marriage plans with a tone that suggested he simply couldn’t believe it.
“If it were you, I don’t think you’d make such a boring choice.”
The lazy smile curling at the corners of his lips as he leaned against the window looked strangely familiar.
“Instead of making a boring choice, how about taking my hand?”
Why did those words overlap with a memory from another lifetime?
A bloodstained hand that had once been extended toward her.
She had rejected it without hesitation.
And yet, in this life, she had been the one to extend her hand first.
The irony was almost laughable.
Feeling herself becoming strangely sentimental, Belona deliberately spoke as casually as possible.
“Anyway, stay if you want. I said I’d help you, so it doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice.”
His sudden appearance had certainly caught her off guard.
But honestly, his presence didn’t bother her that much.
She would be lying if she said the countless scars covering his back hadn’t softened her heart.
That didn’t excuse everything he’d done in the past.
But the Deminic standing before her now wasn’t the same Deminic from those previous lives.
Whether Belona lived twenty lives or a hundred, everyone except her was still living their first.
Judging him solely based on actions from a past he couldn’t even remember would be the easiest way to make another mistake and find herself moving on to yet another life.
“Still, I never imagined I’d live long enough to see the day I’d invite you into my bedroom.”
Deminic’s eyes lit up at her absentminded remark.
Belona immediately recognized that expression.
She knew exactly what it meant.
Judging from what she’d just said, he was undoubtedly preparing to say something outrageous.
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t say it. I really don’t want to hear it.”
Frowning, she quickly raised her hand and covered his mouth with her palm.
Deminic only smiled, clearly amused, and gently grasped her wrist.
Just as he had once checked whether she was also a dark mage, his fingers slowly traced the inside of her wrist.
Then Belona suddenly became aware of something else.
The hand supporting her back was moving in slow, gentle circles.
As though he were trying to soothe her.
She looked up at him with an expression that clearly asked, What exactly do you think you’re doing?
He suddenly stopped and said,
“You seem unnecessarily tense. Don’t worry. I’m not going to eat you.”
Belona let out a quiet sigh and slipped out of his arms.
“I’m going to finish reading my book.”
“You’re the first person who’s ever decided to read a book while I’m sitting right in front of them.”
His tone carried not the slightest hint of embarrassment as he openly boasted about his own handsome face and undeniable charm.
Completely unimpressed, Belona picked up her book again and settled comfortably against the bed.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you. But everything has a first time.”
She could hear Deminic chuckling softly from behind the pages of her book, but she deliberately refused to look up.
“Are you really not going to spare even a single glance for me? Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“I’m hurt.”
His easygoing tone suggested that neither his pride nor his ego had suffered even the slightest scratch.
Unable to help herself, she finally lowered the book and looked at him again.
The moment their eyes met, she saw amusement dancing in those crimson eyes.
“Is talking to me really that entertaining?”
“Of course. You never back down from me, Belona. Most people wouldn’t treat me the way you do if they knew what I really was. That makes you very special.”
“I hate being special.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Deminic immediately corrected himself.
“Then let’s say you’re unusual.”
Belona scowled at his relentless determination to keep the conversation going.
One thing was certain.
It was going to be a very, very long night.
