Hate Can’t Beat Love

Persis’s father, Alberton Drake, was a man utterly obsessed with magic.

For him, anything other than studying magic was a luxury, a waste.

On the first basement floor of the Drake family’s main residence, there was a workshop set aside just for him; it was fair to say that Alberton practically lived there.

Even at mealtimes, he wouldn’t bother to see his family’s faces; instead, he’d order the servants to bring his meals to the workshop, where he’d eat and sleep.

A head of the family, holed up in the basement day in and day out, barely even seeing his children’s faces-in any other family, the wife would be nagging him in bed, right?

But Alberton’s wife, Margaret, couldn’t bring herself to do that.

It wasn’t to uphold her husband’s authority as the head of the family.

It was simply because, to Margaret, Alberton was practically a stranger.

– Mother, is Father not coming out again today?

– Why do you ask something so obvious? Just eat your meal.

– Yes….

To her pure son, Persis’s question, Margaret responded with an icy coldness, continuing to use her fork and knife without even a change in expression.

In fact, she was the daughter of a fallen noble family, a woman who was originally far from qualified to become the mistress of the Drake family.

But, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate…

Her insignificant background was actually a good condition from Alberton’s perspective.

From the start, Alberton had no intention of marrying, nor even the thought of continuing the family line.

He judged that it was more beneficial to read one more book than to waste time on such useless love affairs.

But that was a fatal miscalculation for the eldest son of a noble family, especially as an only child.

The only son was giving up on continuing the family line-what father would stand idly by?

– The family line must be continued. However, once you take on the position of head of the family and have a child, you can do as you please afterward. How about that condition?

– I accept.

Therefore, he was instructed by his father to continue the family line no matter what, but he received permission to do as he pleased after taking on the position of head of the family and producing a candidate for the next head.

For Alberton, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Unlike him, his father, as the head of the Drake family and a member of the nobility, was a man who always recited the honor and duty as if it were his catchphrase.

Therefore, there were many things he forced on Alberton.

From Alberton’s perspective, even the time he had to spend learning useless formalities in the name of etiquette was a waste, and he couldn’t even understand the reason why he had to laugh and chat with others in society.

Therefore, the promise to give him true freedom was bound to be sweet.

– You want to revive the family. I think your interests align with mine.

That’s why Alberton deliberately proposed a contract marriage to Margaret, rather than a daughter of a prestigious noble family.

All he needed was a submissive woman who would bear his child and not utter any complaints or dissatisfaction to him.

And all Margaret needed was not a man who would genuinely cherish her, but just a man with the power suitable to revive the family.

The two, whose interests aligned well, got married and had a child, and that child was none other than Persis.

Therefore, Persis always craved his father’s attention.

In fact, he wasn’t that interested in magic, but the main reason he wanted to learn magic was to understand his father and receive praise from him.

– Father! I succeeded in manifesting 3rd Circle magic today.

– I told you not to call me for such trivial matters, Persis.

– Yes… I’m sorry.

But no matter how hard he studied magic, he never received praise from his father.

As time passed, and he reached the age of twenty, talk about the next head of the family began to circulate here and there.

– How about it, Alberton Drake? Don’t you want to awaken to the ultimate of the Demonic Path?

An uninvited guest came to the Drake family.

A woman in a pure white robe, as if trying to package the malice flowing from her body in a bright way.

She approached Alberton, who was wandering on the path, and whispered in a sweet voice.

If it were others, they would have dismissed it as nonsense and told her to fuck off.

But for Alberton, who wanted to face the end of this path no matter what, it didn’t matter who the other party was or what abilities they had.

He was only listening to that sweet voice, and it only mattered whether she could bring him what he truly wanted.

Because Alberton Drake was the kind of man who could make a deal with the devil for that.

– The ultimate of the Demonic Path-are you saying you can truly show it to me?

– Of course.

– What’s the price?

– Everything you have. And especially offer your son, Persis Drake.

– Are you saying you’ll use him as a sacrifice?

At his question, the woman wiggled her fingers from side to side.

It didn’t mean she wanted such barbaric human sacrifice.

Just as when discussing important matters between countries, they strengthen the connection through marriage talks between the children of the imperial family or the royal family.

What the woman wanted was to solidify her control over the Drake family by binding the man named Persis to them.

– Good. What should I do?

– Engrave this on your son. However, this incantation will not be established unless he wants it, so persuading him will depend on your ability.

– Is it a catalyst for curse magic? I understand.

– Hooh, you’re going to accept even though you know this is curse magic?

As Alberton nodded indifferently, clutching a small glass bottle containing black liquid, the woman wore an interesting expression.

For humans, blood ties are the most important existence.

Even though he knows what kind of evil deeds a person he’s meeting for the first time is trying to commit against that blood relative, he’s not only condoning it, but even offering to help.

At that, Alberton coldly retorted.

– My father also once tried to use me as a tool to continue the family line. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t do the same?

– That’s an interesting excuse. It’s the kind of idea that even a child wouldn’t have. But that’s why I like it.

The woman smiled, realizing that the man in front of her possessed more purity than anyone else.

For this man, everything other than the goal he wanted was just a means worth using.

And that was the situation the woman wanted most.

Humans don’t necessarily have to repay the favors they receive, but they are bound to take revenge for the persecution they receive.

Perhaps Alberton also had some dissatisfaction buried in his heart, and he was trying to take revenge by unleashing it on his son.

And if things go well as she thought, his son, Persis, will be the same.

A chain of hatred and revenge.

The sticky and dark bond intertwined between them will further solidify this chain.

– Persis, come down to the workshop for a moment. I have something important to tell you.

– Yes, Father.

And that dawn, Alberton secretly called his son, Persis, after spreading a soundproof barrier around the workshop.

In the eerie dawn workshop, where even an eerie atmosphere lingered, screams that could not be heard outside continued, and it soon branded the shoulder of one man.

At the same time, an indelible emotional wound.

＊＊＊

Vermillion’s eyes shook violently as he heard the whole story.

It was hard to believe that his grandfather, the master of the Black Magic Tower, who was once the object of respect, was such a corrupt man.

But Persis’s expression as he bitterly spoke the truth, and the sadness in his eyes, clearly showed that all of this was true.

“So, the reason Father stopped me back then….”

“Yes. It’s because she was trying to engrave the same curse on you as I had.”

“…Why did you do that? Even if you did the same to me out of revenge against Grandfather, it wouldn’t have been strange.”

Perhaps that’s what the woman wanted too.

Vermillion also knew that fact, but he didn’t think it explained why Persis didn’t do the same to him.

From the beginning, humans are emotional animals.

If he had lived half his life in hatred and revenge, Persis’s heart would have been tattered long ago.

Therefore, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had the thought that he couldn’t live in this pain alone and did the same to Vermillion.

Persis smiled bitterly at his son’s perfectly reasonable question and looked at him.

“Your grandfather once said something like this. If you resent him, live on using this revenge as fuel. There was a time when I thought so too.”

Persis was also initially shocked.

Before he got married and had Vermillion, he had also vowed to unleash this revenge on the child he would soon have, just like Alberton.

But.

“But after you were born, none of that mattered.”

“……”

“Even if revenge is always swirling in one corner of my heart, even if Father didn’t show me love, even if this cursed mark on my shoulder is a symbol of my only bond with Father.”

Persis, who had started speaking, looked at Vermillion and smiled softly before adding again.

“Even if this body crumbles, I wanted to protect only you. Vermillion.”