I was staring at the tea that was slowly spreading over the table when I shifted my gaze to my right hand.

‘Why is this happening?’

It felt like my hand was numb from anesthesia. Even if I tried to clench my fist with force, it wouldn’t work as I intended. Suddenly, a phrase I read in a book came to mind.

[When a curse is cast, it starts with your fingertips slowly hardening…]

Sh*t! No way?!

‘There’s still one more day left!’

I was planning to shake hands with Diart under the pretext of providing information!

I stood up abruptly, startled by the manifestation that started earlier than expected. Diart, who had been watching the tea pouring on the table, turned his gaze to me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, something urgent came up. I’ll finish the rest of the conversation later. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

I lifted the hem of my dress with one hand and rushed out of the office, leaving behind Diart’s bewildered gaze. Gordon and Lily, who were waiting outside, widened their eyes in surprise at my flustered expression.

“Madam?”

“Lily, we need to go back to my room.”

I quickly led the way, and Lily followed me closely. Gordon, with a surprised look on his face, hurriedly went back into the office. I walked quickly to my room, leaving everything behind. 

“Huff huff, what happened between you and His Highness in the office?”

As soon as I returned to my room, Lily looked at me cautiously and asked me if I was fine, but before I could answer, my knees buckled, and I staggered.

“Madam!”

Lily rushed to me when she saw me collapse on the floor and supported me. Without even realizing that she was holding my left hand, I looked down at my numb toes.

Is this how the curse starts suddenly?

“Are you okay, Madam?”

Apart from the fact that my arms and legs were paralyzed, I remembered that if I started hardening like this, fever and pain would soon engulf my entire body…

Suddenly, I gasped in pain as if struck in the neck.

“Madam!”

Lily, who was holding me from the side, looked like she was about to burst into tears, but I couldn’t even pay attention to her. I grabbed my chest where the pain was radiating and gasped for air.

Then suddenly, everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

***

It’s hot… It’s too hot… It hurts…

When I regained consciousness, my body was engulfed in a fiery heat. I couldn’t even open my eyes, let alone move my hands and feet. All I could do was endure the scorching heat that felt like a blazing fire.

Due to my long hospital stay before the possession, I thought I had some experience with pain, but this was a different kind of agony.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this painful.’

Despite worrying about the curse, there was a part of me that was nonchalant. Could it really hurt this much? Such unfounded relaxation. But the historical records in the library of Wheaton described everything without hiding or embellishment.

If I had known it would be this agonizing, I would have stayed in the office and attacked Diart with my eyes closed. Then I wouldn’t have been in so much pain.

No, maybe it’s his personality that’s the problem. No, whether I die back then or die now, death is death. It would be less painful to die by a sword than to suffer like this. But at least with the curse, I can live for another six months. No, with this much pain, maybe it’s better to die sooner.

“Madam, sob…”

A familiar voice filled my burning ears. It was a voice filled with tears and pity. It must be Lily.

But even now, there is someone by my side who cares for me. In my previous life, when I was on my deathbed, no one came to visit me. Just having this makes my heart feel warm, and it seems like the pain is slightly lessened. 

Damn you, Wheaton! Damn you, curse! Damn you, Diart!!

“Haah, haah…”

My body feels heavy, as if someone is dragging me down the bed, and my whole body is drenched in sweat. The breath coming out of my nose was hot and stinging, and my head was foggy and stuffy.

Occasionally, I could feel Lily wiping my body with a cold towel. But the coolness was only temporary, and the heat that I thought had receded came back even more intensely.

I lost consciousness several times, only to regain it later. I couldn’t gauge how much time had passed.

As time passed, I became more afraid of the thought of dying like this. I died once and barely came back to life through possession, but it was too meaningless to die without enjoying my life properly.

Why did I touch it back then? It was something that I shouldn’t have touched. Late regrets flooded in.

‘Haah… water… water…’

My throat was as dry as a bone. The hole in my throat where all the moisture had disappeared felt like it was splitting and tearing apart, and my lips were parched and chapped. Lily occasionally moistened my lips with a towel soaked in water, but it wasn’t enough.

‘Lily, please give me some water…’

If I could just have a sip of ice-cold water, it would be like a wish come true. But I couldn’t even raise my hand or open my lips because I had no strength left in my body. The moment when I felt like I was going crazy with agony,

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, a refreshing energy began to emerge from the tip of my left hand. A cool yet pleasant chill slowly and quickly spread throughout my body along my nerves.

Instead of the heat that had been tormenting me relentlessly, a refreshing feeling enveloped my whole body. Instead of sweat dripping down, a pleasant fragrance rose up, and my heavy body which had been damp and limp became lighter and lighter.

As my hazy mind began to clear up refreshingly, my mood suddenly improved as though endorphins were running through my body. It was a sensation I had never felt before in my life.

‘More, more…’

Satisfied yet restless with the stimulation, I tried to grasp more of the refreshing energy with my finally moving hand. I grabbed something big and hard that didn’t quite fit in my hand. The slightly cold skin felt cool to me, who had been feverish. As I tried to hold on with all my strength, it felt like the big hand was trying to escape.

I tightened my grip, realizing that if I let go, this strange, pleasant sensation that was now enveloping my body would be gone in an instant. But someone pulled their hand out firmly, almost indifferently.

Even though I waved my hand in regret, nothing was caught. I felt unjust and frustrated for no reason. I resented the unknown opponent and fell asleep comfortably for the first time in a long time.

* * *

My eyes opened wide. When I focused my spinning gaze, I saw the familiar ceiling of the bed. I immediately sat up, and Lily, who had been putting her hand in the basin, rushed over, throwing away the towel.

“Madam!”

Kneeling in front of the bed, holding me and looking up at me, Lily had an expression as if she was seeing someone who had died and come back to life, but I felt refreshed as if I had just woken up.

‘What’s going on?’

Although I vividly remember collapsing due to the manifestation of the curse and the tremendous pain that tormented me, I didn’t feel any of that pain in my body.

“I thought something terrible had happened.”

Lily exclaimed tearfully.

“Do you know how long you’ve been lying down? It’s been three days!”

Only three days? I thought at least ten days had passed.

“I was so scared because I thought something was wrong with you, madam….”

Lily, who had been saying how fortunate it was, started sobbing. I felt like I needed to comfort her, so I patted her back. Once Lily calmed down a bit, I asked her something that had been on my mind.

“Lily, have you ever seen anyone come into my room?”

I clearly held someone’s hand. I even remember the strange energy that spread throughout my body from where the hand touched. It must have been the pain caused by the curse, so it was probably the other person.

“It seemed like a man.”

“How dare any man enter the Duchess’ room without permission. I’ve always been by your side, but such a thing has never happened!”

Lily asserted with a swollen face. She seemed worried that something unpleasant had happened while I was unconscious.

‘What? So was it just a dream?’

The sensation in my hand was vivid. Moreover, the energy was much stronger than when I had contact with Crown Prince Jarvis.

Was it just a delusion in the midst of my confusion? Then how did the pain suddenly disappear? Did I suffer so much that it naturally got better?

Countless questions swirled in my head.

“Oh, since you woke up after three days, you must have no energy at all. Let me go quickly and bring some light soup.”

As I watched Lily leave the room with a joyful face, I lowered my head. Whether it was a dream or reality, it was a relief to get up from the bed. I was so scared, thinking I was really going to die.

According to the book, after the curse started, intermittent paralysis and pain would occur without continuous neutralization. In other words, it meant that I could collapse at any time and without warning.

Moreover, judging from the fact that the grace period of ten days had been shortened by a few days, there could be some variables in the remaining six months.

‘Damn it.’

As I briefly recalled the pain that had tormented me for the past three days, I shuddered. I couldn’t experience that nightmare again. I couldn’t just sit and wait to die like this!

I definitely wanted to live. To do that, contact with the opposite s*x was something I could no longer avoid. But it didn’t seem like Diart would help me.

Then there was only one option left.

“I have to cheat on him, no matter what!”