Chapter 2

How long did it last?

“Welcome to the South!”

A cheerful voice rang out. Sara opened her eyes and lifted her head to see Declan’s expressionless face looking down at her. She jumped back in surprise, pushing him away.

“Hey, don’t touch me like that!”

Declan shrugged.

“How else are you supposed to hold on? Should I have let you get scattered in pieces all over the Empire?”

Gasp—really? Sara felt dizzy at the thought of what could have happened. Declan clicked his tongue as he walked past her.

“You’re a handful…”

“……Seriously!”

Sara stomped her foot in frustration.

To reach the estate where the cursed item was found, they had to take a carriage for another half day from the portal. The two sat in the carriage, dividing up the report on the incident.

“Two people touched the cursed item?”

Declan, seeming uninterested, read only the first line and tossed the report away. Sara glared at him, gathered the pages, and scanned them.

“As soon as they touched it, a red light burst out. One died within hours, the other went home and…!”

Suddenly, Sara’s voice cut off. Declan waited for her to continue, then looked up.

“What, why’d you stop?”

“Uh, well… He died at home, resting.”

Sara’s face flushed, but Declan, thinking it was just the southern heat, let it go.

“Really? How long did it take?”

“Uh, exactly a day later.”

Sara’s voice was unnaturally high. She couldn’t help it. Because…

‘D*mn, if he knew it was cursed, why not go to the temple? Why sleep with his wife?’

Unbelievable—knowing he’d die soon, he spent three hours with his wife, saying he wanted to die happy.

‘How am I supposed to tell him that…’

Then Declan tilted his head.

“One died in hours, one in a day… Why the difference?”

His neat brow furrowed, and Sara slapped the report shut and stared out the window.

“The Southern weather is sooo nice…”

Declan sensed something suspicious and narrowed his eyes.

“You said the humidity and heat didn’t suit you? North is your climate, right? So I…!”

“?”

When Sara looked at him curiously, Declan blushed and stammered.

“Uh, well. I don’t mind the South. Yeah.”

“…Are you crazy…”

Sara shot him a look as if he were an insect and turned away. After that, there was no more conversation.

The carriage rolled on, finally arriving at the estate in question. In front of the manor, the elderly lord and his son and daughter waited for them.

“Welcome, Holy Knight and Mage.”

The lord, face bright with a smile and white beard flowing, rushed out to greet them. Such a warm welcome was rare, and the two were taken aback.

The lord looked them over with shining eyes, as if judging meat quality at a butcher’s.

“It’s an honor to host those who will save our estate from fear. Eric, Misella, come and greet our benefactors.”

Without giving Sara and Declan a chance to refuse, the lord called his children. As if waiting, a handsome young man and a rather beautiful woman stepped up to Sara and Declan.

“Those are my son and daughter. We will sincerely attend to you both until the evening banquet.”

After the Lord’s pleased voice, the two young people politely greeted them.

“Thank you for coming.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

Sara and Declan exchanged awkward glances. The Lord’s intentions were blatantly obvious. Since they were descendants of distinguished families, this sort of thing happened from time to time. It was just one night—what could possibly happen? The two followed the Lord’s children into the mansion.

“This region is very famous for its sugar. Would you like to try some?”

As the sun set, it was finally time for the evening banquet. Having arrived early in the afternoon and been harassed by the Lord’s children all day, Sara and Declan were at last able to eat comfortably.

And after they finished their meal and dessert was served—

“Lady Sara, this curd jelly is made with the sugar our domain is so proud of. Here, please try it.”

Eric brought a small spoonful of white jelly close to Sara’s lips and smiled sweetly.

“Oh, no… I-I can eat it myself.”

Sara, who had no resistance to charming men, hurriedly refused, but Eric didn’t budge. He brought the spoon even closer, humming.

“Ah~”

Knowing it wouldn’t end unless she ate, Sara reluctantly opened her mouth. Eric beamed and popped the jelly in. As Sara chewed, she felt an intense gaze from Declan across the table, as if it could burn her face.

‘D*mn, he said it was made with sugar, so why does it taste so awful to me?’

Sara glanced at Declan without realizing it. But things weren’t much different on his side.

“Sir Knight, you’re in such great shape. Oh my, just look at these muscles…”

The Lord’s daughter, Misella, pressed and squeezed Declan’s forearm and thigh in excitement. With her brown curly hair hanging down and her green eyes wide, even Sara found her quite cute.

Declan seemed to think so too, as his cheeks reddened slightly and he cleared his throat.

“It’s only natural for a knight to train his body.”

“Oh my, how modest you are~ So reassuring~”

Eventually, Misella leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up at him and batting her long eyelashes. Sara unconsciously snorted.

“Hmph.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to her. Sara froze for a moment, and Declan’s lips curled up in a smirk.

“Our mage is rather conservative, so she must find this scene uncomfortable. What can we do? We have to go along.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Declan grabbed Misella’s shoulder and pushed her away. She was nearly sitting on his knee, but with a startled cry, she flew back to her seat like a sheet of paper.

“……?”

Seeing her bewildered face, Sara bit her lip hard to hold back laughter. Then she glanced over and immediately sobered.

Declan was smiling at her, just as he had when they were children.

The next morning, Declan and Sara set out for the place where the cursed item had been found.

“You’re leaving so early?”

The Lord couldn’t hide his disappointment, pushing his son and daughter forward as if urging them to do something. Before Eric and Misella could say a word, Declan spoke bluntly.

“We’re already late. If we rest any longer, someone else might suffer a terrible fate.”

“That’s true, but…”

Sara chimed in.

“Surely you want this case resolved more than anyone, Lord—for the sake of your precious people.”

She spoke with the confidence befitting someone from a noble house. Declan smiled at her with pride, as if he’d raised her himself, and Sara secretly cringed.

The two headed to the place where the cursed item was discovered, as planned. It was in newly cleared land, where farmers, while selecting land for cultivation, found a hidden underground stone chamber—the beginning of the incident.

“Oh, Mage, and Holy Knight!”

The farmers, huddled at the entrance, brightened at the sight of them and ran over.

“Now that you’re here, there won’t be any problems, right?”

“You’ll solve it, right? We won’t die, will we?”

It was understandable, since two strong farmers had died overnight. Sara smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry too much. We’ll investigate. No one has entered since, right?”

“Of course not. We’ve wrapped it tightly with rope so no one can get in.”

“Good job.”

While Sara listened to the farmers, Declan circled the area, checking for anything suspicious. It was a rather remote place. If not for the land clearing, the stone chamber might never have been found.