# Chapter 93
The next night at midnight.
To deliberately create time to talk with Levi as Iellin, Ion, who had been going to bed a little earlier each day, changed his hair and eye color like the previous day and wore a shabby tunic. Over it, he put on a thick jacket stuffed with cotton to make his body appear more robust. When he had met Levi using the name Iellin, he had been wearing thick armor, and he was deliberately careful in case Levi might think, ‘His build is similar to Ion Verdit’s.’
Finally, after swallowing a pill that roughened his voice and waiting a few minutes, his voice became somewhat husky and gravelly, unlike his own.
His first steps toward Levi’s room while wearing a mask and face covering were certainly light. But they grew heavier as he walked, and when he regained his senses, he found himself stopped in the middle of the hallway leading to Levi’s room.
‘What should I say?’
The day before, Levi had asked for “Iellin’s story.”
His story.
He had no hesitation in telling the story of how his mother, Claudia, had lived as a commoner named Iellin. Her life story was extremely ordinary, somewhat eccentric at times, and included insignificant tales of occasionally being like a friend to her only precocious son.
But those peaceful stories were already over. What remained was the tragedy of an unfortunate mother and son, and a man whose life’s purpose had changed after meeting Levi.
If he told that story, he would inevitably have to explain how Levi had lived in his previous life and what had caused his death. For Levi, who didn’t know what kind of life his past self had led, it might simply be a matter of wanting to know his forgotten memories, but Ion feared that the events within those memories might deeply wound the current Levi.
‘No, I should just tell it straight.’
In truth, he was more afraid of being rejected and hated by Levi than of Levi being hurt.
‘How selfish I am.’
Ion bit his lip, feeling intense self-loathing.
“Your Grace?”
One of the two soldiers who had stopped behind Ion cautiously called out to him. With the mask and face covering, they couldn’t see his face, so they had no way of knowing what state their lord was in or what he was thinking.
Ion, who had taken a deep breath, raised his downcast gaze forward and resumed walking.
“Just stand at the entrance like yesterday. No matter what sounds you hear from inside, don’t come in.”
“Understood.”
Accompanied by the two soldiers, Ion walked down the corridor, then stood in front of Levi’s bedroom with a resolute expression.
‘Still, if Levi wants it, I have to tell him everything.’
Perhaps this was why he had deliberately put on Iellin’s mask.
Even if he were to be hated, it would be the fictional character “Iellin” who would be hated.
Not Ion Verdit… so it should be fine, right?
It was a childish thought, but without it, he might not have spoken for a long time.
Knock, knock—he knocked briefly.
Levi was definitely in the room, but there was no sound.
There was still no sound of Levi’s voice even as he opened the door and entered. As he approached the quiet bed, he finally heard soft breathing.
Levi was asleep again.
It was understandable that he had been sleeping all day after talking throughout the early morning, but it was definitely strange that he was still deep in sleep even past evening until now. Rather than feeling the strangeness, Ion was immediately filled with worry, knowing the reason for this.
‘The frequency and duration of his sleep have increased too much.’
Levi had also slept the entire time in the carriage on the way to the Black Forest and had dozed off repeatedly. At that time, Ion had vaguely thought it was because Levi had entered a state of starvation.
But looking at him now, the situation seemed more serious than he had thought.
Sitting on the bed, he gently stroked Levi’s hair. If he had been perfectly fine, such contact would have made him open his eyes instantly, but Levi remained deeply asleep, like a small hibernating animal that couldn’t feel anything.
Ion looked at Levi’s Black Hand, which was outside the blanket. A ring that seemed to glow softly even in the darkness was attached to his wrist.
Staring at the ring, Ion recalled what Chepel had told him when he first brought Levi to the mansion.
During the few days of moving directly from the Caron Empire’s battlefield to the Grand Duke’s residence.
Thanks to strong sleeping pills administered at regular intervals, Levi had remained obediently asleep without waking once. Throughout the journey, alternating between horseback and carriage, Ion had held Levi in his arms and never let him go for even a moment.
During the journey, upon hearing that Levi had lived in the Caron Empire without taking human lives, Ion had asked Chepel what had happened. Chepel had told his loyal lord that there was something that could substitute for food.
“A black fragment, like a piece of a bead.”
Ion, imagining what this black fragment might be, looked down at Levi who was cradled in his arms on horseback.
“So we just need to find this fragment and give it to him? What about the bracelet?”
“Since only the Black Hand can absorb the fragment, you’ll need to remove the sealing bracelet.”
Chepel’s face became troubled.
“Only Levi or Raziel, who has the same ability, can release the bracelet. But Levi is already in a state of starvation… if he releases it himself, he’ll immediately go on a rampage before anyone can intervene. Having experienced it once, Levi himself must be aware of this.”
Chepel, who had lost his loyalty to Raziel but still used honorifics for him, bowed his head apologetically.
As Ion recalled Chepel’s words, he looked at Levi with pity.
‘If possible, I’d like to remove his bracelet now and throw even prisoners at him.’
It would be good if he could feed on death row prisoners, but Levi would never remove the bracelet himself. With the trauma of his rampage still vivid, he would be afraid and disgusted by the prospect of mindlessly feeding while losing his reason.
But since there was no way to forcibly remove the bracelet either, all Ion could do was feel anxious.
What if Levi remained deeply asleep and never opened his eyes again…
“If you’re here, you should have woken me up.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Ion tried to withdraw his hand. Before he could, Levi caught it and placed it back on his own head.
“It feels good. Do it more.”
Blinking his eyes slowly and asking for more head patting, Levi looked like a languid black cat. At the same time, he also resembled a sick puppy that had lost its strength.
As Ion continued stroking his head, pretending not to know anything, Levi, who seemed to feel the touch, closed his eyes gently and moved his lips.
“Today you’ll tell me your story, right?”
“Well…”
Ion was still hesitating.
“Before I fall into a deeper sleep, I want to hear our story.”
As if already fully aware of his physical condition, Levi gently urged Ion.
“Tell me everything… from when we first met until the moment we parted.”
After keeping his mouth shut and lowering his eyes for several minutes, Ion soon opened his mouth as Levi wanted.
The story reached its conclusion around dawn, just like the previous day.
As sunlight began to replace the moonlight streaming into the room through the window, their faces became more clearly visible to each other.
Unlike Ion, whose expression was completely hidden due to his mask and face covering, Levi’s pale face was fully exposed, wearing the same expressionless look as usual.
Ion couldn’t shake off his anxiety throughout the storytelling. From the start of the story until now, Levi had been listening quietly without any particular reaction and hadn’t said anything.
There were quite a few holes in the story.
Since Ion was pretending to be “human Iellin,” he had to speak while hiding his own abilities, and because of that, he needed to partially omit the events that had unfolded as a result.
‘The young child Levi remembers must be referring to me. But even though Levi knows about my ability, he doesn’t suspect that I could be that child.’
This meant, in other words, that there was nothing in the conversations he remembered that could suggest Ion’s ability. Therefore, it was necessary to thoroughly create gaps in parts related to the ability. He also had to cut out the part about Levi’s starvation state back then, which could evoke unpleasant memories, and the “you saved me and died” statement that Ion had mentioned.
“…So on the day you dealt with the slave traders, I left the Black Forest. I couldn’t involve you anymore.”
Thus, the story came to an end.
Or rather, it was about to.
Until Levi, who had raised his upper body to sit up, reached for the dagger on the bedside table with his Black Hand.
“…!”
It happened in an instant.
With an expressionless face, Levi drew the dagger from its sheath and pointed the blade tip toward his own collarbone. Just before the blade tip could pierce his collarbone, Ion strongly grabbed that wrist along with the ring and took the dagger away.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to commit suicide?!”
Levi didn’t answer and stared blankly at Ion.
Ion felt blood rushing to his head because Levi had pointed the dagger at his collarbone, where his core was located, and not elsewhere.
Ion believed that Levi couldn’t “commit suicide” and would have stopped before touching the core. However, considering the incident a few days ago when Levi had tried to cut off his ankle to escape the shackles, the thought that he might actually destroy his core for some reason sent a chill down Ion’s spine. Even without that, he absolutely could not tolerate Levi being hurt in any way.
As he was about to get angrier at Levi for treating his body so carelessly, he noticed Levi’s pitch-black eyes watching him analytically.
“How did you know I would die if I stabbed here?”
Levi’s eyes instantly grew cold.
“There was nothing in the story you told me about my core. How did you know?”
