Chapter 22
“……”
Thud—Eclipse’s movements froze.
Like a machine that had lost its power source, he remained locked in the same screaming posture, motionless.
Slowly, he raised his bowed head and met Clea’s eyes.
“I hadn’t planned to tell you if I wasn’t found out, but since it’s come to this, I’ll say it clearly.”
Clea let out a sigh.
“The person standing in front of you is someone else wearing Clea Leno’s shell.”
“…You’re seriously insane, aren’t you? Fuck, this is insane. Have you lost your mind too? The poison… the bastard who gave you the poison… that’s what did this to you…”
“Clea Leno died from the poison. Right before she died, she summoned a demon lord and made a contract.”
Clea calmly stepped back a little and began to speak.
Even for her, keeping it all hidden from her last remaining family had weighed on her. In a way, this was a relief.
<Thought you might be a demon, but a demon lord? Must’ve had a hell of a grudge to summon a demon king…>
Siquiel, floating idly in midair, shook his head.
Eclipse’s eyes burned as he stared at Clea.
Though the intimidating pressure from the notification window had vanished, confusion still lingered.
<Contractor, your blood relative must have lived quite a tragic life. To summon the demon king at the cost of her soul…>
“…Trading your soul?” Eclipse stammered.
<Exactly that. To summon a demon lord, the requirement is either a grudge or desire deep enough to trade your soul. And that’s not something easy to come by.>
Siquiel raised a long finger as he explained.
Clea leaned back against the wall and rubbed her forehead.
Thankfully, the double vision had subsided after ten minutes.
<The soul is the most noble and valuable thing a human has. If you’re trading it for a desire or grudge, it has to be serious. It was probably an agonizing regret.>
“What happens… to a soul that gets traded?”
<That’s up to the demon lord. But at the very least, it can no longer reincarnate. Once a soul falls into demonic hands, divine grace is lost. From there… grilled, boiled, rebuilt into a new body—the demon lord uses it however they want.>
“Uses it…?”
<Most often for pleasure. Demon kind’s lust is as strong as a human’s will to survive or eat.>
…Wait, that’s what they use it for?
Clea frowned as she pictured the demon king.
Honestly, with that flawless appearance, he didn’t seem like the type to need humans. With a wave of his hand, both demons and beasts would probably throw themselves at him.
<Though to be fair, they usually eat it. Human souls are apparently a delicacy to them. And humans are too fragile to withstand a demon’s full physical power anyway.>
Eclipse turned deathly pale.
He raged that he didn’t believe it, but his expression said otherwise.
Watching that, Clea turned her head—she didn’t feel great about it either.
“…You were saying something earlier. Go on.”
Eclipse pointed a finger at her—clearly an accusation.
Clea exhaled quietly.
“As I said, the real Clea Leno died the moment she drank the poison. In that moment, she summoned the demon king and struck a deal.”
“What kind of deal…?”
“Clea Leno genuinely loved Archduke Isaac Detroit. She wanted her body to live a happy life married to him. That was the content of the contract.”
“……”
“Her soul was too damaged to function. So the demon king needed someone to animate the body. That someone… was me.”
Eclipse struggled to steady his breathing.
It was like his ears were ringing.
The avalanche of information left his mind paralyzed.
He clutched his chest as if to stop the sharp pain in his heart.
“And… since I’ve been caught, I’ll say this too—I’m sorry for messing with the Leno family’s wealth. The Archduke wouldn’t agree to marry otherwise.”
“This is nonsense! She didn’t love anyone! Who gives up their life for love?!”
Eclipse shouted, head down, his voice filled with anguish.
“She was the kind of woman who’d come back from the dead for revenge! And yet, and yet…”
His words broke apart mid-sentence.
He stomped the ground like a child denied what he wanted, and Clea watched him silently.
To return to a long-lost home, only to hear tragic news about your only remaining family… What kind of emotion could match that?
“Such a cruel woman! She never even showed love to her family, she treated me so coldly…”
“You might feel differently, but I don’t think Clea Leno didn’t love you. What her true feelings were… I honestly don’t know.”
Clea bent over and opened the lowest drawer of the desk.
Inside was a letter, yellowed with age.
She took it out and handed it to Eclipse.
“But at the very least, she missed you. I think she regretted everything, even if it was too late.”
“…Fuck, what use is something like this now?”
Eclipse clenched his fist, teeth gritted.
His coarse words were soaked in emotion, not sharp at all.
No notification of intimidation popped up.
“In a mansion where everyone had left, Clea Leno must have realized it—there was no one left to share emotions with.”
No one to complain to, no one to confide in, no little brother to bicker with.
“Whether it was sincere or not, I think she regretted it.”
Clea gently reached out and stroked Eclipse’s bowed head.
He opened his eyes wide.
Unfortunately, Clea couldn’t see his eyes from that angle.
Thud!
Her heart dropped.
Pain stung through her chest as Clea slowly withdrew her hand.
She laid the hand over her heart and winced.
These weren’t her own emotions.
They belonged to Clea Leno.
Clea Leno… was happy.
Or at least feeling something close to it.
Clea took a deep breath.
“……kin… der.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t joke with me! What kind of bullshit is that! If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face!”
Tell her…?
But there was no way to deliver the message.
The real Clea was broken, beyond recognition.
Clea scratched her cheek awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.
Eclipse’s eyes widened again, and his hardened face crumbled.
‘…She really is someone else.’
Clea Leno would never smile like that.
She never smiled in a way that looked troubled or helpless.
She was nobility to the bone—emotionless expression, graceful gait, a noble among nobles.
He had once admired that dignity and grace.
She didn’t know how to smile.
Her default was a hardened expression since childhood.
She wasn’t someone who made these kinds of varied faces.
She… wasn’t Clea Leno.
“You… who are you? What the hell happened…?”
Eclipse gripped his head and staggered.
He was trying, at last, to truly understand her.
‘If I tell him he’s going to die in six months…’
She feared he might literally collapse.
Clea opened her mouth a few times and swallowed a sigh.
‘And now there’s only five months left…’
It was too much to burden a young boy with.
He was already in shock—what would he feel if he knew she would vanish completely?
She didn’t even know if the body would last until then.
There might not be anything left behind.
That would be the cruelest part.
Clea decided not to tell him.
If he tried to stop her from fulfilling the wish, that would be even worse.
“Anyway, I’m going to do what Clea Leno wanted. I’ll make her last wish for happiness come true.”
“……”
“…Sorry.”
Clea patted Eclipse on the shoulder a couple of times.
He didn’t even look up at her.
‘Well, anyone would be upset.’
She had taken over his sister’s body and was now trying to give away the family’s fortune.
She hadn’t intended to be caught, which made her feel even more sorry.
“…How did she die?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember the moment of death clearly. Just that she drank poison.”
Clack—she heard his teeth grinding and turned.
Whether Eclipse pursued revenge for Clea Leno or not, that wasn’t her concern.
She began preparing documents to pass things over.
“Hey, Eclip… mm, is it okay if I call you that?”
She had been calling him that anyway, but now that she’d come clean, it felt right to ask for permission.
After all, despite being in Clea Leno’s body, she was just a commoner, and he… well, he was practically nobility.
“With that face, what are you going to call me?”
He sneered with narrowed eyes.
“Um… Eclipse… sir?”
His face twisted.
So touchy.
She tried to come up with another title.
“…How about Young Master?”
Now his face wasn’t just twisted—it was downright terrifying.
Was that what a yaksha looks like? Clea smiled awkwardly.
Eclipse looked away, as if disgusted.
“Oh! Lord Kelpie?”
When she finally landed on a proper title, Eclipse glared at her like his eyes could kill.
He had evolved into someone who could murder with a stare.
“Eclipse!”
He raised his voice.
