“Your Highness the Duke.”

The doctor’s voice was troubled.

It was a rebuke for reminding the delicate flower of Tyche of such harsh truths. Ethan closed his mouth to drop the subject, but Hyacinth flared up.

“Even with a shortened tail… it can still learn to hunt, right?”

“It will face a harder struggle.”

For those who have nothing and must survive every day, life is a struggle.

“You misunderstand, my lady. I don’t think the kitten should die. It hasn’t committed a great sin and doesn’t deserve to die.”

“…”

“I just suggested that perhaps it would have been better to die, considering the life it will now lead will be twice as hard as before.”

“There are no wounds that can’t be overcome. As long as you’re alive, you can make it.”

Hyacinth frowned deeply.

“If it can’t overcome it on its own, it can get help from others. Fine. I’ve decided. I’ll raise it.”

“You, lady?”

At the doctor’s question, Hyacinth nodded enthusiastically.

“I want to raise it. Can’t I?”

“You need to get permission from Their Majesties, not me.”

“I’m so pretty and lovable, they wouldn’t refuse their beloved niece’s wish, right?”

The doctor laughed softly at her bold claim. It was hard to argue when Lady Laurel, who was indeed beautiful and lovable, made such a request.

Seeing her holding her face in her hands and fluttering her eyelashes, it was easy to imagine Their Majesties immediately granting her wish.

“It will need some training to ensure it doesn’t bite or scratch you. And some examinations. How about I train it for two weeks, and then you take over?”

“Great!”

Hyacinth replied cheerfully and glanced at Ethan as if to say, ‘What now? Her eyes were sharp, poking at his face. She seemed to be demanding a response, but unfortunately, Ethan couldn’t find his voice.

‘There are no wounds that can’t be overcome.’

Her words efficiently sliced him apart.

‘As long as you’re alive, you can make it.’

The background that allowed Hyacinth to say such things so freely.

She hadn’t experienced wounds she couldn’t overcome. Or, even if she had, she believed life was better than death.

…She cherished life.

A noble lineage and a loving family. Wealth and honor promised from birth, a beautiful appearance, and an intelligent mind. A naturally affectionate nature.

Having everything, the world would indeed seem beautiful.

It wasn’t surprising that Hyacinth Hener loved life. It was perhaps the most natural conclusion.

And yet, she withered and died in an instant.

Ethan gripped the armrest of his chair tightly. It was an instinctive action to avoid revealing his turmoil. His lungs burned at the bottom. It felt like he had downed a bottle of strong liquor in one go. Being torn apart would be less painful.

His throat tightened.

Ethan recalled the image of the woman precariously perched on the windowsill and her red hair fluttering as she fell.

Whenever he died, he knew he would never forget that scene until his last breath. It was etched on the retina of his soul, a lifelong shackle.

‘As long as you’re alive, you can make it.’

I’m sorry.

You, who believed that, ended your life in some lost time. I don’t know if you remember. No. You clearly don’t seem to, but still, it’s an undeniable sin of mine.

I don’t know how to atone for it now…

Ethan took a deep breath. Unable to face Hyacinth, he turned his gaze away, only to meet the eyes of the kitten with the blunt tail. Its yellow eyes glared at him in hatred.

Ethan silently held a bitter smile.

“Good for you, kitten.”

“Apologize, Duke.”

“I’m sorry.”

He whispered quietly.

It was an apology to an unclear—perhaps all-encompassing—target.

* * *

Hyacinth wanted to stay and monitor the kitten’s progress, but Tyche needed her. As she left the room reluctantly, she stared intently at Ethan.

You watch over it in my stead.

Her gaze was full of command. Ethan willingly accepted.

He didn’t have anything urgent to do, and watching over the kitten wasn’t a difficult task.

He glanced at the ‘star of the day’ while rubbing the armrest of his chair. Whether the cat understood the fortune it had stumbled upon, he hoped it wouldn’t forget.

One clueless fool in Hyacinth Hener’s life was enough.

“Your Highness the Duke of Trisel is a kind person.”

“……?”

Is he out of his mind? Ethan didn’t bother to hide his bewilderment as he looked at the royal physician. The elderly doctor chuckled lightly at the young Duke’s arrogant gaze.

“Isn’t it because you’re worried about the cat?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Indeed, now that it belongs to the lady, this cat will live a comfortable life. Its fate has changed in exchange for its tail.”

“That part, I agree with.”

The doctor smiled again, as if clinging to his misconception. The kindness in his gaze made Ethan feel oddly uncomfortable. Insisting further would only deepen the misunderstanding.

The cat cried.

Its blunt tail vaguely reminded Ethan of something, but he didn’t bother to recall it.

He was already struggling to deal with the one who had left.

Suddenly, he felt suffocated. Breathing was so difficult that he felt dizzy. Just, if his heart could stop right now. He briefly wished for it, then realized he had forgotten his atonement. A sinner didn’t have the right to die as they pleased. Even in death, he had to pay for his sins first.

“Doctor.”

“Yes?”

Ethan suddenly straightened his posture. There was a matter he wanted to investigate properly, even if it was too late.

“The doctors in the north didn’t seem to know, so I’m asking you.”

“What is it?”

The one who gave him the medicine was Seina Ir. She was from Tyche.

There was a high probability she had herbs from regions other than the north.

“Is there an herb that acts both as a sleeping aid and an aphrodisiac… that makes someone engage in s*xual activity while asleep?”

The northern doctors had all shaken their heads.

They laughed awkwardly, saying how could an unconscious person engage in s*xual activity. That was why Ethan hadn’t doubted his wife’s infidelity. It was the very reason Hyacinth had to wither away in misunderstanding.

The elderly doctor’s eyes widened. Even before he answered, Ethan knew the answer.

“There is.”

A response that made him neither move nor breathe.

“It’s an herb that only grows in the southern region of Teksha, so northern doctors might not know about it. Luna Cereta. It’s called ‘Moon’s Blessing.'”

To me, it’s ‘Moon’s Curse.’

“It’s also called ‘Moon’s Curse.'”

Really?

“It’s also a forbidden herb.”

“Ah. It’s forbidden?”

Considering its aphrodisiac properties, it wasn’t surprising it was forbidden. As Ethan accepted this explanation, more details followed.

“It got its nickname ‘Curse’ because it ruined many families.”

“…”

“Luna Cereta’s effects are often misunderstood, even among the few who know about it. I wouldn’t simply define it as an aphrodisiac and a sleeping aid.”

“Then what would you call it?”

“An aphrodisiac, a sleeping aid, and a truth serum.”

Why include a truth serum? Ethan furrowed his brow.

The unexpected word confused him. The doctor smiled and explained willingly.

“It’s simple if you think about it, Your Highness. Who would a person in a semi-sleep state choose as their s*xual partner?”

“The person… right next to them… wouldn’t it be?”

An unexpected question.

Ethan tried to recall why or how he had gone to Hyacinth at that time.

“Surprisingly, no. Some people only slept when they took Luna Cereta, without engaging in s*xual activity. Others, even if they slept next to their son, went to their husband in the next room.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Indeed. But those are the good cases. In a bad case, a wife gave it to her husband, and the scoundrel went to the woman next door instead of her. It exposed an affair.”

A curse. An herb that ruined many families. A truth serum.

Ethan Erentis was certainly intelligent. He quickly grasped the conclusion from the scattered clues but was the first to deny it.

No way… back then, I…

“I don’t know about emotions. The difference between lust and affection seems more like a philosopher’s territory, so I’ll skip that part. But my colleagues and I generally agree.”

“…”

“Luna Cereta leads the user to the person they lust after the most at that time.”

“…”

“That’s why it was eventually banned. Some secrets are better left buried.”

“Indeed. They do exist.”

No one would agree with that more painfully than him. Ethan Erentis pondered how to react and finally laughed. It was the smile of a puppet dangling with its neck in a noose.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome. But how did Your Highness the Duke…”

The doctor hesitated. Ethan understood the unspoken question precisely.

How did you come across that herb?

And he also understood why the doctor couldn’t finish his question. Whether the Duke had taken it himself or had been affected by someone who did, it was a serious matter. Ethan bowed his head silently instead of answering.

“Have a good day.”

It was only halfway down the corridor that he remembered the cat. Ah. That one.

It seemed fortunate that it would live well for at least another five, no, four years.

* * *

At that time, Ethan Erentis,

was lusting after Hyacinth Hener.

* * *

It was an unbelievable proposition. Ethan spent the entire night lying on the floor. Lust. Lust. This is maddening.

He clearly remembered how he had torn apart Hyacinth’s heart when he first heard she was pregnant.

‘But I.’
‘……’
‘Don’t get aroused by you at all.’
‘……’
‘Never did before, and never will.’

He was the one who had said that so confidently.

How ridiculous… Crazy bastard. Crazy son of a b*tch.

Faced with the maddening reality, Ethan actually banged his head against the wall a few times. It only made his guilt clearer and his forehead hurt, with no other changes.

…I was lusting after Hyacinth?