Annabele stayed a few minutes longer. During that time, I explained my situation, my reputation, and how badly I wanted to repent for everything while she listened intently.
I was surprised by how focused she looked. Most people would have gotten bored by now, but she didn’t.
Even when I made that sudden declaration about repenting and becoming a better person, she didn’t treat it like a joke.
"After what you did for me, I realized the grievousness of my actions... To think that a woman, someone from the very group I’ve been harassing all this time, was the one who saved me."
I let the silence linger, giving it a dramatic pause.
"Thank you for helping me see the error of my ways."
Annabele’s expression turned dramatic as I said it, a single tear slipping from one eye as she looked incredibly touched.
"Really? Just because I saved you?"
It worked even better than I had expected.
"Yes, Lady Rose... and if I may ask..."
"W-What is it?"
"Could you be my first friend of the opposite gender? The first person to walk with me on this path of redemption?"
I wanted to squirm and bury my face in the pillow. Never in my life had I imagined myself saying words like that, even in a fantasy world.
Surely, I was overdoing it, right?
But... as long as it worked on Annabele, I was fine with it. Either that, or she was just very forgiving of my antics because I had recently suffered a massive head injury.
Honestly, that was more likely than her actually being moved by my speech.
"Of course! I’ll be your friend! If what you said is true, then I’ll happily help everyone see this new you!"
My god... she was literally heavenly. I couldn’t wait for the day she finally went insane, and for the moment I could snatch that obsession all for myself.
I could picture it now...
She would get rejected by the dumb protagonist, I would swoop in to comfort her, and then I would become the target of her fixation. It was a perfect plan—
"Annabele, you here?"
A voice suddenly came from the door as it swung open, revealing a familiar face, the iconic appearance of a romance main character.
Blond hair, sharp blue eyes, and the secret heir to the throne that neither he nor anyone else would discover until the finale.
"Lucius? What are you doing here?"
"I heard someone saw you going into a hospital. I thought you were sick, so I got worried."
Lucius answered with the smoothness of his god-given talent as this world’s chosen one. And Annabele, well... saying it was stupidly effective on her wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
"L-Lucius... I didn’t know you cared so much about me..."
"Of course I care about you, Anna."
Lucius spared one glance in my direction, not really harboring any particular dislike or fondness toward me. He was surprisingly neutral despite my reputation.
"Do you mind if I excuse her, Lord Brimstone? Our third period is starting soon, and I’m sure the physicians will be more than enough to look after your well-being."
"But Lucius, he’s hurt. What if he gets worse and no one—"
"We’ll visit Lord Brimstone after classes are done."
Lucius smiled, then looked back at me.
"I’m sure that will be fine, Lord Brimstone."
"Y-Yeah, it would be selfish of me to interfere with Lady Rose’s academics just because of my own mistakes."
Annabele looked particularly touched by my wording. Then, with reluctant movements, she stood up and nodded.
"You’re right. Let’s go, Lucius. But Lord Brimstone, please don’t get into any more trouble, okay?"
"Of course, Lady Rose."
I watched them leave, the door clicking shut behind them. Annabele glanced back once before Lucius gently guided her forward with a hand at the small of her back.
The gesture was innocent and casual. The kind of thing childhood friends did without thinking.
And it was already working on her.
I could see it in the way her shoulders tensed, the way her cheeks flushed that same pink as her hair. She was already falling for him.
Had been for years.
"Tch."
I let my head sink deeper into the pillow, staring up at the cracked ceiling. Lucius wasn’t malicious. That was the problem.
He was genuinely kind, genuinely oblivious, and genuinely going to destroy her without ever meaning to.
The original story had him reject her gently. A soft "I see you as a sister" that shattered something behind her eyes. Then he’d run off to chase a commoner girl, leaving Annabele to pick up the pieces alone.
Except she didn’t just pick them up.
I closed my eyes, replaying the scene I’d just witnessed. Her concern for me was real. That ridiculous speech about redemption had actually moved her.
She was so desperate to believe in people, to see the good in them, that even a notorious pervert like Reyn Brimstone could earn her tears with a few pretty words.
It was almost too easy.
For now, all I had to do was wait for Lucius to reject her, then swoop in.
But... would that really be satisfying?
Letting her go completely insane because of the protagonist, only for that obsession to change course and be directed at me?
Sounds like a yes, right?
But...
Wouldn’t it be even better if she went insane because of my own actions?
If she decided I was so amazing, so irresistible, that she willingly went crazy, went full yandere for me without ever needing to be rejected by her long-time crush?
The answer was yes.
An absurd, resounding yes.
"What kind of man would I be if I let another man do all the work for me?"
I crossed my arms.
There was no better time to start than now. I needed to improve myself, more specifically, this body.
I don’t care how loving Annabele is, or how unhinged the other villainesses I’ll eventually claim may be. My personality and flirtation alone won’t be enough, not when the original protagonist looked like a pop idol compared to this talent-wasting version of me.
To love others, you must first love yourself, or whatever it was people liked to say.
It was time to test this world’s magic.
But before that...
"The mirror..."
I needed to see what I was working with.