And luckily, thanks to the special blood flowing in the Renaissance, he could study black magic without losing his life or sacrificing a human.

Six years, a whopping six years.

It was the time he spent immersed in black magic until he lost Elodie and regained Bonita. That’s why the faint energy emanating from Bonita made his heart sink.

If black magic had adversely affected Bonita, the only one to blame was himself.

“Your Grace, if there’s anything you need—”

“Move.”

He reached out and gently pushed aside the servant blocking the way into his room.

Thunk.
Locking the door, Luke pressed the switch next to the bed. Then, one side of the seemingly ordinary wall standing intact began to rotate.

Watching the wall turning with anxious eyes, Luke soon entered it. The concealed room had an ordinary appearance.

However, when he pushed the bookshelf on one side aside, a door was revealed on the floor. He opened the door and almost leaped down the stairs that followed.

Thud!

Having forcefully pushed the basement door with his entire body, Luke entered inside. When he pressed the switch, incandescent lamps hanging at regular intervals on the ceiling lit up.

Between neatly finished black wallpapers, magic circles consisting of reverse pentagrams, a symbol of black magic, were drawn in red ink. The end of the brown parchment, where ink was drawn, was crumpled by Luke’s countless touches.

The bookshelf filling one side of the wall was full of rare books he had desperately collected. The worn leather-bound books emitted the peculiar smell of paper.

He strode across the room, heading towards the desk on one side.

Due to frequent use, the desk, filled with scattered, crumpled papers, was covered with fingerprints. It was the place where he always sat until Bonita arrived.

Luke rummaged through the stack of papers like a madman. It was to examine the traces of his first and last attempt, which had turned into a failure.

“I found it.”

Not long after, he could find the magic circle he had written in blood on the parchment.

His red eyes scanned it fiercely. However, no matter how much he looked at it, it was clear that the magic had failed.

“…Of course.”

If the magic had succeeded, Elodie’s body should have been recreated, and her soul should have returned to that body.

However, nothing had changed after the attempt. A few days later, Aria came to the mansion with Bonita, but… this black magic was solely aimed at Elodie.

So, it was just a coincidence. He lifted his weary body and left the secret room.

Closing the door to the basement, he suddenly had a thought.

“Is it a side effect?”

Black magic demanded a price.

Most wizards offered their lives as the price, but it was not always guaranteed.

Something more precious than life.

Yes, for example, a child.

Luke’s face turned pale at the thought of the possibility. While he wanted to save Elodie, if the price for that was Bonita’s life, it was only natural to give up.

He chewed his lips anxiously and climbed the stairs.

“Wake up, Luke Renaissance.”

One thing was for sure.

There was nothing certain.

Above all, it couldn’t be said for sure that the cause of Bonita’s collapse was solely because of him. Perhaps someone secretly cursed to eliminate Bonita.
Isn’t the Renaissance Duchy a family that anyone would envy? With the position of the Duchess vacant and no heir in sight, there were inevitably many contenders eyeing that position with greed.

Luke left the bedroom, dismissing these thoughts. Edward, the chamberlain, who had been waiting anxiously in front of the door after receiving news from the superiors, came running.

“Your Grace, are you alright?”

“When Bonita collapsed.”

Rather than comforting the worried Edward, Luke brought up the main topic.

“At that time, you mentioned she was in the middle of a lesson with the governess, right?”

“Oh! Yes, that’s correct.”

“Where is that guy now?”

With a fierce expression, Edward answered while swallowing hard.

“Following Miss Hilton’s orders, he is staying within the mansion.”

At the mention of Aria’s instructions, Luke’s eyebrows twitched. Without showing more than that, he coldly gave an order.

“Bring him here immediately.”

Edward hesitated.

“To where, Your Grace? To your bedroom?”

“…Just bring him to me.”

“I will guide you.”

Luke quickly followed behind Edward as he walked fast. In the process, they passed by Bonita’s study.

His footsteps paused.

When there was no sound of footsteps, Edward, who was leading, turned around with a puzzled expression.

“Your Grace?”