The cornered rat bites the cat. Gardner was exactly in that state now.

His eyes were tinged with madness due to fear. The blade at his fingertips gleamed as if it would pierce my neck at any moment.

Where did my initial plan to simply squander money at the casino go, and how did things get so tangled? As much as I cried out wanting to escape from Ilion, leaving this world is a bit too much, isn’t it?

At Gardner’s threat, the Celestine knights surrounding us hesitated and slowly began to clear a path behind Gardner.

“So it’s true that the great Celestine has fallen for his fiancée. Hahaha!”

Gardner, who had been laughing for a while, suddenly stopped breathing.

Ilion, with an expression like he was about to kill someone, slowly approached us. Suddenly, the surrounding air became heavy and murky.

Ilion’s red eyes grew darker, and black spots slowly spread from his neck to his face.

As the traces of the curse that had consumed his body revealed themselves, the air became so heavy it was difficult to breathe.

Gardner’s soldiers, unable to withstand it, had already fallen to their knees, while only the Celestine soldiers were barely enduring this pressure.

Perhaps they hadn’t cleared a path, but had anticipated this and distanced themselves.

And Gardner, unable to breathe properly, trembled with the sword in his hand. The sound of his gasping could be heard from here.

For a moment, a scene from the novel flashed in my mind. On the day the saintess participated in the battle royale, Ilion showed a similar appearance while dealing with the soldiers blocking his way to save her.

The traces of the curse spreading throughout his body, and the air so thick you could barely breathe, possibly due to the curse’s power. Eyes red as if they were about to burst into flames.

The scene I had imagined countless times, enough to wear out the text, was unfolding before my eyes, but I wasn’t happy at all.

Ah, Count Gardner, it seems both you and I are ruined, what should we do?

My dimming vision seemed to reflect my unpredictable future, and somehow, I felt like crying.

***

When I came to my senses, I was in a carriage. As soon as I opened my eyes, Lily grabbed my hand tightly, making a fuss.

“Miss! Are you alright?”

As I sat up with my heavy body, Lily supported me, telling me not to overexert myself. Judging by her still teary eyes, it seemed I hadn’t been unconscious for long.

“How long was I out?”

“About 30 minutes?”

Looking out the carriage window, I saw that we were still parked at the casino, and the surroundings were too desolate to be the evening scene of an entertainment district.

Only Ilion’s knights occasionally patrolled the area.

“Where’s the Duke?”

“He’s currently cleaning up the casino. From what I heard, it seems most of the tables had magic cast on them. So they’re arresting Count Gardner and all related individuals.”

He said he dedicated his entire youth to building it, but it seems he was a rotten egg from the start.

I leaned my head against the carriage, briefly observing the chaotic lights of the casino.

“I’m tired.”

Why am I here pretending to be a count’s lady when it’s not even in my destiny?

I wanted to forget everything, wash with warm water, wrap myself in a cozy blanket, and fall asleep. If I could have a cup of warm milk tea before bed, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Sebastian said it should be over soon. Please hang in there a little longer.”

Perhaps worried about my continuous sighing, Lily looked up at me with a concerned face.

You’re the only one who worries about me. Yes, I should stay strong, if only for Lily’s sake. Stay strong and escape from the Duke’s household!

I clenched my fists again, steeling my resolve.

Oh, come to think of it, there’s a bandage wrapped around my wrist.

The wound from when Gardner snatched the artifact earlier had been treated.

“Did you wrap this, Lily?”

“Yes. It was so chaotic that I didn’t even realize you were hurt, but the Duke informed me.”

“…The Duke did?”

“Yes. The Duke also carried you to the carriage.”

Now that I think about it, I had completely forgotten about the final boss.

I recalled the last image of Ilion I saw before fainting. The traces of the curse that had spread from his neck to his cheeks were definitely there.

The novel didn’t explain much about the curse, so all I knew was that Ilion had been cursed by a witch in his childhood.

The content of the curse was that he will writhe in agony until death.

Originally, Ilion was destined to die within a few months, writhing in pain every day.

However, Ilion’s grandfather, the previous Duke, used every means possible to save his only grandson and barely managed to seal the curse’s power.

But it seems even that seal wasn’t permanent, as over time, black spots began to appear on Ilion’s body.

The spots grew larger and consumed his entire body as Ilion’s emotions intensified, and more severe pain visited him frequently.

That’s why Ilion was always on edge and disliked others touching his body. His somewhat indifferent or cold personality was also influenced by this.

But I still don’t understand how the curse controls others’ movements. I didn’t get to know before Ilion died.

‘I really thought I was going to die with Gardner…’

I shuddered slightly, recalling the terrifying atmosphere from earlier.

Judging by the curse’s traces spreading to his nape, it seemed to have progressed considerably already.

If it weren’t visible, it might be bearable, but what must it feel like to visually confirm the size of the curse consuming oneself?

If it were me, I might have already lost my mind, trembling in fear that my entire body would be covered by the curse. What kind of feelings must Ilion live with every day?

Perhaps because I had witnessed the traces of the curse I thought I’d never see, I seemed to be thinking a lot today.

“Oh, right, he told me to return this to you.”

As if to blow away my useless thoughts, Lily spoke up. What she held out was the artifact.

Lily put the artifact on my other wrist that wasn’t injured and said,

“The mage from the imperial palace said it has magic that nullifies the effects of harmful magic.”

“Really? Is it expensive then?”

“Unfortunately, artifacts for attack or defense are expensive, but ones that nullify debuffs aren’t worth much.”

It was trash after all.

“That’s why the magic cast on the casino tables didn’t activate, he explained.”

“Then what? In the end…”

“You were simply lucky.”

As I looked at Lily with an incredulous face, Ilion’s voice was heard from outside the door. Please, make some noise when you appear. I thought my heart was going to drop.

“Let’s head home now.”

I examined his face. The black spots that had climbed up to his cheeks were now gone. His red eyes, which had been fluctuating earlier, were back to normal.

Ilion got into the carriage looking no different from usual, to the point where I wondered if I had seen wrong earlier.

“Ah, th-then I’ll ride in Sebastian’s carriage on the way back.”

Saying that, Lily darted out of the carriage.

“W-wait…”

The hand I stretched out to stop her only cut through empty air.

Please don’t leave me alone with him…

***

Ilion looked at Ravenne. Her restless appearance made him feel quite displeased, as if he had done something wrong.

“Why did you lie?”

At his words, Ravenne startled and put on an awkward smile. It was often difficult to understand what was going on in that small head of hers.

“W-well… I thought you wouldn’t believe me even if I told the truth…”

“So you lied?”

He had expected her to at least say she couldn’t resist Gardner’s threats, but it seemed she had no intention of telling him the truth from the beginning.

Ravenne was standing still with her hands neatly folded, her gaze fixed on the floor like a criminal awaiting sentencing. The bandage on her wrist bothered him for some reason.

Ilion, who had been thinking he should have Sebastian find a tutor as soon as possible, was surprised by his own thoughts.

Even if it wasn’t true that she had tried to cheat using the artifact, visiting a casino was not appropriate behavior for a duchess.

There were quite a few witnesses to this incident. People who like to gossip would have already sent telegrams to the newspapers and more.

Yet, Ilion was considering how to request each newspaper to report this incident.

He tried to find a reason, but no plausible one came to mind. After much deliberation, Ilion barely managed to come up with one reason.

Because the land Ravenne owned had high development value… it would be better to maintain the engagement relationship with her for now.

But even to himself, it was a very flimsy reason.

“If you want to punish me, I’ll accept it gladly. If you’re disappointed in me because of this incident and want to call off the marriage…”

Ravenne, who had been trapped in heavy silence for a long time, spoke up while watching his reaction.

For her, it was an attempt to hurry Ilion’s decision as the words she was waiting for didn’t come out, but she never dreamed that it would become her undoing.

“Really? You’ll accept any punishment?”

“Yes.”

Her seemingly resolute expression was like that of a knight going to war. There was even a strange hint of expectation in it.

“Then come to my study every day and help with work.”

“…Yes?”

“That will be your punishment.”

It wasn’t possible to follow Ravenne around and monitor her every move. It was better to keep her close and watch her instead.

The face that had been staring at the floor for a long time finally looked up at him. The green eyes, less saturated than usual, showed disappointment and bewilderment.

The large eyes rolled around and then met Ilion’s gaze again.

“Can’t it be a different punishment?”

“Didn’t you say you’d accept any punishment?”

Ravenne’s mouth opened, wanting to protest further, but she eventually closed it.

‘She shows no signs of remorse whatsoever.’

Still, seeing her safe brought a sense of relief.

“By the way, Duke…”

Ravenne, who had been quiet for a while, cautiously spoke up as if she had something to ask.

“The money I won today, it wasn’t earned through wrongdoing after all…”

Judging by her hesitant demeanor, rolling her eyes, it seemed she felt awkward asking directly.

“You’re asking what happened to your money?”

“It’s not that I’m particularly curious or anything. It’s just a bit disappointing that I couldn’t exchange it…”

“Just forget about that. Once the trial for the Count is over, the casino will be confiscated. It’s also difficult to prove how much each individual lost at the casino, so compensation will be challenging.”

“…Then that blank check too…”

“It becomes invalid.”

She hung her head low with an expression that seemed even more disappointed than when told she couldn’t exchange the chips.