“……!”
Richard felt the beastlike howling that had been pounding through his head suddenly subside all at once.
His vision, which had been flashing red as though submerged in blood, gradually returned to its natural colors, and the burning sensation wrapped around his entire body faded as if it had never been there.
The change was so abrupt that the strength left his hands and his body swayed.
‘……What is this?’
All at once, the whole world became quiet.
The violent impulse boiling inside him disappeared as well.
Only moments earlier, Richard had been drawing on even the Mana Core in his dantian just to suppress the urge to kill the little rat in front of him.
The only reason he had not completely lost his reason was because the rat’s breathing had sounded small and weak.
A monster’s predatory instincts did not react strongly to prey not even worth hunting—rabbits or squirrels, for instance.
That had allowed him to cling to the very edge of his sanity.
“…….”
As the fierce demonic energy that had been cutting through his body like blades settled down, his entire body abruptly relaxed.
CLANG—!
Without even noticing that the blade he carried like an extension of himself had fallen to the ground, Richard stood there blankly.
‘It is quiet.’
Ever since emerging from Chaos, the world had never been this quiet.
As he savored the rare silence, the tiny woman before him moved around like a rabbit.
“……?”
“Ugh!”
He wondered what she was doing, only to realize she was struggling to pull the dagger from his abdomen.
Until only moments ago, he had been consumed by the urge to eliminate this little rat……
Yet as he looked down at the small head in front of him, his mouth inexplicably watered.
His throat moved.
A sweet scent was drifting from the woman’s small body.
Each time she breathed out, the fragrance grew stronger, and Richard unconsciously drew in a deeper breath, his chest expanding.
‘……Sweet.’
For the first time in ages, he felt human again.
It had been a long time since he had experienced sensations like this.
‘Has it been two years……?’
Since he had been swallowed by that immense space of chaos and his body had changed.
His sense of smell had never worked properly afterward.
The perfumes worn by nobles had smelled as foul as filth, scraping at his nerves throughout the victory banquet.
Yet the being standing before him did not irritate his senses.
Instead, she smelled so pleasant it made his head swim.
She almost seemed like a sumptuous feast he could swallow in a single bite.
Then—
SHNK—
The blade lodged in his abdomen came free.
“D-done.”
The woman pressed a handkerchief firmly over the wound.
“Hold this.”
“…….”
Distracted by the pleasant scent, Richard obediently gripped the handkerchief.
The woman slowly stepped back.
Where was she going?
Acting on instinct, Richard grabbed the sweet-smelling presence that was moving farther away.
“……Um, I have to go.”
“…….”
“B-be good, okay?”
Every time the woman murmured something, the sweet scent around his nose grew stronger.
Richard inhaled slowly again.
“Now, stay still. All right?”
When her soft palm touched his arm, a pleasant sensation rose through him, entirely different from the violent frenzy from before.
His red eyes relaxed into a dazed haze.
‘This feels good…….’
Then her gentle palm lightly cupped his face.
As though entranced, Richard lowered his face into her hair and breathed in her scent.
***
What in the world is happening?
Each time warm breath brushed her neck, strength seemed to leave Mona’s body and her vision spun.
Through the fog in her mind, she thought,
‘H-how did it end up like this?’
The situation had clearly been going in her favor.
The crude perfume she had thought unfinished had actually suppressed his aggression.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
So when the heavens handed her an opportunity, she should have run.
The moment the blade aimed at her neck fell to the ground, she should have fled without looking back.
But Mona had not been able to do that.
Seeing the monster standing there with a dagger buried in his abdomen, the monster enthusiast in her could not bring herself to simply walk away.
Some might point at her and call her a witch, but Mona did not believe monsters were inherently evil.
They merely loved disorder and chaos by instinct, like children following their mother.
At least they did not harbor malice in the same way humans did.
After hesitating for a moment, Mona ultimately pulled the blade from the monster’s abdomen and pressed a handkerchief over the wound.
Monsters generally had strong self-healing abilities regardless of species, so this much should have been enough.
“!?”
Having eased her conscience, Mona was just about to go home when she flinched.
The monster had suddenly caught the hem of her clothes.
And he was wearing an unexpectedly forlorn expression.
Unfortunately, this cunning monster had the face of the Empire’s most handsome man, so the sorrowful look was remarkably persuasive.
It even made Mona feel as though she were doing something cruel.
She bit her lip.
She had not expected him to stop her.
‘The perfume must have worked far too well.’
Then again, the old book had said two or three drops would be enough, and she had spilled the concentrated solution……
Even Mona, the maker of the perfume, was being affected by the intense scent of the undiluted mixture.
As the sweet fragrance kept rising from the skirt where she had spilled it, her head grew increasingly dizzy.
Her neck and cheeks had also grown hot, and Mona hurriedly rubbed one burning cheek with the back of her hand.
‘I’m dizzy…….’
Her body felt almost exactly the way it had when she had once drunk three shots of tequila in a row without knowing her limit.
What is this?
This does not feel right.
‘Don’t tell me there’s another side effect……?’
She should probably get home first……
That was what she thought.
But the warning signal that had briefly flashed through her mind was blurred by the sweetness continuously filling her senses.
Before she knew it, Mona was reaching toward the monster who was holding tightly to the edge of her clothes like a child.
Maybe the fragrance had gone to her head.
Since things had already come this far, she suddenly felt the urge to study the beautiful creature in front of her a little more.
When would she ever get another opportunity like this?
A Doppelgänger would disappear once daylight came……
“Now, stay still. All right?”
Treating him much as she would a slime, Mona lightly patted his arm and began observing him.
‘Aside from the red eyes, there’s really nothing in his appearance that makes him look like a monster…….’
Would he feel different if she touched him?
Mona unconsciously swallowed and carefully reached toward his cheek.
Then her hand was suddenly caught, and warm breath touched the top of her head.
Mona startled as the monster abruptly began breathing in her scent.
When she instinctively stepped back, he followed by a step and leaned close to her neck.
What in the world is happening?
The unfamiliar sensation made her head spin.
“Haa…… Um. You should not do this…… Stay still…….”
She barely managed to mumble through her dizziness.
Again, the creature looked at her with strangely sorrowful eyes.
At some point, the predator-like red had faded, leaving eyes like a deep night sea reflecting moonlight.
Without realizing it, Mona traced the area around his eye.
“Your eyes……”
They changed……
“Are you…… scared?”
The small, low voice at her ear sounded strangely lonely to Mona.
When she shook her head, the monster drew her hand toward his chest.
Feeling the heartbeat and warmth beneath her palm, Mona murmured blankly,
“You are warm…….”
A Doppelgänger should not be warm.
It should not have a beating heart either.
Strange.
Then the fragrance and dizziness overwhelmed what remained of her judgment.
The monster’s touch moved from her hand into a kiss. Heat spread through Mona’s body, and even the old scar on her shoulder briefly ached.
The pain was soon lost beneath the haze of the perfume. Unable to think clearly, Mona found herself returning the embrace as the rest of the night blurred into warmth and sweetness.
***
Chirp, chirp.
Birdsong came from somewhere.
Ow! My head……!
Mona’s eyes flew open as she woke with a pounding headache that felt like a hammer striking her skull, along with terrible thirst.
The first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling tilted at a strange angle.
‘W-where am I?’
The moment she tried to sit up, wood creaked sharply.
Mona looked at the bed and went pale.
One of its legs had been completely shattered, leaving the mattress tilted to one side.
The floor was also a complete mess, littered with broken objects.
It looked almost as though someone had fought an entire battle with a monster……
‘……Wait. A monster?’
Mona stopped breathing and turned her head.
Her thoughts immediately froze.
Beside her, bathed in dazzling sunlight, a strikingly handsome blond man slept as though he were part of a painting.