MLCDF 59

~Chapter 59~

“Hmm.”

After some hesitation, Damien decided to tell the truth.

“This little one seems to have been born naturally.”

“Oh, really?” Ruby asked.

[“Achoo!”]

The curse, still sneezing endlessly, sniffled and rubbed its head against Rubiana’s hand again.

[“Ru… bi! Ru… bi!”]

“It keeps saying ‘Ruhi.’ I wonder what that means.”

“Hmm…” Damien thought.

Curses were born from human fear. Many of them made incomprehensible noises, but the words they repeatedly uttered often came from real human language.

They simply didn’t have the same vocal structure as humans, so their pronunciation was distorted and harder to understand.

Damien realized almost immediately what “Ru… hi” meant.

“It’s probably trying to say your name, Ruby.”

“Huh? My name?”

“Yes. The pronunciation just isn’t clear.”

[“Ru… bi! Ru… bi!”]

The curse seemed eager to confirm his guess, repeating the sound “Ru-hi” even faster.

“Oh… so you’re trying to call me Ruby! That must be it. My goodness…”

By now, Rubiana was completely in love with the tiny curse.

“You’re so cute…!”

She lifted the little curse high with both hands, as if she wanted the whole world to appreciate its cuteness.

Watching her so delighted—when she had always been sad that most curses avoided her—brought Damien mixed emotions.

‘I’m glad she’s happy… but why do I feel so irritated about this?’

“Damien, if it was born naturally, whose emotions do you think it came from?” Ruby asked innocently.

“Uh… well…” Damien faltered.

“Could it be born from our emotions? Maybe that’s why it likes me so much,” she said with a bright smile.

Damien was momentarily speechless.

“Then you could say… it’s like our child, couldn’t you?”

[“Ru… bi! Ru… bi!”]

“Yes, I like you too,” Ruby said, gently tickling the curse’s head with her finger.

The curse let out a soft coo and clung to her finger like an affectionate child.

“How about we name it Ruhi since it keeps saying that?”

“…That’s fine with me,” Damien said quietly.

“Okay, from now on, your name is Ruhi. Ruhi!”

[“Ru… hi… Achoo!!”]

“Oh no, I’ll tie a little scarf around your neck. Come on, Ruhi,” Ruby said.

She completely forgot why she had come to Damien’s room in the first place and left with Ruhi in her arms.

Damien stared blankly at the now-empty room and muttered,

“Child…”

Then he suddenly imagined himself holding a little girl who looked exactly like Rubiana, and his face flushed bright red.

Later…

“Here, Ruhi. Say ‘ahh.’”

Ruby held out a teaspoon with a piece of sugar on it. The tiny curse, now wearing a little scarf, opened its mouth wide.

“Aw, you eat so well.”

[“Ru… bi!”]

Ruby’s pure smile was so lovely that Damien wanted to keep it in his heart forever. But despite that, he was very dissatisfied with the situation.

He had prepared Ruby’s favorite snacks for a tea party, yet she was so busy feeding Ruhi that she hadn’t eaten anything herself.

“Ruby, please eat something,” Damien said, pushing her untouched plate closer to her.

“Ruhi will be fine on its own. You know sugar isn’t even its main food source.”

“But… it eats it so well when I give it,” she said hesitantly.

Finally, Ruby turned to Damien with an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Damien. You went through all the trouble… I’ll eat now.”

“Good. No need to rush, just take your time,” Damien said, forcing a smile as he handed her a pre-cut slice of cake.

But the moment Ruby picked up her fork—

[“Achooo!!!”]

Ruhi let out an especially loud sneeze, immediately drawing her attention.

[“Achoo! Achoo! Aaachoo!!”]

The sound was so loud it was hard to believe it came from something so small. Damien’s brow furrowed in irritation.

“Oh no, you’re coughing a lot,” Ruby said, instantly setting her fork down to fuss over Ruhi again.

‘That thing is obviously faking it…’ Damien thought grimly.

Ruhi sneezed and coughed even more dramatically.

Finally, Damien dragged his chair right next to Ruby’s.

“Here, Ruby,” he said, holding up a forkful of cake.

“Open your mouth. Ahh.”

“Ahh—” Ruby said, startled, and Damien promptly fed her the cake.

“You’re busy looking after Ruhi, so I’ll feed you myself. That’s okay, right?”

“Uh… um…”

“That’s okay, right?” Damien repeated firmly.

Though they had only been married for three months, Damien had changed since the first time they met. He now knew Ruby got shy when he looked at her but would still listen to his requests.

‘I’m not as handsome as a prince, so I’m not sure why she blushes… but I’ll use it to my advantage.’

“Yes…” Ruby replied softly.

Damien immediately cut a cookie in half and popped it into her mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Yes…”

“Then have another—”

But just as he reached for the cake with his fork, Ruhi suddenly leapt into the air with a violent sneeze.

[“Achooo!!”]

It landed squarely on Damien’s hand, knocking the cake onto the table and ruining it.

“Ruhi!” Ruby cried.

The little curse rolled on the table, wobbling as it tried to regain its balance.

Then it looked up at Damien with its beady black eyes, glaring fiercely.

‘…Did it just glare at me?’ Damien thought.

Ruhi ignored his dark expression and crawled pitifully toward Ruby, making sad little cries.

[“Ru… bi… Ru… bi…”]

Anyone who hadn’t seen its previous expression would have believed it was truly miserable.

Once back in Ruby’s arms, Ruhi shot Damien a sly glance and smiled like a pregnant concubine flaunting her position.

“….”

Damien stared down coldly and said,

“Ruby, I think Ruhi’s allergy symptoms are getting too severe.”

“Yes, I thought so too. It wasn’t this bad when I first tied the scarf, but today it’s gotten worse…”

“Ruby,” Damien said, clasping her hands with a serious look.

“You know the cause of Ruhi’s allergy is you, right?”

Ruby’s expression instantly turned sad.

“Yes, I know…”

But she was a practical person, so she quickly accepted what Damien said.

Seeing her like that made Damien feel guilty, but he didn’t abandon his plan.

“Let’s let Ruhi rest in its room today. If it stays away from you for a while, it’ll get better.”

Ruhi immediately turned to Damien, panicked. Its tiny black eyes darted around in alarm.

“Yes… I think you’re right,” Ruby agreed softly.

“Good. I’ll take Ruhi back to its room. Just wait here.”

“Thank you.”

[“Ru… bi! Ru… biiii!!”]

Ruhi screamed, trying to escape, but it was no match for Damien, who had been handling curses for nearly 20 years.

It was taken from Ruby’s arms despite all its struggling.

[“Ru… bi!! Ru… biiii!!!”]

No matter how hard it fought, it was useless.

Damien placed it in the soft nest Ruby had made, decorated with fluffy blankets and pink ribbons.

“…Stay here,” he said firmly.

As soon as Damien released it, Ruhi bit his hand.

Tiny teeth marks formed, but Damien didn’t care.

He was the winner this time.

But just as he turned away—

Creak.

He heard a window open and looked back.

It was the window behind Ruhi’s nest, overlooking the garden where Ruby was having her tea.

Ruhi was standing at the window.

And then—

“Get lost.”

Damien’s eyes widened.

“You ugly, long-legged freak.”

With shockingly clear pronunciation, Ruhi insulted Damien and leapt straight out the window to make its escape.