VITE 03

CHAPTER 03

 — “The Villainess Will Take Everything”

Information is everything.
Especially information about the future.

Fortunately, I had reread the webtoon countless times, enough to memorize everything that would unfold.

“Then it matters even more to me. If I abandon the Second Prince and side with the Princess, I’ll become an enemy of all the princes.”

I cut Dayton off irritably.

“If I die right now, the Colin family’s secrets will be exposed to the world immediately.”

“……”

“You think I came here with no preparation?”

Of course, that was a lie.

I had woken up in this situation without any time to prepare anything.

But Dayton had no way of knowing that, and he quickly spoke up in alarm.

“Princess. Are you threatening me—”

“I’m fighting to survive.”

“……”

“Ugh, scary threats. How could I possibly do something like that? I’m just… Princess Melissa.”

I waved my hand lightly in the air as if brushing it off.

“I can solve the problem you’re worried about. Better than your brother ever could.”

“……”

In the original story, once the Second Prince learned of Dayton’s weakness, he “helped” him only to control and manipulate him.

So in the end, Dayton didn’t really have a better option than me.

“…Ha.”

I could practically see Dayton’s mind working rapidly.

Still testing the waters, huh?

Too cautious. That kind of personality isn’t very attractive.

“You should decide quickly.”

“No matter how much you try to persuade me—”

“It’s already here.”

“……”

At my calm reply, Dayton tilted his head in confusion.

Instead of answering, I picked up a vase from the table and threw it hard toward the window covered with blackout curtains.

Crash—

Shards of glass exploded outward, and a man dressed in black leapt inside.

“……!”

The assassin froze the moment he saw Dayton inside the room.

In that brief opening, I grabbed the largest shard of the broken vase.

Before I could even prepare myself, the assassin lunged at me.

A thin dagger flashed in his hand.

“……!”

Even after my shard sliced deep into his shoulder, he didn’t hesitate.

While we struggled, Dayton still hadn’t moved.

“…Ugh!”

“You know how long I’ve trained in self-defense and martial arts?”

My years of sweat and effort were finally paying off in this medieval world.

Blood gushed from a deep stab wound in my inner arm.

Once I confirmed I’d injured him enough, I dropped the shard. My hand was already torn up from gripping it too tightly.

The assassin swung his dagger again, but his injured arm weakened his strength.

Even while straddling me, he couldn’t finish the job.

I shoved his trembling arm aside easily.

Realizing he was losing, he grabbed my neck with his good hand.

“Ahh—!”

I twisted his fingers until they snapped, and he staggered back.

In that moment, I checked on Dayton.

Still like that?

He was still frozen exactly where he had stood when the assassin appeared.

I hadn’t expected him to be this indecisive.

“Dayton Colin!”

His shoulders jerked at my shout.

“If I die, I’ll haunt you and the Second Prince forever!”

While holding back the writhing assassin with both hands, I glared at him.

“You think I won’t become a ghost who pulls your hair at night? You’ll regret not saving me when I had the chance!”

“……”

“I’ll make sure you can never sleep peacefully again!”

Would this even work?

The assassin was barely holding on—maybe my threats weren’t convincing enough.

Still, I shouted with everything I had:

“If a ghost holds a grudge, it brings frost even in midsummer—!”

Suddenly, the assassin was yanked upward.

“……!”

I stood up just in time to see Dayton’s back as he dragged the assassin away with one hand.

The dagger had already been taken from him.

The assassin collapsed behind the curtain.

Dayton walked toward me.

The smell of blood hit me instantly, and only then did the tension I hadn’t noticed fully settle in.

Looking at the spreading blood on the floor, what I felt wasn’t fear—it was relief.

It was him instead of me.

I was still alive. That was what mattered.

I reached out toward Dayton.

But he took a step back.

My hand froze in midair.

He spoke coldly.

“I helped you, but only because I fell into your trap.”

“….”

Only then did my brain, which had briefly stalled, start working again.

I lowered my hand and pushed myself up instead.

“I’ll overlook this once. But if you touch me again—”

Ah, he’s barking again.

So noisy. Handsome face, but such an annoying personality.

“What, then?”

My palm accidentally landed on his firm chest as I stepped closer.

As I slid my hand downward along his shirt, Dayton grabbed my wrist harshly.

“So you’re not strange—you’re insane.”

I met his burning gaze without flinching. For a moment, he hesitated instead.

“Princess.”

“……”

“Watch your tone.”

“Princess, you’re misunderstanding something—”

I stepped even closer.

Dayton sucked in a sharp breath.

Blood from my hand smeared across his shirt like a seal.

I lifted my uninjured hand slowly, like bait.

As he grabbed my approaching wrist, I used my injured hand to tilt his chin up.

Crimson streaks smeared across his skin.

“If you’ve chosen a master, you should act like it.”

“Good boy.”

—

Back at the Grand Duke’s estate.

Dayton still felt dazed.

Was the person he just met really the Princess?

The soft, timid, foolish woman who never even met his eyes before?

Same face. Same voice.

But a completely different person.

And her expression—

If you’ve chosen a master, you should act like it.

That sharp, almost feral smile lingered in his mind.

Dayton touched his blood-stained shirt, now thoroughly ruined.

Servants passing by turned pale and quickly bowed their heads.

So his neck and jaw were probably the same.

The sensation of her hand sliding along his throat was still vivid.

“…Good boy?”

Only now did a chill run through him.

The Black Wolf, symbol of House Colin, was his nickname as well.

A title given to him by comrades on the battlefield.

A name that spread across the empire.

“The Black Wolf…”

“…She called me like a dog waiting for food.”

And worse—when she grabbed his chin, it felt like a leash had been fastened.

A sharp sigh escaped him.

Ridiculous.

Dayton roughly unbuttoned his shirt and threw the bloodied fabric into the trash.

“So she really is the ‘foolish princess’…”

Saying it out loud felt wrong.

Her sharp gaze, her calm dominance.

The way she stared at him while fighting off an assassin—

No one knew she was like that?

Then everyone around her was blind.

And the one who saw her most often… was him.

“…What am I supposed to do.”

It wasn’t just her threat about exposing House Colin’s weakness.

It was her eyes.

That force pulling him in.

And before he realized it, his body had already moved toward the assassin.

She had been watching him.

Testing him.

Even in a life-or-death situation.

Dayton let out a hollow laugh.

If anyone knew, they’d think he was insane.

Nine out of ten nobles would side with the Second Prince without hesitation.

He glanced at his reflection.

Blood still marked his neck and jaw.

His fingers brushed the stain again, recalling her touch.

Even now, he felt like he was still being manipulated.

“…Ten.”

At his call, a tall shadow appeared by the window.

A man in a black rabbit mask bowed his head.

The covert unit of House Colin—“Rabbit”, composed of six elite operatives.

They handled the empire’s darkest work, answering only to Dayton.

“Look into the Princess again.”

“Again… sir?”

“There must be something we missed.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After the man disappeared, Dayton remained still.

His thoughts were tangled.

He had already investigated Melissa thoroughly before the engagement.

There was nothing.

Almost suspiciously nothing.

So clean it felt unnatural.

Unless something impossible was going on—

The Princess was definitely hiding something.