Chapter 3: Curse – 3

I steeled my resolve.

No matter how conflicted I felt, it wouldn’t change the situation I was in.

Vivian Rondor staggered out from under the bed and approached me.

A fragrant, mysterious scent of flowers wafted from her body.

Tears kept streaming down from her red eyes.

I was in a staring contest with her, yet for some reason, I found it difficult to look her in the eyes.

Simply not averting my gaze was the most I could manage.

“Ka, Kailo Alan.”

“Do… you recognize me?”

I swallowed hard and answered.

“…How could I not?”

For five years, our families had been sworn enemies.

No matter how she tried, it was impossible not to know.

Besides, during the time when the eldest son of the Rondor family was our prisoner, I had heard Vivian Rondor’s name countless times.

“Then… you must know… what your family did to ours, right?”

“Do you think I was dragged here without knowing?”

“Ka, Kailo Alan.”

Her sobbing grew louder.

Her face was filled with a mix of injustice and bitterness.

Anger swelled up inside her too.

“I want you… to suffer as much as I have… at least.”

I could hear the sharp intake of breath from the Rondor servants.

It must have been a bold statement by her standards.

On the other hand, I was becoming more accustomed to this familiar scent of hatred, and any pity I felt toward her gradually faded.

My previously clouded mind grew clearer.

In fact, this made things more comfortable for me.

“How could… you ever understand… the pain of losing your family?”

“…I was torn away from my family too.”

“But your family is still alive!”

“Alive, sure. But can I see them? Is your family going to let me go?”

“And when you turn around, there are plenty of people who will stand by you… but I’m in the middle of enemy territory. All I see are people who look at me like they want to kill me. Can you understand that?”

Maybe because she was my age, my honest thoughts started slipping out.

And perhaps because she looked so pure, I felt an overwhelming desire to show her the harsh reality.

“This was a war. Don’t act like your family were the only victims. Your family killed countless of our people too…! In war, the side that loses is the one at fault! Blame your own weakness!”

Vivian’s eyes trembled.

The soldiers who had been watching this exchange flinched, and the maids clenched their teeth.

Before I knew it, Vivian’s tears had been replaced by a menacing glint in her eyes.

“…Yes.”

She said.

“Yes, it was our weakness that was to blame. You’re right. So now… you… should blame your own weak kingdom from now on.”

“It’s your turn… to taste the wrath of our family.”

Vivian then turned to her head butler, Pippin.

“I don’t want to cause any more disturbance near Mother’s sickbed. Lock Kailo Alan in the underground prison until she wakes up. Don’t give him even a drop of water or a crumb of bread.”

Pippin hesitated for a moment before offering advice.

“…Lady Vivian. Kailo Alan is still a guest, so—”

“Lock him in the underground prison.”

“Understood.”

Pippin didn’t ask twice.

The soldiers grabbed my arms rougher than before and began dragging me away.

As I was being led to the prison, I turned my head once more to look at Vivian Rondor.

By then, she was back under the duchess’s bed, her shoulders trembling as she wept again.

There was no sense of relief as I watched her.

Only a heavy discomfort settled in my chest.

I kept watching Vivian Rondor’s back until she was out of sight.

—Thud!

With a sickening sound, the body of a centipede burst under my fist.

What was left under my hand was the remains of a bug.

“Ugh… seriously.”

I’d lost count of how many.

This underground prison was filled with all sorts of bugs.

Even though I came from a well-known family in the north, in the Eastern Kingdom, everyone knew of the Alan family.

For centuries, we had served the royal family loyally.

The men of our family were known for pledging their loyalty to their liege and guarding them until the end.

It was considered an immense honour to have an Alan family knight serve you.

Naturally, the head of the Alan family pledged absolute loyalty to the king, and those who couldn’t become the head sought out their own lords.

But even then, they didn’t sever ties completely, pooling their wealth together to help the family grow stronger.

As a result, our family became one no one in the Eastern Kingdom could look down upon.

We enjoyed vast lands and wealth.

But despite being the eldest son of the Alan family, I could never get used to resting in this underground prison.

At first, I hated the bugs, swatting at them with my hands, trying to avoid touching them.

But I quickly realized that was pointless yesterday.

It was better to smash them with my fist as soon as I saw them.

That way, fewer would appear.

Disgusting and revolting, but still, it was more effective.

Spiders, bedbugs, ants, centipedes, worms, and beetles…

All of them ended up crushed under my fist.

The smell, the sound of them bursting, the sight of their twitching bodies even after death…

I couldn’t count how many times I’d gagged.

“…Sigh.”

I wiped my fist clean on the straw covering the stone floor and leaned back against the cold prison wall.

In truth, there was something more unsettling than the bugs.

It wasn’t my dry mouth or empty stomach.

Vivian Rondor.

She kept lingering in my mind.

“…She’s disgustingly beautiful.”

I muttered to myself.

It annoyed me.

The fact that something like this was bothering me, and that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It wasn’t just her appearance that caught my attention.

It was the pitiful atmosphere around her.

“…Sigh.”

There were so many things I wanted to say.

I had my own grievances, too.

Yet, I felt like I hadn’t said half of what I wanted to.

Why was it that, despite never feeling this way before, I suddenly couldn’t think straight after seeing her?

Is there really such a thing as a witch?

Could this be the result of a curse?

Or maybe it’s my shame making me want to blame it on a curse.

It’s so frustrating that I don’t even want to talk to anyone about it.

I sighed, closed my eyes, then opened them again, muttering.

“…Did I go too far with my words?”

Honestly, I understood her complicated feelings.

She had lost her father, her siblings, and was on the verge of losing her mother.

How could she speak kindly in that state?

If you think about it, I, too, had been beaten, torn from my family, and am now enduring the hatred of everyone around me.

It’s an unfair situation.

But my mind kept drifting back to Vivian Rondor.

Eventually, I clicked my tongue and rolled over.

“Ugh.”

Who was even worrying about whom?

I must be an idiot.

I should be worried about my own life.

Whatever happens to Vivian Rondo, she doesn’t have to worry about losing her life.

If you look at it that way, she’s in a better situation than me.

—Boom!

At that moment, a guard entered the underground prison.

He placed a glass of water at my feet and opened the cell door.

“Kailo Alan, come out. The duchess is calling for you.”

My hand, which had been reaching for the water, froze.

Finally, it was happening.

An opponent even more terrifying than Vivian Rondor had appeared.

I entered the duchess’s room.

Inside, several maids were bustling about, preparing warm water and light refreshments.

Someone who appeared to be a physician was seated by the duchess’s bedside.

The physician and the duchess were quietly conversing.

I didn’t see Vivian Rondor.

For some reason, I had been looking for her first.

Then I looked at the duchess.

She had regained some colour in her face, but the droop of her eyelids revealed the severity of her condition.

Her sunken cheeks and thin arms hinted at the beauty she once possessed.

It was clear where Vivian Rondor had inherited her looks.

The duchess slowly moved her eyes and found me.

My heart sank under her gaze.

I had never had a child, nor had I ever lost one, but…

I had heard the wails of mothers who had lost their children countless times.

That’s what made me so nervous.

What kind of anger would the Duchess show me?

No matter how ill she was, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to exact revenge on me.

All it would take is for her to open her mouth and give the order.

The Duchess simply stared at me for a long time.

Then, she gave an order to the servants in the room.

“Everyone except Kailo Alan… please leave.”

Her voice carried more weight than it seemed.

No one in the room dared to disobey her command.

The maids, soldiers, doctors, and various retainers all left the room in a rush.

Thud.

Once the bustling space was reduced to just the two of us, the silence felt even more profound.

I couldn’t bear to meet her eyes and averted my gaze.

Staring at the floor, I waited for her to speak.

“…Hello, Kailo.”

“…?”

Her greeting wasn’t anything I expected.

It was a fresh, kind greeting, spoken in a gentle voice.

Startled, I looked at her and saw she was even smiling lightly.

Tap tap.

She patted the bed with her palm a couple of times.

“Come here. Let’s… have a conversation up close.”

I blinked and, as if under a spell, moved closer to her.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I had experienced kindness in Loctana.

I sat down in the chair the doctor had been using earlier.

“…What are you planning?”

“What do you mean, ‘planning’?”

This behavior made me cautious, wondering if it was just a trick to hurt me more deeply.

“…You know what I mean.”

At my question, the Duchess of Rondor gave me a gentle smile.

“It’s sad to see a child already tainted by the ways of adults.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why do you oppose me? Is there a reason for it?”

“…Are you seriously asking that? Don’t pretend you don’t know. Our families have been at war for years.”

“Did you happen to participate in that war?”

“…What?”

It was something I’d always held in my heart.

I hadn’t even taken part in the war, yet everyone poured their hatred on me.

But since it was a family matter, I had tried to understand to some degree.

At least, until the Duchess of Rondor pointed it out.

“You didn’t participate in the war. It wasn’t you who started it either. You were just swept up in the affairs of adults, so why would I hate you?

What responsibility do you have?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I still… really, really hate your father. But pouring that hatred onto you wouldn’t be very mature of me, would it? Nor would it be right.”

I bit my lip and spoke in a defensive tone.

It might have been the first time I was venting to someone who seemed to understand my feelings.

“…The people of the estate didn’t seem to think that way.”

As the Duchess’s expression showed confusion, I pointed to my injured forehead.

A glimmer of pity passed through her eyes.

“The children are the ones suffering in the battles of adults. The people just needed someone to take out their anger on.”

“And you, Duchess, don’t need someone to take your anger out on?”

At my question, she smiled.

“If I said I did, would you volunteer to be the target?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t want to either. And, as I said, I truly don’t find you all that hateful.”

Assuming everything she said was true, I still had one question.

“If everything you’re saying is true, and you don’t hate me for not being involved in the war… why did you demand a hostage?”

“I heard everything. You strongly insisted on having a hostage from our family. If you hold no grudge against us, why am I here?

You know it was because of you that I’m in this place.”

She took a deep breath.

As if finding it difficult to answer, she fiddled with the blanket draped over her legs a couple of times.

With a deflated sigh and weak gestures, she finally answered.

“…I held no personal grudge against you, but I am in the position of ruling the estate in place of my husband. I needed something to bear the brunt of the people’s anger. I had to show them that the deaths of the soldiers weren’t in vain.”

“And that something was me?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

The Duchess of Rondor turned her gaze toward me, which she had been avoiding.

She reached out with her pale hand and took mine.

Her touch was colder than I expected.

“For this, I apologize, Kailo.”

“No…”

I slowly closed the mouth I had opened to argue.

I had nothing more to say.

To be honest, I had expected the Duchess to demand an apology from me, but instead, I was the one receiving it, and it felt strange.

For a while, we sat in silence.

There was much to say, yet we just sat there quietly.

Breaking the long silence, the Duchess asked,

“Have you met Vivian?”

Her words made me freeze for a moment.

I awkwardly cleared my throat and nodded.

The Duchess, still with that kind smile, whether she knew everything or not, said,

“I want you two to get along.”

“…Are you serious, or are you teasing me?”

“I’m serious.”

“…Do you even know who locked me in the dungeon for the past two days? Vivian Rondor doesn’t seem to have any intention of getting close to me.”

“And what about you?”

I answered her question with difficulty.

“…I don’t like her either.”

“Kailo, think about it. It would be better for you to get along with Vivian, don’t you think?”

I let out a short, mocking laugh.

I was old enough to recognize when an adult was spouting empty words.

But the Duchess continued speaking.

“I’m not saying this lightly, Kailo. Surely, you… want to go back home, don’t you?”

I looked at her, as if wondering why she would even need to ask.

“Kailo. As you may have already guessed, I don’t have much time left. I’ll soon leave this world.”

“…What?”

Although she hadn’t looked well, hearing her speak of her death so openly made the reality feel much heavier.

“When I leave this world… Vivian will be the one to decide your fate.”

“She’ll take over the rule of this land, and I have no intention of placing a regent over the Rondor estate.”

“When that time comes, if you and Vivian aren’t on good terms, do you think she’ll send you back home?”

“At the very least, if you’re her friend, she might let you go.”