The Only Way to Break the Curse is Through Contact with You - Chapter 81

#81

The knights flocked to Diart when he appeared at the training ground after three days.

“Is the madam feeling okay?”

“Or could it be she’s very ill?”

The knights were not just worried after hearing from Milto that Roeni had complained of dizziness and collapsed in the street. Furthermore, since the visit of the court physician, she has secluded herself in her room and refused to receive any visitors, causing even more concern. Even the cold-hearted Diart seemed to stick by her side, creating a tense atmosphere on the training ground these days.

“I heard that Trytops’ heart can revive even the dead. Let’s prepare for the expedition right away!”

“Stop with that empty and baseless talk when no one has seen anything. We must capture a tarvo! Your Excellency, there’s nothing like tarvo meat for recovery!”

The knights presented various remedies, each wishing for Roeni’s health. While the knights showed determination and fierceness, Lambert, who approached lazily, even let out a yawn, displaying a relaxed attitude.

“You should rest for another fortnight and then come out. In the meantime, let me catch my breath too.”

No, how can you say that when the lady is critically ill! The knights glared at the arrogant leader, who showed no sign of acknowledging their surprised faces. Usually, Diart would have retorted to such impolite behavior, but this time he nodded briefly in agreement. Come to think of it, he seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

To have such a cheerful face amidst the lady’s critical state. They wondered if he was doing well these days, but it seems that people don’t change easily.

The knights were deeply disappointed in their master’s character, which they had secretly doubted all along, while feeling a sense of pity for Roeni, who must be wandering in ignorance of everything. They firmly resolved to do everything they could for her sake.

Diart and Lambert, alternately receiving disapproving glances from their subordinates, moved to a corner of the training ground.

“What’s the situation in the palace?”

“Nothing special.”

“And the secret army?”

“No signs of any significant movements. Well, even if they do move, it’s obvious that it won’t be anything major.”

Lambert shrugged as if it were of no consequence.

It was already known that the Emperor had gathered the secret army within the imperial palace in preparation for a rebellion. Of course, they probably didn’t realize that Diart was aware of it.

The Emperor seemed truly prepared for an all-out war, but compared to Diart, the military power he possessed was like a child’s play. There was a world of difference between the peaceful imperial palace and the Wheaton duchy, which had been honed on the battlefield for many years. It was evident that if a rebellion were to occur, the Velric Empire would disappear from the continent within a day or two.

However.

“Stop what we were doing.”

“What?”

Lambert wrinkled his brow, wondering what he was talking about. No matter how predictable the outcome may be, preparing for the worst and being fully prepared was Diart’s habit, and it was Lambert’s job to execute it.

They had made all the necessary preparations so far, so Lambert couldn’t understand why they were suddenly being told to stop everything. His master had never reversed a deadline before, so he found it even more perplexing. After briefly pondering, Lambert chose the most plausible reason among the few options available.

“Did the madam tell you to stop?”

His tone was similar to asking the question, ‘Your Mom said no?’ Even his raised eyebrows seemed to mock him. But Diart didn’t offer any rebuttals. Because it was the truth. Diart recalled his conversation with Roeni from yesterday.

‘Rebellion is absolutely impossible.’

‘Why?’

Although he had never been ambitious for the throne, it wasn’t a bad option to consider when it came to Roeni. He had no idea that Roeni had been treated with contempt by the noble ladies. He had set an example by retaliating, but there was no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen again in his absence. For example, Adelia McGregor, that woman also dared to harm Roeni.

Diart intended to prevent such a situation from happening again. He would seat Roeni in the most noble position in the empire, the one that everyone looked up to. Eliminating Jarvis was a side matter. Even if he didn’t make a big deal out of it, it wouldn’t be so difficult for him to cut his throat without anyone knowing.

He thought Roeni would also aspire to become an empress since he had heard that most women coveted the position of empress. But her reaction was completely different from what Diart had expected.

‘I don’t even have a desire to become an empress.’

‘Why? If you become an empress, you will have all the power and whatever you want.’

‘High positions come with a lot of responsibility. I just want to spend money freely and live freely.’

And above all, Roeni added with a serious expression.

‘You can’t become the emperor. For the sake of world peace!’

He didn’t know what she meant, but Roeni, who was hanging on to him and begging him to give up the rebellion as soon as possible, was quite cute. After teasing her for a while, Diart gave up on the rebellion and headed for the bed, grabbing her waist. There was no reason for him to become an emperor if Roeni didn’t want to become an empress.

“What are you thinking?”

Lambert took a step back with a slightly bored look in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but the expression on the face of his master and long-time comrade, Diart, was unsettling in a different way than he was used to.

Suddenly remembering Diart’s relentless pursuit of the enemy on the battlefield, Lambert rubbed his forearms together in a languid gesture.

‘Poor lady.’

Just think that I must have sold several countries in my past life and given up, he thought, then resigned himself. Lambert nonchalantly raised his head as if it were someone else’s problem.

Diart’s gaze, silently observing that scene, fell on Lambert’s hand. Ever since he prohibited wearing half-gloves, the knights had been wearing gloves that covered their fingers completely. After having tasted the coolness once, complaints about the heat had erupted among the knights, but he simply ignored them.

Diart suddenly thought of Roeni, who had been getting along with the knights without any reservations, and narrowed his eyes. When he first learned about the curse, he hadn’t thought that far, but when he realized that Roeni must have had contact with them in the midst of their intimacy, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Especially that brat. His gaze fell on Mito, who was kicking the ground with a depressed look.

“Lambert.”

“Yes, please speak.”

Lambert, who had missed the rebellion event that he had been looking forward to, responded sulkily.

“Confiscate all the half-gloves that the knights have.”

“What?”

It’s not enough to ban them, so you’re taking them away too. Lambert expressed his frustration, but Diart didn’t back down. Come to think of it, he was the only one who didn’t receive half-gloves. Since then, he has been told that he isn’t even worth considering. Diart, who was becoming more and more mischievous, added briefly.

“And throw that brat and the others into the punitive force that will catch tarvon or something.”

Lambert’s gaze turned to Milto, who was depressed because of his worries about Roeni, without knowing that he had been caught by Diart.

* * *

“Oh my, how on earth, no… no matter what, it’s incredible…”

I blurted out, unable to look at Lily, who was gently scrubbing my shoulders with a soft sponge and letting out a series of exclamations.

“Please choose one of three things: whether to be amazed, curious, or worried.”

“Did you like it?”

Lily blinked her cute eyes and asked an innocent question that momentarily left me speechless. I covered my mouth with my hand and coughed nervously. My cheeks flushed for no reason.

“I wish you had been worried instead of curious.”

“Madam, you look so good. I can see there’s much more vitality in you than a few days ago, and your skin is glowing.”

It was natural since the curse had been neutralized, even though my body might be tired from Diart’s constant harassment. After my contact with him, I was in a state of high energy.

“You didn’t come out of your room for days, so everyone was worried sick. We never imagined such a turn of events!”

Lily’s face was excited. To call it a turn of events… I pressed my lips together, touching my heated earlobes. I didn’t feel bad about Lily’s excitement.

“So you two are fully married now, and there’s no chance of a divorce, is there?”

Lily meaningfully told me, and she continued to babble about how happy she was to continue serving us in the future.

“Well, I don’t know yet. Whether we will get divorced or not is something we’ll have to wait and see.”