Chapter 9

I Will Accept a Lifetime Contract (5)

“You just need to disappear. You, and only you…!”

“What are you doing, Aileen?!”

One night, Aileen secretly snuck into Eclipse’s bedroom—only to be caught by Cesare.

“What were you trying to do to Eclipse?”

“……”

“Answer me!”

“Anyone who interferes with my plans must be removed. Even if that person is my husband.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll send you off the same way I did her.”

“No… don’t tell me—!”

Aileen shoved the unprepared Cesare down the stairs with all her strength. He died instantly at the bottom.

After Cesare’s death, Aileen thought again:

As a saintess, she had now committed two unforgivable sins. Before her crimes became known, she decided to end everything herself.

“Demon Eckhart, please hear my prayer. Before I vanish into nothing, let me ask you one last favor.”

Despite being a servant of Adin, the God of Peace, Aileen prayed to the demon.

“I want to place an eternal curse on the filthy creature I despise. That low-born filth dared to taint noble blood. I cannot allow it. Grant me this—let that wretch meet a miserable end worthy of his station.”

Eckhart accepted her prayer with delight and whispered into the young Eclipse’s ear:

“Boy… if the day ever comes when you can’t hide the darkness in your heart, you’ll suffer the same fate as your foster mother.”

But then Aileen’s true god, Adin, appeared before her.

“Foolish one. Your greed has led you straight to ruin.”

“My lord Adin, your servant Aileen has lived without a single regret.”

“…You’re not even worth keeping alive.”

Filled with wrath, Adin took her life on the spot.

I blinked up at the ceiling, lying on my bed.

‘Wow. That’s a lot darker than I thought.’

Even as someone who once dreamed of being the world’s greatest villain, I had never thought of killing people.

But a so-called saintess killed two—and even left a curse behind.

“This isn’t a saintess. More like a villainess.”

Please adjust the character settings: Saintess (actually a villainess).

“So she figured, ‘I’m going to die anyway, might as well curse someone before I go’? She’s completely insane.”

I used to think I was the ultimate villain… but compared to her? Nope. Hands up. I surrender. She wins.

“…But wait. How do I break that curse?”

If I wanted to stop the story from going down its original tragic route, I had to lift the curse on Eclipse.

But the method to break it was never revealed in the original novel.

Even Lynette, the heroine, only learned the truth from Adin after the very end.

‘Adin?’

My eyes widened.

“Right! I just need to ask that god!”

Lynette’s patron deity was also Adin.

In fact, because he feared Lynette might repeat her mother’s mistakes, Adin descended to earth in human form as “Ain” and disguised himself as a priest at the Temple of Peace to watch over her.

“Perfect. I just have to get close to Lynette, and then I’ll have a chance to meet that priest.”

Ordinary people like me couldn’t get a private audience with a priest without special permission.

But if I had the backing of a saintess-like heroine?

“That’s basically a free pass.”

Honestly… this was looking easier than expected.

Was it really okay for things to work out so smoothly?

Meanwhile, after Elsie and Silvern left, only the two siblings—who shared no blood between them—remained in the office, shrouded in silence.

Eclipse quietly studied the contract Elsie had signed.

‘That pink hair…’

He opened a drawer and took out a small glass vial. Inside was a single long strand of dull pink hair.

‘It matches exactly.’

He rolled the strand between his fingers. He had found it on his desk just a few nights ago.

None of the servants had hair like this. He had been puzzled—

‘It’s the same color as that woman who saved Lynette.’

The woman named Elsie. Today had been his first time meeting her.

So how had her hair already been in his study before that?

‘And this vial, too…’

His gaze shifted to another glass bottle filled with violet-colored powder.

A maid had picked it up from the floor while cleaning his office.

Only he, Lynette, Silvern, and a few designated staff were allowed inside. None of them had shown any sign of owning such a thing.

‘It doesn’t belong to anyone here…’

So where had it come from?

One thing was certain: both the strange items and the pink hair had appeared since that night.

That night had been unusual.

The candles had blown out suddenly, and he had lost consciousness.

Even stranger, for the first time in years, he had slept peacefully without nightmares.

‘I’ve never fallen asleep in my office before.’

Not once since the death of the late duchess.

Every time he closed his eyes, the same nightmare returned.

“……”

In the dream, his sister always died.

Her frail body fell from a tall staircase to the cold stone floor below.

And at the bottom, Eclipse always watched helplessly.

When she fell, someone looked down from above—the one who had pushed her. And that face was always…

‘Why is it always the late duchess?’

Aileen de Ledaire. She was always the one standing at the top.

‘…It must be my personal feelings. Don’t think about it.’

He had never liked Aileen.

How could he, after the way she had treated him?

‘Still… that was the first night I didn’t dream of her.’

Pressing his aching temples with a finger, Eclipse reached for a cup of his usual drink—an herbal stimulant he relied on.

Without it, he couldn’t avoid nightmares.

“You’re drinking that again?”

Lynette walked over, folding her arms, clearly displeased.

“If you keep drinking that, you won’t be able to sleep at all. Stop it already.”

“You know as well as I do—I have mountains of work to finish.”

“I know, but…”

She sighed softly.

“I’m worried about you. Silvern said the same thing—that you’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

“Silvern talks too much.”

Still, they were right. Lately, he had been overworking himself more than ever.

But he couldn’t afford to rest.

If he didn’t constantly prove his worth, he could lose both his position and his name.

Those were the last things left to him by his sister and adoptive father.

He could not betray that legacy.

“Lynette.”

“What?”

He had questions for her.

Sliding the two mysterious vials back into the drawer, Eclipse asked:

“I heard Elsie Bloomhire caused a commotion on her way here. Yet you told the guards to overlook it. Even after she accused two soldiers of plotting against you and had to be restrained with magic cuffs.”

His sharp gaze fell on his adoptive sister.

“I’ll ask again. Is that woman truly necessary to you?”

“……”

Lynette knew her brother well.

If someone was useless, he discarded them without hesitation. But if they were useful, he would hold on at any cost.

That was the reason she admired him so much.

“Well… you see…”

Lynette let out a tiny sigh.

‘Sorry, Brother. You don’t know it, but I do have a reason to keep that witch by my side.’

From the way he was speaking, Eclipse already considered Elsie unnecessary.

So Lynette straightened her shoulders and shamelessly lied.

“Yes. She’s important to me.”

“…Truly?”

“Of course.”

Eclipse’s expression remained unreadable.

After a short silence, he spoke again.

“One more thing. Silvern said Bloomhire claimed the two soldiers at the gate threatened your life. Is that true?”

“Oh, that…”

Lynette gave a faint smile.

‘Actually, that was my scheme. You don’t know, Brother.’

And she intended to keep it that way.

Her brother could never know what she was plotting, or why.