Clyde’s face stiffened slightly at my words.
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, nothing.”
It was a strange response.
An indescribable sense of unease filled my chest.
“Come to think of it, Clyde, you said earlier that you were going back to Heremos. Was that… a lie?”
“…Yeah, sorry. Actually, I was planning to return to the Demon Realm.”
“Why? Earlier, you clearly said there were enemies even in the Demon Realm.”
“Demons are extremely pragmatic. Once my strength became known, those reckless guys who used to charge in disappeared. They are different from humans who are willing to risk their lives to kill me just because I have demon blood.”
“…….”
“So you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be a hundred times safer in the Demon Realm than here. Besides, I won’t be a bother to you anymore.”
“…….”
I choked on my words at Clyde’s smile.
“…I’ve never thought of you as a bother.”
I spoke in a hoarse voice.
“You said you couldn’t sleep because you were worried about what to do with me.”
“No, Clyde, that’s—”
“I know. You were worried about me, that’s why. Anyway, from now on, you won’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“…….”
I didn’t understand. It was like that earlier, but after hearing Clyde’s past, I still couldn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to leave me.
Then, suddenly, I remembered something I had forgotten.
“When did these symptoms first appear? Earlier, you said it was a side effect of awakening your powers. So, did these symptoms start right after what happened in Acadora?”
“…No.”
“Then when did the symptoms first appear? And what senses did you lose?”
“In Heremos after my mother passed away, I realized late that I had lost my sense of smell.”
It was right after that moment when the soldiers brought by the mage Azakail and the residents of Heremos were instantly killed.
‘…It’s strange. In the original story, there was no mention of side effects from awakening his powers. Moreover, Clyde first awakened his powers when he was attacked by scammers in the village of Acadora, but the symptoms appeared at least a week after that.’
Although Clyde had a life and death experience in Heremos that might have triggered his powers awakening, it was difficult to believe that it was solely because of that.
‘At that moment, Clyde was trapped in powerful binding magic, where multiple mages were casting at the same time. He broke through that strong magic with his own power… Could it be a side effect of that?’
It was a more convincing hypothesis than attributing it solely to the awakening of his powers.
However, it was still a groundless inference.
“Besides the loss of senses, are there any other side effects? Even if they are minor, anything that was not there before, or anything that has changed…”
Clyde seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly started unbuttoning his shirt.
I was taken aback by his abrupt action.
“Whoa, Clyde. What are you doing?”
While covering my eyes, I asked, bewildered by his unexpected behavior.
“You asked if anything had changed compared to before.”
“Are you trying to say that there’s something different about your body? Even so, I don’t think it’s related to that…”
My voice grew fainter. Clyde, with a puzzled expression, continued to unbutton his shirt.
“Here, look.”
“…….”
I peeked through my fingers as he opened his shirt.
Then I saw Clyde’s chest clearly as he turned towards me.
As I’d expected, it was a solid, muscular chest. I could see the bulging, rippling muscles very clearly.
Unknowingly, I felt my face grow hot.
After all, I had lived my entire life as an innocent country girl for twenty years.
Suddenly, seeing something like this right in front of me was too stimulating.
“Did you see it?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah.”
“What do you think?”
“Uh, what do you mean? Well, I mean… It looks great.”
“…What?”
Clyde repeated, sounding incredulous.
‘I complimented you, what’s wrong?’
“…Do you need specific feedback? Oh, no, that’s too embarrassing….”
“What are you talking about? This mark here.”
“Mark?”
I squinted my eyes and looked at the area Clyde’s finger was pointing at.
Upon closer inspection, just below the sternum, where the chest and abdomen meet, there was a tattoo-like black pattern.
It resembled a simplified illustration of a ram’s head.
“What is this?”
“It appeared around the same time as when I lost my sense of smell. I don’t know exactly when I got it because I found it by accident…..”
“…….”
I pulled back the edge of the open shirt with my hand and examined the mark more closely.
‘Could it be…’
“As Endoral Lamia Hum!”
I clasped my hands together and recited the spell. Then, my right hand began to faintly glow, as if I had applied a fluorescent dye to it.
Carefully, I brought my fingertips close to the area where the mark was drawn.
In response to my touch, a strange energy rippled around the mark.
“That’s it…!”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Clyde, listen carefully. What you’re experiencing is not a side effect of your magical awakening.”
“What? Then what is it?”
“It’s a curse. Someone put a curse on you.”
What I just cast was a curse detection spell.
During the process of investigating the artifact under the instructions of Marquis Colliwood, Viscount Doanne carefully detected whether there was a dangerous curse on it. Among the spells he used, this was one of the most basic magic, and I had also learned it.
“Someone cursed me? Who?”
Clyde asked in surprise.
“On the day your mother passed away, you mentioned that you had no memory immediately after the magic explosion, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Most likely, one of the mages present at that time cursed you. Maybe they had a magical item that automatically curses the person who kills them.”
“…….”
Clyde remained silent for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought.
‘It seems like my thoughts were right. It can’t be just a side effect of magic awakening. It was never mentioned in the original story.’
“They maybe…”
“Can it be undone? Yes, of course! Without a doubt!”
Undoing the curse was essentially the same as lifting a seal or breaking a barrier.
Ultimately, the most important thing was to figure out what method the spellcaster had used to cast the curse. Once that was known, it was usually possible to undo the curse using common curse-removal magic.
Carving the mark of the curse on the target was the most basic and traditional method.
As curse removal was not my expertise, I couldn’t immediately lift the curse on Clyde right there. However, there had to be a way somewhere.
At the very least, Viscount Doanne must know the method to undo the curse.
“Just wait a little. The next time I come, I will definitely find a method to undo it.”
“…….”
Clyde’s eyebrows trembled faintly. He looked incredulous at first glance.
“Really? Can it really be fixed?”
“Yes, I promise.”
I held Clyde’s hand tightly as I spoke.
“I thought I would never see your face again.”
Clyde muttered in a low voice, as if whispering.
My heart ached for a moment, but I forced myself to smile.
“Oh, come on. It’s just a curse that will be lifted in a few days.”
“…….”
Clyde remained silent, his mouth shut.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Wait… So that was also a lie?”
“…Like I said, it started with losing my sense of smell at first. Then, about a year and a half later, my sense of taste disappeared. Next, it was touch, followed by sight in that order.”
“…What?”
I was so shocked by his unexpected revelation that I couldn’t continue speaking.
After catching my breath a few times, I finally managed to ask.
“So, now you have lost not only your sight but also all your other senses?”
Clyde nodded slowly.
“The last two senses disappeared almost back-to-back. It was all after I met you again. If my hearing also disappears, I will be nothing more than a living corpse. Even if you’re right next to me, talk to me, or touch me… I wouldn’t know at all.”
“…….”
damn 😭
Gotta say that’s a really hateful curse…