A large shadow suddenly fell over my eyes.

Lord Joseph sat on the armrest of the armchair I was seated in. Facing towards me.

“So I’m making this serious proposal.”

One of his long arms rested on the other armrest. It seemed more than just balancing himself…

His obsessive red gaze clearly showed no intention of hiding his will to trap me in the chair.

His low voice continued, curling only the corners of his mouth.

“…How about marrying me instead.”

A dangerously red gaze slowly envelops me. The low, chilling voice seems to embed itself in my mind like a nightmare.

It was too close. The distance between us.

With each of his breaths, hot air poured blatantly onto my forehead, nose, cheeks, and skin.

I felt confined. As if I were bound and forced into an unjust marriage.

But the most frightening thing was…

That none of these sensations were unpleasant at all.

Like standing before a sweet contract offered by the devil.

“…Have you gone mad, my lord?”

Therefore, there was only one thing I could say here.

“Not yet, but.”

Before my eyes, Lord Joseph answered with a vividly clear smile.

“If you reject me, I might soon become so.”

“You’re even threatening me.”

“My apologies. I’m finding it difficult to discern right from wrong in my current actions. If you dislike that my words sounded like a threat, shall I turn back time immediately and try kneeling instead?”

“…”

“If I beg, will you accept me?”

…This is not a state where words will get through.

I tried my best to lean my upper body back to create distance between us.

Of course, it was a futile effort. I was seated in an armchair with a high backrest.

Seeming to read my intentions, Lord Joseph suddenly added,

“Ah. You need not be afraid. No matter how clouded my judgment may be, I won’t resort to violence to forcibly possess you. Even in this state, I haven’t abandoned being human.”

Well, that’s…

“Disgustingly reassuring.”

“I thought you might feel that way.”

At his nonchalant tone, I unconsciously had to curl my drying lips inward.

Unlike his composed attitude, everything at this moment made me tense.

Even the cold, dry air of November felt hot and humid.

“If my explanation was too complicated, I should summarize it again for you.”

His face drew a little closer.

Lord Joseph seemed to merely want to align our eye levels, but the tension I felt made my heart pound even more intensely.

“First of all, I have no interest in the position of Duke. The wealth of Daiern means nothing to me either. Nor am I proposing some childish love game. Just…”

Dazzling silver-white hair, crafted as if from light, tickles before my eyes along with a mesmerizing, languid smile.

“It would suffice to have a relationship where I can kiss your hands, feet, and lips.”

A distance so close it’s dizzying.

With each word the man’s low, soft voice utters, his breath reaches even my nape.

“In return, I will protect you and your children as I have until now. After all, if it’s not me…”

His eyes seemed to hold a hint of laughter.

“In two years, you’re all fated to meet death.”

…What?

“I think this is quite a good proposal.”

I.

…What did I just hear?

“What do you think, my lady?”

Joseph began tracking Lieselotte’s life after realizing that contact with her could temporarily subdue the monster in his head.

He believed that by knowing her life, he could intervene as her most necessary existence.

He tracked her past, her family, the people around her, and her life.

And finally, he even traced her death.

Lieselotte Karin Daiern was an unfortunate woman.

Throughout countless moments of regression, she continually met her death.

Sometimes by her husband, sometimes due to the remarriage partner her brother arranged, sometimes by the collateral nobles of Daiern, sometimes while protecting her children…

‘At this point, it’s quite a cruel fate.’

As if someone absolute had limited her lifespan through her life.

She was remarkably beautiful and equally talented, but these things only made her unhappy.

She had gained much through her talents and efforts, but luck didn’t follow to protect them.

Yes, she was unlucky.

If he was inevitably drawing closer to death due to a curse, she seemed to accidentally face death each time due to terrible misfortune.

Now, Joseph knew her needs.

What remained was to intervene in her life. Until then, Joseph thought everything would go smoothly.

Splash.

The cold water she threw drenched his hair and flowed down his nose bridge, jawline, neck, and to his chest.

He had said he would help her.

He told her about the situations she would face in the future, offered to help, and only asked to kiss her fingertips every morning in return.

However, Lieselotte was a wary and complicated person.

Joseph turned back time, thinking of ways to get closer to her more naturally.

The next time, he sought opportunities to become more intimate with her and turned back time.

Yet he failed repeatedly.

The suspicious Lieselotte never tried to keep someone as dubious as Joseph by her side.

‘Then, could I not turn time back to a much more distant past?’

If he went back to before she married and built a relationship then?

But the limit of time Joseph could turn back was 10 years ago, when the monster in his head, ‘Chronomancy’, was inherited.

10 years ago.

It was when I drifted through the sea’s misty paths with the wreckage of a broken ship and arrived at a remote island.

‘Well, if I could have turned back time before that, I might have escaped this curse long ago.’

In any case, Joseph’s obsession with life continued thereafter.

He created a noble identity, learned noble etiquette, accumulated knowledge, and studied swordsmanship.

And finally, he stands here now.

Previously, Lieselotte had asked how many times he had rewound time.

At that time, Joseph answered like this.

No matter how many times he rewound, the number was meaningless.

Indeed.

What mattered to Joseph was only that he had grown close to her, and that he had gained her trust.

Thus, it was important that he had become close enough to naturally kiss her fingertips every morning.

The painless moments when he could briefly escape from the monster ravaging his mind were precious.

At last, it seemed he was nearing the hope of being able to continue living.

Therefore, Joseph Obreim Alperon… no.

The successor of Chronomancy and the current Demon Emperor, Joseph.

“Ah, Count Alperon. What are you doing now!”

Just a moment ago, he dared.

He couldn’t just leave the Baroness Baden who had attempted to murder Lieselotte, whom he had tried so hard to keep alive.

Bang. Startled by the sound of the door flung open without a knock, Baroness Baden and her maid rose to their feet.

Despite the late hour, the room was brightly lit. It seemed the two had been discussing something.

“I’ve found out about the relationship between Count Alperon and the Duchess, and you’re trying to silence me, but I won’t keep quiet about this truth.”

Emotionless red eyes stared at Baroness Baden.

“Ah. Come to think of it, didn’t you say the two of you met at the first ball of this year’s Imperial social season? Now I understand!”

Baroness Baden suddenly raised her voice.

Her pointed finger aimed directly at Joseph.

“I thought something was strange. There’s no way Duke Daiern could have died from falling from just the second floor! It must have been a plot orchestrated by you and the Duchess as accomplices!”

“Ahaha.”

After hearing that much, Joseph let out a small laugh.

Though it was called a laugh, his eyes weren’t laughing at all.

A smile blooming brilliantly only at the corners of his mouth.

It was as chilling as the scentless devil’s flower said to bloom in hell, the bright red Lycoris.

“How convenient that I don’t need to ask separately.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I’ll erase even that memory, as it might trouble you later.”

However, Joseph’s reaction was far from what Baroness Baden had expected.

She thought he would at least be flustered at having his secret affair discovered…

“Ah, before that. Memory manipulation magic isn’t my specialty, so there might be some side effects. But it won’t lead to death, so please understand.”