A month and a half ago.
It was a night when the moon shone bright.
Ivar Lodbrok entered Dantalion's bedchamber. It had been a very long time since Dantalion had summoned her to his bedroom, and her heart fluttered with anticipation. It had been quite some time since Dantalion had stopped sharing his bed with other women. Perhaps tonight she would be the one to break that rest…
'He was acting a bit strangely earlier today.'
Ivar Lodbrok recalled the bizarre episode that had unfolded around midday. Dantalion had suddenly found a doll that looked exactly like himself. He had then transferred his consciousness into the doll and, for reasons unknown, roamed all throughout the imperial palace.
'Lapis Lazuli was acting strange too.'
In the end, the two of them had only returned to the office together after quite a while. They had whispered to each other continuously with darkened expressions. Ivar Lodbrok had wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was impossible—Dantalion had ordered that no one but Lapis Lazuli be allowed into the office under any circumstances.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. It's Ivar."
"Ah. Come in."
"Yes."
The moment Ivar stepped through the door, she lowered her head. She straightened her back, a little surprised. Dantalion was not the only one in the room. He sat in a wooden chair, and Lapis stood quietly right beside him.
'…He didn't call me here to warm his bed, then.'
Even if the heavens fell, there was no way the three of them would be playing together—herself, Lapis Lazuli, and Dantalion. That meant Dantalion had summoned her for some other reason. A seed of unease sprouted in Ivar Lodbrok, something she had been trying hard to suppress.
"Your Highness. You sent for me?"
"Yes, Ivar. My beloved girl. Come closer."
"…"
Even though the words were obvious, Ivar's face flushed red. Dantalion rarely expressed his affection so directly. He showed his love through actions rather than words—or more precisely, through his body rather than his lips.
'Lapis Lazuli is here, too. Surely even Your Highness must feel embarrassed.'
Ivar Lodbrok gave a small "Yes" and hurried toward him on quick steps. If Lapis Lazuli hadn't been present, she might have flirted a little with His Highness, but with an audience it was simply too embarrassing. Ivar kept her head lowered like a demure handmaiden throughout.
"Ivar."
"Yes. …My beloved."
Ivar answered in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
It was a small display of defiance—proof to Lapis Lazuli of how deep her bond with Dantalion was. In truth, Ivar harbored an immense grudge against Lapis. Whether he knew it or not, Dantalion let out a soft chuckle.
"Yes. Ivar. Today, I may tell you something rather cruel. No—it will certainly be cruel. To you. And to me."
Only then did Ivar Lodbrok raise her head.
Dantalion wore a sorrowful smile. Ivar felt her heart go cold. She had seen that expression on Dantalion's face only once before in all her life. It remained as the worst memory she possessed.
'When His Highness personally punished the Farnese Military Minister…'
That was when she had caught a glimpse of the madness inside the man she loved.
An obsessive compulsion bordering on horrifying purity. Dantalion's loss of sanity had been laid bare in that moment. Yet Ivar realized that her feelings for him had already turned in a direction beyond retrieval—even after facing that madness head-on, her emotions toward Dantalion had not changed in the slightest.
'Why… Why does he have that kind of expression…?'
Ivar carefully studied Lapis Lazuli's face. Unfortunately, she could not read a single emotion from the man's expression. Ivar bit her lip.
"Have I… committed some crime?"
"You have committed no crime at all. Only… yes. We both made mistakes."
"Please tell me."
Without a moment's hesitation, Ivar knelt on the floor.
"If the fault lies with me, then let me punish myself. That is my only wish. I implore you—please grant me the chance to atone, without Your Highness needing to dirty your own hands."
Ivar knew how much Dantalion had been broken when he personally punished the Military Minister. It had been, in essence, a punishment he inflicted upon himself. She did not want the man she loved to bear the price of her sins.
"…"
Dantalion's smile grew more melancholy.
"You don't necessarily have to bear the wrongdoing I'm about to describe. Hear me out first, and then you can choose."
"If it is my fault—"
Ivar spoke with resolve.
"Your Highness, please let me bear it. I am strong. Even though I wear the clothes of a handmaiden, I am the True Ancestor of Lodbrok, who endured three thousand years alone. Whatever the wrongdoing, I will carry it without fail."
Even if that punishment was death.
Ivar did not voice those words, but Dantalion understood her meaning well enough. He gazed at her with eyes that had grown even sadder.
"Ivar. When the Military Minister kidnapped Daisy, you told me you cooperated."
"Yes, Your Highness. The Military Minister drew up the plan, but I was the one who carried it out. The Head Housekeeper…"
Ivar paused and corrected the word.
"I lulled the traitor into a false sense of security, then confined her."
"Daisy tried to destroy the Military Minister and bring down my power. That is the truth. Ivar—do you believe so as well?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Ivar Lodbrok was certain.
To her, Daisy von Custos had been nothing more than a lunatic from beginning to end. She derived endless pleasure from torturing humans. Lies flowed from her lips as naturally as breathing. When Daisy had rampaged at the public execution ceremony, Ivar had lamented, 'I knew she would do something like that.'
'No amount of kindness can save a madman. You have to cut them off cleanly. I knew that, yet I was too worried about Dantalion to speak firmly.'
Ivar was filled with regret.
When the kidnapping scheme was exposed, Dantalion had carried out the punishment so decisively that she couldn't get a word in. If only she had steeled her heart and spoken up then—if only she had said that Daisy von Custos was born a wretched creature who would inevitably betray them someday, and that she needed to be punished now—perhaps many things would have turned out differently.
The balance between the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction might have lasted longer.
Perhaps there would have been a way to accommodate both Barbatos and Paimon at once.
'All of it was ruined over a single human species.'
But everything had been overturned.
Ivar felt responsible. Kidnapping had not been enough. She should have been prepared to receive a death sentence from Dantalion and killed Daisy von Custos with her own hands. A little carelessness, a little hesitation—had dragged the situation to this point…
Dantalion quietly shook his head.
"That is not true, Ivar."
"…What?"
"Daisy never once betrayed me."
Ivar Lodbrok's face clouded with confusion. She could not understand what His Highness was saying.
And then Ivar heard the full story.
A dark bedchamber. The only light in the room was the moonlight filtering through the glass windows, and even that was periodically obscured by clouds before emerging again. Each time the pale moonlight broke free from the clouds, each time it returned, Ivar's face grew paler.
"…"
Ivar's shoulders trembled.
"That can't be… There must have been some misunderstanding. Your Highness…"
Only silence lingered in the bedchamber.
Dantalion was not the kind of person who would lie about something like this. More than that, he was certainly not the kind to recount such a story with firm conviction if he lacked perfect certainty. Ivar knew what kind of man the one she loved was. And yet she could not accept it.
"Then I… I was the one who…"
The person who had driven Dantalion into hell was not Daisy von Custos.
It was the Military Minister—and Ivar Lodbrok herself.
How could she possibly accept that?
"That can't be…"
"Ivar."
Dantalion spoke.
With infinitely tender eyes, as though stroking Ivar's brow, he said gently.
"That is how things turned out."
"…"
Snap.
Something inside Ivar broke.
Quietly, time passed. It took a long while before Ivar realized that tears were streaming down her face. She hadn't felt anything. Her lips were trembling beyond her control.
"What should I… What am I supposed to…"
I have sent His Highness Dantalion to hell.
That single thought echoed endlessly through Ivar's mind. Dying would have been simple. If her death could pay the price of her sins, she would do it a hundred times, a thousand times—even if it meant cutting short the life she had endured for thousands of years. But what could death possibly change now?
Paimon was dead.
The Mountain Faction was destroyed.
Even the Plains Faction had been purged in its entirety.
Far too much had been shattered for her wretched life alone to serve as atonement.
Terror and grief engulfed Ivar's entire body. She had no idea what to do. No thoughts came to her. And then, Dantalion's voice reached her.
"Laura's ruin was my responsibility. I didn't see it coming. My own complacency drove her to the extreme. I, who prided myself on knowing everything in this world, ultimately couldn't even see what was happening right in front of my own eyes. How ridiculous…"
"…"
"It is too late, but I intend to take responsibility. Ivar—if you would permit it, I would like us to bear this responsibility together."
Bear the responsibility together.
Not even fully grasping what that meant, Ivar answered in a trembling voice. Right now, Dantalion was the only one who could offer her an answer.
"Can I even… Is there a way for me to bear responsibility…"
"Yes. Ivar."
Dantalion rose from his chair and knelt on one knee. Now he and Ivar were at eye level. He reached out with his right hand and gently brushed her hair aside.
"I will die together with Daisy."
"…"
"Daisy has done nothing but make mistakes. I never gave her anything. But she sacrificed everything for me. Now it is time I returned everything to Daisy…"
Ah.
Ivar opened her mouth, but no words came out. She already understood what Dantalion intended to command—what it meant for her to bear this responsibility. And yet she had to speak.
"If Your Highness disappears… the Demon Lord's Army, the Empire—they will fall…"
"Yes. They will."
Dantalion wiped her tears away.
"That is why you must continue to exist as a doll bearing the name Dantalion."
"Your Highness… Please… Please, anything but that…"
"Ivar."
Dantalion said.
"From now on, for eternity—act in my place. Be Dantalion."