Chapter 16

“Looks like you know. So let go.”

“Don’t use that.”

“What?”

“Even if top-tier Ability Users use the Magic Tower’s Suppressant, it only makes them feel worse. The darkness settles down for a moment, then comes right back. Compared to the Temple’s Suppressant, it’s basically defective.”

“If Old Man Malakar hears that, he’ll be heartbroken. Do you know how proud he was after improving that Suppressant?”

“It still hasn’t been perfected, so it can’t be helped. That’s why you shouldn’t use it.”

“You think I don’t know that? But if I don’t use this…”

He wouldn’t turn into a monster.

But instead of saying that, Varkan tried to pull his hand free.

Come to think of it, this was kind of ridiculous.

Instead of wasting time talking, he could’ve simply shaken her off.

Yeah. Just shake her off.

Just as he made up his mind and started to use force, Diena spoke first.

“I’ll use my Ability on you. At least get some sleep and wake up afterward.”

At that moment, an indescribably pure and mysterious energy flowed into him and began calming the raging darkness.

The pain that had struck like lightning receded like an ebbing tide.

For the first time in his life, he felt a strange sense of release.

At the same time, overwhelming drowsiness crashed over him.

“What is thi…s…?”

His eyes slowly closed.

Unable to resist the sweet pull of sleep, Varkan drifted off before he even realized it.

* * *

Diena looked down at Varkan’s sleeping face.

In the past, Varkan had never been able to fall into a deep sleep unless she used her Purification Ability on him.

That was how powerful the darkness within the Rothwell bloodline was.

However, he had always rejected her Ability, so she had been forced to use it secretly.

Varkan probably had no idea why he had suddenly fallen asleep.

Holding her breath, Diena quietly studied the face of the man sleeping beside her.

With his sharp, cold eyes closed, thick eyelashes cast shadows beneath them.

‘Varkan really did become younger.’

The sight of him sleeping felt unreal.

‘He was handsome when he was young too.’

The adult Varkan had carried a mature and sly charm.

The current teenage Varkan possessed a fragile and sorrowful beauty instead.

“Idiot.”

A faint smile slipped onto her lips without her realizing it.

Judging by the way the tension had disappeared from his brow, her Ability seemed to be working well.

‘Thank goodness I got rid of Matilda quickly.’

Before coming here, Diena had already known that House Kardian was in turmoil at this point in time.

Around now, Varkan’s condition had been at its worst.

On top of that, he had to lead the family, so he hadn’t been able to properly pay attention to what was happening within the household.

‘That’s why he was so suspicious of everyone.’

That was also why she had deliberately provoked Matilda.

It was the fastest way to convince someone as cautious as Varkan.

Showing him the situation was far more effective than trying to explain it.

Diena had known Varkan would meet people from the Imperial Capital and return earlier than planned.

On top of that, she could sense darkness.

The moment Varkan entered the estate, she felt his dense dark energy.

That was why she had obediently followed Matilda.

‘Of course, I didn’t expect to pass out.’

Diena hated dark, enclosed spaces.

Back in House Rothwell, her aunt had often locked her inside isolation cells.

Every time it happened, Diena suffered terrible headaches.

Combined with the exhaustion from healing Bianca’s Darkness Corruption, she had eventually lost consciousness.

It was a side effect of the Purification Ability.

However, even after collapsing, her mind had remained awake despite her body being unable to move.

Thanks to that, she knew Matilda had been dragged away to the underground prison.

‘To be fair, Matilda wasn’t completely lying when she said she’d been wronged.’

After all, Matilda had only locked her up.

She hadn’t actually done anything else.

‘Well, she brought it on herself.’

Matilda had ultimately caused Bianca’s death.

Diena couldn’t even feel sorry for her.

“Mmm.”

Diena frowned.

Perhaps because she had forced herself up after seeing Varkan’s condition, a sharp headache pounded through her head.

Still, it was bearable.

For Varkan’s sake, she could endure even greater pain.

But…

‘I just don’t want you to suffer.’

Diena looked at his peaceful face.

Then she remembered something Varkan had said in her previous life.

“When I think back on it, I was really pathetic. Father became too busy, so I ended up inheriting the family as well. But it was completely different from running a Merchant Company. There were too many people in House Rothwell. It felt like everyone around me was an enemy.”

“Back then, nothing ever went the way I wanted. I was in pain every single day.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t hurt anymore.”

The words slipped out before she knew it.

“And I’ll make sure you can sleep deeply every night.”

Just like you protected me before.

“I’ll protect you.”

Without realizing it, Diena felt the urge to reach out and brush aside the messy strands of hair hanging over his forehead.

Just as she was debating whether to do it or not, Varkan’s closed eyelids suddenly flew open.

“…”

Varkan jolted upright.

“You…”

Looking confused, he opened and closed his hand while checking his condition.

“I fell asleep…?”

“Yes. You did.”

Varkan’s face instantly stiffened.

He simply couldn’t believe it.

“How long?”

“About ten minutes. I think you woke up quickly because you’ve gone so long without proper sleep that your body is stuck in a heightened state.”

Varkan searched through his memories and deeply frowned.

His body felt strangely light.

Even the brutal migraine that had been crushing his head had vanished like an illusion.

His gaze returned to Diena.

“How did I fall asleep?”

“Because of my Ability.”

“This is your Ability?”

“Yes.”

“This is completely…”

“Overpowered?”

Varkan let out a hollow laugh.

Diena had perfectly guessed what he was about to say.

“Yeah. It makes no sense. Now I understand why you were so confident.”

An Ability that purified darkness.

He had never even heard of such a thing.

The pain that had tormented him his entire life had vanished in a single instant the moment she used her Ability.

Varkan stared at Diena.

Then he let out a self-mocking laugh and roughly rubbed his face.

‘No wonder she wanted to keep it hidden from those Rothwell bastards. Even I find myself wanting it so badly it’s disturbing.’

From what he had seen, her relationship with her uncle’s family wasn’t good.

The fact that a noble lady had volunteered to work as a maid and stay here already revealed what kind of treatment she received in that ducal house.

And if she possessed an Ability like this, it was obvious how a greedy man like the Duke of Rothwell would react.

Just as Diena expected, he would’ve tried to exploit her.

The sensation of his own skin beneath his palm felt unfamiliar.

It was truly the freshest he had ever felt in his life.

And because Varkan was a top-tier Ability User, the feeling was all the more intoxicating.