Instead of answering, Vilred shrugged and poured black liquid into a large bowl made of crystal.
It was the liquid he had extracted from the pot, roughly pushed aside earlier.
After adding a few more potions to the bowl, he pushed it towards Idel.
“Which hand do you use more often?”
“My right hand.”
“Then soak your left hand in the water. And think strongly. Think that you want this curse to disappear.”
Idel hesitantly dipped her left hand into the bowl as Vilred instructed.
Then she fervently hoped that this cursed ordeal would vanish.
The change was immediate.
As if fiercely resisting her wish, thorny vines sprouted from the black liquid, wrapping around her arm, shoulder, and chest.
“Ouch!”
The thorns tightened around her arm in pain, then wrapped around her neck, shoulders, and chest.
The painful vines tightened around her arm, neck, shoulders, and chest, as if the thorns were piercing her flesh. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead from the agony, but Vilred watched with an indifferent gaze, unmoving.
The thorny bush that had been tormenting her stopped moving when it reached her heart.
A magnificent red flower sprouted in the place where the thorns stopped.
A flower the exact color of Idel’s hair.
“That’s it.”
“Ugh…! Huh, hoo!”
Idel, finally able to exhale the breath she had been holding, quickly examined her body.
Despite feeling like her entire body had been pricked by the thorns, her body, upon inspection, was spotless, without a single drop of blood.
“It’s the energy released by the curse. The curse responded to both your wish and the potion. The curse tried not to lose its target. Ah, right. The customer is quite young. That ‘wish’ I mentioned, you know what it means, right?”
“…No need to explain. So what do you think?”
Vilred’s green eyes swept over Idel’s body. The lethargic and exhausted demeanor had long disappeared.
With sharp and dry eyes, he assessed Idel’s condition and tapped the table with his finger.
“This is going to be difficult.”
“…….”
“At the moment, I mean.”
The spark returned to Idel’s previously dulled eyes.
“It’s a remarkably strong curse. The curse’s form and knotting are malicious beyond compare. Who cursed you?”
“My mother.”
The word ‘mother’ that came from the child’s lips sounded too matter-of-fact, causing Vilred to momentarily fall silent.
The curse on Idel was the type that, even for a brief moment, could exert absolute control over its target.
A curse that demanded perfect obedience above all else.
“…….”
Though this curse troubled him because of its similarity to the curse he knew, Vilred responded in a dry tone, having decided it was better not to delve too deeply into the truth. This was also partly due to the look in Idel’s eyes.
‘It’s not a look seeking empathy or comfort.’
The child’s eyes, burning with a vivid blue, were looking beyond the obstacle, not at it.
After seeing that, Vilred decided to do what he was most confident in for Idel rather than pretending not to know.
Of course, for a certain price.
“It’ll cost you, customer.”
“Stolen goods are acceptable, I presume? After all, this is the crow’s nest.”
He shrugged as if it were obvious and handed her a piece of paper.
It was a magically enchanted contract.
Idel thoroughly reviewed the contents and then signed the contract without hesitation.
“Alright. So, shall we start with making the suppressant? The malice underlying this curse is too intense, so even making the suppressant will likely take some time…”
“It’ll take time to make? How long?”
“Probably about a month.”
A month? Idel’s expression turned grim, and she firmly shook her head.
“That’s too long.”
“Right. I thought you might say that. So, instead, I’m considering an alternative. Uh… Yeah. Sigmund, I’ll need your help.”
“What? Me?”
“Yeah. Come here and hold the customer’s hand.”
As Vilred made his request, both Sigmund and Idel’s faces wrinkled in unison.
“What? Master, have you lost your mind?”
“Why do I have to hold hands with this brat?”
As soon as the children’s objections surfaced, Vilred couldn’t help but let out a faint chuckle involuntarily.
He wasn’t sure about the customer’s usual temperament, but Sigmund’s reaction was not one he often saw.
‘Though that doesn’t mean dealing with kids is easy.’
Feeling like his stamina was draining in real time, Vilred quickly raised his hand before either of them could speak.
His black mage’s foresight told him that if he let this continue, there would be a second confrontation.
With as much strength as possible in his green eyes, he first glanced at Idel.
“Customer, do you want the curse to be lifted?”
“…Of course I want to break it.”
“Sigmund, are you my disciple, or not?”
“…I am.”
“Then, should you follow my instructions or not?”
Sigmund still wore a face full of discontent, avoiding Vilred’s gaze, but he didn’t vehemently oppose his words. Nor did he acquiesce.
Roughly tousling his own hair, eyebrows raised, he finally spoke up.
“No, at least explain the reason. If just holding hands could block all kinds of curses, I’d be going around selling my hands, not being your disciple.”
“Right. Please explain.”
Ah, they really do make a good pair when they’re like this, don’t they?
Watching both of them say the same thing as if they hadn’t snarled moments ago, Vilred raised both hands.
“Okay, I’ll explain. Well, to use this method, the customer also needs to be aware of a few things, so pay attention.”
“I’ll listen.”
“Um…….”
Vilred sighed heavily, as if unsure where to start his explanation.
Waving his hand in the air, he slowly began.
“Look at my hand, alright? The hand you see in front of you is an excellent medium for exchanging energy. Um, so what I mean by medium is…”
“I know what a medium means.”
“As you’ve already observed, the customer is currently fully bound by the curse. The energy emanating from the curse is completely enveloping your body, you could say. Ah, what I mean is, curses implant magic power in your actions or words, so they can be considered a type of magic, but magic has a density? Um, ah, should I say, a level? That kind of thing?”
“Uh….”
Idel rolled her eyes as she listened to Vilred’s muddled explanation.
Seeing her expression, Vilred realized his explanation hadn’t been clear, and with a sigh, he concluded.
“Just understand that Sigmund has immense power, and he’ll use it to suppress your curse. The effective way to do that is to hold hands.”
“I see.”
“What’s with the ‘I see’? Did you even understand that kind of explanation?”
“Why not?”
An irate Sigmund once again challenged Idel, but this time, Idel remained unmoved.
Idel’s blue eyes stared directly at Sigmund.
“He’s saying that if I hold hands with someone with great power, they can suppress the curse.”
Where else could there be a clearer explanation than this?
For the first time in his life, Sigmund found himself speechless.
It was because Idel’s eyes were clear and without any doubt.
Idel, satisfied with the explanation, reached out her hand to Sigmund, demanding what she wanted with determination.
“Hold my hand.”
“You…!”
Sigmund stared silently at the extended hand in front of him, tensing his jaw as if he had much to say.
His eyes remained wide open.
“Damn it!”
Finally, Sigmund spat out a short curse and roughly grabbed Idel’s hand.
He bit his lip as if everything were a mess and turned his head away from Idel, resting his chin on his other hand.
“Is that enough?”
“Well… I guess? Is this okay?”
Idel directed the question to Vilred.
As she focused on the hand she held, she felt a strange sensation.
‘The hand feels kind of warm?’
But she wasn’t sure if this was the phenomenon Vilred had mentioned, or if it was just because of Sigmund’s high body temperature.
Was it like this when they were fighting in the alley earlier?
While she recalled their intense encounter, Vilred, who had been calmly observing Idel’s condition, nodded lightly.
“Judging by your complexion, it seems to be working well.”
“Really?”
“Sigmund may not be the solution, but he can offer some help. But don’t forget, he’s just a temporary fix. It’s not going to free you from control. It just gives you a bit of breathing room. And just a word of caution: don’t let it show that the curse has been lifted until it’s fully broken.”
It goes without saying.
Melisa Lopez was a sensitive person. Once she realized there was a problem with the curse she placed, she would immediately find another solution.
In such an uncertain situation, there was no room for sticking strictly to the original plot.
Seeing Idel nod in agreement, Vilred continued.
“Well, you need to interpret the curse and occasionally hold hands to suppress the energy, so remember to come regularly, even if not very often.”
“I have to hold hands with him regularly?”
Idel’s sudden, incredulous voice prompted Vilred to scratch his cheek slowly.
“Yeah. Even though his energy is strong, it won’t last a month. Why, is there a problem?”
Oh, there are so many problems.
₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊
ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕞𝕖 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕞𝕪 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕦𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕—𝕓𝕦𝕪 𝕞𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕖!
