~Chapter 19~
“Ah.”
Damien let out a sigh.
The chandelier’s light illuminated the wound on his shoulder clearly.
“Damien, what is this?”
Blood still clung to the wound. It was clearly fresh.
A wound that looked like it had been cut with a knife.
I asked in shock, but Damien couldn’t answer easily.
“Don’t tell me… was it the prince?”
“No, it wasn’t him.”
“Then who… Never mind, let’s treat it first.”
“No, it’ll heal quickly. It doesn’t need treatment—”
I firmly grabbed his hand.
Staring directly into his startled violet eyes, I spoke.
“Damien, a wound like this could get infected. Whatever cut you, you didn’t sterilize it, did you?”
“…You’re right.”
“The physician isn’t here today, right? I’ll do it. Wait a moment.”
Normally, Damien would have protested until the end. But this time, he stayed quiet.
Perhaps because I had found a wound he was trying to hide and was being unusually assertive.
I brought over disinfectant, tweezers, and gauze.
“I’ll need to unbutton your shirt a bit more.”
As I undid another button, his eyes wavered slightly.
“I-I can do it myself.”
“No, don’t move!”
His wound reopened, blood seeping out again.
Seeing the red stain spread across his shirt, Damien silently lowered his arms.
“Can you tilt your shoulder forward a bit?”
I disinfected and dressed his wound carefully.
“Where did you learn this? You’re quite skilled.”
Damien looked at his treated wound with curious eyes.
“I never formally learned. When you spend so much time locked in your room, you end up picking up all sorts of random knowledge.”
Reading only horror novels had its limits, so I read anything I could get my hands on—including first aid manuals.
“But… how did you even know I was hurt?”
Damien looked at me with puzzled eyes.
True, I hadn’t noticed at first. There was no bloodstain visible, and his movements hadn’t seemed painful.
“The smell of blood.”
“Ah.”
“I smelled it when I got close to you.”
After disinfecting, I applied ointment thoroughly.
“Ah, ugh…”
“Bear with it.”
“Ugh, okay.”
“So, are you really not going to tell me?”
I moved closer on my knees, meeting his eyes.
“Why this happened.”
“…Hmm.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll press the ointment harder next time.”
Damien looked momentarily shocked.
Then, with a sigh of self-mockery, he nodded.
“You’re right. I should tell you.”
And so he told me everything.
About the royal family’s relationship with Maledictus, why he entered a contract marriage with me, and even how he got the wound.
His story continued even after I finished treating his injury.
It was so much information my head spun.
‘I knew there was something… but this much…’
Damien explained it simply so an outsider like me could understand.
But there were so many entangled issues that my mind felt faint.
“Um… Is it really okay to tell me such sensitive matters?”
“I planned to eventually. It’s just a bit sooner than expected.”
Damien rubbed his temples with a heavy expression.
“It would be shameless to ask for your help without sharing this much.”
“…But, this whole ‘cursed one’ system…”
Designating someone randomly to bear all the curse’s burden felt so absurd.
“Isn’t it too unfair? One person carrying all that…”
“I used to think so too. But it’s too late to change it now.”
Damien spoke so calmly, no longer resentful of being the cursed one.
“At least I’m interested in curses. If it had been any of my brothers, they would have died quickly, and another Maledictus would have had to be chosen.”
“Still… it’s wrong. The cursed one is essential, yet they don’t even treat them properly. They just threaten you.”
“I’m used to it.”
Seeing him speak so plainly, as if resigned, left me speechless.
I hesitated, wondering what I could say that wouldn’t hurt him further.
“Honestly, since you came, things have been much better. I’m not as depressed, and the pain feels lighter too.”
His amethyst eyes shone softly under the warm light.
No longer did they hold resentment, revenge, or anger towards the royal family.
“Ruby, I… feel so sorry for you.”
His eyes held only sorrow for me.
“I’m sorry you got entangled with the royal family because of me.”
“No.”
I shook my head firmly.
“Everyone knows the ducal house is tied to the royals by blood. I accepted marriage knowing I’d be tied to them too. It’s fine.”
“Still… if because of this… you don’t want to be with me—”
“That’s not it.”
Being targeted by the royal family was something I had already anticipated, coming from a low house.
Besides, his problems, the royal family’s rejection of me, and their threats to Damien were all interconnected.
These weren’t problems he could solve alone. We needed to share information and work together.
“If anything, now that I know, I think it’s better we tackle this together.”
I pressed my finger to my lips, reviewing everything he told me.
‘The royal family initially wanted Damien to marry.’
The longer the cursed one lived, the more advantageous it was for them.
If marriage reduced the curse’s burden, it extended his life, letting him absorb more curses for their benefit.
‘But they wanted him to marry someone deeply connected to them to cut off any rebellious thoughts.’
That led me to one conclusion.
“It may be best for them if you marry someone of their choosing, but marrying anyone benefits them in some way.”
“I agree.”
“Then we need to make this marriage something they can’t undo.”
Damien’s expression turned troubled.
“That’s true, but…”
His reaction was natural. My statement was too vague.
“We need to make it a marriage they can’t cancel no matter what.”
“But… how…”
Reminding them that the contract couldn’t be broken would force them to find another solution.
Then I remembered something I had read in the restricted library about the Maledictus family’s history.
With confidence, I declared:
“I know how to do it.”
