Estimated reading time: ~5 minutes
Chapter 70
○○○
About half an hour has passed since Sensei began examining the unconscious Chloa.
I had a kind of blind faith that Sensei would quickly resolve the situation.
However, as I watch her poke at Chloa with her fingers, stick her finger in his mouth, count his breathing rhythm, and examine a few strands of hair she’s pulled out, I can’t understand what she’s doing at all. I have a vague anxiety that it’s taking too long.
For the usually carefree Sensei, her expression seems somewhat troubled—
And that anxiety turns out to be justified.
「Chloe, this is no ordinary ailment.」
Sensei says gravely.
「This is a ‘curse.’ And a particularly malicious one at that.」
○○○
「That’s impossible! It can’t be!」
Chloe raises his voice at Sensei’s diagnosis.
「Why are you so certain it can’t be?」
「Because… the curse… it’s already been lifted!」
Chloe can barely get the words out. I can see his throat twitching.
「Then perhaps it wasn’t properly lifted.」
「But it was lifted, it was lifted—」
Chloe moans, clutching his head as the truth is revealed to him.
「I don’t know who you asked to lift the curse. But without considerable skill, this ‘curse formula’ wouldn’t be completely broken.」
「I… I bowed my head and asked one of the cardinals. I gave him everything he asked for. He definitely said he ‘lifted the curse’.」
「Even a cardinal is only human. Some might have risen to that position through political ability rather than divinely granted power.」
「No way—」
Chloe is at a loss for words.
Since being told that his brother’s condition was due to a curse, he must have shown indescribable devotion. Even after the supposed lifting of the curse, his brother’s condition didn’t improve. Deep down, Chloe must have realized that this wasn’t just a difficult illness, but the result of an unsuccessful curse removal.
「’Debilitation’ that continuously drains life force, albeit gradually, until the curse is lifted. ‘Lethargy’ and ‘Fever’ that periodically cause fatigue and low-grade fever. ‘Delayed Poison’ that leads the target to death over many years.」
Sensei recites as if reading from a list.
「’Weak Recovery’ that moderately restores the host to avoid suspicion of the curse formula. ‘Spell Fluctuation’ that constantly changes the visibility of the contained spells. ‘Concealment’ that hides all of these. And at the very bottom layer, ‘Spell Regeneration’ that repairs any destroyed spell by draining the host’s vitality or mana if the conditions aren’t met for breaking the curse.」
Even without understanding the details of her explanation, I can tell it’s bad.
I look at Chloe’s face. His expression has gone beyond pale, now as white as paper.
「Your brother is harboring a vicious ‘curse formula’ that incorporates eight ‘curses’ into one.
I’ve seen many ‘curses’ before, but this level of ‘curse of curses’ is—I rarely come across something this thorough. To top it off, it’s been meticulously crafted to regenerate unless all parts are destroyed at once.」
Not only are Chloe and I left speechless, but even the servants who must have heard Sensei’s explanation fall silent.
The silence dominates the room in the face of such a horrific revelation.
Sensei observes the situation for a while before continuing her explanation.
「So the cardinal your master entrusted with lifting the curse probably couldn’t detect at least four of the ‘curses’: ‘Weak Recovery,’ ‘Concealment,’ ‘Spell Fluctuation,’ and ‘Spell Regeneration’. He likely performed a half-baked curse removal, which only ended up worsening Chloa’s condition.」
「But after the curse was lifted, Chloa’s condition improved.」
If I can understand it, there’s no way Chloe wouldn’t get it.
「The ‘Weak Recovery’ curse started working in response to the attempted removal.」
「Then!! Omi, if it’s you, surely you can do something about the curse—」
「Well, yes. I could lift it—」
「Then!!」
「Listen to the end.」
Sensei interrupts Chloe’s agitation and impatience.
「I can lift the curse. However, the damage to his body and mind that comes with lifting it is now unavoidable. After all, there are eight ‘curses’ layered on top of each other. If it had been one full moon cycle earlier, or even half that… we might have managed. But as things stand now, your brother’s body and mind won’t survive the curse removal.」
At this point, Sensei turns to me with a look that seems to ask, 『Are you really sure about this?』
I nod once at Sensei, trying to convey the message that 『We’ll manage somehow.』
Sensei’s troubled expression finally softens.
「Chloe—」
Sensei starts to speak, trying to reassure Chloe, but can’t continue her sentence.
Because Chloe has already started muttering to himself.
「Chloa is only seventeen.」
Chloe’s body is shaking as he speaks.
「These past few years, he’s been going back and forth between getting better and worse, never really getting to play like a normal kid.」
「We promised we’d go drinking at a bar when he became an adult.」
「We said we’d dress up nicely and go out to have fun.」
「We promised that when he got better, we’d go see the ocean together.」
「I’d give anything.」
「My fortune.」
「My life.」
「Just for Chloa.」
「Everything.」
Tears start streaming down Chloe’s cheeks.
「Why?」
「Why?」 「Why?」 「Why?」 「Why only us?」 「Why are we always」 「Always」 「Always」 「We’ve suffered enough」 「When will we be happy?」 「Promises」 「Nothing」 「Happiness」 「Even simple」 「Joys」 「Nothing」 「Nothing」 「Nothing」 「Nothing to fulfill」 「Does Chloa have to die without experiencing any of it?」
It’s an outpouring of emotion that he can no longer hold back.
He cries so much that I worry he might dry up, his voice raised in anguish.
Faced with this heart-wrenching scene, even Sensei and Anon seem at a loss for words.
And that’s precisely why this is now my role to play.
「Chloe. Your brother will be saved.」
I tell him.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link