Chapter 163

“Demian, there is no other choice. Break off the engagement. Otherwise, war will break out.”

“Let there be war, then!”

Grand Duke Florence once again tried to take Meia as he had done before. It was unforgivable.

Killing everyone and starting a war would solve everything.

“I’ll kill them all… everyone…! Teverin!”

He killed the Emperor, the Empress, and even Patzraelli. As soon as he ascended the throne, Meia and Theodore came to him.

Seeing Meia in another man’s arms made his blood boil with uncontrollable rage.

“Why are you holding another man’s fiancée in your arms, Grand Duke Florence?”

“Demian von Mavro, Emperor of the Carpen Empire, hear this: I will execute you for the murder of Duke and Duchess Hatzbellua.”

“Mei, don’t believe what he’s saying.”

“If you only break off our engagement, there will be no war. Evidence has surfaced that you conspired with a dark mage to kill my parents. I can never forgive you.”

Rather than feeling anguish at her sorrowful expression, Demian only wanted to tear apart Theodore, who was tightly embracing the sobbing Meia.

“To marry the one who murdered my parents…”

“Mei, please…! I’ve never killed anyone.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know? You secretly killed the puppies and birds I loved as a child. I even saw you kill my nanny, Yudy…! That’s why I ran away from you!”

Should I have restrained himself from killing?

If given another chance, I would isolate her completely.

I would kill Grand Duke Florence of the Sirius Empire before he could grow any stronger.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, regret began to seep in.

And what tormented him the most now was seeing Meia in Theodore’s arms.

“Get away from that man immediately. Mei, I’m begging you.”

“I will forget you forever and live as the Grand Duchess of Florence!”

Forget me…?

You can’t forget me, Mei. You mustn’t…!

Bang!

“So, this is the place.”

With a loud noise, a man walked in.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m Anthus of the Rockbellion family from the Sirius Empire.”

The aura emanating from the sword he adjusted sent chills down their spines.

“Let me bid you farewell. Goodbye, Emperor of Carpen. Theo, I’ll make sure to settle this debt with you later.”

Before Demian could defend himself, Anthus’s sword pierced his heart. He felt the agony of his limbs being severed once again.

But more painful than the physical torment or the ripping of his heart was the sight of Meia, still in Theodore’s arms, until his last breath.

He forced his heavy eyelids open.

Through his blurry vision, familiar scenery came into view, and he groaned as pain throbbed in the left side of his head.

“Ugh, my head.”

Then he noticed something strange. He had been killed by Duke Rockbellion, a Sword Master, but…

He blinked. As he stood up, the familiar surroundings came into focus.

He placed a hand over his heart. It was intact.

Could it be that time had reversed again?

He walked to the mirror and stared at his reflection.

He saw his younger self. Time had rewound once more. This time, he had thoroughly isolated Meia.

And Meia had bid him farewell and taken her own life in front of him.

He screamed. It was horrifying. He had thought she was finally his, yet she had disappeared again.

Through death.

He wept endlessly and suffered. The image of her dying repeated in his mind over and over. He hadn’t meant to kill her. He only loved her—loved her too much.

He collapsed to the ground, clutching Meia’s lifeless body. His heart ached unbearably.

Wiping away the tears, he stood up. The familiar surroundings caught his eye.

“This appearance…”

It was his younger self again.

Knock, knock.

“Prince Demian, are you awake?”

Before he could respond, the nanny who had died by his hand opened the door and spoke.

“Today is the day Duke Hatzbellua and Lady Meia are visiting.”

“…!”

Time had rewound once more.

He would meet the woman he thought was dead again. And he would make her his once more.

“I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”

Time rewinding…! This was a blessing. There was no longer any need to fear losing Meia.

“Not even death will…”

…separate us. Right, Mei?

The contract with the dark mage was not a curse but a blessing—a miracle he had created himself.

“I wished to be with you forever. And my wish was granted, cruelly as it may be.”

Even if I die.

Even if you die.

Time would rewind, allowing us to be together again.

“I love you.”

Goodbye, Mei.

“Until we meet again.”

Farewell, my lark.

Hundreds of her deaths. Dozens of his own. Of course, his deaths were by his own hand.

Whenever Meia left his side, he found it too troublesome to search for her, so he would take his own life and start over.

Even when he held the pinnacle of power, she left him. Even when he abandoned everything, she disappeared.

“If only Mei would stay by my side…”

And yet, she always ran away to Theodore Florence.

What does he have that I don’t?

When will she stop leaving me?

It’s fine. Even if she keeps leaving, I can’t let her go. Even if I have to live in this torment and loneliness…

“I won’t just sit and regret. I love you… so much. Even if it means living this way, I am content to be by your side, even through your death.”

And once again, he raised a blade to his neck.

When I open my eyes again, it will be the day we first met, right? Honestly, I think the day we first met was the best.

You smiled at me all day, and I watched you from the side. Even our shyly clasped hands.

I miss you, Meia Hatzbellua.

“It seems you’re dreaming a happy dream, Demian.”

Teverin said, stroking the small black orb before him.

“I’ve granted your wish. To be with her forever.”

Teverin carefully lifted the black orb, kissed it gently, and smiled.

“I hope you continue dreaming happily. And keep giving me sweetness.”

The way to break the contract was simple: Demian had to give up on Meia. If he gave up what he so desperately wanted, the contract would be nullified. But he would never give her up.

“I no longer need to t*rture slaves to forcibly create negative energy. Demian is happy within this, and it’s truly a good ending. Isn’t it?”

Just as mana stones are vital to mages, the emotions of those bound by curses are essential to dark mages.

Especially those who willingly accepted a curse to get what they wanted—they initially felt joy, but over time, only negative emotions remained.

Eventually, they would lose their minds, and the black orb would shatter.

Teverin used to buy slaves, t*rture them, and harvest their negative energy to sustain himself.

But after meeting Demian, everything changed.

He deliberately fueled Demian’s anger, all for this moment.

“If there were an inexhaustible mana stone, it would be something like this.”

Teverin cradled the black orb once more, humming a tune.

The contract between a dark mage and a human might seem to grant wishes artificially, but that wasn’t the case. The contract only appeared to fulfill wishes, while in reality, it turned the cursed into a perpetual source of energy for the dark mage.

***

Crown Prince Patzraelli informed Meia, who had long supported him, of their engagement’s annulment to maintain his position. He also demanded a breakup from Meryl, the daughter of Luman, who was stepping down from the position of Duke Hatzbellua.

People began to reevaluate Patzraelli’s reputation, which had previously appeared to reflect a noble character. However, the reassessment leaned in a negative direction, portraying him as someone who used others and discarded them when they were no longer needed.

To be precise, it was said that he swallowed what was sweet and spat out what was bitter, cunningly exploiting people as necessary…

Everything was a mess. If only he hadn’t let go of Meia… If only he hadn’t annulled the engagement…

<Threatened?>

Meia insisted until the end that she loved Theodore. Her words were indeed relentless. And her determination to protect Carpen as well…

There was no way to hold on anymore. Letting her go wasn’t the issue. Listening to Ellermin and annulling the engagement wasn’t the issue. The process of realizing how precious she was had been excruciating.

He couldn’t give her up. But he had to.

Through this incident, he came to understand what it meant to have a weak national power and the meaning behind the phrase “a powerless dog barks.”

Still, it was fortunate that he annulled his engagement with Meryl. However, the criticism that followed was undoubtedly the price for betraying the trust of someone like Meia.

Patzraelli realized what it meant to love someone but have no choice but to let them go. He swore never to betray anyone again.

“Aendy, bring me a cup of strawberry tea.”

“But you don’t like strawberry tea–understood.”

Theodore had said it before.

<You’re nothing more than a fragment of her past memories. Yes, you’re not even worth reminiscing about.>

To her, he might become a part of her past memories… But to him, she was a bittersweet memory that made him recall the brightest moments of his life.

“Strawberry tea has become a memory for me…”

He would recall it over and over, regret it over and over, and miss it over and over. Yet, he couldn’t help but drink it.

For now, that memory was the only thing that allowed him to endure.