"Vampires have various abilities, but this girl's charm is very peculiar. Not only does she have no control over it, but it is also very powerful."
"You experienced this yourself, didn't you?"
CC leaned on Leon's shoulder. Her expression was a little sad, as if she were sighing for something.
"[Beloved], that's the power I used to have—the Geass I once possessed—so yesterday, when I saw Leini in trouble because of a similar power, I couldn't help but want to help her."
"So you were also a Geass user before. This is the first time I've heard about it..."
"Yes, but I don't feel like explaining. Do you want to see my memories for yourself?"
CC lifted her hair, revealing the red Geass crest she had hidden beneath her bangs.
She looked at Leon as if teasing him, asking whether he had the courage to look into her memories.
"As you promised before—after seeing my memories, your relationship with me will never be the same—so... do you have the courage to spend the rest of your life with a woman known as a witch?"
"Is there such a good deal? If I can tie you to me like this, that would be more than I could ask for. And didn't I say before... if you're the witch, then... it would be nice to become the Demon King."
Leon fearlessly raised the corners of his lips.
The foreheads of the prince and the witch were touching at that moment, and in the next second, the latter opened her memories to the former.
The witch had lived for who knows how many years, and the amount of memories she had accumulated was many times greater than that of ordinary people. The corners of Leon's eyes twitched—he felt as if his brain were shaking.
"If you can't bear this, you'll never understand me."
"Tsk, who do you think you're talking to? It's just a thousand years of memories."
Leon took a deep breath and completely absorbed the witch's memories. It felt like he was experiencing a long dream or watching an endless movie.
But he still "finished."
CC raised her hand to rub his temples.
"How are you?"
"…What a sad story."
"Yes, it's a story full of mistakes, betrayal, pain, and fake love. It's not interesting at all."
The immortal witch said wryly to herself.
Leon's expression was also a little strange.
He had once made some guesses about CC using knowledge from a book called Profiling Master that he had read in his previous life. The result had been completely wrong.
He had originally thought that CC was a noblewoman, or a princess from some country. In short, he thought she was of noble birth.
But he was completely wrong. CC was originally a slave. She was from the lowest class of society—not even close to noble. Compared to her now, she was completely different.
Miserable, dirty, pitiful, ugly—a slave who didn't even have human rights. A poor girl who did her best just to survive each day.
In the beginning.
Slaves could be discarded like trash at any time.
And one cold winter, CC was abandoned. That was a defining moment in her life.
But if the current CC were to weigh in on this, she would simply say, "If I could do it all over again, I would just lie down in the snow and choose to be killed by the cold."
The abandoned slave crawled to a small church, exhausted. She had nothing but her own life, but she was still afraid of death, so she sought a less cold place to escape the winter.
Then she met a nun and gained the power of Geass from her.
Nun: "Do you have a reason to live?"
CC: "I... I don't know... but I don't want to die yet..."
Nun: "Then let's sign a contract. I will give you the power to survive—the power of a king—but in exchange, one day, you must fulfill my wish."
Remembering this, Leon couldn't help but think about the time he signed a contract with CC... It hadn't been like that back then. A certain witch had sealed the contract by taking a kiss from him.
Coming back... After that, CC gained the Geass skill of [Being Loved].
A power that made people close to her fall in love with her unconditionally. Unfortunately, it couldn't be turned off or stopped. Everyone treated her with the greatest kindness.
Leon saw this in the memories he received.
After obtaining Geass, CC lived a life completely different from that of a slave. She wore clean, beautiful clothes, ate delicious meals, and everyone treated her with tenderness.
"These are the oranges I just picked, be sure to try them."
"I'm going to give you this dress I just bought."
"Let me play the best song for you."
"Remember to let us know if you have any difficulties."
"These things are dedicated to you!"
In the beginning, the girl was truly immersed in the dream life brought by her Geass and lived extremely happy and fulfilled every day.
But as time passed... it gradually became dull and disheartening. That wasn't true love.
Everyone close to her turned into puppets, falling in love with her. None of the feelings were real.
She eventually grew up surrounded by these fake affections. The girl became a graceful woman, wearing the most beautiful dress and dancing the most beautiful dance in a luxurious castle.
"I will give you my eternal love!"
"I will protect you until death!"
"Ah, you are the goddess I should believe in!"
No matter how fervent the love from those around her, the girl merely sighed. It was then that CC realized her true desire.
The Geass born in each person is different. The form it takes is based on that person's desire, but... it's always fulfilled in a slightly distorted and wrong way.
Just like Leon's wish—he wanted to become the best king—but the "absolute obedience" granted by Geass twisted that desire, forcibly distorting the will of others.
That was not the kind of king Leon wanted to be.
He didn't want to be a puppet king.
CC's most fundamental desire was not to be loved.
What she truly desired in her heart was [love].
Although the concepts are similar, they are very different.
Furthermore, while Geass grants the user's wish in a "similar" way, it also completely blocks the possibility of fulfilling that wish in a genuine way.
It was absolutely impossible for CC, who had gained the power to be loved, to actually be loved.
"Anyone who approaches me becomes a prisoner of Geass. The moment they fall under its spell, their love no longer holds any value—because their will has been taken by Geass."
However, when CC was surrounded by false love and no longer understood what true love was, her life took another major turn.
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉