* * *
People often said Jerome’s magical talent was innate.
And they weren’t entirely wrong.
After all, Jerome’s father was none other than Duke Michael, a renowned magician in the Empire.
But I knew better.
Of course, it wasn’t as if his talent had no genetic influence.
But the truth was that Jerome’s vast knowledge of magic was largely the result of years of dedicated study—effort he had undertaken on his own since childhood.
Driven to break the curse placed upon his mother, young Jerome worked tirelessly and studied endlessly.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
When I proposed going back in time and having young Jerome solve the formula, Camille was less than enthusiastic.
The reason for her reluctance was simple.
Intervening in past events could disrupt the future irreparably.
Still, I persisted in convincing Camille, and eventually, she relented, albeit with a list of strict precautions.
“Never reveal yourself to young Jerome. The moment he becomes aware of your existence, everything will unravel. Also, don’t linger in the past. Return to the present as quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“Because you could become a wraith of time.”
Camille took Maya’s pocket watch from me and turned its hands back exactly thirty minutes.
That meant I had until the hands returned to their original position to return to the present.
Nodding absentmindedly to Camille’s repeated warnings, I gripped Jerry tightly.
Then, just as I had done before, I envisioned young Jerome.
As my body sank downward, I opened my eyes slowly to find…
Nyat.
Jerry was perched atop me, holding a white cloth in its little hands.
Taking the cloth, I gagged reflexively.
Time travel, I decided, was not something I ever wanted to attempt again.
Pausing as I draped the white cloth over my head, I glanced around.
The atmosphere here was different from what I’d seen before.
‘Could this be…?’
If my memory was correct, this was the Howard estate.
Specifically, Jerome’s bedroom—the same one where I once found him sprawled out on the sofa.
As soon as I realized this, my heart sank.
If Jerome was here, it meant I had returned to the time when his mother had passed away.
It was the period when young Jerome was at his sharpest and most guarded.
Jerry pointed toward the window, drawing my attention.
‘It’s Jerome.’
Following Jerry’s gesture, I saw him. Jerome, sitting on a sunlit garden bench, absorbed in a book.
He was older than the last time I’d seen him, now more of a boy than a child.
Seeing Jerome again, the one I had longed to meet, filled me with a deep sense of emotion.
Stroking Jerry, I stepped toward the garden.
The warmth of the sun and the view of the river cutting through the estate contrasted sharply with the cold atmosphere of the house.
As I crept closer, Jerome’s gaze shifted from his book to meet mine.
He closed the book with a loud snap and leaned back, arms crossed.
“I know you.”
I froze, my breath catching. Jerome knew me?
Then Camille’s warnings came rushing back—if Jerome truly recognized me, the future was bound to change.
As fear gripped me, Jerome continued.
“You’re the time wraith that entered the tower back then, aren’t you?”
“……”
“I don’t understand why you keep hovering around me. Are you hoping to be extinguished?”
Relieved, I exhaled quietly.
It seemed he saw me not as myself but as a faint, ghostly wraith.
Still, my earlier unease when our eyes met was justified.
As Jerome returned to his book, his tone indifferent, he spoke again.
“Unfortunately, I have no magic to spare for you. If you don’t want to be extinguished, leave.”
I wanted to say something, anything, but I bit my tongue.
Revealing my identity wasn’t an option, and even speaking could jeopardize everything.
Watching him now, I couldn’t help but think this Jerome felt like an entirely different person.
And no wonder—he had been forcibly separated from his mother, only to ultimately fail in breaking the death curse placed upon her.
The boy before me had the eyes of an old man, far too weary for his age.
‘No, I can’t let my emotions get the better of me.’
Suppressing the ache in my chest, I sat down beside him cautiously.
Jerome didn’t make any move to stop me.
The sunlight settled gently on both our laps.
After a long silence, Jerome spoke.
“People say they hate me because I’m unnatural.”
“……”
“Even my father, though he hides it, seems afraid of the power I possess. So I’ve been thinking. Just as there are beings who must exist in this world…”
“……”
“There might also be beings who should never have existed at all.”
I turned to look at him, startled.
His lifeless gaze locked onto mine, and he tilted his head with a faint, bitter smile.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, telling this to a wraith?”
I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even speak.
His words reminded me of how he had once said that the river’s flow held no meaning.
Jerome had always believed himself to be one of those beings who shouldn’t have been born.
The self-destructive tendencies he occasionally showed, seen only by me, were proof enough of that.
I gazed at him quietly before letting the solution for the curse slip from my hands.
The paper fluttered to the ground, catching Jerome’s attention.
He picked it up, puzzled, then laughed softly as if entertained.
“What an unusual formula. I’ve never seen one like this.”
“……”
“Do you want me to solve it? Well, fine. I’ve been running out of formulas to work on anyway.”
Jerome pulled a pen from his coat pocket and rested the paper on his palm.
Within five minutes, he had solved the curse-breaking spell—something even the Imperial magicians had failed to do.
It was no wonder the great demon Mephisto coveted his power. Jerome grumbled, unimpressed.
“What’s this? I expected something more challenging.”
“Jerome!”
A maid’s voice called from the distance, prompting Jerome to place the completed solution on the ground with a sigh.
His lifeless eyes had returned as he muttered.
“This house can’t function without me…”
As he stood to leave, I moved to block his path.
Kneeling before him, I reached out and gently embraced the young Jerome.
It wasn’t a conscious decision—just a reaction, an uncontrollable urge to hold the boy who had suffered so much.
Startled, Jerome spoke, his tone curious.
“Why are you acting human? For a wraith, no less.”
“……”
“Do you like me?”
Instead of answering, I held him tighter.
After a moment, Jerome tentatively wrapped his arms around me.
“Tell me,” he whispered. “As payment for solving that formula.”
“……”
“What’s your name?”
My heart ached at the softness in his voice.
I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t.
Revealing that I was Jeanne would alter the future irrevocably.
Thinking quickly, I recalled the first time Jerome and I had met.
“Are you… Chloe’s mom?”
“Who’s Chloe?”
“A name I gave my future daughter. I’m intuitive about relationships, you know. I figured we’d be deeply connected, so I thought I’d try calling you that.”
The memory made me smile faintly.
Now I understood why Jerome had mentioned “Chloe,” a name he had never uttered in the original story.
My gaze fell on the pen in his pocket.
Grabbing it, I opened Jerome’s hand and scribbled clumsily with my left hand.
Jerome read the name and smiled brightly.
“Chloe, huh? That’s a pretty name for a little girl.”
Deep within his heart, an emotion he couldn’t quite name began to surge.
A flicker of life passed through Jerome’s ash-gray eyes, which had long been filled with nothing but emptiness.
He stared at his palm, where the words were inscribed, before clenching it tightly.
“If I ever have a daughter in the future, that name might suit her.”
“……”
“When will you come next? You visited once when I was a child, and again when I was a boy. Will it be when I’ve grown into a young man?”
Jerome asked wistfully.
Just as he was about to inscribe another answer into Jerome’s palm, a pocket watch chimed, marking the hour.
The ground beneath him opened into a massive hole.
As he was pulled down, their eyes met. Jerome’s surprised expression softened into a gentle smile.
“Promise me you’ll come back. I’ll be waiting for you, always.”
A faint sensation of being watched brought me back to consciousness.
Slowly, I opened my eyes to see Camille leaning against the wall, looking down at me with an unreadable expression.
Wiping my tear-streaked face with trembling hands, I sat up in the bed and handed him the formula for the dispelling spell that I had kept in my pocket.
Camille took it, murmuring under his breath.
“Genius.”
“This formula should make it possible to escape the Netherworld, right?”
“Yes, it’s certainly feasible.”
“Then tell me where to find the gate to the Netherworld.”
Camille sighed at my resolute tone, handing back the paper with a faint smile of resignation.
“It’s not just Maya’s soul you resemble.”
“……”
“You’re just as stubborn as she was.”
A peculiar regret flickered in Camille’s eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed a robe from a hook on the wall and tossed it toward me.
His voice was cold as he issued his orders.
“Get up. We’re leaving immediately. If you miss the gate today, you’ll have to wait another six months.”
“Right now?”
“Do you have any reason to delay?”
Quickly shaking my head, I threw the robe over my shoulders.
Outside the room, Ber stood abruptly.
With a trembling face, he looked back and forth between me and the Golden Dragon, tears brimming in his eyes.
“I—I’m so relieved! I was terrified you’d end up fighting the Golden Dragon for real. Please, Master, don’t crossbreed with any other dragons besides me!”
“……”
“……”
Ber’s absurd remark left an awkward silence hanging in the air.
Whether out of anger or sheer disbelief, Camille stood motionless for a moment before turning to me.
“I’ll prepare the horses. Be ready to leave at once.”
“Oh, right. Got it.”
Ignoring Ber’s nonsense, Camille exited the cabin.
I quickly packed the belongings I had hastily thrown together when I arrived and checked Maya’s pocket watch once more.
As I was doing so, Ber hovered around me and spoke.
“So… does that mean we’re really going to the Netherworld?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure? Really sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Ber’s face lit up with joy, his excitement making me falter for a moment.
With both the means to enter and escape the Netherworld secured, I could only hope Jerome was still alive.
Pushing away the rising unease, I gripped Maya’s pocket watch tightly.
The ticking second hand moved steadily forward, toward the day of reckoning.
“Yes… it’s time to end this, Mephisto.”
The final battle was drawing near.
* * *
Oh Bermuth.. 🤦♀️🤦♀️