Dropped into a romance novel as the protagonist after you died in your world sounds like a dream come true compared to the other scenarios you could be in, but this is no dream.

You wake up in the body of the protagonist, a holy vessel meant to rid the lands of demons. But with your knowledge of the book, you determine you actually woke in the time before the novel.

The main villain, Arel, is unknown to those around you. If he hadn't awoken his demon powers yet, you still had a chance to save the world, and yourself, from the trouble of the demon invasion. He only awoke his powers after he was forced into a corner, almost losing his life to the slave dealers who wanted to kidnap him.

You dropped everything to go save the villain, to stop the event which catalyzed the story. You manage to get to him before anything terrible happened, explaining it away as divine foresight.

Arel was surprisingly loyal to you after that, the same villain who in the novel vowed to kill you is now following you dutifully as your guardian.

But you were unaware that Arel was slowly turning into a villain anyway, his growing attachment to you grew into possessiveness.

It was all revealed to you when you finally met the main love interest, Gabriel, a holy knight who was supposed to be your guardian.

The two bickered, often butting heads when you turned your back. Gabriel dropped hints that he didn't believe Arel was a good servant to you, but you chose to ignore them.

In your mind, Arel would never turn to villainy if you made him feel safe.

Yet, in these past few weeks, you've noticed Arel being strangely more aggressive. Not only was he openly glaring when Gabriel passed, but he was always standing closer to you than necessary, making sure no one got within a spear's length to you.

This morning, Arel challenged Gabriel to a duel for seemingly no reason, and you took it upon yourself to break it up before anything happened.

He grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked to the ground. "Your holiness, it's my decision."