“Please answer me.”

When I looked through Ariella’s memories,

I had felt a slight sense of incongruity.

Honestly, that was only natural.

The Ariella in those memories felt very different from the one I knew.

I had even found myself thinking, Is that really the same one I knew?

“You asked me to help Ella. I do not know how you know that name, but if that child truly needs help, then I am more than willing to help her.”

And then.

Past and present.

It seemed I was not the only one who had felt that incongruity.

“But.”

Even if the direction of it was the opposite.

The one feeling an even greater sense of incongruity than I was was that one.

“Where exactly is Ella, that you would ask me to help her?”

That one.

Grand Duke Isabella.

“If you saw my memories... then you must also have seen the vampire who is with me inside them.”

“Ah, yes. I did.”

“That one’s name is Ariella.”

“I have heard that, so I know. But...”

Like it had no idea why I would even say such a thing,

that one looked genuinely confused.

“That child only has the same name. She was not Ella.”

“......”

“She must be some distant descendant of mine. Ah, surely not. The Ariella you are asking me to help... was it not the Ella I know, but that child instead?”

From Isabella’s perspective, 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

the present Ariella was not the Ella that one had known.

“And if that’s true?”

“What an obvious thing to ask...”

And.

That one.

Because Ariella was not the Ella it had known,

“I am sorry, but I cannot go around personally helping every distant descendant.”

“......”

“To ask for help because she cannot resolve even her own crisis by herself. To be honest, I find it disappointing.”

It was refusing to help that one.

Crunch.

At that fact,

all I could do was grit my teeth hard.

“...I do not understand why you are so angry.”

It was true.

The Ariella of now was a very different being from the Ella that one had known.

And that one had now become an existence inside a mental image.

I could understand that, in a situation like this where it could judge others by the shape of their souls alone—

But.

'That.'

The reason she had become like that was because she had been forced to commit blood-draining she never wanted.

Right.

“Because of what you did.”

Because of that one.

By force.

“......?”

That one still wore an innocent expression,

its head tilted in confusion.

Even that face like it knew nothing at all made me furious.

'This is... how do I put it...'

The reason Ella had become the Ariella of now was because of that one’s greed.

And now, because the one it had once played around with had been damaged,

it was saying it would cast her aside without even recognizing her.

'This is pissing me off quite a bit.'

That one looked at my face, then frowned and said,

“I understand that you want me to help that child. But please understand that there are circumstances that make that impossible.”

“Circumstances?”

“As you know, the me in this place is not the original me. And the me that is here...”

That one looked down at its own hand as it spoke.

“In the event of the worst coming to pass, I am here to help Ella.”

“......”

“Sadly, I cannot step forward to help anyone else.”

Right.

Whatever the process had been, it did seem true that, right now, that one was in no position to save Ariella.

“Even if that one isn’t the Ella you knew, it’s still your bloodline.”

“...It certainly looked that way.”

“And you’re saying you’ll abandon that one?”

“Haah, as I said. There are circumstances that make that impossible...”

But.

“What circumstances?”

That still did not mean I could accept it.

“I do not know why you are getting this angry over something that is not even your own affair... but perhaps it would be best if you calmed down?”

Isabella frowned.

“Even I do not quite know why, but I find you just a little to my liking, you know? That is why you are being allowed the honor of conversing with me like this.”

“......”

“But... if this conversation continues, I feel as though I may stop finding you likable.”

But.

Whether that happened or not.

“Hah.”

I let out a hollow laugh and said,

“Now ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) that I see it, Ariella wasn’t mistaken.”

“......?”

“You really are the kind of thing that can casually cast aside that one... and your own bloodline.”

Yeah...

Just like—

“just like that so-called Progenitor who cast you all aside.”

And then.

The moment those words left my mouth—

“How dare you!”

Baaang!

A massive impact slammed me into the wall.

***

“How dare you speak of that One...!”

My vision blacked out for a moment from the impact of being driven into the wall.

“That is not something an outsider like you can casually put in your mouth!”

When I barely managed to open my eyes,

I saw that one glaring at me, teeth clenched hard.

“The Progenitor and we were not merely something like parent and child. We were far more than that...!”

Regardless.

Even while I felt like I was going to suffocate from the pressure pinning me to the wall,

“You abandoned Ella, who was your friend.”

“......!”

“From Ella’s side too... that relationship couldn’t have been something ordinary.”

I opened my mouth through gritted teeth.

“...The me outside would not have wanted to abandon that child either. That is why I searched for her until the very end!”

“Ghk...!”

The pressure crushing my body kept growing stronger.

Pressure so immense that I wondered if even an awakened body would simply be crushed as it was.

Even allowing for the fact that this was a world inside a mental image,

the power I felt from it was greater than even the Grand Duke outside.

“And yet you dare treat that as the same thing...!”

A being with that kind of overwhelming power,

its face flushed red as though it had suffered some terrible injustice.

But I looked down at that one and said,

“It... is the same.”

Isabella had felt a great loneliness, and had sought a friend who could soothe that loneliness.

Ariella, who had been that friend, had asked Isabella again and again.

What was that loneliness you were feeling?

But.

Isabella had never once answered that question.

“Your so-called Progenitor... vanished from you all without a single word, didn’t it?”

And yet,

Isabella had never answered even once.

“Just as your Progenitor abandoned you... you abandoned Ariella, and now you’re trying to abandon your descendant too.”

“I had my circumstances...!”

“Circumstances, my ass...!”

Right.

There could be such a thing as circumstances.

If anything, after peeking into Ariella’s memories, I felt like I could even guess what those circumstances were.

'The other nobles besides the Grand Dukes never once said that they had been abandoned by the Progenitor.'

Maybe.

There was some kind of restriction that prevented anyone except the Grand Dukes themselves from knowing it.

'And treating Ariella like a toy... and holding back her growth too.'

I did not know what their Progenitor had intended,

but the four Grand Dukes had been designed to one day devour each other.

Beings who could stab each other in the back at any moment.

Though Isabella had exposed Ariella’s existence to others in a fit of anger,

if it had become known that Isabella truly cherished her too—

'Ariella would have become Isabella’s weakness.'

All kinds of dangerous schemes would have come for her to target Isabella’s weakness.

That was why.

It must have deliberately treated her like a toy and even blocked her ascension, making her seem like someone unimportant.

It surely had had reasons for acting that way.

“Maybe your so-called Progenitor too.”

But.

“Maybe it had its reasons.”

“......!”

In the end, though, that kind of thing was something you would never know unless it was said out loud.

“Wasn’t there maybe some reason it couldn’t speak of for why it abandoned you all?”

“......”

“Heh heh... well?”

Looking down at that one, its face flushed red,

I bared a grin and said,

“Even if you try thinking that way, all that rises up is anger, wondering what the hell that reason was and why it couldn’t tell you, right?”

Kkwaaaaaak...

The immense force binding me.

And.

From that force, I tasted several flavors.

Bitter and salty.

Sorrow.

“What you did to Ariella...”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Kkwaaaaaak...

Still looking down at that one,

I tensed my whole body and slowly shoved my body sideways along the wall.

“What am I supposed to do, then.”

As if my struggle was of no interest whatsoever, a voice full of grievance rang out.

“I did the best I could in my own way. But all I learned was how to devour someone and turn them into my retainer.”

Right.

The problem in the past had been that one was simply far too clumsy in how it dealt with others.

“This is what came of me doing everything I possibly could... what am I supposed to do about that?”

It probably had never wanted an ending like this for itself.

But because of that, many things had ended up warped.

“Even if, as you say, what I am doing now is the same as what the Progenitor did... I am not in any body that can protect that child of my bloodline as I am now. What exactly am I supposed to do...!”

The same was true now.

Even if it wanted to help Ariella, it was in no state to do so.

“What exactly are you supposed to do...?”

And then,

I looked down at that one and said,

“It’s simple.”

The reason that one could not help Ariella now

was because Ariella had ceased to be the Ella that one had known.

Because those countless souls had become mixed into Ariella’s soul.

If so, then what had to be done was obvious.

“You just have to be grateful.”

“......What?”

And then.

Kkwaaaaaaaaaak...

Enduring the pressure crushing my body, I shifted myself sideways as far as I could.

Tap.

The fingertips that had touched nothing but wall suddenly felt themselves sink deep into something.

Sticky...

And from there I felt the texture of some hot, sticky, revolting liquid.

Grab!

The moment I felt that texture,

I seized the wall caught beneath my fingertips without hesitation and dragged my body that way.

Then—

—Kkeuaaaaaaaahhh...!

The passage I had taken to come underground.

The door leading to the staircase toward the outside.

Beyond that door, I saw countless souls.

“The mistakes you made.”

Souls that had been driven out of their original bodies, trapped in a place they had never wanted, able to do nothing but scream.

Looking at those souls, I said,

“I’m cleaning them up for you.”

Puhwaaaak!

The pressure Isabella fired at me sucked my body right back into that sea of blood.

***

Gurrrrr....

My entire field of vision turned red.

Was it because I was trapped inside the cramped keep?

Compared to outside, the waves of blood were at least somewhat calmer.

—He came back, the one who left has come back again.

—The vampire’s companion...!

But.

—You left and came back.

—You should become one with us too.

I could feel that torrent of blood, now carrying a will of its own, tightening around my body.

—Your friend made us this way.

—So we too will make you...

And.

Feeling that pain, I thought,

'Bitter, salty, spicy.'

Unfortunately, since I was not a vampire, the blood touching my tongue did not taste good at all.

If anything, the emotions I felt from the blood were—

'Loneliness, sorrow, pain.'

Those were the feelings.

Some of these had been dropped here by Isabella’s command.

Some had come here by Ariella’s own will.

...And some had fallen here because of my command.

'I allowed Ariella’s blood-draining too.'

Just as they were saying, even if I died by their hands, I would have nothing to say in my defense.

“Sorry, but...!”

But.

“I still... have a lot left to do...!”

Unfortunately.

A little while ago, I ran around throwing out promises like a madman, even promises that would be hard to fulfill properly.

So I couldn’t very well die here.

“Instead.”

Still.

That did not mean I intended to leave them like this.

One way or another, some of these had fallen here because of my responsibility too.

“So I’ll take responsibility...”

As for that responsibility,

I had no intention of running from it.

“I’ll set you free.”

[Trait]

[Soul Cooking Mastery]

Inside this otherworld made of shadow.

Those whose souls remained trapped inside that bloody water, unable to escape anywhere.

Slice—

their souls began to be “prepared.”