Chapter 7. This Time, I Will Curse You
“When I was little, I thought this white, pretty flower gave off a scent.”
Roa smiled faintly, recalling the first time she encountered the silver osmanthus.
“It’s small, but it really is such a pretty flower.”
Her maid, Judy, added her impression of the blossoms. Looking at Roa, who smiled even more beautifully than the flowers, Judy made a suggestion.
“On the day His Grace arrives, how about wearing a white dress—like the silver osmanthus?”
“White?”
Roa lowered her gaze and thought it over. Because of her careless nature, she often ran about recklessly or spilled things, staining her clothes. Naturally, she rarely chose white garments. She worried that she might look clumsy and untidy on the day she was to meet Eizen.
“I don’t think it’ll suit me.”
Roa said with an embarrassed smile, but Judy firmly denied it.
“That’s not true. You’ll be dazzlingly beautiful. Like a spring bride!”
A spring bride. Roa’s cheeks flushed at the thought of becoming his bride.
“Bride…”
The days of blazing sunlight had long passed since spring, yet her heart still fluttered as if it were that very spring day when she reunited with him. Her golden hair, catching the sunlight, shone even more brilliantly.
Trone Ducal Estate.
It wasn’t far from the capital. While Eizen briefly stopped by his family estate, Cailon had gone into the forests near the capital to study the trees.
“His Grace has returned.”
The boy who once seemed clumsy had returned as a dignified general. As he rode through the gates of the estate, Eizen sensed a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. A house without its rightful master was rarely well cared for. The broken order would have to be rebuilt from scratch. His grip on the reins tightened, and his body grew tense as he drew closer to the mansion.
At the entrance, he dismounted and faced the servants who had come to greet him. One member of the household was still present, yet she was nowhere to be seen.
Crossing the garden, he entered the mansion. A chill lingered in the air. The place was minimally maintained by a handful of servants, but it lacked the grandeur befitting a noble household.
Just as he approached the stairs—
Crash!
Glass shattered overhead.
“Heh, Eizen?”
The eerie female voice was more unsettling than the sound of breaking glass. His expression remained unchanged as he looked up. A staggering figure, barely able to support herself as if drunk, leaned on the banister and looked down at him.
It was Lady Marlena, his late father’s wife.
“With what face do you dare come back here?”
Her appearance was nothing like that of a noblewoman. She was in disarray, not even wearing proper shoes. Eizen clicked his tongue at the sight.
“You—you call yourself the Duke? Huh?”
Marlena descended one step at a time, gripping the railing. Her expression was twisted, an unnatural mix of emotions—sorrow, rage, and an unsettling smile tugging at her lips.
She was a broken woman, having lost both her husband and son. Drawing close to Eizen, she let the smile fade.
“You killed them, didn’t you?”
She whispered in a low, accusing voice. Yet Eizen’s face didn’t flicker. To him, she wasn’t worth the attention.
“In that cruel battlefield—my husband, my son—you killed them, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, her eyes sharpened.
“You drove them to their deaths so you could steal this house and this family!”
She screamed at him. Still, Eizen didn’t so much as blink. Servants rushed to Marlena’s side, trying to restrain her.
“M-My lady, please—enough…”
Bang!
Eizen moved for the first time, but not toward Marlena. His hand struck out—not at her, but at the maid restraining her, pinning the girl against the wall.
“Who is this ‘lady’ you speak of?”
The maid, trembling against the wall, couldn’t hold his gaze for even a second before bowing her head.
“Do you still not understand who the master of this house is?”
“I-I’m sorry, M—”
The maid nearly made the same mistake again, hastily covering her mouth and correcting herself.
“N-no… Master.”
Only then did Eizen withdraw his hand.
“Yes. I am your master.”
His red eyes shifted from the cowering maid back to Marlena. Servants held her tightly on both sides, or else she looked ready to lunge at him.
“‘My Lady’ is a title for the master’s wife. That woman is no wife of mine.”
His gaze returned briefly to the maid.
“S-sorry…”
“From this moment, she has nothing to do with the House of Trone.”
Though he addressed one maid, everyone present knew the warning was meant for them all.
“Drag her out of my house.”
The servants hesitated, but the murderous aura pouring off Eizen forced them into action. They moved to Marlena’s side.
Held by those who had served her for more than ten years, Marlena lashed out violently.
“Let me go! Let me go, I said!”
Summoning inhuman strength, she flung the servants aside.
“Ugh!”
One maid was thrown to the floor. Marlena’s eyes bulged as she rushed toward Eizen. His knights quickly blocked her path.
“You mad wretch! You killed my husband, my son, and now you’d take this mansion too?”
Her shrieks echoed through the grand halls.
“I won’t leave! I won’t take a single step out of here!”
Eizen, who had tried to remain indifferent, frowned at the piercing noise. Then the butler, Ried, stepped forward.
“Master, I understand your anger, but to drive out the old mistress so suddenly is perhaps…”
He tried to reason with him, but only succeeded in provoking him further.
Eizen exhaled deeply, rolling the tension out of his neck. Raising his head, he fell into brief thought, then lowered his gaze to meet Ried’s. The butler could not hold his crimson eyes.
Eizen scanned the faces of the servants—those same servants who had been present six years ago. They had witnessed Marlena abuse him without cause and imprison him in the cellar. They knew full well who had been the victim.
Yet even now, they stood on her side. Despite him having returned from war as Duke and rightful master of House Trone, they resisted his rightful judgment.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
“From this moment, any servant who defies me—”
He drew his sword in one fluid motion. The metallic rasp silenced the room.
“—will not leave here alive.”
Ried, who had been trying to dissuade him, closed his mouth at once. None could guess where his blade would strike.
“You lack respect for your new master.”
Eizen slowly turned his head. His gaze settled on Ried.
“You still look uncertain.”
The butler stumbled back, unable to take his eyes off the glinting sword.
“Perhaps an example will make things clear.”
He moved with the swiftness of a soldier cutting down hidden foes.
“Kyahhh!”
But the blade did not fall upon Ried. Its cold tip touched Marlena’s throat. Her scream died in her mouth.
“M-Master!”
The servants wanted to intervene but lacked the courage.
Marlena’s legs gave way, and she collapsed. Eizen crouched on one knee to meet her eyes. The woman who had cursed and screamed at him moments ago now dared not utter a sound.
“Will you walk out on your own two feet, or—”
“…”
“Be dragged out as a corpse, your body torn apart by scavengers?”
Eizen smiled faintly as he gave her the choice. The sinister expression nearly made her faint.
Terrified, she could not answer. Eizen withdrew his blade and looked to the servants.
They lifted the limp Marlena by the arms. This time, she did not resist or scream.
“I knew of your existence even before you came to this house.”
As she was dragged away, Marlena rasped with her ruined voice.
“Your birth mother once came to me—she cursed me. Said her son would grow up and destroy everything, take it all.”
Eizen turned to face her as she was hauled out.
“Yes, those eyes. Every time I looked into your eyes—so like hers—I felt that same dread.”
Black hair, eyes burning with a sinister light. Just like the woman who had cursed her, he was her son.
“Her curse has come true.”
Marlena laughed hysterically, clawing at her own hair. Then, suddenly, she fell silent and hissed her warning.
“This time, I will curse you.”
Eizen smirked, lifting only one corner of his mouth.
“Be grateful I’m sparing your life.”
