Chapter 84
“Lady April!”
Sian called out to me urgently, and next to him was Yeniel, who seemed to have rushed out of the banquet hall.
Max and the Crown Prince were nowhere in sight.
“Lady Yeniel!”
I approached Yeniel with a bright smile, genuinely happy to see her.
But instead of welcoming me or patting my shoulder, she gently pushed my hand away.
Yeniel’s uncharacteristically serious expression made me realize something was wrong.
“Lady April, something terrible has happened.”
Sian, perhaps worried I’d be shocked, spoke cautiously.
“Someone’s in trouble. Lady April, is there anything from the front lines that comes to mind?”
“Hmm, did Sir Max die?”
I tilted my head and asked without thinking.
Oops, sorry, Max. I didn’t really wish for your death. Well… maybe half wished it.
Max has a habit of doing every reckless thing possible, or letting vital hints slip by.
…It suddenly came back to me: in normal mode, when Max pulled stunts like that, it was Yeniel or her party who ended up dead.
Like the trap in front of the fourth-floor dungeon.
If you followed Max’s suggestion to go back to the city instead of entering the dungeon, you got a bad ending.
— I hadn’t remembered that Max was the one responsible, but now that I knew what he looked like, the memory came back clearly. —
The worst part was: while the rest of the party got caught in a horrifying trap, Max—who stayed in the back—managed to avoid it and popped his head out to say:
[Max: I told you to follow me! See? The city really is dangerous!]
Saying such pathetic lines while being the only one who survived.
“This bastard… what the hell? He’s a total nuisance. I ought to rip all his hair out.”
I grumbled to myself.
Then, turning my head, I suddenly remembered I was alone, and hugged a cushion that had been sitting on the chair beside me.
It was a chick-shaped cushion. The original owner of this seat had (ridiculously enough) won it in a public quiz competition hosted by a chicken franchise.
I didn’t even know those kinds of contests existed, but apparently they entered just because a friend asked them to. Even funnier, they didn’t even like that brand of chicken.
When I asked how they won, they said they heard all the questions were taken from a single quiz book—so in a rush, they memorized the whole thing.
[Title: Won the Chicken Quiz 🐣 [29]
Posted by: Light_is_April
(Photo)]
[Comments:]
Wow, you’re even posting this now?
Joy is better shared! (OP)
What is that?
Idk, my friend made me go (OP)
YOU have friends???
Why are you always online here?!
Imaginary friends?
No, met them while picking green onions (OP)
??
How’d you get close?
They helped me pick the good ones (OP)
?????
Your daily life is wild.
I joined too, got 3rd place. But why do you know the scientific name for chicken?I memorize those sometimes when I’m bored (OP)
???
The cushion had been beaten up a lot because the original owner used to punch it whenever they were scared. So hugging it didn’t feel all that nice. Poor chick.
In the empty house—
Yeniel shook her head.
“No. It’s His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Her face hardened as she continued.
“His Highness has been cursed. A curse from a thousand years ago. Do you know anything about it, Lady April?”
[Suspicion increased by 1%]
[Total Suspicion: 8%]
It didn’t seem like she was accusing me of casting the curse. If she were, the suspicion would’ve gone up more than just 1%.
It felt more like a faint doubt—just asking to be sure.
“No, I don’t,” I said, shaking my head.
“Of course. I didn’t think you would. Still, I had to ask. Oh, could you ask the others on that side as well?”
“Um, sure!”
I hesitated for a moment.
Because the sudden mention of the Evelyn faction threw me off, and I momentarily forgot how April was supposed to act.
The way Yeniel spoke just now implied that she already knew I was mingling with Evelyn’s people. She said it like it was a given.
That made me waver a little.
Then I thought about who April would consider more important at the moment.
More specifically—who it would look better to appear closer to.
Honestly, in this situation, the best answer would’ve been, “Lady Evelyn and the others would never use something like a curse.”
Pure, innocent April would’ve said that—would’ve believed it, too.
But in that moment, I felt an unexplainable sensation.
A chilling shiver crawling down my spine. That prickly feeling that raises the hairs on your neck—a creeping dread.
Goosebumps.
And I trust my instincts.
So I said:
“I’ll ask Lady Evelyn!”
Yeniel slowly nodded at my reply.
“Thank you, Lady April. Then Sir Sian and I will go check on His Highness. Will you be alright on your own?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She spoke as if to a well-behaved child.
Then, suddenly, I asked Yeniel a question—one I meant sincerely.
“Will you be happy if April stays here?”
“Hmm… not happy, exactly. It hurts more than anything. But under the circumstances, we don’t have a choice. So I’ll be counting on you.”
“Okay.”
[Suspicion decreased by 1%]
[Total Suspicion: 7%]
As I watched Yeniel walk away, I suddenly had a thought.
Come to think of it… was there a curse-caster among the spearmen?
I realized I never found the curse-caster during the battle earlier. That was because I got called away while I was in the middle of a bet with Yurell.
Tip: In Hard Mode, we provide a ‘fair’ opportunity for competition.
Obtain the one and only item before your opponent to get ahead!
“What?”
It was sudden, but I didn’t think that tip was random.
The Crown Prince had been cursed—probably with a Curse of Weakness cast by a curse-caster.
That meant… someone in Evelyn’s faction might’ve also been hit by the Curse of Weakness.
And the problem?
There’s only one item that can remove the curse.
That message made it clear.
I turned and ran—straight toward Evelyn’s camp.
