1.
Blood from the mirror covered its surroundings.
At first, it was only a drop or two. Then, the drops of blood continued to fall, turning into an endless faucet.
However, clang… clang… The moment a faraway grandfather clock rang, the drops of blood changed. Blood gushed uncontrollably from the gap in the mirror.
Clang…
Twelve o'clock. A dozen strikes of the bell.
A single drop swelled into a single column.
One column split into six.
The corridor was covered in blood.
It was a sea of red blood.
The grandfather clock rang its last.
We were standing on a carpet of blood.
"Milady."
I instinctively wrapped myself around the shoulders of the Lady of the Silver Lily. The pool of blood swarmed all the way up to our ankles. The slimey, moist texture felt foreboding.
"This is…"
"It's my nightmare."
The Lady of the Silver Lily whispered in my embrace.
"Keep your guard up, butler. This place is no different from another world. Other people cannot know or see what happens here."
Suddenly, the sea of blood began to bubble.
Thousands of bubbles rose up, and thousands of bubbles popped.
But among them, there were a few that stayed intact instead of disappearing as the other bubbles did.
[The silver-plated heart is manifesting.]
They were demons shaped like lips. No, they were just lips. There was no face or body, only the red lips and red tongue.
The thing grinned.
-His Highness.
-Loathe him.
The blood bubble lips continuously rose up and burst. The words they muttered were rarely connected. The words were incoherent. Like a chorus in terrible disharmony.
-The kind crown prince.
-Before he was the crown prince, the prince picked a flower for me.
-You wiped my tears with your sleeves. You were still a nice person.
-The heart was soft. That's why.
-But…
Stab!
The Lady of the Silver Lily pierced the blood bubble lips with her rapier. The demon popped. However, twice or thrice as many tongues arose from the sea of blood in its place.
The demons' cackles were red.
-Love him.
I also swung my sword.
-What's the point of loving someone who was born distinguished?
The demons' fighting power was trifling. They didn't even fight back. They only accepted the strikes.
But.
-Though he's an unattractive person.
-True love is embracing and guiding a foolish man.
They were unnerving.
It wasn't a physical attack but a mental one.
-I love you. Your Highness.
-I also know how to love.
-I am a loving noblewoman.
I bit my lips. It was unpleasant. I attacked faster to slice through the bubbles.
-Are you going to kill me?
-It's no use. The tragedy becomes sweeter the more you trample over it.
-Lady of the Golden Silk. She's flirting with His Highness?
-Disgusting.
The sea of blood surged with laughter.
-She's so naive, dreaming of romance. His Highness doesn't love the Lady of the Golden Silk. She's just a way to escape from his imperial duties.
-Poor prince.
-Pitiful prince.
Damn.
I had seen a phenomenon like this before.
'The Devil King of Fall Rain!'
Before I reaped her and gave her the name Preta, the Constellation was like this. The Devil King shed blood from the sky and freely used an army of monsters.
This was the strength of a Constellation.
Those demons were the familiars of the Lady of the Silver Lily.
[The presence of the silver-plated heart becomes more prominent.]
Something other than lips came from the sea of blood.
They were hands.
Like a bride and groom at a wedding, two hands were intertwined.
-Raviel. Your family and the imperial family have set up an engagement between us.
-An engagement, is it?
-Yes. But I don't want a political marriage.
The demons' hands clasped together.
Blood dripped endlessly from the hands of blood.
It came to my attention that the demons were reenacting [what happened in the past] like a play.
-We can ignore the engagement uncaringly decided by the adults. Regardless of them, I will love you. I came here today to formally propose to you.
-Prince.
-Raviel. When we grow older, will you marry me?
Dozens of lips surrounded the hands.
In unison, they answered.
-Yes.
-I'll love you surely.
-I'll love you too, my prince.
That son of a bitch.
He said something like that and still wasn't taking responsibility?
-His Highness most likely forgot.
-It was a promise made as children.
-It can't be helped.
-People have poor memories.
The blood bubble lips cackled.
-It can't be helped!
I couldn't stand it anymore.
I was engulfed in rage.
Splash! I took a step forward, focusing aura on my front foot.
Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
Eighth form.
Sword of Incineration.
As the waves of blood spread, so did my aura.
The sea of blood that covered the corridor burned.
-Ooh.
Behind me, Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
-Now, you can take on these mobs with a single blow. You've grown a lot, crow-tit.
Normally, I'd have played along to Bae Hu-ryeong's taunts. But right now, I wasn't in the mood. I cleared the corridor. The demons were swallowed in the inferno. The demons did not even scream as they disappeared. Rather, the way they laughed till the end pissed me off.
"Shit."
I burned the demons with a blow, but I was still seething inside.
Anger toward the crown prince. Contempt.
The fact that an honorable person like the Lady of the Silver Lily was hurt because of such a man, that she had made an irreversible wish. These things made me mad.
"Since when…?!"
I took a breath to temper my voice. No matter how angry I was, I didn't want to raise my voice to the Lady of the Silver Lily.
"…When did you become a Constellation? These things are the familiars of a Constellation. You made them."
That was why they did not resist; they recognized us as allies.
The Lady of the Silver Lily nodded. She knew.
"It happened the moment I stabbed my heart."
Unnoticed, the blood began to return to the mirror. Writhing. Slinking. The columns of blood crawled back through the crack in the mirror.
Regressing. The Lady of the Silver Lily watched calmly as the drops of blood inched away like leeches.
"It seems there is no original Constellation in this world. I don't know if there was one and they were killed or if they never existed from the start."
Lefanta Aegim probably killed the Constellation. But this wasn't the time to talk about that. I carefully listened to the lady's words.
"As time passes, the demons become more powerful. Their numbers grow, and their sizes increase. It becomes hard to control them as I do now. And on the tenth day—"
On the tenth day.
There, the Lady of the Silver Lily paused. She shook her head once and rephrased.
"…At any rate, as the ten days began to loop, I became [this world's representative]. Though it's not what I wished, the world's time revolves around me."
-Hmm.
Bae Hu-ryeong clasped his chin.
-It's not a typical ascension. In Murim terms, it isn't a righteous path but an evil path. Though the sword in the mirror is only a fragment, it was once a part of the [Guardian Goddess].
Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged and muttered.
-If you embed it in your heart, you'll ascend to a Constellation even if you don't want to… Combined with the repeated regression, it isn't something a human body can handle. Though, she isn't a complete Constellation but a knockoff. Anyway, it was the result of many coincidences.
'Can someone become a Constellation even if they don't want to?'
-Yup. Zombie, were you born human because you wanted to be?
Seriously, even if you try to talk to him, he's like this.
-The important part is the conditions. Not will. There are many people who suffer because they are human, but those who suffer because they became Constellations are also surprisingly common. It's easy for one's life to become miserable. Understand, Young Master of the Demonic Sect?
I exhaled.
My anger toward the prince fermented in my heart. That anger left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me.
"How unusual. Aren't you disappointed?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your words are correct. Whatever the circumstances, those demons are my familiars. They aren't making up the verses. The things they said were all things I whispered in my dreams, even if it was unconsciously."
The Lady of the Silver Lily tilted her head.
"I pledged a love that would never change. In order to keep that love pure, I have to remove the dust and flaws that settle in my love everyday."
Disappointment.
Frustration.
The feeling of wanting to receive as much as one gives.
"This is the result."
An oil stain on a heart.
The very epitome of a curse.
"Isn't it ugly?" muttered the Lady of the Silver Lily. "I have shown you what love is. But I didn't only show you. I tried to harvest your love, too. I brought you here to awaken you from this fantasy."
"Disappointed?"
Without my knowledge, a breath spilled from my lips. It wasn't a sigh. It was a breath barely containing anger.
"It's ugly? I don't know much, but milady, I will never be disappointed in you about something like this."
"…Like this?"
"You told me a secret. You took your heart and revealed it to me as it is. A person who is really detestable, milady, is someone who never shows their heart to others. Pretending to be laid-back. Pretending to be composed. Knowing only how to hurt people."
That bastard Flame Emperor.
"Rather, I'm worse. If Your Ladyship knew what kind of thoughts I have, you would abhor me."
"That makes me curious."
"If you brought me here to make me give up, you were wrong, milady. I didn't fall in love with you because your heart isn't ugly."
The Lady of the Silver Lily paused very briefly. Love. It was because of this word. My face became hot when I said it out loud, but I didn't think to hesitate.
"It's only been one day since you came to love me. My teaching is brilliant."
"Does it matter that it's only been a day? Would it have been better if I loved you for a year? A thousand days? Do you want me to return after that?"
"..."
"I can see what kind of people you despise. And what you despise is the same as what I hate. I can see what scars you wear and how you are hurt. I love the way you live. Because, you and I, we live the same life."
Will she hear me? Would she understand what I mean?
That wasn't something I could know.
I had never said something like this to anyone else. I wasn't used to it. But I wanted to keep the person in front of me. And I wanted the Lady of the Silver Lily to keep me. I wanted us to share one life and have each other.
"I love you as much as I love myself. I wish you could love me as much as I love you."
These were my true feelings.
And the only method I knew was to exclaim it with all my heart.
"I will definitely make you love me. I won't tell you to abandon the crown prince. Even if I don't ask you to, you will abandon him one day."
"My heart is…"
"Yes. But it doesn't matter if your heart is held hostage by the world. If that's the problem, I'll free you. But if you still love the crown prince, then I'll become an even better person than he is and stay by your side."
"..."
"Did the crown prince give you unforgettable memories when you were children? That doesn't matter, either."
I whispered in the Lady of the Silver Lily's ear.
"The two of us are regressors. The only two in the world."
I knew that my face was red. But I said what I had to say.
"There will be a lot of times that only you and I can enjoy. During those times, I'll give you such breathtaking memories that they will make your memory of the prince fade away. I'll try my best."
"Hmm."
The tips of the Lady of the Silver Lily's eyes rose up.
"Can you repeat these last ten days indefinitely? You'll become tired of it."
"That's no issue. This isn't the first time I've repeated the same days over and over again."
"What if I tell you to get out of my sight because I become tired of you?"
"I'll disappear, but—"
I moved my hand. I moved it, and I grabbed the Lady of the Silver Lily's fingertips. She had let go of her lantern while fighting the demons. It was something that took courage. A lot of it. Fortunately, I had enough.
"To start with, that's not going to happen."
"Why is that?"
"Because you haven't grown tired of the crown prince… and I am a better person than he is. If I make you uncomfortable, please tell me now. I'll disappear."
Silence.
The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at my face.
"…You're insufferable."
The lady's lips parted.
"I should be bothered, but right now, I don't feel that way. I don't think I'll be easily bothered, either."
It was then.
"…ler…!"
From far down the corridor, there was a voice. It sounded urgent. The Lady of the Silver Lily's servants must have been asleep, yet the residence suddenly was disturbed.
"…where…! But…!"
Soon, we heard footsteps. The servants had woken up. Lights turned on everywhere, and shortly after, the gray-haired servant ran to where the two of us stood.
"I apologize, milady."
The Lady of the Silver Lily let go of my hand.
"Why are you making a commotion at this late hour?"
"I'm sorry, but I must inform you…"
At that moment, the faraway voice that had been making a fuss could be heard more clearly than before.
"Butler! Where are you, butler?!"
My expression hardened.
It was a very familiar voice.
The gray-haired servant bowed in our direction.
"The Lady of the Golden Silk is on a rampage."