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Chapter 13
I swiftly stepped between the man and woman and grabbed the man’s wrist.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
At my words, the man—called Tayn—shook off my grip. He looked startled by my sudden appearance.
After glancing at me to gauge the situation, Tayn composed himself and spoke with a forced air of civility.
“I apologize for showing such an unpleasant scene.”
“It’s hard to miss something when you’re being this loud.”
“This is a personal matter between the two of us. Wouldn’t it be best if you stayed out of it, my lady?”
He was clearly trying to suppress his anger beneath polite words.
“Like hell I’m going to walk away after seeing this.”
It was obvious what would happen if I did. As soon as I left, he’d pick up where he left off—or worse.
“Don’t stop on my account. Go ahead and continue.”
I folded my arms tightly and stared him down, refusing to move. He only looked flustered and did nothing.
“If it’s something you wouldn’t do in public, then you shouldn’t do it in private either.”
I said firmly. Tayn let out a short sigh.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
His expression changed to a brazen smile.
“I was merely trying to correct my beloved’s bad habits.”
I stayed silent, wondering if I’d misheard, and he continued confidently—spouting nonsense.
“In a relationship, isn’t it natural to help each other grow and improve?”
He puffed out his chest and placed a hand on his hip.
“No man would tolerate a woman who dares to raise her voice. I was only thinking of her future!”
He was so swept up in his own words that I thought my eardrums might burst.
“Besides, my beloved is very shy. Even when she likes something, she pretends she doesn’t. That’s all this is!”
Tayn was completely serious—he genuinely believed what he was saying.
I stared at his smug face with dead, lifeless eyes. But he remained unfazed.
“What should I do with this guy?”
Sure, I had come to this party intending to stay low-key. But was someone like him even worth the effort?
The answer was obvious: absolutely not.
“He’s not the type to listen to reason…”
I quietly moved the ring from my left hand to my right so he wouldn’t notice. Then I slowly clenched my fist.
“This much should be fine.”
Taking a deep breath, I gathered all the fury in the world into my fist.
And with all my strength, I punched Tayn’s jaw upward. There was no finesse—it was more of a wild swing than a proper punch.
“Ugh!”
With a loud yell, Tayn fell backward.
“Ah! Did I break my fingers?!”
My hand hurt way more than it should have. But judging from how he toppled over, the punch must have had some impact.
Tayn scrambled back up and glared at me, clearly ready to hit back.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. But I just really wanted to punch you once.”
Feigning innocence, I covered my mouth with one hand and smiled coyly.
“You wouldn’t dare try the same on a delicate woman like me, would you?”
If this had been inside a temple, where I didn’t know who he was, I’d never have acted this way. But this was a noble’s banquet.
From the looks of him, he seemed young—probably a noble heir without a title yet. He wasn’t royalty, so I had no reason to be intimidated.
“Apologies for the late introduction. I’m Lilith, of House Crescent, a duke’s daughter.”
I curtsied elegantly, spreading my dress gracefully.
“And you are?”
I smiled as sweetly as I could.
The moment he heard my name, Tayn’s pupils rolled in panic. He looked me over from head to toe, matching me with the information in his head.
His face turned ghostly pale in an instant.
“Uh, I-I suddenly remembered something urgent!”
Tayn clumsily scrambled to his feet and began fleeing like his life depended on it.
The woman he’d been harassing was still pale and shaken. I quickly turned to her.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah… Yes, thanks to you. Thank you.”
There was something strangely familiar about her.
Her large eyes sparkled like stars in a green forest. Her golden-embroidered dress gleamed brilliantly, and her light brown hair, neatly braided, was graceful and beautiful.
Soft, pink lips closed shyly above rosy cheeks. Her beauty was, without question, breathtaking.
“Olivia?!”
Why was the female lead here?!
There was no mistaking it. No one else in this world radiated that kind of overwhelming presence.
“Well then, if you’re alright, I’ll be going!”
I gave a light smile and turned toward the entrance of the garden. Olivia seemed like she was about to say something, but I ignored it and darted down the stairs.
“What the hell is going on? What is this?!”
There was no scene in the original story where Olivia gets harassed by some creep! Why was this happening?
I needed to get out of here—fast. I half-ran down the spiral staircase.
But what I hadn’t considered…
Was that in stories, it’s always the male lead who follows the female lead.
In the narrow stairwell, I ran directly into a painfully familiar figure heading upward.
“Nox.”
Even though the moonlight shone behind him in a pale glow, not a single strand of his black hair reflected it. It was a deathly, unmoving color. His pitch-black eyes locked onto mine, dragging me into a deep abyss.
The moment I met his gaze, I felt suffocated. Cold sweat broke out all over me. Even though this was a moonlit night, it felt like the blood-red sky of a dying sunset loomed overhead.
The wind against my skin felt gritty like sand. I could almost hear voices screaming in my ears, telling him to grab me and tear me apart. My head spun. My vision blurred.
He passed me without a word or change in expression. I barely managed to stop myself from collapsing by clinging to the railing.
My legs trembled uncontrollably as I made my way downstairs. The second floor still had a few scattered guests.
I tried every doorknob I came across, desperately searching for an open room. Finally, one door gave way, and I rushed inside, slamming it shut behind me.
“Urgh.”
I leaned against the wall, retching. With my other hand, I gripped my neck hard enough to leave nail marks. If I let go, it felt like my head would just fall off.
“It’s not like I actually lived through it…!”
But it was too much. Just a few seconds of looking at him, and the forgotten sensation of death surged into my mind like a flood.
It was all because of that damn god showing me executions every time the timeline restarted. The fear etched into my body was nothing short of horrifying.
“…What the?”
Suddenly, a voice behind me snapped me back to reality.
I turned around—and saw black hair.
Startled, I stumbled backward and hit the wall with a thud.
“Hey, you…”
The person in front of me said something, but I couldn’t hear it. I thought Nox had come to kill me, and I couldn’t breathe.
“Calm down.”
A strong grip held my shoulder. Through my blurry vision, a pair of red eyes came into focus. Only then did I begin to come to my senses.
“…Calyx?”
At the sound of his name, his expression shifted slightly.
Somehow, just knowing that it was really Calyx made tears pour from my eyes. I tried to stop them, but they kept falling.
I sobbed uncontrollably for a long while.
I had accidentally stumbled into a lounge. And of all the lounges in this place, Calyx just happened to be resting in this one.
Calyx dragged a chair over next to where he had been sitting and had me sit down. His eyes, still fixed on me, showed no sign of softening, perhaps because I couldn’t stop crying.
I slumped in the chair, leaning against the backrest with a miserable look.
Then I felt something poke my shoulder.
“AAAAH!”
I turned to the side and screamed.
A black snake was slithering right in front of my face.
“G-Get that away from me!”
“Why? It’s cute.”
“Get rid of it!”
“There’s no need to freak out like that…”
I squeezed my eyes shut and flailed my arms until Calyx awkwardly picked up Estella and put her away. But the shock seemed to help—my tears finally stopped.
After crying so much, my head throbbed painfully. As I sniffled, Calyx held out a handkerchief. I took it obediently, blew my nose loudly, then crumpled it in my hand.
“…Wait. Is this okay?”
Now that my mind was clear, the reality of the situation began to set in.
Forget the whole “main character” thing—Lilith and Calyx were sworn enemies. In fact, they nearly killed each other once in the imperial palace greenhouse.
So how could I just be sitting here, acting all relaxed?
“What if he’s just pretending to help me while waiting for a chance to kill me?”
A different kind of cold sweat began to trickle down my back.
