Serena pondered for a moment and then let out a deep sigh.

‘It doesn’t seem to be here right now.’

Having heard the eerie words about being in the shadows, she can’t help but feel like she’s being watched.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. But since it’s a contract, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to talk about it…”

“It’s a fraudulent contract.”

“No… It might really grant my wish and save me.”

Magnus stared at Serena blankly.

He hesitated for a moment.

Wondering if his words might push her further into despair.

But there are certainly things in this world that need to be said, even if it’s difficult.

“Serena.”

“Yes.”

“The dead are already dead. Even if they could be revived, they shouldn’t be, and no matter how much resentment there is, nothing can be done for the dead.”

Serena’s eyes widened at Magnus’s words.

She looked up at Magnus and pressed her lips tightly together.

“I don’t understand how deep your resentment is, or how wronged you feel, but…”

Magnus’s large hand slowly covered Serena’s forehead.

“Nothing can be done for the dead. The dead no longer torment you, nor are they tormented. Death is the end.”

“……”

Serena quietly closed her mouth at Magnus’s words.

She knows his words aren’t wrong. She also knows that the dead shouldn’t be revived.

“It was just a contract to eliminate the source of evil. I accepted because I thought it wouldn’t be too bad for me.”

Serena decided to satisfy Magnus’s curiosity rather than adding more words.

“…You said it asked to eliminate the source of evil?”

“Yes, you almost went on a rampage once too, right? That was also said to be a source of evil.”

“…Ah.”

At those words, Magnus recalled the sensation of the first time he raised his voice and fought when Serena asked for a divorce.

The feeling of a small emotion gradually amplifying and growing larger.

It was certainly an unfamiliar sensation. To think he almost went into a rampage state over something that wasn’t worth getting so angry or enraged about.

‘…I see, so this is what it means to have uncontrolled emotions.’

Magnus recalled the story about the evil dragon he had heard from Drukan.

‘…Indeed, his emotional fluctuations have decreased significantly since she gave permission.’

Magnus thought.

Come to think of it, that’s strange too. How could such raging anger subside with just a single word? It’s quite peculiar how it disappeared as if not even a trace of emotion remained.

“…How do you eliminate that?”

The way a hero deals with the source of evil is simple.

Physical death.

Usually, a hero ‘handles’ the source of evil by directly killing beings that would cause great harm to the world.

However, in Magnus’s view, Serena doesn’t have that kind of power at all.

“Just… things seem to get better when I fulfill what the other person wants?”

“What the other person wants?”

“Yes, in your case… it was canceling the divorce, and for Drukan, it was the herb I bought… and for His Grace Marquis Lavernia, it was revoking Serena Lavernia’s expulsion from the family.”

Magnus’s expression became even stranger at Serena’s explanation.

‘All these so-called sources of evil only appeared around Serena?’

Is this even possible, no matter how many coincidences pile up?

However, Serena seemed to have more to say and continued speaking.

“Ah, of course, I think he wanted to prevent my expulsion because he was worried about the Marchioness’s health deteriorating. So I treated the Marchioness…”

Serena didn’t seem to think at all that Marquis Lavernia had said those things just for her sake.

As if she had been brainwashed for a long time to believe that no one would ever do anything for her.

“And His Highness the Crown Prince… it seemed to be because of His Majesty the Emperor’s health… Nocturne Lavernia just seems to hate me. The way to resolve that source of evil was for me to never appear again, so I was thinking of handling that too, now that the Marchioness’s illness has been completely cured.”

“What do you mean by handling…?”

“Getting expelled from the family again…”

Magnus’s brow furrowed immediately at Serena’s words.

‘…This is strange.’

It was too strange, even for something strange.

There were many odd points, but two were particularly subtle.

First, that things only happened around Serena.

Second, that all these events seemed to have the purpose of isolating Serena.

No matter how you look at it, isn’t that the case?

They’re all matters that could easily put Serena in a difficult position.

‘The treatment of the Marchioness and His Majesty the Emperor is the same.’

It’s an issue where even a single mistake could cost her her head.

Even if there are no mistakes, if any problems arise later, it’s perfect for pinning the blame on her.

No matter how you look at it, it’s not normal.

‘The hero is already handling the sources of evil.’

It’s strange for someone else to be dealing with sources of evil on top of that.

Moreover, she’s not even being praised as a hero or savior for it.

No matter how much good she does, the world only looks at Serena through colored glasses.

‘Someone is setting a trap.’

It must have been bad enough for even Serena to notice.

“Where is that rabbit?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t show up often… only when it’s time to eat or when it comes to tell me that a source of evil has appeared.”

At Serena’s words, Magnus could no longer even manage his expression properly.

Serena also seemed to have noticed this strange atmosphere, as she spoke very cautiously.

“…No, the rabbit judges the sources of evil?”

“I can see something too, but Nyx usually makes the judgment.”

“……Nyx?”

“It’s the name I gave it…”

Magnus’s face contorted.

Seeing Magnus’s stiffened expression, Serena also tensed up slightly, her cheek twitching once as if in a spasm.

“How did you know that, that name?”

At that slightly subdued voice, Serena’s expression became subtle.

She clenched her fist once, then relaxed it, took a deep breath, and carefully opened her mouth.

“I just… I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before, or it suddenly popped into my head. But why?”

“…Are you currently in a contract with Nyx?”

Magnus asked, still with a stiff face.

“Yes, but… is that not allowed? But Nyx is the name I gave it…”

Magnus recalled her mentioning that she was looking for information about ‘the World Tree and Darkness’ and ran his hand over his face once.

‘…So Serena had noticed something strange too.’

That’s why she asked about the World Tree myth.

I guess what she was curious about was more likely the darkness part than the World Tree.

“That is the name of Darkness. A name passed down from ancient times.”

“…Huh? Nyx?”

“I’m not sure who started it, but the myth we learn from childhood goes like this.”

Magnus said.

“In mythology, the World Tree is called Lux and darkness is called Nyx.”

At his words, Serena’s expression darkened slightly. Perhaps she was anticipating what he would say next.

“Serena, I believe everything you’ve said is true. I’m saying this under that assumption.”

“……”

“From what I can see, what you’ve contracted with is…”

Magnus’s eyelids slowly closed and then opened.

“Not the World Tree, but Darkness.”

Serena’s breath stopped for a moment before being exhaled.

Although she had roughly guessed the content, it still felt strange to hear it from someone else.

Serena buried her face in the pillow while lying down.

“How did you end up meeting it?”

“…I don’t know. When I opened my eyes, it was just there… I’m not sure how it happened.”

Serena mumbled, her face still buried in the pillow, her lips barely moving.

Magnus fully opened the half-drawn curtains. Light flooded into the room.

As it was still daytime, the room instantly became so bright it was almost dazzling.

“What are you doing?”

“Darkness weakens where there is light.”

“Light?”

“Yes, in places where there is darkness, you never know when or how it might appear.”

Magnus said with a wary look, crossing his arms and sitting back down in the chair.

“Of all the things to get involved with, it had to be this.”

“Hasn’t… Darkness had a contractor before?”

Serena asked cautiously.

She felt that Magnus seemed to know a bit more than what she could find by searching for books on mythology.

“No, according to history, there were exactly two.”

Magnus said.

Serena’s eyes widened at this.

‘What, if there are precedents, that means there’s information…’

Maybe there’s a way to coexist well, or even a way to terminate the contract?

“If there are precedents, that means there’s information left, right?”

“Yes, the contractors of Darkness generally didn’t live long and died young.”

“…Died young, at an early age?”

At Magnus’s sudden words, Serena took a deep breath, clenched her fist tightly, then relaxed it.

“No way…”

Serena started to object in disbelief, then slightly contorted her face.

“Right?”

Serena, now on high alert, carefully asked Magnus.