The Only Way to Break the Curse is Through Contact with You - Chapter 49
#49
“It’s a romantic festival that happens only once a year on a summer night.”
Jarvis’s face looked no different from that of a swindler trying to lure an innocent lamb, but he was cold and unyielding. In the end, I followed him to the street where the festival was taking place.
I hadn’t noticed earlier, but the street was definitely livelier than usual. The trees and shops were decorated for the festival, and people’s expressions were strangely excited. It was full of couples who seemed to have come out for a date.
The cheerful music of the street musicians added to the excitement of the festival.
“What is the festival celebrating?”
Usually, festivals are held to celebrate or honor a specific subject. Since it was described as romantic, could it be a festival for lovers?
Jarvis looked suspicious at my question.
“Don’t you know? It’s the most famous festival in the Empire.”
“Ah, that…I’ve only heard about it, this is my first time attending.”
Despite my somewhat clumsy excuse, Jarvis didn’t suspect anything and moved on.
“It’s not about honoring anything, it’s a festival to protect something.”
“Yes?”
“The Empire’s god, Dequa, stole a woman who was someone else’s lover and made her his wife. This festival was created based on that. “
What kind of nonsense is this? Can a rogue like him be a god? And this is supposed to be romantic? I couldn’t help but have serious doubts about the morality of the Empire.
“I’m going to be Dequa today.”
Jarvis gave me a wicked smile. I looked at him suspiciously as he pulled off an obvious stunt. He still hadn’t realized his feelings for Adelia. No wonder he would just give 1000 gold to anyone. If you multiply that by all the women he’s met, how much money had he spent? I could understand why Leticia was worried about the Empire’s future.
“Jarvis, if you keep playing tricks on serious people like this, you won’t be trusted when you really fall in love.”
I gave him serious advice as someone who had read the original work and lived longer than him in my past life.
“I’m serious about you now.”
“If you keep doing this, you’ll regret it later.”
I stopped trying to persuade Jarvis as he seemed not to hear my words.
Wait a minute, isn’t this festival an opportunity? Before he even realizes his true feelings for Adelia, I could make new connections. It was a good opportunity to find out if there was a man with whom I had a legal compatibility other than Diart. I was a little worried that Lily and the knights were following me, but hey, this festival was designed to steal someone else’s partner.
Forgetting that I had just questioned the morality of the Empire, I grabbed his arm and strode briskly toward the crowds.
“Let’s properly enjoy the festivities.”
* * *
Damn it.
We’d been wandering the streets for quite some time, and it hadn’t been fruitful. Instead of enjoying the festival, I was only exhausted and the day was already turning into dusk. I glared at Jarvis, who was stubbornly uncooperative. I pointed to various attractive ladies and asked him how he felt about such women, he replied, ‘There is no woman who is not beautiful.’ But even while saying that, he pulled off a nonsensical move, saying,
‘But in my eyes, you shine the brightest.’
I was in a state of utter confusion. If spending time at the festival with him was going to be like this, I would have preferred it if he had shown me a café or something where men and women could make eye contact. I could have just thrown him there.
Jarvis handed me a drink he bought from the street and looked at me intently.
“Why do you keep asking me such things?”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed as I sipped on the sweet pineapple juice and replied half-heartedly.
“You keep trying to match me with this lady or that lady. It seems like you want to introduce me to women.”
Did you just realize that? He is usually so perceptive, so why is he acting like this. When I looked at him with puzzled eyes, Jarvis urged me to answer.
‘I’m sorry, Leticia.’
I’m doing all this to save you. After seeking forgiveness from Leticia, I opened my mouth.
“Leticia is very worried about you. Your High… I mean, Jarvis, you should quickly find a good match. She’s concerned.”
“Leticia?”
Jarvis squinted his eyes as if he found it suspicious. It was a look that said my younger sister wouldn’t be worried about such things. Well, considering the sight of the two of them at the café earlier, it was hard to believe. But I had to push through till the end.
“Leticia thinks about Jarvis a lot, you know.”
“That’s why you’ve been trying to set me up with different people.”
“Rather than setting you up, it’s more like I didn’t know what kind of woman Jarvis would like.”
“Didn’t I keep saying it? That you looked the most beautiful to me.”
That was just a bluff. I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. But Jarvis’ expression was more serious than ever.
“I didn’t know that Leticia wanted me to marry someone, but if I were to get married, I think it would be nice if it were you.”
“Um, I’m sorry, but it seems you’ve forgotten. I’m already married.”
“You’re getting a divorce soon, right?”
“Well, yes.”
Is this man serious? I was taken aback by the unexpected proposal-like statement and could only stammer. I couldn’t understand why the conversation was suddenly going this way. Jarvis’ gaze, as he looked at me hesitantly, made me feel uncomfortable, and I had an impulse to escape from this place immediately.
“Why are you suddenly confessing like this in the middle of the street?”
“I didn’t plan to say it like this, but you’re so oblivious that I had to. If things continue like this, it might end up with you attaching me to every woman in the world.”
Jarvis smiled as if he could read my inner thoughts.
“Do you know that we’ve only met four times so far?”
“Does the number of times matter?”
“No, but still, even though we’ve only met a few times, to already talk about marriage…”
“I’ve met many women before, but being with you makes me feel happy. This is the first time I thought that it would be okay to get married. Isn’t it said that you can feel your destined partner in a single moment?”
‘Destined partner?’
Suddenly, the moment when I had eaten a strawberry shortcake just a few hours ago felt like a distant dream. It was such a sudden situation that I didn’t know what to do, and while I was lost in reality, I snapped out of it when I saw Jarvis’ serious face spreading a smile.
It was just a cruel joke after all. That thought barely crossed my mind when Jarvis’ voice continued before I could even finish my thought.
“Don’t feel too burdened. I’m just asking you to look at me with an open mind.”
“…Okay.”
As soon as I finally spoke after a long time, I could feel Jarvis focusing on me.
“I want something sweet.”
It was an irrelevant and random statement considering the situation, but Jarvis stood up without a word.
“Just wait here. They happen to be selling fruit candies over there.”
He took off his jacket and put it over my shoulders before heading towards a makeshift stall a little distance away. It was unexpected, but as I separated from Jarvis, who had suddenly left, I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t catch up with the sudden turn of events.
So let’s get this straight. Did Jarvis, who I thought fell in love with Adelia at first sight, actually have feelings for me?
“Do I have to like this?”
I couldn’t even grasp the situation because I had never thought of it before. If he didn’t fall in love with Adelia, it meant that he had prevented a catastrophe from happening to the imperial family. But why did it have to be me?
‘But why didn’t he fall in love with Adelia? Then what happened to Jarvis’ supporting character setting?’
I tilted my head, thinking that one of the main pillars of the original work was collapsing. It was a different issue from me artificially pairing others together. Just then, a cool voice descended upon me.
“What are you thinking about?”
The voice was icy and dry, in stark contrast to Jarvis’ affectionate voice. The voice was familiar. When I looked up, Diart was looking down at me with a very stiff face.
“How did you…”
“Get up.”
Diart suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me up. He then hugged me and lifted me up onto his shoulder in an instant. I was too surprised to even scream. Diart caught a glimpse of Jarvis turning his head with a fruit candy and walking away quickly. Jarvis’ jacket, which was hanging loosely on my shoulder, fell to the ground in a heap.
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