~Chapter 10~
Most people were fast asleep in the middle of the night.
But I wasn’t. I stayed up to enjoy one of my hobbies.
“I need to draw everything I saw today.”
This hobby was called Cursed Creature Drawing.
As someone who loved both drawing and curses, I just couldn’t give it up.
Back at the Aristea estate, I had to draw in secret because if my father saw my art, he’d slap me, and if Cecilia saw it, she’d rip it up.
But now, I had no reason to hide.
So I took my time, carefully sketching every detail I wanted to capture.
“Each of the twins had one purple and one yellow eye, right?”
Just as I was thinking about how to best mix the colors to match the cursed twins’ eyes—
Thud! Crash!
A loud noise came from just outside the door.
Sensing something was wrong, I rushed over and flung the door open.
“Damien!”
Out in the hallway, Damien was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
Three curses the size of flour sacks were clinging to his back and face.
I instantly understood the situation and reached out toward him.
Even before my hand made contact, two of the curses wriggled and slipped off his body.
[No…]
[Ack!]
They slid away down the hallway.
But one remained.
[Mine.]
[My host—]
It grinned, revealing bloodied, blackened teeth and no eyes or ears.
[I won’t come off…]
I grabbed it by hand without hesitation.
The moment I did, it burst into black dust and vanished.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
Damien nodded, his breathing noticeably calmer.
“Thanks to you, I feel much better. Thank you, Ruby.”
“Wait right here. I’ll go call the butler so he can help you—”
“No need.”
Damien shook his head.
“I think I can walk by myself. But…”
He looked toward my room.
“Would it be alright if I rested here for a bit?”
He was clearly still recovering from the curse’s effects.
“Of course. Please, come in.”
Thankfully, the room wasn’t a mess—though my desk was scattered with drawings of curses. That gave me pause, but I let him in anyway.
“And even if the drawings seem weird, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Damien’s seen plenty of curses himself.”
“I’ll rest just a little. Sorry for the late visit.”
“It’s alright. I wasn’t asleep anyway.”
Damien stepped cautiously into the room.
I offered him my bed to rest on.
“Thank you—for removing the curse and giving me a place to rest.”
“Don’t mention it. It wasn’t a big deal.”
I smiled on purpose, hoping to ease any guilt he might feel.
“Also, you’re not wearing your mask today. I think you didn’t last time either…”
“Ah.”
He awkwardly touched his bare face.
The familiar hard mask was gone, only his own skin under his fingers.
“You’ve already seen me covered by the curse once.”
I recalled the sight of half his face being consumed by a crawling curse the morning after our wedding night.
He used to wear that mask even inside the house—just to hide that from me.
“I see.”
I didn’t say much more.
I couldn’t claim to understand what he’d been through, being forced to hide his face from the world.
“But wouldn’t you like to sit? It’s weird that I’m the only one sitting when I’m the guest.”
“Ah, I’m fine standing for a bit.”
“No, come on.”
Damien firmly patted the bed beside him.
“Sit here.”
“That close?”
Sitting there meant we’d practically be touching shoulders.
“But maybe that just means he’s more comfortable around me now?”
He even took off his mask on his own. That had to be a good sign.
So I sat down where he indicated.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes. Thanks to you. Though I still feel a bit feverish…”
“Should I call someone? Maybe a doctor?”
“No, it’s not that serious.”
Damien gently declined.
Just as I was still debating internally, he spoke.
“If you won’t call anyone, how about this instead?”
His violet eyes shimmered in the dim light.
“May I borrow your hand for a moment?”
“My… hand?”
Before I even realized, he had taken my hand in his.
He brought it to his face, and as he did, I naturally leaned in with him.
“Wait…”
“This is really close.”
I felt a cool sensation against my palm.
“…It feels nice. So cool.”
Damien whispered softly, his cheek pressed against my palm.
It was strange.
His cheek was colder than my hand, despite saying he had a fever.
Still, his face looked genuinely peaceful—so I said nothing.
“Even like this, you don’t run away.”
“What?”
His voice was calm as he opened his eyes again.
“Everyone else used to run away, calling me a monster after seeing my cursed face.”
Rejection is never something one truly gets used to.
And yet, his voice held no bitterness—just a quiet, dry acceptance.
“…I don’t think it’s that terrible.”
That was my way of comforting him.
And honestly, I wasn’t planning to leave this house anyway.
“You don’t have to lie.”
He gently let go of my hand from his cheek and instead placed his other hand over it.
“You can tell me it’s disgusting. No one will hurt you for it.”
His tone was perfectly even, but his violet eyes looked strangely lonely.
“Does he think I’m unhappy with this marriage?”
“No way. I don’t want to leave—especially not now!”
I screamed inside.
I hadn’t even met 1% of the curses in this place yet!
“I’m sorry, but…”
Damien suddenly said.
“Even so, I can’t let you go.”
His unwavering stare sent a chill down my spine.
But it reassured me, too. At least he wasn’t planning to send me away.
“I don’t want to leave either.”
I looked him straight in the eye and told him.
“I don’t know why you keep asking if I’ll run away. I like it here.”
“No one bullies me. I can do what I like. It’s peaceful.”
And then I slipped.
“And honestly, the one who’s disgusting is probably me—”
“Ah.”
I clamped my mouth shut too late.
“Ruby?”
But I had already remembered it.
“Ugh—!”
A gush of dark red blood burst from my mouth.
So much of it.
“Ruby!!”
And then everything turned crimson.
