Prologue

Have you ever seen something worse than a villainess?

If I told you about what I experienced and witnessed—if I told you about the terrible things I endured—would you believe me?

What should I call that beautiful monster who was not content with being a villainess and eventually became evil itself?

If you were to meet that villainess…

Would you be able to remain different from me?

“You died again.”

You muttered as you stared down at me.

Then, after gently stroking my head, you smiled, your blood-red eyes curving beautifully.

“How many more times are you going to do this before you give up? When are you going to realize that we can never die?”

“……”

“Well… it’s all right. I still love you, after all.”

“……”

“I love you. I mean it.”

Even at this very moment, you were unbearably gentle.

But I knew.

This was not love.

If you had loved me, you would never have turned me into a monster that could not even die.

I’ll escape.

Amid your sweet breath, I made my resolve, carrying a hatred that pierced straight through me. I didn’t want to stay here any longer. I would escape from our hell.

Even if I have to die to get away from you.

Once I had made my decision, I struggled to open my mouth.

“Shall we make a bet?”

Held in your arms, I buried my face against your warm, bare skin and somehow managed to force out the wish that had been haunting me.

“If I win, then this time, you’ll finally kill me.”

What expression did you make when I painfully forced those words out?

“I really… want to die now.”

Hoping that, at the very least, I had hurt you, I closed my eyes like a sinner who had finally found salvation.

1

I want to live!

It was a night when darkness had settled beautifully over everything.

I’m going to die. I can’t breathe!

Deep inside a lake where not a single ray of light could reach, my situation was anything but beautiful.

Why in the world am I in a place like this?!

The sound of water droplets went tap, tap beyond the coffin that had sunk deep beneath the surface.

The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself on the verge of drowning.

I didn’t know why I was trapped inside a coffin, nor why it was sinking in a lake.

Cursing my miserable fate, I desperately pounded on the heavy lid.

Fortunately, perhaps because it had become loose with age, the coffin readily spat me out.

I have to hurry…!

I swam upward with all the strength I had. I was desperate, feeling as though I would run out of breath at any moment.

Just before the dark, unfathomable lake swallowed me whole, I barely broke through the surface and expelled the breath I had been holding.

“Haa…!”

As soon as I dragged myself onto the shore, all the strength drained from my body.

My limbs, unused for what felt like an eternity, collapsed beneath me.

The cold air suited to the dark night swept eerily through the forest.

My soaked body trembled.

I wrapped my arms around my completely naked body and slowly looked around.

The lake was calm, like a sea where time itself flowed slowly, while the forest surrounding it was eerily quiet, almost as if it were a lie.

Where am I?

Judging from the lush spring trees and the well-maintained path, this did not seem to be a completely remote place.

And yet, there was no trace of human warmth anywhere.

Why am I in a place like this?

Unlike my own confused state, the perfectly shaped moon quietly illuminated the surface of the water.

As I absentmindedly admired the silver light reflected across the lake, I belatedly examined my own face.

It was because I could not even remember who I was.

A long strand of icy silver hair was reflected in the lake.

My red eyes glowed with a deep, viscous intensity, as though someone had driven them directly into my heart.

My face was so vividly reflected that it was almost eerie.

For a moment, I touched my eyes, nose, and lips as though they did not belong to me.

I could also see my slender white body, so delicate it looked as though it might melt if I held it.

I was still examining my features when someone’s voice suddenly swallowed me whole.

You want to escape from me, don’t you?

But I have no intention of letting you go.

Even if you lose your memories, you’ll come to love me.

Keep struggling as much as you want. You’re beautiful like that, too.

You will never be able to escape from me anyway.

Cold sweat trickled down my body at those words, striking me like arrows that pierced straight through my entire being.

A chilly wind swept in and shook the trees around the lake.

You can’t escape.

The deep voice echoed terrifyingly inside my head.

With my mind in turmoil, I repeatedly drew ragged breaths.

Then, amid it all, I faintly heard the rustling of grass along the path.

Someone was approaching.

I instinctively raised my head and swallowed hard, tense from head to toe.

Before long, a man appeared not far away.

He was a gentleman with black hair and blue eyes, someone who seemed strangely well suited to the elegant atmosphere of the night.

I stared quietly at the gentleman, forgetting for a moment that I had been trembling.

I was startled by how handsome he was.

His neat, refined appearance was striking enough to easily capture anyone’s attention.

“Are you all right?”

The gentleman seemed every bit as flustered by my presence as I was, but soon his expression softened with genuine concern.

“You looked like you needed help.”

His clear blue eyes shimmered strangely.

Instead of answering, I hurriedly covered my naked body and took a step backward.

“Ah… my lady, you’re…”

The gentleman deliberately averted his eyes from my exposed body, covering half his face with one large hand.

Then, his cheeks faintly flushed with embarrassment, he murmured softly,

“I suppose it would be rather uncomfortable for a strange man to suddenly approach you…”

I’m the one standing here naked. Why are you the one acting shy?

I secretly smiled, finding the gentleman in front of me unexpectedly adorable.

His innocent reaction was something I never would have expected from someone with such a captivating appearance, and the tension in my body gradually eased.

“It is dangerous to be alone in a place like this.”

Having finally cleared his throat, the gentleman slowly approached.

Perhaps out of consideration for me, as I barely managed to cover myself, he removed his coat and carefully held it out to me.

“Here, at least take this…”

I simply could not take my eyes off the unfamiliar gentleman.

Hair darker than the night.

Blue eyes as though someone had gathered the sky of midday and set it into his face.

Even his faintly flushed cheeks, unable to completely hide his embarrassment, held my attention as though they were clouds I could not stop chasing.

Suddenly, I became curious.

Who was this gentleman?

And why was he here?

“Where… is this?”

I finally managed to speak.

Although I had put on the gentleman’s coat, there was still skin I couldn’t cover, and I felt painfully self-conscious about how exposed my body was.

“This is the Duchy of Ainz.”

The gentleman adjusted the way I had awkwardly draped his coat over myself.

His large hands gently fastened the oversized garment around me.

The Duchy of Ainz?

I had never heard of it.

Then again, considering that I didn’t even know who I was, perhaps that was only natural.

Like a noble priest, the gentleman quietly subdued the night and waited patiently for me to speak.

I wanted to answer quickly when I saw the curiosity lingering on his innocent-looking face, but I was genuinely at a loss.

I don’t remember anything, but I think I escaped from someone who imprisoned me. I don’t know who that person was.

If I said something like that to a complete stranger, wouldn’t I simply be taken away as a madwoman?

Perhaps I should pretend to be a pitiful young lady who had lost her memory in an accident.

Or perhaps a maid who had escaped from somewhere?

I couldn’t think of a particularly convincing story.

While I struggled helplessly, unable to move in either direction, the gentleman calmly pieced together my situation.

“You seem to be in quite a difficult situation.”

When I neither confirmed nor denied his words, he did not press me for an answer.

“I am Ian.”

“……”

“You look like you’ve never heard my name before, my lady.”

The man named Ian seemed to gain certainty from my silence.

“There aren’t many people in this duchy who don’t know my name.”

He added this with a clear, gentle laugh.

His smile felt like a kind dawn.

The gentleman who had introduced himself as Ian carefully pulled my silver hair free from beneath his coat and straightened it.

“Unless, perhaps, you’ve lost your memory…”

His touch was cautious, and so was his question.

Yet Ian had seen straight through me with unsettling ease.

“Am I right?”

His eyes made it obvious that he already knew the answer and was merely asking for confirmation.

I gave up on my flimsy lies and nodded, confirming his suspicion.

Ian looked satisfied and gently extended a hand toward me.

“I cannot simply ignore someone in danger. If you don’t mind, I would like to help you.”

The kindness he offered seemed almost as though he had been waiting for the opportunity.

His lips moved smoothly as he offered me his assistance.

Then our eyes met.

His eyes were incredibly clear—and, unfortunately, exceptionally beautiful.

“I will help you in any way I can, so… would you please rely on me?”

His warm invitation, warm enough to melt my chilled body, quietly planted the seed of complacency in my heart.

Perhaps it would be all right.

After all, I had lost my memories.

Surely there was nothing wrong with accepting a little kindness from someone who was willing to help.

I desperately clung to that hope.

It was faint as moonlight, but I needed to hold on to it as though it were the sun.

My lips, which had been trembling as I wandered lost and uncertain, finally relaxed.

The rational voice telling me to be cautious had already quietly disappeared.

“As you said, I’ve lost my memories. The only thing I have left is…”

I raised my head and looked directly at him.

When I saw my reflection in the gentleman’s blue eyes, a name I had been unable to remember suddenly came to me.

“Heine.”

The reflection of me in his eyes was as clear as the name I had just spoken.

Perhaps that was why I was drawn to him.

And so, I simply regarded the beginning of our story as something beautiful.