Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

"Julius...?"

The moment Julius called her "Rose," Rosalina’s eyes widened.

She knew it was him right away.

The tall knight standing in front of her looked nothing like her Julius, he had short, deep blue hair and sharp black eyes, and his body was big and strong under the heavy golden armor.

But that warm, familiar look in his eyes and the way he said her name... there was no doubt.

It was her Julius.

"Hey... why are you looking like that?" she asked, still shocked.

She stared at him up and down. "You’re so big now! And blue hair? Black eyes? This isn’t you at all!"

Julius gave her a soft smirk. "You should take a look at yourself first," he replied with a small laugh in his voice.

Rosalina blinked, then quickly looked down at her own hands and the long royal robe she was wearing.

She touched her long, silky blonde hair and felt the smooth skin of her face.

A tiny mole sat just below her lower lip.

She really did look like a completely different person, a beautiful queen.

Before she could say anything more, Julius turned his head and scanned the room.

The nobles and guards were still standing there, watching them with worried faces.

"Tell them to leave the room," Julius said quietly.

Rosalina quickly pushed down her shock.

She sat up straight on the throne and put on her usual proud, arrogant expression.

"Everyone," she said in a clear, commanding voice, "you may leave. I have something important to discuss with my knight."

The moment her words rang out, the people in the hall bowed deeply without any questions.

They moved like they had no choice, just like NPCs in a game.

One by one, they walked out of the grand hall and closed the heavy doors behind them with a soft thud.

Now the huge room was empty except for the two of them.

Julius stood up from his kneeling position.

His golden armor clinked softly as he walked over to the throne.

Rosalina shifted to the side to give him space.

Even though he was big and wearing heavy armor, he sat down beside her on the wide throne.

It felt a little crowded, but somehow it worked.

"So," Julius asked, looking at her, "do you realize what the quest is?"

Rosalina thought for a moment, brushing her long blonde hair behind her ear.

"I think the quest is about escaping," she said.

"Once we get out of this castle and reach that North Grave Castle, we should finish the quest. What do you think?"

Julius nodded slowly, looking at her fondly. "Yeah, I think so too..."

He tried to feel for his mana out of habit, but nothing came.

No warm flow of energy, no core inside him. It felt strange, like trying to see with your elbow. He couldn’t sense any mana at all.

"We can’t use mana here," he said, his voice turning a little serious.

"It’s like this world hasn’t discovered cores yet. Everything feels... normal. No special powers."

Rosalina stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking. Then she spoke again.

"But the problem is getting there without mana," Julius continued. His voice grew solemn.

"And... if we die here, do we die in real life too?"

He looked at her with a mix of worry and confusion in his black eyes.

Rosalina turned to face him fully.

The soft sunlight from the tall windows made her blue eyes sparkle.

For a moment, the grand hall felt very quiet.

Julius stared back at her without blinking. "Do you have some idea?" he asked.

Rosalina shook her head. "No, I don’t," she said.

Then she looked down at her new body and inspected it carefully.

It looked delicate and soft, like a harmless princess, but she could feel how agile and quick it really was.

Compared to her real body, this one felt even better, stronger, faster, and more developed.

"With my sword skills and this body, it should be easier," she began.

"Though I don’t have a sword here right now..." she added with a small frown.

Julius nodded, agreeing with her.

"Yeah, keeping your sword skills in mind..." He glanced at the huge sword resting at his side.

It was massive. "But the problem is, my sword is way too big for you! Your strength won’t be enough to lift it." He sighed. "And I suck at swords..."

Both he and the old Julius had never relied much on physical weapons.

They usually just pulled out a hammer from their Weaponry and smashed everything in sight.

Now, without mana, things felt different.

"Oh well," Julius said.

He stood up and turned toward Rosalina. He reached out his hand with a bright smile. "Shall we go fi..."

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

His instincts screamed at him, danger! His life was in serious trouble.

Without thinking, he spun around fast.

BOOOOM!!!!

A huge explosion ripped through the ceiling above them.

The blast was deafening. Stones, wood, and dust flew everywhere.

Bam!

The entire ceiling started to collapse right on top of them.

Julius’s eyes snapped to Rosalina in a flash. He saw the heavy chunks of the building falling fast.

In one quick move, he scooped her up in his strong arms and rushed toward the exit.

But the collapse was too fast.

Stones and beams crashed down all around them, making it hard to even take a single step.

Dust filled the air and made it hard to see.

He hurriedly bent down, placed Rosalina gently on the ground, and covered her body completely with his own.

His golden armor clinked as he curled around her like a shield.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy building debris rained down on them one after another.

Each crash shook the ground.

Big pieces of stone and broken wood slammed onto Julius’s back and shoulders.

The noise was loud and scary, and the weight pressed down hard.