Lily rose from the bed.
A man lay beside her.
Lily gazed intently at her contractor.
It had already been a week since his wounds had healed.
Still, Arthur remained unconscious.
“What’s the problem…”
The only thing that came to mind was excessive blood loss, but the healing magic Lily had performed would have replenished any lost blood, so that wasn’t the issue.
She checked his breathing by placing a finger near his nose – it was steady.
Anyone who saw him would think he was just a person who slept a lot, but the problem was that this sleep had lasted an entire week.
She had shaken him, lightly hit him, blown in his ear, and even kissed him, but he wouldn’t wake up.
“Yesterday marked the end of the week we had agreed upon. You promised you’d give me an answer…”
Lily buried her face in his embrace.
“…how much longer do you plan to keep me waiting…”
A soft sob echoed through the dormitory room.
—
Louis didn’t attend school for a week after the practical test.
Luke and Ilina testified that Louis had led a monster bird to harm their classmates, turning him into a villain among his peers.
Some acquaintances, nobles, had visited him, but he pretended not to be in his room.
Louis lay sprawled on the bed, examining the object in his hand.
It was the dagger given to him by his patron.
Louis smirked as he looked at the chunk of metal.
Thanks to this dagger, he had successfully taken his revenge.
To him, this dagger was a good luck charm.
Following his patron’s plan, Louis had bitten his tongue to commit suicide after the operation’s failure.
Upon returning to reality, Louis immediately slashed through space with the dagger and fled.
That was the plan his patron had laid out.
Preserving his body first, and then gradually moving towards his revenge.
Louis had intended to follow his instructions.
“Rururu~”
“Nya nyang~”
“Hahaha! What is that, Lilim?”
‘…That little brat…!’
Louis saw his enemy approach the dormitory with laughter and light steps.
Unable to contain his rage, Louis created a sharp sword using metal magic, slashed through the space with the dagger, and positioned himself behind Arthur. Then, he plunged the knife.
With a sinking sensation through the handle, he confirmed he had pierced the heart.
Louis pulled the dagger and immediately slashed through space, returning to his dormitory.
Although he thought he saw the cat-like figure change form briefly before leaving, he had no time to worry about such trivial matters.
‘…Finally!!!’
Silently cheering, he celebrated his success.
Even a troll who had endured countless wounds wouldn’t survive having their heart pierced.
He decided to keep a low profile.
Gossip would fade quickly. As long as he waited, his presence would be forgotten, allowing him to return to his old place eventually.
Or… just return to his house, and it would be that simple.
“Perfect.”
It was an impulsive action without consulting his patron, but he anticipated there couldn’t be a better conclusion than this –
“What’s so perfect?”
“Wha?!”
Louis was startled by the voice suddenly coming from beside him and tumbled off the bed.
Clutching his sore waist as he lay sprawled on the floor, Louis looked up and exclaimed in bewilderment.
“You… were next to the troll?”
It was the beautiful woman he had seen in the newspaper.
Only, her outfit wasn’t the school uniform in the picture but a black dress.
Seeing her beauty even more radiant in person, Louis quietly gasped in admiration.
“Where did you come in from? I’m sure I locked the door-”
“Shut up.”
At Lily’s gesture, Louis was pushed against the wall. When he touched it, his body stuck fast, making him immovable.
“What, what is this?! What are you-”
“Be quiet,”
Lily made a gesture to seal his lips, and Louis’ lips sealed together, unable to open.
“Ah! Uh-Ah!”
“Now, this is better. Listen well. Answer my questions by nodding or shaking your head. If I judge you’re lying… ”
Louis saw a red light flash in Lily’s eyes.
“I’ll shred every single part of your body. Understand?”
“Uh-Ah!”
“…Seems like it hasn’t quite sunk in yet?”
Crack.
“Ah-Uh!!”
Louis’ right index finger twisted grotesquely, making him groan in pain.
“How about that? Has it put you in the mood to talk yet?”
“Uh-Uh!”
Satisfied with Louis’ frantic nod, Lily smiled. It looked like a predator ready to hunt to Louis.
“Arthur, was it you who stabbed him?”
“Uh-Ah!”
As Louis instinctively tried to shake his head.
Crack.
“Uh-Uh!!”
“Stop lying,”
A sharp pain accompanied the sound of something falling off Louis’ shoulder. It looked like an onion peel but was actually a thinly sliced piece of his flesh.
Witnessing this, Louis’ eyes widened in terror.
“Now, will you answer? Arthur, was it you who stabbed him?”
“Uh-Ah!”
Louis nodded quickly.
“Aah, I knew it was you?”
Lily’s voice chilled the atmosphere.
“…It was you… Aha… You actually… You dared… You dare to…!!”
Crack.
“Ugh-Uh-Uh!!”
Crack.
Crack.
Snap.
Louis’ finger joints twisted one by one, tears of pain streaming down his face.
“What’s this? Are you crying? Does it hurt? If this hurts, how much more did it hurt Arthur, huh?”
Crack.
All the joints in Louis’ right hand twisted. With saliva dribbling down from his mouth, Louis passed out.
To Louis, who had lived his life without pain as the son of a marquis, the pain he experienced now was unimaginable.
“Ha, fainting from this? Wake up.”
Lily’s unseen force penetrated Louis’ mind and forcibly restored him to consciousness.
“Ugh-uh…”
Upon seeing Louis groaning, Lily noticed a black lump rolling on the floor.
“This seems to be the tool to cut through space. It’s crude but simple enough for trash like you to use.”
Picking up the lump, Lily’s hand trembled with rising anger upon sensing a familiar energy there.
“Where did you get this from?”
“Uh-Ah…”
“Tsk.”
At Lily’s gesture, Louis’ mouth unlocked.
“Answer.”
“From some man!”
“Where?”
“Just outside the park nearby.”
“What did the man say?”
“… Said following his words would help me with revenge…”
“Revenge? Could it be because of the curse?”
Louis’ eyes widened. How did this demon know about the curse he had been subjected to?
“Just because of that, you stabbed Arthur? Just because of that little thing, you dared to stab Arthur… Have you not thought about all that Arthur has done for you? Do you think it’s justified revenge?”
Overcome by rising anger, Lily’s eyes turned vivid red.
At the same time, Louis started hallucinating.
“…Huh?”
The person clearly in front of him was a young woman. But behind her…
“Ugh… Uh-Uh-Uh-Ahh!!!”
Louis screamed, unaware that his pants were getting wet.
“Ugh-Uh-Uh!!! No, no! Please don’t come near me! No, please don’t!!!”
Louis saw beneath the beautiful appearance…
The overwhelming presence and the chilling aura that seemed to pierce his skin made him want to faint, but even that was impossible.
Realizing that compared to the presence before him, he was less than a mere ant, Louis was overcome by fear.
Desperately wanting to gouge out his own eyes to avoid seeing the presence before him, he couldn’t even move his hands in this reality and screamed in despair.
The existence slowly approached him.
One step, another step.
With every step, Louis felt his sanity shattering into pieces.
When the existence finally stood before him, blood vessels in his eyes burst, and tear-like blood streamed down his face.
“Ugh-Uh-Uh-Uh-uh!!”
He would rather go mad or die quickly to be away from this being.
But…
“No, that won’t happen. You can’t die. More importantly, you won’t go mad. My contractor doesn’t want to dirty his hands with your blood. But, I can’t forgive you, trash that dared to shatter my light. Instead, you will desperately desire to die. You will yearn to go mad.”
Lily continued in a sinister voice.
“I’ll make your life a living hell.”
She released her power and cursed him.
With just one curse, it was enough to make the victim’s life miserable. She embedded dozens, hundreds of curses.
A mass of curses designed to completely ruin his life fell on Louis’ shoulder.
It didn’t end there.
“You will live the rest of your life, however long that may be, in a fiery pit. This is the punishment I impose on you.”
“UGGH-AHHHHHH!!!”
As Lily’s curses rained down, Louis writhed in pain but couldn’t go mad. He realized he would spend the rest of his life in such agony and wanted to bite his tongue to end it all like he had done before, but he couldn’t die.
When all the curses had finally been cast, Lily turned around.
Before heading to the next destination, she remembered something and turned her head, muttering.
“Oops, almost forgot one thing. You won’t be able to talk about me or Arthur with anyone. Well, enjoy your agonizing stay in this terrible hell.”
With the final curse of silence, Lily disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, the force binding Louis disappeared as well, but…
He couldn’t get up, writhing in pain that tore through his entire body.
—
Back at the dormitory, Lily scrutinized the black lump clutched in her hand.
The fact that it still existed when she could have disposed of it long ago meant…
‘…The invitation.’
The one behind Louis was calling for her.
Recalling the identity of her patron, Lily frowned and glanced at the bed.
Arthur, still asleep.
Caressing his hair and kissing his forehead, Lily whispered softly.
“I’ll be back.”
Rising, Lily gripped the black lump tightly and infused it with her power.
The lump shattered, revealing the darkness within.
Lily stepped slowly into the darkness.
