053 – The Price of Disrupting the Contract
The leader of the Midnight Auction was a devil.
That devil brokered a contract with His Majesty, bartering the peace of the Magic Kingdom.
As a result of that contract, every daughter of the Emperor was cursed, their hearts bursting on their tenth birthday.
“…”
Though called a contract, it was nothing short of coercion.
‘If you don’t sacrifice, no country will let your future daughters live, good luck~’ That was the checkmate move.
Faced with a choice where his daughter died regardless, who wouldn’t choose the peace of the Magic Kingdom?
‘Just what…’
Leaving His Majesty to tuck in the exhausted Asher, I turned to look at Professor Layton.
“Were you aware of this, Professor?”
“I was.”
“…His Majesty has endured an incredibly difficult time.”
*Danjangjiae*, a four-character idiom meaning sorrow so profound that one’s intestines are severed.
The agony of a parent losing a child, we describe as pain that tears at the guts.
Agony that would have broken an ordinary person long ago… His Majesty had endured it all, gritting his teeth with the sole desire to avenge himself upon the devil.
“Mihan-gun.”
“Yes?”
Having already grown fond of Asher, upon hearing His Majesty’s circumstances, I immediately wanted to help eliminate the leader of the Midnight Auction, but…
“Can you describe what you saw?”
“Colorless, odorless, shapeless…”
“…You saw something like that?”
“I didn’t see it, exactly. I simply… sensed it. That indescribable presence, trailing right behind Princess Asher.”
I lacked confidence.
Whether physical attacks would even work was unknown.
Even Isabella hadn’t noticed it until it was right on top of her.
I wondered if I could even be helpful in dealing with an entity that couldn’t be attacked through sleep, or anything else.
“…”
Frankly, I was afraid.
Cosmic horror, the powerlessness that comes from an existence beyond human comprehension… How was I supposed to overcome that?
I was neither a hero nor a saint.
Not even a player controlling a character who could die in my place.
“Haven’t I always told you, leave matters like this to an adult like myself?”
“…Thank you, Professor.”
“To see such a dejected expression on that once-carefree student.”
Finding solace in the Professor’s words, I began to calm myself.
“Asher is sleeping soundly.”
A beaming His Majesty emerged from the Princess’s chambers.
I immediately rose from my seat to offer my respects.
“Sit, quickly. Who stands on ceremony just because a friend emerges from a room?”
“..I am a commoner, Your Majesty.”
“He’s my friend.”
“That’s…”
“Now, now, this is an order you cannot refuse. Come, repeat after me. Leonardo.”
“Uh…”
“Quickly.”
“Leonardo… Your Majesty.”
“There’s a peculiar appendage tacked on at the end.”
“..Please.”
Perhaps fighting demons would be more comfortable.
“You will report to the Imperial Palace starting tomorrow, Mihyun.”
“I can’t, I’m a student…”
“Leighton, give him his diploma, quick.”
“..Your Majesty?”
Demons be damned.
All my energy was now focused on persuading His Majesty.
…
“Oof~ Cold.”
Shivering, I stepped into the dark alley.
A frigid wind howled, and the thought of rushing back to the dormitory to pile on warm clothes seemed appealing.
—
ÆœĦDž (■■■)
[Kidnap] – Deactivated
[Surveillance] – ㎳㎫ⅷßЖƆ
[Sleep] – Deactivated
[Infiltration] – Deactivated
[Silence] – Deactivated
—
The status window that appeared before my eyes revealed the creature’s presence.
“…”
Instantly, my feet froze, refusing to move.
A feeling of terror, tightening around my entire body, shook me…
—
ÆœĦDž (■■■)
—
Something unidentifiable gradually approached me… and finally, when it was right in front of my face.
“Master!!”
“!!”
Thanks to Isabella, I was able to wake from the nightmare.
“Haa… haa… haaa…”
The moment I opened my eyes, I knew it.
This… this wasn’t just a nightmare.
The dream I had… it wasn’t some delusion born of fantasy.
As if to prove the fact.
“…”
Isabella-ssi, straddling me, was looking down with eyes that could freeze hell over.
As if confirming if I really was the Mi-han she knew.
“..Something is, ..happening to my body, isn’t it.”
“You son of a b*tch…”
“…Huh?”
Isabella-ssi’s sudden, coarse curse caught me off guard.
But I quickly realized that the target of her curse wasn’t me… but something within my body.
“You better crawl out while you still can.”
“..What state am I in right now, Isabella-ssi? Can you explain it to me?”
That’s why I needed to know.
Only by accurately grasping what was happening to my body now…
Could I adjust my actions moving forward.
At that moment…
“Pay the price for interfering with the contract.”
A chilling voice buzzed within my head, and at the same time…
“…!”
I felt someone grab my heart and squeeze.
Like that…
*Thump*…
My heart burst…
*Thud-*
“?”
The moment my heart burst, I felt something snap in my finger.
“Die in despair at the limits of a mortal.”
Leaving aside the owner of the mocking voice,
“Master!!!”
Thanks to Isabella-ssi’s tearful voice.
I realized that I should have died from heart bursting by the unidentified entity, but the effect of *Madoyeohwan* helped me to survive.
“No…!”
Normally, I should have reassured Isabella-ssi with something like, ‘I’m alive, so don’t worry.’
But since it wasn’t clear whether the b*stard who burst my heart was really gone,
“Ugh…”
I roughly started acting like I was dying.
‘If I stay quiet for about five minutes, they’ll lose interest, right?’
Judging by the circumstances, the one who crushed my heart must have been a demon in contract with His Majesty.
That would explain his outburst about ‘interfering with the contract.’
Because I stopped the contract that would claim the Princess’s life from taking effect, he must have tried to revive the contract by killing me.
‘Regrettably, I couldn’t kill him.’
Simply, that demon didn’t know I possessed the Mana Reversion.
Hence, his failure to finish the job.
‘I need to prepare.’
If he were to find out later that I was still alive, that demon would undoubtedly come to kill me again.
As I resolved to learn a method of harming soul forms,
*Crack-*
“?”
Along with a gruesome sound, I saw Isabella gnawing on her own leg, deliberately drawing blood.
And soon after, I witnessed Isabella about to bite my neck with sharp fangs.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Slowly, I raised both hands and began pushing Isabella’s head away with all my might.
“I can… I can save you… again!”
“No… please don’t…”
Please don’t do it.
I still want to be human…!
“Let go!”
As a demon might be watching this place, I couldn’t just shout ‘Ta-dah! I’m actually fine!’
So, pretending to die, I desperately kept pushing Isabella’s face away.
“Let… go! Let go!”
A voice filled with anguish echoed.
While I appreciated her desire to save me, even if it meant turning me into a vampire…
The problem was, I was undeniably still alive.
If only I could just tell her…!
“Isabella… Miss…”
“Yes…! Speak…!”
“It’s okay… I’m really, okay…”
First, I focused all my energy on dying, slowly stroking her body and head.
“No… it can’t be…”
“Why… why are you hurting… my heart aches…”
Pat… pat…
“Don’t… don’t do that…!”
“Just… let me go…”
“No… I refuse… why, why… why does it have to be like this… why…!”
Pat… pat…
Gradually ceasing the hand that was stroking Isabella.
In case she tried to bite me again, I tightly embraced her, binding her, and simply held my breath.
*Sniffle…*
“Master! Master!… Don’t go… Don’t leave me… Don’t… go-o-o…”
‘I’m so sorry, Isabella! I’ll repay this sin even if I have to die a hundred times! Please, bear with it for now…!!’
Though in real-time, I was creating an embarrassing moment for Isabella.
I kept up the act of being dead, first and foremost.
And after roughly two minutes had passed…
“Quite the loss, all because of one lowly bug.”
As if having watched the entire spectacle…
The unidentified presence spat out those final words, and I could distinctly feel its departure.
Therefore, now I could truly reassure Isabella…
“I, Isabella Lilith, proclaim…”
“?”
“Let all my children hear.”
“??”
“I, your mother and creator, declare… the Magic Nation’s—”
A voice, mature and womanly, echoed from the ship.
Instinctively, I felt that whatever words that voice would utter would be terribly wrong.
“I’m back! Ta-da! So stop it!”
I shot up from the bed and cut off Isabella’s bewitching voice.
“…Master?”
“I’m still alive. Calm down, Isabella.”
“How…?”
“The demon was still watching, so I just pretended to be dead for a bit. I’m fine, calm down, calm down…”
I embraced Isabella, her eyes still brimming with tears as she looked up at me.
Partly, it was to apologize for unintentionally deceiving her.
But more than that, my instincts were screaming.
If I hadn’t stopped Isabella in time…
‘She was definitely going to use the Magic Nation as a… battlefield…’
Isabella… was going to call the vampires to the Magic Nation and turn this land into a warzone.
*
“I, Isabella Lilith, proclaim…”
“Let all my children hear.”
“I, your mother and creator, declare… the Magic Nation’s—”
“Lord!”
“Yes, I heard. Mother is alive…”
Nepira Lilith.
A True Ancestor vampire who inherited Isabella’s blood most strongly.
And the Lord who currently leads all the vampires, spoke up.
“Mother… definitely said the Magic Nation!”
The last word was unnaturally cut off, but Nepira Lilith knew.
“War! Mother wishes for war!”
Mother’s voice, delivered as revelation, echoed with boundless, profound rage.
A voice brimming with the will to drive an entire race to its ruin.
“A bloodbath for you, ignorant humans!”