#92
About a day ago.
The elderly half-demon in charge of the ritual’s finishing work had all his nerves focused on the altar.
“Truly a magnificent curse. Even after all these years, it can still be amplified, and there’s not a single flaw to be found! Even though the caster is dead. Eris-nim was truly befitting of a pure-blood demon.”
Even while pouring out praise, his eyes never left the altar’s form.
After some time, the corpses piled layer upon layer on the altar began to slowly, silently melt away.
Only then did the tension ease somewhat.
A disciple who had been watching for the right moment approached the old master and held out a letter.
“Um, Lady Marsien has sent her regular correspondence.”
“At this time? She should have said everything she needed to through Rico.”
Since they’d even delivered the replica, he thought there wouldn’t be any need for contact for a while.
The old master, whose tension had only lessened but still couldn’t take his eyes off the altar, waved his hand dismissively with disinterest.
“What could she possibly have to show me again? Handle the reply yourself like before.”
It’s probably nothing important anyway.
Watching his master mutter this, the half-demon disciple started to say something but stopped. If he spoke up at times like this, he’d get a scolding and be thrown into the beast cages.
‘But.’
After unfolding the letter in a corner, the half-demon disciple had an uneasy look in his eyes.
‘Something’s strange.’
“The most elegant method to strip the 2nd Prince of his protection rights is to create a situation where he can no longer prove his ‘qualifications’ as royalty.”
The content wasn’t particularly unusual.
This matter had already been shared through official documents as well. The other trivial things could be summarized and conveyed.
The master had said that seeing Lady Marsien made him frustrated and angry, so he should just roughly summarize that dim-witted thing’s letters and convey only the content.
But something bothered him.
The half-demon disciple examined the letter carefully.
Below that sentence, the following content was written:
“Those with succession rights to the throne have the duty to prove their magical qualifications and obligations. Normally, this would be automatically proven by awakening magic during the first awakening at age 15, but unfortunately, the 2nd Prince’s wasn’t proven.”
Ah, I see.
At first glance, it seemed like she was using aristocratic speech patterns, but the tone was different.
Lady Marsien was more blatantly arrogant.
“If there are requests from major nobles and 20 or more with equivalent authority, that qualification must be proven through official demonstration, and if impossible, the corresponding protection rights are automatically revoked.”
Also, she wouldn’t organize and convey content so meticulously like this. It was closer to reporting results.
‘Besides.’
What is this handwriting?
He had thought that being able to judge a person by their handwriting alone was nonsense, but seeing this, he thought he understood what it meant.
Every single line was straight. He could distinctly feel very straight malice. The fact that this was conveyed not through the content but through the handwriting alone wasn’t normal.
This was partly because the handwriting itself was strange, but more likely because of the writer’s mana that was naturally infused in it.
Still, he was surprised that such obvious differences were possible.
“I, I really should tell master about this.”
“Hahahaha! Success!”
However, unable to ignore his intuition and trying to deliver the entire letter to his master, the master cried out with maniacal laughter.
The disciple couldn’t approach and hid his body.
He knew that his master was more dangerous when rejoicing than when angry.
Strong half-demons didn’t experience joy often, so their way of expressing joy was more explosive and violent.
‘I’ll die if I go near him.’
The half-demon disciple looked back and forth between the letter and his master, then threw the letter into the debris.
And then he took cover.
Normally, such letters should be burned on the spot, but he couldn’t do that since he needed to convey the strange parts to his master later. But he also couldn’t take evidence of correspondence with nobles outside this space.
Thus, after the half-demon ritual successfully ended and everyone had left the area.
An existence no one had anticipated quietly appeared in that place.
The 2nd Prince, Ersen Mayer.
Therefore, the letter was destined never to reach the old master’s hands.
* * *
The strange sense of liberation that Ersen felt just before losing consciousness wasn’t felt by Ersen alone.
Theodore Mayer.
Marcus Il Naha.
Sercil Lindea.
And Skyle Rodias.
All four simultaneously lifted their heads with a start and unknowingly looked in the direction where the Marsien ducal residence would be. Without even knowing why they did so.
However, after that momentary sense of liberation passed, they all keenly grasped the situation.
“Marcus.”
“Yeah. It’s a curse.”
Theodore and Marcus, who were still in the room together, gritted their teeth.
Since the curse Marcus had received from Eris was a ‘binding’ curse belonging to the half-demons, he had no choice but to understand it more quickly.
“We were being watched. Since when?”
“Roughly since Lady Marsien’s ball, I’d say.”
“Is there a possibility Ersen was involved?”
“It’s not impossible.”
Marcus said coldly.
The warm understanding he had held alone toward Ersen evaporated in that moment.
Whether Ersen was a victim like him or not, if he was currently the one using the curse, hostility was the natural choice.
Theodore frowned slightly and glanced at Marcus before abruptly standing up and beginning to sort through his documents.
He needed to first sort out things that would be problematic if others saw them.
“If it’s been since then, at least it hasn’t been long. Should I consider that fortunate?”
“Isn’t it more important who cast the curse?”
Marcus asked while roughly folding paper into an animal shape, then applying light stealth magic and sending it along with mana to contact Kyle.
Theodore answered.
“The possibility that Ersen did it is low.”
“Right, we made a contract after all.”
“But there aren’t no loopholes, so we’ll have to watch.”
Marcus sprawled carelessly on the sofa and sighed.
Sercil was heading toward the room where Prince Ersen was staying. He planned to leave behind one of the items the half-demon elder had mentioned.
The entire way there, he recalled Ersen from a little while ago.
The prince had rarely shown such obvious wariness. Those languid eyes. When an unusually sharp look appeared in those hazy eyes like a cloudy sky, a strange impulse arose. It was strange.
The moment when his slender silhouette stood out particularly…
“……”
Sercil erased the useless thoughts that continued. Then he bit his lips and hurried his steps.
When he safely left the item in Ersen’s room and came out, no trace of hesitation could be found on his face anymore.
‘That was definitely a curse just now.’
The more covert a curse, the more advanced it is.
‘But there’s someone who lifted it.’
Prince Ersen had been lifting Crown Prince Theodore’s curse until recently. But this curse wasn’t lifted.
That meant it was a curse that Prince Ersen couldn’t lift or couldn’t detect.
Since they had a contract, the one who cast the curse wasn’t Prince Ersen, but he also thought the one who lifted it wasn’t Prince Ersen either.
Sercil considered the possibility that the one who lifted it was the elder. As far as he knew, among the powerful half-demons, he was the only one who would have reason to lift the surveillance gaze that had been on them.
‘Then showing trust is the answer for now.’
But the sensation of Prince Ersen’s fingertips touching his cheek wasn’t easily erased.
* * *
“……”
Skyle first examined Ersen’s condition.
And after confirming there was nothing wrong other than exhaustion, he carefully lifted the prince and turned around.
After stopping still for a moment, he quietly turned his head.
In the direction his gaze had reflexively turned the moment he felt ‘that’ sensation.
His blue eyes deepened.
The Marsien ducal house.
It seemed the half-demon curse rooted among the nobles was larger than he had thought.
The curse from earlier had even been covertly cast on Archduke Rodias. There were only two cases where that was possible.
Someone with stronger mana, or someone who had already succeeded in cursing before.
‘I’d bet on the latter.’
A little more strength entered the arm holding the prince in his embrace. It was an unconscious gesture tinged with strange obsession.
A slow, satisfied smile drew across Skyle’s lips.
Because this prince’s value had just risen a level.
From a precious nullification tool to a ‘key’ that could solve all problems.
He doesn’t believe in coincidences twice.
Surprisingly, he had already felt this sensation once before.
The first time was when the prince used that thing called a seal, a sensation that passed fleetingly.
Hidden by other emotions and thoughts, he only realized it much later.
But feeling it again now, he was certain.
“Your Highness.”
Skyle spoke to the unconscious prince as he headed toward the room assigned to Prince Ersen.
“Someone seems to consider us allies. Don’t you think we should live up to their expectations?”
Half speaking to himself.
Skyle’s conclusion was different from the other three.
The one who cast the curse wasn’t the prince.
But the one who lifted it was.
“Ersen, it’s you.”
Do you know what that means?
‘It seems you’re not just lifting our curses with nullification ability alone.’
Whether on the side of casting curses or helping to cast them. It must be one of the two.
“……”
He should express gratitude.
For all these curses.
Skyle glanced coolly at the black ring on Ersen’s ring finger and smiled gently.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
