House Briten

I had returned to the past.

The brand of my contract with the Great Demon had vanished. Every curse I had piled up through black magic had evaporated, and the scars that once covered my body were gone without a trace. I opened my hands and found them clean — not a single blemish.

"Did I really come back?"

I had wondered, but I still could not quite believe it. A fierce light had erupted from the sword the Hero raised, and the moment I lost consciousness and opened my eyes again, I was here. I couldn't even guess how far into the past I had gone.

The mirror showed a boy who still carried the softness of youth in his face. This was before the human experiments. Before the curse of Immortal. Before I became a monster driven mad by frenzy.

Ten years would pass. The Demon King would take me in. I would become an executive of her army, contract with the Great Demon, and stand as humanity's greatest enemy — the Immortal, Argal. That man was not here. Before the family estate burned, an unseasoned young noble still stood in this room.

"And yet."

The mark of immortality remained. A curse that existed without the process that had created it, simply because I had regressed. It had always come paired with endless madness — but it was as if the madness itself had been washed clean, leaving only the immortality behind.

Could it even be called a curse anymore?

For the first time in a very long while, I felt a faint coolness in a mind that had finally gone quiet. I could see it in the mirror — my mouth and eyes had loosened, opened. The corners of my mouth had always been drawn down. They never lifted.

A knock sounded at the door.

Meanwhile, my mind groped through a past I barely remembered. The noble house I had belonged to was a reasonably solid one. A territory that had everything it needed. A manor that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had rusted with the years but never lost its old-world dignity. A capable butler. Diligent maids. A knight order of surprisingly high caliber for a rural fief. And the only person who would knock on my door at the break of morning was my personal maid.

"I'll be coming in, young master."

"Caron."

I didn't remember much about her. It was strange that I recalled a maid whose sole duty was attending to a single person so clearly. There was only one thing I remembered.

And the words I had been about to mutter under my breath.

"I'm sorry."

"Pardon?"

"No. It's nothing."

Now that the madness that had tormented me for so long had been washed clean, I found myself sinking deep into a past I had never given a second thought. It was a past that no longer meant anything. I shook it off as if it were nothing and looked at Caron. She averted her eyes slightly and relayed a few matters.

"The lord has summoned you. I'll prepare your clothes first."

"Go ahead."

"And, young master, that…"

"What is it?"

"It's nothing."

Caron bowed her head deeply and walked backward out of the room.

I snorted and looked out the window. It was not a world on fire, reduced to ash. Trees and grass rose lush and abundant, and in the training grounds at their heart, a young man swung his sword. My older brother, Ardel. Beside him, a girl had opened a prettily decorated basket and was snacking as she watched. My younger sister, Ariel.

Then I closed my eyes. I didn't know why. Why was I seeing myself kill those two?

"I don't know."

I turned my head. It had been far too long since I last suffered the madness. Something that had grown so familiar was simply gone, and I didn't know what to do with the absence.

"I've brought wash water and your clothes, young master."

I washed my face with the water Caron had brought and changed my clothes. There was nothing complicated about it, so the whole process didn't take long. Once I was dressed, I followed her to the door of the lord's study.

Memories of the past slowly came back to life — things I had forgotten simply because I never cared enough to remember. An aging butler with a mustache, a man who had served the family his entire life, a household retainer who held the standing of a quasi-noble. A few knights making their rounds through the manor, drawing themselves up and bowing as I passed. A maid who had dragged over a chair and was standing on her toes to reach a window that sat just a little too high. I stopped her from climbing down just to greet me and kept walking.

Their faces were peaceful, full of loyalty. One question rose in my mind. Why had I slaughtered my entire family, erased the house, and set this peaceful manor ablaze?

The question didn't last long.

"You've come, Argal."

"Father."

His expression was stern, but the only thing in his eyes was boundless affection. I looked at the lord of this house — my father — and remembered the day I killed him.

This is how I answered.

I didn't hate you. It was a loving, comfortable home. The reason was nothing special. To contract with the Great Demon, I had to offer up the thing most precious to me.

I touched my eyes. Something seemed to have gathered at the corners, but all my fingers found were two dry orbs.

I remembered. I had slaughtered my family because of the contract with the Great Demon. The Great Demon wanted me to offer what I held most dear, and I guessed that family was precious, so I wiped them out. That was all.

When I came back to myself, Father was looking at me with a face full of worry.

"Are you all right? Tell me if something hurts."

"No. I'm fine. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What did you need me for?"

"Ahem. If you're well, then. There is a place I need to send you."

Father unfolded a letter.

"Viscount Caris is calling for you. There have been marriage talks for some time, and it seems he intends to meet you in person. What do you think? Will you go?"

At the name Viscount Caris, I could only stand there without answering. Because after I met the viscount and came face to face with his daughter — the young lady of those marriage talks — I was kidnapped on the road home. That was where I received the curse of Immortal, and where the endless madness began.

The timing was far, far too convenient. To hear this the moment I had regressed. Even so, I had no intention of avoiding it. After a heartbeat, and then a very long deliberation, I answered.

"I'll go."

Father nodded, satisfied. Forming a close bond with another lord through an engagement could only help in any number of ways. But Father didn't know. He didn't know that this single decision would turn the son he cherished so deeply into a monster, and that the house would burn for it.

The conversation ended. As I stepped out of the lord's study, a pair of eyes peeked around the corner. Black hair tied in two tails. Cheeks puffed up in a way that was almost cute. My little sister, Ariel.

"What are you doing there?"

"B-brother? You saw me?"

"How could I not?"

I started walking at an easy pace, and Ariel fell in beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What did Father say?"

"If you were that curious, you could have come in and listened with me."

"B-but Father is scary."

"Scary, huh…"

What was there to be scared of? I was genuinely curious, but I didn't feel any particular need to ask. Ariel trotted along behind me, chattering without pause.

"So what is it? What's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going on?"

"I have business at House Caris."

"What? You're going there? Why?"

I was tired of it, so I told her the whole thing from start to finish.

"There's a marriage proposal. I'll meet the young lady there and decide whether to get engaged or not."

"A-an engagement?!"

"Why so surprised? When you're old enough, you'll meet someone and get engaged too."

It was only natural in noble society. Alliances sealed in blood, and the power that gathered around them — that was a noble's strength. Now and then, a child born of such a match would inherit both territories and become a far more powerful lord. That sort of thing was rare, of course. And besides, as I recalled it… any number of things would happen, and the engagement would be called off.

The engagement itself didn't matter. The kidnapping — the incident that branded me with immortality — that was what mattered.

Ariel's face turned bright red.

"I-I won't! I won't get engaged!"

"Do as you like."

"I-if you're the older brother, you should correct your little sister when she's being reckless! Don't just leave me alone!"

What exactly was I supposed to do with that. I ignored my sister's nonsense and turned my head — and there was my older brother, approaching with sweat soaking through his clothes.

Ardel. His death in the past had been memorable enough that it surfaced at once.

He had fought me to the very end. He was a swordsman of real caliber, and I had died more than once in our battles. Without the curse of Immortal, I would have lost — that much was obvious. He had joined the Golden Knights in the Capital, and when the urgent news arrived that the family had burned, he rushed back to the territory and found the ruins of the manor still smoldering. The image of him raising his sword even with both arms broken, weeping tears of blood, rose before me like a mirage.

"I heard from Father, Argal."

"Is that so?"

"I always tell you this — speak comfortably, Argal. Why use honorifics between the only family we have? We should be at ease with each other."

"That's right, big brother!"

I nodded without protest. In the past, for reasons I could only call stubbornness, I had respected Ardel. I remembered addressing him formally and calling him my elder brother with all the proper titles. There was no need for that now.

"Alright."

"What's gotten into you? Anyway. I heard there's a marriage talk, but you don't need to feel pressured. If you don't want it, refuse. Even if Father says otherwise, I'll stop him."

"Then I appreciate it."

The engagement was going to fall apart anyway, but there was no reason to turn down help when it was offered.

"Are you leaving now? Father is nothing if not thorough, so he had a carriage prepared the moment the letter arrived. You can go immediately, or put it off a day or two if you'd rather. Do as you wish."

"I'll leave now."

"Huh? Brother, you're going right away?"

Ariel lifted her basket. It was packed with the snacks she loved.

"Let's have some snacks together first, Brother!"

"Ariel, you always only eat snacks, and that's the problem. You need proper meals to grow and keep from putting on weight. How do you expect to become a proper young lady like that?"

"I hate lectures!"

"Put that down. Argal — why not have a meal before you go?"

"I was planning to leave right away."

I had no appetite. It was better than the curse of an Immortal wracked by madness, but there were side effects. A body that couldn't die had far less need for sleep or food. You ate and slept so you wouldn't die — so why bother, if you couldn't die in the first place? Still, if I didn't sleep or eat at all, my appearance would turn grotesque, so I would have to keep up appearances to some degree.

"Arriving quickly and saving Viscount Caris's face is a valid approach as well. I understand."

Ardel nodded easily, as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if none of it particularly mattered, and walked off down the corridor — Ariel's snack-laden basket confiscated in one hand. Only after Ariel, suddenly robbed of her treats, hurried after him did I realize there was no one left nearby.

A feeling of something filling up, then emptying out completely. This hollowness was far too familiar.