03. Where Everyone Started

Olivia, who had been waiting for Seron with an anxious look, dragged him away as soon as he came out of the office after finishing his report.

“How did it go? What did Alois say?”

“With so many questions, how did you manage to wait? You could have come in with me anytime.”

“But you two have a special relationship. Even if it’s not about that, you might have had things to discuss privately…… Anyway! Did you find any clues to breaking the curse?”

Looking at her eyes sparkling with expectation, Seron became somewhat concerned that she might be disappointed with the information he brought. He began to understand what Alois meant about not wanting to repeat cycles of hope and disappointment, seeing Olivia’s reaction.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t found the exact method to break the curse yet.”

“Ah….. But since you’re looking harder than anyone else, I believe you’ll find a way someday!”

Seron shared everything he had reported to Alois with Olivia without holding anything back. He already knew that he didn’t need to hide anything from her, given what she meant to Alois—perhaps she had noticed even before the duke himself.

“The history of the curse isn’t as old as I expected. Of course, it’s still from decades ago by today’s standards, but judging from when Alois was cursed, it doesn’t seem to be a very ancient curse. Usually, cursed objects like this tend to cause similar incidents in various places, so after investigating, my conclusion is that the cursed necklace hasn’t been circulating in the world for very long. Perhaps about a hundred years from now?”

“If it’s that recent, the person who cast the curse might still be alive, right? People who can work miracles or curses usually have special abilities. Much longer lifespans too?”

Or might not even be human.

The shorter timeframe wasn’t necessarily positive news, as curses often weaken over time. However, looking at it differently, it also offered hope that they might find the origin point of the curse. Traditionally, asking the person who cast the curse to lift it was the most certain and quickest method.

“That’s why I thought finding the sorcerer who cast the curse would be faster, so I tracked the necklace’s history and found a survivor from the oldest known incident.”

“Did you meet them?”

“Not yet. Have you heard of the Kanil region? The oldest trace seems to be from there. There are rumors of someone there who showed similar symptoms.”

“I’m not sure. The name sounds familiar, like I’ve seen it in a book somewhere when studying herbology……”

“It’s a region belonging to the Kingdom of Krofenheil. To go to Kanil, there are some international permits needed, so I came back first to report.”

“The Kingdom of Krofenheil is at the edge of the continent, isn’t it? That’s very far.”

“Yes. So I plan to depart after thorough preparations. Before that, I asked for Alois’s thoughts, and……”

Unlike Olivia who was excited about possibly finding new information, Seron’s expression subtly darkened. It reflected his not-so-positive conversation with Alois earlier.

“Alois doesn’t seem to have much hope for breaking the curse.”

It wasn’t discouraging for Seron. Traveling across the continent to break Alois’s curse had been one of his lifelong missions that he had set for himself even before reuniting with Alois.

Unlike Seron, who only carried loyalty and a vague desire to break his lord’s curse, he couldn’t begin to imagine how many times Alois, the actual victim, had repeated cycles of frustration and disappointment over the long years. So he understood why Alois no longer held any expectations.

“Isn’t Alois happy about it?”

“He thanked me for my hard work, but he didn’t seem to expect the curse to actually be broken. I think he might have already given up, and especially above all else……”

Trailing off, Seron quietly gazed at Olivia’s face. Looking at her kind face, genuinely concerned for Alois, he could somewhat empathize with Alois’s feelings. Perhaps Olivia played a significant role in why Alois no longer fixated on the curse? Whether positively or negatively.

“Of course, I’ll continue to do my best to break the curse, but even if I don’t find a way, it’s not as desperately hopeless as before. I feel reassured with you firmly by his side, Olivia. Haha.”

Seron was already a middle-aged man. His hair, which had turned white earlier than others, spoke of the years he had spent wandering the continent in search of answers. In the past, he had feared the emptiness of not finding clues. But now, he searched for answers with a much lighter heart than before. This was all because of Olivia’s presence.

Though it was a compliment showing his trust in Olivia, she didn’t get excited. Instead, with a serious expression, she calmly shared what she had been thinking about all along.

“I used to think similarly to Alois and you, Seron. That since I’ll always stay by Alois’s side, it would be fine even if the curse wasn’t broken immediately. But now my thoughts have changed. I only want to break his curse somehow, as quickly as possible.”

“Is there a particular reason for this sudden change in thinking?”

“What kind of unstable peace is it if he’s only safe when I’m by his side?”

“Olivia, are you planning to leave?”

Startled, Seron urgently grabbed Olivia’s hand. Feeling the desperation in his wrinkled hand, Olivia was surprised and quickly shook her head.

It wasn’t about being separated temporarily or anything like that. It was about something more fundamental.

“No. It’s not that, but time passes, you know. I’ll continue to age and eventually reach the end of my life, but what about Alois? No, it doesn’t even have to be that long. I could suddenly have an accident.”

“Such negative thoughts……”

“If something happens that neither I nor Alois can control, and I can no longer stay by his side, what would happen? Someone said I’m holding Alois’s reins. But that’s strange. Why should anyone hold Alois’s reins?”

Alois himself didn’t care. He even openly told Olivia that he would put his leash in her hands for her to do as she pleased. She doesn’t deny that his words sounded like a sweet temptation. Honestly, there were times when she thought that way and felt comfortable with it.

But after realizing at the party that others saw it similarly, she had been constantly worried. Could Alois’s life, bound to her, truly be called completely free? Moreover, the initial binding was due to the curse, never something Alois had wanted.

“If I’m not by his side and Alois fortunately falls in love with s-someone, um, someone else and can endure his heat cycle again, that would be a relief. But what if that person has bad intentions? Holding the reins means they can exploit him however they want. I don’t think that’s a good situation for Alois at all.”

Seron listened to Olivia’s words with complicated feelings. In truth, he knew this too. He just didn’t think like Olivia because he already knew Alois’s past temperament, which she didn’t.

‘I never thought the duke would fall in love with someone.’

This was Seron’s honest thought. It wasn’t that Alois lacked emotion. Although he tended to find most people bothersome and pathetic, he definitely cared for and gave affection to the empress, his younger sibling who is the current emperor, and the knights he lived with. If he had been someone who never gave affection to others, he wouldn’t have even thought of leaving the imperial palace first.

But caring for them and loving Olivia were completely different matters. Even Seron, who had been by Alois’s side longer than Olivia, often felt the absolute line Alois had drawn that no one could cross. That line, drawn equally for everyone he cared about, was so solid that no one even thought of trying to enter.

Honestly, Seron still sometimes found it hard to believe that Alois would deeply engage with someone specific and consider sharing his entire life with them, as he did now.

‘But to fall in love with someone else?’

If Olivia disappeared, would Alois fall in love with someone else? Seron couldn’t imagine Alois falling in love with another person. Rather, if Olivia disappeared, he might despair and follow her…

“That must not happen.”

Erasing the blasphemous thought, Seron’s expression became as serious as Olivia’s. While Olivia worried about Alois going berserk again or being exploited by others, Seron changed his relaxed attitude at the thought that a despairing Alois might choose death to follow Olivia.

“I think it would be best to persuade Alois to meet that person directly, so I’ll try to convince him again.”

“I’m counting on you, Seron. I’ll be waiting for good news.”

The two firmly clasped each other’s hands, strengthening their resolve. Determined flames blazed in their eyes as they cheered each other on.

* * *

“This wasn’t the good news I was waiting for, sigh……”

The cabin she returned to after a long time no longer held its former warmth. The fireplace, which hadn’t been lit for a long time, retained a cool chill, and dust had settled on the desk and shelves.

Recently, she had received word that someone wanted to buy the cabin. They wanted to completely clear the cabin and garden to build an entirely new house. It was an elderly couple who had made a fortune with a store in a big city in another region and, now that they were getting older, wanted to spend the rest of their lives in a quiet village, looking for a suitable place.

“Keeping the olive tree and lime tree like this also feels……”

She herself couldn’t visit the village often, and Lime, who had joined the Holy Knight Order, couldn’t even leave the imperial palace, let alone visit the cabin. At first, she wanted to keep it as it was because it was filled with memories, but as time passed, only loneliness accumulated in the cabin, making her heart heavier.

“Memories aren’t held in your hands, but stored in your heart.”

Eventually, Olivia decided to dispose of the cabin after discussing it with Lime via letter. But when she actually came to the cabin to organize it, she kept feeling lingering attachments. Olivia shook her head, trying to strengthen her weakening resolve.

“No. Rather than leaving it desolate like this, it’s right to dispose of it.”

She didn’t want the precious space to become increasingly barren with lingering attachments. She comforted herself that it would be better for everyone to remember it in its beautiful state and let it become a place for new memories for someone else who needed it.

“Then, where should I start cleaning? The pharmacy was organized last time.”