Chapter 111
“No! No! I really didn’t lie! Please! Oppa! Please! I…!”
Clatter—
The desperate cry of the girl halted and vanished at the tip of a sharp blade.
Amid the murmuring crowd, Carlton, staring blankly at the scene, flinched and shivered.
Thud—
Following the faint, fragile sound, Carlton instinctively looked at his chest.
Thud-thud—
At the same time, memories poured into his mind like a flood.
Carlton—
Ah… my name is Carlton.
“Gah—!”
As realization struck, Carlton collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest.
Then, the crowd around him vanished without a trace.
As if they had never existed, even the pain disappeared.
Countless things flashed past Carlton’s eyes in an instant.
Whether they were memories or illusions, they disappeared as quickly as they came. Carlton drew a shaky breath.
The scent of the air waking his lungs, the gentle breeze brushing his face.
Everything that had just happened now felt like a dark memory dredged up from a fleeting dream.
Through the haze, he saw Belia, wearing her academy uniform.
The moment he saw her, a faint memory surfaced.
It was from when he first came to the academy.
He had sneaked here to inspect the old main building when crowds gathered for the academy’s 100th anniversary event.
But… what had he been looking for?
Carlton pressed a hand to his head.
He must have been following the traces of Vane, yet it felt as if his past self didn’t even know Vane existed.
Ah, maybe these aren’t memories at all… maybe they’re illusions.
Why does Belia look like that?
A metallic shard lodged somewhere in his mind kept scattering his thoughts, leaving him unable to discern what was real.
Confused, Carlton squeezed his eyes shut.
“Um, are you okay?”
Startled, Carlton snapped his eyes open and stepped back.
Under the hem of a pitch-black robe, he noticed a tiny pair of brown shoes.
Raising his gaze from the shadows of the robe, he saw Belia.
She was completely silent, her black eyes cautiously scanning the surroundings.
“Th-the academy event is that way…”
Her voice was pleasant.
A sound that seemed vaguely familiar, like a long-forgotten memory.
A wave of longing surged in him, leaving his lips frozen.
Carlton slowly raised a hand and touched beneath the robe to find his face.
He felt nothing against the rough, dry leather.
The cold, numb skin reminded him of reality, blurring the memories.
It was definitely Belia. Those eyes staring at him, her breathing, the pleasant voice.
Yet at the same time… he didn’t know this girl.
She didn’t exist in his past memories.
Why?
The familiar scent of dark magic lingered, but he couldn’t tell whether it came from the main building behind or the girl in front.
Maybe this is an illusion.
After all, the strongest effect of dark magic is the creation of illusions.
Is it possible that even believing this girl’s name is Belia, or even seeing her, is all a deception?
Ding… ding…
“Oh, right! The professor called me! Uh, the event hall is that way! Then—!”
At the sound of the bell, Belia turned and ran somewhere in a hurry.
“Th—”
Carlton reached out toward her, but no words came.
He didn’t know.
Whether he knew this girl or not.
Was this also the result of Vane’s familiar, lingering power?
“Ah—”
Then, Carlton realized.
The thing he was looking for was called ‘Vane.’
He didn’t know if it was an object or a person.
Tick—
Following the tearing, vibrating sound in the air, Carlton instinctively lowered his head.
At the place the distorted sound pointed to, when he looked down at his chest—
The world began to twist again.
Everything that had been spinning rapidly and chaotically stopped once more in an instant.
In the silence, where even breath seemed frozen, a short exclamation escaped his lips.
“Ah—.”
And simultaneously, the world flowed again.
It felt familiar.
So vivid that it almost seemed unreal. On top of this landscape was the girl he had seen at the academy.
But she wasn’t the fresh, lively girl he remembered. She was on the execution platform.
The desperate cries had vanished, and the girl sat with calm despair etched across her face.
Had that desperate cry… been just now?
Carlton pressed his head, pained by the headache ringing in his ears.
Where had he seen this scene before?
The memory was fragmented, and time had warped.
It was then.
From beyond his memories, from a forgotten moment, the girl’s cry came alive again.
“Carlton… at least you—!”
Clatter. His heart sank, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
Carlton pressed a hand to his aching head.
When had he seen this?
At that moment, another girl’s voice echoed in his memory.
“No! No! I really didn’t lie! Please!”
Carlton opened his tightly shut eyes and looked ahead.
It was the same person, but different.
Her tear-streaked face carried not desperation, but serenity.
She neither shouted nor struggled.
She only wept softly, as if accepting this fate.
Why was he standing here, watching this scene?
Clutching his head from the familiar headache, Carlton recalled himself moments ago.
He had followed Vane’s traces to this square.
Ah, yes.
Carlton’s eyes snapped open as he focused on the girl.
Then he detected Vane’s scent from her.
At the same time, a purple symbol caught his eye.
From that symbol came a horribly familiar, pungent scent.
Clutching his splitting head, Carlton stared at the symbol.
The lost fragments of memory began to converge.
Amid the dark and twisted memories, the one thing that had shone through finally surfaced.
Carlton leapt forward.
At that instant, a sharp blade aimed for the girl’s neck.
Watching the scene, his throat tightened.
He tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Pushing through the crowd, Carlton forced his mouth open.
Tick-tick-tick—
The distorted sound quickened.
And one realization came to him, as if awakening.
“Belia!!”
Carlton let out a bursting scream.
At the same time, another man’s voice pierced through the crowd, overlapping his.
Carlton turned his head toward the sound.
“Belia!”
“Miss!!!”
“Young master!!”
Seeing the square plunged into chaos, Carlton realized.
A strong scent came from nearby.
Turning his head to check the crowd, he finally locked eyes with what he had been searching for.
“Vane.”
Memories surged like waves, and time scattered like shards.
Vane’s eyes shook like waves.
He, too, seemed to realize something.
The misalignment of his heartbeat accelerated.
And then, everything disappeared again.
He forgot everything.
The cycle repeated once more, drawing the same circle.
Only this time, it was more precise, clearer, and detailed.
He found Vane.
He had followed his traces and, at the last moment, leapt forward.
But… swoosh—
With a sharp shock of magical energy, his body flew through the air.
Beyond the whitened, inverted view, the outline of a carriage falling off a cliff receded.
“No!!! Belia!!!”
His outstretched fingers cut through empty air.
At that moment, a single tear from Carlton’s eye defied gravity and floated away.
And—memories became jumbled.
His heartbeat raced with fear.
To-do-do-do-do—!
The world blurred again.
The scents in the air, the voices of people, the repeated scenes.
Everything repeated in circles, slightly misaligned.
Again, and again.
“Belia—!”
Carlton slowly opened his eyes.
And he faced an unbelievable sight.
Through the window of the falling carriage, Belia’s face was fully consumed by despair.
She was not crying.
Resignation, transcendence, and deep sorrow radiated from her face.
Then.
A bright light emerged from Belia’s chest.
That brilliant something was absorbed back into the purple symbol.
“…That symbol… is consuming her life, her memories, her time.”
Carlton felt as if his chest were being torn apart.
The pounding of his heart surged violently.
The pain, no longer his own, clawed at his chest.
To-do-do-do—!
The pain splitting his head made Carlton instinctively realize—this was not a mere illusion.
The repetition of time, the distortion of memory,
and forbidden magic using Belia’s life as collateral.
Only now did he understand.
