Chapter 25

The woman’s figure was too vivid to be dismissed as a mere hallucination. She walked towards me, and I fell back in fright. However, the woman passed through my body and continued on. Even as she moved, the sorrowful sound of her sobbing lingered in the air.

As I touched the ground and looked around, Julian, who had held me just moments before, was nowhere to be seen. More importantly, this was not the mine we had entered; it was a vast, grassy field.

“Where am I?”

I stood up and saw the woman in black. Following her seemed to be the only option at the moment.

As I followed her for a while, I suddenly realized that she walked with a certain grace despite her staggering steps. The black clothing she wore looked expensive, and her attire resembled that of someone attending a funeral.

Yet, no place here seemed like it would host a funeral. There was nothing besides the woman’s footsteps and the wind brushing through the grass.

Mumbling. Mumbling.

There was another sound. The woman, who had been weeping all along, had started mumbling quietly at some point. She walked deeper into the secluded area. I realized I was moving farther from Julian but followed her as if entranced.

Mumbling. Mumbling.

“What is she saying?”

I hurried my steps to catch up with her. My curiosity about this strange situation and my desire to escape it were more significant than my fear.

“…if you… curse…”

Curse!

I opened my eyes wide and took a step back from the woman.

A curse is a type of magic realized when a person with great magical talent falls into corruption. It was highly forbidden, and corrupted mages were shunned by society and forced to live in isolation.

Before I knew it, there was a tombstone in front of us. I was shocked to see the name “Isaac Zan” engraved on it. The death date was from over a hundred years ago, indicating that this was an ancestor of the Zan family.

The woman knelt in front of Isaac Zan’s tombstone. Tears fell from her beautiful emerald eyes as she whispered against the stone.

“I told you I would curse you if you betrayed me.”

Black energy began to gather at her fingertips.

“Without you, I’d really be like this…….”

The woman looked like a pitiful beauty with her eyes closed, but the black energy spread from her hand, turning everything around her black. I stepped back in fear, but the black energy quickly climbed up my ankles.

“What… what is this…”

“You!”

I heard a powerful call that startled me. When I looked up, the woman was staring at me with bloodshot eyes. How? She hadn’t seen me until now, but suddenly, she could. She pointed at me, her eyes wide with anger.

“You, too, will not escape this curse!”

Before she could finish her words, I turned and ran. But the black energy clinging to me only spread faster.

“Julian, Julian…!”

I called out the first name that came to mind, the strong person who always protected me.

“Julian!”

Just as I called out again, someone grabbed me tightly.

“Laila!”

The call was so much stronger than that of the corrupted mage. I clung to the warmth of the embrace.

“Laila, are you back to your senses?”

“J-Julian… how are you here…”

I mumbled incoherently, gradually realizing the situation. I was still in front of the black rock in the mine. Julian held me tightly as the miners watched. The relief of coming to my senses was overshadowed by embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry!”

I tried to push away from Julian’s chest, but he lifted me up again. Startled, I could only hold on to his neck.

“Duchess, you don’t seem well, so don’t strain yourself.”

I whispered into Julian’s ear.

“Many eyes are watching…”

“Should I just stand by while my wife is staggering?”

Julian held me tighter. I closed my mouth.

Just when I thought we would leave, Julian remained among the miners. This was the opposite of my desire to leave immediately, so I asked cautiously.

“Why aren’t we leaving?“

“There is something I need to confirm. I can’t leave you alone.”

“What is it…”

As I murmured, I saw a rock shimmering with colorful light. It was where the giant black rock had been. I looked at Julian in confusion.

“Did the mage come while I was unconscious?”

I wondered if I had been unconscious for a long time. However, Julian’s expression was different. He looked at me as if I were the cause of all this. I fumbled for words, touching his shoulder.

“You don’t mean to tell me that the gem interprets itself just because I touched it? Haha.”

I made a joke to lighten the unbearable tension, but Julian didn’t deny it, and the miners’ gazes were intense. They all seemed amazed as if they had witnessed something extraordinary.

“Your Grace, are you perhaps a mage?“ the head miner asked in awe. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“No, I’m a knight.“

“Then are you a magic knight?“

“No, no. I’ve never learned magic.“

“Are you a born magic knight?!”

With each word, it seemed I became more remarkable. I kept silent, fearing further misunderstandings.

Julian, who had been listening to this strange conversation, spoke calmly.

“I will arrange for tools to help extract this rare gem.”

The miners bowed their heads in gratitude. Extracting rare gems was a great opportunity, boosting their careers and earning them higher wages.

However, Julian and I were the ones who benefited the most. Usually, it would take a skilled mage and considerable time to interpret the rare gem, costing both money and time. But we now possess a rare gem mine without any of these expenses.

We climbed back into the carriage. Julian planned to send a trusted aide and a servant to start the work here. I was lost in thought as the carriage swayed gently while Julian remained silent. It was always me who broke the silence.

“Julian.“

“Why do you call me?“

“Do you know of an ancestor named Isaac Zan?”

Julian narrowed his eyes at that.

“How do you know that name?”

I seemed more shocked than Julian. Was that vision real? Did I genuinely see the past? Could such a thing be possible? What was the connection between that black-clad woman and the Zan family? Could it be related to the curse Julian bears?

Julian noticed me biting my lip in contemplation and asked.

“Is there something else you’re hiding from me?“

“No!”

I reacted too strongly in surprise.

I was hiding many things. Chief among them was my regression and the vision I had just seen. I was afraid to tell him about the woman in the vision. She was cursing his ancestor, and she cursed me, too.

It might have been a curse on anyone who glimpsed the past, but maybe, just maybe, it was connected to the curse running through the Zan family. The thought made my fingertips tremble. Julian was deeply afraid of his curse.

But faced with Julian’s stern gaze, I had to reveal a small part of the truth.

“…Yes, I’m hiding something.”

And that was all.

“But I don’t want to tell you what it is.”

Leaving only the implication that I wasn’t a trustworthy woman, I refused to reveal more.

“Laila.”

Julian occasionally called my name like this. Every time, my heart pounded. I felt as if I might confess everything. It hurt to think he might be disappointed in me for hiding things. Yet, I had to speak harsh words.

“Anyway, you don’t show me your face either, right? We’re that kind of couple.”

As I said each word, I knew it was a mistake, something I shouldn’t say. But the words had already left my mouth, and they silenced Julian effectively.

“…Alright.”

Julian didn’t ask for more. That both relieved and saddened me.