There was so little distance between us that I could see the sweep of each of his long eyelashes—one by one.
Close enough to feel awkward.
What am I supposed to do now…?
Hesitating, I finally lifted a hand and placed it against his forehead.
As I’d feared, his skin was burning hot.
“Oh no, Jar…! You’ve got a fever!”
“Ah… I see.”
“I’ll call the adults. Beaty! Beaty, come here!”
While Beaty hurried over and took his temperature again, Tani returned with Mother and Father.
“Mother, Father—Jarga has a high fever. He needs to rest right away.”
“It’s nothing…”
Jar tried to brush it off, but Father turned to Beaty instead.
“Is it true, Beaty?”
“Yes, Master. The young lord’s temperature is very high.”
Father’s face hardened with concern.
“Jar, you should go back to your room and rest. Forgive us for dragging you along when you’re unwell.”
“No, Your Grace… but I will rest for a while.”
Before leaving, Jar glanced back at me.
“……Thank you, Ethel.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll look after Tani. Please, just rest.”
He walked away with Marquis Persis and the adults. His back looked fragile, weighed down with exhaustion.
Please… don’t let it hurt too much.
A little later, Tani grew tired of opening her mountain of gifts.
That strange dream from the morning… nothing had happened so far.
Could it be that I’ve already changed Tani’s fate somehow?
But the day wasn’t finished yet. I couldn’t relax.
Ting, ting, ting—
Father tapped his glass with a fork, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Now, the birthday cake!”
“Wow…!”
Tani’s eyes glittered. Father lifted her easily into his arms.
“Tell the pastry chef to bring it in.”
The attendant vanished behind the curtain. A moment later, the heavy drapery parted grandly.
Gasps filled the banquet hall.
“Ohh…!”
The patissier wheeled out a towering cake on a great cart.
“Cake!”
Tani stretched out her arms, beaming.
But my chest tightened instead of lifting.
Father’s expression had stiffened too.
“…Father,” I whispered.
“Wait a moment, Ethel,” he muttered, frowning. He set Tani down and strode toward the cake.
It loomed higher than me, frosted in glossy chocolate and crowned with clouds of white cream. Beautiful—except for one thing.
Why…
The surface glittered with jewel-like sugar beads. Perfect, round, gleaming spheres.
The very shape I had fought to banish from our home.
“I never heard you planned to decorate it like this,” Father said sharply.
The pastry chef smiled, brimming with pride. “Ah, well! I was struck by inspiration in a dream. I thought, why not adorn it with these sparkling chocolate beads? It will be the finest cake I’ve ever made!”
But Father’s eyes flicked to me, worried. He knew. He remembered my determination to rid our house of all circles.
“It’s all right, Ethel,” he murmured. “It’s only cake.”
No. It’s not all right at all.
It was like that fairy tale—when the king and queen burned every spinning wheel in the kingdom, only for their daughter to prick her finger on one at her birthday feast.
And there it was: at the very top, in the center of the cake, a single bead glowed as crimson as the cursed jewel from my dream.
And Tani’s gaze was fixed right on it.
“Dad! Red one! Tani wants that one!”
“First we cut the cake,” Father said quickly, masking his unease.
He drew Tani close, her tiny hand wrapped in his as they held the knife together. Applause filled the hall as the first slice fell.
A piece decorated with bright red beads was placed on a plate.
And fate, like some cruel jester, delivered it straight into Tani’s hands.
Just then, Marquis Persis appeared at the edge of the hall.
“Viscount Knightley—the duke has dozed off.”
“Ah, is that so?” Father set down the plate and moved toward him.
My breath quickened. Now’s my chance.
When Father’s back turned, I darted forward.
Tani’s small fingers reached for the bead.
Clang!
The plate in my hand shattered against the marble floor.
“Oh no! Tani, don’t eat that!!!”
And before anyone could stop me—
Even if it meant being scorned as a foolish daughter. Even if my sister resented me forever.
To save her, I snatched up the cursed bead—
And swallowed it myself.
A searing fire roared through me, dragging my consciousness down into darkness.
It hurts. It hurts so much…
I writhed in agony, unable to open my eyes.
It felt as though shards of glass were coursing through my veins, piercing me from the inside out.
I wish I could just faint.
Or maybe this was a dream. Yes—if my purpose had been fulfilled, then I was the one cursed instead of Tani.
And in the novel, after the curse, the victim met the one who had cast it.
If the mastermind wielded black magic… they could invade dreams easily.
If this really is a dream, then show yourself. Let me see your shameless face.
Step. Step.
“……!”
Through the darkness, footsteps echoed closer.
They halted right behind me.
A hand pressed against my burning forehead.
The touch was hot, yet it cooled me all the same.
“As expected, it was you.”
The low, beautiful voice whispered beside me, achingly familiar.
Even as the pain clouded my thoughts, I knew it.
And yet—I gasped. Because my body was healing.
The fire subsided. The weakness vanished.
As if the world itself was realigning around me.
The hand left my forehead, and strength returned to my limbs.
Slowly, I turned—
And my breath caught.
“……Why are you in my dream?”
Standing there was Jar.
“Jar… why are you here?”
He smiled brilliantly, crimson eyes sparkling like the very bead that cursed me.
“You came to me, Ethel.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Because you swallowed the invitation I sent.”
My blood froze.
That bead—he sent it?
“You—you… don’t tell me…!”
Jar seized my hand and pressed his lips to my fingertips.
The gesture was so smooth, so natural, it held no trace of childish play.
“Yes. We were drawn together. You can’t deny it—it was fate that brought us here.”
“What nonsense!” I snapped.
The boy I had trusted, the boy who had cherished my sister… the mastermind who cursed her in the original story—could it be him?
Had all his kindness been a mask? A lure, to bind Tani and later snatch her away?
No wonder, in the novel, Titania had been captured so easily.
Rage boiled inside me.
But Jar only smiled tenderly, as if my fury meant nothing.
“Don’t be angry, Ethel. I’m glad you’re here. To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether it was you or Titania I was searching for.”
“…The one you were searching for?”
Jar reached out, brushing my hair back behind my ear.
My heart jolted.
Because once again, at his touch, the pain eased. My body healed.
And yet… beneath it all, a heavy darkness seemed to seep into me.
“If you have questions, ask.”
“Fine. Who was this ‘destined partner’ you spoke of? Weren’t you the Marquis of Persis’s nephew? And why curse an innocent with that bead?!”
“……”
He listened in silence, then chuckled softly.
His crimson eyes gleamed brighter than ever as they met mine.
“I am Balthazar Crime. And I have been searching for the one destined to draw me out of the long darkness.”
