#101
“So you can consider it fortunate that I learned of this fact first.”
“I see.”
Sercil fidgeted with the hand he was holding with mine and fell into thought in a daze.
I also caught my breath during his silence, pretending to be relaxed with an expression like I knew everything.
‘I wonder if the Archduke heard well.’
I don’t know how much Sercil will believe my words after hearing this warning, but he probably won’t take the risk of ‘just in case’ either.
‘I want to resolve Sercil’s curse quickly by pushing myself, but I need cooperation for that.’
It was a necessary process for me too.
‘Since I’ve already bought 2 weeks of time, it would be perfect to resolve Sercil’s curse, take appropriate measures regarding his fairy transformation, and then leave the palace.’
Suddenly, Sercil raised his head and asked.
“……Um, Your Highness.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I answered by only slightly turning my head while sprawled in the chair like a cat lounging by the window.
“What abilities do fairies have?”
“Hmm. Well. I’ve never seen a fairy directly either, so I don’t know. But if nothing else, they seem to have abilities that the half-demons hate enough to tear them apart.”
“Abilities they hate enough to tear apart?”
“Adnil’s end was being torn apart and killed by demons as a sacrifice.”
When I recited the terrible words leisurely while shrugging my shoulders, he turned pale.
“At least according to Adnil’s legend, he was a fairy who handled flowers and water, so outwardly he might appear to have water attributes.”
“You’re saying disguise would be possible?”
“It’s just speculation?”
Sercil sighed.
“You don’t know what expression you have right now.”
“Hm?”
“Never mind.”
“Why, what is it? Why start talking and then stop?”
When I looked at him with a sulky expression while going “hmph,” Sercil let out a laugh mixed with a sigh.
I felt bad for frightening him, but perhaps I had been thinking of Sercil as too fragile.
“Haah. Your Highness, really.”
A momentarily complex expression flickered across his downcast face.
“Hmm. Well, if you can’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I believe you, I believe you.”
Even though he doesn’t.
But it seemed like he would be careful as I wanted.
He wouldn’t do things like getting confirmation from the half-demons as soon as his curse was lifted.
Sercil made strange moaning sounds while sighing deeply, repeatedly staring at me intently.
I couldn’t tell if he was glaring, angry, or something else.
I watched that while grinning, then said.
“Anyway, remember that swarm of butterflies you felt today, and if you get a similar feeling, immediately run to Crown Prince hyung or the Archduke and Marcus hyung. Got it, Fairy-nim?”
“I shouldn’t go to Your Highness?”
“No, you shouldn’t. It’s bothersome.”
After his fairy awakening, Sercil had shown the ability to detect and track half-demon energy and deliver a certain level of damage from a distance.
‘Because he couldn’t train to use his power properly due to me, he always had to use his abilities excessively without any room to spare.’
This time when he awakens… the three of them will help him.
And with sufficient training, he’ll be able to track me whenever he wants, no matter what I do.
‘It will still take some time to reach that point though.’
Still, just in case, it would be good to arrange for him to rely on the three of them if signs of turning into a fairy appear.
“Your Highness, really. Why are you like this?”
Sercil asked with a bewildered expression.
What’s he talking about.
When I tilted my head, he shook his head vigorously while muttering.
“Seeing how you’re going out of your way to tell me this, it seems like even if I ran to Your Highness, you’d grumble that it’s bothersome but still help me……”
“……Hm?”
“Really, geez. So Your Highness, you don’t want me to fall into the half-demons’ hands, right?”
“Hm?”
“No, not me but the fairy… you don’t like the idea of it falling into their hands?”
“……Well, of course?”
“Ah, yes……”
Of course you would…… Sercil muttered while nodding his head with somehow hollow eyes.
Since he usually maintained a sparkling, bright atmosphere, this was the first time I’d seen him like this.
A somewhat pessimistic appearance, as if worn down by worldly troubles.
‘I’m seeing a lot of unfamiliar sides today.’
……Well, Eris’s surveillance curse must have been shocking, so in a way it might be natural.
‘It’s good that it was lifted.’
I hid the sigh that was about to escape and shrugged my shoulders as I spoke.
“You believe it quite readily?”
Sercil seemed to observe me carefully, then bit his lip slightly. As if holding back laughter or anger.
Then he sighed deeply again and answered.
“Actually, the idea of being a fairy is really hard to believe right away… but my body has been strange too. Since it’s something that will be revealed when the curse is lifted anyway, there’s no reason for Your Highness to tell me a lie that will soon be exposed.”
“……”
“So I’ll believe it for now.”
“Oho.”
I found it interesting that Sercil added the phrase “for now.” He usually didn’t express it even when he didn’t believe something.
Along with finding it interesting, I couldn’t help getting a little excited.
I might be under the illusion that Sercil and I were really getting closer.
‘So this is how much a cooperative relationship changes things.’
I realize that fact again.
Perhaps I might not do anything with the half-demons at all.
‘If that happens, I’d need to create another reason to enter the half-demon territory, but it’s not impossible.’
I want Sercil to be safe, unlike before.
If that were possible, I could do anything.
Without realizing it, I looked toward the door where the Archduke would be waiting. Then Sercil also glanced at the door and looked at me with a displeased expression.
And with the air of choosing his words carefully, he slowly said to me.
“The fairy… won’t fall into their hands, so don’t worry, Your Highness.”
When I turned my gaze to him, Sercil said once more.
“Really!”
“……Yeah. I’m glad Fairy-nim understands well.”
Sercil closed his mouth briefly at those words, then spoke quietly in a serious tone.
“You see, having experienced nullification, I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“……I can feel the curse being lifted. So this is what it feels like……”
Was there some problem? I was suddenly frightened and quickly examined him.
And when I belatedly made eye contact with him, Sercil was looking at me with strange eyes.
Then he looked down at his own fidgeting fingers and said quietly.
“You see, Your Highness. I inherited a curse from my mother from birth.”
“So?”
“I couldn’t imagine what my state would be like free from the curse. So honestly, I’m a bit shocked right now.”
It was an unexpected statement.
I blinked slowly.
“I think I unconsciously regarded the curse as just a phenomenon to be confirmed. Of course, since it’s a curse that kills others, it’s natural that it’s confirmed by others’ deaths… but now I can clearly feel that this is magic.”
“Is… that so?”
“Yes. I had experienced the sensation of curse lifting once before too.”
“……When curses are lifted, you often realize what you had been afflicted with.”
“Yes, that’s it. That’s what I’m talking about. But experiencing that while hearing Your Highness’s words, do you know how it sounds?”
Should I ask this back?
If I asked, I felt like I would hear something difficult to understand but unforgettable.
When I closed my mouth with an ominous feeling, Sercil chuckled and looked at me.
‘Huh. Am I mistaken?’
Looking at him again now, he seemed different from just moments before. If before he looked like a beautiful boy, now he felt closer to a beautiful young man.
But before I could confirm whether that was an optical illusion, Sercil said.
“I believe everything you say.”
How interesting, I heard him mutter, and without realizing it, I averted my eyes.
For a moment, I remembered before the regression.
The angelic Sercil who never resented or hated me no matter what happened. The one who always looked at me sadly but with gentle, malice-free eyes, making me feel even more sorry.
Perhaps this kind of influence was at play too.
If so, perhaps my lifting his curse wasn’t as bad a memory for Sercil before the regression as I thought…….
‘No, I can’t think like this.’
I cut off the thoughts that were about to flow strangely.
Thinking of what Sercil went through after being revealed as a fairy, it was a thought I shouldn’t have.
I tried to manage my expression that was about to contort slightly as I said to Sercil.
“I’m glad it was good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Fairy-nim.”
“Yes.”
Sercil answered gently.
……It happened to be about time I should get up anyway.
‘The overload is coming on quite severely.’
Though I had used nullification more strongly than planned, my physical condition was deteriorating faster than expected.
Since the nullification casting was over, blood wasn’t coming up anymore though.
Sercil jumped up and came over to support me. With him holding one of my arms, when we reached the door, Sercil opened it.
“I’ll escort you, Your Highness!”
“Oh……”
Good heavens. A sigh escaped.
Only then did I realize.
What Sercil had said earlier meant that the Sercil who treated me gently like before the regression had returned.
‘No, it seems a bit different though.’
The bewilderment wasn’t any different.
“Should I carry you? I think I could do it!”
“It’s fine, Fairy-nim.”
Because I seemed to see non-existent ears and tail.
Then someone pulled me over firmly and said.
“Oh my, that won’t do, Sercil. The place where His Highness is currently staying is my quarters, you see.”
The action of wrapping me in a blanket and carrying me just like when we came was as natural as flowing water.
The blue eyes I met in a daze were calm, but somehow persistent.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
