The Mad Dog Was You
You... "Yes, it was all me." "I thought as much..." Through that light exchange, everything clicked into place. My brother had deceived me.
"I never imagined the mad dog heiress would turn out to be Lady Diana..."
"My, is it proper to call a lady a mad dog?"
"...You asked me to call you that yourself, didn't you?"
"Hehe, I'm only joking."
After abandoning Anki, we moved to a nearby café to talk properly. Is it because this is the season when everyone only has the academy on their minds? It was tucked in a quiet corner with a pleasant atmosphere, yet surprisingly empty of customers.
"Isn't that a bit too chilling to pass off as a joke?"
"Then would it feel warmer if I said I wasn't joking?"
"...The joke version is better."
After all, she'd just demonstrated exactly why she was called the mad dog by crushing Anki moments ago.
"More than that, I'm rather shocked."
In truth, Diana had been celebrated as a pure, elegant character. So celebrated that she was practically the official mother figure of the game.
"I thought I was fairly well-known. Is there a reason you didn't recognize me?"
"...Must I answer that?"
"Oh my, what a rare counter-question."
She smiled gracefully as she rested her blood-stained fist on the table.
...Which meant she wasn't supposed to be the type of character who issued such blatant threats.
"...You should wipe that off. It isn't good for you."
"My, how kind."
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and offered it. She accepted it with practiced hands and wiped the blood away.
"What a lovely handkerchief. The blood comes right off."
"How could you possibly know that..."
"Experience, of course?"
A helpless laugh escaped me at this textbook mad-dog behavior. She wasn't supposed to be the sort of character who casually showed off bloodied hands.
"It's nothing special. I've simply been busy. ...And the person my brother described was Lady Abeluna."
Laughter was one thing, but life was another, so I answered honestly.
"Then your brother is the one at fault."
"Yes, obviously."
"Hmmm..."
It felt as if the mad dog had scented her next prey, but that had to be my imagination. In this world, living honestly meant no trouble would find you.
Still, what could be the cause?
Normally, changes like this happened because I—the possessor—had done something. Yet no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't connect becoming the youngest son of a prestigious family with this once-pure character turning into a mad dog.
Then the only remaining possibility is...
"By the way, aren't you the one with the problem, Helio? It's only one letter different, yet you didn't notice."
My heart plummeted at those words. Was a mad-dog punch incoming? I glanced cautiously at her face, only to find...
"Hmm...?"
She was smiling mischievously. Just another one of her jokes, it seemed.
"Um... my apologies."
In truth, my brother probably hadn't expected the deception to last this long.
"Since you've apologized, I'll forgive you!"
"I'm grateful."
I meant it. Among the legends my brother had told me about Lady Abeluna, there was one where she beat someone like a dog even after their apology, demanding to know why they'd done something that required one. Besides, this was genuinely my mistake. There were reasons, sure, but failing to notice was still failing.
Still, it feels a little unfair.
Her full name was Diana Diabeluna. Of course it existed in Oh Ji-o's knowledge, but that was exactly the problem. Who attaches a game character's surname? In Oh Ji-o's memories and across every community, she was simply called Diana. So I'd overlooked it without a second thought.
The drawback of memories that don't surface instantly like my own is showing itself here.
And probably... though I'd deliberately crushed the thought, telling myself there was no way with the first-love buff.
"Last time we met, you took every word I said to heart. I was truly delighted."
"Not at all. The advice was helpful to us as well, so we should be the ones thanking you. Thanks to you, our business expanded significantly."
"That's a talent too. Listening well to others requires its own skill."
"It can't compare to the direct help you provided."
The high-end cosmetics collaboration that had played the largest role in our expansion had only been possible because of Diana's assistance. Officially it was the ducal house that helped, but it was hard to believe her influence wasn't behind it.
"I was so pleased watching you grow rapidly afterward. Though I heard there were a few who weren't happy about it."
"That's how the world works."
It sounded like the usual interference and copycats that came with business. Since we'd overcome them all, I could speak of them casually, but her next words overturned that attitude entirely.
"So I beat them up a little."
"Pardon...? Why?"
What I'd taken as simple praise had somehow led to violence?
"Well, it feels unpleasant when someone you're rooting for is doing well but gets cursed at, doesn't it?"
"I can't say I don't understand the feeling..."
As expected, you had to go this far before people called you a mad dog. I found myself newly impressed.
"...Did that disappoint you?"
"What? No, I'm surprised, but not disappointed."
It wasn't a lie. How could I arbitrarily judge the personality of someone I'd only met once? Her change was extreme, but in the first place, game knowledge was nothing more than a guideline for understanding her. Just as one document couldn't reveal everything about a person, neither could I.
I was curious why she differed from the game and what drove her mad-dog behavior, but something mattered more. She was still Diana, the woman I'd fallen for at first sight.
Rather, I like it. All my efforts had been for her sake. If her notoriety as a mad dog drove others away, wasn't that perfectly fine?
And through our conversation, one thing became clear. She held a favorable opinion of me.
It wasn't a simple misunderstanding. Her words and expressions made it obvious.
Of course, it doesn't seem like romantic interest. Even the affection one gives a dog or cat counts as favor, doesn't it?
"Hmm, hearing you say that gives me strength."
"I'm not speaking empty words."
"...That's even more encouraging."
Diana beamed and called for the server.
"Since you said such nice things, this round is on me. There's a special dessert, so you can look forward to it."
Or is it? Could she actually have feelings for me?
Wasn't this level of favor a bit much for someone she'd only met once? Or so it felt?
In fact, the mere fact that she'd remembered my face had already been far from normal. The moment I realized that, my heart began to pound wildly.
"By the way, what have you been enjoying lately, Helio?"
"Ah, I... well..."
"Hehe, you were speaking so smoothly earlier, yet now you're tongue-tied. How adorable."
Helio, you foolish fool. After suffering that humiliation that day, have you still not learned proper conversation?
She was right. I had been foolish. But if I were to make excuses, it was all Oh Ji-o's fault. If he'd had any experience with women, this wouldn't be happening. The problem was that a guy who clung to me and refused to leave had never dated anyone himself.
"It must be because you're so busy, right?"
"Yes, well, yes. That's it. There simply wasn't time to enjoy hobbies."
"Hmm. Then at the academy, you'll be able to live a little more leisurely."
"...I suppose so. I'll have some mental room, at least."
It was a lie. I didn't know about mental leeway, but there would be no time for hobbies. The more delayed and suppressed I felt, the harder I would train.
"Ha, you impotent bastard. You think anything good will happen just because you enter the academy? You'll still be nothing but the king of the back-alley idiots."
So I could answer that properly.
This time Diana did the beating, but next time I'll do it with my own hands.
"Excuse me."
Just as I was making that dark resolution, the server returned.
"Two coffees and the Selin Mountain shaved ice you ordered."
"Oh, that was fast. Here, eat up."
"Thank you."
The ice from Selin Mountain carried a subtle sweetness and had the property of making any ingredient taste refreshingly fresh, which made it popular for shaved ice. Grinding an entire block of it meant this couldn't have been cheap.
As expected of the ducal family!
True to expectation, the ice melted sweetly in my mouth without disappointing.
"Hehe."
"? Lady Diana?"
Yet the grand duke's daughter wasn't touching the delicious treat. She was simply smiling. Not the elegant smile from before, but one that carried a damp, unsettling tone. It suited her nickname—the mad dog. Strange, steeped in desire.
"Uh..."
The spoon slipped from my hand with a clatter. Everything went dark. I felt sleepy.
"You, since I asked♡"
With a massive jolt, my eyes flew open. An unusual headache accompanied my awakening, but the surrounding environment was completely different from when I'd fallen asleep.
"Mmph! Mmmph!!!"
Naturally—my hands and feet were bound, and a gag filled my mouth. The perfect, textbook image of a kidnapping victim.
"My, you've woken up. We still have quite a way to go."
And only one thing remained the same. The woman sitting across from me—Diana Diabeluna.
To toy with my pure heart like this!
Even though I'd been kidnapped, that thought came first. I knew it made me pathetic, but I couldn't help it. That pain ran deeper than any threat to my life.
I glared at her with that feeling, and she laughed.
"Hahaha!"
Not an elegant, faint smile, but a bold, feral laugh that bared her teeth. The moment I saw it, I understood in my bones why people called her the mad dog. When she revealed such wolf-like savagery, how could anyone not think of a crazed hound?
She seized my hair and yanked my head up, forcing me to meet her eyes directly.
"…………"
We stared at each other for a moment. Seeing the strange new rings in her eyes, it should have been terrifying.
………?
Yet I wasn't afraid. Not of the wild laughter or the deranged pupils. Had I become too consumed by the realization that I'd been deceived?
"Hehe."
She soon broke into a crescent-eyed smile and leaned close to my ear.
"You've been kidnapped. Got it♡"