Chapter 1

Nine deaths.

And now, the tenth life.

I didn’t even hope for heaven—just wanted to fall into hell. But once again, I was brought back to the beginning.

It always starts the same way: the sound of sleet falling. I hear it tapping on the window, and as it becomes clearer, I remember how I died last time.

First death – died as a hero in battle.
Second – tortured to death in prison.
Third – killed the enemy general and died with him.
Fourth – shot dead while running away.
Then exploded, overworked to death, stabbed, poisoned…
And just a moment ago, I died from smoke while trying to escape a fire.

All those deaths came because I became the weakest “sub male lead” in a dark medieval romance fantasy full of war. I had no money, no family support, no skills.

“Ugh, I don’t want to live.”

I sighed and turned over in bed.

So cold.

“…?”

Wait—my neck feels prickly, and something feels wrong. I stopped pulling the blanket and touched my surroundings.

Smooth silk sheets against bare skin. A fluffy duck feather comforter. Heavy and soft fur—giant northern mountain goat fur. That stuff’s crazy expensive.

This is definitely not the bed of a poor servant knight.

I got chills down my spine.

In this cursed world, there’s only one place with such a luxurious bed: the male lead’s bedroom.

No way… Did my 10th life start in the male lead’s body?

I quickly touched myself to check. Normal shoulders, arms, chest, faint abs. Nope. This is the body I knew well—Roy Dover, the servant knight with nothing.

“Ha, haha…”

What now? Am I gonna die again as soon as I start?

How dare a servant lie on the master’s bed? Not just anyone’s—the male lead’s bed!

I had to escape before someone found out.

I slowly pushed off the heavy blanket. Even that small rustling made my heart pound.

I carefully sat up, eyes half open—then bam—met glowing eyes in the dark.

“…!”

“Where are you going?”

EEK!!

My heart dropped. I almost screamed.

There he was: long silver-gray hair like a lion’s mane, strong jaw, sharp nose, thick eyebrows, and golden eyes shining in the dark. Like a ghost—or a huge gray bear—he stared at me and covered my mouth.

Tesarion Arker Clermont.

Duke of the North. Ruler of winter. The strongest man in this world, called the “War Demon” with no blood or tears.

And I was sharing a bed and blanket with him?!

I’m screwed.

I panicked. Eyes wide like an earthquake hit my brain.

“D-D-Duke…”

I dropped to the floor and bowed deeply, hands together, begging.

Tesarion, the cold-hearted male lead of an R-rated dark romance fantasy. He’s heartless even to the weak heroine. I’m just a lowly knight servant. Begging was my only chance.

“I-I’m sorry, Duke! I don’t even know why I’m here… I mean, I deserve death!”

“…”

Tesarion stood up, radiating deadly energy. His wide shoulders, massive chest, and abs were terrifying.

Gulp. I swallowed hard without meaning to.

If I anger him, I’m dead.

“Shut up and lie down again.”

Huh?

“Sleep.”

Lie down. Be quiet. Go to sleep.

It wasn’t hard to understand, but I just stared in shock, tears in my eyes.

“…What?”

Tesarion’s face twisted with annoyance. He reached out, grabbed my neck, and threw me back onto the bed like I was nothing.

How dare I upset him?

It felt like the death flag was waving again.

Tesarion wrapped me tightly in the mountain goat fur like a burrito, growled, and said something totally unexpected.

“It’s cold. Outside the blanket is dangerous.”

Wha… That’s technically true, but not what I expected!

He picked me up and dropped me in the center of the bed. His heavy body pressed down on me, and his hair tickled my cheek.

Red alert!

“D-Duke! Please spare me! I know you’re angry about not hearing from my father. I-I promise to pay back the 50 million gold! Please think of my poor little siblings and elderly grandparents!”

He pulled out a dagger from his thigh and stabbed it into the bed next to my head.

“You’re a girl.”

SQUEAK.

The sharp blade brushing my hair made me black out for a second.

If only I had fainted properly.

“…Roy? Roy Dover?”

The same guy who told me to shut up and sleep was now poking me to wake me up.

“….”

I closed my eyes and cursed inside.

There’s a saying: if you meet a bear, play dead.

Since he said I’m a girl, maybe if I lie still, I’ll live.

“Hey.”

Tesarion touched my cheek, then put a finger under my nose. I held my breath tightly.

“I didn’t use a blade… You’re not really dead, are you?”

Yes. I am.

Just leave the dead servant’s body there and go.

But the giant gray bear grabbed my neck and listened to my chest. Even sniffed me to check if I was alive.

“….”

The longer the silence lasted, the sweatier my hands got. I just hoped he’d lose interest and leave.

Please. Just go. I just came back to life—I don’t want to die again.

Then—he suddenly slid a hand down my side.

“…!”

WHAT THE—?!

I almost punched him. My heart pounded. I tried to stay calm.

Breathe. Stay calm.

I’m dead.

I’m a corpse.

I was gasping.

“You’re sweating.”

Tesarion wiped my forehead and chuckled. His hot breath tickled my ear. I flinched. He grabbed my jaw and growled:

“Why are you pretending to be dead when you’re fine?”

I was so shocked and scared my vision blurred.

“You scared me.”

His cold voice made every hair on my body stand up. He didn’t look scared—he looked ready to snap my neck.

“Breathe properly. Open your mouth.”

He stuck his finger between my teeth and pushed my tongue down. My head tilted back and I drooled.

“You were so tense, I thought you bit your tongue to die.”

Damn. I should’ve done that earlier.

Now what? What do I do?

I was terrified.

“Roy.”

“Hii… h-h…”

“You’re thinking of escaping, right?”

How did he know?!

I shrank my neck and shook my head.

“N-no… I’m not…”

“Good. You better not.”

Tesarion smiled coldly and pressed my tongue again.

“If a single strand of your hair leaves my sight, I’ll kill your siblings one by one.”

What?!

Roy Dover, the character I became, was the oldest child of a poor noble family. He had four younger sisters and a baby brother just two years old.

I never met them, but I knew they were cold, hungry, and suffering. And this heartless war demon was threatening to kill them?!

But with this giant bear holding my tongue and threatening me, what could I say? I just cried and nodded.

“Y-Yes…”

It was miserable.

Even after all the deaths I had, I never wanted to die right at the start of a life.

Until now.

Because of this guy.

Back then and even now, I was fooled by the pretty female lead’s sweet looks and the male lead’s rough but attractive face.

I thought this was just a romance fantasy between a scary Duke and a beautiful girl.

But now I know—that red “19+ only” warning in the corner wasn’t about sexy scenes. It was a danger sign for the crazy war demon.

So this is how my 10th life began—getting caught by the most dangerous tyrant in this R-rated, miserable romance fantasy.

But seriously…

This never happened in the last nine lives.

Why now?

 

Why me?!