CHAPTER 07
When I stared at the door Robellina had just exited through, Jacard tilted his head slightly.
“Wasn’t that what you wanted?”
“No?!”
“Was it not? I assumed you wanted to be alone since we were about to discuss something important.”
His tone was calm, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
Curious, I blinked.
“If it’s important… is it related to why you summoned me to the palace?”
“Yes.”
I had already guessed. In the original story, Jacard had also summoned Robellina after she became the Saint.
But I couldn’t reveal that I knew, so I tilted my head as if I were hearing it for the first time.
He spoke first.
“Do you know why I wear this mask?”
‘So it really is about the curse.’
Jacard was suffering from a classic male-lead debuff.
A curse.
It did not harm him directly.
But anyone who looked into his cursed eye would fall ill or even die.
Because of that, he always covered one eye with a half-mask.
That was why he had sought the Saint in the original story.
And why he sought me now.
To find a way to break the curse.
‘In the original ending, Robellina helped him lift it.’
I stayed silent for a moment, then answered.
“Because of a curse?”
“So the rumors that you see the future are true. This matter is highly confidential. Only a few people know.”
Jacard looked mildly surprised.
I simply smiled.
“You called for me because you wish to find a way to remove the curse.”
“That’s right.”
He leaned forward, fingers interlocked.
“If you can see the future, perhaps you can see a solution.”
“If,” I began carefully, looking into his single golden eye, “I cannot find a solution… what will you do?”
In the original story, Jacard had broken the curse thanks to Robellina’s relic.
Her relic had been a water jug that produced holy water with healing power. By drinking it consistently, he had eventually been freed.
But now, the relic had changed into tarot cards.
And the saint was me.
At this moment, I had no way to break his curse.
Jacard’s expression hardened briefly before he let out a quiet sigh.
“Then I will look for another method. As I always have.”
“I see.”
A heavy silence settled between us.
I pulled the tarot deck from my robes. Varion had insisted I carry it with me at all times.
Jacard’s eye narrowed.
“So that is the sacred relic I’ve heard about.”
“It is.”
I shuffled the deck and spread the cards in the air.
They floated neatly before us.
Jacard watched with interest.
“I will now search for a way to lift Your Highness’s curse. Please draw three cards.”
“Any card?”
“Whichever you feel drawn to.”
He examined the floating cards carefully, then selected three.
I arranged them in order and flipped the first card.
The card representing the present.
‘Of course.’
The Devil.
A card of bondage.
In the illustration, a chain is wrapped loosely around a man’s neck, held by the Devil.
I studied it briefly before turning over the next two cards.
“Hm?”
“What is it?”
Jacard’s voice held tension.
The result was unexpected.
Five of Swords.
Six of Cups.
The Five of Swords showed a man picking up fallen swords while others walked away defeated.
The Six of Cups showed two children in soft, nostalgic colors.
They represented the cause of the problem and the action that could be taken.
I had assumed that since the relic had changed, I wouldn’t be able to find anything useful.
But—
“Your Highness, it seems…”
I swallowed.
When I looked up, Jacard’s face was tight with tension. For someone who had lived his entire life with a curse, this was no small matter.
“I believe I have found a clue.”
“What is it?”
His voice rose slightly.
I pointed to the Five of Swords.
“This card represents the cause of the problem. The one who cursed you. It suggests someone who once had conflict with you. They are no longer by your side.”
Jacard said nothing.
He simply clenched his hands tighter.
“As for the Six of Cups,” I continued, “it suggests that the answer lies in your past. Someone from your past may be the one who cast the curse. If you find and deal with that person, the curse should naturally lift.”
“And?”
“And if you review your past records, you may find a clue to who—”
“Ha.”
Jacard let out a frustrated breath.
“So much for a sacred relic and foresight. None of it can be trusted.”
“…What?”
I paused mid-motion, about to draw a final advice card.
Jacard leaned back arrogantly.
“Do you think I haven’t already investigated that much? Everyone connected to me at the time has been thoroughly examined. What I want is a way to lift the curse. Not vague advice.”
“But I just told you the way lies in your past—”
“We’re going in circles.”
He called for the attendant outside.
Soon, Robellina reentered the room.
Jacard looked at her coolly.
“Escort the Saint out.”
“Your Highness—”
You summoned me, and now you’re dismissing me?
No matter how stunned I looked, his expression didn’t change.
In fact, he added more.
“I don’t know where you picked up information about my past, but you clearly didn’t investigate properly. Still, I’ll acknowledge the effort.”
“It wasn’t effort,” the relic said—”
“That woman—!”
His sudden outburst startled me.
He seemed to lose control for a brief second before exhaling sharply.
“Enough. Leave.”
“I will escort you, Saint.”
The attendant, trembling, guided me toward the door. Robellina looked flustered.
As I stepped out, something inside me snapped.
‘Why am I being treated like this?’
He asked. I answered. And now he’s angry?
If he knows everything so well, he should become the saint himself.
My anger bubbled up.
I turned around and marched back toward him.
“What now?”
“There’s something I forgot to say.”
I pulled out the Devil card and held it up in front of him.
“The relic says—”
I raised my voice so he couldn’t ignore it.
“Don’t live your life like that!”
“…What?”
“And if you want the relic’s help next time, come back after shouting ‘I was wrong, Saint’ three times. That’s all.”
I turned and walked away, leaving Jacard frozen in disbelief.
The attendant and Robellina stared at me.
“Let’s go, Holy Attendant Robellina.”
“…Saint.”
Her voice trembled behind me.
“Saint!”
—
Once we reached a familiar hallway, I dismissed the attendant.
When it was just the two of us, Robellina glared at me.
“What was that?! How could you say something like that to His Highness?”
“I told you. The relic said it.”
“Stop lying!”
“But he provoked me first. He doubted my ability and the relic.”
“He did?”
“Yes! I didn’t explode for no reason. And if he has any sense, he won’t make an issue of this. The temple and the palace need to maintain their alliance.”
That wasn’t a joke.
The temple supported the current royal family.
The palace, in turn, welcomed that support.
Jacard had dismissed the saint herself. If anyone were to be criticized, it would be him.
“And the relic said it. What was I supposed to do? Hmph!”
“Honestly!”
She shot me a look.
Still, as we walked, I thought back to Jacard’s reaction.
‘He knew something.’
“That woman,” he had said.
Who was she?
There had been no such character in the original story.
“Ria,” Robellina asked softly, “why was he so angry?”
“I don’t know.”
I pulled out the Devil card again.
Two humans bound by loose chains.
The Devil is behind them.
Were they pretending not to know the truth?
Or—
I narrowed my eyes at the illustration of the humans facing forward, their backs turned to the Devil.
‘Does he truly not know?’
