"Oh, right."
As I continued thinking about devils, I remembered the human who were even more devilish than them.
Just the thought of him already made me feel disgusted.
"What happened to the human who summoned you?"
Rubbing my still red and swollen cheek, I asked, my expression twisted in distaste as if I had stepped in something unpleasant.
"He renewed the contract."
"Huh?"
"As the price for saving him right now."
"What do you mean by that?"
I had assumed that Leraze’s first contract was just a way to naturally deceive Benjamin.
But why would there be a need to renew it?
And on top of that, "saving him right now"?
That meant he had been on the verge of death.
‘Could it be that Felix caused it? After all, he said Felix was fine…’
It was around the time I came up with a new possibility and began to worry intensely about Felix that the devil spoke.
"I personally made a nice hole in his stomach. I left him barely alive and kindly offered him a deal: I’d save him if he became my contractor. Whether it was his clinging to life or a foolish hope that he still had a chance, he readily agreed."
“...”
Then, he flashed a sly grin.
A devil. A devil had appeared!
I was so stunned that I couldn’t even respond.
Until now, I had only seen Leraze’s boundless affection for Larry, but for the first time, I realised the true demonic side of him.
Of course, since it was Benjamin, my first thought was that it served him right. But if it had been anyone else, I probably would have run away without looking back.
It was that cruel. Then again, he was a devil, so I supposed it only made sense!
"He’s alive and well, so the rest is up to you. But since we have a contract, after he dies, his soul will be mine."
That was the first time Leraze ever asserted his rights.
“Why would you take something like that... and what would you do with it?”
“I’m curious about how much torment he needs to endure in Hell before he naturally repents.”
“...”
“Humans who seem to have directly inherited a devil’s soul are always interesting.”
So, was it that the pure embodiment of evil itself piqued the devil's interest?
The mention of Hell’s torment made me think that maybe letting him die without dirtying my hands would be revenge enough — that alone might be a fitting punishment.
If it were up to me, I would’ve asked him to tear Benjamin apart right then and there — who knew what nonsense he might pull next.
But when I thought about all the pain Felix and Claudia had suffered, I realised that just killing him wouldn’t have felt like enough.
Their opinions had to be respected above all else.
With that in mind, I spoke as if this was the most natural thing to do.
"I’d like to leave the decision to the Chamberlain siblings."
"Your lover said the same thing."
Leraze murmured with a strange expression.
"It looks like there's no chance for you [1] to intervene. How pitiful."
I couldn’t believe Felix had handed over the right to decide on revenge to me.
Why hadn’t he punished that irredeemable guy already, the kind who’s so unbearable that even devils would shake their heads?
After everything he had gone through! After all that pain!
Honestly, I didn’t need to think too deeply to know the reason, and just that realisation made my heart ache even more.
Finding the whereabouts of the one who had disappeared mattered more than the revenge before him.
The moment I realised that, it hit me clearly that he had come back just like before.
'What should I do? I want to see him right now...'
The longing was so intense it felt like my breath was being suffocated — I couldn’t bear it.
I suddenly decided not to resent the god who had dragged me into this novel anymore.
There was no longer any reason to.
Thanks to that, even the unfortunate Claudia had been able to experience happiness.
And I had met Felix.
All the hardships I’d endured before meeting them must have been so I could enjoy the fortune of meeting them.
All I could think about was wanting to see Felix, safe and sound, and everyone as soon as possible.
The phrase 'peace within anxiety' must refer to something like this.
So far, Larry was the only one I had seen with my own eyes to be safe, so the anxiety hadn't fully gone away.
However, despite feeling restless, I didn’t panic or beg to be let out because I didn’t want to act in a way that felt dishonest to myself.
“So, have all your questions been answered?”
I was starting to get anxious, but even though I knew Leraze would send me out when the time was right, I couldn’t help but ask.
"You've helped me, so I don’t want to rush you, but when will you let me go?"
“You can’t leave here.”
And then, I was stabbed in the foot by the very axe I trusted.
What did he say? I pretended to pick at my ear, then gave an awkward laugh.
“That’s quite a joke.”
"I'm not joking."
Leraze lowered his gaze and smiled, saying, “In the world of consciousness, I simply follow the will of the Leraze in the outside world.”
I, who had just been blindsided, widened my eyes and gasped for breath.
"And it seems that the Leraze in the outside world isn’t really willing to send your lover here."
"How come?!"
"No one can break in here. Only those I personally open the passage for can enter. And it seems that ‘I’ only gave him the wrong coordinates."
"What about God's request to follow my will? I want to leave!"
“It was the me in the outer world who received that request, not the me in the conscious world."
‘Hey, you jerk! Seriously, look at you pretending to have a split personality just when it benefits you. No wonder you’re a devil — you have a real talent for making my blood pressure rise.’
I remembered the sorcerers' words. Any contract with a devil was just wordplay. If there was a gap, the devil would slyly exploit it.
I understood that it was in the devil’s nature, but don’t suddenly start acting petty after all this time pretending to be reasonable!
At least try to be consistent with your behaviour!
‘Wasn’t the mood just about to wrap up nicely a moment ago?’
What on earth was this nonsense?
Since I didn’t sense any real malice, it seemed like they were just doing it out of boredom.
"They say the back of someone who knows when to leave is beautiful!"
"Ooh."
What the hell was this 'Ooh!'?
Just as I was seriously contemplating the consequences I'd face if I threw a punch at the devil, a warm hand suddenly pulled me sharply from behind.
"Huh?"
The anger vanished in an instant as if it had been washed away.
My eyes widened, and my body froze.
The arms wrapped tightly around my waist didn’t look very familiar at first glance.
The sleeves bore the luxurious emblem of the Emperor’s Imperial Guard.
Yet I didn’t even think about pushing them away, as the scent that washed over me — so familiar it brought tears to my eyes — crashed over me like a wave.
Without needing to look up to confirm, I knew.
“...”
I couldn’t even bring myself to look back at them; I just bowed my head deeply, letting the tears fall.
They said tears of joy came when the body couldn’t quite keep up with the heart.
The person gently cupped my cheek and softly caressed it.
“Who did this?”
A tender voice wrapped around my ear.
The lingering sting in my cheek softened into warmth the moment he touched it as if it were soaking in the light of spring.
After a winter that had felt unbearably long and painful, he was there — like the long-awaited arrival of spring.
・・・・・
“I really didn’t think you’d break through and make it here.”
Leraze let out a sincere exclamation of admiration.
The place they were in might once have been nothing more than a mere pocket of subspace, but now, it had clearly become a fully formed dimension of its own.
Though it was not the flawless creation of the primordial god, it was still a world personally shaped by a divine hand.
The idea that a human could cross between dimensions using magic was utterly unheard of.
To reach that realm through magic, one would have to be a dragon from the beginning of time, now faded into legend.
‘A dragon, huh.’
Could it be that Deseo actually granted that human even dragon magic?
‘Well, I suppose he paid the price in full…’
Felix hadn’t made a separate pact with God like Leraze had, but he’d still acted according to Irene’s wishes — going so far as to sacrifice himself.
More than anything, as a blood relative of Claudia Chamberlain, his desire for her happiness naturally aligned with Irene Amber’s.
This was a god who had even allowed the resurrection of a devil erased by sorcery, simply because it had helped Irene.
So dragon magic?
He had doubted it at first, but now he was certain.
Those who pledged loyalty to Irene Amber and acted on her behalf — those whom she permitted to remain at her side — obtained whatever they desired.
Of course, they had to pay a worthy price, enduring hardship and adversity along the way, but at the end of their trials, they basked in the greatest glory.
Such was the rule that governed and defined this world — so long as Deseo, the world’s creator in its true form, did not change its mind, or Irene Amber did not will the misfortune of Claudia Chamberlain.
Leraze stared intently at Irene, as if seeing her in a new light.
Now that he was conscious of Irene as the human who could control the world he belonged to, the realisation stirred something strangely sentimental.
Being a devil innately driven by desire and greed, he couldn’t help but harbour impure thoughts.
For example: passing down every seductive technique that might tempt a human, so that Larry, who would soon be reborn as a devil, could use them…
At that moment, Felix, who had been gently caressing Irene’s cheek, turned a chilling gaze on Leraze.
“I told you clearly — I've had enough of being toyed with by you...”
The gentle touch and the cold, cutting gaze were completely disconnected — two gestures at odds with each other.
Disgusted by the hypocrisy, Leraze clicked his tongue and raised his hand lightly in a gesture of surrender.
In truth, steering clear of them was likely the only way to live out the rest of his life in peace.
After all, laying a hand on Felix Chamberlain now was no different from laying a hand on Irene Amber.
Whatever gruesome consequences awaited would soon be demonstrated by those three foolhardy humans.
“I’ll be going now. Let’s hope this is the last time we meet like this.”
Felix gave a polite bow, then lightly dragged his hand through the air, tearing space itself.
With Irene in tow, he vanished without a trace.
・・・・・
As I stepped out of the pure white space Leraze called 'his world of consciousness,' the scent of spring swept over me.
I found myself in a small garden within the Chamberlain estate.
Flowers were in full bloom everywhere I looked, and cherry blossoms floated through the air.
Spring had truly come.
A spring that didn’t chill the heart with memories of the dead, but instead brought to mind new life.
A spring where once meaningless moments blossomed like fresh buds, now filled with special meaning.
Finally.
‘Finally…’
My throat tightened, and my voice barely came out.
It didn’t have to be anything grand — at least a simple “Welcome” or “I missed you.”
I should have said something like that.
I could have forced the words out, but instead, I buried myself deeper into Felix’s embrace.
There was no longer any need to cling desperately, nor to be consumed by anxiety.
There was no reason to suffer silently over him, emptied and hollow after losing so much.
The moments that once demanded relentless struggle had passed, and at last, a wave of relief came rushing in.
Overwhelmed by the sheer weight of this moment, I embraced the happiness that came flooding in — gently, like the warm morning sunlight — before a hundred words could be spoken.
Finally, we were together.
Finally freed and liberated from all the things that had relentlessly tormented us.
The things Felix should have rightfully enjoyed — but never did, even in the original story — were soon to return to him.
Felix embraced me with all his strength, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
There was no fear of broken bones, no risk of being pierced in the gut — no need to flinch or freeze in fear anymore.
He held me so tightly it stole my breath, then he inhaled deeply.
When he pressed his lips to my tear-soaked cheek, I felt a heat rise — like a stone warmed by fire
“Irene.”
“...”
“Rin.”
“...”
Unable to reply, I simply nodded and sobbed for a long while.
Knowing who had endured the harshest winter, I couldn’t even cry out loud; only broken, muffled sounds escaped me.
Could I really love someone this deeply?
I wanted him so desperately that if he wished, I would have torn out my own heart and shown it to him right then and there.
The hand that had been gently patting my back now brushed my cheek again.
When the pain I’d almost forgotten surged back, making my shoulder twitch, the touch became even more careful.
Felix asked me, but no matter how long he waited, I couldn’t lift my head.
"Won't you look at me?"
He had rushed over without a second thought. My heart sank at the sound of his voice, tinged with sadness.
Startled, I looked up at him, and his eyes softened gently.
His lips curled into a delicate smile, dampened by my tears.
I watched him closely, my eyelashes fluttering with tears resting on them.
As always, his transparent eyes — through which I could see right into his soul — remained unchanged.
Everything that made up Felix was just the same.
"You ended up getting hurt."
“...”
"Who did this?"
Though he asked who had done this, it seemed he already knew the answer.
“If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have just left him behind.”
Hearing him say that made me wonder — was he thinking of Benjamin, whom he’d left behind to find me?
In the deepening smile, I thought I caught a fleeting glimpse of deadly intent.
But when our eyes met, as if it had never been there, he brushed away the darkness and smiled again like a blooming flower.
Looking at Felix, whose beauty words could hardly capture, I parted my lips.
“...I just suddenly remembered.”
"What is it?"
After a long pause, Felix kindly asked me again, and I finally spoke.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was really the right time to say it, but then shrugged and just said it.
“Because Fel wasn’t here...”
"Because I wasn’t here?"
Maybe I was so happy that I’d turned into a fool. Nothing else was coming to mind right now.
“The grapefruit tart I used to eat every day didn’t taste good anymore.”
“...”
“I’m just saying, that’s how it was.”
It was my favourite dessert.
But somehow, the uniquely sweet and slightly bitter taste of the grapefruit tart, which I used to love, no longer brought me any joy.
It was the same taste as always, and the chef hadn’t changed either, so it was weird.
“Even the colour of the sky felt a little off.”
“How so?”
“It looked dull. So I stopped looking up as often. And at night, the stars barely showed.”
Those things had always been there, right where they were — but they just stopped meaning anything to me.
There were always people around who cared about me, so I pretended I was fine.
I didn’t want anyone to worry.
“But from the moment Felix came back — as my Twelve-Hour Walter — everything returned to how it used to be.”
And now, everything looked almost ‘too’ bright — that I didn’t say out loud, since it somehow felt too embarrassing to admit.
He was quiet for a moment at my odd little complaint, then suddenly burst into laughter.
“I felt the same way.”
“Really?”
A response like that was something Walter — back when he'd lost all his emotions — would never have said.
When I asked in surprise, Felix nodded and replied.
"I stopped playing with the stray cats. Even when I saw them, I’d just leave out food and avoid them if they came close..."
“...”
He added that, of course, part of the reason he avoided them was because he was afraid they might explode if he touched them the wrong way.
‘Even in the midst of all that, you didn't forget to feed them.'
I had always been curious about that.
"I still don’t get what part of me is supposed to resemble a cat."
If I had to make a comparison, I’d say I resembled a puppy more than a cat. Even my personality didn’t seem all that similar.
"Well... maybe the way you cry?"
Cry... Stunned for a moment by his teasing remark, I froze — then my face flushed bright red.
“Me too, I’m just saying, that’s how it was.”
Felix let out a soft, airy laugh, then brought his lips — still damp with my tears — back to mine.
Translator's Corner:
[1] Leraze is referring to Larry
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