Leon had only been planning on checking up on Julien to make sure that he was fine and the servants hadn't turned on him.

Although unlikely, it wouldn't be strange considering how the previous Julien used to act. He thought that if there were some problems they wouldn't be so bad, but...

Coming into the room, Leon saw Julien holding onto a red book which he placed down on the desk as he turned his face to face him.

"...This really happened, didn't it?"

Julien's hazel eyes met with his as Leon felt his body grow cold.

"You, you died before."

Leon suddenly felt his mouth grow dry. He didn't know how to reply. The situation completely blindsided him, and he found himself unable to respond.

His silence spoke volumes as Julien's eyes closed.

"So it's true..."

He pursed his lips.

"How are you still alive?"

Leon took a deep breath.

He hadn't expected Julien to learn about his past like this. While he wasn't afraid he'd come to learn it since he was bound to, Leon didn't think he'd find out in this manner.

"It's a little complicated."

Leon scratched the side of his face.

His thoughts ran wild as he tried to find ways to avoid it, but seeing Julien's expression, Leon knew that there was no way out for him.

Closing his eyes, he nudged at Julien with his head.

"Come with me. I'll show you something."

"Um."

Julien didn't say anything and merely nodded his head, closing the book and hiding it away on the bookshelf before following him from behind.

Leon took a small breath before leaving.

I guess...

It was about time he showed him.

***

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, young master."

Along the way, the servants would greet us with forced smiles. They were a lot kinder to Leon, but I could sense the tension that lingered in the air

I maintained an indifferent disposition and just calmly followed him out of the estate and toward the back garden.

"This is...?"

"Just follow me."

Leon beckoned me with his head and we walked further into the back garden. I took the chance to look at my surroundings and noticed that everything was extremely well maintained.

Almost to the point where it felt like it was a little too perfect.

As if noticing my thoughts, Leon spoke.

"The Baron... Julien's father, he... he's a perfectionist. You can say that he won't hesitate to cut someone out if they aren't perfect. It's for that reason that the garden is so well maintained. If he finds a problem with it, the gardener will be out of a job within the next day."

"Oh."

He sounded like a really troublesome figure to deal with.

... It was no wonder he only contacted me after I won the tournament. Apparently, I was now 'perfect' in his eyes and was worth his attention.

'Strangely, he didn't care back when I became the Black Star. I guess even that isn't good enough for him.'

Not that I minded since I had no feelings of attachment for him.

"....Um?"

We came to a halt in front of the towering walls that enclosed the entire estate. The walls were thick and sturdy, with several sharp spikes along the top, making it impossible for anyone to climb over.

'Well, not really sure if that will be of much help if they are superhumans...'

It felt like it was more there for decoration than anything else.

Rustle~

A gentle rustling sound took my attention as Leon pushed one of the bushes to the side to display a small hole alongside the wall.

Before I could voice out my confusion, he spoke,

"We used to sneak under here to get out of the estate when we were younger. You were the one who found it first."

"...Oh."

I looked at the hole.

It wasn't big, big enough for a large dog to pass through. I could see how a child could get past the hole, but there was no way the current me could do so.

Leon also knew this as he stomped his foot on the ground and jumped over the wall.

Thump!

He landed shortly after.

"I knew it."

I mumbled, stomping my foot as well and jumping over the wall.

"....It was just for decoration."

Thump!

Landing softly on the ground, I glanced around before finally fixing my gaze on Leon, who was making his way through the dense foliage. We were by the edge of a small forest, and although I didn't know where we were going, he appeared to know.

I followed him in silence.

Rustle~

Pushing the leaves and bushes to the side we walked for over ten minutes before the

surroundings opened up to reveal an open field. The trees were sparsely arranged while the thin grass barely covered the ground.

Leon's steps finally came to a stop as he looked at the scene with a complicated look.

"What is it...?"

I alternated my gaze between Leon and the scenery. Regardless of how hard I tried, I couldn't

see anything out of the ordinary.

Why did he show me this place?

"Is there -"

"It was here."

Leon mumbled in a soft tone, stripping me of my voice.

"... You asked me if Julien killed me, right?"

Leon nudged with his head.

"It was here that he killed me."

He slashed down with his hand.

"It was a clean slash. I can still remember it to this day. The pain, the shock, and the

frustration that I felt that day."

"Then how are you still alive...?"

Leon pursed his lips, the words that he was about to say seemingly getting stuck in his throat.

I found it weird and tried to be patient, but even as several minutes passed, he didn't talk.

It was to the point where I found it weird.

'Just what is making it so hard for him to speak...?'

I tried waiting further, but seeing that he was still in the same lost and confused state, I no

longer waited for him and just placed my hand on his shoulder.

"If you don't want to say it, you don't have to."

...I had other ways to figure it out.

For example...

I looked toward my right hand where a four-clover tattoo rested. Although I didn't really

want to use it on him, I had no choice but to.

I felt like this was extremely important information that I had to know.

Therefore, without giving it any further thought, I pressed the second leaf.

But...

"........"

Even as I pressed it, nothing happened.

'Eh...?'

I was confused.

Why didn't it work? It made no sense...

I tried again, but still nothing. The glow on my arm dimmed, but the effect never appeared. I

was stunned by the situation and blinked my eyes a couple of times.

'Why is it not working?'

This was the first time that a situation such as this occurred and I didn't know how to react.

Blinking my eyes, I could see a change in Leon as he tried to turn his head to look at me. At

that moment, my eyes fell on the third leaf and after thinking about it for a second, I decided

to press it.

'Don't tell me this won't work as well-'

No, it worked.

Suddenly my world grew dark and Leon disappeared from my view. By the time I regained a

sense of myself, I heard a familiar voice in the distance.

"Die...!"

The voice seemed to be filled with rage.

Staring into the distance, I held my breath as two figures appeared.

Barely dodging the blade, Leon stumbled several steps before looking back in horror.

"Julien?"

"Fuck, you're as slippery as always, bastard."

They were both younger, but it was without a doubt Leon and the old Julien.

I couldn't find the words to describe the situation as Julien's face twisted.

"You're my fucking servant. If I tell you to fucking die you fucking die!"

The arrogance, insecurity, and jealousy that I felt in the writing.

...It was clearer than ever at this moment.

"Fuck, you cheap bastard." Julien glared at Leon as he lowered his head to stare at the sword in his hand.

It wasn't a fancy sword, just a dummy that wasn't very sharp.

"... Of all people why did it have to be you? Why were you the one who was born talented with

the sword?" Julien's gaze was filled with clear resentment as he stared at the sword.

With a slow, deliberate motion, he extended his hand, and a magic circle appeared, floating

just above his palm, illuminating his face with a dim purple light.

"This shitty curse magic. What good is it when there is a sword? Damn it!"

Julien cursed, his eyes flickering between madness and sanity.

"Ahh, shit.

He ruffled his hair, glaring up ahead and extending his sword.

"Fucking die...!"

He brought his hand forward, and purple hands manifested from beneath the ground,

rendering Leon immobile.

"Ahhh!"

Leon's scream reverberated through the forest.

And it only intensified as Julien's sword came cleaving down on his neck, severing his neck

completely.

Thump!

I watched the scene with wide eyes as I kept silent in the distance.

What sort of...

"Hahahaha."

A loud, maniacal laugh reverberated through the forest as Julien's eyes turned bloodshot.

"I... I did it...!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I... fucking did it! Hahaha...!"

He seemed to have completely lost it.

"Bastard...! This is what you get for taking what is mine! How fucking dare you!? You lowly

bastard!"

Thump! Thump!

As if he didn't have enough, Julien stomped on Leon's headless body.

"Die! Die...!"

It was as if he had gone crazy.

Thump!

He just continued to stomp over and over again. I could only stand in the distance while

watching all of this happen.

"Haaa... Haa..."

By the time he was done, Julien's breaths were heavy.

"Fucking bastard."

But the smile he had couldn't be hidden.

He seemed relieved as he recovered his breath. Then, taking out a small bottle from his

pocket, he poured it over Leon's corpse.

"This should hide the evidence..."

He mumbled in silence, looking toward his left and right before rushing away. It was as

though he was scared of something.

At first, I didn't understand what he had poured on Leon's body, but soon it became clear to

me.

"Rooooar-"

A powerful roar reverberated through the forest.

Thump! Thump!

The whole forest shook shortly after that.

'Something is approaching...!'

I held my breath but remained on my spot. I wanted to see just how Leon would revive

himself.

Thump!

I wanted in the dark while the steps grew nearer.

Thump! Thump...!

I felt strangely tense as the steps matched the beat of my own heartbeat.

"Rooooar-"

A shadowy figure emerged from behind the thick foliage, and moments later, a massive bear-

like creature lumbered into view.

Its fur was matted, and its powerful muscles rippled beneath its coarse hide as it moved

forward, eyes gleaming with hunger as its gaze settled over to Leon's headless corpse.

I remained silent as it drew nearer to Leon.

.....I watched as it reached Leon and opened its large mouth in preparation for eating him.

I held my breath as that happened.

'Why is nothing happening?....Why isn't Leon reviving?'

The bear's saliva tricked down and its mouth hovered Leon's corpse. My entire body grew

tense at the sight.

'Do something!? Why isn't nothing happening?'

At this rate, his entire body was going to be consumed by the bear. There'd be no way for him

to revive if that happened.

'Do something...!'

My heart screamed as the bear's mouth closed.

I couldn't take it any longer.

Xiu!

Before the bear's jaws could snap shut, I acted swiftly. A thin silver thread shot from my hand,

slicing through the air and striking the bear's temple with deadly precision, killing it in a

single blow.

Thump!

"Haaa... Haa..."

With heavy breaths, I rushed towards the bear's body and looked through its body in an

attempt to see if there was anything special about it.

But no.

There was nothing special about it.

Then...?

I looked toward Leon's dead body and swallowed dryly.

A thought occurred to me as I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

'No, it can't be.'

I denied the thought and hid my body again.

I waited in the dark, hoping for something to happen. But... even as the hours passed, Leon's

body remained still.

There were no signs of revival.

I bit my lips and came out of hiding.

From the moment the bear came, I already knew the answer as I looked toward my ring and

took out a small vial.

11

The words refused to leave my mouth as I poured the liquid onto Leon's body. Immediately, a change occurred the moment I did so as his body started to squirm and the

blood that seeped onto the ground reversed back into his body.

His head rolled back and attached back to his body and before long, his chest started to move

up and down again.

He was alive once more.

Rustle~

Just then, I heard a rustling sound. It didn't seem to come from a creature and my heart sank.

....I had been so preoccupied with Leon that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings.

I didn't have much time and used [Veil of Deceit] to make myself look younger as a small

figure appeared shortly after.

She looked a lot younger, and her features were a lot softer than I was used to before, but the

moment she appeared, I could see her expression freeze as she locked her gaze over to Leon.

"This...!"

Her eyes widened as her small figure stopped. Processing the situation, her face turned angry as she charged at me.

"Is this your doing?!"

"I..."

'Before you took Julien's body? Did we meet before?'