The Day I Was Bitten on the Neck
The nickname Mad Dog wasn’t something you could just slap on anyone. It was an incredibly picky title, reserved for those with a vicious personality, who weren’t women, weren’t nobles, and weren’t even ordinary commoners—only mid-level managers or the lowest of the low could barely qualify for it.
“Hello.”
In other words, the person standing before me—Diana Diabeluna, a noblewoman, the sole daughter of a ducal family—had overcome every single one of those obstacles and prejudices to earn that legendary nickname.
“You’ve been kidnapped. Got it? ♡”
But that very Mad Dog had bitten me. Why?
⟨ Regression ⟩
I blinked slowly, trying to process the situation.
The first thing that hit me was the unfamiliar ceiling. No, not unfamiliar—completely alien. It wasn’t the cheap plaster of my dorm room at the academy, nor the cracked wooden beams of my family’s old house back in the countryside. This was a high, ornate ceiling painted with a fresco of angels and demons locked in eternal combat. The kind of ceiling you’d only see in a duke’s mansion.
Next came the scent. A dizzying mix of roses and something metallic. Blood? No… something sweeter. Like expensive perfume mixed with the faint copper tang of a fresh wound.
And then there was the pain. A sharp, throbbing sting at the base of my neck, right where the shoulder meets the throat. I reached up instinctively, but my wrist was caught in a firm, gloved grip.
“Don’t touch it,” a soft voice murmured. “It’ll leave a pretty mark if you don’t mess with it.”
My eyes finally focused on the person leaning over me.
Silver hair cascaded like moonlight over one shoulder. Blue eyes—unnaturally clear, almost glowing—stared down at me with an intensity that made my stomach twist. Diana Diabeluna. The Mad Dog of high society. The only daughter of the Diabeluna Ducal House. And currently, the woman who had apparently just bitten my neck.
I tried to sit up, but her other hand pressed gently yet firmly against my chest, keeping me pinned to the lavish bed.
“W-wait… what the hell is going on?” My voice came out hoarser than I expected. “Kidnapped? You’re joking, right? This has to be some kind of—”
“It’s not a joke, Helio.”
She said my name like she’d known it for years. Like it belonged to her.
The polite, elegant mask she usually wore in public had completely shattered. Her eyes held a possessive gleam that sent a chill racing down my spine. This wasn’t the refined noblewoman the academy whispered about. This was the real Diana—the one who had earned that terrifying nickname through sheer violence and obsession.
“You were going to die again,” she whispered, leaning closer. Her breath brushed against the fresh bite mark, making it burn. “In three days. During the practical exam. A trap set by the imperial faction. You were going to throw yourself in front of the princess like some brainless hero and get your heart pierced. I’ve seen it happen six times now.”
My mind reeled. Again? Six times?
She must have noticed my confusion because her lips curved into a dangerous smile. The kind of smile that promised both pleasure and pain.
“I’ve regressed, Helio. Again and again. Every time you die, I go back to the beginning. And every single time, you choose to be a hero instead of surviving. So this time…”
Her fingers traced the bite mark on my neck with almost reverent care.
“I decided to remove the choice entirely. You’re mine now. You’ll stay right here where I can protect you. No more dying. No more heroic sacrifices. Just you… and me.”
The elegant surface of her voice had completely cracked. What spilled out now was raw, possessive, and utterly unhinged.
“If anyone tries to take you away from me, I’ll tear them apart. Even if it’s the emperor himself. Even if it’s that damn princess you keep trying to save. I’ll kill them all. So just stay put like a good boy, okay? ♡”
I stared at her, heart hammering against my ribs.
This wasn’t a kidnapping.
This was a declaration of war against fate itself—made by the most dangerous woman in the empire.
And I had just become her favorite chew toy.