Naturally, his heart leaned more toward ‘don’t get your hopes up,’ as was familiar to him. He didn’t want to burden Olivia with the disappointment he had experienced many times before. By all reasoning, he should cut this off here, as it sounded completely absurd.

“Alois, will you come with me? Please?”

All those concerns meant nothing in the face of the absolute premise that Alois couldn’t refuse Olivia’s words.

‘Seron already gave me another lecture earlier today. I suppose I’ll have to play along somewhat to calm these two people who don’t know how to give up.’

In the end, it was a foregone conclusion that Alois would once again surrender and follow Olivia’s wishes.

* * *

The train carrying the three people ran for days without stopping until it reached the Kanil region. It was a very long and complicated journey, requiring them to cross several borders. But even after arriving at the station, they still had a long way to go to reach the coast. Since the terrain was rough and inaccessible by train or carriage, they had to walk there themselves, so the three ended up renting horses.

“Living in the mansion feels like a dream now. These days, I feel like I can’t stay still in the territory for even a moment.”

“Think of it as making up for all the time you were confined. Besides, I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

Alois burst into laughter, as if conceding defeat to Olivia, who smiled brightly with her hands cupped under her chin like a flower holder. Seron gaped at the two, his eyes darting around helplessly, still unable to adapt to the sight.

‘He definitely wasn’t this kind of person before…..’

He was neither someone who would yield so easily to others nor someone who would crumble at someone’s slightest cuteness and readily show his smile. He could hardly believe that the person before him was the same lord he had served. Or perhaps Olivia, who had caused such a change in the duke, was even more remarkable. Seron’s gaze toward Olivia filled with admiration and respect.

Led by Seron, the three rode their horses along the rough path. After riding for a full day and a half, they finally began to see the sea in the distance. The wind carried the scent of salt. The seaside village, quiet to the point of being desolate, had few people walking around even in broad daylight.

“Is it always this quiet?”

“I think it’s because the village is in rough terrain. The village itself isn’t large, and during the day, everyone goes out to sea, so the village becomes empty.”

“Then we’ll have to wait until they return.”

“No. The person who spoke about the curse was said to be an elderly person, so they probably can’t go out to sea and should be at home.”

There was no proper accommodation in such a village. In the end, the three began moving to check the rumors related to the curse as soon as they arrived in the village.

The old man’s house, said to be located near a coastal cave, was impressive even from a distance. Behind the large, black opening of the cave stood a shabby house that looked like it might collapse at any moment. Additionally, various unidentifiable objects hung from the rickety fence all around.

“Seron. That person isn’t the one who cast the curse, is he?”

“That would actually be better for us, but I don’t think so. I heard he was one of the victims of the incident, but let’s check directly.”

It was an eerie building that reminded anyone of a fanatic from a suspicious religion. To make matters worse, the sound of wind resembling the cry of a huge beast came from the nearby cave, adding to the sinister atmosphere. Seron took the lead, with Alois at the rear, escorting Olivia, who had no combat ability, as they entered the fence.

“What brings outsiders all the way here?”

At the sound of their approach, the closed door opened slowly. An old man with half-open eyes looked at Seron, who was in the lead, and spoke. The bald, skeletal old man giggled to himself continuously, finding something amusing.

“This isn’t an old man but a walking corpse.”

Olivia was startled by Alois’s cold, indifferent mutter. The old man didn’t seem to mind much and slowly rolled his eyes toward the new voice. Having difficulty seeing clearly, he frowned his wrinkled face several times.

“I’m barely living because I can’t die. What brings so many people to visit an old man like me?”

Alois, with a dubious expression wondering if they could get anything useful from interrogating the old man, signaled to Seron with his eyes. As the two exchanged opinions with their gazes, Olivia bravely popped out from between them.

“Sir, I’d like to ask you something. Have you ever heard of a necklace cursed to turn people into beasts? We heard rumors that you saw it directly, and I’d like to know more details.”

“You could hear that directly from the person next to you, Miss. There’s no one who knows that incident as well as someone who’s been cursed themselves.”

The old man burst into laughter, pointing his chin toward Alois.

“I’m curious if all the incidents of the curse showed similar patterns. There might be differences…… Please.”

“You came all the way here because you want to break the curse, Miss?”

“Yes! That’s right! If you know anything, could you please tell us?”

Eyes barely visible beneath wrinkled eyelids stared at Olivia. The old man, showing his sparse teeth in a strange smile, continued speaking in a dreamy, hazy voice.

“No one imagined such a terrible thing would happen that day. It was just a celebration for a beautiful couple’s marriage. Since it was a wedding of high-ranking people, only a few representatives selected from the village could enter. Back then, not knowing such a strange thing would happen, I was just thinking I might get something from attending the party.”

The way the curse manifested was similar to Alois’s case. During the wedding ceremony, when one of the lovers put a necklace they had brought on their partner, that person suddenly transformed into a monster and began to rampage.

“Was there any mention of who gifted the necklace, or where it was obtained?”

“I remember they got it themselves and put it on. They bragged about how difficult it was to obtain. Anyway, they suddenly turned into a monster, and the party naturally became chaotic. They attacked even their beloved partner without recognizing them, tsk tsk. In the end, no one survived that party. So of course, I have no idea what happened to the necklace.”

“What happened to the person who was cursed?”

“That’s when the real tragedy began. At first, after the initial rampage, they seemed to calm down, but then they would appear in the village at random times and attack people. Even if we barely managed to drive them out of the village, they would return again and again. Despite only getting attacked when they came, they kept trying to take humans away. Not knowing when or where we might encounter them, more and more people left the village, and that’s how the village died, as it is now.”

“So is the cursed person still living near this village?”

Since they had brought the necklace themselves, she thought of looking for them even if they had become a monster. She hoped that, since she could communicate with animals, she might be able to talk with a person who had become a monster. If time had stopped for them like it had for Alois, there was a chance they might still be alive, no matter how long ago the incident had occurred.

But the old man tilted his head at Olivia’s desperate voice and stared at her intently.

“I understand your desire to have a conversation with them, Miss, but they’re dead.”

The corner of the old man’s mouth turned up slightly.

“Dead? But surely if someone is cursed, they don’t age……”

“Anyone who gets cursed dies. The periods of rampage get shorter and shorter, and unfulfilled desires continue to eat away at their life force, until eventually they all die miserably by attacking themselves.”

“……”

A heavy silence descended. They die. As Olivia silently clenched her fist, Alois gently unfolded her hand and interlaced their fingers. Alois himself, the actual victim, showed little agitation at the predetermined end of death.

“Who could have started such a terrifying curse in the first place?”

The old man, who had closed his mouth as if he had nothing more to say, looked at the two people’s clasped hands and very slowly opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, there was a strange rumor going around at that time.”

“A strange rumor? Please tell us anything you know.”

“It has nothing to do with the necklace. There was talk that the cursed person had someone else they loved besides their fiancé. They said the necklace was originally a gift from the ex-lover, and that the chaos erupted because they betrayed their original lover to marry someone new, making it a punishment from heaven. But that was just talk among the villagers afterward.”

“Is that other lover still living here, by any chance?”

“If we knew who it was, would it be a rumor? No one has even seen their face.”

“Ah……”

“There was talk that they came from an island. And that they weren’t human.”

Olivia, who had lowered her head in disappointment, raised it again with shining eyes. The word “island” flew into her mind. She suddenly remembered her mother’s memo mentioning the beast-people’s island.

“Wait a moment. An island?”

An island! The excited Olivia shook their joined hands, signaling to Alois. Alois too seemed somewhat surprised this time, his gaze toward the old man becoming sharp as if trying to discern the truth.

“From ancient times, we’ve called it the Fog Island or Treasure Island. There were stories about treasures hidden by pirates, so quite a few people tried to enter the island, but at some point, they all died, so now no one goes near it. There are also stories about monsters living there, but anyway, with so many rumors, who would risk their precious lives for uncertain treasure?”

With a final warning for the three not to even think about wasting their precious lives, the old man turned his body completely away. Seeing that the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to further questioning, they decided to be satisfied with the information they had gathered so far and leave the old man’s dilapidated cabin.

“Miss, you’d better not go to that island.”