Chapter 3
I happily shook my head.
“No, I just got confused for a second. I’ll go in alone!”
Then I started up the stairs without hesitation.
Maybe it was because I felt like I was getting closer to avoiding my death, but the dark staircase no longer seemed so gloomy.
‘Once I cancel the curse, everything will be solved.’
The male lead won’t shrink, and I’ll get to live peacefully.
I do feel a little sorry for Lishid and Seria, but this is survival for me and love for them. I need to live first.
‘From now on, let’s just live kindly. And stay alive.’
I have to survive no matter what and find a way back to my original world.
By the time I finished that resolve, I had already reached the top of the stairs.
I reached out toward the arched doorway covered by a purple curtain.
“Is anyone there?”
The answer came from beside me.
“You’ve come again, young lady.”
I nearly screamed.
Someone who had been standing against the wall like part of it smiled and slowly pulled the curtain aside.
My eyes were drawn inside.
A large altar. Countless candlesticks.
A crystal ball on a round table and playing cards spread out in a fan shape.
‘…I definitely came to the right place!’
I let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand to my pounding chest.
The woman, now seated, gestured for me to sit across from her.
“What brings you here today, young lady?”
Her voice was clear and gentle. Judging by the wrinkles on her face, she seemed middle-aged.
I quickly sat down.
“Well… actually, I’d like to cancel something.”
It was obvious this was where the curse had been cast, but just in case, I tried to speak vaguely.
“Ah.”
The woman immediately nodded.
“You mean the ‘Doll’s Curse.’”
How could things be going this smoothly?!
“Yes! I want to cancel that curse.”
I almost burst into tears of relief.
But at that moment, her clear and gentle voice turned eerie.
“Cancel… you say?”
Huh…?
A sudden gust of wind swept through and blew out the candles on the altar.
‘W-What is this?’
I shrank back, a chill running down my spine.
The woman raised both arms high into the air.
“I knew this would happen. I knew it! That is why I warned you over and over again!”
Throwing her head back, she began laughing wildly.
I stared at her blankly.
‘Why are you acting like a horror movie character?!’
Honestly, I felt like crying, but I clenched my fists so she wouldn’t see I was scared.
A haunted house is nothing. Dying is scarier. I kept repeating that to myself.
After what felt like forever, the shrill laughter suddenly stopped.
So did my tense breathing.
“Young lady, how pitiful you are…”
At some point, she had taken out a grotesque doll and was now stroking its head.
“Did you truly think that after borrowing such wicked power, you could simply undo it? How arrogant.”
She shook her head sadly and delivered the final blow.
“A curse that has already begun can never be canceled. And the date has already passed, has it not?”
“…What?”
The date has already passed?
“Th-Then…!”
That means the male lead has already shrunk!
Forgetting my fear, I quickly asked,
“W-Wait. Then… when does the curse end?”
In the original story, Lishid breaks the curse in about two weeks after receiving Seria’s purification.
So I never knew the actual duration of the curse.
In response, the woman slowly held up three fingers.
What?
“Three years?!”
Thud!
I shot up from my seat in shock.
But she shook her head.
“No. Three months.”
Excuse me?
“After that, he will return to normal.”
I blinked slowly at her expressionless face.
“…What?”
I was genuinely speechless.
***
On the carriage ride back, I stared out the window and let out a hollow laugh.
‘The curse only lasts three months.’
What kind of curse is that? Aren’t curses supposed to last a lifetime?
I felt like I’d been hit in the head by the author’s bizarre logic.
But the more I thought about it calmly, the more I realized it wasn’t entirely bad news.
Now that the curse had already begun, three months seemed manageable.
‘Hmm… and it’s Seria who figures out who cast the curse on Lishid.’
So if I just make sure they don’t meet during those three months, wouldn’t that solve it?
Sure, it would twist the original story, but in transmigration novels, trying to follow the original plot usually makes things worse.
Like when you try to avoid the male lead and end up getting more entangled with him.
I had considered running away. Airel was practically an outcast in her own family anyway.
But in this unfamiliar world, having a steady money source like the ducal house was a huge blessing.
And besides—
‘Even in the original story, Airel ran to the ends of the earth, and Lishid still found her and killed her!’
That level of hatred?
I absolutely cannot handle that.
If I died here without even returning to my original world, I’d feel too wronged. So running away is not an option.
The curse has already begun. The male lead has already shrunk. The original story will start soon.
Which means…
‘Lishid is probably wandering around in confusion right now and heading toward the Grand Temple.’
I vaguely recalled the original plot.
After suddenly being cursed, the male lead left only a single letter for his aide and went to the Grand Temple, hoping a priest could purify the curse.
But the carriage he boarded happened to belong to Seria, who had just been appointed as a saintess.
Not wanting the imperial family to learn of his weakness, Lishid hid his identity and asked for help.
So what I need to do is—
‘Stop Lishid from boarding Seria’s carriage!’
Yes. This might actually be better.
I just need to kidnap the male lead before he meets the female lead and take care of him myself!
First, I’ll kidnap him and treat him as well as possible, so that even if it’s revealed later that I was the one who commissioned the curse, it won’t cause any problems—
‘…Will that even work?’
Sob.
I know. No sane person would think like this.
But I was that desperate.
‘I really don’t want to die.’
Okay, fine. Hoping there will be no consequences after getting exposed is unrealistic.
But what if Lishid never finds out?
What if he trusts me?
‘Then I just have to make sure he can never find out.’
Holding back tears, I strengthened my resolve.
Fine. If it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work.
I may have been an overworked office employee drowning in overtime, but I’ve got persistence. That’s one thing I’m confident in!
‘Just wait, Your Grace.’
My survival variety show is about to begin.
***
“I’m sorry, but Lady Blandiche is not permitted to enter the Grand Temple.”
…This, however, I did not expect.
“Wh-Why not?”
I stared at the holy knight blocking the entrance.
He let out a sigh.
“That would be because you once nearly set the temple on fire, my lady.”
“…I did?”
“Is there another young lady in this empire named Airel?”
The knight looked me over with disbelief.
“You set fire to the temple garden, slapped another noble lady, and even kicked the holy knights who tried to stop the fight.”
“What? I would never—”
Before I could deny it, a line from the original novel surfaced in my mind.
“Airel chased after Seria in anger but was unable to enter the Grand Temple.
She had previously set fire to the temple garden during a fight over Lishid.”
‘…Are you insane?’
I cursed Airel Blandiche inwardly.
Setting fire to the temple over a man? She must have lost her mind.
“So there’s no way for me to go inside?”
“Not unless you sincerely reflect and apologize.”
“I—I am reflecting!”
I cried out urgently.
“I deeply regret what I did that day! I’ll apologize right now—”
I clasped my hands and lowered my eyes pitifully, but the knight frowned.
“My lady, even if you apologize to me, I have no authority in this matter.”
“Th-Then who do I need to apologize to?”
“The high priest who prohibited your entry.”
The High Priest?
I frowned slightly.
‘Ah, I remember.’
The youngest high priest in history—the one who appointed Seria as a saintess.
But where am I supposed to find him now?
Just as despair began to sink in, a gentle voice reached my ears.
“Lady Blandiche?”
I turned toward the sound.
A man stood there with a bright, radiant smile.
White hair flowing down to his waist, a holy appearance as if he had gathered all the light in the world.
“What brings you to the temple today, my lady?”
Anyone could tell—
He was the high priest.
