Chapter 87
Katrina clenched her teeth, suppressing her emotions.
Damian wasn’t acting like himself.
He was under a curse—he wasn’t in his right mind. He wasn’t normal right now.
But even so, she knew that this was Damian’s true feelings, the ones he had been holding back.
“…Fine. Got it.”
Katrina didn’t respond any further.
“You said you had business with me? I heard from a maid. I happen to have something to say as well.”
She pretended to stay calm as she opened her mouth.
“I found out who cursed you.”
Katrina wondered if her voice was trembling.
Just deliver the message and leave immediately.
“It was Velec. He’s the one who cursed you.”
“…”
“Velec was part of the Sun Society.”
Now she had said everything. Damian knew the truth he needed to know.
“So you handle it however you want.”
Damian hated her getting involved any further.
And Katrina, likewise…
She despised Damian.
I never wanted this either.
Arabella had handed over to Katrina what should have belonged to Damian.
But Katrina had never wanted it.
She didn’t want it.
She had never wanted to receive it.
But… how could a powerless little girl possibly refuse?
Katrina had no answer.
Katrina left, and Damian collapsed into his chair, unable to endure any longer.
He leaned against the desk, staring up at the ceiling. The searing pain made it impossible to move even a step.
Holding on no longer did any good.
His body simply refused to function.
“…Ha.”
Damian was exhausted.
“Velec was part of the Sun Society.”
I already know that, Katrina.
I was there inside that chapel too.
And I saw it all—everything, even you performing the ritual with Lucipe.
“Can you kiss me?”
Now he finally understood that ridiculous question.
Damian kept staring up at the ceiling, leaning on the desk.
In the pitch-black silence of a room with no curtains drawn, his mind wandered back to his childhood.
“…Sorry, Damian.”
The girl who was always apologizing to him.
Those black eyes never once met his properly.
Whenever she was supposed to be with him, she would shuffle along behind him awkwardly. Her dark eyes trembled nervously, constantly gauging his reaction.
Pathetic.
Arabella and Hildegard had entrusted Katrina to him.
They told Damian to teach her etiquette directly.
But Katrina learned slowly. She almost never got anything right on the first try.
“…Sorry, Damian.”
Damian sighed.
That wretched voice.
It made his blood boil.
He hated it back then, and even now that feeling hadn’t changed.
See? He hates you.
Kill Katrina Abiche.
At that moment, he saw pale white legs before his eyes. He looked up from the slender, delicate ankles.
A woman with long black hair cascading down was staring at him.
Damian pressed his fingers against his eyes.
If he didn’t break this curse, he really would go insane.
It was time to put an end to it.
Damn it! Why the hell is Damian still fine?
Was he really cursed?
Other than collapsing a few times, he seemed way too normal!
Velec was convinced that Helaio’s priest had deceived him.
He’s holding on?
Then that wasn’t a curse!
“Wait a little longer. No matter how strong he is, time is on your side, Lord Velec.”
Velec recalled the priest’s words.
When exactly was this so-called “time on my side” supposed to arrive?
Right now, Damian wasn’t budging in the slightest.
None of Velec’s tricks were working.
I want to crush Damian right now!
Velec seethed with rage.
Then—
“Lord Damian, are you serious?”
A voice came from somewhere, and Velec immediately strained his ears.
“You want to go hunting when you’re unwell?”
“My body feels stiff since I haven’t moved much.”
“But still, my lord…”
Oh? Hunting, you say?
Was this guy really cursed?
Just then, Damian’s eyes met his.
But Damian ignored him, walking past with a bow in hand.
A sly grin crept onto Velec’s lips.
Hunting, huh?
That was his specialty.
“Not fair for you to have all the fun. Guess I should call some friends.”
Let’s settle this today, Damian.
As Damian left, Velec shouted to his attendants:
“Bring me my bow and a horse—right now!”
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Katrina heard the news too.
“Lord Damian has gone hunting.”
“What? With his condition?”
For a moment, Katrina thought she had misheard.
…Did someone just say he went hunting?
Has he lost his mind?
Ever since the curse, his behavior seemed to be getting bolder. Or was it just her imagination?
Katrina frowned.
“And Lord Velec went with him too.”
What?
…Who went with him?
“They say he brought his friends as well.”
“Lord Velec’s friends? They’re all thugs!”
Katrina’s expression hardened.
Velec was plotting something.
She immediately called for the family butler.
“Gather the knights of the house at once.”
“Hahaha! Velec, it’s been a while!”
“Right? Since you were locked up in the monastery, it’s been ages since we’ve hunted.”
Velec’s friends were delighted at the chance to hunt together again.
They rode with bows slung across their backs.
Then a large animal darted past.
“Ah! A deer!”
Velec’s friends quickly became absorbed in the chase.
They grabbed their reins and whipped their horses into a gallop.
Damn it, I can’t see a thing.
He had gone to all the trouble of bringing his friends, but Damian was nowhere in sight.
Where the hell did he go?
Did he already leave?
No way.
Eyes blazing, Velec kept searching for him.
“There he is!”
One of his friends shouted.
Velec whipped his head toward the direction—only to be disappointed.
It was just an ordinary deer.
“Get it!”
But his friends, excited, spurred their horses on. Velec followed behind.
The desperate flight of the deer clashed with the thrill of hunters seeking sport.
One after another, his friends loosed arrows—but the deer was faster than expected.
“Ah! Missed!”
“Idiots.”
Velec muttered, pulling back his own bowstring.
Time to show off his skills.
Just as he was about to release—
Whizz!
An arrow shot out from nowhere, striking the deer dead-on.
Thud.
The running deer collapsed.
What the—?
It wasn’t his arrow, nor his friends’.
They turned to look.
A gust of wind swept by.
And Velec saw him—long black hair flowing, piercing blue eyes staring their way.
Damian Abiche.
The man who should already have collapsed, writhing on the ground, had just stolen their prey right before Velec’s eyes.
“Wh-what? Why is Damian there?”
“Weren’t we the only ones who came?”
His friends gawked, but Damian ignored them completely, riding deeper into the forest.
Velec’s eyes gleamed.
He whispered to his friends:
“Hey. Want to play something fun?”
“What?”
“How about… human hunting?”
Wouldn’t that be so entertaining?
