The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange

9. Childhood (5)

The curse of misfortune.

According to the information described in the original work, the last princess of the ruined country cursed the lover who betrayed her, even after dying. It is said to be a type of magic completed with deep grudge.

The problem is, the name of the magic is called ‘curse of misfortune’. The effect is so powerful.

From the moment the subject was cursed, they felt a sense of exhaustion that gradually increased from the point of one month, and then suffered from anxiety. The high fever rose and fell countless times, as if suffering from a fever, and the body was destroyed from the inside out. In the end, she naturally closes her eyes before passing a year.

Because it is a magic that can only sense the evil intentions of the caster. Earlier in the empire, the curse of misfortune was designated as black magic, a forbidden art, and its dissemination and learning were strictly prohibited.

So, even Leah von Eleves of the original work had to pay a huge price before he could obtain a necklace containing the curse of misfortune and present it to Stella. Starting from that incident, Lia von Eleves comes into contact with the warlocks, so she begins to walk the path of her ruin in earnest….

“… ….”

Anyway, this isn’t the important thing right now. The most important thing at this moment is that there is a reversed black clover pattern on the back of Lia’s neck, which means that the curse of misfortune has been engraved.

I don’t know how this happened. I’m sure I’ve been by Lia’s side for the past month, without missing a single moment.

…… Maybe a little while ago. Did one of the dealers carve it while I was looking away?

I immediately had that suspicion, but soon realized it wasn’t. Leah clearly complained to me of her inexplicable sense of helplessness. A sense of exhaustion is a symptom that indicates that a month has passed since the curse of misfortune was engraved.

Therefore, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t carved by Waterfall.

“Lia-sama.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Perhaps, between a month and two months ago. So, before I became Lia-sama’s escort knight, did someone ever give Lia-sama something like an accessory?”

“A month or two ago…. Yes, there is.”

“From whom, what did you receive?”

If the accessory Lia received as a gift was her necklace, and if we could even find out who gave it to her. It will be easy to find the culprit who put this curse of misfortune on Lia.

So I asked with high expectations, but the answer that came back made me panic.

“Well, that’s…. A little too much. Because you said my birthday is in April, right? But this year’s birthday was my 10th birthday, so my father and mother threw a big party. A lot of guests came, and I received a lot of presents. There are probably dozens of accessories I got for my birthday in April.”

“…… Ah.”

Dozens of accessories received. Doesn’t that mean that everyone who came to her birthday party that day and gave Lia accessories is a suspect?

No, no. Only the person who personally gifted the accessory cannot be regarded as a suspect. That would be the case, if that many presents came in on her birthday. In the meantime, it would have been easy to hide a small necklace and send it up.

So, it would be right to treat all the guests who visited Leah’s mansion that day as suspects. How many will there be in total? There was a grand birthday party for the daughter of the Countess Daebuho. At least a hundred or more guests would have come.

Putting all those people on the investigation line and tracking them down…. It won’t be impossible. It is sure to be a very difficult task.

Unknowingly, my teeth were grinding.

Leah sees me and opens her mouth.

“Cain, your expression is serious…. What’s the matter?”

“…… No, that’s it.”

Should I tell you this fact or not?

While contemplating a question that was not immediately answered, I first tightened the arms that held Lia.

“For now, let’s go back. I will tell you when I return to the mansion.”

“Ah, yes. But, Cain. I can’t walk now because my legs are loose….”

“I’ll pick you up.”

Supporting her Leah, she knelt down on one knee, careful, careful. She climbed onto my back and allowed me to ride.

I waited for a while in the posture of showing my back, and her light weight pressed against my back. Her white arms protruded and wrapped around her neck.

I put my arms around Leah’s hips and jumped up from her seat.

“It may come into contact with you while moving, but it is absolutely not intentional, so please understand, Lady Lia.”

“Ugh…. Ah Okay. Good luck, Cain.”

“Okay, then I will go.”

* * *

Because I was carrying Lia on my back, it took me over an hour to get back to her mansion.

So, the current time is 8:00 PM.

Leah must have been tired, so she fell into a sound sleep before dinner. After confirming that Lia had fallen asleep safely, I returned to my room and sat down in front of her desk.

She stretched her arms down. I keep it in the deepest part of the storage space, in a place where it is not easy to find unless you are trying to find it on purpose. A secret notebook in which I wrote down the information of the original work is caught in my hand.

I immediately took it out and unfolded it. And I found the part about the ‘curse of misfortune’ and read it slowly.

[Curse of Misfortune]

[As a disease that Stella suffers from the ‘Princess’ pendant’ gifted by Lia von Eleves, the original villain. It is a kind of black magic.]

[In the original work, the crown prince fell in love with Stella, took out a panacea called ‘dragon’s tears’ from the treasure chest of the imperial family, and handed it to her to treat her easily.]

[Footnote. What is ‘Tears of the Dragon’? It refers to the single tear that Jamryong, the tyrant of the sea, sheds only when he leaves his human companion first. Its value is truly enormous, as it can only be obtained once in a hundred years.]

[According to the description of the original work, it seems that calling is the price, if you think about it in cash value, it is probably 10,000 pounds. Or more? But money can’t buy everything. This is because old rich people looking for a panacea are all over the world.]

[Footnote 2. Perhaps because of this, the crown prince who took out the dragon’s tears at will is banned from going out as punishment.]

“What? No going out? It’s ridiculous.”

In this world where a penny costs about 3,500 won, 10,000 pounds is about 8 billion won in Korean money. However, the punishment for using a panacea costing 8 billion won is a ban on going out. This is why you use gold spoons and gold spoons.

I clicked my tongue at the crown prince, whom I hadn’t even seen yet, and soon returned to reality and drool.

…… Curse of misfortune. When Stella, the heroine of the original work, was attacked, she was quickly cured thanks to the crown prince and was only used as a device for the two of them to fall in love. Thinking about it again, there is no such thing as really scary magic.

If you get caught, you will die within a year, and the cure costs 8 billion won.

This is not a problem that can be solved with my pocket money or Leah’s pocket money. The biggest problem is that even if you have money, you can’t get it right away. That’s because it’s a panacea. How frantic must old old men with money be to buy this?

If there is a property for sale, it is not strange at all if it is not 8 billion, but twice that amount, 16 billion, or more. Whether it’s this world or the other world, the existence of a ‘panacea’ that cures all existing diseases is worth it.

“Ummm….”

Of course, 16 billion to me. That is, there is no such thing as £20,000. My father’s annual income is a little less than £10,000, and I can’t afford that kind of money, can I?

And Leah’s situation must be similar to mine. Even if she was the daughter of a wealthy countess, she would not have entrusted her fortune of twenty thousand pounds to her, who was only ten years old this year.

“… ….”

Then what should I do? The answer is simple. A method that does not cost money, that is, you can choose a method other than the method that Stella cursed in the original work.

That method is written on the next page of the notebook.

[Assumption 1. What if, for some reason, you fall under the curse of misfortune?]

[Like Stella, I can’t use dragon tears with the help of the crown prince, so it’s right to go find a ‘person who knows how to curse’, as mentioned in passing in the original work.]

[The place where the person is located is sleeping deep underground in the Reinhardt family estate. It is the center of the labyrinth ‘Lirinthus’.]

[That person has dedicated his life to the study of black magic. Gree, a demon with extensive knowledge…….]

– Smart.

An occasional knock interrupted my reading. Who are you at this hour?

“Yes, come in.”

I was puzzled, but as I spoke, the door squeaked open.

I looked around without much thought, and for a moment I was startled. I was surprised.

“Ka, Cain. Aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Because in front of my door, Leah, in her cute pajamas, was standing huddled.

…… I made sure he was asleep, but when did he get up and change into pajamas?

It wasn’t long before I was distracted by the dainty pajamas, and I immediately came back to my senses and replied.

“Yes, I haven’t slept yet. Lia is in my bedroom at this time for some reason… ?”

“Ah, that, that…. A while ago, outside the village.”

“Yes, outside?”

“Those strange masked people just…. Did you come out?”

Those strange cult bastards who said they would make Leah her living sacrifice?

“Ummm, was it? But why is that?”

“That, so. I was worried that someone would pop up while I was sleeping, so I thought it would be okay if I stayed with Cain.”

“… ….”

“…… I want to stay for a while, is that okay?”

Lia, who was wiggling her fingers and muttering an excuse, asked with her blushing face.

I looked at Lia like that and nodded her head coolly.

“Yes, what. If that puts Lia-sama at ease.”

“Oh…. Really? Thank you, Cain-!”

With a rattle, Lia, who closed the door, approached with quick steps.

Before she gets close, I close the notebook she was looking at. I put another book on top of it and opened it wide.

“Cain, what were you doing? Reading? Or study history? Oh, I’m reading this book too.”

“… ….”

As soon as I entered my room, I started asking questions frantically, although I didn’t look like someone frightened by the afternoon’s work.

Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I accepted Lia’s question moderately and got along with her, but after about 10 minutes, I asked her indirectly.

“By the way, Miss Lia. I’m just asking this out of curiosity. Lia-nim, have you been to the estates of other nobles?”

“Um…. I only went there once when I was young, but it was five years ago, so I don’t remember.”

“Then, do you have any desire to go? For example, the estate of Baron Reinhardt, where my home is located, or the beach is famous for its pretty….”

“Yes, I want to go. I wonder what the atmosphere is like in the Reinhardt estate where Cain lived!”

It was a question I was about to open, but Leah shook her head up and down, her eyes shining.

Well, that’s it. I’d also get your consent. I grabbed Leah’s hands.

“Lia-sama.”

“Eh, huh?”

“Let’s go on a date with me.”

“…… Eh, uhhh?!”

Lea’s face turned red.