Chapter 4.3

“Sister! Today, please read this book to me!”

“Rita, are you really into fairy tales these days? Come here and sit down.”

Rita, who had trapped me in the temple with her deadly cuteness, was the youngest of all the children. Grandpa had taught the children how to read and write, so they all knew how, but young Rita was still clumsy. She could read words but had a hard time reading long sentences like in a storybook.

Thanks to that, for the past few days, she would cling to me and beg me to read her a storybook whenever she saw me.

Rita, with her short, chubby arms and legs, came running and plopped down next to me. She was so cute I could die. I gently stroked Rita’s head and scanned the title of the storybook.

<The Magician’s Head Goes Rolling> …Is this really okay? Is this even a children’s book to begin with?

“Rita, is this the right book?”

“Yeah! The rolling head!”

Rita smiled brightly and innocently. ‘Hmm… well, if she says so.’ I opened the book with a sense of dread.

The powerful illustration on the first page greeted me. It was an illustration of a magician with a white beard, his head smiling benevolently.

‘Grandpa, where’s your body? Why are you just a head…?’ The fingers holding the end of the page trembled. I could already imagine what the rest of the story would be, so I was reluctant to turn the page.

“…How about a different book?”

“No. It’s this one today. Sister, please read it. Hurry!”

Rita grabbed my arm and whined. She was usually a cute and angelic child, but once her switch was flipped, she became a stubborn mule that no one could stop.

‘Who bought a book like this?!’ I let out a big sigh and was about to turn the page.

“I bought you this a long time ago. Are you only reading it now?”

“Brother Jeras!”

Jeras suddenly appeared and took the book from my hand. ‘So you were the culprit.’

I glared at Jeras with a look that said, Why would you buy a book like this for the children? Of course, Jeras didn’t even look at me and returned the book to Rita.

“Ask Thomas to read it to you. Squirrel sister and I have something to do.”

“Okay… I got it. Sister, brother. Bye.”

‘Rita, Rita! Don’t go! Why are you giving up so easily? You should be begging me to play with you!’ But Rita didn’t look back and coolly walked away. ‘Ugh, come back, Rita…’

“Why is your expression so grim, My Lady? Do you hate me that much?”

‘Do you think anyone would like you when you’re always picking a fight?’ If I were to answer honestly, he would surely be mean.

At times like this, the right to remain silent is the best option. I kept my mouth shut, neither denying nor affirming, and Jeras shrugged. His red eyes, which were right in front of my face, curved seductively. As if to charm me and draw out an answer.

“Huh? Do you hate me, My Lady?”

“…I neither like nor dislike you. Are you satisfied? Please move away. It’s awkward.”

“I understand. It’s awkward when someone is as handsome as me.”

‘How can every single word he says be so annoying?’

I whipped my head away to avoid his eyes, which held a beautiful and dangerous light. Jeras chuckled lightly and opened the inner door of the temple and went in. I followed behind him.

We headed straight to Grandpa’s room.

“This is quite a surprise. I didn’t think you two would come together.”

“I brought the timid squirrel because I was afraid she would run away.”

“Who’s timid? I’m not! …I was just a little nervous.”

“Yes, My Lady, you’re right about everything. Are you ready?”

“Yes. You may begin right away. Lady Eloe, please come stand next to me.”

I scurried to stand next to Grandpa.

Grandpa’s room was an ordinary room, except for one thing: the magic circle drawn on the floor in the center. Jeras’s steps as he entered the magic circle were without hesitation.

Jeras, who was about to take off his shirt, turned to look at me. His face was full of mischief.

“I’m supposed to take off my shirt for this, but what do you think? I’ll do as you say. If you tell me to take it off, I’ll take it off.”

“I’m not an idiot. Why would you take off your clothes to remove a curse?”

“It didn’t work.”

Jeras muttered quietly to himself. He probably would have teased me endlessly, calling me a pervert or something, if I had fallen for his pace and told him to take it off. He had absolutely no sense of crisis in a situation like this.

As I stared at him with a sullen look, Jeras sat in the magic circle and gestured with his chin.

“Okay. Begin.”

“Lady Eloe, watch closely. Just by watching, you will gain a lot of insight.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Grandpa placed both hands on the edge of the magic circle and closed his eyes. Immediately, his body began to glow softly. It was his divine power. The process of the divine power quickly gathering in his hands and flowing into the magic circle was clearly visible.

As the magic circle imbued with divine power glowed, Jeras also closed his eyes. How much time had passed? A dark-red smoke began to rise from Jeras.

It was a smoke so thick and massive that it couldn’t be compared to the girl’s I had seen at the Grand Temple. No, it wasn’t smoke, but a blaze that seemed to devour everything.

Even though I knew nothing bad would happen, a sense of unease welled up inside me.

‘She said the girl’s curse was a weak one… This must be a real demon’s curse.’

“Ugh.”

Jeras let out a short groan. The smoke writhed violently as if it would pierce through the ceiling. The divine power coming from Grandpa became noticeably stronger. A pillar of light soared from the magic circle, trapping the smoke inside. I now understood the explanation that the magic circle was a barrier.

The smoke thrashed about as if it were alive, trying to escape the barrier. Grandpa took his hands off the magic circle and placed them on Jeras’s shoulders.

“With the light of our benevolent God, shine upon the darkness, and remove the black shadow cast upon this man’s body and soul. Puratio.”

It was a purification spell. The divine power seeped into Jeras’s body through the old man’s hands. In response, the dark-red smoke gradually became calmer and fainter.

Jeras had his eyes closed, his brow deeply furrowed. He looked incredibly pained. I couldn’t take my eyes off Jeras, who was silently enduring the pain.

– Hehehehe…

“…Cough!”

Suddenly, a disgusting laugh echoed from somewhere. It felt as if it was entering my head directly, not my ears. I got goosebumps.

At the same time, Jeras coughed and covered his mouth with his hand. Bright red blood dripped between his fingers.

“Jeras…!”

“Magis Puratio.”

Grandpa cast the spell without any sign of panic. It was a high-level spell, much more powerful than the first purification spell. He had said that a puratio spell would be enough to purify it without any problems, but it seemed the curse on Jeras’s body was stronger than he had thought.

He didn’t mention anything about coughing up blood. ‘Is he going to be okay? Even if it’s Jeras…’

Instantly, an intense light filled the room, as if it would blind me.

***

“I told you to take it off.”

“Is that really what you’re thinking right now?”

“I just ruined my clothes for nothing. It’s all your fault, My Lady.”

“Why is it my fault… *Haa*. Never mind. I shouldn’t even bother.”

Jeras was lying on the bed like a corpse, his shirt off. I ignored his nonsensical grumbling and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

I wasn’t doing this because I liked him. Jeras was in a state where he couldn’t even lift a finger, and Grandpa had left the room.

There’s a setting that Jeras, who deals with demons intensively, builds up resistance by intentionally getting cursed or poisoned by demons and then recovering. It was a setting that had appeared a few times in the original story, so it wasn’t unfamiliar, but seeing him in pain with my own eyes was a bit shocking.

Moreover, Jeras had apparently received a much stronger and more potent curse than usual. According to Grandpa, an ordinary human would have either died or gone insane. He was only able to endure it because he had a certain level of resistance.

I had been coaxed into watching this as a learning experience, but I almost fainted when I saw the blood.

After the purification, Grandpa randomly punched Jeras’s body, which was completely exhausted. He said that there was a limit to how conceited one could be about their skills. Divine magic isn’t a cure-all, and if he died and got buried in the ground, only the Prince would suffer a loss.

I agreed. Why does he live so recklessly, not even knowing how precious his body is? He’s not immortal.

‘Should I call this a strong sense of responsibility?’

“What are you going to do? The old man was really angry.”

“It’s fine. The old man calms down quickly if you give him a lot of money.”

I have nothing to say.

“And I couldn’t help it. I won’t be able to leave the imperial palace for a while.”

“So you got scolded by His Majesty for being irresponsible with your duties.”

“Where would he find a son as diligent as me? The Consort is holding a ball soon, so I have to be there for her.”

“A ball?”

My voice rose without me realizing it.

Of course it did. The imperial ball held at this time, especially the one hosted by Consort Florese, could only be that one ball.

The very ball where Sion dies.

I had been thinking the time was right and was about to subtly probe Jeras, but it was perfect that he mentioned it first.

I wanted to know the exact date as soon as possible. That way, I could do something to make sure Sion wouldn’t even come near Rivai.

In the original story, the invitation only came to Sion, who was in Rivai, so it would probably be the same this time, right?

I just hope Jeras doesn’t blabber to Sion. Knowing Sion’s personality, if he finds out about such a big event, he’ll definitely try to come to Rivai because he’d be worried about me…

“…Squirrel. Squirrel!”

“Uh, yes? What? Are you uncomfortable?”

“I called you so many times. What were you thinking about, with a patient right here?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought the ball sounds like fun. And you only call yourself a patient when it’s convenient.”

I vaguely lied to change the subject, as it was no good for Jeras to find out, and he wouldn’t believe me anyway. Jeras looked at me with his eyes narrowed.

“What now? Do you want some water?”

“My Lady, have you never been to a ball?”

“I spent more time in bed than I did awake.”

Eloe was too sick to have a chance, and as an ordinary college student before transmigrating, I of course never had a chance to go to a ball.

I answered lightly without thinking, but Jeras’s expression became uncharacteristically serious. He seemed to think he had hit a sore spot.

‘You’re surprisingly sensitive, aren’t you?’

“I wondered why Sion hid you so well. It must have been because he was afraid you’d be embarrassed at the ball since you’re so bad at dancing.”

I had momentarily forgotten what kind of person Jeras was. Sensitive my foot!

“I’m not bad at dancing!”

“Then show me.”

I was somewhat confident in my ability to do old popular idol dances or freestyle dancing. But that’s not what Jeras meant. He probably meant a ballroom dance, like a waltz.

In any case, I didn’t want to dance in front of Jeras, and there was no reason to.

“My Lady, you’re all talk.”

“Oh, Your Highness. You’re not in a position to be saying that, are you?”

‘You can’t even move a single finger.’ I’m the one holding the sword now, not you.

When I approached him with a glint in my eyes, Jeras shook his head with a horrified expression.

“Don’t come any closer. I said don’t.”

“I don’t want to. I’m going to. I’m going to torment the Prince who can’t move.”

“You, you! Don’t touch me! Old man, where are you! This woman is going to… Mmph! Mmmph!”

“It would’ve been better if you had been well-behaved from the start. Hehehe.”

I put a gag on Jeras’s mouth, who was struggling, and laughed like a villain. The blood drained from Jeras’s face.

‘You insolent scoundrel. I’ll show you what it’s like to be in a tight spot.’

***

Having talked nonsense, Jeras was sentenced to be a happy gimbap wrap. I brought all the blankets and wrapped him up in several layers, so he must have been sweating buckets.

If he’s lucky, Grandpa will come back soon and free him. If he’s unlucky, he’s probably still suffering in the pit of a hot purgatory.

It’s all because of his own sins.

Imagining Jeras’s face, cooked like a sweet potato rather than a happy gimbap, I couldn’t help but laugh. I chuckled and lay down on the soft sofa.

‘The Imperial Ball… what do I do?’

I had been so focused on saving Sion that I hadn’t thought deeply about it. The fact that it wasn’t just about saving Sion.

Who on earth could stop Jeras from losing his mind after drinking, just as in the original story?

The only person who could even match Jeras with a sword was Sion. It wasn’t just about swordsmanship. Jeras was a monster who was immune to most curses and poisons. I saw it with my own eyes. He’s not someone that one or two skilled knights can stop.

‘The alcohol Siliya gives him is a type of curse… so maybe Grandpa can solve it?’

He was said to have an unparalleled ability to purify curses and poisons, so it was definitely possible.

But that doesn’t solve the problem. I have no reason to take the old man to the ball. If I were to ask him to be my escort and partner, he could get in, but… I don’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath.

If I were to go that far and take the old man with me, people might misunderstand that I was plotting something. If they do, the Duchy will also suffer. That’s a definite no.

‘Ugh, my head hurts.’

Whenever I got tangled up with Jeras, nothing ever went well. He’s truly a useless person in my life in so many ways.

Groaning, I tossed and turned, and then a thought suddenly came to me.

‘I can just eliminate the cause, just like with Sion.’

If Jeras loses his mind from drinking, all I have to do is make sure he doesn’t drink the alcohol. I know when, where, and how the incident will happen. It’s so easy, isn’t it?

‘I’m so stupid for only thinking of this simple solution now.’ I chided myself and sat up abruptly, only to melt back down onto the sofa like ice cream on a summer day.

‘But to do that, I have to stick close to Jeras…’

Of course. Where in the world is anything easy? Sigh. Let’s think this through.

I hugged a soft cushion and lay on my stomach on the sofa, trying to recall my memories. I tried to remember everything I could about the ball.

The Imperial Ball hosted by Consort Florese. The location was probably… the grand ballroom of the palace used by the concubines. It was a rigorous event that started after sunset and continued until dawn.

Jeras appeared when the atmosphere was at its peak and drank the alcohol given to him by Siliya, who was disguised as a maid. Since he attended alone, it wasn’t difficult for Siliya to approach him.

After that… it became a complete mess, so there’s no need to think any further.

‘I wonder if it’s a blessing or a curse that he doesn’t have a partner.’

It’s better for my mental health to think of it as a blessing, since I’m not stealing someone’s man.

Yes, this is my noble sacrifice for the happiness of the vast majority. A task that no one can do but me! A historical mission!

Even if it’s a sacrifice like that of a glowworm that no one will ever know about!

I desperately tried to win the mental battle, hitting my forehead against the cushion. If I didn’t do this, I felt like I could never ask Jeras to be my partner.

A partner… and Jeras, of all people, as my first dance partner!

It was a night where I yearned to see Sion more than ever.