Chapter : 52
Right now, with the resort opening just around the corner, my trip to the capital was quite a sudden decision.
Elin and Bellin, who had followed me to Wayna Station, looked worried.
“You’re going to the Seind Duke’s mansion in the capital… You don’t have any fond memories there, do you? Are you sure it’s okay?”
“I’m concerned as well. At the very least, if it weren’t me, my sister would have had to accompany Lord Harten.”
At their words, the youngest of the three sisters, Celine, spoke confidently.
“Don’t worry, sisters! I’m here!”
“…Haah.”
“Of all people, it had to be you with free time…”
Elin and Bellin each had many responsibilities on this island.
So, Celine, who was comparatively less busy, ended up accompanying me to the capital.
Celine, seemingly unfazed by her sisters’ worry, carried Lere’s cage with an excited expression.
“Lord Harten! I know everything about the Duke’s mansion in the capital—from geography to the relationships between people! So I’ll be much more helpful than my sisters!”
“Good, reliable~.”
I said that, told Elin and Bellin I’d return soon, and boarded the steam locomotive.
Soon, the train departed.
Sitting in the best first-class seat, I quietly gazed out the window.
My thoughts were spinning as fast as the rapidly changing scenery.
“If Harten’s obsession with me really has disappeared, there are two main possible reasons.”
One is if the magical power I possess has diminished.
If that were the case, one of the conditions that trigger Harten’s obsession—“a blonde woman with the potential of a great magician”—would be broken.
Naturally, his feelings would cool down.
Just like before.
“But this possibility is extremely low.”
Because my magical power is overflowing even now.
Even if I recharge my magic core every day, it would be full again after just one day of rest.
“Then the remaining possibility is that the curse itself was lifted.”
Harten’s curse, if analyzed precisely, made him “unable to use magic and unable to receive its benefits.”
His obsession with me was a side effect of that curse.
And the one who placed such a curse on the Seind Duke’s family was the Sun Magician.
“The place I recently visited with Harten was also that magician’s hut.”
Yes, at that time, I was too focused on my magic core to notice, but Harten had already been acting suspiciously back then.
“Did he find something in that hut?”
It was only a guess for now, but that instinct told me he might have discovered a hint about the curse there.
“I was careless too. Why did I go into the Sun Magician’s hut with him?”
I could have just told him to wait outside.
“I thought ‘there’s no way Harten can break the curse,’ and that complacency led me astray.”
“First… I need to meet Harten. I need to check his condition in person—”
Despite my growing anxiety, the train’s speed felt unbearably slow.
For the first time, I realized just how far away he was from me.
The train, which departed early in the morning from Wayna, arrived in the capital late in the afternoon.
While on the train, the Duke’s mansion had apparently been contacted, because a carriage from the mansion was there to meet me.
Thanks to that, I was able to reach the mansion quickly.
“It’s an honor to see you again, Miss Nacelle.”
As the servants opened the grand gates, an elderly butler bowed politely.
I returned his greeting briefly and immediately moved forward.
The butler, slightly taken aback by my swift action, followed.
“There’s currently no one else in the mansion. You may rest in your bedroom first—”
“Is Harten not here either?”
“Oh, yes. He’s attending to business at the Seind Railway Company right now.”
That actually worked out well.
“Celine, you said you know this mansion well?”
“Yes, Lord Harten!”
“Lead the way. We need to go to Harten’s study.”
“Right!”
Celine noticed something was different about my demeanor and moved briskly.
Thanks to her, we entered Harten’s private study without difficulty.
The butler followed, sweating nervously.
“Miss Nacelle, this is the young duke’s private space. Not just anyone may enter.”
I gave Celine a subtle glance.
Celine understood immediately and skillfully blocked the butler.
“But sir~. Miss Nacelle is not just anyone. She is the young duke’s fiancée! Don’t you know how much he cherishes and loves her?!”
“No matter how you put it—”
“If you block Miss Nacelle here, the young duke might get angry instead!”
Celine said that and quickly closed the study door.
Thanks to her, I was able to calmly examine his study alone.
“What could Harten have found in the Sun Magician’s hut?”
The spacious study was filled with furniture, books, and various items.
Even if I turned the place upside down, I probably wouldn’t find what Harten had discovered right away.
But it wasn’t impossible.
“If it’s something he found in that hut, even the smallest item would contain magical power.”
And I had someone more sensitive to magic than anyone else.
“Lere.”
At my call, Lere seemed to realize it was time to act, opened her cage on her own, and fluttered into the room.
The clever canary rubbed its head against my cheek and began investigating the office on its own.
Then—
Beep-
From the densely packed bookshelf, Lere pointed at a single book.
I approached without hesitation and pulled out the book, which had no title.
Opening it to the bookmarked page revealed—
“If a member of the Seind family discovers this record in the future,
and the curse I placed on ‘that man’ has not yet been lifted,
I have written the method to lift the curse for the sake of his descendants.
May the descendants of Seind not be as foolish as that man.”
Below it was a detailed explanation of how to lift Harten’s curse.
I quietly read it, again and again.
“Celine, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Since when have you been such a loyal maid, taking Miss Nacelle’s side?”
“Step aside. I need to ask Miss Nacelle how she seduced the young duke.”
“The duke’s household people aren’t here, and the butler is away on duty! This is our chance!”
From somewhere beyond the firmly closed study door, murmurs could be heard.
“Mind your manners! Miss Nacelle is now officially the young duke’s fiancée!”
“Hahaha! Celine, how long do you think that engagement will last? I bet it’ll be broken soon.”
“Exactly! Do you think the duchess will let them really get married? Unless she eats the ground herself, it’s impossible!”
“Celine, Miss Nacelle will always be beneath us. If we don’t suppress her now, the duchess will punish us!”
Hearing that, I opened the study door.
There, I saw Celine standing firmly against a few maids.
The maids, scolding Celine with arrogant faces, noticed me and sneered.
“Wow, it’s really Miss Nacelle?”
“It’s been so long! We heard you lost your memory—do you remember us?”
“You should remember. We took such good care of you~.”
Right?
Heh heh heh.
They chattered noisily among themselves.
Judging by their behavior, they were clearly the ones who had bullied Nacelle in the original story.
I stared at them and took a step forward.
“Miss Nacelle.”
Celine, worried, grabbed me.
“Don’t deal with them. I’ll send them away.”
“Go.”
I said to Celine in a calm voice.
“Prepare the carriage. We’re going straight to the railway company.”
“!”
Celine flinched when our eyes met, then hurriedly bowed her head.
“Yes, yes! I’ll send it immediately!”
She dashed off.
As Celine ran away, the maids whispered among themselves.
“What? She just sent her only ally away?”
“Ridiculous! What, are you going to tell the young duke?”
“What did we even do to deserve this? So unfair…”
The last maid trailing off couldn’t finish her sentence and stepped back.
