Chapter 96
The momentum of the horse pounding against the ground was anything but ordinary.
Tebet gripped the reins tightly. The darkened landscape flew past at incredible speed.
The air biting against his cheeks was piercingly cold, yet inside, a raging fire boiled.
Eslyn was nowhere to be seen.
Where should he start searching?
Where should he begin to overturn everything?
Where…
Where did it all go wrong…?
He clenched his teeth.
“You can never escape the curse.”
Someone had said that.
No, he argued against it.
At the very moment he handed Eslyn the poisoned cup, he had sworn to give her everything. He had promised himself he would never falter again.
He would break free from the shackles of his family and move forward.
Then what was this outcome now?
Memory was nothing but a feeble excuse.
In the end, Tebet was once again ruled by blood, shaken by his family, and, as a result, lost Eslyn. That was the truth that remained for Tebet.
“You really can’t escape from the Ripherius bloodline.”
“No!”
Tebet shouted fiercely.
The horse, sensing the rider’s unrest, wavered in panic. He gripped the reins tightly.
Like teasing him, his heart pounded violently, pumping the cursed Ripherius blood through his veins.
“Do not choose anything. That is Ripherius. If you wish to survive on this continent of Schulden, do not let yourself be swept away by anything.”
His father had always said this as a habit.
He had been praised as the most “Ripherius-like” head of the family in history.
A man who devoted himself more to the family than anyone else. That also meant he was the one most terrified of the curse flowing in his own blood.
“Father, Mother is unwell.”
“I know. It’s probably just a feigned illness.”
“Yes. It must be feigned.”
“I thought so.”
“Then why do you remain silent, knowing she’s pretending?”
“What?”
“You know she’s pretending to get your attention, so why have you never shown yourself?”
“Tebet, you’re naive.”
“….”
“That’s because I fathered you. So now, there’s nothing more to do.”
What, then, was the real curse?
The curse of being unable to leave the Schulden continent?
No. That wasn’t the essence. That might, in a way, have been a mere illusion.
For them, the very fact that a curse existed was itself a curse.
The fact that Ripherius blood, which should have been flawless, had a flaw.
Over thousands of years, this truth had driven them relentlessly, taking on countless forms.
His father had been someone who, to hide the “curse,” thoroughly rejected others.
“We must never let anyone know that we are dogs on a leash. Understand? Never reveal your weakness. If that is known, the strength of Ripherius will be exploited.”
Fearful that his flaws would be exposed, he could not accept anyone. Anyone without Ripherius blood was simply someone to be rejected.
Even those he loved, without exception.
In this sense, Tebet’s father had been the ideal Ripherius.
Even his wife was nothing more than a means to continue the family bloodline—nothing more, nothing less.
A man who lived solely for Ripherius.
Who, then, was truly captured by the curse?
“I will not live like my father.”
Young Tebet’s words had been sincere.
He wanted to escape Ripherius, to escape the curse.
The curse made even loved ones tools, dragging them into unhappiness. What else could a truly cursed person do?
“How amusing, Tebet. Do you really think you can escape Ripherius?”
But Tebet was young and fragile.
They knew exactly how to control the young Ripherius.
As his father had said, Tebet could never escape the family. Every attempt to do so caused the disappearance of those he loved.
A close friend suffered an accident, a steward’s arm was severed, his mother left forever—these events happened casually.
Before he realized it, all that remained for him was the family.
“Have you wandered enough? Master of the branch, or now… it’s proper to call you head of the family.”
Misfortune follows anyone entangled with Ripherius. Ripherius can never truly love anyone.
That was the true essence of this curse, he thought.
After that, Tebet learned to give up.
He resolved to desire nothing further. He accepted that he could never escape the hell of being Ripherius.
Resignation and compliance.
The curse had taken on this form, consuming Tebet.
From then on, it became easy.
He erased himself, erased those around him, and devoted himself solely to duty.
“Once again, the Duke of Ripherius has achieved a great victory!”
“Indeed, only Ripherius can protect the empire from monsters!”
“To remain unshaken by any power—that’s extraordinary integrity and dedication!”
Tebet could not suppress his laughter. They were completely mistaken.
The curse of being unable to leave Schulden. The deprivation of choosing where to live. That chain.
Swinging swords, bathing in blood, stepping on crushed flesh—it wasn’t for Bertania.
It was for Ripherius, who could never leave this land.
Even acts praised as altruistic were, in truth, selfish gestures to hide his flaws.
Thus, his flaws were wrapped in the guise of “neutrality.” A truly ridiculous wordplay.
He thought he could never escape.
He didn’t even consider escape.
He lived a life full of hypocrisy, thinking that dying on a battlefield would be a proper death.
Until he met Eslyn.
“Your Grace!”
A subordinate’s voice came from behind.
Tebet pulled on the reins. The horse reared and neighed loudly.
“The wizard has pinpointed the location!”
Tebet’s eyes gleamed sharply. The subordinate flinched slightly but did not stop.
“The path leading to the northern outskirts… Your Grace, Your Grace!”
He kicked the horse forward. Like an arrow, he turned the horse’s head and tore through the darkness.
The subordinate seemed to be following from afar, but soon lagged behind.
“Damn it.”
Even as he gritted his teeth until his jaw ached, his mind blurred. Darkness flickered before his eyes repeatedly.
Memories surged uncontrollably. He didn’t know why. The headache was severe.
“No.”
He drew a dagger and plunged it into his own thigh. The pain instantly sharpened his mind.
He couldn’t afford to collapse here.
“When you’ve already lost her.”
Having lost her.
“Sir Tebet, how about becoming mine?”
What if he had just nodded then?
He often wondered.
What if he had smiled, fallen to his knees before her, kissed the back of her hand, and whispered loyalty and love?
What would have happened…?
If he had, he would never have handed Eslyn the poisoned cup with his own hands.
Eslyn would never have been in danger again.
“Damn it!”
Regret surged, and curses escaped his mouth.
Eslyn was a person who stood in the light.
Only after seeing someone standing in the light did he realize he himself had stood in darkness.
Eslyn was the only thing in him that shone. She was the future, the possibility.
That was why he loved her.
But for that reason, he did not want to drag her into his darkness. He fumbled to hide the filthy ground he had crawled through.
Having never learned love, he didn’t even recognize it when it came to him. Back then, that was the case.
“Your Grace, Duke!”
A voice came, not from a subordinate. He didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“Right side!”
Dierian shouted harshly. He rode a blue horse. To catch up with Tebet, he would have had no choice but to use a magically-created horse.
The wizard’s brow was furrowed, and his thin fingers gripping the reins were white with force.
“There was the aura of dark magic nearby. This alley, right here!”
Tebet pulled the reins without hesitation and jumped from the horse. The alley was too narrow for a horse to pass.
His large body rolled lightly and landed. Dierian also dismounted.
“Your Grace… that leg wound.”
“Lead the way.”
Dierian did not ask further. He conjured a small light and entered the alley without hesitation.
Tebet roughly bandaged the bleeding thigh and followed Dierian.
The damp, foul-smelling alley continued for a long while. Eventually, Dierian stopped in front of an old wooden door.
“This is it.”
He lowered his voice, fearing the person inside would hear. Tebet flexed his hand lightly.
He would save Eslyn.
And he would atone. For all the things he had done, excusing them with his lost memory.
But could he be forgiven?
Tebet was unsure. He was the one who had committed the same failures. Pretending to forget, weighing the family and Eslyn, hesitating, and running away—it had all been him.
Because of him, Eslyn was in danger again. Even if she forgave him, Tebet thought he could never forgive himself.
Creak.
He carefully opened the rotting wooden door. Inside, the room was brightly lit.
“Step back!”
“Gyaaah!”
A gush of warm blood hit him. Tebet instinctively drew his sword and cut the creature that lunged at him.
“What is this?!”
Coughing up blood, it was not a monster. This was…
“Human?”
