**Chapter 51**
Knock, knock-
“Madam, are you awake?”
The door opened and Jane entered. She stopped short, surprised to see Callie sitting blankly on the bed.
“Hello, Jane.”
Callie waved her hand weakly and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles.
Truthfully, she hadn’t slept a wink since the night walk. Putting aside the fact that she heard the stars’ voices…
‘That child? Who is that?’
Her mind was so tangled that Callie ultimately couldn’t sleep.
Right now, she had absolutely no information. It was definitely related to the Asteri family, but beyond that, she had nothing, which was frustrating.
“Ma-Madam… Did you not sleep well?”
“Ahaha. Well, that…”
“Would you like to sleep a little more?”
“I’m hungry… I’ll eat and then sleep.”
“Then, I’ll prepare some simple sandwiches.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
As Jane left, Callie wriggled and lay down. The words the stars had said were still buzzing in her head.
‘Regain my memories before that child realizes? So I need to get my memories back, right?’
She wanted to talk more with the stars, but the light had vanished. The stars no longer responded.
Callie stared blankly at the high ceiling.
“Tch.”
Then she sat up abruptly.
There was nothing to be gained by worrying about it now anyway. Unless she found the Asteri family mansion she saw in her dream, there was no way to know anything.
She had no choice but to wait until Leon returned. Who knows what might happen if she went alone.
“Madam, it’s Jane.”
Jane returned. In her hands were sandwiches and juice.
Callie got up and headed to the table by the window. Jane placed the plate and juice on it.
“If you just leave them after you’re done, I will clean up.”
“Mmhmm. Thank you.”
She smiled brightly and expressed her gratitude to Jane. Jane gave a slight smile and quietly went out.
She gently opened the window. A pleasant breeze whispered in. The scent of flowers from the distant garden tickled her nose.
“I wonder when Leon will come.”
Leaning on her arms, she stared blankly outside for a moment, then picked up a sandwich. It was a delicious sandwich with fresh vegetables, tasty ham, and the chef’s special sauce.
Taking a bite, the delicious ingredients swirled together harmoniously in her mouth.
“It’s delicious! The best. I wonder if Leon is eating well?”
He shouldn’t go hungry.
Swinging her legs, she took a sip of the juice. It was refreshing orange juice. It felt like if there were a shop selling fruit juice like this, she could buy and drink it anytime.
‘It’s one of the good things about becoming human from a squirrel.’
She didn’t know how wonderful it was to be able to eat delicious things to her heart’s content. With a happy face, she took a big bite.
Munching away, she brought the fairy tale book Levi had given her for studying letters. She slowly read it, enjoying her morning.
‘I should go to the library later.’
Thanks to studying plenty in her previous life, she was learning the language of this empire quickly.
“Looking at it now… it seems somewhat similar to English.”
Tilting her head, she read the fairy tale book easily.
After finishing her light breakfast, Callie got up. She needed to wash up and start the day.
She wanted to sleep more, but she decided to postpone that for a while. Anyway, her mind was clear now, so it was obvious she wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“I wonder if Jane is outside…”
Callie cleared the empty plate and cup and went out. Jane was standing there.
“Madam. You should have just left it…”
“It’s fine. I want to wash up.”
“Yes, I’ll assist you.”
With Jane’s help, she washed up lightly and then headed straight to the library. She wanted to go with Levi, but he was said to be on an errand, so she went alone.
“I wish Levi were here to pick for me.”
Since she still stumbled over letters, she wanted Levi’s help.
Regretfully, she entered the library and looked around here and there. All the books looked difficult just to look at.
“Ugh… Isn’t there an easy book?”
Playing with her hair, which was still not fully dry and hung loosely, she skimmed the book titles. Looking around here and there, Callie went to the very back of the library.
“I wonder if Leon reads a lot?”
If so, maybe she could ask him to read to her.
Somehow, thoughts of Leonhardt kept coming to her. They say it’s like this in the early stages of a relationship. Callie grinned without realizing it.
‘But Leon is so late. Or is he not?’
She was scanning slowly from the top, then crouched down at the very bottom. It was then, as she absently looked at a book tucked away in the farthest corner.
Callie’s eyes blinked. Her fingers traced the book’s spine.
“Mem… Memoirs… Memoirs?”
It was someone’s memoirs. Feeling like she had found something important, Callie quickly pulled out the book.
It was an old book with worn corners, colored pitch black. Looking closely, the letters on the spine weren’t originally printed but seemed to be carved directly into it.
The shape was definitely indented.
“Whose memoirs are they?”
Only the word ‘Memoirs’ was written on the spine. There was nothing on the front cover or the back either.
With a curious heart, she opened the book. Something was written on the very first page.
“Arthur… Arthur Spencer’s Memoirs.”
Callie was so shocked she froze solid.
Who was Arthur Spencer? The first Grand Duke of the Spencer family, the man who first received the witch’s curse.
‘Memoirs of that man? Did he write them himself?’
She definitely needed to read this slowly. There were many words she didn’t know, and since she was reading haltingly, this spot was uncomfortable.
Hugging the black book, she headed to her room. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
‘Shouldn’t I look at this with Leon? Since it’s his ancestor’s memoirs.’
That seemed like the right thing to do.
Callie resisted the urge to open it and look inside. It was right to look at it with Leonhardt.
She put the black book safely inside a drawer.
‘I wonder when Leon will come.’
It seems like he won’t be coming today either.
***
*Thud.*
He drove his sword into the head of the caterpillar-like monster. Slime burst out, followed by blood gushing out like a fountain.
“Why?”
A murderous atmosphere continued. The knights had evacuated long ago.
The gauntlets, drenched and sticky with blood, were hard to distinguish if they were black or dark red.
“Why?”
Leonhardt, who had been smiling with a chilling elegance, continued to mutter questions. The blood within him still boiled like lava.
Hadn’t the curse been lifted?
This was the madness he had experienced countless times. At this level, it was certain the curse wasn’t lifted.
“Ha… Haha!”
Pulling out his sword, blood streamed down. He threw it irritably, and it stuck into a tree across the way.
In the distance, the knights, still huddled together, flinched. Gerald and Peter stood guard in front of them.
The two looked at each other and gulped. There were no more monsters left to kill.
“This won’t do.”
Leonhardt, who had taken off his blood-soaked gauntlets and tossed them aside carelessly, curved the corners of his eyes and smiled languidly.
“Now.”
He cracked his neck from side to side. Leonhardt, facing forward, wiggled his finger towards Gerald and Peter, who were cautiously watching his mood.
“What are you doing?”
Gerald’s expression hardened stiffly, and Peter looked like he was about to cry.
“If you won’t come… I’ll go.”
His words were soft, but Leonhardt’s golden eyes shone coldly. It seemed like he would leap forward with his sword any moment.
Gerald swallowed a sigh. Behind him, the knights were trembling.
“Peter, let’s go.”
“B-but……”
“Hurry. We have to go.”
“Sniff……”
“Don’t cry, you big guy.”
Peter and Gerald walked towards their lord. Leonhardt, who had been smiling with rounded, enticing eyes, gripped a single sword.
The ordeal for Gerald and Peter began. When his blood ran rampant and there was nothing around to kill, the targets were always the knights.
After sparring like madmen, the bloodlust would subside a little. Of course, by the time he returned to normal, the knights were completely exhausted and collapsed.
And exactly two hours later.
“Hah, hah……”
“My, My Lord, please……”
Peter was on the verge of tears for real, and Gerald was breathing heavily.
Thanks to the sacrifice of the two, Leonhardt recovered to a somewhat bearable level.
“My Lord. How are you?”
Gerald managed to move his lips while gasping for breath. Leonhardt spat out with a somewhat displeased expression.
“It seems my curse remains as it is.”
Leonhardt, roughly sweeping his bangs up, let out a shallow sigh. His golden eyes were tinged with complexity.
It seemed the method to lift the Spencer family’s curse was incorrectly known.
“Still, it’s a relief that at least my wife’s curse was lifted.”
He now fully recognized Callie as his wife.
Even though he had vowed never to accept a cursed bride.
“It seems we’ll have to walk back, since there are no horses.”
“I know.”
He took the handkerchief Gerald offered and roughly wiped the blood off his sword. After putting both swords into their scabbards, he waved his hand.
“We’re returning.”
The knights inwardly sighed with relief seeing Leonhardt had regained his senses.
Leonhardt, who turned to leave first, felt utterly miserable. He had barely endured by thinking of Callie.
‘How did I suppress this until now?’
He couldn’t remember the days before he met Callie. Leonhardt’s life was divided into before and after meeting Callie.
Now, it was to the point where he couldn’t remember the time without her. He hadn’t known her presence would become this large within him.
‘Callie. I wonder what she’s doing right now?’
Is she thinking of me?
Both her squirrel form and her human form. Both were good. Whichever form, she was the same Callie to him.
‘When you find out my curse remains, what expression will you make?’
Will she make a sad face? Or look at me with pity?
Anything is fine. If it’s Callie, anything was good.
The more he thought of her, the more he felt blood pooling in his lower dantian. He wanted to kiss her, embrace that warm body. He wanted to keep her in his arms forever, never letting her escape.
‘This is trouble.’
His obsession with her grew more terrifyingly with each passing day. Would she get scared and run away from this frightening emotion?
“…Wait just a little.”
Like a beast eyeing its prey, Leonhardt’s eyes reddened.
