139.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Marguerite shook her head with a bitter smile.

“You’ve already done so much for me.”

“I’ll refine the spell as quickly as possible. Until the magic circle is complete, please rest, Lady Marguerite.”

“Thank you. You always work so hard.”

Marguerite whispered sweetly, her gaze softening.

“Benedict, I’m counting on you.”

“…Yes.”

Benedict’s expression softened ever so slightly.

Marguerite patted him lightly on the shoulder before turning around.

“In that case, I’ll go see Lucian for a moment.”

“Yes, Lady Marguerite.”

Benedict maintained a respectful posture until Marguerite stepped out of the chamber.

Click.

The door closed.

At the same time, Benedict turned to stare at Dante.

Dante’s face twisted in annoyance.

“What are you looking at?”

“I just want to check your magical wavelength.”

Benedict replied calmly as he pulled a magical artifact from the bag he’d brought along.

Dante couldn’t hold back his frustration and shouted.

“Damn it, is it that damned regression magic again?!”

“…”

Benedict simply stared at Dante, expressionless.

Looking at that infuriatingly indifferent face, Dante felt his nerves fraying.

“Why is it that you never change?!”

It was always the same.

Every time they returned, dozens, hundreds of times.

Benedict always devoted his brilliant mind to Marguerite.

Calculating the regression spell, aligning magical wavelengths, refining the magic circle for maximum efficiency…

‘Calm down.’

Dante clenched his teeth.

The woman, obsessed with her insane goal of returning to the past, had trapped the world in an endless loop of time.

Even if he couldn’t stop her.

At the very least, he had to stop anyone from helping her insanity.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, Dante finally spoke.

“Hey, you merchant.”

“…”

“You’re really going through with the regression magic?”

“…”

No matter how many times he tried to initiate a conversation, Benedict remained silent. He acted as though talking to Dante was utterly unnecessary, inspecting the artifact in his hands with single-minded focus.

Dante pressed on, his voice growing desperate.

“You know what happens if we turn back time. You, me, this entire world—we’ll all cease to exist!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Finally, Benedict broke his silence, his tone dry and emotionless.

“For Lady Marguerite’s happiness, I’ll do anything.”

Even though he thought he had calmed himself.

‘Damn it.’

Dante felt anger surge within him.

This was like speaking to a wind-up doll, programmed to regurgitate predetermined answers!

“Are you some dog with a leash around its neck?!”

Dante snapped with venom in his voice.

“Why are you so hellbent on obeying that crazy woman Marguerite?!”

And yet, even as he shouted.

Dante couldn’t help but understand Benedict… against his will.

‘I must’ve looked just like that once.’

Back when Dante hadn’t regained his memories, he’d been exactly the same.

Obsessed with Marguerite.

Believing it was only natural to love her.

And only in the final moments, when Elze was ultimately murdered, did he finally realize her true value…

‘Damn it.’

Biting his lips hard enough to draw blood, Dante suddenly spoke.

“Then what about Elze?”

At that moment.

Dante saw it.

The first crack in Benedict’s ever-calm expression.

Like a single pebble dropped into a serene lake.

A faint but undeniable ripple.

‘He faltered just now.’

A flicker of light danced in Dante’s red eyes.

Not giving Benedict a chance to gather his thoughts, Dante pressed forward mercilessly.

“Let’s say you actually go through with that lunatic’s wish to turn back time.”

“…Marquess.”

“I couldn’t care less if you’re willing to cooperate with that insane woman and throw your life away.”

Dante’s tone grew colder.

“But what about yourself? Are you planning to let her die too?”

“…”

Benedict’s violet eyes, now trembling, locked onto Dante.

“No, this isn’t just suicide. If time rewinds, your entire existence is erased. You’ll cease to exist altogether.”

Dante added venomously as he glared at Benedict.

“Is that really what you want, merchant?”

“If the world resets as it is now.”

For the first time, Benedict, who had been silent until now, retorted to Dante’s words.

“No one will ever end up with my lady, will they?”

“What?”

Dante was dumbfounded.

But Benedict stood firm.

“Lady Lepherian choosing me has always been impossible, after all.”

For the first time, a strange gleam lit Benedict’s usually rational eyes.

A gleam the world would call madness.

“So isn’t it better to make sure she can’t choose anyone at all?”

“…Are you serious?”

Dante stared at Benedict in stunned disbelief.

A moment later.

Dante’s face twisted with revulsion.

“Unbelievable. I didn’t think anyone could stoop lower than me, but here we are.”

Dante sneered, his tone dripping with disdain.

“I guess you’d have to be this much of a bastard to stand by and watch Elze die over and over again.”

For a brief moment, Benedict’s calm facade shattered.

His gaze wavered violently as he clenched his teeth and replied.

“Don’t spout nonsense. You should learn when to shut that mouth of yours.”

“Do you really think it’s nonsense?”

Dante’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Just because you don’t remember something doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

“What are you—!”

“Why, curious to know the truth?”

Benedict flinched, his shoulders stiffening.

Seeing the mix of hostility and confusion on his face, Dante leaned in like a devil tempting a soul, his voice a soft murmur.

“If you check under the seat of my carriage, there’s a hidden compartment. Inside, you’ll find a substance that’ll reveal the truth to you.”

“…You’re bluffing.”

“What, are you scared?”

Dante’s smile deepened.

“Are you afraid to find out how much you contributed to Elze’s death through these endless loops…?”

“Shut up.”

“Scared to face it, huh?”

“Shut up!”

Benedict, having lost all composure, grabbed Dante by the collar.

Contrary to his provocative words, Dante’s crimson eyes held no trace of mockery—only an icy calm.

“You should take a look. At what you, me, and that kid from Kalleid, the one serving as this magic circle’s battery, have done to Elze.”

Dante’s voice dropped to a chilling whisper.

“To see what sins we’ve committed against her.”

Benedict’s grip loosened, his hands falling away.

For some reason.

Though Dante’s expression was calm and his voice steady…

To Benedict, it felt like the man before him was screaming in agony, blood pouring from his heart.

* * *

“I have nothing more to say to you.”

With those words, Benedict abruptly stood and stormed out.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Dante stared at the closed door for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh, leaning his head against the wall.

“Ha, this better work…”

If Benedict were to inject the Nyx, it would work to Dante’s advantage in several ways.

To be honest, there was no guarantee that a single dose of Nyx would restore all of Benedict’s memories of Elze.

Dante himself had suffered countless side effects and had to take the injection more than five times before he barely managed to recover his memories.

But what Dante was aiming for wasn’t just memory restoration—it was Nyx’s side effects.

‘If the side effects kick in, even that merchant bastard won’t be able to avoid being bedridden for a while.’

In other words.

It might delay the casting of the regression spell, even if only for a short time.

Above all, Benedict was Marguerite’s brain.

Without him, revising and refining the spell would become a monumental task.

And if, by some stroke of luck, Benedict regained his memories…

‘He might feel even a sliver of guilt toward her.’

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Dante felt a twist in his gut.

‘As if ‘he’ could dare to feel guilt?’

That bastard had stood by as Elze was killed dozens of times, treating it as if it was none of his concern.

And yet, he dared to claim he loved Elze.

To even suggest he felt guilty for her…

‘Calm down.’

Dante forced himself to suppress the anger bubbling to the surface.

For now, it was imperative to make Benedict cooperate with them.

And if that meant fostering even the slightest positive emotion toward Elze, so be it.

…Even if that emotion happened to be an obsessive, irrational affection.

‘It’s fine.’

After all, Benedict wasn’t the only way to stop the regression spell.

There was another, more certain method.

Though Dante was loath to use it…

‘If worse comes to worst, I’ll have no choice.’

His eyes darkened, filled with resolve.

He had to free Elze from this cruel cycle of endless repetition.

If he could liberate her.

…He was willing to do whatever it took.