“Awake?”

His tone was as casual as a light morning greeting.

“You should have just stayed asleep. Then you could have died without pain.”

Around Seren lay several people, including High Priest Emmanuel, Dave, and Lucia.

“Please, spare me…”

“Why were you there? I don’t want to harm you either. Otherwise, Sister would hate me even more.”

Seren clenched her teeth.

Her lady truly had no luck with men.

She had to escape and tell Lou. That seemingly innocent boy was actually a crazy would-be murderer.

But she couldn’t even lift her head, let alone escape. It felt impossible to leave this room alive.

Still, not giving up hope, she tried to persuade Iscallion.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not too late to change your mind. I’ll talk to the lady for you. You know how close I am to her, right? She trusts my advice completely…”

“If you persuade her, will Lou love me instead of the Crown Prince?”

“What? Who? His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“I heard her confess to him. The day after I told her I liked her.”

Seren’s mouth fell open. So this was all because he got rejected.

“You, you can’t be serious. The lady hasn’t had a proper relationship yet.”

“It’s too late. There’s no turning back now.”

At that moment, the prison door swung open.

The first to rush in was neither that damned holy knight nor the Crown Prince, but Lou.

“Seren!”

Lou quickly pushed Iscallion away and hugged Seren.

After confirming that she was still breathing, Lou sobbed a little.

But only for a moment.

As if she knew everything, she glared at Iscallion.

Her eyes were colder and sharper than he had imagined, making him flinch unconsciously.

“What the hell did you do!”

But soon he raised his head more defiantly.

“I told you. I won’t let you leave.”

He had already expected to be hated by her. He wouldn’t have started this without being prepared for at least this much.

He looked at the summoning circle that had been vibrating since earlier.

All he had to do now was spill his blood there, and he could gain the power he wanted.

Then, he would get rid of the Crown Prince and that holy knight clinging to Lou and be with her forever.

“Do you even know what kind of being you’re trying to summon?”

“No.”

Lou, who had been sighing deeply, suddenly let out a short scream.

“A heinous traitor who killed the Mother Goddess, a fool who lost the underworld to his brother! He even lost to Shahar when he had his full body!”

“I don’t care who it is, as long as I can achieve what I want.”

Iscallion pulled out a dagger.

Just as he was about to cut his palm to let the blood flow, Lou rushed at him and grabbed his hand.

In her haste, her hand got cut and bled, but she didn’t care.

“What are you doing? Get away from him immediately!”

The Crown Prince, who followed, shouted. The knights who came with him pointed their swords at Iscallion. Soon, Gined and the holy knights joined in.

The atmosphere turned tense in an instant.

Lou, even amidst all this, was looking only at Iscallion, ignoring the Crown Prince and the knights.

“Don’t do that.”

She shook her head desperately.

Then, unable to contain her anger, she shouted.

“You saw what happened to Ines! Whatever that water ghost is up to, it can’t be anything good, right? Even without prejudice, he’s an ideologically impure and incompetent guy. No matter how lonely you are, you shouldn’t associate with someone like that!”

“Associate?”

Iscallion snapped without realizing it.

Did she think he was forming a friendship with such trash?

Even in this situation, he found himself seriously worrying about this and felt ridiculous.

“There’s no way I’d associate with someone like that! He’s just a disposable tool to be used once and discarded.”

Yes, a disposable tool.

Seeing that the snake, which would have shown up by now to get on his nerves, was silent, it was clear it had been dealt with by the stone.

As he had expected, the snake had bought him time and died on its own, making it quite a useful disposable tool.

He didn’t feel any pang of conscience since they had both been trying to deceive each other anyway.

Thunk.

Suddenly, stars sparkled before his eyes. Lou, angry, had flicked his forehead.

“What are you bragging about!”

Iscallion wasn’t the only one stunned by the sudden attack. Lou was just as surprised by her own actions.

“Oh, my hand just moved on its own… Anyway, I heard everything. You said you saw me confess to that guy, right? Let me explain. Saying I loved him was all a lie. Do you think I would genuinely like that man? That confession was just a childish outburst.”

The Crown Prince, who had inadvertently heard her explanation, had a look on his face that was neither laughing nor crying.

Iscallion, looking at the Crown Prince, spoke quietly.

“I don’t care about that anymore.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her words.

But even excluding the Crown Prince, she had too many things she cherished.

Her parents, her family, her hometown, the holy knight, the stone, the maid…

“Lou will never love me. Among the things you cherish, I’m always the last.”

Lou’s lips moved as if to speak. It seemed she had no words to counter his point.

After a long pause, she finally managed to speak.

“Yes. I can’t only like you. My parents and Seren are the most precious to me. But they have spent a very long time with me. If we spend time together, someday…”

“How long?”

“Someday.”

Iscallion laughed bitterly.

“In ten years, will I be your number one?”

“…”

Lou couldn’t answer.

Yes. He was just a younger brother she cherished, nothing more, nothing less.

Still, Lou tried not to give up and continued to persuade him.

“Do you not care if you ruin your country over just one woman? He’s been in Tartarus for tens of thousands of years. He’s bound to do things that we can’t understand. He might turn Pontos into hell.”

Iscallion couldn’t understand Lou’s words. Why did she think he should have any sense of responsibility or affection for this land?

After all, he had reclaimed Pontos because it was his deceased mother’s wish.

There was a brief time when he wanted to be a good ruler, but that too was more about wanting to meet Lou’s expectations than his own will.

Now that his mother was dead and he couldn’t win Lou’s heart, Pontos was nothing more than a piece of land to him.

“Pontos has never given me anything. Not when I was wandering the continent with my mother, not when she died… From the beginning, I became the ruler of this place to get revenge on the relatives who made my mother that way, and it means nothing more.”

“What…?”

“And, I’m already familiar with hell. Even if a new hell comes, it might not be so bad. If the price for enduring that hell is you.”

“Then you’ll become no different from the relatives who cast you out.”

Lou, looking up at him in confusion, gritted her teeth. Her expression showed she was struggling to suppress her anger.

But that anger was different from the hatred or fear Iscallion usually faced.

He could clearly feel that beneath it lay affection and concern.

Lou would be even angrier if she knew, but at that moment, Iscallion felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was squeezing it. At the same time, it felt like it might melt away. Perhaps this was what people called happiness.

Iscallion hesitated again.

He had started this with the resolve to ruin everything, but facing Lou, he wanted to follow her words.

After all, hadn’t Lou always been right?

If he stopped now, she would gladly offer him the same happiness.

Could that alone not be enough?

As he was berating himself, a voice he thought had vanished whispered in his ear again.

[That’s not what you want, is it?]

No, it wasn’t the snake. Though he heard it for the first time, it felt familiar, as though he had known it for a long time.

It seemed to belong to him even before he was born. There was no need to ask who it was.

And he soon realized.

From the beginning, it wasn’t the snake that had led him here, but his own ancestor.

[It’s too late to turn back. And her affection is too scant to plant happiness in your desolate heart.]

“It’s not too late. Put down the dagger and take my hand. Okay?”

The wolf and Lou whispered to him simultaneously.

Iscallion closed his eyes tightly for a moment and then opened them. He made his decision.

“Sorry, Sister. I guess I can’t be a good boy.”

No matter who stood in this place, Lou would worry about everyone equally.

Iscallion didn’t need such impartial affection. Instead, he wanted to monopolize her hatred entirely.

Having grown up in desolation, he chose certain misery over uncertain happiness.

For the first time, he coldly shook off Lou’s hand. Before she could stop him, the blade cut across his palm.

Blood dripped onto the summoning circle.

[Yes, that’s the right choice.]

The wolf laughed in satisfaction.