Eustar, who had been fiddling with the ends of his hair, glanced at Laila.

“I don’t know either.”

Laila asked again.

“What do you mean?”

“Really, I don’t know what he took from me as payment, or what he will take. I first learned of his existence when I was seven years old. But at that time… how should I put it, he was like an imaginary friend. Only visible to my eyes, appearing before me only when no one else was around. When Tentinella was created, he demanded that I give him the captured souls. He said…”

He paused for a moment and swallowed dryly. Light and shadow flickered in his pale green eyes, reminiscent of an early spring barley field.

“He said he needed ‘food’.”

Food. Laila mentally repeated Eustar’s words. The demon’s food.

Laila said.

“Does he demand nothing else? Has nothing strange happened to your body… at all?”

“No, Laila. Not once. I was shocked at first, but as I got used to it, even that became dull. Always having a demon attached to my shoulder… It’s like having an annoying salamander clinging to me. And I’m not even raising it!”

At this bizarre comparison, Laila once again wore an expression of disbelief. Eustar seemed to sense this, giving a slightly embarrassed smile before letting out a short sigh.

“What about the mark?”

“The mark?”

Laila blinked. “When you make a contract with a demon, a mark appears somewhere on your body.” She looked at Eustar suspiciously for a moment, then straightened her posture, looking him directly in the eye.

“Surely you didn’t not know about this, Eustar?”

“Of course not. The mark… Yes, it’s there.”

“Where is it?”

Eustar looked momentarily confused, like someone who had forgotten what they were about to do. As his lips moved silently, Laila asked another question.

“Show me.”

“What?”

Eustar asked back. But Laila, with an indifferent, almost nonchalant expression, casually repeated the same words.

“Show me the mark, Eustar.”

The flustered Eustar rolled his tongue inside his mouth.

Never before had Laila made him feel so uncomfortable in this way, so he was at a loss for how to respond. After being lost in thought for quite some time, he finally managed to ask.

“Why do you want to see it, Laila?”

Laila stared blankly at his cream-colored hair that shimmered as it fell. She also looked at the back of his white hand. She recalled how his hand had touched her cheek—though he was a demon—.

Feeling her stomach churn once again with an unfamiliar sensation… Laila instinctively looked Eustar straight in the eye, trying to convey as much trust as possible, and said,

“Because I might be able to break it.”

Her voice was so calm that it sounded eerily unbelievable. Eustar looked at Laila as if she had suddenly spoken a foreign language he had never heard before, and without realizing it, he chuckled and asked back.

“The mark created by a contract with a demon?”

The next moment, he immediately regretted laughing. Because he saw the faint displeasure and hurt expression that appeared on Laila’s face.

Eustar hurriedly said.

“Laila, I didn’t mean to disrespect you by saying that.”

Laila immediately retorted. The momentary glimpse of her true feelings disappeared beneath a thin, hard mask, and her usual indifferent expression returned.

“It doesn’t matter. Actually, I’ve only learned about it from my mother, I’ve never actually broken a mark created by a contract. This is also the first time I’ve seen someone who has contracted with a demon.”

Laila was silent for a moment. She seemed to be thinking about how to speak. Eustar waited quietly, feeling a bit sorry for her in his heart.

She continued.

“I heard that there can be loopholes in all contracts. It’s a rule of contracts that if you find and point them out, you can change or nullify the contract.”

“Really?”

“Really. Witches learn this fact from their mothers. Maybe even non-witches know about it. Like magicians, for example. But they don’t let it be known that they know such things. Because…”

“Magicians strictly prohibit contracts with demons.”

Laila blinked in agreement at Eustar’s words.

“It’s almost impossible for an ordinary person who knows nothing to summon a demon. That cult leader you mentioned might have been an exiled magician. Eustar, your parents…”

Laila, who had been silent for a moment choosing her words, spoke in a dry voice.

“I’m not sure whether to say they were lucky or unlucky.”

Eustar’s eyes moved languidly as he chuckled again.

“Well, I’d say it’s half and half. It was good up until they summoned it, but what came after wasn’t so great. Anyway, the rules of contracts passed down among witches. You could say it’s an industry secret, something outsiders wouldn’t know about.”

Laila didn’t laugh at his joke. In fact, she didn’t seem very interested… She was examining various parts of Eustar’s face and body with a thoughtful expression. She looked like she was considering where the mark might be.

—Listen carefully, Laila. If you ever summon a demon and make a contract, remember this. No one knows where the mark will be engraved when you contract with a demon. The size of the mark also varies depending on the content of the contract. If it’s a very small mark, it will be easy to hide. But if it’s large…

—Everyone will know I’m a witch who contracted with a demon, mom.

—Yes, that’s right. But if you have a mark that large, you probably…

What did mother say after that? Laila tried to recall the memory, but it was in vain.

Lately, she had been feeling as if her memories of her mother were continuously fading. Little by little, but at a very fast pace. Like an hourglass.

Would all her memories of her mother be gone one day when she came to her senses?

“Laila?”

She snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Eustar calling her.

“Show me the mark, Eustar. Let me see and interpret it.”

“Can you interpret it right away?”

Laila stared at him as if it was a ridiculous question.

“Of course not. If I had the book my mother left behind, it would have been easier… But I don’t have anything now. I’ll rely on my memory until I can get that book back.”

“What kind of book is it?”

“It’s a book of witches. In fact, it’s a book that only witches can read. That’s not important right now. Where is the mark?”

She looked ready to pounce and strip him if he delayed any longer or refused to show her.

Eustar smiled an inscrutable smile with a troubled expression for a moment. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Laila’s words, but he didn’t feel inclined to reveal the mark readily.

‘It’s no different from exposing one’s shame.’

Eustar thought. Although it wasn’t his fault, still…

“Do you really have to see it? What if my mark is on my buttocks?”

Laila furrowed her eyebrows beneath her fair, straight forehead.

“I still need to see it.” Laila said firmly as she lifted her two legs that had been dangling below the bed.

“Come on, Eustar. Take it off.”

With her being so adamant, Eustar had no choice but to give in. He didn’t want to hurt her by saying such help wasn’t necessary, nor was he shameless enough to do so.

And on the other hand, he felt grateful for Laila’s stubbornness in going to unnecessary trouble for his sake. Enough to make a corner of his heart quietly warm.

“I didn’t know you were such a bold young lady.”

Eustar said playfully as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Laila was staring blankly at his long fingers moving flexibly. Various thoughts crossed her mind, but Eustar wouldn’t know that far. Fortunately.

“Don’t be surprised.”

He said as he finished unbuttoning and took off his shirt. Laila thought it was strange to see a man’s upper body for the first time in her life. It was so different from her own body.

His shoulders looked much broader than when he was clothed, and his bones and muscles had developed into angular forms, creating overwhelming curves.

The small shadows cast on parts where light didn’t reach looked secretive. It looked like if you touched it, you would feel a firm texture along with the smell of rocks and rainwater.

Eustar gazed intently at Laila looking at his bare body, then cleared his throat lightly and slowly turned around.

The mark was on his back. It started spreading like wings from both shoulder blades, following the spine down to the lower back.

It ended precariously at the point where the waistband of his pants began, with the part connecting from the right shoulder blade to the center being broken.

The skin was irregularly refracted as if it had been violently scratched and new flesh had grown haphazardly.

Laila frowned and placed her fingertip on that scar. At that very moment, Eustar’s fists, which were resting side by side on both knees, twitched slightly.

“Why is it like this here?”

Eustar, who had turned his head slightly, shrugged and said.

“Well, I don’t know. It’s always been like that.”

“Always been like that?”

“I had a nanny who took care of me since I was young. When I was thirteen or fourteen, her health deteriorated and she quit her job. Anyway, she was the only one who knew about my body, and she said the mark had been damaged since I survived that chaos. She didn’t know the reason either.”

“That demon… You said its name was Deceptor? What did the demon say? Have you asked?”

“Of course. But he wouldn’t tell me. In fact, it’s quite difficult to distinguish between what he says that can be believed and what can’t. He himself says he’s ‘in charge of lies.’ So he might lie to me. Or he might tell the truth but disguise it as a lie.”

Laila’s eyebrows furrowed again. She slowly traced Eustar’s back, or more precisely, the ominous mark engraved on his back.

It seemed certain that it was a mark engraved through a contract. Just touching it with her fingertips gave her an unpleasant chill.

“…It tickles, Laila.”

Eustar, who had been enduring silently, said in a small voice. Laila removed her hand from his back. The smell of rocks and rainwater, the cool yet warm body scent, slightly receded.

Laila said.

“I need to copy this. Is that okay?”