# Chapter 90
When Levi reached the bathroom of the Grand Duke’s mansion, he was quite surprised by the vast bath that spread out before him. Since he had never used anything other than a small wooden tub, it was natural for him to be amazed by the classical bath that was larger than the bedroom.
“How’s the temperature?”
With a relaxed face, Ion approached Levi closely amid the splashing water sounds. Levi thought that Ion’s flushed face, visible through the hazy steam, suited his golden hair well.
“It’s hot.”
“Too hot? Should I mix in some cold water?”
Levi shook his head vigorously as he felt the hot water he was immersed in.
“I like it hot.”
“That’s good then.”
Ion replied with a smile, turning his body completely toward Levi. Resting his elbow on the marble wall designed for leaning against, Ion propped his chin and gazed intently at him.
The milky water in the bath felt soft to the touch thanks to the bath salts, and Levi seemed to like it as he repeatedly scooped up water with both hands and rubbed it. Looking at his eyes that sparkled brightly enough to be recognized instantly even through the steam, it felt as if they had returned to a moment 15 years ago.
‘Levi still remains the same as back then.’
Even now, when he had forgotten all his memories with Ion and was being thoroughly used by someone, he still sparkled with such purity. Like a pitch-black sea that never loses its original color no matter what other colors try to infiltrate and stain it.
Ion, who had been looking at Levi with warm eyes, gently brushed his wet black hair aside. Levi, whose attention had been entirely focused on the water, finally looked at Ion and suddenly raised his eyes. Thinking that he might not like having his hair touched, Ion was about to withdraw his hand, but Levi grabbed it firmly and pulled it down to his eye level.
Levi stared at Ion’s left hand as if it were more fascinating than the water in the bath.
“Strange hand.”
Levi murmured, mesmerized by the golden pattern on Ion’s palm. Then he traced the pattern with his black fingertips.
“It looks similar to mine.”
“Indeed. I wonder why?”
Ion responded kindly, as if talking to an innocent child. His eyes began to sink deeply as he looked at the patterns on his and Levi’s black hands.
After Tis staged a coup and ascended to the throne—
For the past 10 years, Ion had extensively researched the Hand of Life he possessed and the Hand of Death that Levi had.
The Hand of Life was the remnant of the last magic passed down through the imperial family of the Delos Empire. The first emperor, who transformed a small kingdom into a vast empire, needed the power of ancient magic to save the imperial citizens who were dying from an unknown epidemic at the time. Believing in the existence of ancient magic, which was merely a legend, after years of searching, the first emperor finally found where that magic slept.
There, the first emperor obtained the bones of a massive dragon that was said to have disappeared along with the last ancient magic, and a golden jewel containing the power of life.
However, to utilize the jewel’s ability, a powerful body was needed, if not one as mighty as a dragon’s. Thus, Grand Duke Alfred, the first emperor’s younger brother and the most capable person in the empire, swallowed the jewel to manifest its power.
Grand Duke Alfred was revered as a holy one as he healed the sick throughout the empire. Among them, some began to exalt him even more than the emperor, and malicious individuals who seemed to have forgotten the first emperor’s achievements raised their heads, trying to place the Grand Duke on the throne.
Even after gaining the power of an undeniable holy one, Grand Duke Alfred still sincerely served the first emperor, pledging loyalty to him more than anyone else. But the first emperor doubted this and, as soon as the epidemic was resolved, succumbed to the influence of corrupt officials who claimed the Grand Duke was plotting treason.
However, it wasn’t possible to simply execute someone as high-ranking as a Grand Duke.
So he decided to issue a sort of warning to Grand Duke Alfred.
Grand Duke Alfred, having gained the power of life, became someone who was extremely difficult to kill, warranting the word “absolute” due to the jewel’s miraculous healing capabilities. Not only was his already well-trained body hard to wound deeply, but even if he was cut or torn somewhere, he showed the formidable ability to recover instantly. Therefore, inflicting proper external wounds on him was quite challenging.
For such a Grand Duke Alfred, the most effective damage was poison. No matter how terrifyingly solid and tough his body was, his insides were still human. Thus, it was believed that having him drink poison directly would be more effective than creating external wounds to let poison seep in.
Previously, Grand Duke Alfred had eaten food laced with poison by unknown individuals. At that time, he collapsed, complaining of agony, but recovered completely as time passed. When physicians analyzed it, they found that the food contained a considerable amount of poison that could bring down even a massive beast.
Recalling this incident, the first emperor secretly infiltrated the Grand Duke’s mansion with his own people and had them mix a lethal dose of poison into his food.
The day after the first emperor’s person infiltrated the Grand Duke’s mansion—
Grand Duke Alfred, known as an immortal and a holy one, was carried out as a corpse. The power of life he possessed did not manifest at all, and he died helplessly, just like an ordinary human.
The sudden loss of ability was enough to confuse many, and the reason became clear when the Grand Duke’s wife, who was in the late stages of pregnancy at the time, gave birth.
The power of life was passed down in a form where, as a new life connected to the host was created, the ability was transferred to it.
The original host gradually lost the ability, while the conceived life gradually accumulated power. In a way, it was a succession method befitting the power of life, but the first emperor, who did not know this, ended up intentionally killing his brother rather than merely issuing a warning.
Upon investigation, when the first emperor learned that his brother, Grand Duke Alfred, had not dreamed of even a hint of treason, he gave up the throne to the Grand Duke’s heir as an act of atonement.
Afterward, the power of life continued through the imperial bloodline until it reached Princess Claudia, and now resided in her son, Ion.
‘I don’t really care about all that.’
Ion wasn’t particularly interested in far-fetched stories about ancient magic or dragons. The reason he had been investigating the origin of the power in his left hand and those who had been in its flow one by one was solely because of Levi. He wondered if there might be even a speck of information about him, and if so, whether he could use it as a basis to humanize Levi.
A being with the power of death, the opposite of Ion’s ability.
One who has a human body but is an immortal existence that will never die unless the black core embedded deep in their collarbone is destroyed.
Even if the core is destroyed, after a certain period, they can form a new body and move again, and unlike Ion, who is human, the only thing they need to survive is “others’ lives.”
Ion couldn’t understand why there was no information about Levi’s existence, which was like looking in a mirror yet completely opposite to himself.
Even if he had been secluded in the Black Forest, he was one who instinctively needed to take lives. Naturally, he would have had to contact humans, and no matter how secretively he moved, it didn’t make sense that there were no traces at all. Of course, due to the rampage incident, information about him had been preserved this year.
Despite repeated investigations, Ion didn’t give up on the still-blank information about Levi.
Apart from Ion himself, there were a total of four people who had significant connections with Levi.
Former Princess Claudia, Hest and his father, and Emperor Raziel of the Caron Empire.
Former Princess Claudia had died saving her son, Ion, right before his eyes.
Hest knew Levi from even before 15 years ago, but he was too young then, so he didn’t have any more information than what Ion already knew.
Hest’s father, who had welcomed Levi into his mansion and paid attention to his comfort, died protecting Tis during the coup.
In this situation, the only person Ion could pay attention to was Emperor Raziel of the Caron Empire. Especially since he had the same black hand as Levi and openly claimed to be his “brother,” there was a high possibility that he knew accurate information.
‘I must win this war no matter what.’
He needed to bring Raziel to his knees, interrogate him, and find clues about how Levi could become human.
Ion recalled the records of his deceased mother, the former princess. Besides the method to create an immortal army, there was also a determined memo from her.
The content was written in a strange language so that ordinary people couldn’t understand it, but Ion, who had learned the characters from the author, Claudia, under the pretext of “play,” could read it without difficulty.
[To my child who is reading this.]
As expected, Claudia had anticipated that her child would read the content.
[There’s something you need to do for me.]
The former princess’s records were left when Princess Claudia was being revered as the holy one of the Delos Empire. This means it was a time when she didn’t even have a partner, let alone being pregnant. To be certain that she would have a child and that they would read the memo at such a time.
That alone was surprising, but when he read the next content, it sent chills down his spine.
[It’s for our beloved Levi.]
Claudia knew that not only she, but also her future child would come to love Levi.
