"You can't resist it yourself either, can you?? Sola?" Kanjuro's low voice carried a merciless penetrating force, ringing in Sola's ear like a demon's judgment.
"It's alright, no need to feel ashamed. Everything you're doing now is to be able to be with your Diarmuid, just like that princess in your past life who willingly abandoned everything for her knight. Your yielding to me now is merely a necessary concession for your great 'love.'"
His presence carried an irresistible dominance, yet his words were like the sharpest blades, slicing through Sola's remaining reason and dignity.
"Believe me, Diarmuid... won't mind whether you still maintain your former resolve at this moment."
Sola let out a suppressed sob, unable to break free in the spiral of contradiction, her heart shattered, as if silently acquiescing to Kanjuro's words.
Reason told her this was a humiliating betrayal, but her entire being, under the combined influence of a strange resonance and the deep-rooted past-life imprint in her soul, betrayed her will, giving an unmistakable, intense tremor.
See, Kanjuro's whisper carried the meaning of seeing through everything, his presence becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
Your entirety, every tremor of your heart, every response to the trajectory of fate—are they not all proving to you how fragile the so-called noble human soul is before certain more fundamental and powerful forces? The heart's persistence will ultimately be touched and influenced by deeper existences. Give up resisting, Sola...
Sola tightly closed her eyes, tears continuously streaming from the corners, soaking the pillow beside her.
She couldn't refute it, because the turmoil in her heart was so real and overwhelming. That forced revelation, mixed with guilt and a certain resonance of fateful attraction, almost completely drowned her.
Jeanne remained like a cold statue, standing silently in the shadows outside the window, quietly observing everything happening inside.
Time passed.
After the tide of emotions subsided, the bedroom was left with only Sola's unconscious figure.
As if having exhausted all her mental strength, she leaned weakly against Kanjuro's side, her gaze unfocused and hazy.
After a brief period of disorientation, her obsession with Diarmuid once again occupied her mind.
With effort, she propped up her weak body, lowered her head, revealing a humble, pleading expression. Her voice carried unsettled panting and urgency: "Tell me... Lord Kanjuro, what must I do... to truly be with Diarmuid?"
Upon hearing this, Kanjuro lazily picked up the cigarette box by the bed and skillfully lit a cigarette.
He didn't care at all whether Jeanne was watching; in fact, he seemed to enjoy the feeling of being observed, as if it proved his absolute control.
He blew out a smoke ring, his face appearing even more sinister and alluring amidst the swirling haze.
"You just need to do as I say," Kanjuro's voice was low and full of temptation.
However, the corner of his eye glanced at Jeanne.
Jeanne, it seemed, had been observing with a heart as calm as still water from beginning to end.
An interesting woman. Could it be she has no interest in desire at all?
He leaned down and whispered a few words into Sola-Ui's ear. As Sola-Ui listened to his plan, her eyes gradually widened. Her face first flashed with extreme shock, and then a look of reckless abandon, a mixture of fear and excitement, replaced her hesitation.
"So... that's how it is..." she murmured, a light rekindling in her eyes. "As expected of Lord Kanjuro... I understand."
Her voice now carried a submissive softness after resignation and a deliberately displayed seductiveness. As long as she thought about the success of the plan and being able to throw herself into Diarmuid's embrace, immense anticipation overwhelmed all other emotions.
Kanjuro smiled with satisfaction, stood up, and dressed neatly. He walked to the window and said indifferently to Jeanne in the shadows, "Let's go."
Jeanne still didn't understand Kanjuro's overall plan, but she didn't ask further, only nodding silently.
Before leaving, Kanjuro took out a letter he had prepared long ago, sealed with an aura of Black Magic, from his bosom and casually threw it onto Sola-Ui's pillow. "Keep it safe," he commanded.
Sola-Ui, as if receiving an imperial decree, carefully grasped the letter, which contained ominous power, tightly in her hand.
The figures of Kanjuro and Jeanne, like ink blending into the night, quietly vanished outside the window.
The next morning.
Kayneth was sitting on the luxurious sofa in the living room, holding a glass of red wine to clear his mind, his brow slightly furrowed. He was clearly still troubled by Diarmuid's defeat last night and the appearance of the variable, Kanjuro.
Sola-Ui, wearing a silk nightgown, walked out of the bedroom with slightly unsteady steps, her face wearing just the right amount of worry and a trace of lingering fatigue. "Something has happened, Lord Kayneth," her voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
"What is it?" Kayneth looked up. For this fiancée from a political marriage, he always lacked genuine enthusiasm, but he maintained superficial concern.
Sola-Ui handed over the letter that emitted faint dark fluctuations. "When I woke up this morning, I found this letter in the room... It says it's for you," she said, avoiding eye contact.
Kayneth took the letter with suspicion. The moment his fingertips touched the envelope, a pure and tempting dark magical energy surged into his perception like an electric current.
His expression turned stern, and he quickly opened it.
The words on the letter paper were not written with ordinary ink but were outlined by flowing, seemingly living Black Magic energy. Each character exuded a fatal attraction, directly pointing to the most fundamental desire deep within him as a Magician—
[To Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald:]
[What a Magician craves throughout their life is nothing more than glimpsing the truth, reaching the Root, and touching the ultimate 'Law' and 'Principle' behind all phenomena in the world.]
[If you desire to know the answer, if you are willing to face the origin of the magical path,]
[Await your esteemed presence this evening.]
[—Respectfully, Kanjuro]
[P.S.: After the brief encounter last night, you must have gained some slight understanding of my'strength'.]
At the end of the letter, the time and place of the meeting were clearly marked.
Kayneth's fingers holding the letter paper tightened slightly. The flowing Black Magic power on it was so pure and powerful, far exceeding all his previous knowledge.
A mixture of extreme desire, intense jealousy, and deep apprehension churned in his chest.
Reaching the Root... This is the ultimate dream of all Magicians, and Kanjuro, this mysterious man, seemed to hold the key to that dream.
He raised his head and looked out the window at the newly risen sun, his eyes becoming sharp and complex.
Tonight's appointment—was it a trap or an opportunity? But he knew he could not refuse. Kayneth's gaze lingered on the letter paper emitting ominous magic for a long time. Finally, he forcefully suppressed the storm in his heart and, expressionlessly, folded the letter, carefully storing it inside the inner pocket of his formal wear.
"Lord Kayneth... What does the letter say? You don't look well." Sola-Ui walked up, her hands clasped uneasily in front of her, her face filled with deliberately crafted concern.
"Nothing important," Kayneth waved his hand, trying to make his tone sound as calm as usual, but the fleeting fanaticism and struggle deep in his eyes were not completely concealed. "Just... an invitation regarding magical research. You needn't worry."
"But... I feel very uneasy." Sola-Ui gently pulled on his sleeve, looking up with shimmering eyes, playing the role of a noble lady worried about her fiancé's safety to perfection. "That man named Kanjuro seems very dangerous. If you go to meet him alone, what if..."
"There is no 'what if'," Kayneth interrupted her, his tone carrying the pride and unquestionable authority of a Clock Tower Lord. "I, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, hardly need a woman to worry about my safety. Just attend to your own duties." He subtly withdrew his arm and turned to walk towards the study, clearly not wanting to continue the topic.
Watching his departing back, Sola-Ui's lips curled into a triumphant, cold smile at an angle no one could see.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the stairs. Diarmuid descended from the attic resting area. He had clearly also sensed the lingering, unsettling dark aura from that letter. "master," he said with a serious expression, kneeling on one knee, "that letter... If it truly was written by that man from last night, it must contain a scheme. If you insist on going to the meeting, please allow me to accompany you as a guard!"
Kayneth stopped walking, turned his head, and gave him a cold glance filled with condescending contempt. "Diarmuid, mind your place. You are merely a familiar, a tool. When is it your turn to command me, your master, on how to act?" His words were like a cold whip lashing the knight's dignity.
Diarmuid's body stiffened. He lowered his head further, his clenched fists turning white at the knuckles. But in the end, he swallowed all the humiliation and worry, saying in a low voice, "...This subordinate has overstepped. Please forgive my offense."
As night fell, Kayneth tidied his appearance. Without carrying any obvious formal attire, he left the hotel alone.
Diarmuid stood by the window, watching his master's figure disappear into the night. The unease in his heart reached its peak. He turned, wanting to follow.
"Lancer, please wait a moment." Sola-Ui's voice sounded at just the right time as she blocked Diarmuid's path.
"Lady Sola-Ui, please step aside. It's too dangerous for the master to go alone!" Diarmuid's tone was urgent.
"It's alright, Kayneth... has great confidence in his own strength." Sola-Ui gently shook her head, wearing a seemingly innocent look of worry. "Moreover, you should understand his personality. Once he decides something, he dislikes others defying him. If you force your way after him, if he gets angry and uses a command spell to order you... You wouldn't want to waste a precious command spell on such a matter, or create an irreparable rift with your master, would you?"
Her words seemed to consider Diarmuid and Kayneth's relationship in every aspect, but in reality, each sentence struck at what Diarmuid cared about most—a knight's loyalty and absolute obedience to the master's commands.
Diarmuid fell into intense struggle. He knew Kayneth's stubbornness well and understood the absoluteness of command spells. Seeing Sola-Ui's earnest expression of "I completely understand and am thinking of you," his heart softened, and his tightly wound vigilance relaxed a bit.
"...You are right," he finally made the difficult decision, letting out a heavy sigh. "I was inconsiderate. I hope... the master returns safely."
Seeing him compromise, Sola-Ui secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, but on her face, she blossomed a gentle and reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Lord Kayneth is very strong."
On the empty wilderness, the night wind howled, blowing the withered yellow wild grass, bringing a desolate and solemn atmosphere.
The cold moonlight poured down like quicksilver, illuminating the lone, proud figure in the center of the wilderness. Kanjuro was draped in a black coat that seemed to absorb all light. The wide hood covered part of his face, revealing only his elegantly shaped jawline and the corner of his mouth that always carried a sinister curve. Jeanne stood silently behind him at a slight distance, like his most loyal shadow, seemingly blending into the surrounding darkness.
Kayneth arrived as promised. He maintained the elegant demeanor of a noble Magician, but the vigilance and desire in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.
"You are the one who wrote the letter?" Kayneth spoke first, his voice sounding somewhat cold and hard in the night wind.
Kanjuro slowly raised his head. Under the hood, those deep eyes seemed to contain endless chaos and malice. "You may call me Kanjuro."
"Let's be direct, Kanjuro." Kayneth was unwilling to engage in excessive pleasantries. "What you mentioned in the letter, about the Root, about the secrets of Black Magic... What price do I need to pay for you to share it?"
Hearing this, Kanjuro let out a low chuckle, the laughter particularly eerie in the silent wilderness. "Price? No, you misunderstand, Lord Kayneth." His voice carried the teasing of a cat playing with a mouse. "I lured you out for one simple purpose—"
He paused, his tone suddenly turning icy and full of killing intent:
"—to kill you."
Kayneth was stunned for a moment, then an overwhelming fury at being fooled surged onto his face. "You! How dare you... How dare you deceive a Magician with lies about reaching the Root for such a despicable purpose?!" His voice trembled with extreme anger.
"Deceive?" Kanjuro tilted his head, his tone filled with mockery. "You were too foolish yourself, willingly stepping into the trap. Did you really think a shortcut to the Root could be so easily shared with others? Especially with a fool like you... who doesn't even bring his own Servant."
Kayneth's face turned ashen. He forced himself to remain calm and retorted, "The path to seeking the Root is lonely and secretive by nature. How could it allow others to spy?!"
"Yes, lonely, secretive... This is the burial ground I carefully selected for you." Kanjuro's voice was like the pronouncement of death. "And this is precisely why I could easily grasp your weakness. However, before sending you on your way..."
Before his words finished, Kanjuro's figure blurred like a ghost. The next moment, he had already appeared in front of Kayneth as if teleporting! His speed far exceeded Kayneth's reaction limit!
Kayneth's pupils contracted sharply. He instinctively wanted to retreat and activate his magic, but to his horror, he found his body seemingly bound by invisible shackles, unable to move!
"Let me... make you understand before you die." Kanjuro extended his right hand, gently placing his index finger on Kayneth's forehead.
Authority of Memory — Activate!
"Arghhhh—!!"
Kayneth let out a piercing scream, not from physical pain, but from the agony of his soul being forcibly torn apart, as countless forgotten images flooded his mind like a bursting dam!
He saw — an ancient castle, a grand banquet, a valiant yet melancholic knight... that was Diarmuid! And he, Kayneth, in that distant era, was actually that knight's lord, Fionn mac Cumhaill! He saw his most trusted knight and his beloved fiancée — that princess with fiery red hair, Gráinne (Sola-Ui's past life)... the two of them behind his back, those intimate, passionate scenes filled with betrayal, replaying in his mind like the most vicious curse!
The shame, fury, and heart-wrenching pain of being betrayed by the two closest people in his past life... and Sola-Ui's inexplicable attention towards Diarmuid in this life, along with the inexplicable trace of aversion and estrangement he always felt deep within towards Diarmuid... everything connected at this moment!
"No... impossible... this can't be true!!" Kayneth roared madly, his body trembling violently from extreme shock and overwhelming resentment, his eyes wide with fury. He couldn't accept that fate would play such a cruel joke on him, making him suffer the deepest betrayal by the same pair, in the same way, across different times and spaces!
This heart-rending sense of betrayal, spanning across reincarnations, almost instantly shattered his pride and reason as a Magician.
Kanjuro admired Kayneth's face twisted in despair as if appreciating a magnificent work of art. He slowly raised his hand, dark energy beginning to gather in his palm.
"Now, you can take this 'gift' and peacefully descend into the abyss, Cuckolded Lord."
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