#89
Regarding the crisis of succession rights being stripped, they had secretly thought that Ersen would have some other plan.
At least, until then.
So they had agreed to help while watching.
* * *
It must have been not long ago.
‘He’ had come to find Sercil when darkness had fallen.
It was a person he had seen before.
Was he called an Elder?
“This is a bundle of memories I’ve gathered so far. Young Master Lindea. I’ve consumed those precious things as disposables just to meet with you. Do you understand?”
It’s a dream.
He realized while listening.
Sercil didn’t respond and watched with narrowed eyes as shadows rose like heat waves.
“I see you’re staying with them to break the curse.”
He continued speaking with an attitude that didn’t expect an answer.
“That curse is one that cannot be broken even if someone with tremendous divine power appears…”
They don’t know about Ersen Mayer’s unique magic.
Sercil kept his mouth firmly shut.
He didn’t want to give the reaction it wanted, but he also didn’t want to miss this opportunity where it had approached him separately.
‘It can’t be broken even if someone with tremendous divine power comes? Even if there’s someone with stronger divine power than the High Priest? Why? What’s so special about this curse…!’
He needed to know.
Even if it was mixed with lies, words spoken from a half-demon’s mouth were worth listening to.
So he listened silently to the shadow’s words…
“A powerful curse that someone like me couldn’t even imitate…! A curse that only that person could cast. Something like that couldn’t be broken with just one ability.”
Do you know? Breaking that curse requires several things.
At those whispered words, Sercil was helplessly drawn in.
Eventually, he opened his mouth.
“What is needed?”
Not minding the informal speech, the Elder’s black heat wave immediately answered.
“Death.”
In a very pleasant tone.
“The death of someone who fulfills certain conditions is needed.”
A long silence flowed.
And when Sercil took a step toward the heat wave, the heat wave said.
“Unless the Second Prince dies, the curse will never be broken, but seeing you all joining hands with him, it seems you don’t know that. That’s why I came to find you like this.”
“What?”
Sercil unconsciously stopped.
It was the day when only Sercil was excluded from partnering with the Second Prince at the ball.
He knew it was because the Second Prince didn’t know Sercil was a noble, but somehow he had wanted to pretend to be sulky on such a day.
So it was still a time when only slight goodwill was purely blooming toward Ersen, rather than complex feelings.
Sercil had heard his words.
“But His Highness is…!”
“As expected, you didn’t know. Oh my.”
‘Ersen Mayer. That vermin did say something related to the curse. That’s why those monster-like guys are clustering around. Since he couldn’t have developed divine power, is it unique magic? Did he draw in someone with nullification? No… surely that vermin doesn’t have nullification ability? He couldn’t have unique magic now when it didn’t appear even at fifteen. Then what on earth.’
Sercil at that moment didn’t notice that the Elder was gathering information by watching his reaction.
He was that shaken.
That’s why the Elder had approached the most manageable Sercil secretly from the Archduke.
“Do you know this? Actually, your family are beings close to victims caught up in a great curse from our perspective. It doesn’t matter even if only your family’s curse is broken.”
And he…
Very easily, was able to obtain one spy who was more capable than he appeared.
“If it’s just your family’s curse, we don’t need to kill the Prince at all. So bring the Prince to us. Or it doesn’t matter if you just give us a little help so we can take him. We just want to gradually get back our clan’s young man. But there are some annoying things around that make it difficult.”
“…”
“Take this. It’s a means to contact me anytime.”
What the Elder’s heat wave handed over was a small red stone.
That stone, smaller than a pinky nail, was a replica of different nature created through the same process as the large stone delivered to Isabella Marsien.
“It will take residence in your dreams. So it won’t be discovered either.”
Was it because of that stone?
Sercil hadn’t trusted the Elder, but since he didn’t completely trust Ersen or the three people on the Crown Prince’s side either, he extended his hand.
It was just, close to insurance.
The stone sparkled in Sercil’s hand.
The Elder thought to himself.
‘There might be side effects if it’s near the item to be delivered to Lady Marsien, but that won’t happen.’
Since it seemed he wouldn’t attend the ball.
Was it because he was an innocent human raised in the frontier? If it had been the Archduke, he would have detained the Elder without listening as soon as he approached.
Indeed, targeting Young Master Lindea was the right answer.
“Then please take care of me from now on.”
“I never said I was joining hands.”
“But if there’s a need to contact, you’ll do it. Isn’t that right?”
Sercil didn’t deny it.
Looking at Sercil who accepted without being more thoroughly suspicious, the Elder who had been using magic within the half-demons ominously raised the corners of his mouth.
And after that, Ersen Mayer recklessly abused his body several times, and Sercil overheard conversations between Crown Prince Theodore and the Archduke.
Gradually, Sercil was leaning to one side.
* * *
“Your Highness!”
Sercil, who had followed me out, called me.
As expected, Sercil seemed to have made a different decision.
‘Though there’s no problem.’
I stopped and jumped up to sit on the corridor railing.
“Why, Fairy-nim?”
When I asked while resting my chin and swinging my legs, Sercil finished catching his breath, approached, and said worriedly.
“Please take me with you too.”
“Hm?”
“It’s not just Lady’s replica that’s the problem! What if that family joins hands with half-demons and tries to do something first?”
His face whispering in a small voice was stained with pure worry.
I quietly looked into Sercil, then momentarily hesitated when I caught a red energy that flashed in Sercil’s eyes.
Just now, that was.
“I think Your Highness lacks vigilance too much?”
Sercil said with a stern expression.
Normally I would have laughed and said it was cute, but now I didn’t have that leisure.
‘What I just felt was curse energy.’
Moreover, it smelled of the curse that was intensely felt when Sercil was revealed to be a fairy before.
I felt dizzy and slowly closed and opened my eyes.
“If it comes to it, you can use me as a temporary shield when it’s dangerous and run away,”
“Hey. Where did you learn to say such things, Fairy-nim?”
I cutely pursed my lips and blocked Sercil’s words as he tried to continue speaking firmly.
Since I rarely interrupted words in the middle, Sercil was slightly surprised, then pouted and said.
“Learn? I’m being sincere.”
Sincere.
I knew what Sercil meant by sincere.
Though it was disguise, he was speaking of friendship to me now.
Since it was a word that had nothing to do with me, Sercil’s imitative actions felt addictive in a way. It meant I wasn’t without the desire to keep listening and watching.
But if that wasn’t simply at the level of cooperating with half-demons.
If it wasn’t at the level of selling me out to half-demons…
“…Troublesome.”
I couldn’t easily organize my expression and lowered my eyes.
Then Sercil’s eyes widened and he took another step closer, saying.
“Why think so complicatedly? Since Your Highness has been good to me, I just want to be good to you too.”
“Still, promise me, Fairy-nim.”
“Yes?”
I raised my lowered eyes and looked down at him with the most cool expression possible.
Wariness flashed in Sercil’s brilliant pupils as he flinched.
“What promise?”
“That you won’t even say such words. You being my shield. That’s too presumptuous, isn’t it?”
Not you, but me.
However, I deliberately omitted the latter words.
Sercil’s bright expression slightly hardened.
While unobtrusively watching if red energy flashed again in his pink pupils, I lightly stroked his pale cheek with the hand not supporting my chin.
“Fairy-nim should stay like a pretty fairy~ Got it?”
Hoping it would sound like cold words telling him to know his place.
I made a smile with one corner of my mouth slightly raised, then pretended otherwise and smiled brightly while rolling my eyes.
Sercil stared at each of my expressions with round eyes, then slowly made a mischievous smile and nodded.
“I understand, Your Highness. If you dislike it, it can’t be helped.”
While nodding, my hand fell away.
I looked coldly at that hand and his cheek that had separated from it with displeasure, then ostentatiously made eye contact again and smiled ambiguously.
“…As expected, our Fairy-nim has a useful brain to match his face?”
“Hehe. Sorry for interfering. Then please go quickly!”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Right, is Fairy-nim next by any chance?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“Just. I thought so~ Then Fairy-nim should go first.”
“Yes.”
Sercil slowly turned around.
And went back without looking back even once.
‘It seems like he’ll slip away somewhere else instead of returning to the office.’
Should I follow Sercil?
I thought about it and gave up.
Since hyung-nims and the Archduke would be watching me.
‘Since Sercil is conveniently next for nullification, I’ll have to resolve it then.’
Hiding the tremor remaining in my hands by clenching my fist, I thought that way.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
