KMPEG CH 50

Chapter 50

Still… there’s no helping it. I’ll have to put up a stronger barrier and go.

It was an unexpected risk, but Tiago never regretted coming to see Delphine. If he hadn’t, the curse’s power might have reached her.

That kind of powerful curse orb… there’s only one place it could come from.

He thought of Leo’s face. The Marbo family played a key role in smuggling curse orbs into the imperial palace.

The Marbos distribute them, but still… Leo. I can’t really see him doing it.

Even so, Tiago still suspected Charlier the most. She already had a bad reputation at the palace, and the telltale side effects of using curse orbs were plain on her face—makeup couldn’t hide them.

She was already addicted.

He pressed his legs to Janet’s sides. She understood the signal and quickened her pace.

“Hyah!”

Tiago urged her on.

Once I get to the palace, I’ll start investigating immediately. Whoever did this… I won’t let them go.

Ugh. I can’t sleep.

I lay on my back, blinking up at the ceiling. I kept thinking about what happened this afternoon.

Seriously… hugging Tiago that tightly? And for that long?

It was a good thing the darkness had hidden my face; otherwise, my bright red cheeks would’ve been laughable.

That man is dangerous. The worst kind of flirt.

What made Tiago truly dangerous was how my heart kept reacting to him. If I didn’t feel anything, no flirt in the world would be a problem.

At this rate, I’ll be the one running to him first.

It was strange. Tiago wasn’t my type at all—too big and broad-shouldered, solid muscle everywhere, deep voice. The very picture of rugged masculinity… which I thought I didn’t like.

Do I not know my own type?

But being with him made me smile. Spending time with him was fun.

No wonder he’s so popular.

I kicked my feet absently, then pulled the blanket up to my chin.

There’s no way I’m sleeping tonight.

I rolled onto my side, curling up. Somehow, that position calmed me.

As I turned, the necklace around my neck slid down with a soft clink. I touched it.

Still… who cursed me?

—Step, step, step.

I heard footsteps outside.

—Knock, knock.

A knock, and the faint sense of someone standing there.

Bella?

I got out from under the blanket, lit the lamp, and put on the warm robe draped over the sofa, tying it with the ribbon.

Maybe Bella had a nightmare?

I grasped the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

“…!”

It wasn’t Bella—it was Frederic.

“Lord Frederic…?”

“Ah… were you sleeping?”

His face was still pale, but compared to a few days ago, much more at ease.

“No, but… why are you here so late? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“If it’s all right, can we talk?”

“Oh… sure.”

I stepped aside. Frederic strode into my bedroom.

—Creak.

He sat down on the sofa.

What’s going on with him all of a sudden?

I walked over, curious.

“What is it?”

He leaned his head on one hand, propped on the sofa arm.

“Shouldn’t you still be resting today?”

“You.”

I pulled a rocking chair to sit diagonally across from him. Up close, his face looked almost translucent from paleness.

“You. Did that man tell you everything?”

“That man… you mean Tiago?”

He frowned but nodded. His gaze landed on the Mermaid’s Tear around my neck. He flinched as if seeing it for the first time, then clenched his fist.

“Yeah. He said I was the one cursed.”

“….”

Frederic just stared at me, looking both displeased and… troubled.

“He didn’t tell you anything else?”

“Anything else? Like what?”

He sighed quietly.

“Never mind. Forget it. Just go to bed.”

He pushed himself up from the sofa.

That’s it? He came here at this hour just to say something cryptic and leave?

I felt irritation rise.

“What? You come here, say something I can’t make sense of, and leave? What’s going on?”

I stepped in front of him to block his way.

“Nothing. Sorry. My mind’s just… not clear right now.”

“….”

He’s… apologizing?

He looked deeply unsettled. His behavior was so unlike him that I stepped aside in surprise.

He lowered his head and trudged out.

His slumped shoulders, bowed head, and limp arms made his back look oddly pitiful.

“Lord Frederic.”

He stopped and turned slightly. Through the tumble of curls over his face, I could see his eyes—dim, weary.

Those eyes… he used to look like that sometimes when we first met.

Seeing him so deflated… tugged at me.

Ugh, it’s annoying. I don’t like feeling bad for him.

“Rest well. Get better soon. That’s all I wanted to say.”

He gave the smallest nod, then walked out.

“….”

I stared at the door for a while before turning off the lamp. Back in bed, I was even more awake than before.

“What was that? No way I’m sleeping now.”

Frederic clenched his fists. He looked back at Delphine’s door but didn’t have the courage to open it again.

When I walked in, I meant to tell her everything.

All day, while recovering, he’d thought a lot. In the end, he admitted to himself that Charlier might have cursed Delphine.

She might be far more corrupted than I thought.

But what he’d wanted to say was something else entirely—

Delphine, I won’t do anything to hurt you. Just like you protected me from Kerman, I’ll protect you.

But the words never left his mouth.

When he saw the Mermaid’s Tear glittering on her neck, he felt small… powerless to protect her no matter how hard he tried.

He headed for his own room.

There was another reason he couldn’t say it—he wasn’t sure he could keep that promise.

I don’t want to hurt Charlier any more. But if she hurts Delphine…

He knew in his head that he should help Delphine—just as she had risked herself for him.

But Charlier was the woman he loved. Right now, she mattered more to him than Delphine did.

He trudged down the spiral staircase. Opening his door, the empty space inside felt especially hollow.

—Step. Step.

His footsteps echoed in the bare, undecorated room. As he walked down the long corridor, he pictured Delphine’s face—and Charlier’s.

Tiago.

Behind the image of Delphine came Tiago’s face.

Tiago had saved him twice—he owed the man. But thinking of Tiago always made him uneasy.

Tiago and Delphine suit each other.

He remembered what he’d seen from the window earlier: Delphine and Tiago in an embrace.

She once told me friends don’t hug. So Tiago’s not just a friend, then.

From deep inside, an unpleasant itch of emotion crawled out.

Delphine and the sea prince, Tiago.

One corner of his mouth twisted. When he was a boy, back when his parents were alive, he’d once dreamed of being a ship’s captain or naval officer.

That man… he’ll protect whoever he decides to protect, no matter what.

He entered his room. Only a small candle flickered inside.

He stared at the wavering flame for a moment, a bitter smile on his shadowed face.

I’ve never protected anyone—not my parents, not Charlier.

With that smile, he blew the candle out.

12. A Letter from the Imperial Palace

Charlier drew the heavy purple velvet curtains closed. Her bedroom was plunged into complete darkness. She stood there for a while, unmoving.

Strange… I haven’t felt the curse orb’s energy at all.

She recalled a conversation she’d had with Leo at the Salon de Chat a few days ago.

“So, Leo—who did you plan to use the curse orb on? If I like what I hear, maybe I’ll give you one.”

“Frederic.”

“Hm.”

Charlier pressed a finger to her lower lip—plump, cherry-red.

“Frederic? Why?”

“Because thanks to him, Delphine can live without marrying me.”

“Oh… revenge, then?”