Chapter 82
Iela led me to her treasure room.
She said it was where she stored the treasures she had collected since she was young.
As befits a princess’s treasure room, it was filled with dazzling treasures, but honestly, I didn’t feel much excitement.
Compared to the treasure room the Grand Duke gave me, this is pretty modest.
Unaware of my thoughts, Iela lifted her chin proudly.
“Pick whatever you like. I’ll give you whatever you want, Danae.”
“Really, Iela? All of these are your cherished items. Didn’t you hate it when others even looked at them…?”
When Loaz looked at Iela in surprise, she snorted and waved her hand dismissively.
“Danae, my brother wouldn’t be this generous! So my gift will be even better. The outcome is obvious without even seeing it.”
“What do you mean?”
Loaz, flushed with anger at Iela’s words, turned to me with a solemn expression.
“Danae, after you choose your gift, I’ll show you my treasure room too. Pick anything you like there. As promised, I’ll give you anything.”
“Ah… yes, thank you.”
I nodded in confusion, and Iela and Loaz looked at each other.
Am I imagining it, or does it look like sparks are flying from their eyes…?
Ignoring the two of them, who were growling at each other like cats and dogs, I looked around the room.
My treasure room was filled with treasures piled haphazardly, rolling around here and there, but Iela’s room looked like a museum, with every item neatly displayed.
Even though the treasures were similar—or maybe even more valuable—they were treated so differently.
No wonder I feel a little guilty about my own treasures.
As I reflected and resolved to organize my room properly, a peculiar object caught my eye.
Unlike the other neatly displayed treasures, it was a small box sealed tightly with chains and tucked away in the corner.
“Princess, what’s that?”
“Oh, that?”
Iela, who had been sparring with Loaz, frowned at my question.
“It’s a cursed doll.”
“Cursed?”
“Yes. I received it as a gift after it was excavated from the ruins of a fallen kingdom. At first, I liked it. It looks like a really beautiful angel. But after I put it in my room, nothing I did went right.”
“For example?”
“My favorite maid stole my belongings and ran away. It was my most treasured necklace. I never got it back. Something I wanted to buy was won by the young lady I liked the least. My heel broke at a party and I was embarrassed. I worked hard on my homework, and then someone spilled tea all over it.”
“Uh… is that a big deal?”
“It is! Do you know how terrifying my private tutor is? Because of this, I had to copy thick books all week long. And even that got ruined when the tea spilled! Isn’t that terrible?”
“That kind of misfortune can happen to anyone. It doesn’t have to be because of the doll.”
“I thought the same. I was so angry I burned the doll, but the next day it was back in my room, untouched! If that isn’t a cursed doll, what is?”
Iela shivered, remembering the incident, still horrified.
“No matter how much I destroyed it, the next day it appeared in front of me, completely fine.”
Curious, I looked at Loaz, and he nodded solemnly.
It seemed it really had happened.
“I couldn’t give it to someone else; the rumors had already spread. So I sealed it and tucked it away in the treasure room. Since then, my life has been very peaceful.”
Wow.
So there really is such a thing as a cursed doll.
I had thought all those stories about objects bringing misfortune were made up, but apparently not.
Curiously staring at the box, an idea flashed through my mind.
Yes… misfortune! That’s exactly what I need right now.
Lately, everything was going too smoothly—it was a problem.
No matter how hard I tried to fail, situations kept going perfectly.
But if I have a cursed doll that brings misfortune with me…
I am the Lord of Devon. What is the greatest misfortune for a lord?
Of course, it’s the ruin of my territory!
Entranced, I approached the box. It seemed like it was glowing, though that might just be my imagination.
“Danae, don’t go near it. It’s a sinister doll.”
“No, Princess. I want this.”
“…What?”
“…Yes.”
My firm words made both Iela and Loaz exclaim in disbelief.
“Um, Danae? Did you hear me? This is a cursed doll.”
“Yes, I heard. That’s why I like it, Princess.”
“What… exactly do you find appealing?”
“The fact that it’s cursed.”
“Danae… did your father serve you something strange in the Golden Room? I don’t think you’re in your right mind.”
Iela and Loaz strongly opposed it, but they couldn’t win against my stubbornness.
“Don’t blame me later. Truly, this is because Danae wanted it.”
After emphasizing this several times, Iela handed me the cursed doll.
As she said, it was so beautiful that you couldn’t tell it was cursed.
I held the precious doll close and boarded the carriage home.
It was a doll shaped like the angel people imagine. Its pure white wings even felt sacred.
Cursed doll, please help me! Curse Devon so I can completely ruin it!
I gently stroked its head, praying earnestly.
The doll had been the most treasured possession of a princess from a fallen kingdom.
The kind princess treated the doll, a birthday gift from her father, like a real companion.
In winter, she covered it with a blanket; in summer, she fanned it.
Her care breathed life into the doll.
But the life the doll witnessed after awakening was filled with misfortune.
A weak country, continuous invasions, and ultimately, the kingdom’s downfall.
On the day the castle burned from enemy attacks, the princess placed her closest friend into a safe magical box.
“My friend, you’ll be safe here. You have to survive, okay?”
The doll wanted to face the end with her, but the princess couldn’t hear it.
Thus, only the doll survived.
The surviving doll fell into the hands of the general’s daughter who had caused the princess’s death.
Fueled by revenge, the doll cursed the general’s daughter every night.
At first, the curses were mild, but the more they were inflicted, the stronger they became.
Eventually, the general’s daughter became unfortunate, living a life as miserable as—or worse than—the princess.
Over time, its owners changed, but each time, the doll cursed its new master.
And each owner inevitably suffered misfortune.
When Princess Iela of the Kirun Empire became the doll’s owner, the same happened.
She had no connection to the people who killed the princess, yet all the doll felt was anger and a desire for revenge.
So it cursed her.
It caused her to be betrayed by those she trusted, unable to get what she wanted, fail to shine at parties, and see her hard work go to waste.
The doll cursed its owner, destroying what she desired most.
And now, a new owner has come to me.
The doll watched its new owner, gently stroking its head.
A girl with black hair and purple eyes.
Though her gaze was warm like the princess’s, she was not the one the doll would wish luck for.
Then it was only a curse.
What does this new owner wish for?
The doll easily read the new owner’s powerful desire.
It had been a long time since the doll had seen such a strong wish.
The new owner was a lord.
She wanted, with her own hands, to destroy this territory.
Then…
This is the doll’s curse.
“May this lord’s hands bring prosperity to the territory! This is my powerful curse! No one can escape this curse!”
