Chapter 19
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◆Side: Julius◆
I rushed to the woman who had fallen from the dagger. His son—also flustered, as if he couldn’t quite understand—ran over too. Her body was far thinner than I had imagined; when I lifted her she was unnaturally light.
By the time I gasped and realized what had happened, it was already too late. What I had done—my mother, my son—everything of the Fangray house. It was all sin.
—I wanted to do right, I kept telling myself… but after all, I was a monster.
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Why was her country an ally? Of course, Julius’s nation being a military state and using that strength in negotiations was a major factor.
But beyond that, there was a peculiar circumstance tied to the Fangray family.
The Fangrays were monsters. The reason they were monsters was that the magical power their father possessed—after his death—was inherited by his children. Generation after generation, in addition to the magic they were born with, they received and accumulated this inherited magic.
Because of that, their magic became enormous—on the positive side it made them strong, but on the flip side… it could become unmanageable and run wild. In other words, it was like a time bomb. People worried when the stored magic might go berserk and cause harm to those around them.
So, to avoid increasing the number of bombs—the rule became that the Fangray family could bear only one child. Use them while they’re useful… and if they are eradicated, so be it. That was the monstrous rule imposed on them.
—“We will provide the cage to imprison that monster. Even if it explodes… we will manage it. We will provide military support.” That was how the alliance began.
And that fact became an open secret among royalty. No matter how handsome or wealthy someone was, marrying into the Fangray family was like drawing a losing ticket.
Apparently Julius’s mother hadn’t known that. The truth of the Fangray family came upon her and upon Julius in the worst possible form.
“Ju…lius—”
“Father…! Are you all right, Father!”
“You—hold on—!”
Julius’s father had been praised as a war god. But perhaps from relying on that tough body, fatigue accumulated. He spent more time bedridden and began to be tormented by nightmares.
“I’m sorry… cough… I can’t endure this anymore…”
“What are you saying—”
“Father, no—!”
“Julius… remember this so you won’t become like me. Discipline yourself.”
His father, marked with dark circles from his bed, spoke to Julius with a terrible cough. That became both a curse and a guilt on Julius.
“Be righteous—be right as a Fangray…”
“Father—!”
“Ahhhhh—!”
After those words, his father died. His mother’s lamentations were in vain; he did not come back. Rather, it was discovered that the wounds were being widened—he had repeatedly taken a slow-acting poison.
There were so many things they didn’t know… evidently his father had been reluctant to tell Julius and his mother the truth.
From his father’s will—Julius learned the truth of the Fangray family.
“No… no way… I—”
“Mother—”
“They told me nothing… that we are monsters…”
Overwhelmed by the volume of information, his mother broke down. She seemed to hear Julius’s words and yet not hear them, as if possessed.
“…Yes. If you do as he said—if you are righteous—then it will be fine.”
“Mother…?”
“Julius… for the sake of the house, prioritize what is right for the family.”
“…Y-yes.”
Julius was still a boy, and he swallowed his mother’s words whole and grew up on them. Even as his mother secretly drowned herself in alcohol and sleeping drugs… he felt sorry for her and closed his eyes to it.
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When Julius reached youth, bodily changes came—his magical capacity suddenly surged. At the same time he developed high fevers. Perhaps because of the fevers, he experienced sleep paralysis.
“…”
And maybe hallucinations too. Ancestors he had only seen in portraits stood at his pillow and scolded him: “You are the last,” “You will be the one to cause the explosion,” “You are a monster.”
He could only endure it in silence—did his father endure such suffering? Pain like being pricked with needles arose within his body. No medicine, no magic could cure it.
Hah… hah…
When he woke in the morning there was no sense of having slept. The exhaustion was severe. These torments came at regular intervals and each time inflicted Julius. Thus he reached the biased conclusion his father urged: “If you act rightly—if you are correct as a Fangray—you will be fine.”
It was by chance that he found the dagger. It seemed to have been passed down through generations; it had been sealed in a safe. Beside it was a letter from the neighboring royal family.
“Tragic house, the Fangrays.
As a last mercy—when times get unbearable, use this sword. It is rumored to cause instant death; it will grant death to you. They say it may be a sacred blade that can rewind time…
Cling to the fragile dream if you must.
Therefore, die for the royal family.”
Surely his ancestors, seeing the letter, had sealed the blade here in anger. Even after seeing it Julius felt nothing; he was so numb he was almost grateful. He began to keep it with him at all times.
It would become apparent later that the dagger truly matched the legend.
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—Julius grew, and he became captain of the knights.
By the terms of the alliance he was sent to war to aid Natalie’s country. As a reward for victory, Natalie was married to him.
By then, perhaps due to overuse of magic in war, his body was wrecked. The duke’s physician Franz told him, “You have only months left… with magic refusing to obey…” It was a grim prognosis.
And Julius intuitively understood—he would probably detonate himself. His father had been fine until a point, and fighting in war was fine.
But in this last war he had overused his magic. Even if Julius died, the effects of a runaway discharge would spread to those around him. A magic runaway could warp space itself… So a few months later he traveled to Natalie’s allied country and, as promised, entered the cage.
(…So I must not grow close to her.)
Julius’s judgment would become a source of deep regret and torment, but at that time he thought it was the right thing to do. Even if she looked sad, he tried to keep as much distance from her as possible.
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—Before the wedding ceremony.
“Julius, make sure you produce an heir.”
“…Yes?”
“It is the duty of the Fangray house. Have you forgotten?”
“A-ah.”
A promise with the royal family: to sire one child. But the thought was tedious.
“The Fangray’s duty is to do what’s right.”
“What’s right…”
“…Yes. It was your late father’s wish as well.”
“…Understood.”
—In hindsight, he knew it was wrong. Why had he made her suffer so greatly?
But at the time Julius blindly believed in “what is right.” And because he was ignorant in the matters of duty-bound sex, tragedy occurred. Everything was a sin Julius brought upon them.
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“That young lady embezzled the family funds.”
—Punish her in the name of righteousness.
“She’s under confinement now; we have locked her in this small room.”
—If it’s for righteousness, it can’t be helped.
“Do not let her near the heir.”
—Keep those who would soil righteousness at a distance.
(Yes… if I have righteousness, everything will be solved.)
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A change came to Julius, whom he had thought would only have months to live.
His body felt lighter than before. Franz said, “It’s a miracle… I wonder why… With this, you need no more examinations.” His mother exclaimed, “Oh! That’s wonderful! It’s because Julius has acted righteously.”
His fixation on righteousness deepened—but Natalie’s words broke down that thick wall.
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When Natalie told him “you’d be better off dead,” he could not understand her words. He even thought she was threatening him. So, absentmindedly, he reached to hand her the dagger he kept in his bosom.
He thought she was not sincere—seeing her unable to use it would prove he was right.
“I hate you! I despise you all!”
The instant she said that, his inner wall of righteousness crumbled. The hand he extended to stop her missed. He ran toward her, but it was already too late.
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Afterward, an investigation into Natalie’s situation revealed that she had not committed the crimes at all. Rather, many accusations were found against Julius’s mother and the household servants.
Embezzlement of the Fangray family’s funds, bullying, violence, slander—and the fact that they had mixed poison into the drinks his father consumed.
(…What a horrific, irreparable thing.)
Most of all, the person who had overlooked those crimes was Julius himself. His vision went dark.
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After she died, the Pettigrew family offered to take care of the burial—likely someone from Natalie’s relatives.
Julius had not wanted her lands, so he left the ownership in Natalie’s name. Thus, perhaps some Pettigrew kin inherited the estate.
By Pettigrew custom, if possible, they preferred a burial in her hometown rather than in the land of her marriage. It was an old tradition.
Thinking he should prioritize their tradition, Julius complied and traveled there. Natalie’s body was taken in that place, and Julius’s gaze fell upon the cemetery.
A place enclosed by magic so outside weather could not affect it.
The Pettigrew family cemetery was well kept—and someone had decorated it. Julius saw a happy picture of her whole family. There, he recognized a couple resembling Natalie among the painted figures.
In that instant, Julius collapsed where he stood. He had involved their loved one—he had done something utterly unforgivable.
Tears he thought had dried when his father died flowed. A man’s wail echoed there.
After some blurred time he returned to the Fangray mansion in a daze. To add insult to injury, Franz—who had come for a routine checkup—spoke to him.
“…You know, I’ve finally figured something out.”
“……”
“The Pettigrew family are skilled in healing magic…and are adept at handling magical power. Well, they used magic frequently and were prone to black spot disease, it seems…”
“What do you mean—?”
“Duke, there was a time your magic runaway stopped. At that time, magic from someone other than you—the lady’s magical power—was detected.”
Franz was not a specialist in healing magic, so he hadn’t expected Natalie’s magic interacting with Julius’s constitution. After researching it anew, he understood this effect.
In other words, the reason Julius had been able to live on was—all thanks to Natalie. The blow felt like being struck with a blunt weapon; he realized he had been a colossal fool.
Franz said no more and quietly left. Julius’s son—who had learned the whole truth along with his father—wore a dark expression. Tears had streaked his face and his eyes were bloodshot; perhaps he had been crying unseen.
(…Is there nothing left I can do for her?)
At that moment Julius noticed the dagger he had been refusing to look at.
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From then on Julius moved quickly. First, he imprisoned the servants who had committed immoral acts. His mother—perhaps due to the effects of her drinking and medication—died before she could be judged.
The last time he saw her, her speech was incoherent and her cognition so degraded she no longer recognized Julius.
(…I was truly ignorant and foolish. I do not even have the right to apologize to her for this sin.)
Thinking of Natalie, Julius could not forgive himself. He searched every crevice for the dagger, and his son cooperated in the search.
—They discovered the “effect of the dagger.”
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In the Fangray family office, the antique furniture had been removed, revealing a bare floor. Magic circles were drawn thickly all over it.
The ritual circles were prepared—the only thing left was an enormous amount of magic.
The time-rewinding dagger absorbs the magic of the person stabbed and returns that person to the past. In the process of sending them back in time, it takes their life in the present—hence the nickname of instant death.
A faint blessing perhaps was that the blade had been absorbing Natalie’s magic. With that, he must send her back before the tragedy occurred. But one worry remained: Julius’s own magic might not be enough.
Natalie’s healing had left the current magic level unrunaway, but it might be insufficient.
“Father… I’ll take part in the ritual too.”
“…Liam. You were merely dragged into adult matters… all the sins are mine.”
“Father, I am of the same guilt. I hurt Mother. That’s why I want to volunteer.”
“……”
His son had grown into a young man; the two faces—aged Julius and his son—were gaunt but handsome.
“I’m full of regret. No matter how much I ask why, it won’t change. I am truly a fool, a scoundrel, a criminal…”
“That is—”
“…I know it’s a selfish wish. I want to beat my past self and stop him… but I can’t.”
Julius thought he himself fit that description… but Liam also bore deep regret.
“Father… I keep imagining talking to Mother. It’s childish, isn’t it? Being thought the source of suffering… Mother would hate that.”
“……”
“So I must erase the root of it—me. No amount of apologies will suffice… This is the last thing I can do.”
He smoothly took the dagger from his father. The sensible son must have known that Julius’s magic alone would be insufficient for the blade. Without hesitation, Liam swung the dagger down into his own chest.
The sight reminded Julius of Natalie.
Slowly falling, Liam gave up his life. Julius took the dagger from his dying son. Now it was his turn—the dagger, having absorbed more magic, began to glow faintly.
(…Please, let her family—let Natalie—be happy.)
As a former captain of the knights, Julius knew where to kill himself—he stabbed his heart. The blade sank in deeply and unbearable pain assaulted him.
In that instant, his vision flared white—
Seeing that was the last thing Julius registered before losing all strength.
The dagger made a cracking sound and disintegrated into pieces. The downfall of the Fangray ducal line. The moment the dagger vanished from past, present, and future.
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“…Hah.”
Julius woke again—he saw his hands, much younger. He had returned to the day he had inherited the vast magical power. More importantly, he retained perfect memory up through the day of the ritual.
To ground himself in reality, he clenched his fists on the bed. What surfaced in his mind was Natalie’s face, painted on that happy family picture he’d seen in the Pettigrew territory.
He would never drag her, or her family, or his own family into such a thing again…
(…So you won’t have to pay the price. I will give my life completely—)
Even if he were burned in the royal cage or died in war—
