***

Oh, I'm tired. It sucked to open the labyrinth again every other week.

I succeeded in chasing away Isabella but failed to defend my strength to the death.

I lay still in bed until I opened the labyrinth and recovered my strength.

'Still, I was glad Reynos had helped me, otherwise I would not have been able to open my eyes.'

After I escaped from the prison and hid in a safe house, Reynos was the first person I met.

I talked to Reynos before I was kidnapped. He said he had some business to attend to and would not be available for contact for a while.

When I contacted him a few days later, he looked tired and I wondered if Reynos had been kidnapped like me.

"What happened?"

Reynos asked me what happened as soon as he saw me.

"It's a family affair. I'll tell you as soon as I'm done."

I didn't want to worry him by saying something unnecessary when the work has been in progress for a while.

Instead of agreeing willingly, Reynos told me to take it absolutely easy. After that, well, you all know what happened.

'I pretended to be a ghost to get a confession from Isabella.'

When donating the proceeds from the grilled chicken, I bribed a priest who turned up and disguised Leather as a fake priest.

While Leather lured Isabella to the empty building, other guild members wandered around looking for me, Gerald and the people of the family, and the priests.

Reynos and Rublet, who knew roughly what was going on, were an added bonus.

The audience was ready, and now it was my turn to set the stage.

Having put Isabella in a tight spot, I opened the labyrinth for more credible threats.

The labyrinth itself had been invisible.

... so the real world would only have seen Isabella howling alone, rolling on the ground and making a fuss.

But still-

'It's strange.'

He told me that he could take care of the trauma and labyrinth-related issues himself. True to what he said then, every time Reynos came and went, the labyrinth would open up and my body that was tapped on like a rag would gradually get better.

What this felt like was that when I was with Reynos, the evil spirits that had been beating my body, wanting me to let them out, seemed to quiet down. It was as if they were observing Reynos's condition.

"The marks on your neck... I'd like to make them go away."

Reynos, with a dark expression on his face, gently stroked my neck.

I was still sleepy and still had the marks of Isabella's hand on my neck.

Lying in bed, I squinted up at Reynos.

My body was not feeling well and I slept and slept, but I had to talk about this.

"No. I'll be angry if it's gone while I'm sleeping."

Reynos had to place his lips on the traumatized area in order to treat the trauma.

This meant that he would have to kiss my neck to remove the marks left by her hands on my neck.

It was strange that Reynos had this ability to treat me like this, but the way he did it was so naked.

I pulled the covers up to the end of my neck, meaning that I refused the treatment.

Then, sadly, Reynos sighed shortly.

"With your body so weak... Why are you pushing yourself?"

Then he took out one by one the things he had brought for his visit, and lo and behold.

They were 101 different health supplements made from medicinal herbs that grew wild only on the eastern continent!

Soon there was a pile of supplements by my bed.

Reynos unwrapped one of them and offered me a black jelly-like substance.

"Ahh- go ahead."

Hyuk.

I pulled the covers up to my nose and shook my head quickly. The smell alone was very bitter.

Besides, if I ate that one, he would keep giving me other things to eat. Just like he did the last time he was in Piik's form.

Not stopping there, Reynos called for a maid to go make medicinal herbs like tea leaves.

Meanwhile, I got under the covers, avoiding his eyes. I turned my body, closed my eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

Then Reynos, who had rolled the blanket up to my neck, tapped me gently with the black jelly, smacking my lips.

"My lady, eat and sleep."

"..."

"You need to eat to be healthy. Okay?"

"...I'm healthy enough already-hmp."

I was beaten. He fed me while I was talking to him.

I gagged with my eyes closed, unable to spit out what came into my mouth. Ugh, really bitter.

I chewed it properly and choked when I swallowed it. As I was swallowing my spit to get rid of the bitter taste, Reynos handed me a glass of water.

"Drink this."

I drank up and pretended to be asleep again. Then something unknown tapped on my lips again.

"Eat one more of this and go to bed. Okay?"

I knew this would happen.

I had no choice, even though this beautiful man was taking such good care of me. I pretended not to win and got up to open my mouth and something bitter and tingling came into my mouth. Ooooh...

I looked away.

"Have some, Your Highness."

"I'm fine because I'm healthy."

"I'm healthy, too."

My body was too wrecked to say that.

Well, I have nothing to say. Reynos looked at me softly as if to say, "What are you talking about?"

It seems that "stay still and you'll go to the middle" is the phrase to use in these situations. I decided to shut up and eat some health supplements.

As I alternated between pills, jellies, powders, juices, and other things I had never taken before the possession, a maid brought me a pot of boiled herbs.

It was like poison.

Damn it, should I be this healthy? I frowned as I looked at the black medicine bowl. It was then.

With a click, the door opened and an unwelcome guest entered.

It was the duke, Rublet, in the form of a 13-year-old child. Rublet murmured in his usual sleepy voice.

"Hello."

I examined Rublet up and down without accepting the greeting. Hmmm, empty-handed.

I couldn't tolerate empty-handed visits. I would even give a good excuse to get rid of him.

I pointed to the door and issued an order.

"No presents. Get out."

But instead of obeying me, Rublet sat down beside Reynos. Then he took out one of the supplements that Reynos had brought.

It was new, not even the wrapper had been opened.

"A gift."

"...?"

"...?"

That was Reynos's present.

I looked at Rublet with a look that said, "This is the kind of guy he would be." Reynos seemed to be thinking the same thing with his strange expression.

Anyway, Rublet was imposing. He opened the wrapper, offered the contents, and said.

"Eat."

"..."

"..."

"Do you want me to feed you?"

"...No."

I managed to swallow the swear words that came to the end of my neck.

I just want to look pretty in front of Reynos, so I'll hold it in. Reynos was already casting the same eye.

Rublet glanced sideways at Reynos and muttered to himself.

"What a surprise."

"What do you mean?"

Reynos, who was holding out the poisoned bowl to me, asked. Rublet answered slowly, crossing his arms.

"It's just that everything you do is out of line."

Reynos was at a loss for words.

I was wondering what he was talking about, too, when Rublet suddenly thrust his face in my face.

"Let's talk for a minute."

"Go ahead."

"Just you and me."

I looked at Reynos for a moment and nodded my head at Rublet.

"Fine."

Reynos looked a little perplexed as if he did not know that I would agree.

But there was a good reason why we had to speak alone, so I smiled and told him.

"Please."

"... I'll leave after I see you eat all of this."

And what Reynos offered was that vessel of deadly medicine. Oh, forget it for a moment. I had no choice.

I closed my eyes and drank it. My hair stood on end and my whole body trembled at how bitter it was.

"Well done."

Reynos smiled with his eyes and patted me on the head and walked out.

Huh. I can't believe he patted me on the head. How old am I... Even as I thought this, a fluffy feeling of being a child bloomed in my chest.

So as I unintentionally swept the place I was petting with an embarrassed expression, Rublet played with his fingers in front of me, telling me to concentrate.

I hurriedly brushed off the lingering feeling and concentrated on Rublet.

The sleepy-faced Rublet lowered his voice so that the Reynos outside could not hear him.

"I have a question for you."

"Me too. Do you want me to ask you one at a time and answer?"

"Yes."

"Okay, me first. You, what's your connection to Grim Reaper?"

Perhaps it was an unexpected question, but Rublet's pupils widened. I quickly continued before I asked what it was.

"That's the only place that knows that I can't open the labyrinth when I drink."

Rublet once said, "You can't open the labyrinth if you drink." at the auction house. He also said something to the effect that I should continue to take care of myself that day.

From this, I inferred that Rublet was related to Grim Reaper. However, he did not seem to be a master like I was.

'A child who can't even be bothered to breathe would never do such a thing.'

His large purple pupils gradually decreased. When they had returned to their original size, Rublet answered simply.

"A side job."

Just that he was a guild member. By the way, was there any mention in the original story of Rublet involvement in an Underworld Guild?

'Hmmm, there wasn't.'

I don't know why the original was shifted again, but it was none of my business. I thought the change was a day or two.

Rublet asked as he was nodding his head and trying to accept it.

"Are you dating the master of Ciel's Love Manipulator?"

"No."

Then, for some reason, Rublet's face darkened.

"Oh, my. They said you were a precious person. Is it a crush?"

"Okay, next question. Why are you trying to look good to me? You don't care about me."

Rublet stared at me. Then, he returned with a peaceful face, crossed his legs, crossed his arms, and answered languidly.

"I had a dream about you dying."

"A dream?"

"In my dream, you married Duval Essit, and you died because of Essit. As an order given by the Crown Prince himself, Essit and Lavirins were scorned together."

I got goosebumps. What Rublet was talking about now was the plot of the original <My Evil Dragon Does Not Bite>.

The original last thing Ciella would have faced if I hadn't possessed her body.