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Chapter : 25
“Don’t worry about it. Istin is fine. Although the curse did worsen and he collapsed.”
At the butler’s question, Regina answered as if it were nothing serious. Her calm reply only shocked Dason even more.
“Is that true? The young master collapsed… That’s serious indeed. Just how badly did the symptoms worsen…?”
It was serious enough that Dason wondered whether he should send word to the Duke, who was currently in the capital. But the Duchess’s mind was focused on something else entirely.
“Yes. Of course, it’s serious. But what truly matters right now is not that.”
“Pardon?”
The young master had collapsed, yet there was something even more important? The butler was baffled.
“I went to the villa and happened to discover a way to break Istin’s curse. If we can get rid of the curse, won’t Istin get up from his bed soon enough?”
At the Duchess’s next words, Dason was so startled that he froze.
“Is… is that really true? That there was a way to break the curse all along…!”
He stood there speechless for a while before he finally calmed himself enough to ask carefully,
“Did you perhaps get help from a shaman living in that village, Madam?”
“That’s not quite it… but well, it’s similar enough.”
Regina shook her head, then paused and smiled mysteriously.
“It’s not the right time to explain everything just yet. I can’t say for sure that the curse will be completely lifted. But now that we know how, we must do everything we can.”
Her words were vague, but the butler accepted them without question.
“Understood. Then, Madam, what should I prepare?”
“Hmm… Nothing else is needed. Just go to the temple and buy a large quantity of holy water. Riding a horse would take too long, so I’ll make an exception and allow you to use a teleportation scroll this time.”
She didn’t want to bring in a priest to perform a direct purification ritual. If a priest got involved, information about the family’s internal affairs would surely leak to the temple. It would cost far more, but it was better to simply buy the holy water.
“A large quantity, Madam? How much exactly do you mean?”
“Well… enough to fill a large bathtub to the brim.”
A single bottle of holy water from the temple was usually no bigger than a few fingers in length. Buying even one such small bottle cost dozens of gold coins. So filling a whole bathtub with it would mean an astronomical sum.
But to Regina, who had already tried many things far costlier than this to break the curse, it didn’t feel like much at all.
“Yes, Madam. Understood.”
As he obeyed her orders, Dason couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Holy water all of a sudden? They had already tried purification rituals with priests and holy water baths before. Of course, all of those had proven useless.
‘Well, Madam must have her reasons. My job is simply to follow orders.’
Shaking off his stray thoughts, he immediately passed the Duchess’s instructions on to the household staff.
* * *
While her people procured the holy water from the temple, Regina had something else to do: confirm the family heirloom rumored to hold the curse.
‘It’s already been fifteen years since we got the ceremonial sword back from the imperial palace.’
At present, the family had left a necklace with the palace instead of the sword. Naturally, the necklace was another precious heirloom passed down through generations of Baloire duchesses.
‘Even if the curse in the sword is lifted, we can’t let our guard down.’
Who knew what their enemies would do if they learned the curse was broken? They might curse the necklace next, or try some other trick. The only thing for sure was that there was a spy inside the imperial palace.
Each family’s heirlooms were supposed to be heavily protected—how had someone managed to tamper with it?
‘Whoever it is… How petty, cursing an heirloom…’
Clearly, some rival family couldn’t stand the sight of the Baloire family retaining its power.
‘If only I knew which family planted the curse…’
She’d tried probing Miela earlier, but the girl had only looked troubled and said she didn’t know who was behind it.
‘Well, that’s fine. I’ll find out eventually.’
Until now, they’d wasted years not even knowing the source of the curse. Now that she knew it was the sword, it was only a matter of time before she uncovered who was responsible.
“It’s been a while since I’ve come in here.”
Regina pushed aside a bookshelf at the very back of the underground storage and stepped into the hidden treasure vault.
Even the Duchess herself only came here once or twice a year. Powerful security magic and climate control spells kept the vault protected at all times. That was how secret and well-guarded this place was.
“…It doesn’t look any different.”
Standing before the ceremonial sword at last, Regina tilted her head in suspicion. She drew the sword from its ornate, jewel-encrusted scabbard, and the blade gleamed with a sharp, cold gleam.
“Just brushing against this could cut you open.”
Though it was now just for display, its past glory as a weapon on the battlefield still shone through.
“Well, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking. Curses always lurk in hiding, blending in naturally.”
Ever since she’d learned her son had inherited his grandfather’s curse, Regina had studied everything she could about curses. She knew most things about them by now.
“I really wonder if the curse is truly sealed in this.”
She picked up the sword as if it were nothing, but her face betrayed a tension and anticipation she couldn’t quite hide.
* * *
A few hours later, the retainers returned to the mansion, hauling large bundles filled with glass bottles of holy water.
“Madam, we’ve brought as much holy water as you asked for.”
“Good, well done. Place the bundles on the magic circle. We’ll head straight back to the villa and try to break this curse.”
At her instructions, the butler asked in confusion,
“Are you not performing the purification ritual here, Madam?”
“No. We have to see if this really works. If the mark on Istin’s back disappears, that means the curse has been lifted.”
Her voice trembled slightly. The pressure of what she was about to do weighed on her.
Normally, she never wavered over anything. But this time, she was desperate for it to work.
“…Please, let this succeed.”
With the sword and the holy water, Regina stepped onto the magic circle and teleported straight back to the villa. It all took less than half a day.
When she returned, the butler and head maid gasped in surprise.
“You returned faster than we expected, Madam!”
“Yes. I hurried. There’s no time to waste in a situation like this.”
She glanced around. Nothing seemed to have changed since she’d left.
“Has Istin not woken yet?”
“Unfortunately, no. But the physician says his fever has dropped a little.”
That was at least a relief. Regina’s expression softened slightly at the news.
“Good. And the child—Miela—where is she?”
“Young Miss Miela stayed by the young master’s side the entire time, but she fell asleep right there at his bedside. She looked so uncomfortable that we moved her to a bed in the next room.”
“Good thinking. Then… the ritual. Let’s get it ready right away.”
Should she wait for Miela to wake up? She hesitated for a moment, then decided against it. There was no time to waste.
“Understood, Madam.”
“Good. Bring me a large basin—big enough to fully submerge this sword.”
“Yes, right away.”
Following her orders, the butler hurried off.
They set the basin right in front of Istin’s bed, then poured in bottle after bottle of holy water. The crisp, cool scent of the holy water soon filled the entire room.
Just then, the door creaked open, and a small figure peeked inside.
It was Miela.
“…Yaaawn. You’re back, Lady Regina?”
