The Holy Lady, The Curse - Chapter 8 Part 5

As Seiden ventured deeper into the mountains in search of the kurkroll, he encountered Geril, who was probably looking for the same thing. Their horses stopped abruptly at the same time.

“……”

In the sharp and tense silence, it was Geril who spoke first.

“To meet the Commander in a place like this, it’s much more pleasant than seeing you down the mountain.”

Geril spoke with a brazen smile, but Seiden looked at him with cold eyes without smiling at all.

“Is the hunt going smoothly? Ah, of course, you’re a Sword Master after all.”

Geril muttered with an unpleasantly relaxed face and smirked.

Seiden, who was thinking about punching that nauseating guy’s mouth in this opportunity where no one was watching, quickly changed his mind and swallowed the murderous intent that had risen to his throat. This competition had a wish to Bellota at stake. So he would claim it fair and square, without any strings attached.

As Seiden, who had decided to ignore Geril, pulled the reins to pass by him, a relaxed voice was heard from behind him again.

“It would be better not to act too coldly. We might become family soon, after all. Ah, of course.”

Seiden stopped his horse again and looked back. When their eyes met, Geril grinned.

“That is, if you’re lucky, Commander.”

At that unpleasant wordplay, irritation rose to Seiden’s throat.

“…What are you trying to say?”

When Seiden asked in a low, menacing voice, Geril shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I’m wishing you luck. Both in the hunting festival and in that matter we saw at yesterday’s banquet.”

When Geril brought up the matter about Hestina again, Seiden’s patience reached its limit. Seiden withdrew his plan to ignore and pass by, and answered clearly.

“I don’t know what ridiculous misunderstanding you have,”

Seiden’s cold voice flowed out gratingly, and Geril’s eyebrows hardened.

“But I have no relationship whatsoever with Princess Hestina. There will never be a chance for me to become family with the Duke until the day I die.”

It was a statement so resolute it bordered on arrogance. Geril also stopped smiling and stared at Seiden. He slowly raised his eyebrows and asked sharply.

“The reason you’re refusing the position of the Emperor’s son-in-law… it wouldn’t happen to be because of the Saintess, would it?”

Seiden met Geril’s gaze without answering. His leisurely eyes held a look of ‘what would you do if it were?’ Geril was the first to lose his self-control at that arrogant gaze. He gritted his teeth in anger.

At first, Geril didn’t pay much attention to Seiden either. Seiden was merely the ‘Mad Dog of Kanbremes’, and his firm faith was so well-known throughout the empire that it was taken for granted. How could someone with such great faith dare to harbor impure thoughts towards the Saintess?

But due to the events he experienced in Selento, an unpleasant suspicion began to grow in Geril’s heart. It was a kind of instinctive intuition that perhaps this impure holy knight might be harboring different feelings for Bellota.

Come to think of it, it was only natural. Wasn’t that holy knight also a man with all his limbs intact? Geril knew well the dirty desires of men.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Geril pressed impatiently, and Seiden, who had been staring at him, smirked.

“Think what you will.”

At this mocking response, heat rose to Geril’s face for a moment. Geril trembled as if he wanted to jump off his horse right away and have a showdown with that smooth-faced bastard. But Geril managed to suppress that impulsive urge and quickly changed his expression to a smile.

“Think what I will, huh… I hope the Commander will give the same answer down the mountain where the Saintess and others are present, not just in these mountains where no one is around. Of course, you’re free to harbor such presumptuous, disrespectful feelings. Although in the end, you will be miserable and pathetic.”

Despite Geril’s provocation, there was no change in Seiden’s relaxed expression. Geril also maintained an unwavering face, only showing a regretful smile.

“Well then, I must be going now, so I’ll wish you luck. I have a reason why I must win first place, so I’m busy.”

After finishing his words, Geril pulled the reins and moved his horse. Seiden’s jaw clenched as he watched the irritating back disappear, which he wanted to smack so badly. Yes, he absolutely couldn’t give it up. Seiden also quickly rode his horse, plunging into the dense forest.

As a result, Seiden didn’t know that as soon as he disappeared, Geril, who had pretended to disappear in the opposite direction, came out slightly and carefully observed the direction where Seiden had vanished.

* * *

At that time, Bellota had escaped from the chatter of numerous noble ladies and returned to her room to catch her breath. Attending the hunting festival to pray for the safety and well-being of the empire was also one of the important duties of the Saintess. So she couldn’t hide here forever, but somehow, she didn’t have the courage to return there right now. To the place where everyone was talking about those two people…

“……”

Every time she recalled the image of Seiden and Hestina, her heart strangely ached. As a result, Bellota had to wander through emotions that even she couldn’t properly interpret. Why was she so agitated by the affairs of those two? As Bellota delved into this vague question, she was shocked to realize that she hadn’t thought about Seiden’s marriage at all.

Seiden was an excellent husband candidate, healthy and strong with outstanding looks. He was also a man of marriageable age so it wouldn’t be strange if he were to get married tomorrow. Many women in the empire would want to have Seiden as their husband. Princess Hestina was proof of that. But she had been so preoccupied with her own situation that she hadn’t considered Seiden’s circumstances at all.

How could she have done that? How…

That night, wasn’t it too selfish of her to ask Seiden to help her? No one would welcome their husband helping with another woman’s curse, especially when that curse was… such a thing. It was only natural.

If Hestina were to find out about it… Bellota’s heart trembled anxiously at this terrible assumption. So now, she was no different from blocking Seiden’s bright future. Perhaps the future of a man who could become the princess’s man and the Emperor’s son-in-law.

And yet, how could she not have thought about this even once…

Only then did Bellota realize the identity of what had been painfully tearing at her insides since yesterday. It was guilt over her selfishness, which was so intense it was sinister. Guilt over herself, who was tying down Seiden’s ankles.

It was at that moment when Bellota was frozen in shock at her first encounter with her own selfishness. For a very brief moment, Bellota felt a chilling sensation behind her back, as if cold water had been poured over her. It was an enormous energy that made all the hair on her body stand on end, goosebumps rise on her skin, and her heart sink.

“……!”

Forgetting all the thoughts she had been having until just now, Bellota turned around in surprise. Her pupils dilated. She knew what this energy was. It was the energy of dark magic, so large that it couldn’t be hidden even for a moment. Something that should never be felt here, where the imperial family and nobles were gathered for the hunting festival.

Without time to think further, Bellota sprang to her feet and stepped towards the direction where the energy was felt. She hurriedly left the room and ran down the long corridor to the back of the castle. There was no time to call for help. If she missed this now, she wouldn’t be able to find out who they were or what they were trying to do, and would have no choice but to suffer the consequences. Someone might be in mortal danger in the time it took to delay.

The place Bellota arrived at after running frantically was the garden at the back, which was dark even in broad daylight due to the dense trees, as it was carved out of the mountain. Bellota closed her eyes tightly and tried to gauge the energy that was already fading. This kind of energy could only be produced by dark mages. Moreover, if it was strong enough to reach her even for a moment, it was clear that their magical power was not ordinary.

Does this mean there are dark mages here? On the day of the hunting festival, of all times? An ominous premonition tightly gripped Bellota’s heart. This could possibly be the energy of those who artificially moved the full moon last time.

Holding her trembling breath, Bellota finally found where the energy was coming from, and stopped breathing when she discovered traces of something being burned there. It was the trace of a curse. Someone had really cast a curse here. The target of the curse was clearly one of the imperial family members or nobles gathered here. Bellota quickly looked around, but there was no sign of anyone. It seemed that those who had performed this curse had already left.

“……”