Chapter 4 – Encounter with a Demon (Part 5)

Fer, who had been quietly resting his face on her thigh and wagging his tail, looked at Ellerdin’s arm.

It’s not unsightly at all. Anything you have is beautiful. You are a lovely person.

He hated that she was shrinking back because of those scars.

He wanted to kill the ones who left such marks on Ellerdin.

Suppressing the anger boiling inside him, he began to lick her scars with his tongue.

“Huh? Fer?”

His rough tongue brushed over her scars. Ellerdin squinted one eye and laughed at the ticklish feeling.

“…Are you healing me?”

Thank you. 

Ellerdin whispered softly.

She reached out and held Fer’s face.

“Thanks to you, it doesn’t hurt at all. Thank you, my little angel.”

Ellerdin lightly kissed Fer on the nose.

“Whimper.”

Fer made a strange sound and shrank back. His fur puffed up greatly.

“Huh? Fer? What’s wrong?”

At Ellerdin’s question, Fer hurriedly shook his body and left the room as if fleeing.

Missing the warmth that left so quickly, Ellerdin stood up. 

Did he suddenly remember something urgent?

Ellerdin looked out the window. She wanted to see Fer’s departing figure. But he was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Ellerdin turned around. The door opened, and Fernan, with a flushed face, entered. Covering his reddened face with his hand, he asked,

“Um, I saw Fer leave just now. Did you have a good time?”

“Oh, yes. But are you feeling unwell?”

Ellerdin approached him.

“Not at all!”

Fernan waved his hands in surprise.

‘It seems he left because he sensed someone coming.’

Thank goodness. It wasn’t because he disliked me.

Ellerdin felt relieved, guessing the reason for Fer’s departure.

She hid her torn sleeve behind her back.

“Thank you for calling Fer. You did, right? But why did you come back?”

“Oh, um… well… um.”

Fernan scratched the back of his head. He couldn’t possibly say he transformed back because he was startled by the kiss.

Calming his still-pounding heart, he searched for an excuse.

Fortunately, he quickly thought of one.

Fernan smiled shamelessly and said,

“I have something to discuss regarding the estate.”

“The estate?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking, and we have plenty of time, don’t we? Could you help me manage the duchy as the Duchess, setting aside the burden of my curse for a while?”

Ellerdin blinked her large eyes at Fernan’s words.

She hadn’t expected him to ask her to delay breaking the curse.

But his request to help manage the estate instead of focusing on the curse wasn’t unreasonable.

She was standing here as the Duchess, and managing the duchy was part of the Duchess’s duties.

“Yes! I’ll work hard!”

Ellerdin clenched her fist seriously.

Fernan laughed joyfully at the sight. He said playfully with a twinkle in his eye,

“And one more thing. If you’re not planning to sleep early tonight, would you like to take a night walk with me? It’s still daytime, but I can ask for a date in advance.”

“A date…? Of course, I’d love to.”

The enthusiastic look she had just moments ago disappeared, and Ellerdin shyly turned her head.

Feeling a bit flustered, Ellerdin cleared her throat and turned her head away, only to meet Fernan’s gaze and burst into laughter.

Thinking about watching the night sky with Fernan already made her feel good.

***

Knock, knock. Ellerdin opened the door to a quiet knock.

Standing in front of the door was Fernan, draped in a soft fur robe over his left arm, waiting for her.

Ellerdin alternately looked at the robe and his attire.

As usual, Fernan was wearing only a thin shirt.

Feeling her gaze, Fernan scratched his cheek and said,

“I brought this in case you might be cold….”

Ellerdin smiled at his words, knowing he had brought it for her. She took his arm and whispered softly,

“Thank you.”

Though she spoke quietly, her voice echoed in the empty hallway.

As they stepped outside, the bright moonlight illuminated the duchy.

“The ground is dark. Be careful.”

Fernan held Ellerdin’s body firmly and walked slowly.

Crossing the stone steps, passing through the garden where the flowers slept, and walking along the grassy path, a new road appeared.

It hadn’t been there in the morning.

“Could it be…?”

Ellerdin looked at him in surprise.

Fernan smiled and nodded.

There was a fascinating rumor about the northern duchy.

It was said that because the land was so rich in magic, new places would appear at night where there had been nothing during the day.

‘So the rumor was true.’

Her heart started pounding like she had seen a mythical creature.

With a fluttering heart, Ellerdin took a step towards the path.

Suddenly, with a gust of wind, the dark forest transformed into a green field.

In the distance, she could see a house on a hill overlooking the sea.

Under a large tree, three people were standing.

‘A couple and… a child?’

Ellerdin squinted her eyes to look at them.

The sound of laughter carried by the wind reached her ears.

The child’s hair, running around joyfully, was a bright silver, and the couple looking at the child lovingly had silver and black hair, respectively.

Uncommon hair colors captivated Ellerdin, and she approached them as if spellbound.

Though she was stepping on grass, it felt like she was walking on air.

She got quite close, but they didn’t seem to notice her presence at all.

Then, the child raised its arms and ran towards her. She instinctively bent down and opened her arms.

But the child passed through her body and continued running behind her.

“Oh….”

Was it an illusion? 

Ellerdin stared blankly at the child’s back.

When she turned to look at the couple, a chilling gaze met hers, making her heart drop.

In the fading, transparent illusion, only the man’s eyes glowed red, glaring at her.

“Gasp.”

The moment their eyes met, she remembered the eyes she had seen in the basement.

The stern face of the man overlapped with the despairing expression she had seen then.

At that moment, the illusion shattered, and she began to fall.

“Ellerdin, Ellerdin!”

From far away, she heard someone calling her name.

Soon she realized the voice was Fernan’s and opened her eyes.

“Fer…nan….”

Ellerdin looked around blankly. Fernan hugged her in relief.

“I was worried. You suddenly lost consciousness.”

I lost consciousness? Then what was that I just saw?

Ellerdin, confused, grabbed his arm.

“Fernan, I just saw something in there….”

Ellerdin gasped and closed her mouth.

Why didn’t I realize it? It was clearly the young Fernan and the Ducal couple.

She didn’t understand why she saw such an illusion.

Should I tell him about this now?

Ellerdin glanced at Fernan. He was still looking at her with a worried expression. Ellerdin hesitated and spoke.

“When you enter that space, what do you usually see?”

“Yes? Oh… well… it varies from person to person. Most people say they see fantastical landscapes.”

Fantastical landscapes? It was mysterious, but not exactly fantastical.

It was an extremely peaceful and happy scene. Or maybe that’s why it was more fantastical.

“Do you sometimes see people in there?”

“People? Usually not… oh, but I’ve heard that sometimes memories of the place can appear in an illusory state, depending on where it opens.”

Then what I saw must have been his past. There must be a reason it showed me something.

Ellerdin grabbed his arm as he suggested they go back.

“Fernan, I have something to tell you.”

***

When she finished speaking, the room was filled with silence.

Fernan hesitated, not knowing how to react, and repeatedly touched his hands.

Then he let out a sigh and a faint laugh.

“Haha… I never thought something like that would have happened….”

He was confused. He didn’t expect someone who had shown no reaction until now to respond to Ellerdin like this.

‘I can’t hide it any longer.’

Seeing his difficulty in speaking, Ellerdin took Fernan’s hand.

Fernan stared blankly at the small hand on his large one. Despite being so small and delicate, she always tried to protect him.

Fernan held Ellerdin’s hand. Pathetically, he had only now found the courage to speak.

“You may have already guessed… but he is my father.”

“Oh….”

She had vaguely known, but hearing it directly from him carried a different weight.

Contrary to the happy past, the current ducal residence was dark and empty.

‘Fernan must have felt a void as if his heart was empty too.’

Ellerdin had felt a sense of emptiness ever since she saw her mother disappear like foam. No matter how much time passed, it never filled.

Thinking that he must have felt and still carried that emptiness made her heart ache.

Ellerdin intertwined her fingers with his.

The warmth of their hands seeped into each other. Fernan looked at Ellerdin with trembling pupils.

Her intelligent eyes were looking straight at him. He smiled faintly and continued slowly.

“My father was cursed when I was a child.”

A curse?

She had never heard of another curse on the duke’s family.