The communication magical device rang, and I saw that it was a contact from Mario.
“Oh, Mario. What’s up?” I answered.
[I’ve finished arranging the acquisition of the mansion you requested. The young lady just needs to confirm it.]
“Really? I’m on my way.”
[Yes, I will send the documents to the Perdia mansion.]
Well, it’s nice to have a communication tool. It used to take me two days to do something simple by correspondence.
I arrived at the headquarters with the three escorts Mario had sent, he was waiting for me in the reception room.
“Is there still no word from Raeyan?”
“He’s not usually in touch during missions, so we’re not sure when he’ll be back.”
“Really?”
As it turns out, Raeyan is a man of many secrets. I can’t believe he’d disappear without letting his vice commander know of his whereabouts.
Anyway, I reviewed the conditions of the candidate houses that could become my residence.
Then, from below, a bustling noise mixed with cries of “Whoa!” could be heard.
“They’ve had another incident……! Take a look, Miss. I’m going downstairs.”
“Go ahead.”
As Mario closed the door and left, it couldn’t resist the temptation, and Greed broke free from the seal stone on its own.
[I want this house! This house is great! The garden is spacious!]
“You don’t have the right to choose.”
[I’m going to live there too!]
One would think it was a pet, not a sin.
We were in the middle of a heated discussion about this house and that house when–
Thud.
“……!”
We both looked at each other as we heard the heavy sound coming from the hallway.
[Did you hear that?]
“I heard it.”
[What? Is it a ghost? Get, get out and check.]
“Does it make sense to tell a villainous and fragile human like me to go out?”
[It does!]
We both hesitated to go outside. Fortunately, we didn’t hear a similar sound from the corridor again.
“It’s probably just one of the mercenaries dropping their weapon or something.”
[Yeah, that’s right.]
“Let’s continue looking at houses.”
Just as we resumed rustling through the documents, it happened again.
Thud…….
It was smaller than before, but I could hear it clearly. Not once, but the second time, I had no choice but to go outside.
The headquarters was heavily guarded, and there were mercenaries downstairs, so it was unlikely to be an attack…
But I couldn’t rule out the possibility that an assassin had slipped in, now that I had failed to deal with Duke Angellus.
I held a vial of poison tightly in my hand, almost like a lifeline, and cautiously opened the door.
However, as the door opened halfway, it seemed to be blocked by something and wouldn’t fully open.
I peeked my head out to see what was blocking it, and my eyes widened in surprise.
“Raeyan?!”
Raeyan sat half-leaning against the door. I quickly slipped out through the slightly open gap and crouched down to assess his condition.
’The smell of blood.’
I wondered what in the world he had been doing while he was away.
Raeyan looked disorientated.
“Mario–”
I tried to get up to summon Mario from below.
“Ugh……”
Raeyan groaned in pain and opened his eyes.
“Raeyan, are you okay?”
Even with my question, Raeyan just stared at me without saying a word.
I reached up to his face, wondering if he was in too much pain.
“……!”
Raeyan raised his scarred hand and grasped mine firmly.
“An illusion,” he muttered under his breath in a small voice.
He brought my hand to his cheek and covered it with his large hand, touching my skin carefully, sacredly.
“…Even if it’s an illusion.”
Raeyan ‘s cold lips pressed against the palm of my hand, as if leaving a mark like a seal.
An intense red glow emanated from his eyes, staring at me from the darkness.
Under the gaze filled with obsession, I couldn’t help but feel trapped, as if caught in a snare.
But suddenly, Raeyan ‘s hand fell weakly off of mine. He had completely lost consciousness.
Thump, thump.
Pressing my hand against my rapidly beating heart, I regained my composure and assessed Raeyan ‘s condition. He had injuries all over, but none seemed fatal.
As I stared down at him, I whispered to myself.
“Greed.”
Tap. Greed gracefully settled down next to Raeyan.
[Why did you call me?]
“Your ability – I’ll use it.”
[……?]
“For Raeyan.”
Greed’s ability was the eye that could recognize value.
Although it had the limit of being able to use it for only three seconds a week, there was no condition that it couldn’t be used on living beings.
I was curious about what would happen if I used it on a person, but I never thought I would actually use it.
I wanted to know what secret Raeyan was hiding, even if it meant using it.
I wanted to know why he looked at me with those eyes.
And why it felt like he was seeing someone other than me when he looked at me.
This was a kind of gamble.
[Understood.]
As it said that, the words began to form.
‘That’s, that’s……?’
My expression, as I read and absorbed the words that appeared above Raeyan ‘s head, gradually hardened.
The information that popped up was…….
[Raeyan Vietan. The second child of Ishtar who bears the curse of Irkalla. Direct descendant of House Vietan. Capable of using the darkness attribute power of shadows. Made a pact with Pride and Envy, and in return…….]
That was all the information I could gather in three seconds.
But even that was enough to plunge me into shock.
“Raeyan Vietan……?”
Vietan.
If it was Vietan, then it was one of the two missing families.
One of the seven families that had sealed away the sins, capable of using the darkness attribute…….
“Raeyan, is this the secret you’ve been hiding?”
***
There were many strange things about it.
But when I realized that Raeyan was a direct descendant of the Seven Families, my doubts were resolved.
When he saved me as I fell off the cliff, if the time had seemingly slowed down, it wasn’t my imagination but Raeyan ‘s ability.
The times when the doors closed on their own while we were together were also part of his ability…….
“But why did you hide it?”
I couldn’t understand. Of course, it would be troublesome if it was revealed that he was the successor of Vietan, one of the Seven Great Families, but that didn’t mean he had to hide it to such an extent.
In that case, there was only one answer.
‘That’s not the only thing he’s hiding.’
I was bothered by the other information that I hadn’t read yet.
He had said he’d made a deal with Pride, but he had never mentioned that he’d made a deal with Envy.
‘What is the power of Envy, and what is the price?’
I silently gazed at Raeyan’s sleeping face. After Mario, with a shocked expression, brought Raeyan to his room at the headquarters and finished treating him, Raeyan had fallen asleep.
Mario said that he didn’t have many severe injuries and that he fell asleep because he used a lot of energy.
Greed, now settled on the patient bed, raised its head and asked curiously.
[Aren’t you going home?]
“There are things I want to ask Raeyan when he wakes up.”
[Yawn. Then I’ll sleep a bit!]
Despite being afraid of Raeyan, Greed crouched next to him and started snoring.
I pulled a chair over and stayed by Raeyan ‘s side.
I didn’t have anything to do, so I wandered around. But Raeyan ‘s room as the Mercenary King was rather sparse.
Even though he must have made a lot of money, it was a modest bedroom with only essential furniture.
“…What kind of enjoyment does he find in living like this?”
It’s not like he’s traveling around, and it’s not like he has a hobby.
Raeyan mostly accompanied me as an escort, and during the remaining time, he attended to mercenary duties. I had never seen him engage in leisure activities.
I rested my chin and closely observed Raeyan ‘s face. His closed eyes resembled those of a gentle puppy.
The scent of disinfectant and blood still lingered in the air, so I pulled back the curtain and slightly opened the window. A cool breeze entered the room.
Returning to my seat, I noticed that Raeyan was frowning.
Is he having a nightmare?
“Phew.”
I patted Raeyan ‘s body the same way I’d patted Jansi’s when he suffered from losing control of his powers.
“Is it my job to soothe the wounded……?”
I didn’t know what kind of story he carried, but I hoped he could find comfort if only in his dreams.
***
‘We’ll meet again someday.’
A lie.
She was always dying in front of him.
‘I might regret it one day.’
He wondered if she was telling herself that.
‘To the end, she never held my hand.’
Memories of the past flashed by quickly. As always, the ending was always someone’s death.
Raeyan sensed his consciousness returning. His eyes were moist, so he covered them with the back of his hand. He had cried in his sleep, so he wasn’t surprised when he woke up.
He hadn’t remembered anything since he’d slain all of Irkala’s demons and closed the rift.
How he’d made it back to the mercenaries was beyond him.
‘So there’s some sort of homing instinct in me.’
It was amusing. Even though he had no home to return to.
As he pondered his memories with a sense of self-deprecation, a gentle voice came from beside him.
“Raeyan.”
At the sound of the gentle voice beside him, Raeyan pulled his arm away. Through his blurred vision, he saw Elodie’s face looking down at him.
“……Miss Elodie.”
“Have a drink. Clean your face a bit too.”
Raeyan raised his upper body and followed Elodie’s instructions, wiping his tear-stained face clean and drinking a cup of water.
“……?”
[Slurp…….]
He looked at the sleeping Greed lying beside him, facing the ceiling, and narrowed his brow.
He didn’t know why she was here, but it was good that her face was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.
However, her expression was different from usual.
With a somewhat serious face, Elodie called out to him.
“Raeyan.”
“Yes.”
“Raeyan, Léon Vietan. I should call you that.”
“…….”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
One of his secrets had been revealed, but it didn’t bother him.
In fact, he had expected it when he handed over the sin of Greed to Elodie.
That one day this secret would be revealed.
“I used Greed’s ability on you, Raeyan.”
“Is that so?”
“Besides that, are you hiding anything else?”
“…….”
Raeyan realized that the information Elodie could get was limited to his bloodline.
Without a formal contract, using her powers through the Sealing Stone would have given her a mere three seconds to read the contents.
It was a moment of choice.
If he chose to hide, he could bury the past. Perhaps Elodie would eventually discover it on her own.
He still felt uncertain.
If she were to learn about his powerless existence, she might despise him. And if that were the case, he couldn’t be by her side anymore, couldn’t protect her anymore.
But Raeyan wanted to trust Elodie.
“If I tell you everything… If you learn the truth, will you still treat me the same way as you do now?”
Elodie was taken aback by his words.
“What, what, did you steal my love interest or something?”
“……No.”
“Then you scammed me and ran off with my entire fortune?”
“No.”
“Is Raeyan the enemy of my biological parents?”
“That’s not the case either.”
“Then tell me. I can handle anything.”
As she spoke, Elodie smiled brightly.
“Because I want to know more about Raeyan than I do now.”
“…….”
At that moment, Raeyan felt the same emotions he had when he first met Elodie.
The shock of that moment, the intrusion of light pink into his otherwise colorless world. He didn’t know what to call the feeling, but he knew that the person in front of him was the only one for him.
“This isn’t going to be fun.”
“You’re not funny to begin with, Raeyan.”
“…….”
“What, are you pouting?”
“No.”
And so, Raeyan’s story began.