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nChapter 90 (Illustration)

nBefore closing the case, they immediately needed a place to stay that night. In fact, the night was so deep, they could have stayed in the Imperial Palace for a day or so.

n‘I’ve been through something like that, how can I sleep with my feet stretched out in the Imperial Palace?’

nShe will definitely have nightmares. And she didn’t want to give the Emperor an excuse to make another nonsense again.

nAria was tired and didn’t want to stay in the Imperial Palace any longer.

n“There are a few mansions in the capital.”

nThen, Lloyd said. Insignificantly.

n‘Not one mansion in the capital, not two, but a few…….’

nShe didn’t know about it because she had never been outside the territory.

nAria nodded her head as she realized Valentine’s wealth again.

n“Let’s go to the nearest one, then.”

nLloyd and Aria left the Imperial Palace that day. Even the moonlight was dark in the middle of the night. The two rode in a horse-drawn carriage.

nLloyd was silent the whole time.

n‘Since when.’

nIt was definitely good. The relationship between Lloyd and Aria was an amicable one.

nCareful, kind, and wish each other happiness. It was very friendly.

nUntil the Emperor worked his tricks and the dead gutter rat appeared.

n‘No, there was no change in attitude when the gutter rat appeared…….’

nRather, he was surprisingly calm. He pushed the rat to the limit as if he was very calm and used to it.

n‘Oh, I remembered.’

nThe moment he mentioned that the gutter rat would steal ‘the devil’s malice’ from Lloyd.

nIt was from then.

nFrom then on, Lloyd’s mood suddenly subsided. It was as if they had returned to the first time they met. Back in the day when Lloyd set up a sharp blade, pushing away everyone approaching.

nAria remembered the words that she had been wanting to say in her heart for a long time.

n“Lloyd, maybe that bast… No, the gutter rat hurt you?”

n“Hurt?”

n“Um, hurt your feelings?”

nLloyd let out a smirk without realizing it.

nHurt his feelings. It was just an Aria-like, friendly expression.

n‘No, it made you realize reality.’

nMaybe, really, maybe, he thought it could be. That he can live like everyone else.

nAfter a very deep and sweet dream, he only realized again that the place he was standing in was hell.

n‘What I have is something no one can completely purify.’

nEven singing the Siren song is useless.

nIt only temporarily alleviates the condition or slows the progression of madness.

nAgain, there is only one way to get rid of the curse. He knew it from the beginning.

nIt’s just that the colors during the four years when Aria appeared were so intense and dazzling. He just wanted to deny it.

n‘It’s okay, it’s just. You just have to carry the memories with you.’

nIt was enough. Don’t be greedy any more. After all, nothing was his from the beginning.

nLloyd stared at Aria without saying a word.

n‘Ariadne Cortez.’

nWhen the flowers that had been abandoned during the winter bloom again. In a world of achromatic colors, he came to see the warm sunlight.

n‘A miracle.’

nLloyd never believed the name of the memory.

nSince when did this happen?

nHe spied on Aria secretly. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she opened the window of the carriage and her hair naturally fluttered behind her ears.

nLloyd clenched his fists as he looked at her and then unclenched it.

n‘Even though I knew it was poison in my mouth.’

nIt makes him want to swallow it unknowingly.

n***

nThe mansion that was closest to the Imperial Palace. They came to this place without thinking about it because it was close.

nLloyd stopped and looked up silently at the mansion.

nThen Aria asked as if wondering.

n“Why?”

nThe employees and the knights who followed were all sent to the estate.

nSo, Aria raised her voice without hesitation. Because it was just the two of them.

n“…it’s where I used to live when I was a kid.”

nAfter a moment’s silence, he answered.

n“From what age?”

n“Well. From when I remembered it?”

nHow old was that? Around the age of five? Aria, who had been in her thoughts for a moment, said with a wide smile.

n“You must have been cute.”

n“Hmm.”

nLloyd, who remembers very clearly what he was thinking and living at that time, shed an ambiguous sound.

nLloyd Cardenas Valentine.

nA five-year-old child who never celebrates his birthday.

nFrom the time he accidentally discovered the ‘self-sacrificing spell’ in the book, the child had only one dream.

n‘Let’s die.’

nLet’s die.

nThe day he completely inherits that ‘power’ from Grand Duke Valentine. Lloyd was going to kill himself that day. He wanted to disappear with the power he had inherited.

nIn order to completely cut off the devil malice that has been passed down from generation to generation like a curse…….

nIt was when Lloyd was reliving the memories of his childhood.

nHe suddenly felt a soft warmth from the side of his hand. He looked down and saw that it was Aria’s hand. He raised his head.

nAria’s cheeks were smeared with red like watercolor.

nLloyd imagined clenching her hand to crush it, then let it go.

nRounded rabbit-like eyes and a bewildered expression followed, but he had no choice but to turn his back.

n***

nSelf-sacrificing spell.

nLloyd had such a perfect memory that he could spit it out in any extreme situation. Well, he’s been memorizing it since he was five.

n– ‘Birthday.’

nOf course he didn’t celebrate it.

nWhy should he celebrate the day of his birth, because he will soon self-destruct anyway.

n– ‘Hobby.’

nDidn’t have it.

nIf he had it, he would only become greedy.

n– ‘Memories.’

nDidn’t make it.

nIt was difficult to create enough memories to reflect on his past.

n– ‘Friendship.’

nDidn’t want it.

nThat’s just an illusion.

n– ‘Family.’

nThere was, but he lived as if there were not.

nThere was nothing that made a person’s life more regretful than his family.

n– ‘Love.’

n…… nonsense.

n‘The malice harbored by Grand Duke Valentine has completely transferred to me.’

nLloyd was convinced.

nSo, he spit out the spell he had been repeating in his mind for thirteen years.

nA strange character of an ominous pitch black light was engraved all over his body, riding around from head to toe.

n“…Ugh!”

nThe pain felt like his whole body was burning. Even though he thought that his body had been dulled by pain from embracing the malice, he could spit a groan with his teeth.

nBut Lloyd persevered.

nIf he can endure this, he will be able to end the nightmare that has been passed down through the generations of Valentine.

nEven if the ‘power’ called the curse, which occupied most of his body, didn’t run rampant like an outburst of malice.

nNo more screams came out. It looked like his limbs were being torn apart.

nHow much time has passed, on the cold ground, Lloyd regained his mind.

nHe forcibly lifted his body, where the pain was still scattered everywhere, and examined his condition.

n‘The strength…… It remains.’

nThe spell has failed.

nHe had in mind the possibility that it might not succeed all at once, so Lloyd did not despair so much.

nHe groaned and got up.

nStrangely, the place was as quiet as a grave. A bizarre gloom. There are no sounds of birds, insects, or breathing creatures.

nEven that common wind noise.

nLloyd hurriedly looked out the window.

nThe garden, lined with all kinds of flowers and trees according to Sabina’s taste, had dried up.

nAs if it’s life force were sucked in in an instant.

n‘This…….’

nWhat is this?

nLloyd slowly backed away from the window and ran to the door and opened it.

nNo one was there.

nIn the kitchen, there were dishes cooked, traces of someone studying in the study room, and documents piled up like a mountain in the office, but no one was there.

nAs if they had evaporated.

nTristan, Sabina, and Vincent.

nHe could no longer see the jaguar, which would have been chasing Lloyd’s back If he had wandered around this much.

n‘Ah.’

nAriadne.

nLloyd ran nonstop to the door.

nBut when he tried to open the door, his fingertips trembled. What if she’s not there? What if she’s gone? He ran rampant. His own strength.

n‘What if I killed her myself?’

nHe eventually opened the door slowly enough to hear the creaking hinge.

nAnd beyond the door,

nWithout even closing her eyes properly, Aria had fallen on the red puddle on the floor.

n“A… Aria.”

nThis is nonsense.vIt shouldn’t have happened.

nLloyd rushed to his feet, and he hugged Aria. Lying in his arms, she was cold in Lloyd’s arms.

n“…!”

nLloyd jumped out of bed. And he breathed in rough breaths.

nHe looked around as he felt his body cooled to the point of being cold.

nA night that seems to be crushed by darkness.

nIt was the mansion where Lloyd spent his childhood.

nMaybe it was a dream.

nLike ice melting into a glass of water, he realized reality very slowly.

nLloyd wiped the cold sweat from his eyes. No, he thought it was a cold sweat.

nHowever, the water drops that wetted his fingers had started flowing from the corners of his eyes as the source.

n‘Did you cry?’

nHim? Lloyd blinked his wet, pitch black eyelashes, and stiffened for a moment. It was the first day he shed tears in his life.

n“……Haa.”

nIt’s not funny. No one really died, and he had a nightmare and cried.

n‘It was as vivid as reality.’

nIf Vincent had seen it, it would have been a lifelong tease. That’s when he thought about it and raised his head.

nAria was in front of him.

n‘Is this also a dream?’

nShe stretched out her hand. His hand was touched. Not only was it touched, but she also intertwined his hands without hesitation.

n“Actually, my hearing is also like a rabbit.”

n“……”

n“It seems Lloyd is having a nightmare, so I came in at will.”

n‘I’m sorry,’ a brief apology followed.

nLloyd blinked his eyes. Drops of tears from the corners of his eyes ran down his cheeks and down his jawline.

n“Don’t cry.”

nAria reached out her hand and wiped the corners of Lloyd’s eyes.

nAt that touch, Lloyd thoughtlessly said,

n“I want to live.”

n“……”

n“I want to live. With you.”

nHe revealed what he had now realized.

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