PT | Chapter 2.3

Despite repeatedly reincarnating, Aubrey had always thought only of himself and never cared for those around him. Let alone Lennock, who he had always treated as a joke.

But then, Aubrey realized that Lennock was going to be resurrected as the great sinner, bringing about the destruction of the world. Whatever the reason, that bastard was going to become an extremely dangerous person, so it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on him.

Thus, Aubrey decided in his eleventh life.

This time, he would get along with Lennock, he thought.

Why he came to that conclusion, he couldn’t know, but at the time, he had no clear judgment. He didn’t even have the energy to think about whether Lennock had been resurrected as the great sinner or if he had simply awakened. He just didn’t want to die. The endless deaths, especially the ones where he burned to death, were just the worst.

This time, he wasn’t concerned about whether Lennock would become the great sinner and destroy the world. Aubrey just wanted to end this repeating life. As soon as his eleventh life began, he jumped out of bed, determined to change things.

‘Oh my, young master…!’

Ignoring the maid’s startled shout, he arrived at the oldest and most secluded room in the Marquis’ mansion.

Kicking open the closed door, he pulled the curtains aside and threw open the window. Then, he cheerfully shouted at Lennock, who was curled up in the middle of the bed.

‘It’s morning! Wake up, you sleepyhead!’

He greeted him in a friendly, bright manner.

Of course, Lennock didn’t stir in response.

Approaching the still curled-up Lennock, Aubrey grabbed the sheet and pulled it off. Underneath, a scrawny, pitiful-looking child appeared. When Aubrey saw the greenish eyes peeking through the long, unkempt hair, he shivered, but he held it back. He then smiled widely and extended his hand to Lennock.

‘Let’s get along from now on. I’m Aubrey, your brother!’

This time, Aubrey intended to treat the bastard very kindly. They would build a strong bond, thick enough to be mistaken for real brothers. He was going to be kind to Lennock, and maybe, if he did so, even if Lennock became the great sinner and destroyed the world, perhaps he wouldn’t die.

This life was going to be different. Aubrey thought he could finally escape this cursed cycle of reincarnation. With a big smile, he thought everything would be better this time. And yet, he died before reaching twenty-two.

Who killed him? The newly awakened great sinner, Lennock.

Thanks to Aubrey, Lennock had made many friends and had gone on a journey to the north. It wasn’t even ten days after he arrived when disaster struck. The great sinner, resurrected from his abdomen, started with Sellanto, Jabeer, and Alman, then reached Toroso, burning everything to dust. Of course, Aubrey was included in that.

Before, Aubrey had only thought the great sinner would be resurrected, but by then, his thinking changed.

Lennock was awakening as the great sinner. Otherwise, there was no way such madness could happen, burning the entire continent ahead of schedule.

From that moment, Aubrey’s patience ran out.

He couldn’t live like this anymore. In his eleventh reincarnation, Aubrey decided to act. Quietly waiting for the right moment, he put his plan into action on the day Lennock had been at the Marquis’ house for six months.

It was the birthday of the firstborn, Grey, the eldest of the three sons of the Marquis, who was the dumbest of them all. As everyone was busy with the preparations, Aubrey took Lennock’s hand and sneaked out of the Marquis’ house. The child tried to pull his hand away several times, and Aubrey could feel the squirming touch, which disgusted him. He almost wanted to shove the kid in front of a passing carriage.

But he restrained himself and walked for a while before finally heading to the back yard of a delivery company. Standing in front of a carriage loaded with goods to be sent to various places, Aubrey looked down at Lennock.

Having run all the way, Lennock was panting, his cheeks flushed. With eyes that seemed to ask what was going on, Aubrey pulled his hand away, ignoring him, and said.

‘From now on, we’re playing a game. It’s a game that won’t end until one of us finds the other.’

Then, he picked up Lennock’s small body and set him down behind the carriage. Pushing Lennock’s legs down firmly, Aubrey said calmly.

‘You’re not allowed to move until I find you. If you step down from this carriage even once…’

At that moment, his tongue trembled as he finished his words.

‘You’ll burn to death.’

Struggling to speak, Aubrey looked at Lennock, who still had a face that seemed to know nothing.

How much have I suffered because of you, and yet, why are you looking at me with that clueless expression?

In that moment, a deep sense of anger surged from the pit of his stomach. The words “Do you even know who caused all this?” almost escaped his lips, but Aubrey swallowed them down and took a step back. Without adding anything else, he left a look that seemed to say, Remember what I said, and quickly left the room.

After that, Lennock never appeared at the Marquis’ house again.

Aubrey believed that the moment he kicked him out of the Marquis’ mansion, all connections had been severed. Aubrey didn’t settle down and lived more passionately than ever. Using the experience and knowledge he had accumulated, he became his father, Marquis Wiidin’s right-hand man. The genius of the continent. The jewel of Toroso. Aubrey, praised by all, quickly rose to a position of influence greater than even the King of Toroso.

Not stopping there, Aubrey soon began to plan an invasion of Sellanto.

The land where the great sinner was killed.

The land where the great sinner’s body had decomposed, and flesh and blood scattered.

The land where the sinner was buried, and where the beautiful Heavenly Fortress, a divine gift, stood at the center of the continent.

Aubrey, who had invaded this place, first began to smash the dragon statues placed at each of the four corners of the castle walls. Dragging a hammer behind him, he struck the dragon with all his might. However, the statue was not a simple one; it didn’t break, nor did even a single crack appear.

Still, Aubrey didn’t give up, swinging the hammer like a madman, when someone urgently called out to him.

“Lord Aubrey! They’re retreating to the center of the castle…!”

There were still survivors?

Aubrey threw the hammer aside and hurriedly ran down.

If he couldn’t destroy the statue, he would just blow the whole castle to pieces. This damn castle, which had been praised as a divine gift and whatever else, was going to be reduced to rubble without leaving a trace under his hands today. Aubrey ran frantically, gritting his teeth as he made his way to the heart of the castle, the Great Hall. He pushed open the firmly closed door, and once inside, he shouted.

“Stop hiding like rats and come out and fight…!”

Aubrey, who had shouted with boldness, froze in place the next moment.

In the place he was looking at, where the throne should have been, someone he never imagined was sitting.

“Lennock?”

It was unbelievable. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, but the sight before him hadn’t changed. Sitting there with his legs elegantly crossed was none other than Lennock.

He had been discarded. How could he be there?

Lennock, noticing Aubrey, who stood frozen in disbelief, raised and lowered his perfectly shaped eyebrows. Then he spoke.

“You finally came to find me.”

The words Aubrey had spoken when he had discarded Lennock—about playing a game—came back to him, and his body trembled violently.

“This time, it’s my turn to catch you.”

At that moment, the ceiling collapsed, and through the debris, a huge dragon appeared, its massive wings spread wide. It was the same dragon statue Aubrey had been attacking with the hammer earlier.

Once again, I was wrong. Feeling his end was near, Aubrey let go of the door handle, and the dragon opened its jaws. A torrent of blue flames erupted from within, and before Aubrey’s body even touched it, he opened his mouth and screamed in frustration. It was a scream filled with anger and confusion, as he cried out in despair.

***

“……”

Opening his eyes, Aubrey immediately closed them again. There was no sense of refreshment from a good night’s rest; instead, all he felt was unease and restlessness. Where am I? What state am I in? After chewing over it a few times, he realized that this was his twenty-fifth life, and that he was in his own room. However, this realization didn’t bring him any comfort.

When you’re stuck in a cycle, eventually, when you know there’s an end waiting, you start questioning why you should keep going. After all, what difference does it make?

All he wished for now was that he could die a little less painfully. But would that even be possible? If things kept going this way, the day Lennock would awaken wasn’t far off…

Lying on the bed, Aubrey rolled his eyes in frustration before letting out a sigh and sitting up.

It wasn’t like this was going to improve his situation, and besides, he was feeling hungry, so he needed to eat something and get treated.

“Freaking hurts.”

Muttering, Aubrey rubbed his left cheek, which Johan had slapped earlier.

With another sigh, Aubrey grabbed the doorknob. It rattled when he turned it, but the door wouldn’t open, and his face darkened.

“……What the hell?”

He tried shaking the door up and down a few more times, but it still wouldn’t budge. Only the rattling noise filled the air, so Aubrey decided to knock on the door.

“Is nobody out there?! Why won’t this door open?!”

Had they stopped managing this room since it wasn’t being used by him?

He was starving, and now he was getting annoyed by the little things. Kicking the door with his foot, Aubrey heard a loud sound, followed by the butler’s voice calling out “Young master.”

Aubrey smirked at the situation and grabbed the doorknob again.

“Butler, the door is broken. It won’t open. Send someone to fix it.”

“……The door is not broken. It has been locked from the outside deliberately.”

“……”

“The master has ordered that no one is to open this door until he gives permission.”

At that, Aubrey remembered what the Marquis had said to him.

“Stay inside for a while and clear your head.”

Clear my head, huh.

He was just trying to lock me up and force me to follow his orders.

Really, people are always the same. No matter how many times I go through this, I can never like it. Aubrey calmed his anger and hit the door with his palm.

“Stop with the nonsense and open the door right now! Or should I just break it down and leave?!”

“Young master, important guests are expected tonight. Please, do not cause a ruckus. The master is already very displeased with your actions toward Dalton.”

At this new information, Aubrey pressed harder on the door as he spoke.

“Are you telling me I need to be punished for teaching my subordinate a lesson?”

“……Dalton has broken his leg and will need to rest for months before he can return to work.”

“Good. He’ll have learned his lesson about angering his master.”