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Cayena only smiled at Bayel’s words.

He wasn’t wrong. If she had been in her right mind, she would never have thought of punishing Rezef’s arrogance by taking away his throne.

But that was what Cayena decided to do. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t sane or that her life would be crushed as if she were a mere fly if this failed.

She decided to live with the fate she had been born with. A villainess should act according to her role and disturb the world.

Anyway, if the situation happened like it did originally, she would have died within five years. If she succeeded, she’d live longer. If she failed, she would die sooner.

‘So this is a fairly reasonable deal.‘

These were Cayena’s true thoughts.

She would die in any case, so she would gain a lot from this investment.

“Don’t you also need at least that much lifespan to revive the garden? Or is this not enough? Then I can give some more…”

“Stop that!”

Her casual dismissal of her life was enough to freak Bayel out.

“Half of your life isn’t just half of your remaining life. It includes the years that you’ve lived so far and the years that you have left.”

“I know.”

If Cayena would live to 70, that meant that she was trading away 35 years. When she turned 20, she would only have 15 years left to live. It was effectively putting a time limit on her life.

“Do you need anything else?”

“What do you think you’re telling the master of the Black Garden now?” Bayel asked, astonished. He kind of wanted to use mental magic to see what the hell was happening in Cayena’s mind.

“I could also make you the imperial son-in-law. Oh! But only in name. I intend to remain chaste,” Cayena said airily.

“…What?”

Bayel was usually the one who surprised others, not the other way around. Yet, today, he was being continually surprised by one person.

‘If it’s the imperial son-in-law…’

“Since I’m the princess of the Eldaim Empire.”

Bayel was completely speechless.

‘Then this woman is that…’

She was the rumored princess?

Bayel had also heard the tale of the princess with the beauty that calls to death.

‘I don’t know anymore.‘

Even though she revealed her identity like that, Bayel understood her even less.

“You may not know, but there’s a horde of men vying for my hand. Well, probably.”

Bayel let out a deep sigh. Somehow, he seemed to be getting caught up in this woman’s pace.

Even though she was only a human without any power.

‘I can’t figure out whether or not she knows what kind of existence the master of the Black Garden is.‘

A person who knew the amount of power that the Black Garden’s master held couldn’t act this carefree.

“What do you want to do? If you say no to me now, it’ll be difficult for you to make a contract like this in the future.”

She was even talking as if she was doing him a kindness when she was the one who came looking for magic.

Bayel was not human. He had lived for an unbelievably long time, and he was the one who influenced the rise and fall of nations.

He was a being who wielded the supernatural powers balancing life and death. But a long time had passed, and people had long forgotten about magic.

Perhaps that was why he did not have a contractor for a long time. The magic garden was gradually weakening without the ‘fertilizer.’

Bayel lightly bit his lips, then roughly brushed his hair back. He didn’t want to do as Cayena said, but he had no choice. He pointed at a passageway with his chin.

“Follow me.”

Cayena began to walk down the hallway, following Bayel.

But though they walked and walked, the path seemed never-ending. Considering the temple was not that big, it was strange.

‘Was the temple this large?‘

Maybe it was also the work of magic.

Bayel stopped at a dead end, and the door at the end of the corridor opened broadly.

Cayena widened her eyes at the sight of the garden of black flowers.

“It’s beautiful…”

The reason this place was called the Black Garden was that all the flowers inside it were black roses bloomed by magic.

Cayena had never seen roses as black as these throughout all her lives.

The black rose petals were shiny like black velvet, yet had a pitch-black tone. Each petal was as beautiful as obsidian. Even more surprising than the black roses were the vines and leaves similar to ice shards.

“It’s really a magical garden.”

Cayena openly expressed her admiration. Such a scene could never be realized without magic.

“Since you’ve come this far, you really have to make a contract with me.”

Making a contract with the Black Garden ensured that one could not reveal the secret of this place.

“The process of acquiring the magical power will be quite painful.”

“That’s news to me.”

When Olivia acquired Bayel’s power, she was already dead from being poisoned. She probably didn’t feel that pain. The novel also did not provide a particular description.

But it couldn’t be helped. All this was to gain power.

“If you say you don’t want to continue now, I’ll erase your memory and let you go.”

Cayena shook her head.

“I’d come back looking for this place again, anyway.”

Having confirmed her determination, Bayel walked to the center of the garden, the only spot not covered by black petals. There was a complex pattern on the floor.

“Come here, kneel, and uncover your back. I have to carve a marking.”

She lightly stepped on the rose petals and approached the place Bayel had indicated. White shoulders were revealed as she took off her robe and pulled down her top.

Bayel glanced away.

“The magic ability blooms according to the contractor’s characteristics. It can be the power of nature or the power of healing.”

Cayena frowned. The power to heal wasn’t bad, but it didn’t seem like it would be of much help to her schemes.

What she wanted was stealth or natural magic.

“Is there no choice?”

“Nope. But you don’t need to worry. The ability that appears is usually similar to how the contractor has lived their life. You don’t look like the sort of person who’ll heal someone.”

Cayena smirked.

His perception was surprisingly accurate.

Her entire existence was used to destroy people—even now, having returned to this life.

“Your insight is amazing. Should I give you a position at the imperial palace?”

While responding like that, she became quite curious. The ability would bloom according to the life she had lived.

“Now, we start the contract,” Bayel said, done with the banter.

Cayena put her hair aside neatly, revealing her back.

She kneeled in the center of the magic circle and set her gaze straight in front of her.

Then, Bayel knelt behind her and put his finger on the base of Cayena’s neck.

Whoosh!

An amazing view unfolded in front of Cayena as she looked at the garden with Bayel behind her back.

The magic circle on the floor shimmered, and the petals fell off the black roses!

‘The petals are falling because of the loss of magic.’

At first, one or two flowers lost their petals. Now, dozens and hundreds of roses expired.

The black petals filled the floor like a carpet, densely covering the empty spaces.

“I don’t feel pain…”

The rate at which the roses fell gradually accelerated, and soon, there were not many full blooms left. That was when it happened.

Pwaa—!

The ice-like rose vines radiated light.

As if they were waiting for this moment, black roses began to bloom like ripples on a calm lake.

“…!”

Cayena choked at the unfamiliar pain.

A terrible pain rattled her whole body. It was incomparable to the ache when she was pierced by the knife.

She couldn’t even scream.

She grasped at the floor as her whole body crumbled as if torn apart by the pain. What was certain was that her lifespan was mercilessly leaving her body. The black roses greedily sucked up Cayena’s vitality and bloomed vividly.

The roses that bloomed like that had a richer color than before. In the end, there were many more blossoms than when Cayena first entered the garden.

Bayel looked around with a shocked face.

‘W-wait. What’s happening? There shouldn’t be this many roses.‘

~~~