Everything around me seemed to have stopped. The noisy sound of raindrops hitting leaves stopped in an instant, and silence descended. Along with the cool air, a heavy aura enveloped my body, making me feel as if I existed alone and out of place in this world.
I had felt this sensation before. It was similar to the feeling when I met Mad Crow in the principality.
‘An incredible concentration of mana…!’
And at the center of it was Cesare. He was looking at me with resentful eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. I could feel waves of mana surging from behind him. We were clearly at the academy, but it felt like we were trapped in a separate dimension that existed somewhere else.
“Cesa… re?”
“Why must I lose everything?”
“What?”
As I took a step closer to him, I could see something like a shining ring held in his hand. It was the platinum sleeve garter I had recently given Cedric as a gift.
“It was mine.”
“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cesare.”
“It was all mine from the beginning!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them at the voice that tore sharply like a scream. From Cesare’s two eyes, a dark red light was flowing out eerily. The mana flowing from his body seemed to be rampaging uncontrollably.
‘It’s similar to what I saw in that dream…!’
Cesare tried to get up from his spot. But his body wouldn’t move as he wanted, and he just kept staggering and suffering in pain. I quickly approached him and tried to support him, but Cesare pushed my hand away.
But I forcibly grabbed his hand. Then Cesare collapsed forward toward me, swaying as if all strength had left him.
“The empire too. The throne too. Mother and you too…. They were all mine. Why… to that bastard Cedric, everything…! Why is everyone trying to distance themselves from me! Damn it, I just wish I at least knew the reason!”
“Ah….”
As soon as Cedric’s name came from his sobbing mouth, I had some idea why Cesare was angry. But why me too? What did I do?
Staggering, Cesare pulled at my shirt and raised his head.
“Lionel. Unlike our mother who became an idiot, you can answer me.”
“…….”
“Do you love me?”
Cesare, who uttered such an absurd statement, clearly didn’t seem normal. His body, soaked in the rain, was getting chillingly wet, so I tried to support him first.
“Let’s go inside first, Cesare. Let’s go inside and ask the professors for help!”
“Answer me! Do you still love me?”
His grip on my collar grew stronger. I couldn’t understand his intention as he asked if I loved him with the end of his voice cracked while stirring the flow of mana, trembling and shaking. This wasn’t the time for this, but he was like a child throwing a tantrum, insisting I look at him first.
“Cesare Yanox. If I say I love you here, or if I say I don’t love you, what… would change?”
There was no point in dragging out a question with a predetermined answer.
“…….”
“You’re not going to love me anyway. And yet I can’t understand your current behavior of trying to confirm whether my love is complete.”
“You know nothing, how dare you…! Ugh.”
“Let’s go for now. You’re not in your right mind right now.”
I carried him on my back as he roughly grabbed my collar. His breathing was rough as he exhaled sharply, and his body was hot. With a jingle, the sleeve garter fell to the ground.
“I don’t know why you have this now.”
I continued speaking as I forcibly adjusted him on my back as he shook his head as if he didn’t like it.
“This was never yours, Cesare Yanox.”
“……!”
I could feel him take a deep breath. In an instant, he reached out from my back and pulled my neck hard. Because of that, I lost my balance and staggered, falling to the ground.
“Ugh!”
As soon as I fell to the ground, I could feel Cesare climbing on top of me. Before I could regain my senses, dry lips stole my mouth. It was instantaneous.
As I struggled in surprise and tried to push him away, he kissed me even more intensely, entwining his tongue. My eyes grew hot and I felt dizzy, my head spinning. In the midst of being confused and not knowing what was what, one thing was certain.
I couldn’t refuse his kiss.
“Wa, wait…. Mmph.”
Even as I rubbed my head on the ground, breathless from the rough and deep kiss, I couldn’t let go of Cesare, and Cesare didn’t let me go either.
I felt like this wasn’t the time for this, but my mind gradually became hazy from the sweet yet rough stimulation.
“Lionel. Lionel…!”
“Ah… hah….”
Why. Why on earth? Questions kept rising endlessly at the hot gestures accompanied by pleasure. The kiss was too hot to simply be to hold onto me, to use me.
Each time I tried to turn my head away in one breath, he urgently chased my breath and covered my lips. The kiss, which even showed intense possessiveness, seemed to say that it was solely directed at you, Lionel, that all of this was entirely for you.
Then my heart, ready to burst, joyfully accepted him as if it were really true. That’s right, this desperation is all for me. The reason he’s embracing me like this is because he genuinely wants me. Even knowing it wasn’t true, I deceived myself and hugged him tightly.
“Cesare…. Mmph.”
Like that, we intensely, only each other, yes, only each other we craved, in a world where all senses were canceled out, as if only we two were the sole existence.
– Plop.
When the raindrops that had stopped began to fall slowly, we slowly separated our lips. It felt like the separate dimension that had been tightly blocked by the density of mana was slowly assimilating with reality.
“…Lionel.”
When I slowly opened my eyes, soaked in the afterglow of pleasure, I saw him looking more stable than before. However, his ruby-like eyes still held passionate heat as if wanting me. After a moment of silence, attractive lips wet with each other’s saliva opened.
“Was it really never mine?”
Do you really want me? Or….
– Plop.
As a large raindrop fell below my eyes, he licked it up and asked. While gazing as if entranced by that sensual appearance, I cupped his pale cheek. This strangely trembling heart is an emotion created by magic? No. That can’t be. I really you….
“I’m yours. I love you. Cesare Yanox. I love you madly.”
I really confessed in succession as if I’d been brainwashed. Then he purred softly in my hand, like a house cat acting cute with its owner.
“Lionel. I wish you didn’t love me.”
“Ah…!”
At those cold words, different from his heartbreakingly affectionate actions, my vision blurred hazily as if all strength had left me. My heart, which had seemed ready to burst with joy, shriveled painfully and coldly. Even in the midst of that, hot kisses continued to pour over my face along with sweet whispers again and again.
“Lionel. Don’t cry and look at me. With those pretty eyes. You should only look at me, Lionel. Okay?”
If he wasn’t going to love me, why did he cast a love spell? In the end, I was the one who was played by him again. Chewing on such thoughts, I blankly accepted the hot kisses without even knowing where they were heading anymore.
* * *
“…You bastard.”
Even now that I’d returned to the dormitory, my breathing was rough. Lampel’s words kept circling around. There was nothing wrong with what he said about addiction making a person plummet after tasting the ecstasy of love.
I had been comforting myself, thinking it would be okay if my heart was torn for him again and again, but the rejection heard from his own mouth was hopeless.
Not confident I could put my shattered heart back together, I blankly opened the drawer and took out what was inside. The two pieces of artifact I had picked up and put down every morning were shining brightly under the lamp. I slowly took them out and took a deep breath.
Like cutting through tangled threads twisted and knotted like a ball of yarn with a knife in one stroke, this would solve everything. Although the fallen thread pieces would remain, if only the knot could be untied.
‘Actually, I should have done this sooner. It’s too late.’
With fingertips dirtied from rolling on the dirt ground and kissing, I carefully fitted together the white wing pieces.
– Byo?
“……!”
I thought I heard Mitche’s voice from somewhere and quickly turned around, but no one was there. When I weakly turned my head back, a dazzlingly white light flashed as if it would swallow me up.
So this is a sacred artifact.
‘Cesare. Just as you wanted, I won’t love you anymore.’
That’s good. Right?
As if responding to that light, I quietly reached out my hand. Various sounds overlapped and buzzed along with a strong whirlwind.
‘If the imperial army comes, you should have run away like Cain, you idiot! How could you trust me even in that situation! Lionel, please open your eyes…! Please… don’t die! Rye! Ahhh! Please!’
‘Cesare? Running away, what are you talking about…?’
As I faintly heard what seemed to be Cesare’s desperate cry, I lost consciousness to the pouring light.
‘I’ll destroy everything. Lionel, you were in my future. So a future without you… has no meaning anymore.’
* * *
Next to a woman with her blonde hair beautifully pinned up, a curly-haired man with mischievous green eyes was holding and cooing at a newborn baby. A child who looked exactly like the two people mixed and divided in half burst into laughter giggling.
‘Our cute puppy. You’re the prettiest because you look like mom!’
‘Roger. Duke Yanox is here.’
‘Oh my. I’m sorry! I’ve been distracted by childcare lately. You didn’t bring your son, Duke! We almost made a friend. Right, our puppy?’
The tall man standing before them, Lampel, grumbled and said to the woman.
‘Did you go to Samaël with a full-term body?’
‘Our Ophelia is as stubborn as she is pretty.’
‘Roger. The Duke doesn’t like such jokes. Anyway, this is what I mentioned in the letter.’
The blonde woman handed Lampel the large bag she was holding. Inside was one golden tablet and one black chest.
As Lampel carefully read the contents of the tablet, he couldn’t speak for a while due to the shocking content.
<To those who have desires, I shall grant everything in exchange for destruction.>
‘How did you come across such a thing.’
‘Because of this, Ophelia and I are being targeted by the shrine. We proceeded in utmost secrecy, but it seems the story leaked during the excavation process.’
The man holding the baby bowed his head seriously and requested.
‘Duke Yanox is excellent in magic and has high credibility, so I trust you will guard the truth well.’
‘My father doesn’t know about this either. Please.’
‘Abububu.’
The woman also bowed politely. The child held in their arms seemed to smile at Lampel while babbling too.
‘Those shrine bastards are persistent, so don’t let your guard down.’ Lampel was about to give such advice, but refrained from speaking, worried about instilling excessive concern in the young couple who looked so happy and promising.
And a few years later, Lampel looked desolately at the Mellans mansion being engulfed by flames and regretted that he should not have spared that advice.
“Duke! I think you need to come quickly!”
As a knight in silver armor rushed over and shouted to Lampel, he awoke from his long reminiscence.
