Chapter 50
“…….”
Wait, am I the only one embarrassed?
Even though my face was burning, he insisted on grabbing my chin and turning it toward him. When our eyes met, he curved his eyes into a smile.
Why did he have to look so beautiful doing that?
As I was dazed, captivated by his smile blending with the brightly blooming flowers—
“What the—!”
Joshua dashed over without warning.
He probably felt my divine power and had immediately run out of his nap. I was sure of it because one side of his hair had been flattened and stuck up.
My divine power was so strong that even Joshua could notice it, but the one thing I worried about was the temple.
“Please tell me they didn’t notice at the temple too.”
Joshua came closer, peeking anxiously at me and the Boss with his big eyes. Boss was looking down at him while still holding my waist.
“I-it came out, right? It’s not just that the area widened, right? I could feel the divine power strongly!”
“They say it’s visible all the way to the sky.”
“Ughhh!”
Joshua let out a weird scream, then clamped his mouth shut and jumped around, overwhelmed with excitement.
“Faster than I expected!”
Seeing the tattoo, Joshua was so thrilled he was about to faint.
“It’s fading this much already!”
Boss also seemed a little exhilarated, seeing the sunlight after such a long time.
“I think I can go outside too. I don’t really feel any limits. But…”
Boss paused and looked at me.
“Why? Please continue.”
“…I don’t think I can do it without Titi.”
“I think it would be fine if only this tail mark disappeared.”
Joshua scratched the snake’s tail area with his fingernail, hoping it would vanish somehow, but Boss’s skin remained intact.
“Not working…”
Yeah, like that would work.
He jumped down from Boss’s shoulder and started tugging at my skirt.
Oh no. It’s going to tear.
“Let’s call Lolly immediately and check! Especially your divine power! It’s incredible!”
Moments ago he was celebrating, but now he was clinging to Boss’s leg with tears in his eyes. Thanks to that, my skirt survived.
When Boss said he could go outside and see sunlight, Joshua’s emotional swings were intense.
“Honestly, I thought it would take at least two more years…”
Just then—
“It’s all thanks to me.”
“Right! Thanks to Titi! Thank you!”
I said it jokingly, but Joshua sincerely said it to me, and Boss laughed while rubbing my waist.
“Thank you.”
I didn’t expect him to accept it so easily.
“It’s embarrassing.”
I scratched my cheek. I didn’t mean to feel this shy.
Just as I was starting to feel a little awkward, a sudden question popped into my mind, and I carefully studied Boss’s eyes.
“After two years without sunlight, you could go blind, but Boss, are you okay?”
At that question, Joshua’s face, which had been drowning in waves of emotion, contorted completely.
“Hey! Even at this moment, that’s what you’re wondering?”
“Of course. Answer my curiosity.”
Joshua looked at me incredulously but explained kindly.
“Even though it’s been two years, your divine power fluctuated when you stepped outside, strongly influencing Zer. Of course there’s no way your eyes would be harmed. Your divine power protected you!”
So it’s all thanks to me!
I grinned, and Boss came back into my embrace.
“Me too! I want to hug Titi too!”
But Boss instead lifted me up. Reflexively, I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as my feet dangled in the air. Boss set me down away from Joshua.
“Why is he like that!”
Exactly. Why is Boss acting like this?
I looked at him curiously, and he just smiled brightly at me.
That’s enough.
Boss smiles, and he’s handsome. Really.
In the reception room connected to the Crown Prince’s office, Yubelline waited for Terrence. She had given up trying to persuade Zervant; he wouldn’t meet her, so persuasion was pointless.
Finally, Terrence sent word that he would meet, and Yubelline’s steps felt heavy, as if an iron weight were tied to her ankles.
‘Terrence told me to just say it first. I did exactly that. And he got angry—what am I supposed to do?’
Yubelline straightened her back. She hadn’t gone to such lengths to please others or abandon her last family member for approval.
The door connecting to the office opened. Terrence welcomed her warmly, making all her steeling of her nerves feel pointless.
“Was it hard getting here? I call you so often, sorry about that.”
Yubelline, surprised by his unexpected reaction, nodded absentmindedly.
“No, it’s right for the less busy person to come.”
Terrence chuckled softly at her blinking, still trying to process the situation.
“Why are you so stiff? Because of Zerv?”
“Stiff isn’t the right word…”
Yubelline sighed, then continued.
“We were too hasty. We shouldn’t have said anything about the curse spreading or whatever.”
“And?”
“…I’m sorry.”
After the knight left, things started going wrong with Zervant. Since it was Yubelline’s fault, she apologized sincerely. She had meant well but her overzealousness caused this mess.
Then she reflexively added a justification.
“It’s actually because of that maid. Ever since she came…”
Terrence soothed her.
“No matter what that maid did, it doesn’t matter. Zerv will come back to us anyway.”
Seeing Terrence so confident, Yubelline shook her head. Zervant was no longer the child she had known.
“Zerv trusts that maid more than us. He even stopped me from harming her by mentioning immunity.”
I told you how she treated me too.
“We need to separate them as soon as possible.”
Even with Yubelline insisting, Terrence shook his head.
“For now, trying to separate them could backfire. The more you try to pull them apart, the more attached he becomes.”
As if they mattered.
“We can’t make her the tragic heroine.”
He smiled faintly, and Yubelline smiled back. She liked seeing him smile, especially when it was directed at her.
His confident words were reassuring, making her feel like things would work out.
“No matter what, she’s just a maid.”
Even if Terrence tried his hardest, seeing her oppressed by her birth shows the essence doesn’t change. A maid is just a maid.
He knew the pain of being bound by blood, making him highly sensitive to class.
“The maid… hmm. Let’s think of her as our substitute.”
“Substitute?”
“If we become trustworthy friends to Zerv again, that maid will be discarded. For now, it’s best not to provoke Zerv and just leave it be.”
Yubelline agreed up to that point but informed Terrence about the curse she had noticed on Zervant.
“The curse is gradually weakening.”
“Even if Zerv’s curse fluctuates, you confirmed he has no intention to come out, right?”
“No, now I’m not sure.”
Terrence honestly wasn’t worried. Zerv had more interest and trust in Terrence and Yubelline than anyone else. He wouldn’t come out if told not to.
Above all, Zerv knew the value of a single life. He wasn’t the type to risk it recklessly.
The problem was Yubelline’s disbelief and interference.
“We just need to watch. Let’s plant someone and keep an eye.”
Still uneasy, Yubelline sighed. Terrence went to her, hugged her, and patted her back.
“No need to rush, Yubelline.”
He spoke softly, his gentle face comforting.
“Looking back, we were too hasty. Zerv must have been struggling, and we didn’t help him. We were too selfish.”
“……”
Yubelline silently agreed. She thought part of the reason Zerv quickly leaned on the maid was due to their neglect.
Terrence gave her a moment to think, then continued.
“So he needed someone to rely on.”
To Terrence and Yubelline, Veilt and Danny were just Zervant’s loyal followers, nothing more. Before the curse, the three were always together, and Veilt and Danny quietly followed Zervant.
Even if Zerv later realized their importance, he wouldn’t approach first out of pride.
Terrence was confident that Zerv liked them more than others realized—as friends, as comrades.
The strong trust built while sealing Serael’s demon wouldn’t break easily. After all, he had lived quietly for two years.
Things got a bit noisy, but would soon settle down.
“We love Zerv. He feels the same. So he’ll forgive us.”
“But Zerv won’t meet us…”
Even repeated attempts led to being turned away, inflating the rumors.
They became arrogant, and eventually, the Duke got fed up. Yubelline hesitated to go outside.
In that moment, all her past actions flashed rapidly through her mind.
‘Ah… Zerv.’
She murmured his name under her breath, like a groan.
Were you feeling the same way too?
