Chapter 79
Damian was pushed back. He looked at Katrina with a dumbfounded expression.
“What are you doing?”
“You dodged Belek just fine.”
Katrina carefully studied his condition.
“Katrina.”
“But you can’t dodge me?”
“Katrina Aviche.”
“You won’t be able to hide it for long, you know.”
She had already noticed it.
The question was, how long would Damian keep hiding it?
Especially since the duchess would soon catch on. She was a sharp one.
“Don’t cross the line.”
“I was just worried you’d end up in a coffin soon.”
It wasn’t a joke.
Katrina really did think Damian might die if he kept going like this.
“Your delusions go too far.”
“Fine, I get it. I’ll stop meddling and leave.”
After all, today she had only come to ask about the temple negotiations.
She wanted to know if he really intended to go out in that condition.
But looking at that stubborn wall of a man, she knew for certain.
He wouldn’t back down.
He never had before.
And yet…
‘This time… maybe I could make him.’
“Damian, are you really feeling better?”
Damian somehow made it to the dining table.
It seemed he was determined to attend every family event, as if to prove he wasn’t ill.
‘Stubborn to the core.’
Katrina could still feel the poisonous aura radiating off him.
“I’m fine. Nothing unusual.”
He said it while clearly unwell.
“They say everyone dies from that curse.”
Belek suddenly cut in.
“Maybe you’ll die too?”
“Belek!”
Just then, Duke Aviche thundered.
“Are you wishing for Damian’s death?”
“Of course not. I was just worried, that’s all.”
“Worried, my foot!”
At that moment, the fork in Damian’s hand trembled slightly.
Katrina instantly knew.
That fork was about to drop.
So—
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
She grabbed Damian’s hand before it fell.
“I’ll feed you.”
Everyone stared in disbelief at Damian and Katrina.
Their faces showed they’d just witnessed something bizarre.
Even Damian wasn’t an exception.
He looked at Katrina as if she had suddenly sprouted three monstrous heads.
“Remove your hand.”
Of course. She had expected that.
Katrina obediently let go.
“I’ll be excusing myself.”
Damian rose from his seat.
“Katrina, why do you always do such unnecessary things?”
Berta scolded her.
Katrina swallowed a sigh.
No one in the mansion seemed to have noticed Damian’s condition yet.
But there was only so much she could do for him.
The reason Katrina was helping him was simple.
She disliked Damian, but…
He was Arabella’s son.
And Arabella was Katrina’s benefactor.
So Katrina couldn’t just sit back and watch her son fall.
Katrina once again attended the Sun Society’s mass.
She had been going regularly to prove her devotion.
Things had gotten easier recently, with Damian absent.
“Today, you’ll help distribute the wine.”
Step by step, Katrina was gaining the trust of the priest Helio.
‘Almost there.’
Judging from the atmosphere, he would soon extend “the invitation.”
And sure enough—
“There is also a special gathering among the faithful,” said Helio.
“A meeting reserved for a select few of the most devout.”
That was exactly what Katrina had been waiting for.
‘That gathering is the key to toppling the Sun Society.’
The reason she knew this was simple.
Long ago, when she played this game, there had been an episode.
The so-called Sun Cult Episode.
Back then, she had failed to clear it and moved on to another path.
But thanks to that experience, she knew.
‘Once I get invited to that meeting, the game is as good as over.’
If she handed over what she obtained there to the Pope, her job would be done.
Then, by taking over Damian’s negotiation rights, everything would be finished.
She was confident—because she knew the entire game inside out.
Yes, once this was over…
‘I can finally go back.’
“Would you like to join us, Lady Rina?”
Helio invited her.
At last—!
But then.
Clatter! The chapel doors swung open.
Both Katrina and Helio instinctively turned toward the noise.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
It was Damian.
In that condition, you actually came here?
Katrina nearly screamed.
All she could think was how utterly relentless he was.
But what came next was worse.
“From this moment, these heretics are under arrest.”
Damian declared.
Only then did Katrina notice the knights he had brought with him.
They stormed into the chapel, seizing the Sun Society members regardless of their screams or resistance.
Katrina’s vision darkened.
That wretched man had completely ruined her plans.
Damn him.
“How do you feel about this?”
Damian looked down at her.
Truly merciless.
Did he really need to go this far?
Apparently, he intended to push even harder.
“Do you still believe you’ll be representing the family in negotiations?”
His lips curled into a crooked smile.
Katrina bit back her rising anger and kept her mouth shut.
“If you say you’ll give it up, I’ll release you.”
That was right.
Damian showed no mercy.
He had stormed into the chapel, arrested every cultist—and even locked Katrina up along with them.
She had been horrified. Damian had no intention of letting her go either.
He was clearly ready to dispose of her if she defied him.
“Have you decided to abandon the family’s honor, then?”
So that was why he hadn’t locked her up earlier?
Damian frowned, as though the answer should have been obvious.
“That’s why I took care of it quietly.”
Ah. So long as the world didn’t know, it didn’t matter?
Katrina sneered.
That was just like Damian.
…And annoyingly, he wasn’t wrong.
“Give it up, Katrina.”
“…”
“Stop with these reckless schemes and live quietly.”
He said it like advice.
Infuriating.
‘I was so close…’
Damian had flipped her nearly completed plan upside down.
The bastard.
“Will you not give it up?”
Damian asked.
Katrina glared at him from behind the bars.
“No. I won’t.”
There was no way she’d quit.
Not after coming this far.
Why should she give up now?
“Then there’s no helping it. You’ll stay here, then.”
Unbelievable.
Damian really meant to leave her locked away, his shoes already turning toward the door.
But Katrina spoke up, unfazed.
Let’s see if he could walk away after hearing this.
“I know how to cure your curse.”
Step.
His shoes froze in place.
