Chapter 81
The memories of childhood gnaw at you even after you’ve grown.
“Damian.”
The scene still remained vividly in his mind.
A woman who was kind to everyone but had never loved her own son had once brought home a girl.
“Say hello, Damian. Katrina is your family now.”
“……”
“Treat her well.”
Damian’s mother, who detested him with all her heart, had brought him a replacement.
What had he felt back then?
He only looked at Katrina with his usual expressionless face.
The girl stood behind Arabella, sneaking glances at him.
A girl with no sense of refinement.
So that’s my replacement, Mother.
The plan to hand over the Sun Council’s weakness had completely failed.
Because of Damian.
Now what do I do?
She couldn’t think of any other method.
At this point, there was only one way. When Damian finally got his hands on the Wishing Stone, she would have to find a way to steal it from him.
It wouldn’t be easy to take it from someone as thorough as Damian, but she’d have to try.
“Damian, well done! To have captured the heretics.”
The Duke of Abiche was ecstatic.
Clearly, he was overjoyed that his son had accomplished something.
Belek, pouting, watched the scene with displeasure.
“Splendid, Damian. Thanks to you, negotiations with the temple will go smoothly.”
“You honor me too much.”
“There’s no need for false modesty. Once the Wishing Stone safely comes into our possession, it will greatly benefit the family’s business as well.”
One of the perks of possessing the Wishing Stone was tax exemption.
Recently, the Duke had been eager to expand trade on a large scale.
That was why he had tried to arrange a marriage between the Carlo family and Katrina. But that plan had failed miserably.
“Magnificent, Damian! Thanks to you, the Wishing Stone is as good as ours now.”
And then it happened.
Just as Damian was about to respond to his father, he suddenly covered his mouth with his hand.
Cough, cough.
Another fit of coughing broke out from his lips.
Everyone remembered what had happened at the banquet.
Damian’s expression twisted sharply.
But his body no longer obeyed his will.
All his efforts thus far crumbled away as his body collapsed backward.
“Damian!”
The startled Duke of Abiche caught hold of him.
“The curse hasn’t lifted yet?!”
Damian’s second collapse left a deep impression on everyone.
It made clear that his curse was far from over—
And that even greater darkness loomed over his future.
Taking advantage of Damian’s collapse, Belek raised his hand.
“Father, with Damian in this state, isn’t it impossible for him to handle the Wishing Stone negotiations?”
“Hm.”
The Duke frowned, considering his words.
His son may have been a wastrel most of the time, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Damian had done his utmost.
But now the responsibility needed to be passed on.
In this condition, Damian could hardly attend negotiations.
And with a curse upon him? Ominous.
The Duke himself couldn’t go either. The reason he always entrusted negotiations with the temple to his children was simple.
Long ago, when he was still Arabella’s son-in-law, he had made a grave mistake at the temple.
Since then, the Duke of Abiche had avoided direct dealings with the temple whenever possible.
Damian had always mediated in his place.
But among his children, none were capable of replacing Damian.
Just then—
“Father, I will go.”
It was Belek.
“You?”
“Yes. Damian has already done the hard part. All that’s left is to smooth things over with words. I can handle that much.”
It wasn’t without reason.
The Duke’s mind turned to Katrina.
She too had expressed her wish to negotiate with the temple.
The Duke hesitated. Which child would be the better choice?
His thoughts leaned toward Katrina.
She wasn’t truly his child, but next to Damian, she was the cleverest.
“Katrina will go.”
“…What?”
Belek frowned deeply.
Katrina?
But he was the one who had volunteered!
“She mentioned it first.”
The Duke dismissed the matter with that.
Belek’s clenched fist trembled violently.
Cursed father!
Never once did he trust him.
Never once did he entrust him with responsibility.
That damn Damian! He only ever trusts Damian!
After the Duke left, Bertha, who had been quietly observing, cautiously approached her son.
“Belek, I’ll try to persuade your father.”
“And how would you do that?”
Belek’s voice was sharp.
“Wasn’t I always the one who managed to convince him?”
Sometimes persuasion worked, but more often than not, the Duke was obstinate.
He never believed in Belek.
He only ever trusted that cursed Damian.
“No, Mother. Don’t bother.”
Belek already knew how to solve the problem.
If Katrina were out of the picture, his father would have no choice but to entrust the task to him.
She’d have to be dealt with as well.
An unexpected situation arose.
“Katrina, you’ll be going to the negotiations.”
Katrina was stunned.
The Duke of Abiche had actually entrusted the matter to her.
It wasn’t how she had imagined it, but the result worked in her favor all the same.
“If you fail, I will not forgive you.”
The Duke warned her sternly, but Katrina could barely contain her joy.
Finally!
She was finally going to the Wishing Stone negotiations!
She was so excited she felt she could even dream sweet dreams that night.
When evening came, Katrina washed up, slipped into light clothing, and went to her room.
As usual, she lit a single scented candle before bed.
“Katrina.”
Wha—what?
She froze in surprise.
It was the first time Damian had ever come into her room so abruptly.
Without even knocking.
“Are you feeling better?”
Odd, but she asked that first.
After all, he had just collapsed.
“I’m fine.”
“…Good. That’s a relief.”
But then…
“Why are you here?”
“I came because I have something to ask you.”
So suddenly?
It was strange. Damian was a man who always observed propriety.
Could it be that he’d been shocked to hear she was chosen to negotiate for the family?
Still, it didn’t seem like something that would make him rush here.
“What is it?”
Damian furrowed his brow.
“By any chance… did you enter my room?”
Your room?
Katrina blinked at him in confusion.
“Why would I go into your room?”
“…I see.”
What on earth?
Katrina couldn’t understand why he’d come running to ask her this the moment he woke up.
He really must be in bad shape.
“You’re absolutely sure you didn’t go in?”
“Did a thief break into your room or something?”
“Not exactly…”
Damian trailed off.
“Never mind. Have a good night.”
Click.
He closed the door behind him and left.
…What on earth was that?
