Chapter 48
I was loading plates onto the tray when the boss gave me a stare that made me feel uncomfortable.
“Why?”
“…I’m helping.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine. This isn’t your job, boss.”
I finished clearing the table and placed the tray outside. All the while, the boss kept trailing right behind me.
As I wiped the table, organized the bookshelf, dusted, and swept the floor, he didn’t leave.
Eventually, I couldn’t hold back and turned to face him.
“Boss, do you have something to say?”
“No.”
Since he said it so bluntly, I went back to finishing my tasks. I even brewed some black tea for him to drink, but he didn’t touch it—he just kept following me.
What is going on… seriously.
“Boss.”
“Yes?”
“You keep following me.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just do what you need to do.”
Why is he acting like this?
Strange, very strange… completely strange.
Since he said not to worry about it, I focused on my work while sneaking glances at him, trying to figure out the right time to bring up the curse issue.
The saintess said that for a reason—she must have been bothered by something.
Did she say it because she was sure it could really be passed to someone else?
No one had even suggested that the curse could kill someone if it was lifted.
It didn’t seem to be just the saintess’s idea either.
She mentioned the crown prince.
Both of them were thinking the same thing.
I let out a bitter laugh.
Now that I think about it, he had used the saintess as a front while staying safely in the back himself.
And then, he might even apologize, saying only the saintess was wrong?
No, let’s put that aside for later.
The very idea that the curse could be transferred to someone else suggested that there must be a solid reason for her to believe it could happen.
It wasn’t just the saintess; it was both the saintess and the crown prince.
Suspicious.
I can’t wait. I’ll just do it today.
When I went to approach the boss, I was startled. He was still following right behind me.
“Boss!”
“Why are you thinking so long?”
“Ah, it’s about what the saintess said. There was something unsettling in her words last time.”
“Unsettling?”
I pulled him toward the sofa, brewed fresh tea in front of him, and when I stood by his side, he reluctantly made me sit.
“I don’t know if I should even do this.”
“You have my permission. Go ahead, tell me what’s unsettling.”
“Before that, this might be a little painful for you, boss. Is it okay if I ask?”
“Who would refuse after building curiosity like that?”
“Answering a question with a question… as expected, boss, you’re a genius.”
The boss looked at me suspiciously.
“How big of a dagger are you planning to stab after all the flattery?”
“Just a little.”
“Go ahead.”
I composed myself and carefully began.
“The saintess’s reaction was much more extreme than I expected.”
“Extreme?”
I chose my words carefully.
“I thought she’d naturally worry about her reputation dropping if you went outside. But it was… too sensitive. Well, she can be sensitive, but it was a different kind of sensitivity from ordinary people…”
Even as I rambled, the boss answered calmly.
“She did feel quite sorry when she was cursed.”
“Why?”
“Because she was cursed?”
“They weren’t the ones who cast the curse.”
If the boss had been cursed while avoiding them, she might feel sorry despite it not being her fault. But that wasn’t what puzzled me.
“I just find it strange that the curse skipped the saintess and the crown prince. Are you saying Seriel’s demon cursed ‘one of the three, take your pick!’ instead of all three at once?”
“….”
“Not all three at once?”
“Not that kind of power…”
“A curse that traps you in this room for two years and causes hundreds of deaths if you step out cannot be done by ordinary power.”
“….”
“It’s just… strange.”
Even in a story, it’s unreasonable for such a powerful curse to only hit the boss.
“I thought it seemed unreasonable. So I wondered if something else might have happened that day.”
“There wasn’t.”
“Think carefully before answering!”
He didn’t seem to take it seriously, which was frustrating.
“Boss, listen. Most people would be happy if a curse was lifted—if it was their friend. Even if worried, they’d only think, ‘Will lifting it hurt someone else?’ That’s all.”
“….”
If someone didn’t want it lifted, they’d block it. In any case, they wouldn’t say, “The curse will transfer to someone else.”
Why would she think it could be transferred?
Until now, there had been no talk about the curse being contagious near the boss.
There was only one possibility left.
Maybe it had been transferred to someone else before, so she assumed it could happen again.
Since she transferred the curse to the boss, she thought it could be transferred again.
“Of course, there might be exceptions! But I don’t think the saintess and the crown prince are those exceptions. So if it’s okay, could you tell me in detail about that day? Don’t just gloss over it.”
I felt like I was starting to piece things together.
“If the curse could be transferred, maybe it could be moved from the boss to an object or something.”
He wrapped his large hand around my fidgeting one, frowning.
“No.”
“Boss…!”
Really?
He shook his head at my accusing gaze.
“It’s not that. I really don’t remember that day well.”
“What?”
“I was quite injured at the time. That’s why my memories of the sealing are hazy.”
Only the three people, plus Joshua, were present at Seriel’s demon’s sealing. Only they knew what happened that day.
If there had been anything unusual, Joshua would have told me. He’s serious about lifting the boss’s curse.
“Should we just leave it be if we can’t remember?”
It irritated me even more that he didn’t remember.
“Well… I think your guess might be right.”
“Eh?”
“Terrence has a strong desire for the throne, and the saintess wanted to help him and stay by his side.”
“….”
“At that time, I shut my eyes and ears to it myself.”
“…Boss.”
“My memory is vague, but… you’re right, this isn’t a normal situation.”
When I didn’t respond, he neatly summarized the current situation.
“Let’s stop thinking about this. You’re just giving yourself a headache.”
“….”
“If the curse could be transferred, Joshua would know about it.”
Maybe it could have been transferred before entering the body, but not after it had already taken hold, he said.
“When the curse is lifted and I start acting again, the truth will be revealed.”
“….”
“I won’t leave anyone who messes with me alone. You feel the same, don’t you?”
Luckily, he responded with no strong reaction.
“Of course!”
“What needs to be done?”
“Work hard to lift the boss’s curse!”
“Yes. Don’t waste your head on unnecessary things.”
It wasn’t exactly unnecessary, but without evidence and feeling guilty about disturbing his memories, it seemed like wasting time on a trivial thing.
But those two…!
Anyway, only the boss could reveal the truth.
Boss, who had regained his former self.
If he remembered, we could find out.
Otherwise, we’d just have to pretend not to know.
There was no answer if we pushed him.
If we tried probing and he realized we were making efforts to lift the curse, he might interfere with everything.
Just seeing the saintess tell him to “think about lifting the curse” meant they didn’t want the boss’s curse to be lifted.
So it’s better to quietly keep it a secret for now.
Whatever happens, one thing seems almost certain: the boss has no memory of that day, and only he was hit by such a strong curse.
That doesn’t make sense.
The curse that should have hit all three ended up only on the boss—almost certainly the work of those two.
So I vowed to lift the curse boldly and appear before them to give them a taste of their own medicine.
It wasn’t luck.
Those two had dumped all their misfortune onto the boss.
