CH 9

“That curse. Is it all some kind of black magic?”

“It’s not my major, so I can’t answer in detail, but it’s true that they all belong to black magic.”

“What happens when you are cursed in general? Does it work right away, or is it delayed and you have a normal life until it activates?”

“Most of them work right away.”

“Then, if the effect doesn’t come right away, can you tell me why?”

“It’s not common, but it’s said that it can happen if you have a constitution that doesn’t work well with magic or if you’ve been under the spell for a long time.”

At first, she didn’t quite understand. Serion, perhaps noticing such a day, began to explain the former.

“If you have a constitution that doesn’t work well with magic, even if you get cursed, the effect of magic is insignificant, but it is said that it only hurts.”

Listening to it, it seemed to be similar to the case of her shoulder…? The pain has almost recovered, and there were no signs of getting sick again.

“However, it is very rare to find a person with a quality that does not work well with magic, and currently it is impossible to find a person with that constitution, so it is safe to assume that there is no one.”

However, she had to give up her thoughts immediately after hearing the explanation that followed.

“In the case of the latter, when the magic has been enchanted for a long time, it is said that the accumulated magic power in the body causes side effects and makes the body sick.”

Also, this case had nothing to do with her.

“Did you understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Do you have any other questions?”

“No. No. Please resume class.”

Serion nodded and started teaching again.

She thought for a moment. She got the information she wanted, but she still couldn’t see the answer. Her case didn’t belong to any of the cases the teacher explained, so it was rather more puzzling.

With her chin resting, she cast her gaze toward the bottom of the mansion beyond the window. There, the Duke was heading somewhere leading the knights.

She would personally visit the Duke sometime in the evening and ask him about the curse. Although she didn’t know if he would answer her or not.

After thinking about it, she spent time watching the child listening to the class diligently.

* * *

She thought she would be able to see the Duke by evening, but she couldn’t find him even at the dinner table. After that, she sneakily asked the attendant, and he said that he was away from the mansion. He also said he would come only after dawn, so she decided to give up meeting today and prepared well.

The child fell asleep right away as soon as he burrowed into her arms. She also was about to fall asleep because she felt his warmth. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a sound she heard in my ears irritated my nerves. What was that? She blinked a few more times, and her vision returned, and she could clearly see the human figure.

Ann, who she didn’t know when she came in, was doing something on the table. What the hell was she doing? Seeing her come in without a trace and do that made her feel a bit uneasy. She secretly watched her while pretending to be sleeping.

There was a candle on the table, and Anne was grinding it for a new one. Just looking at it, it was nothing new. Originally, there were always candles on the table in the children’s room and in her room. A candle was lit every time she saw it, but she never paid any attention to it. Because there was absolutely no reason for that. But now it was pretty suspicious. She didn’t know if the candle was worn out, but she didn’t know why she bothered to change it to a leaky one. In addition, if she had to, she might be starting a second now.

“…Um. What’s going on, Ann?”

She pretended to be awake and slightly raised her body. For a moment, Ann was startled and then lowered her head.

“…Sorry, I’m sorry. I was going to go out after lighting candles in his tea service, but you must have woken up because of me.”

“Why seconds?”

“Because Delian’s body is so weak, he always drinks tea containing herbal ingredients.”

“But the candles look new, do they really need to be changed?”

“It’s good to change the herbs often because the ingredients of the herb will fly away quickly. Anyway, I’ll stop.”

The lady-in-waiting bowed her head and left her room. She looked at the candle on the table and carefully got off the bed. She walked over to the table and picked up the candle the lady-in-waiting had just sharpened. She held it up to her nose and sniffed it.

It smelled like an insignificant herb, but for some reason it was unpleasant. It may be because Ann’s behavior just before seemed suspicious. After thinking for a while, she blew out the candle by blowing the wind. Then she walked over to the window to get the herbal smell out. Downstairs, she saw the Duke who had just entered through the main gate with the knights.

She opened the window and watched the scene below for a while before returning to bed. She was about to go back to sleep, but the maid’s behavior from before kept bothering her. Even after closing her eyes tightly and trying to hypnotize herself, she couldn’t fall asleep.

She let out a long sigh and carefully stood up.

She got out of bed and walked straight to the door and opened it.

“What?”

“Can I see the Duke right now?”

“At this hour?”

“Yes.”

“He just came in, so you may have to wait.”

“It does not matter.”

The knight stared at her with narrowed eyes and then nodded.

“Then I understand. Follow me.”

As she followed him, the rest of the knights caught up behind her. It was when she walked quite a bit like that the knight in front stopped in place.

When she looked up, she saw a door with a golden pattern on a black background.

Knock, knock.

“Sorry for the late hour. Elia Lawton wants to see the Duke.”

[Come in.]

The Duke’s voice came a long time later. The worker who opened the door gestured at her as if to let her in. As soon as she entered, the door slammed shut.

The whole room was dark. It was so dark that not a single light could be seen. Standing in a room full of darkness, she looked around. Wasn’t the Duke there? Just as she was about to expose a little doubt, a familiar yet unfamiliar smell lingered at the tip of her nose.

She took a deep breath. The Duke, who she did not know when he came, was standing right in front of her. It was dark in the room, so it was hard to see, but the outline was clear. The Duke silently looked down at her without saying a word. She swallowed her saliva as she felt her skin stand up.

At that time, a twilight light began to enter the room faintly. She looked up and saw a golden full moon floating in the sky through the window. The moment she moved her gaze again, she was startled by the dark red eyes she met.

“…So, what do you want to talk about at this hour?”

She had to answer, but somehow her voice didn’t come out easily.

“Therefore…”

“Therefore?”

“That is…”

“That is?”

She could feel the Duke’s voice gradually changing into something she didn’t like. That was how it should be. Whatever it was, why did it suck?

“I mean bread. If it’s disappointing… Did you finish it? Actually, it was delicious, but you didn’t show it because you were shy? Shall I make it again?”

But she soon regretted it. Even if she had to say it, what was the point of asking such a thing? It was embarrassing enough to make her want to hide right away if there was even a mouse hole. It was a time when she took a step backwards thinking that she should just leave like this.

“That’s it.”

She was rather surprised by the Duke’s completely unexpected reaction.

“Yes?”

“Make it again? I wonder how much worse it will taste.”

Having said that, the Duke stretched out his hand toward her. For a moment, she closed her eyes without realizing it.

“Don’t just stand there doing what you’re doing. Sit down on the cow.”

When she opened her eyes, the dark room was suddenly bright. Oh, he was just trying to turn on the lights. She was scared for nothing. Embarrassed, she quickly walked over to the sofa and sat down.

The Duke sitting on the couch across from her stared at her obliquely.

“So what do you say?”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you come here because you had something to say?”

He was right. She thought for a moment.

She couldn’t figure out what to say to make the Duke listen to her properly. The man in front of her had no clear evidence, so he was the type of person who wasn’t immediately convinced. She didn’t think she could convince such a person with words. Then…

“Do you remember the last time the Duke grabbed my shoulder?”

The Duke’s brow furrowed slightly at her sudden words. She didn’t care and continued talking.

“Well, looking at it, I noticed that my shoulder was black and bruised. What’s the point of leaving it as it is? So, where are you going?”

The Duke got up from his seat, opened the door beside him, and went inside. She stared blankly at the door the Duke entered in absurdity. Did he decide that he didn’t even need to listen to what she said and went in alone?

As she was contemplating whether to wait or leave, the door opened and the Duke came out. There was something in his hand, and it seemed that he had risen from his seat on the way. The approaching Duke jerked the rope at her from what was in his hand. She was momentarily surprised, but she dutifully received the thrown object.

“What’s this?”

“It is medicine.”

“…Medicine?”

“Okay.”

No, why all of a sudden the medicine? Was he giving it to her because she said she was bruised because of him? However, the man in front of her was by no means a kind person. Had he gone insane after eating the bread she gave him?

“Now you won’t be able to say unnecessary things. Talk about the main topic.”

Then it was. She shook her head and brought out the theory that the purpose of coming here was capital.

“The reason I’m looking for this is because of the lady-in-waiting.”

“…the lady-in-waiting?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a situation that feels a bit suspicious, so I’m going to go talk to the Duke.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn’t do anything to figure out what her words meant.

“Who are you talking about?”

“A girl with short hair named Ann.”

“Ah.”

The Duke’s answer was not very refreshing. He thought she was saying nonsense, so he’s acting like that.

“A while ago, while I was sleeping, a lady-in-waiting entered the room without a sound. I saw that she was sharpening candles.”

“So?”

“The lady-in-waiting said that it was a candle with herbal ingredients, but she said she had to sharpen it. But to me, it was a candle that was barely worn out, so it was strange to bother going. Besides, when I woke up, I was overly surprised.”

“So it’s just a heart attack.”

“But don’t you think it’s suspicious?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

The Duke laughed at her with a sneer. Momentarily, she was slightly moved, and she even said something that she didn’t have to do.

“Even the Duke couldn’t find the proper evidence that I kidnapped Lian.”

The Duke, who had been leaning loosely on the cow, brought his face closer to her.

“…no. Things are a little different now. Because the curse hanging on you is proof of the kidnapping.”

She couldn’t help but question that statement.

“What the hell is the curse hanging over me?”

“Do you think I don’t know that you are pretending not to know?”

“I don’t know, so I ask. I have nothing to do with that wizard.”

At this point, another question arose. He didn’t believe her, but she wondered why the Duke was so full of distrust of people. Was it because his sister died in a carriage accident and her son, Delian, was even kidnapped? For that reason, she was somewhat convinced. But he was still doing it too much. How could he not believe what people say?

Just before she exploded, the Duke pulled her back and said,

“You seem to want to hear it through my mouth, so I’ll let you know.”

The Duke decided to put up with it without much luck. But, shouldn’t they find out what kind of curse it was?

“It’s a brainwashing method for obeying you. Curse-type magic in which action and subordination are intertwined is a kind of magic.”