I had a feeling that something was off.
There was a sense of unease. Even though Clyde couldn’t see, there should have been some reaction when I held his hand or hugged him.
Even if he couldn’t see, he should have been able to sense my presence and he checked from time to time whether I was still beside him… and he seemed strangely uneasy.
I swallowed hard.
“…Clyde, you mean… all that talk about leaving here and never seeing me again… was it because of that curse?”
“…….”
Clyde didn’t answer.
But his expression confirmed my suspicions.
In an instant, my surroundings blurred, and my jaw began to tremble.
“…Did you really… plan to leave without saying a word to me? To disappear to a place where no one knows you, in a state where all your senses are lost, even if you’re alive..,.it’s no different from being dead. Was that your intention?”
“…….”
“Answer me, Clyde!”
I demanded, slapping his shoulders with both hands. But Clyde didn’t even flinch.
He quietly said,
“…Otherwise, you would have been sad.”
“…What?”
“Just like now, you would have been sad, crying in front of me… It’s obvious. And yet, I wouldn’t have known.”
“…….”
“It would have been better for me to disappear in front of you before that. I didn’t like seeing you cry… but I hated not being able to do anything while you cried even more. That’s why I thought it would be better to do that.”
“…….”
Tears that had been teetering on the edge of my eyes finally burst forth, rolling down my cheeks.
“…Clyde, you’re a fool.”
“…….”
“The biggest fool in the world, you know that?”
“…….”
I held Clyde’s cheek and made him look at me.
“You know I’m touching you right now, right? Even if you can’t feel it, you know your face is moving, right?”
“…Uh.”
“Listen carefully. I’m never going to leave you alone, and I’m going to break the curse that’s on you, okay? So don’t even think about secretly disappearing. If you do, I will chase you no matter where you go. I will find you no matter what. And then I will pester you until you promise to stop doing that. Do you understand me?”
“…….”
Clyde’s face slowly contorted. His hand trembled as he held mine on his cheek.
“You mean that?”
Clyde asked, his voice trembling.
“You’ll… stay by my side? You won’t leave me alone?”
“Yeah. Absolutely. I will never leave you.”
I said firmly, as if making a promise.
Until just a moment ago, even as I stepped into this room, I was only thinking about leaving Clyde.
All I could think about was how to get him to give up his feelings for me and leave my side of his own volition.
But not anymore.
I couldn’t leave Clyde alone.
He had lost his mother because of me. He had no one but me in this vast, desolate world, and he would never be at peace anywhere but by my side.
There was no way I could leave him.
Of course, I couldn’t stay in Andela forever. At some point, I had to go back to Trachen and be by my father’s side.
But still, I had to do something.
Even if it meant hiding Clyde’s existence for the rest of my life, risking the chance of being discovered by my father at any moment, I had to do it.
I made up my mind.
* * * * *
The next day, even though it was my day off, I prepared to leave in the morning.
“Where are you going?”
As Aslan saw me coming down to the first floor in my going-out clothes, he looked surprised and asked.
“I’m going to see Viscount Doanne. There’s something I want to ask and confirm.”
It was Clyde’s curse.
I couldn’t delay even for a single day knowing that Clyde was about to lose all his senses.
I didn’t want Clyde to experience the dreadful sensation of not being able to see, hear, or feel anything, but I also feared that the curse might solidify. If that happened, releasing the curse would be extremely challenging.
Luckily, it seemed that Viscount Doanne was on a day off like me and Aslan, probably because we were all working as a team.
Aslan made a worried expression at my words.
“It’s a rare day off, but you won’t take a break. You’ll be a nuisance to Viscount Doanne if you show up on a day like this.”
“It bothers me, and if I don’t check on it right away, I won’t be able to sleep tonight. I’ll go and come back quickly.”
“What’s the matter? I’ll come with you.”
Aslan folded the newspaper he was reading and stood up. I hurriedly waved him off.
“No, you don’t have to. I feel bad since it’s your day off.”
“It’s okay. I can’t let you go alone.”
“No, really, I’m sorry. I feel bad, so don’t worry about it and take a rest until lunch. When I come back, let’s go out and eat something delicious together.”
“…….”
Aslan looked at me with narrowed eyes.
I smiled brightly and hurried my steps.
“I’ll be back then.”
* * * * *
Viscount Doanne residence was about a 15-minute carriage ride from the mansion where I stayed.
I had sent a messenger in advance to inform him of my visit, but it was only an hour ago.
As Aslan said, there was no denying that I was committing quite an impolite act.
The only thing that could be considered was the fact that he was currently on a field trip to investigate ruins.
“Welcome, researcher Rojasis.”
Viscount Doanne greeted me warmly without showing any reluctance despite my abrupt visit.
“I’m sorry for coming on your day off. There’s something urgent I want to ask.”
Even before the maid brought tea, I immediately brought up the matter.
“Not at all. As a matter of fact, I had a rather free day yesterday. Please tell me what it is.”
“I’d like you to take a look at this mark.”
I handed a piece of paper to Viscount Doanne. It was a drawing of the curse mark that was on Clyde’s body, reproduced exactly as it was.
Viscount Doanne put on his glasses and examined the drawing.
“Is this… a curse?”
“Yes. As expected, you recognize it right away.”
“It’s the Lauchauri style spell. A curse that slowly erodes the body of its target over a long period of time.”
‘I came to the right person after all!’
I held back a cheer that was about to burst out.
“Can it be lifted?”
“Yes. Of course, but….”
“…But?”
“If the curse has progressed significantly, it may be difficult to fully restore its original state.”
“What? What do you mean?”
The unexpected bombshell hit me like a ton of bricks, leaving my heart sinking.
“Even if the curse is removed, the damage done to the body may not be reversible.”
“That can’t be!”
I found myself raising my voice unintentionally. Viscount Doanne blinked, his eyes wide with surprise.
“…Oh, I’m sorry, but… does that mean there’s no way to fully recover?”
“The only way to be certain is to see it in person and attempt to remove the curse. Do you happen to know anyone who is affected by this curse, researcher Rojasis?”
“…Uh, yes. A dear friend of mine.”
In truth, I didn’t want to expose Clyde to others if I could help him.
Especially not in front of other mages, as they might sense that he had demon blood in him.
However, the situation was so dire that I had to take this risk.
Without hesitation, I asked Viscount Doanne for his help.
“Please, I implore you, Viscount Doanne. Can you take a look at it yourself?”
* * * * *
A little later, I arrived at Clyde’s mansion with Viscount Doanne.
To prepare for this possibility, I had made arrangements before meeting Viscount Doanne.
I had cast a transformation spell on Clyde to make him appear like a girl of my age.
Additionally, I had set up a barrier to block any detection spells that might reveal his wild magical powers.
If Viscount Doanne used detection spells carefully, he might still notice, but I didn’t think he would do so right now since we were here to ask for his help in breaking the curse.
The difficulty of the transformation spell increases with the distance from the original appearance. So, I tried to make the girl as similar to Clyde as possible.
As a result, Clyde now looked like a beautiful young woman with long, flowing black hair.
