“Episode 13”
A precarious peace was maintained. The newcomer, John, was tasked with chopping wood or carrying groceries. Since he worked separately, Ray, who stayed in the mansion, had a low chance of seeing him.
It was okay. It was generally a decent afternoon. Clothan melted bitter chocolate and lay down, his thigh brushed against Ray’s as she fought against the impending drowsiness.
“Oh… right. Clothan, how did you know our uncle?”
Inside the room where only the sound of chopping wood echoed, Clothan’s fingers tapped the cup containing melted chocolate. The aftermath of the question thrown there was palpable. In the past, he would have been disgusted by the memory and avoided it.
It was an unprecedented rainy season at the time. It was also the beginning of the mating season. Even if he took medicine to suppress such urges, he would only feel slightly refreshed. Clothan, who was enraged, was just looking for someone to vent his anger on.
“Master.”
“Why?”
“An outsider has come to see you.”
It seemed to have caught him at a good time. It had been a long time since an unrelated outsider had come, and Clothan was in a fiery state. With open arms, he welcomed the outsider, who turned out to be Ray’s uncle, Elliot Wester.
Elliot Wester was a man with features similar to Ray’s. He looked embarrassed when someone tried to play a dirty joke, and he often covered his face. It was simply a visit to avoid the rain. He hadn’t come to hear rumors of making a fortune or demand an elixir of immortality.
“Do you have any desires?”
“Yes, yes. Just being treated like this is enough for me…”
Elliot Wester’s household was wealthy. His only wish was to see his pregnant wife as soon as the rain stopped. The reason he came all the way here was to inquire about a painter who could paint a portrait of his wife’s maiden days.
A prestigious family inherited through generations, a flawless personality like spring sunshine, and a wealthy wife who bore children. It was truly a secure life.
“But.”
“Yes.”
“You have a daughter.”
“Oh, how did you…?”
“I have a feeling. It matches quite well.”
“Haha! I hope that intuition is correct. I always wanted a daughter who resembles my wife.”
But that wasn’t all. Cheerfully proposing a toast, Clothan subtly conveyed a tragedy to him.
“Unfortunately, it seems she won’t be born into this world.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Would you like to make a deal with me?”
Clothan thought his fault was great. Some might twist their limbs to suppress a severe mating season, while others would boast of happiness with nothing missing on their faces. Truly despicable.
“I’ll ensure your daughter is born safely.”
“Yes?”
“In exchange for what you send me later.”
“What, what are you saying?”
Even though Elliot was a man of good character, he trembled and blushed. He poured wine into his burning face and trembled, unable to bet his child’s life, even in jest.
“You’re joking too much.”
“Am I?”
Clothan knew well the weapon he had. A tidy man living in a sturdy mansion could roughly estimate half the credit. He also had the solid nameplate of a lord.
As Clothan laughed innocently, Elliot’s weakened heart softened, and the atmosphere became cozy. But whenever the conversation faltered, they filled it with alcohol. The feeling of intoxication came quickly.
“In fact… I came here because I heard there’s not a gift, but rather a dangerous potion.”
Elliot Wester’s concern for his wife was overwhelming. Clothan had found the opening he had been waiting for.
“So, why did you look so serious earlier?”
“Serious? Serious about what? It’s nothing!”
“I just wanted to help, but I felt a bit disappointed.”
“Oh, well… I…”
“I felt like I was getting close to you all by myself.”
In his drunken stupor, Elliot Wester, now resembling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, exaggerated his words.
“As long as my daughter is born safely, what does that matter?”
“That’s right.”
“If a friend offers help, there’s no reason to refuse!”
Elliot was inconsistent. Clothan’s eyes, observing him closely, turned cold. He smirked as Elliot, who had overturned his wine glass, chuckled coldly.
“If you don’t keep your promise, the price will only increase.”
“Hahaha! Do you really think so?”
Elliot Wester was the first person to walk out of the mansion. Returning home safely, he vaguely remembered the rural lordship. And then, he wrote a letter. It thanked Clothan for praying for the safe birth of his daughter and asked for his help in times of trouble.
However, it didn’t get through. He had written the address correctly, but it was returned. After that, he completely forgot about the promise made that day.
His daughter, Elizabeth, grew up as a wealthy heiress and married into the prosperous Reeseburn family, carrying with her the inheritance she would receive as a dowry. The wedding, held at the Reeseburn mansion, was a joyous occasion.
Elliot saw two grandchildren until his final days: Heish and Ray. They were gifts he wouldn’t trade for anything, even a million dollars.
He thought he had lived a successful life. But when his beloved wife tragically died in a carriage accident, leaving behind only sorrow, Elliot’s heartache began. And it didn’t end there. The Reeseburn family’s business collapsed, his weak son-in-law fell into alcoholism and died, and his daughter, who had been enduring, eventually succumbed. Even the ancestral mansion, considered his property, was seized as collateral. Amidst all this, his siblings began to interfere more and more, eager to seize even the remaining assets.
But the final blow came from his trusted grandson. Already a thorn in his side, he handed over his aunt and uncle’s money to a swindler. Elliot, who had endured so much, crumbled.
As stress accumulated, he collapsed on a quiet staircase, clutching his chest. Thanks to this, his grandson, who had graduated from a prestigious school, was branded as a scammer and driven away, and his daughter’s position deteriorated as she lay in bed. Elliot’s achievements were thus reduced to nothingness.
It was a pure coincidence that Heish read the returned letter. He liked the idea of helping when things got tough.
That’s how Ray and Clothan met. Elliot Wester. It was a name that was uncertain until it was heard. He wondered if perhaps they were sending their daughter, but they turned out to be grandchildren who knew nothing about their grandfather’s circumstances.
The curse Clothan placed was powerful. It didn’t matter whose life it consumed, as long as it was not his own.
But it was strange.
“Yeah? How did you know? Our ages don’t match at all. Could it be that Clothan’s grandfathers knew each other?”
“Well…”
At that moment, Elliot remembered the words of his cursed mentor. It was on a cloudy day. The mentor, who usually apologized even for nagging, got angry for some reason. He couldn’t remember why. He wasn’t kind enough to hold onto such things.
“Someday, your twisted nature will lead you to want to hang yourself.”
At that time, he was filled with anger. He disliked the mentor, who one moment treated him as a father and the next left him, and he hated those around him who left him alone under the pretext of sympathy. A mentor who didn’t teach wrong as wrong. Friends who just parroted what he said. He was tired of them all.
Perhaps from that moment on, he had broken cherished items belonging to the mentor. Even though he thought he could get away with it, he was scolded and chastised for it. And that’s how he remembered those words.
Clothan had never regretted. Not even the curse. Sometimes during the mating season, it was annoying at most, but his life had never been anything to be proud of anyway.
“He always has so many secrets. He’s so jealous, he thinks he has to know everything. But he doesn’t tell me anything.”
Ray was never boring. Her tousled blonde hair against her thigh was glorious, her laughter was a blessing, and her unspoiled kind heart was also good. It was ironic that opposites attract, and unfortunately, this side was negative.
“Oh! Why are you pinching my nose?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
“You always do that! You’re really mean.”
Perhaps it would be better if she were malicious and ruthless. That’s how people’s hearts are. Since he was doomed to be a good person himself, he hoped that his perfectly fine partner would become corrupt.
“Clothan, I hope we can enjoy the sunshine later. Don’t you think so?”
She was a woman who suited the gentle sunshine better than anyone else. When she smiled and snuggled up with her hat on, for the first time, his pride and common sense crumbled.
And he didn’t like it. The curse he was under, the past, and even himself. It was a dangerous idea. He could end up groveling to her, begging for mercy, with his roots pulled out. Whenever he felt a dangerous thought creeping in, Clothan turned his arrows of disdain towards her. It was all because of that naive kindness.
“Clothan, should we pack sandwiches and go out again?”
“But it’s raining.”
“It rains all the time. I want to go out with you even on rainy days, Clothan.”
“I don’t like getting damp.”
“You don’t like getting damp either?”
“No.”
“Oh! Stop it again! Don’t pinch my nose!”
Even if she’s accused of being selfish, she doesn’t understand. That’s the truth he learned. If you want something, seize it, humiliate it, snatch it away, hurt it. That’s how you win.
“Ray.”
“My nose hurts.”
“I’ll pick you up later. Then let’s go out.”
“Really? How do you know I’ll let you pick me up?”
“I have my ways of getting in touch.”
“You’re teasing me again!”
He can only hope, pleading with the cruel gods, that this time it will be different.
