Chapter 63
Bzzzzzzzz.
「Emergency, emergency. The heart has exploded.」
With reason’s warning, the remains of my heart—now mushy like slime—spread through my veins to every cell.
My senses turned into frenzied zombies, ravenously clamoring for Gerald, clutching at his neck, urging me to devour his lips.
These things… I can’t take this anymore.
Just as reason was about to issue a stern command, Gerald’s breath rushed in with my inhale.
「Haa…」
The cells, drunk on Gerald’s scent, flared my nostrils as they trembled, desperate to savor it deeper.
In that instant, all I could see, dangerously clear, were his lips.
No more stimulation.
Panicking, reason quickly covered his lips with my hands. Gerald’s eyes widened.
“Sing?”
Touch.
Ah, why must the double consonant in “Sing” require puckering lips to pronounce?
Cells that still vividly remembered the warmth and softness from the bathroom, mingled with that coolness, screamed at the fleeting moist sensation.
「Pounce on him, pounce on him.」
「Are you all out of your minds?」
While lustful cells chanted in chorus, reason snapped its eyes wide open, trying to keep me grounded. The clash made my body tremble.
“Sing?”
Touch.
His lips teased me again. He bent down, eyes searching mine, asking silently what was wrong.
Those eyes, the color of ocean water around Pacific coral reefs, already had me drowned inside.
「I want to feel more, more!」
Thankfully, reason pulled one hand away from his lips and covered his eyes instead.
Oh, his tiny face. Praise be!
「Hey, hey! What’s going on? The goals were lifting Theodore’s curse, prolonging life, and Alfred’s happiness. That was it, remember?」
Then it happened—his long lashes brushed against my palm, tickling as they blinked.
Blink, blink.
“Sing?”
Touch.
Zap, zap zap! The tingling spread through my palms, raising goosebumps all over.
Wait, since when were my palms an erogenous zone?
While reason gaped, my cells screamed louder—more, more, more! Fueled by their fervor, my ruined heart slid downward through my legs to my very toes.
My legs, meant to stand firm, turned to jelly. They gave my body’s weight over to my hands, which relished every electrifying second.
My palms eagerly transmitted Gerald’s pounding heartbeat and the vibrations of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, straight to my cells.
「Oh my, Gerald is trembling too.」
「His breath is growing heavier.」
「He’s yearning for a woman’s love.」
「Why so shy after last time? Respond already, you coward!」
The chatter and fuss of my rowdy cells made my mind spin.
Then—
Tap, tap.
Gerald frantically tapped my shoulder.
Huh?
Tap-tap-tap.
His fingers drummed quickly, urgently.
Goodness—his face had turned bright red, like a balloon about to burst.
I quickly pulled both hands back behind me.
“Whew…”
He exhaled deeply, gulping in air.
“Were you trying to kill me?”
Of course not. You’re the protagonist’s father!
I shook my head firmly.
“Sorry.”
Ashamed, I bit my lower lip and bowed my head, avoiding his eyes.
“Sing?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose.”
When he bent his tall frame to peek at my face, I turned away, embarrassed.
“Are you just shy because you don’t want me to notice you like me?”
He crouched all the way down, gazing up at me.
Wrong address, buddy.
My cells snickered smugly.
“But what should we do? It’s not over yet.”
“…?”
Gerald suddenly swept me up and caged me in his arms.
What the—why does this man keep grabbing me like a forklift without warning?
“Gerald?”
I tried to protest, but his eyes turned stern.
Fine, fine.
“Jed!”
I quickly corrected his name.
“What are you doing, Jed?”
“I need to give you what you’ve been longing for.”
「Oh-ho, as expected! Yes, the wedding night!」
Like mischievous teenagers, my cells clapped and stomped in glee.
I had to escape. From these lustful demons!
But already my head rested comfortably against his firm chest, my neck sighing in delight. My hair even nuzzled against his underarm.
Good grief—hair, you too are an erogenous zone?
Not to be outdone, my cheek pressed deeper into his warmth, while my ear latched onto his chest like a seashell, listening to the pounding waves of his heartbeat.
The vivid ASMR of his heart made my eyelids flutter. Without permission, my eyes closed, and the corners of my lips rose, climbing toward my cheekbones.
No, this won’t do.
“Jed, Jed?”
Reason jolted awake, kicking my legs, demanding to be put down.
My muscles and tendons twitched with glee, while my nerves smacked them sharply—not the time!
Inside me, lust and reason snarled at each other.
Then Gerald strode out of the lab, up the fortress stairs, and flung open a large door. Gently, carefully—like setting down crystal—he placed me down.
「What a shame…」
Cells and muscles sighed in unison.
But as I looked around, my eyes widened.
Towering walls crammed with books up to the third floor. Rolling ladders set up everywhere. A staircase and railings along one side, with long cushioned benches for lying down to read. Even window seats perfectly placed for hiding away all day.
Opposite the entrance, floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the library in soft natural light. Beyond the glass, the silver-scaled Therion River shimmered as it flowed.
Behind it, the snowy peak of Mount Todai of the Demon Realm blended with the blue sky, painting a breathtaking landscape.
This library dwarfed the previous one in both grandeur and comfort.
An unexpected gift.
He slid his long fingers through mine, interlacing tightly. Then whispered:
“As you wished, I will lift Theo’s curse with you.”
I looked up at him.
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one who’s grateful, Sing.”
I couldn’t help but throw my arms around his neck. One of his hands naturally circled my waist. Rising on tiptoe, I pressed a seal of gratitude on him.
Suck.
Her strong pull left Gerald dizzy. If only she would allow him this often.
“So?”
Sinclair’s words struck Gerald square in the chest. Painful—five years of effort to lift the curse, all undone by that single syllable: So?
“Let me summarize, Jed. The first attempt was led by the temple, but it failed. Worse, Theo nearly died, so you stopped it. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“Afterward, you tried immersing him in concoctions brewed from demon realm ingredients. Failed. Then chanting spells—also a complete failure.”
“Correct.”
“You even drew magic circles and chanted, but nothing has worked so far?”
“I must keep trying.”
“That’s what you think.”
“There are still many circles left untested…”
“Sure. And it’s not as if days of strong demonic energy—like new moons or eclipses—come often. But it’s dangerous, even illegal.”
Gerald felt like a student being scolded for a messy assignment. He pressed his lips shut with a heavy sigh.
Seeing his crestfallen face, Sinclair’s thoughts tangled.
So the emperor really does intend to destroy this family.
Otherwise, why ban all magic and sorcery within the empire while demanding the curse be lifted? Contradictory.
The temple’s method had likely been just for show. Gerald must have stopped them because he didn’t trust them either.
Sinclair skimmed the books piled across his desk—tomes on magic circles and potions. More books stacked high on the side desk, with sheets hung showing his drawn circles.
“Well, at least trying everything gave you certainty about what doesn’t work.”
“…You think so?”
“Of course. You’ve worked hard, Jed.”
Her words of comfort didn’t reach Gerald. The despair of each failed attempt weighed heavily on him.
Meanwhile, Sinclair grew restless. Five years was too short to waste only on trial and error.
Even with three floors of curse-related books, he had failed. And when Theodore turned sixteen, the incident where he killed and disappeared—could that have been a side effect of the circles?
Suppressing a sigh, Sinclair knew she had to offer an alternative.
Maybe it was time to go back to basics.
She decided to break it down step by step.
“When you sat Theo in the circle and chanted, what did you tell him to focus on?”
“That he would grow strong and healthy. The Schlezens guard the empire from the demon realm, after all.”
“Then Theo’s desperate wish became: to be healthy, to be strong.”
“…!”
The realization hit Gerald like a hammer to the skull.
“Telling him the truth felt too heavy, too cruel for a child.”
“I agree. I’m only retracing what you did, Jed. Maybe in all those trials, something was overlooked. If we find it, maybe we’ll find the answer.”
Please, let it be so.
Gerald stared at her lips, waiting for her next words.
“Think about it. If you cut a butterfly chrysalis out of pity, or crack open an egg for a hatching chick, they won’t grow strong. You know that?”
“…!”
“Joanna once said a parent can undo a child’s curse. But for that, the person’s own heart matters too. If the cursed child doesn’t pray sincerely for himself, how could another prayer work?”
Gerald crossed his arms, deep in thought.
“But if we shift the approach, just a little… Theo might truly, earnestly pray for himself.”
At that, Gerald straightened sharply, leaning so close his face nearly pressed against mine.
Such… oppressive distance.
