The head of House Valdormer, Darkin, returned to the main estate.
The moment he stepped down from his carriage, he went straight to the office—where Kallion was wasting away like a broken man.
Darkin opened the door without knocking.
Inside, Kallion sat with dazed eyes full of pain, staring at him.
"…Yuliana?"
Darkin's brows furrowed deeply. His own son did not even recognize him.
Kallion's beard was unkempt, his appearance a wreck—nothing like the acting lord of Valdormer. Empty bottles of alcohol littered the floor; he had clearly been drowning himself in drink to forget.
Darkin had never seen Kallion so ruined, and his face twisted in shock.
"…Have you perhaps seen Yuliana?"
At his son's delirious words, Darkin could no longer watch in silence.
"Guards!" he shouted toward the hall.
Knights rushed in and seized Kallion by both arms.
"Put the restraints on him. Don't let him use his powers."
The knights locked restraints onto his arms and legs. Immediately, Kallion began to thrash violently.
"Let go of me! Release me! I have to find Yuliana!"
Ignoring his son's cries, Darkin gave his order coldly.
"Lock him in a room and sedate him."
"Yes, Lord Darkin."
Even bound by restraints, Kallion struggled with such ferocity that two strong knights could hardly hold him. It took four men before they finally managed to drag him into a room.
His limbs were tied down to the bedposts with the restraints.
"Let me go! I have to find Yuliana!"
Kallion raged until the physician arrived and injected him with a sedative. His consciousness slowly faded.
And with it came once again the flood of memories—endless, agonizing memories he no longer wished to remember.
The 32nd regression.
With every return, the memories of all his past lives fused together with the "original" Kallion's mind. The pain grew worse each time.
Using everything he had learned, Kallion finally grasped the true enemy who targeted Yuliana and Denian: the Imperial family.
He began his counterattack by destroying the treacherous vassal houses. The Highland line, especially, which had wormed deeply into Valdormer like parasites.
But while he struck them down, the Imperial family only gained more time to prepare.
Backed by House Silverstel, House Heister, and House Marcellino, the empire became too strong for him to defeat.
"Kallion!"
Yuliana, bound by Heister knights, cried desperately for him.
Before him stood Silverstel's proudest warriors, the Ice Knights, led by Silverstel's second son—Lloyd.
"Lord of Valdormer. If you don't want to be executed for treason, end this here," Lloyd said firmly.
Kallion clenched his teeth. His soldiers had all been subdued. To those who didn't know the truth, he was nothing but a traitor.
"Spare my wife and child," Kallion begged.
Lloyd turned his gaze to Yuliana and Denian. Hurting a woman and child seemed to trouble him.
"As long as you do nothing foolish, your wife and son will not be harmed," Lloyd promised.
Relieved, Kallion fell to his knees—signaling surrender.
Lloyd approached from behind and locked restraints onto him, suppressing his powers.
But then—
"The Emperor commands that the traitor's seed be destroyed!"
Cesar, Heister's heir, raised his sword over Denian.
Flames blazed in Kallion's eyes.
"Stop!"
But bound by restraints, he could not move.
At that moment, Yuliana's body burst into fire as she broke free from the soldiers holding her. She rushed to Denian.
"Yuliana!"
But Cesar's blade struck her back instead—piercing straight through her.
To Kallion, it all seemed to move in slow motion.
Yuliana collapsed over Denian like a broken doll.
Denian's cries filled the air as Kallion's mind went blank.
"Noooo!!"
He struggled so violently that even Silverstel's knights couldn't hold him.
Lloyd roared at Cesar.
"What are you doing, Cesar?!"
But Cesar only sneered, his face twisted with madness.
"It was His Majesty's command. Do you expect me to disobey?"
He kicked Yuliana's limp body aside. Before her lay Denian, trembling, his face streaked with tears.
"Let me go! LET ME GO!!"
Cracks spread across the supposedly unbreakable restraints holding Kallion. Even the knights restraining him staggered under the surge of his power.
In the end, Lloyd grit his teeth and struck the back of Kallion's neck with his sheathed sword, knocking him unconscious.
When Kallion next opened his eyes, he stood before the execution platform.
One by one, all of Valdormer's loyal retainers were executed for "treason."
Finally, his turn came.
Before it began, Lloyd quietly approached.
"Your child still lives."
Kallion's empty gaze shifted to him.
"I will smuggle him away safely. You need not worry."
Denian… is alive?
But Kallion's eyes remained hollow.
What did it matter? Yuliana was gone.
With no will left, he hung his head in silence.
Dragged onto the scaffold, he glanced one last time at Yuliana's body—displayed as a "witch" in the square for all to see.
Once again, she had died protecting Denian.
Always the same ending: Yuliana dies, or Yuliana and Denian both.
An unchanging, eternal fate.
As the guillotine blade fell, Kallion shed tears of blood.
Yuliana… How can I save you? How…?
The sky was clear—like her smile.
Slice—
And his thoughts ended there.
"Urghhh!!"
As always, Kallion opened his eyes at Denian's birth.
The pain of endless memories stabbing into his brain nearly broke him.
From outside came Yuliana's exhausted cries as she labored.
Shaking his head, he forced himself to his feet and staggered to her room.
"Congratulations. It's a boy," a maid said.
In her arms, wrapped in white cloth, Yuliana cradled the newborn Denian and gave Kallion a tired smile.
He stared at them silently, then slowly stepped closer.
"Our child, Kallion."
Yes… their precious child.
But Yuliana always died protecting him.
The Imperial family wanted Denian destroyed—for inheriting both Valdormer and Heister blood.
No matter how many times Kallion returned, he could never save both Yuliana and Denian.
Feeling his cold stare, Yuliana called to him uneasily.
"…Kallion?"
If it was impossible to save them both…
If her death was bound to their child's existence…
A tear slid down his cheek as he looked at Denian.
Then… I will abandon the child.