~Chapter 121~
The mouth of the curse stretched wide and slowly came toward me.
I looked up and stared into the mouth of the curse.
‘I can’t really see what’s inside…’
I watched and waited to be swallowed.
But for some reason, the curse was still coming at me very slowly.
‘Not yet?’
It was much slower than when Damien subjugated John, the newlywed curse. It was like the curse was hesitating to touch me.
‘Is it because of my aura?’
The curse from Damien was a top-level one, but even it seemed to avoid me, probably because I had the powerful Devourer inside me.
“It’s okay.”
Maybe he saw I was worried. Damien told me,
“It’ll just take a bit of time.”
Just like he said, the curse at first hesitated but then started to move a little faster.
Splat.
A black, blood-dripping tentacle touched my cheek.
It moved completely differently than when Damien lost control or when it attacked other curses.
The curse tentacle gently stroked my cheek, almost like Damien’s hand.
I closed my eyes.
The warm feeling on my cheek came back, and I felt relaxed.
For some reason, my heart felt at peace.
When I closed my eyes, maybe the curse thought I was ready, because it finally covered my whole body.
Everything went dark, and I felt like I was being pulled somewhere.
The inside of the curse was narrow and warm.
But it wasn’t as sticky as I thought.
It just felt like being held warmly in someone’s arms.
It was so comfortable, I almost fell asleep.
Just as I was about to doze off—
Suddenly, everything became so bright that it hurt my eyes, and my body was pulled out again.
“Ruby!”
I opened my eyes to see Damien, who had withdrawn the curse, running to me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
My whole body was covered in black blood, but nothing else was wrong.
“It was warmer than I thought. It almost made me sleepy.”
I spread my arms, and Damien naturally hugged me.
Over Damien’s shoulder, I saw myself in the mirror.
There was something on my cheek, where the curse had touched me first.
I grabbed Damien’s sleeve right away.
“Damien. There’s a mark on my face.”
“I know.”
He gently pushed my head to rest on his shoulder.
“I can feel the subjugation.”
In the mirror, a finished mark appeared on my cheek.
A red spider symbol.
It was the mark of the Maledictus family.
“How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?”
I thought about it as Damien carried me out of the room.
“I don’t think anything’s different. Maybe because we were already so connected from the soul contract.”
“That’s probably true,” Damien said softly.
“But I’m happy.”
“Huh?”
He suddenly stopped walking and took me off his shoulder.
His deep purple eyes were filled with strange satisfaction.
His gaze lingered on the mark on my cheek, so intense it almost made me shiver.
But for some reason—
‘I’m not bothered by it.’
Actually, I felt relieved.
I realized that he would never push me away, and I could stay by his side.
“Let’s go wash up first.”
Damien held me tighter and started walking again, just like the time he took me to his room after losing control.
“Here we are.”
The water in the tub shimmered blue.
I got down from Damien’s arms and got into the bath.
The water was warm and made me sleepy.
“Is the water too hot or cold?”
“No, it’s perfect.”
“I’ll clean off the blood now.”
Just like before, Damien skillfully cleaned the stubborn black blood off my body.
Since I’d done it once already, I was able to clean myself a bit better this time, though not as fast as Damien.
Slowly, all the blood marks disappeared, except the one on my cheek.
“Just this one left.”
“Yes, that’s—”
Again, Damien’s deep purple eyes looked at me with a strange light.
I stopped talking, mesmerized by his gaze.
“…The mark showed up here, too.”
Damien reached out to the spot where the blood had dried on my cheek.
Even in the warm water, his fingers felt strangely cold.
Just like the curse had done earlier, he carefully touched my cheek.
At first, he looked amazed, as if wondering if this was even possible.
Then, his gaze changed to satisfaction and then to love.
“Beautiful…”
He whispered so softly I almost didn’t hear.
“What did you say?”
“Ah.”
He snapped out of it and returned to normal.
“It’s nothing.”
He gently wiped away the last bit of blood on my cheek.
“All done.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
“It’s nothing.”
Damien smiled.
“The water’s warm, so I’ll stay in a bit longer. You can go out first.”
But instead of leaving, Damien pulled over a little chair and sat beside me.
“You’ll get bored alone. Let’s tell ghost stories together.”
Even though I was getting sleepy, the word “ghost stories” made my ears perk up.
“Okay!”
“Since we’re in the bath, how about bathroom ghost stories today?”
“Great idea! I’ve always wanted to talk about all the different versions of Bloody Mary.”
We shared ghost stories until the bathwater got cold.
“The water’s cold now. We should get out so you don’t catch a cold.”
Damien dipped his hand in the water and spoke calmly.
“Okay.”
I got out, and Damien helped me dry off.
I changed into the clothes prepared in advance and sat on Damien’s bed.
“Ruby.”
Damien looked at me sitting on his bed and asked,
“Stay the night.”
Tonight wasn’t even a night we were supposed to share a bed.
But I nodded.
“Alright.”
Damien smiled gently.
It was a smile so beautiful, I wanted to draw it.
I got under the covers, and a bit later, Damien finished getting ready and lay beside me.
He turned off the lights, and the room filled with darkness, except for a strip of moonlight through the curtains.
“Ruby.”
In the silence, Damien’s low voice called me.
“Good night.”
I heard the rustle of the blanket, and then felt his breath on my cheek in the dark.
Then, his lips touched my cheek.
Smooch.
He pulled away.
Before I realized what happened, his long, strong arms wrapped around me.
He held me close and rested his head on mine, closing his eyes.
My heart started to beat fast.
‘This is strange.’
I felt much closer to Damien than ever before.
Even the way he looked at me was different—deeper and more intense.
But most importantly—
‘I don’t dislike it.’
No, actually…
Suddenly, I realized something that made me squeeze my eyes shut in embarrassment.
‘No way…’
I wanted to become the closest person to him in the world.
The next day,
Big news arrived.
“You need to see this.”
The news was that one of the two rival princes had finally been chosen as the crown prince.
