Chapter 85
I thought selfishly: if only it were Duke Kyle or Yurel—
Evelyn didn’t matter to me.
She was just, just the second key.
“Surely the Curse of Weakness isn’t that serious, right? It’s probably nothing. Yeah.”
I decided to trust that second key.
Just like when I first met Yeniel’s faction and decided to travel with them.
Evelyn—
[Administrator Privilege: Temporarily removing the ‘wall’ between factions.]
And then, the moment I reached the defense tower on the far side of the castle gate,
I had the instinct that things I wished were not true always turned out to be true.
I’d never experienced the Curse of Weakness, nor seen anyone afflicted,
but I knew that in normal mode, it just made you a little slower and weaker.
I ran into the defense tower.
“Miss April? How did you get here?”
The first person I met was Duke Kyle, looking surprised.
His expression was strangely off. I couldn’t tell why he looked so shocked.
“I came in through the gate?”
“We couldn’t pass through here… That’s why we couldn’t get through before. Even the difference between the east and west stairs was impassable. Well, it doesn’t matter. Evelyn is sick. Maybe you have an idea of what’s going on.”
I didn’t know if he was in such a hurry that he’d ask advice from a so-called “foolish young lady” like me, or if Duke Kyle always sought advice from someone like me.
I hoped it was the latter.
I followed Duke Kyle through the tower.
Inside, the tower looked much like the opposite tower.
Except it was better maintained.
The magical devices on the walls were operating. Unlike the other tower, the power here was fully functional.
Slave Knight Yurel wasn’t in sight.
Noticing that I was looking around for Yurel, Duke Kyle said:
“He went out. Yurel said he sensed something bad outside.”
Most likely, it was the aura of the curse caster.
I didn’t know where the curse caster appeared in hard mode, nor how to deal with them.
The only thing I knew was something I had seen several times, a tip online from someone for my brother—
“Ah.”
Yes. I recalled the tip window from earlier:
Tip. In hard mode, a ‘fair’ competitive opportunity is provided. Obtain a single item before your opponent to gain an advantage!
The competition referred to the defense game itself.
This might mean I had to win this defense game.
“This is it.”
Duke Kyle opened the door.
Evelyn was there.
Seeing Duke Kyle unharmed, and hearing that Yurel had gone outside, I had a hunch:
It was you.
A black chain was wrapped around Evelyn’s neck.
It looked like it could be touched, like a ghost, but it wasn’t.
Thorns and chains were tightening around Evelyn.
“I have some basic knowledge about curses. Young lady, this is a curse. It can only be lifted under certain conditions.”
Duke Kyle looked down at Evelyn, his tone serious.
“Do you know anything? Whether it’s caused by magic, spirits, or even witchcraft—it would help to know.”
Unlike Yeniel’s questions, there was no suspicion in his face.
He genuinely seemed to want to know.
“I-I don’t really know.”
The lie didn’t come easily to my lips.
It was much easier to deal without sincerity with Yeniel’s party, who had tried to deceive me, than with people who had never hurt or lied to me.
Duke Kyle nodded as if he understood.
“That’s understandable.”
Not understanding what I didn’t know, but accepting what I didn’t say, protecting me silently.
Duke Kyle then turned back to Evelyn as if everything was fine.
His back made me uneasy.
Kindness was uncomfortable. It made me feel like I owed something in return.
I spoke in a deliberately lazy tone, trying to sound casual.
“April heard that even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was cursed a thousand years ago. Since he took Lord Xian with him, it must be magic-related, right?”
“What…?”
Duke Kyle widened his eyes and turned back.
“Otherwise, there’d be no reason to bring an intermediate spirit user. Lord Xian can’t even use his abilities right now.”
My tone gradually returned to my real self.
But when Duke Kyle looked back, I had already sealed my lips.
I looked at him with a blank expression, then innocently, as if curious.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just now, Young Lady?”
“Hmm?”
Of course it was me. Isn’t it obvious?
It was just me and Duke Kyle here, and I said it up close.
“No reason.”
Duke Kyle looked at me, shivering as if confused.
“I hope Miss Evelyn gets better soon.”
“…That’s probably right. She should.”
Looking outside, I murmured almost absent-mindedly.
“April plays with Lord Yurel.”
And with a sudden impulse, I lightly, swiftly ran forward.
On the battlefield in front of the defense tower, both factions could move freely.
If Yeniel really had business, she would have approached from this side.
Yeniel, the mysterious protagonist, still unreadable.
I came here because I wanted to decide.
There were two possible ways to lift the Curse of Weakness:
Kill the curse caster, or defeat them to obtain an item.
Or, win in the defense game against the spearmen.
In any case, the problem stemmed from the fact that the victor would gain everything.
For a brief moment, I considered how far I could make use of these things if I obtained them.
I wasn’t a strategist like my brother.
But this could become an object of trade, or a gift for alliance.
There was only one decision I wanted to make:
Could I choose Evelyn and sacrifice the Crown Prince?
Because everything depended on my choice.
In hard mode, the protagonist was April Sharon alone—and I had to make the decisions.
Now I understood why it was hard mode.
I swung my halberd and cut down the spearmen.
Most of the key spearmen had already been eliminated with Yurel.
The remaining spearmen were just wandering around.
The victory condition was to eliminate more spearmen.
I had actually hoped Yurel would finish off these spearmen, so that the choice would fall to him.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I cut, and cut again. It wasn’t fun.
Even though I didn’t like the Crown Prince much, life’s weight felt heavy.
And then, somewhere, I heard the clinking of chains—a figure in a black robe, reminiscent of a soldier of the first emperor, appeared.
Seeing the thorned necklace and skull around their neck, I knew.
It was the curse caster.
