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Chapter : 20
Even after hearing my words, Leonard gave no response.
The soft rustling of the grass grew louder, and the light breeze gradually turned colder—yet still, nothing.
After staring at me for quite some time, Leonard, who had been silently parting his lips as if to speak, finally began to walk toward me.
“…Consideration.”
One step.
“That really is such a you-like answer, Loreina.”
Two steps.
“You always say exactly what I want to hear.”
Three final steps.
Leonard closed the distance in a stride and bent slightly at the waist. The space between us—already close—shrank until I could feel his breath.
Feeling inexplicably tense, I stood there fidgeting with the edge of my shawl when Leonard reached out over my head.
My hair, which had been mussed by the now-strong wind, was quickly smoothed by his large hand.
His long fingers drifted through my hair as though swimming.
“The fact that you’re like that drives me crazy—in a good way.”
“……”
“And yet, I hate it.”
The end of his voice was cracked and brittle, like a dry branch snapping.
That awkwardness made me lift my head at last, only for Leonard to pull his hand back.
“It makes me hesitate. It makes me wonder whether it’s really okay for me to act like this—even when I’m in a situation where I don’t have the luxury to think about such things.”
“……”
“So I keep choosing options that put me at a disadvantage.”
And this time, too… it would probably be the same.
His quiet muttering settled softly against my ear.
I had heard every word Leonard said, yet I couldn’t grasp what he truly meant.
As I stood there dazed, Leonard reached out again, this time adjusting the shawl draped around me, and whispered,
“It’s cold. Go inside now.”
Before I could respond, Leonard turned away.
Snapping back to my senses, I opened my mouth at the thought that suddenly surfaced.
“You said there was something you wanted to hear earlier. What was it?”
Leonard stopped in his tracks. Without turning around, he answered while slightly tilting his head back.
That he had already heard the words he wanted to hear.
“What was that…”
Biting my lip, I stared at the sun that had risen before I knew it.
The reason I was awake at an hour when I should have been asleep was simple.
I had stayed up all night because of what happened yesterday.
“I thought about it all night, but I still don’t know what he meant.”
It’s not like he was drunk—so why say something that sounded like a drunken confession?
Seriously unsettling someone’s heart like that.
“…I should go for a walk or something.”
Maybe it would help clear my head.
I threw on some clothes, tightly tied my hair back, and stepped outside.
The Amelio Count’s estate in the morning looked no different than usual.
The flowers blooming in the garden outside the windows were beautiful, and from the kitchen came the familiar scent of Gilbert’s apple pie.
Mary was tidying up the hall, and in the corridor ahead, Gerald was cheerfully greeting someone.
A completely ordinary day—
…No, wait a second.
“…Young Master Hentison?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Smiling, Gerald spoke to me as if to confirm I wasn’t mistaken.
Seeing Gerald again after four years, he had shed his boyishness and become quite dignified.
Of course, even so, it didn’t compare to the change Leonard had undergone.
“To be precise, I’m no longer a baron… well, a duke now.”
“Ah, your title—wait, what? A duke?”
“Yes. Somehow, that’s how it turned out. His Majesty acknowledged my service thus far.”
“Wow, congratulations!”
I offered Gerald my sincere congratulations. From baron to duke—that was an extraordinary promotion.
After generations of faithfully serving Leonard’s family, it was finally paying off.
“Thank you.”
Gerald scratched the back of his head shyly. I watched him with a proud smile before suddenly snapping back to reality.
Wait—this isn’t the important part.
“How did you get here—no, when did you arrive?”
Gerald definitely hadn’t been among the people who came yesterday.
“This morning. His Majesty came to get me.”
“His Majesty did?”
“Yes. He showed up without any notice—I nearly had a heart attack. Riding on his back the whole way nearly killed me.”
Leonard went to the capital last night? But we were going there together anyway. Why bring Gerald back with him?
As I tilted my head in confusion, footsteps sounded behind me.
They were unfamiliar, yet somehow recognizable.
When I turned around, Leonard was standing there, just as I expected.
Leonard looked at Gerald and me standing side by side in the corridor and spoke quietly.
“Come here for a moment. I have something to say.”
Sensing that this would be a long conversation, I asked Mary to bring some tea.
Considering the chilly weather, she served it warm, with dried pomegranate seeds floating on top.
The deep red color mirrored Leonard’s crimson eyes as he sat silently despite having called Gerald and me over.
The silence felt awkward, so I hurriedly spoke up.
“Oh, right. Your Grace, how is Lady Hentison doing?”
“She’s the same as ever. This time, she’s making a name for herself in the capital.”
Oh? It seemed Diana’s cocktail-making skills had improved even more.
I should ask later if I could try one.
As I pondered when would be a good time, I took a sip of tea.
Hmm… I felt like I was about to say something, but there really wasn’t anything. Gerald and I hadn’t exactly shared any history.
I supposed I’d have to get straight to the point.
“Um, come to think of it, why did you come to see me, Your Grace? The misunderstanding about Enoch has already been resolved, so I found it strange that even you came all the way here.”
“Well, actually…”
After glancing briefly at Leonard, Gerald cleared his throat and continued.
“His Majesty may have already told you, but we came because he wishes to recruit you to the Imperial Palace.”
“Recruit me?”
So that was it. He’d come to explain the situation.
“Yes. Right now, His Majesty truly needs you.”
“…May I ask why?”
I already knew the answer, but I asked out of pure curiosity.
Would they really tell me the truth?
As expected, Gerald shook his head with a troubled expression.
“I’m sorry, my lady. There are circumstances, so for now…”
“Oh, it’s fine.”
I really had just been curious.
It might be uncomfortable to pretend I didn’t know, but that was something I could manage.
“It won’t interfere with the work even if I don’t know, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s fine.”
“…You’re giving your permission?”
At his tense voice, I took another sip of tea and smiled faintly.
“Of course. If I’m acceptable, that is.”
Just as Gerald broke into a broad smile at how easily the permission was given, Leonard—who had been quiet until now—suddenly spoke.
“Are you really agreeing?”
“Yes.”
“…Even though I can’t tell you why you’re needed?”
It was an extension of the question he had asked last night—no, essentially the same question.
Repeating it meant just how anxious he was, so I answered with certainty.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
I smiled even more brightly on purpose.
“Because you’d never make me do something bad.”
In that moment, Leonard’s already unsteady complexion turned deathly pale.
His reaction was so different from what I’d expected that I quietly set my teacup down.
“What’s wrong with him…?”
He looked awful. Worried, I hurriedly stood up to check on him.
But I never reached him.
With a face stiff as though he’d made up his mind, Leonard spoke again before Gerald or I could stop him.
“I’ll tell you why you’re needed, Loreina.”
He dropped a massive bomb.
“Because I’m cursed.”
“Your Majesty!”
A scream burst from Gerald’s mouth. I was just as shocked.
“Is he insane?”
He was revealing a fatal weakness known only to a handful of confidants—to someone like me, who was little more than an extra?
I stared at Leonard in disbelief, but even under my gaze, he didn’t stop speaking.
“Three hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on me. She resented my father for loving a woman other than her.”
“Wait—Leonard…”
“Because of it, I can’t see other people’s faces, nor can I remember what happens when I’m with them.”
“Hold on…”
“She wanted to completely sever my ability to form connections with others.”
Seeing Leonard speak as though he intended to reveal everything, Gerald let out a sigh and left the room.
Leonard didn’t even spare him a glance. He continued speaking, his red eyes fixed solely on me.
“Even my father, whose life force was extraordinarily strong, couldn’t escape the curse and passed away.”
At the sudden mention of Khalid, I forgot to stop him and looked up.
In the original story, it only said that after Isabel’s curse, Khalid died of an unknown illness.
Honestly, I had always been curious. How could the strongest dragon in the world—a being blessed by the gods—die from sickness?
“…In the end, not a single person will remain by your side.”
Leonard spoke the familiar words.
The very curse that had tormented him for three hundred years.
“This is the curse placed upon me. My father died because of it.”
“……”
“The curse specified ‘people,’ so my father, being a different race, wasn’t supposed to be affected.”
Listening quietly, I tilted my head at his next words. Something didn’t add up.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t dying be stranger?”
If he didn’t meet the conditions of the curse…
Frowning slightly in confusion, I met Leonard’s gaze.
As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, Leonard met my eyes and spoke.
“It would’ve been nice if different races could truly avoid the curse’s effects. But that wasn’t the case.”
“What do you mean…?”
“It came out that way, but that wasn’t what the witch intended.”
Leonard slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
As if about to reveal something monumental, his lips trembled slightly.
And just as I feared, Leonard confessed an astonishing secret.
“All the other races who were close to me—those living near the capital—lost their lives.”
“……”
“There was a loophole due to a careless phrasing, so the curse tried to compensate for it. If all the exceptions died, the curse would be complete.”
That the reason other races had gone completely extinct—
was because of him.
