🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 75
“R-Really?”
I lifted my bowed head sharply.
When I looked at him with sparkling eyes, he lazily rested his chin on his hand and said:
“Very few people know about someone’s past life.”
“…….”
“If you can’t find the body of the past life, the curse is impossible. Unless that person’s enemy knows about their past life, there’s no way the past body could be used for a curse, so it’s fine.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right… haha……”
I laughed awkwardly, clutching my teacup tightly.
Yes, that’s right.
Even among those who remember their past life, the chances that the enemy knows are even slimmer……
Somehow, I felt like crying.
Einra had left.
A gentle breeze blew through the open window.
Harnen blinked absentmindedly, then slowly lowered his gaze.
“……I was curious if it’s possible to use a past life’s body to place a curse on one’s present self.”
How could he not know?
That the curse was aimed at him.
‘It seems Einra thought I wouldn’t know.’
He let out a faint smile.
Einra had always been like that.
She’d tell lies that were easy to see through and think she had successfully tricked others.
Her lies were always so cute that I didn’t bother showing I knew, but maybe that’s why she still didn’t realize she was terrible at lying.
Leaning against the window, Harnen rested his head slowly.
“……Anyway, they knew too.”
He had guessed that the Duke of Cervantes had sent spies to the Count of Saxen, but he hadn’t imagined they would already devise a curse.
Harnen had studied his weaknesses since childhood.
You have to understand your weaknesses to eliminate them or prepare for them.
That was also why he had researched matters related to his past life’s body, discovering that everyone’s soul is weakly connected to their past life’s body.
Still, it wasn’t like he could actually locate a past life’s body, so it wasn’t especially useful information.
“A curse…….”
Harnen muttered slowly, closing his eyes.
Einra had gone to the Duke Baharman’s mansion to gather information about Belzeste. The curse she had just asked about targeted a reincarnated person.
And the power of the spirit that had destroyed the Duke’s mansion.
There was only one conclusion that followed.
“……Einra.”
He moved his lips.
“She’s angry. Because Dante would curse me.”
So that was why she destroyed the Duke’s mansion.
When Harnen slowly opened his eyes, he smiled.
If the joy caused by just that one thing swallowed all the negative feelings from everything else, that would be strange, wouldn’t it?
“…….”
Sunlight poured in through the white chiffon curtains.
The gentle warmth brushed against his eyes, and Harnen closed them again slowly.
“Your Highness, Duke.”
Violetti approached and bowed.
Akes, flipping through documents, lifted his head.
“Speak.”
“The interrogations of Duke Baharman and other criminals have been completed. With the consent of all nobles of count rank or higher, it has been decided to execute them publicly without trial.”
“Ah, I see.”
Akes leaned back in his chair.
Even though the Duke’s scandalous behavior had quietly spread through high society, causing nobles to turn away, their opposition couldn’t be fully erased.
The fall of the Duke Baharman, leader of the noble faction, meant a reduction in the nobles’ influence.
However, the nobles had unanimously agreed to the Duke’s punishment, and not even one attended the Emperor’s imperial court.
‘They probably don’t want to offend Einra.’
Even if they knew the spirit mages contracted with the Spirit King were formidable, this was likely the first time they experienced that power firsthand.
“What day?”
“One week from now.”
“They’ll be pleased to hear that,” he said, a soft curl forming on his red lips.
Violetti, glancing at her lord’s small hand turning the documents, spoke again.
“Additionally, I have news. Belzeste’s envoy has expressed intent to return tomorrow.”
“Hm, too obvious.”
His red eyes narrowed.
Akes stamped the bottom of the documents and added nonchalantly:
“Well, they’d be in a hurry to find Dante, so it makes sense.”
Failing to locate Dante during the initial interrogation, they would have been desperate to find him as soon as possible.
“What about Dante?”
“He’s in the underground prison. He appears obedient, but is constantly seeking escape opportunities.”
‘Of course. He knows better than anyone that if my curse can’t be undone even with his fingers, he must risk his life.’
The day Dante was captured, Akes cut off his finger and sent it to Harnen.
Because spells are generally dispelled using a part of the caster’s body.
‘But if that doesn’t work……’
The only way to remove the curse is the caster’s death.
“The bait?”
“Successfully secured.”
“Keep a close watch on Dante. Report immediately if there are any abnormalities.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Violetti saluted lightly and left the office.
The signet ring stained with ink shone red as if wet with blood. Akes glanced at it indifferently as he turned the documents.
Knock, knock.
A light tapping came from outside the window.
Only one person could knock on the window of the Duke’s office on the fifth floor.
Turning to the window, he met Einra’s eyes calling to him.
“As!”
A laugh escaped him involuntarily.
When he opened the window, Einra, riding Hisha, leapt inside and hugged Akes tightly.
Behind her, Hisha turned into light and disappeared.
Akes, losing his balance, sat on the floor in surprise and called out to her.
“Einra?”
“……Wait. I’m charging.”
Murmuring, Einra held the small body in her arms even tighter.
She had gone to Harnen for answers to her questions but hadn’t received the response she wanted.
“Yes. Charge as much as you want.”
He pressed his cheek gently against her chest.
As much as Einra wanted, he stayed there.
Tap, tap.
Drops of water fell intermittently.
“Gah……!”
Dante shot up, eyes wide, gasping.
His heart raced wildly, breaths tangled, almost suffocating him.
He trembled, touching his neck with shaking hands.
‘Still… still alive…….’
Repeating that to himself for a while brought him back to his senses.
In the pitch-dark prison, illuminated only by a single torch in the distant corridor, Dante exhaled slowly, leaning against the wall.
He must have dozed off momentarily and was startled awake by the dripping water.
As his breathing steadied, the sound of the drops continued to fall.
His fingertips started trembling slightly without his noticing.
The fear embedded in his mind made even the small dripping terrifying.
‘……Focus.’
Dante clenched his fists tightly.
‘I’ve regained my life. I can’t die like this.’
‘I have to escape.’
If he stayed here, he would surely die.
His sharp violet eyes scanned his surroundings.
Though he had been trapped here for a long time, there was nothing to see in this place without even a hint of light.
Even using magic was impossible, as the manacles on his wrists blocked the flow of mana.
‘Find it. There must be a gap somewhere.’
Blood dripped from his fists where his nails dug into his skin, but Dante didn’t notice.
Then—
Clang.
A metallic click was heard.
Followed by the squeak of a hinge.
Dante tensed instantly.
“Are you the spellcaster Dante?”
At that voice, Dante swallowed hard.
It was unmistakably the accent of the Belzeste Empire.
“You needn’t be wary. I’ve come at the request of His Grace, Marquis Hasseluna, to escort you.”
A calm step approached.
In the next moment, the mana restraints around his wrists shattered.
