episode_0151

[Episode 147] – Experiment to Lift the Curse

“…I should have done something about it yesterday if I had known it would turn out like this…”

“What…?”

Do something about it? About what? Do they mean doing something to me?

As I looked at Titania in surprise, she wore an indifferent expression as if nothing was wrong. Irritated, she approached me and began to stroke my head.

“…I was just kidding, I said I’d wait.”

“Uh, yeah…”

It doesn’t seem like a joke at all…

If I hadn’t pushed Titania away yesterday, I would have really…

Unconsciously, I swallowed hard. Confused by Titania’s gaze looking down at me, which seemed to indicate that it wasn’t a joke and expressed regret for not doing something, I was perplexed.

To change this eerie atmosphere, I had to change the topic of conversation. I awkwardly chuckled, looked around, and asked Titania. Surely, the dream I had last night wasn’t something I dreamt up alone.

“Well, anyway… why has the curse returned? It was definitely lifted for a while last night, right before I fell asleep?”

“Yes, until I fell asleep, my mother appeared as an ‘adult.’ But when I woke up and got up…”

Titania let out another deep sigh.

I tried to ignore Titania’s sigh and started to worry about my body. If the curse had been lifted for even a moment, could there be a possibility that it would be lifted again if I kissed Titania once more?

As I raised my head to look at Titania—

“Titania, maybe—”

It happened in an instant.

As if she could read my mind, Titania lowered her head and kissed my lips. Blinking in surprise at the suddenness of it, I met Titania’s eyes.

Titania smiled softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and with a soft sound, she briefly withdrew her lips and then turned her head to kiss me again. The second kiss seemed to last a little longer.

“?!?!”

Titania’s lips parted slightly, and then her moist tongue licked my lips. As she tried to slip her tongue into the small gap of my lips, I jumped involuntarily.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Ordinary kisses didn’t break the curse, did they? So, I thought something more persistent might be needed.”

As Titania sensually licked my lips, I felt a surge of heat. Did she really need to go as far as using her tongue? When I made a protesting sound, Titania chuckled softly.

“Well, before we go to Veronica, shall we try a few experiments?”

“Experiments?”

“Yes, well, it’s true that the curse was broken with a kiss. However, the kiss we just had didn’t break the curse. There must be some ‘condition’ for the curse to be lifted.”

Titania gently lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. She had a point. I also wondered if there were conditions for breaking the curse. But… Couldn’t I just ask Veronica for help?

As I was about to ask Veronica for help, Titania ran her finger over my lips to stop me from speaking and smiled. Her smile as she looked down at me was seductive.

“So, today let’s experiment ‘just the two of us.’”

“…You don’t just want to kiss me, do you?”

“That too.”

Seemingly having no intention of hiding anymore, Titania ran her thumb over my lips, smiling contentedly as she looked between them.

Normally, I would have rejected her outright and fled.

I would have rebuffed her and scolded her as a ‘mother.’

Was it because I had learned how that child looked at me? Because I had learned what emotions that child harbored for me, and how deep they were? The words of refusal didn’t come out easily.

This is clearly due to sympathy.

Out of sympathy for Titania, who has suffered because of me until now, I couldn’t refuse. It was clear that I couldn’t reject her or speak due to the sympathy I felt for her. Because I’m sorry for Titania, because I was wrong. So my heart is pounding in pain. That’s why I can’t refuse out of sympathy. I turned my head slightly and avoided Titania’s gaze, which felt like it was devouring me. Yes, the experiment had to be done anyway. The kiss was just an act necessary to break the curse. So… “Do as you wish.”

I conducted an experiment on the ‘curse’ that affected me with Titania for a day. Before meeting Veronica, I needed to find out if the curse had really been lifted.

[First Experiment Result]

Just kissing Titania did not lift the ‘curse’. Simply kissing her or intertwining tongues for over 30 seconds did not work. As long as Titania did not kiss me ‘directly’, my curse did not lift.

[Second Experiment Result]

To lift the curse, I had to kiss Titania ‘directly’. Only by having the ‘thought’ of wanting to kiss Titania myself and actually kissing her, not forcibly, could I break free from the curse. And it had to be a long kiss.

Moreover, tricks like kissing cheeks or near the lips did not work at all. Our lips had to touch precisely, and some time had to pass before the curse responded. What kind of curse is this?

[Third Experiment Result]

The curse was lifted for about ‘2 hours’ at most. Sometimes it worsened again within 1 hour, but mostly the adult form remained for about 2 hours. Perhaps there were certain ‘conditions’ to extend the time.

I have some idea of what those conditions might be.

Although I returned to an adult body immediately after kissing Titania, after roughly 2 hours, I transformed back into a child’s body. Moreover, even if I kissed her after reverting, I didn’t immediately become an adult again.

So, in terms of the game, there was a ‘cooldown’ even for the curse. During the time when the curse was lifted, no matter how much you were hit, you couldn’t become an adult. Really, why are there curses like this?

“…This is the report that Isang and Titania have organized…”

“Hah.”

Veronica chuckled as she read through the report I had roughly organized. Glancing at Veronica with a frown, it somehow reminded me of the old days.

Veronica, who had truly despised me, had such a look on her face.

Veronica, half-crumpling the report, tapped the desk with her finger. Tap, tap, tap—the nervy sound indicated how angry Veronica was. I should have come yesterday after all…

“So, you’ve been playing with your daughter all day and only just arrived? Didn’t I tell you to contact me immediately if there was something wrong with your body? And didn’t I give you some of Ainsel’s powder?”

“But, but…”

“Was I wrong?”

“…You weren’t wrong.”

As I lowered my head dejectedly, Veronica clicked her tongue in annoyance, as if she couldn’t stand even that sight. Then, glancing at me, she chuckled again and asked me.

“So, why do you still look like a child?”

“It hasn’t been two hours since it was lifted… It’s almost time to lift the curse…”

“Playing with your daughter until you came here…”

“…Can you stop using that ‘playing with your daughter’ phrase?”

Exhaling deeply, Veronica leaned back in her chair, raised her hand, and swirled the teacup. As if looking at me with eyes that said, “How can I like this woman,” she then cleared her throat and spoke.

“First of all, congratulations. You found your destined partner like the protagonists in fairy tales. That’s your daughter.”

“But, but the curse isn’t completely lifted yet… Not yet…”

“You know perfectly well why the curse isn’t completely lifted, don’t you? It’s written in the report. You can ‘anticipate’ to some extent.”

Veronica flicked through the report with her finger, then smirked unpleasantly. I said it was expected, not exact. Veronica’s attitude seemed to confirm my “expectation.”

“It’s a ‘heart’ issue for you. Because Titania is a daughter, she can’t be a lover. It’s not right for women to do this to each other. Avoiding Titania with that mindset won’t lift the curse.”

I couldn’t help but stay silent at her piercing words. Veronica, who seemed to be observing my expression, sighed and tapped the report as she spoke.

“You also had some feelings, didn’t you? That’s why the curse was lifted. Well, this is entirely your problem, so I have nothing more to say.”

“Veronica…”

“You either waited a year to get my help to lift the curse, or you made up your mind and kissed Titania to lift the curse. Figure it out yourself. It’s entirely your choice.”

Her response seemed to neatly summarize the thoughts I had been struggling with for the past few days. Honestly, I knew, but these were issues I couldn’t decide on due to confusion.

“My choice…”

“Come to think of it, suddenly I’m curious.”

As I mumbled absentmindedly, Veronica looked at me with curious eyes. They were like the eyes of a child who had discovered a new toy and the eyes of someone unable to contain their curiosity.

“Heh, if you think about it, Titania and I are the same ‘existence,’ aren’t we?”

“T-That’s right? You’re the ‘Titania’ from a different world…?”

“If that’s the case, if you were to kiss me now, would the curse be lifted? Could I also become your destined partner? What do you think? Aren’t you curious?”

“What?”

As I looked bewildered, Veronica crossed her legs and tapped her thigh while looking at me. It was as if she was gesturing for a dog to come.

“Come on, Vivian. I want to try it once too.”