Balthazar Crime.
My heart sank the instant I heard that name.
A high-ranking noble. A master of black magic. The villain who cursed Titania and shattered the ending of the original story.
Even if I had already guessed it, hearing it spoken aloud was something else entirely.
Jarga… a name taken from there.
If I had thought harder, I might have realized sooner.
The stupidity of missing something so obvious made me furious with myself.
Jarga tilted his head, watching me with those unsettling red eyes.
“Ethel, you don’t look well. Do you… not like me?”
“……”
“It’s odd. I heard people are usually drawn to those their own age, especially the opposite sex. Don’t you find this appearance… attractive?”
Human? Did he really mean this appearance was human?
There was so much I didn’t understand, but I didn’t want to think about it anymore.
“Shut up! Now you’re going to—!”
Just as I was about to lash out again—
<Ethel…!>
<Open your eyes, my darling…!>
My parents’ voices echoed from somewhere far above.
The heavy weight that had pinned me down began to lift.
They’re trying to wake me up!
“Mother! Father! I’m here!”
My body grew lighter, feet floating, tilting upwards as though being pulled out of water.
But Jarga caught my wrist.
“……!”
“You can’t go.”
His expression was unreadable, but his grip was tight.
“Let go.”
“Let’s clear up the misunderstanding first, alright?”
“Misunderstanding?”
Even as he held me, my body continued to rise, and before I knew it, I was upside down, staring into his unblinking red gaze.
“I told you—it was an invitation. I never meant to hurt you. Aren’t you curious about the real reason you’re in pain?”
“…The reason?”
“That’s…”
But Jarga faltered. His lips pressed tightly shut, a conflicted look clouding his face.
Finally, he spoke again.
“If you stay, I’ll tell you everything. So… please?”
The words slid from his tongue like the hiss of a serpent, smooth and coaxing.
But why? Why bother to persuade me at all? With his black magic, he could simply force me.
A thought struck me.
Wait… could it be?
This was my dream.
He hadn’t been here from the beginning. That meant no matter how skilled he was in black magic, he didn’t have complete control.
This dream belongs to me. Which means… I can wake up whenever I want!
The instant I realized it, my body lurched upward.
“……!”
I knew it!
Panic flickered in his eyes, and he tried one last desperate play.
“You fool.”
“…What?”
His eyes narrowed, confused.
I smirked.
“If you truly wanted to clear up a misunderstanding, you would have told me immediately. But you… you hesitated. You’ve disappointed me until the very end.”
“……!”
Shock widened his eyes.
I tore my wrist free and shouted with all my strength:
“It’s time to wake up from this dream!”
And then—
The world exploded into light.
“Ugh…!”
“Ethel!”
I gasped for breath, like I’d just broken the surface of a deep lake. My eyes fluttered open.
“Mother…!”
My mother’s arms were wrapped around me, her eyes brimming with tears.
“It’s alright. You’re safe now, my daughter…”
“Mother! Where’s Tani? Where is he?”
“Ethel, calm down. Tani is fine.”
Behind her, my father stepped forward, his face taut with worry.
“You collapsed, so we ended the party. Tani cried himself to exhaustion and fell asleep in the next room.”
“Then… the guest! The boy Marquis Persis brought—he’s no nephew at all!”
If he hadn’t slipped away yet, we had to catch him. If not, he was probably out there deceiving the adults with that shameless smile of his.
But my parents exchanged puzzled looks.
“Ethel… you’re still confused.”
“The Marquis of Persis has no nephew. He didn’t bring anyone with him today.”
“What…?”
My chest tightened. In just a few days, how much had Jarga manipulated? Could he have erased everyone’s memories of him?
But my wrist still throbbed faintly where he’d grabbed it.
Then why… why is my memory untouched?
“Ahem.”
A cough drew my attention. In the corner of the room stood an elderly man in worn robes.
I blinked. I hadn’t even noticed him.
“Ah… forgive me. I’m the healer who treated you,” the old man said. “I was called to prevent scarring on your leg, but I arrived just in time.”
“Please, healer,” Father said urgently. “Tell me what happened to my daughter.”
The old man’s eyes turned grave.
“Your daughter is cursed. A vicious curse… one I cannot even hope to lift.”
“What?”
I already knew it, but for my parents, the words struck like thunder.
“But she opened her eyes!” Mother cried.
“It’s temporary. Not a cure.”
“Then… there must be a way?”
The healer fell silent for a long while, stroking his beard.
“Perhaps. There is someone in this land more knowledgeable than I. Not exactly a healer… more of a wanderer. If you can find them, they may know.”
“We’ll give whatever support is needed,” Father said firmly.
“Then I will set out at once.”
Before leaving, the healer turned to me.
“Be strong, child. Never surrender.”
His words carried such weight that, for the first time, I fully understood.
“…Yes.”
After tending my body with simple remedies, he left.
So the curse’s root is this fever…
The thought of enduring that pain again was dreadful. But strangely, my heart felt lighter.
Because Tani’s fate had changed.
I did it. Now the problem is me…
Father’s warm hand stroked my hair.
“Ethel, everyone will know you as the hero who saved your sister. And I swear, we’ll find a way to lift this curse.”
“But… if word spreads that I’m cursed, won’t it bring trouble for you, Father?”
“That’s not for you to worry about.”
“But—!”
I looked up at him, restless and anxious. Mother’s tears flowed again.
“Honey, I don’t care about reputation either. But… think of Ethel’s life. Who would want a cursed child…?”
Ah… right.
Even if I didn’t care for myself, rumors would ruin Tani’s future.
There’s one solution…!
“Father, didn’t you mention a country place where knights often train?”
“The training grounds?”
“I can recuperate there, away from the nobles’ eyes.”
My parents hesitated.
But I pressed on.
“If I go, Tani will surely want to follow. A little time in the countryside, playing freely, might even change her temperament…”
At that moment, the door burst open.
“I want to go too, Unnie!”
“Tani?”
“I want to follow my sister!” Tani cried, standing with Beaty in the doorway. His little face was red from crying.
Flustered, I tried to comfort him.
“If you come with me, you’ll have to be away from Mother and Father, you know?”
“When you’re better, we’ll come back together.”
I sighed inwardly.
Maybe… maybe this is for the best.
If I stayed, the children who bullied Tani might reappear. And after everything, I realized it wasn’t about finding someone for him to lean on.
Tani needs to grow stronger on his own.
Father finally spoke, voice heavy with decision.
“It’s a safe place, but still… we’ll assign more knights to guard you.”
“No. If we bring too many, it’ll draw attention. Isn’t it better to keep our identity hidden?”
Yes. If Tani had the chance to grow stronger, he might avoid his original fate.
This isn’t abandoning him. It’s teaching him how to live.
My parents exchanged a long look, then nodded.
“Take Beaty and Jack with you. Otherwise, I won’t allow it.”
“Jack? The vice-captain?”
“A great knight, though he’s been considering retirement. Perhaps following you will change his mind.”
A forced vacation, then.
That’s enough.
I smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Father!”
“Oh, Father… thank you!”
Tani scrambled onto the bed, and I hugged him tight.
A new future awaited us, one I had carved with my own hands.
“Tani, let’s get along well in the countryside too!”
Meanwhile, far away—
Jar returned to the empty castle. His hand, the one that had grasped hers, still felt cold and hollow.
“…I failed.”
