Chapter 14: The Black Mark Remains

“Human.”

A gruff, bone-chilling voice, sounding as if it were scratching the bottom of a throat, echoed through my mind.

I raised my stiff head at the sound buzzing inside my brain.

Amidst the thickly spreading black smoke, long white hair fluttered, and crimson eyes embedded within blackened sclera came into view.

The devil’s soul had no physical form, its inside translucent and clear.

“What is it that you wish to achieve by contracting with me?”

Although the devil possessed a human-like form, it carried an uncanny alienness that made it utterly impossible to view as human.

Looking in my direction, it grinned, stretching its blood-red lips all the way to its cheekbones.

“You wish to slaughter Mikeron Leilight and everyone else? What a… delightful desire. Very well, human, let us make a contract.”

The moment the devil cast a spell on my forehead, a brand was carved into my skin, and my vision was filled with pitch-black darkness.

***

Once I stopped stalking Mariel and focused on living day by day, my daily routine flowed in the exact same manner.

There was nothing interesting or fun, but there was also nothing particularly sad or painful either.

Just when I thought it wouldn’t be bad to live an ordinary life and meet a sudden, painless death, the face of the Second Prince, Raihar de Avelonia, whom I had seen at the spring festival, came to mind.

‘If I do nothing, will that man end up dying this time as well?’

But even if someone like me stepped in, I couldn’t guarantee that his future could be changed.

I didn’t even know the reason why he, a prince, had ended up as a fugitive; furthermore, as someone who possessed no notable influence in the Avelonia Empire, even if I learned the full truth, I lacked the power to prevent it.

The best I could do was stay close to Raihar and, if any strange signs appeared, smuggle him out of the Empire and help him escape as far as possible—but to make him listen to my words, I would have no choice but to confess the story of my regression.

And that, to a man I had only just met for the first time in this life.

If I suddenly told him, “You are destined to die in the future, but I don’t know the reason,” I’d be lucky if my head wasn’t chopped off on the spot.

I pressed down on my pen, lost in blank thoughts.

Consequently, a short smudge of ink bled into and stained the paper.

“Count, may I enter for a moment?”

While I was lost in thought, the butler knocked on the door, requesting permission.

I ceased my thoughts and voiced my consent.

The butler entered the office with a polite demeanor.

“What is it?”

“A letter has arrived from the Imperial Family.”

The moment I heard the butler’s words, the thought that what was bound to come had finally arrived crossed my mind.

It was likely a letter sent by the Second Prince, Raihar de Avelonia.

Undoubtedly, it was sent to interrogate me about what had occurred on the day of the festival.

Even though it was our first time meeting, it seemed he had quickly deduced I was Leviat Kinesis, likely due to my eye color.

Or perhaps he had known from the very beginning.

While receiving a letter from Raihar was welcome, my mind grew complicated over what excuse I should make if he probed into why I had looked on the verge of tears that day.

I could hardly answer, “Because I grew emotional seeing Your Highness alive after having died once before.”

‘Do I have no choice but to make an excuse that something suddenly got into my eye?’

As I was quietly accepting that I should send such a reply since no plausible excuse came to mind, the butler added to his words.

“The Second Prince has requested that you visit the Imperial Palace when you have time. He said he wishes to share a cup of tea with you, Count.”

“We?”

I had assumed he would just send a letter, so I never expected him to summon me face-to-face.

Though flustered by the unexpected request, I had also wished to meet him again at some point.

Because even if the current him did not know me, the memories of the time I spent with him remained in my head.

And, even if it had been a dry relationship lacking a single grain of affection, knowing his demise and simply letting him die quietly left a bad taste in my mouth.

‘If I build a relationship of trust with Raihar, won’t he believe my words to some extent?’

If so, even if I couldn’t do anything else, I might at least be able to help him escape.

“Send a reply stating that I will pay my respects four days from now.”

“Yes. I shall do so.”

The butler exited the office, and I was captured by blank reminiscence.

The last image of his back, which I had viewed through sleepy eyes before he left without a word, flickered before my vision.

***

Four days later, on our appointed day, I arrived at the Imperial Palace dragging a body stiff with tension.

As soon as I entered the front of the Second Prince’s palace, a reliable-looking chief attendant welcomed me.

“You are Count Kinesis, correct? Right this way, please.”

He stole a glance at my face, then withdrew his eyes and began to guide me.

Walking while looking around the Second Prince’s palace, which I was visiting for the first time, the chief attendant eventually stopped before a large door and pulled the handle.

“Please enter.”

“Thank you.”

Stepping slowly inside, sunlight streamed through the large window situated on the wall.

Raihar sat before a table placed in the center, his back to the light.

Seeing his face, a contradictory emotion—gladness coupled with a heavy heart—rose within me.

The moment Raihar saw me, he smiled brightly.

“Welcome, Count. Thank you for coming.”

“I greet the Second Prince.”

When I bowed deeply, he waved his hand dismissively.

“There are only the two of us here, so you don’t have to be so formal. Come sit here.”

Raihar gestured to the seat across from him.

I walked over to the table and pulled back the chair.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

The moment I sat across from him, an attendant served refreshments.

Raihar tilted his hand, urging me to eat the refreshments.

Though I bowed and expressed my thanks, I couldn’t bring myself to touch them.

My heart was not at ease enough to swallow anything.

“Do you know why I summoned you?”

As if refusing to waste time, he brought up the main point straight away.

Raihar beamed with a lively face, but it felt uncomfortable for me to smile back.

When I shook my head, he leaned his upper body close to the table, bringing his face near mine.

“Because I wanted to have a conversation with you.”

“If it is a conversation, of what kind…”

“May I ask the reason why you wore such an expression upon seeing me on the day of the festival?”

‘What was bound to come has truly arrived.’

Clutching my thigh beneath the table, I rubbed my fingertips together forcefully.

‘Do I really have to resort to the excuse that something got into my eye?’

Stealing a glance at Raihar, he was still smiling.

The brief moment before I could formulate an answer felt like an eternity that would never end.

Forcing my stubborn lips open, I squeezed through the silence and spoke.

“Because seeing Your Highness reminds me of a certain person.”

The moment I uttered those words, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

As I traced the source of that déjà vu, the words Mikeron had spoken to me on the day of the festival came to mind.

Hearing my reply, Raihar asked.

“They must be quite a precious person to you?”

Was he precious?

I didn’t know well back then, but thinking about it now, perhaps he had been precious.

Otherwise, the moment I saw him alive, such an expression wouldn’t have formed on my face without my intending it.

“Yes.”

“Right, I see.”

He accepted the answer surprisingly easily and took a large bite of a cookie.

The crunching sound of the breaking cookie pierced my ears.

As I flinched at the abrupt sound disrupting the quiet room, Raihar urged me not to be so tense and offered the tea in front of me.

“You haven’t touched a single thing since earlier. Please, drink up. No need to walk on eggshells.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I heard it’s a tea that eases tension. Drinking it might make you feel a bit more comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

Unable to refuse Raihar’s suggestion, I took a sip, and the warm tea traveled down my esophagus, heating my entire body.

After taking a few more sips, it did indeed feel as though my tension was easing, just as he had said.

And just like that, I emptied the entire cup of tea.

“Yes, you drink well.”

Raihar narrowed his eyes and rested his chin on his hand leisurely.

Even after concluding his business for summoning me, Raihar began to chat about various things.

The him I used to know was tight-lipped, carrying eyes like a dead fish in everything he did.

Seeing him act in the exact opposite manner made it feel as though I was looking at an entirely different person, which was quite difficult to adapt to—but by the time I was drinking my fourth cup of tea, I grew slightly accustomed to his lively demeanor.

However, perhaps because I knew how sullen Raihar used to be, the way he deliberately acted bright kept bothering my mind.

It was something I kept thinking: while his mouth was smiling, his eyes were not smiling at all.

As soon as he finished one topic, I opened my mouth cautiously.

“Um, Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“Please do not push yourself too hard either.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Raihar widened his eyes and stared at me.

Faced with his heavy, probing gaze, my pupils rolled to the side.

“Because Your Highness seemed tense as well.”

“If I am mistaken, I apologize.”

As I wrapped up in a crawling voice, I saw Raihar stiffen his expression strangely before slowly smiling once again.

“No. I am glad you are concerned about me. Thank you.”

Quietly watching him smile, I held my fifth cup in my hand.

I couldn’t help but feel I had spoken out of turn.

***

The sky, which had been blue when I arrived, began to burn with a vermilion shade as time passed.

Seeing the sky change colors, Raihar rose from the seat he had occupied for a long time and ended our meeting.

“Thank you for making time for me. I had a wonderful time thanks to you.”

“I enjoyed myself as well, Your Highness.”

As I stood up, bowed my head, and prepared to depart, Raihar stared intently at me and spoke.

“You seem a bit different from what I have heard.”

“Pardon?”

“Because you do not seem to be the kind of person the rumors make you out to be.”

I didn’t know what kind of things he had heard, but they certainly wouldn’t have been pleasant.

I was indeed the kind of person those rumors described.

Just as traveling back in time didn’t make the memories of my time with Raihar disappear, the sins I had committed didn’t vanish either.

Yet while reproaching myself for my misdeeds, I felt inwardly grateful for Raihar’s words.

Those violet eyes, looking at me without any avoidance, lodged themselves in my chest.

“…Thank you.”

As expected, I didn’t want to just let Raihar die quietly.

For the first time since my regression, a desire had formed in my dry and hollow life.

In that moment, feeling as if my chest was boiling over, I clutched at the area around my heart.

My stomach churned heavily, and a wave seemed to swell and overflow from within.

It felt as if a strange hallucination was echoing through my mind.

This burning, boiling sensation was…

Though it felt familiar somewhere, I ignored it with effort and smiled at Raihar.

Bagging my hands, strength naturally entered the hand clutching my chest.

“I hope there will be another opportunity to meet next time. Let us speak again then.”

“Yes, if you summon me, I will make time to visit you whenever.”

Raihar left the room first, and I pressed hard against my burning chest.

‘It must be an illusion.’

Though there was an inkling of suspicion, I continued to deny it.

After all, because such a thing was truly absurd.

***

Even after exiting Raihar’s palace, I kept pressing down on my chest as I walked through the Imperial Palace grounds where the sunset was beginning to fall.

Walking slowly to get a change of pace, my boiling chest gradually began to calm down.

While calmly regulating my breathing as I looked at the trees planted nearby, I noticed a person in the distance stop walking forward, suddenly turn around, and begin heading in my direction.

This was the path leading toward Raihar’s palace.

What business would they have with Raihar at this hour?

Though curious, I kept my eyes lowered as I walked so as not to lock eyes by any chance.

As I continued walking, the presence of the person who had been far away was suddenly felt right beside me.

Our clothes brushed, and my shoulder was grabbed.

Stopping my steps, I turned my head to the side.

Seeing long beige hair tied low fluttering in the wind, I raised my gaze higher to see a fox-like beauty with golden eyes.

The moment I saw the man’s face, my eyes widened.

Because I had been a stubborn person who lived staring only at Mariel, I barely knew the names of most people.

However, the opponent before my eyes was a famous figure that even I couldn’t possibly be ignorant of.

Ran Ilay.

The young lord of one of only two Ducal families in the Empire, who also held the position of the Lightning Magic Tower Master, stood right before me.

Unable to comprehend why such a grand man had stopped me, I merely blinked, while he curled the corners of his eyes and smiled.

“Hello. You are Count Kinesis, correct?”

“Hello.”

Perhaps due to my eyes, Ran also seemed to know who I was.

Though his smiling face was beautiful enough to steal one’s attention, I instinctively felt a chill.

Since someone I had zero contact with both before and after my regression was smiling slyly and stopping me, I was filled with tension, feeling the reason could never be a pleasant one.

“That path… is the direction of Prince Raihar’s palace. I was under the impression the Second Prince rarely permits outsiders inside.”

“More importantly, why have you stopped me?”

Asking for his main business directly because I felt the preamble would drag on, he snorted.

“You are quite impatient. Well then, may we chat for a moment?”

‘This is deeply unsettling.’

My instinct kept screaming to ignore him and just flee.

But even if I fled from this spot, as long as he knew who I was, I wouldn’t be able to avoid him in the end.

“Yes.”

“Then, let me formally introduce myself first. I am Ran Ilay, the Young Lord of the Ilay Ducal family.”

“I am Leviat Kinesis.”

I took his extended hand and shook it.

Even as we shook hands, Ran did not lose his smile.

“I do not know if you are aware, Count, but I was born with eyes that are naturally different from others.”

“Your eyes?”

At the mention of eyes, I stared intently at Ran’s pupils.

They looked no different from any other eyes, save for being a beautiful, amber-like gold.

As I stared with a suspicious look, he smiled once again.

Just as I thought it was a shady smile, Ran spoke.

“I can see the energy that people possess. Things like the amount of mana or its color.”

“…Pardon?”

In that instant, my unsettling premonition turned into certainty, and a fear large enough to swallow my entire body swelled.

I felt as if a cold draft was running down my spine.

A sudden chill struck me, and cold sweat broke out on my back.

Calming my anxiously pounding heart, I did my best to maintain an unbothered expression.

“The mana of someone with a fire attribute is red, water attribute is blue, and light attribute is white.”

“…”

“The Kinesis family is blessed with fire magic, so your mana should be red, Count—yet, a black energy, the likes of which I have never seen before, was reflected in my eyes.”

“…”

“Could I have seen wrong?”

Ran asked, testing me, while curling his lips up in a detestable manner.

For a moment, my mind went entirely blank, and my thoughts refused to function properly.

‘Color? The color of mana?’

I had never even heard of someone being able to see such things.

In the first place, I was no longer a dark mage.

I hadn’t even gone near a single aspect of dark magic this time around…

‘Could it be that I traveled back in time while still holding the contract I made with the devil along with my past memories?’

If my assumption was correct, the burning sensation I felt in my chest until just now was no illusion.

This was a sort of signal announcing the activation of dark magic.

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