WGMFTR | Chapter 14

Episode 14

“Would it be alright if I looked around here a bit more?”

As she looked at the items that appeared to have been left untouched for a long time, the thought occurred to her that she might find a clue about the source of the curse.

Although she was certain the curse wasn’t tied to an object as a medium, there was still a chance one of the former marquises might have dabbled in forbidden magic.

And if she were to search for such records or traces, no place seemed more fitting than this neglected storage.

“Of course. I’ll leave the door open for you.”

Hearing the retreating footsteps, Lydia quickly turned her gaze back into the warehouse.

Just as she began moving, focusing in search of anything that might hold traces of magic,

something that looked like a large sack caught her eye in a strangely distracting way.

It was often referred to as a “sense,” and usually, when something caught your eye like this, it meant magic was involved.

Lydia approached and gently untied the cord on the sack, only to be disappointed.

“My goodness, what is all this?”

Only then did she recall what Ilian had said when talking about the origin of the Solem family ring—that one of the former marquises had a hobby of collecting all sorts of miscellaneous items.

Lydia sat crouched on the floor and began taking the items out one by one.

“This has no magic, this is just for decorative magic, and this necklace… Oh, it actually has a luck charm on it. Very, very faint, though.”

The necklace she finally found, which at least had some form of real magic, was simply a translucent gem, crudely cut and hung on a long string.

Still, it definitely had a charm to bring luck, even if just the tiniest bit.

The kind of luck that lets you find a coin in the corner while cleaning a room.

“What’s that?”

Her eyes landed on a small, lonely book lying on the floor in a corner. Reaching out, she picked it up.

Coughing as she wiped off the thick dust from the cover and flipping it around, she noticed a name scribbled in clumsy handwriting on the back.

Ethan Esteban.

Lydia froze the moment she saw the name.

Looking around, she couldn’t tell where the notebook had fallen from; it sat there all by itself.

With a careful hand, Lydia gently turned the cover.

“…A diary?”

As she lightly flipped open the cover and checked the first page, a date was written at the top. It certainly looked like a diary.

Lydia’s eyes scanned the neatly written date. With a quick calculation, she realized the diary was from over ten years ago.

[Today I played with big brother Ilian. He told me not to climb trees because I might get hurt. But that’s not true. I can climb down just fine.]

As soon as she read the first entry, a small laugh slipped out. It felt like she could hear Ilian’s nagging voice like an echo in her ears.

Though he was a good older brother who played well with his sibling, he still couldn’t hide his inherently prickly nature.

[He said I need to eat food I hate to grow big. But I don’t like beans. Even though sometimes he leaves beans too. I’m going to tell Katrina sister. Hmph.]

[Katrina sister is a little scary. But she’s nice. She said I don’t have to eat beans. Big brother Ilian listens to her too. My sister is the best. Wait, no. Big brother is the best.]

The diary, seemingly written by a very young boy, was filled with pure affection toward Ilian.

Even when he grumbled about Ilian occasionally, it was clear Ethan liked him the most.

And Ilian, though pretending otherwise, clearly cared for Ethan, which was evident even in this simple diary.

[Big brother Ilian is the coolest in the world. I want to swing a wooden sword like him. He said it’s dangerous. But he promised to teach me swordsmanship when I get older.]

Only now did Lydia fully realize that the owner of this diary no longer existed in this world.

She herself was overcome with sorrow that this child no longer had a future—but how must Ilian have felt, having promised to teach him swordsmanship?

[Mother seemed annoyed with me again today. But it’s okay. Brother said he’d take me out to play. He doesn’t like going to the village! I’m excited.]

[When Mother gets angry, it’s really scary. I wish she would smile. Katrina sister smiled when I gave her flowers. She said they were cute. I wish Mother would smile too. But I think she doesn’t like me. No. Brother said that’s not true.]

As she flipped through the pages, the handwriting became more even, and dark feelings related to “Mother” began to appear sporadically.

Especially in the last sentence, unlike the previous ones with cute crossed-out lines, there were rough, scratched-out marks, as if the writer didn’t want to accept or even think about the truth.

“By ‘Mother,’ does he mean Princess Madeleine?”

It was obvious to anyone that Katrina and Ilian were full siblings.

But Ethan, alone, looked nothing like them. Considering he was the youngest, it wasn’t hard to guess that the former marquis had remarried Princess Madeleine of the Kingdom of Ines, making them half-siblings.

[Mother doesn’t like Brother or sister. She says I shouldn’t like them either. But I like Katrina sister and Ilian brother. Why do I have to hate them? When I asked Mother, she got mad.]

The next diary entry confirmed her suspicions. A few more entries of everyday life followed, but the diary ended before it was even halfway full.

As if the life of its owner had ended just as abruptly.

<There was an unfortunate accident in the past.>

What could have happened to make the life of such a cheerful boy come to such an early end?

Just as Lydia, full of regret, was about to close the diary, something fell from between the pages onto her knee with a soft tap.

“…A bracelet?”

It was a roughly made bracelet, twisted from leather. But what caught Lydia’s attention wasn’t its appearance—it was the faint magical energy she felt from it.

Strangely, it couldn’t be clearly defined as any particular kind of magic.

However, it was undoubtedly positive, almost like a refreshing breeze—a faint trace of gentle magic.

“Ilian Esteban…”

Looking closely at the inside of the bracelet, she found a small phrase engraved in the same clumsy handwriting as the diary. It seemed Ethan had made it for his brother Ilian.

‘But why does it have magic on it? And such a vague, incomplete kind of magic?’

Lost in unexpected thoughts, Lydia didn’t notice the presence approaching behind her.

“Lydia.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Lydia quickly turned around.

Standing in the entrance with his back to the light was none other than Ilian Esteban, the marquis himself.

“What brings you here?”

“You weren’t around. They said you were here.”

Come to think of it, Ilian Esteban had been somewhat distant with her the past few days, yet he never stopped checking in on her.

It reminded her of the diary, where “big brother Ilian” appeared at least once every few days, doing things for Ethan or asking what he was up to.

From that, it seemed he had a habit of caring for those close to him.

Even if that person was someone as artificially inserted into his life as Lydia.

‘Or maybe it’s because of the curse-lifting.’

That seemed like the more reasonable explanation. After all, Lydia herself had said she needed to check his condition daily, so it was probably a sense of obligation.

“What were you doing?”

“Well…”

Though no one had said she couldn’t read it, Lydia felt flustered, as if she’d been caught prying into someone’s private secret.

But the marquis, who had come closer, quickly recognized what Lydia was holding.

“The butler must not have thrown it out after all.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have read it, but it was on the floor and I just picked it up…”

“No. It was going to be discarded anyway. It doesn’t matter.”

But it was hard to believe it didn’t matter.

The Ilian described in Ethan’s writings had been a wonderful brother, more than anyone.

Someone like that couldn’t possibly feel nothing for a diary that proved Ethan had once existed in this world.

Lydia quietly brushed her hand over the surface of the diary, then suddenly extended the bracelet she was still holding.

“Still, I think… ‘Ethan’ would probably want you to have this, Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“Probably a bracelet he made himself.”

Lydia glanced between the bracelet in her hand and the “luck” necklace she had set down beside her and suddenly realized something.

Ah, maybe…

“It feels like it was made with a heart full of wishes for your safety and happiness.”

“How do you know that?”

The marquis, who had tried to appear indifferent, now knelt on one knee beside Lydia and reached to examine the bracelet.

Ilian turned the bracelet over, and upon spotting the clumsy engraving of “Ilian Esteban,” he froze.