Chapter 3
“The future where you survive — for now — seems to be the best option for me, too.”
“That’s what your ‘future-seeing’ tells you? That the most ideal way for you to get what you want in life is to cooperate with me?”
He was wrong from the start — because Bellona didn’t wish for life at all. What she wanted was death.
Helping the villain? That sounded ridiculous. But if that was what it took to finally reach eternal rest… she’d take that path. That’s how desperate she was.
Bellona closed her eyes slowly, feeling under her palm where his heart should’ve been.
“Yeah. Whether you believe it or not, I want you to live — completely. But the path you’ve chosen now will fail. It’ll destroy you. Your arrogance will swallow you whole, and even if you somehow win in the end…”
She curled her hand into a fist and poked his chest with her finger.
“…you’ll lose yourself. You’ll be nothing but a madman, consumed by insanity.”
“I’m not that weak.”
“That arrogance right there — that’s the problem. I’d like everyone to be happy if possible. You included.”
Suddenly, Domenic stepped closer — way closer. Bellona stumbled back, pushed until her back hit the cold wall. In his eyes, black swirls were spinning.
Great. He was using magic again. She’d literally just told him not to.
“So you want me to survive, huh? Then tell me about your power. In detail.”
The command in his voice made her smile faintly instead.
So impatient. So greedy.
Behind her back, her fingers brushed the handle of a dagger as she rose slightly on tiptoe, bringing her lips close to his ear.
“If you’re going to use black magic on me, you’d better come better prepared.”
His eyes flicked down, and he immediately noticed it — the dagger in her hand was a holy relic, Yekaros’s Dagger, repelling his black magic.
“…A dagger like that won’t stop me.”
He reached out, grabbing her hand to snatch the dagger away — but when his palm completely covered hers, she realized something strange. His hand wasn’t cold like she expected. It was… warm. Alive.
“Wait.”
She reflexively grabbed his arm, and to her surprise, he flinched hard — enough to loosen his grip.
From outside the door, voices echoed — the High Priest was coming to inspect the area and offer final prayers for the day.
Bellona took the chance to slip out of his hold. She gave him a teasing smile that basically said handle it yourself, and quietly opened the door she’d come through. His hand hung uselessly in the air — she almost laughed at how lost he looked.
Maybe I’m just doing this because it’s fun to mess with him.
The Domenic she knew from before was always terrifyingly composed and smart — catching him off guard like this was rare. It had taken her a long time to stop being afraid of him.
“I guess I should make my exit now. Remember what I said — do your best.”
Considering how tense the moment had been, the ending felt almost anticlimactic. Domenic just stood there, frozen, while Bellona smiled at him sweetly.
“When I leave, make sure to pull the carpet back over the spot so no one notices. Okay? See you later. And try not to kill anyone if you can help it.”
“If I can help it?”
The look he gave her said are you serious right now? Considering how many people he’d already killed since getting his black magic, she couldn’t even guess the number.
“There’s such a thing as self-defense, you know.”
Bellona walked away so casually it was almost funny. Domenic’s dumbfounded face was the last thing she saw before she closed the door behind her.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Bellona didn’t leave right away — she listened quietly to the voices above.
“You…!”
“It’s been a long time, Father. Or should I say, High Priest?”
“You returned… you actually returned… This can’t be…”
The old man’s shocked voice filled the space.
Well, that part’s his job now.
Bellona calmly straightened her clothes, brushed off the dust from her shoulders, and checked her reflection in the small mirror. Her blue eyes looked as lifeless as ever.
She plucked a bit of dust from her hair, remembering the lively red in Domenic’s eyes just moments ago, then shook off the thought and opened the prayer room door.
Her maid Rose, who’d been waiting, rushed up to her.
“Let’s go, Rose.”
“Feeling better after your prayer, my lady? Everything will work out, you’ll see.”
Rose looked a bit confused — Bellona, who usually hated attending temple events, had stayed in there for quite a while. But seeing her smiling softly, Rose seemed relieved.
“I think so. It’s going to be fun.”
“…What?”
“There’s just something about it.”
If death wasn’t coming for her, she needed something interesting to make life worth living.
Even as she stepped out of the temple into the quiet night, Bellona felt calm. Deep down, she could sense it — she had just made a real choice that would completely twist the future.
If every choice she’d made so far was wrong, then maybe it was time to take a path she’d never tried before.
Maybe this time, she’d finally reach the most “ideal” ending — and her endless loop of regression could finally stop.
***
By the time the sun fully set and Bellona had returned home, eaten dinner, and taken a bath, no urgent news had come from the temple.
Guess he actually listened for once.
For the first time, a day passed without chaos erupting at the temple.
Wrapped in her robe, sitting by the window, flipping through a book, Bellona glanced out at the quiet garden. Then she suddenly turned to Rose.
“Father has a younger sister, right?”
Rose, who was fixing the bed, sighed softly.
“You know that’s a forbidden topic.”
“Well, it’ll stay a secret if you don’t tell Father.”
Bellona grinned. Rose gave a helpless look and propped up the pillow.
“Why do you ask, all of a sudden?”
“Just wondering. If my aunt got married, maybe I’d have some cousins somewhere. I’m the only child now, after all.”
Rose hesitated, then said quietly,
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but… you know your aunt ran away from home, right? She wanted to marry a knight from a commoner’s family, and your father disowned her.”
Of course Bellona knew that.
Her aunt, Aristy Rozentin, had been abandoned by her own brother when she went against the family’s will. Her husband, stripped of his title, became a mercenary and died young. Aristy had to raise her son — Bellona’s cousin, Julian — all on her own.
“She wrote to your father, asking him to at least take her son into the family, since she was sick. But the count ignored every letter.”
Rose’s voice softened.
“I see.”
Bellona already knew the rest, too.
After Aristy’s death, Julian had tried to travel to the capital to enter the Rozentin estate — only to be turned away every time by her father’s men before he could even set foot inside.
“I know you’re curious, my lady, but please — never bring it up to your father. He absolutely hates that topic.”
“Got it.”
Bellona smiled innocently. In truth, she was already planning to bring Julian back into the family — officially.
While she’d be busy helping Domenic, she’d need someone reliable to handle house affairs. Julian would be perfect.
Julian, Domenic… funny, they’re kind of similar. Both denied the lives they should’ve had.
In this life, Bellona was unintentionally turning into quite the generous person — planning to help two doomed men at once.
She closed her book with a soft thud and leaned back, thinking.
In past lives, she’d ignored Julian, thinking it didn’t matter — after all, her life just kept repeating anyway. But now that she’d decided to help Domenic, she might as well shake things up completely this time.
It was part of her new habit — if she was stuck reliving life over and over, she might as well do it differently each time.
“Hmm?”
Her thoughts broke when she saw movement in the garden below her window. The bushes were rustling — not like from the wind, but like someone was actually there. Then she spotted it: a dark figure standing under a tree.
Bellona immediately stood up and opened the window.
“Something wrong?” Rose asked.
“No. Just felt a little stuffy.”
Even from far away, Bellona could feel it — the faint curve of amusement at his lips.
She leaned against the window and murmured, almost laughing,
“Looks like a black cat’s sneaked into the garden.”
From the shadows, a step forward — dark hair catching the moonlight, and beneath it, eyes glowing red.
That proud, sharp jawline, that smirk that looked almost like a predator’s.
It was Domenic.
He’d found her already. Way faster than she expected.
Bellona propped her chin in her hand and smiled down at him.
“So… looks like you’re ready to cooperate, huh?”
