The Only Way to Break the Curse is Through Contact with You - Chapter 98

#98

A sudden cold and salty sea breeze blew in. The curtains on the wide-open window were fluttering ominously, and a woman who shouldn’t be here was standing there, looking surprised and stiff.

Diart, who was watching without any emotion as she saw the woman picking up the valuables in the room, finally discovered a dagger carelessly thrown on the floor. There was something that shouldn’t be there, but the person who should be there was nowhere to be seen.

Diart combed through the room, sweeping his messy hair back and forth. Then his gaze landed back on the window. The torn white silk cloth was hanging on the window frame. As he picked up the cloth, Lily screamed from behind, “Madam!”

Diart’s gaze fell on the dark night sea. Without hesitation, he jumped into it.

The festive atmosphere on board, which couldn’t get any more cheerful, froze in an instant. The nobles who were enjoying the party on the deck were shocked by Adelia being pulled out by the knights.

For a moment, they wondered why the criminal, who was supposed to have been sent to the northern frontier, was here. But when they heard that the Duchess had thrown herself into the sea to save herself from Adelia, they were speechless with shock. Moreover, the Duke himself had jumped into the sea to save the Duchess. They all looked at each other with despairing faces.

Among them, Jarvis and Leticia were the most surprised. Jarvis, who had no idea what was going on after hearing that Adelia had escaped, moved to find out what had happened. Leticia looked at the black night sea and paced back and forth. No one was unaware of how dangerous the calm-looking night sea really was.

Only a heavy silence filled the ship. The atmosphere was so serious that even those who loved to talk couldn’t easily open their mouths. The sound of small boats being rowed could be heard clearly as knights on board explored the area around the ship.

As time passed, some nobles went into their cabins, but most of them waited on deck for the Duke and Duchess to return safely.

When the moon was quite tilted, Duke Wheaton finally returned with his wife in his arms. People held their breaths when they saw the limp Duchess. They all thought she was dead, with her pale face tinged with a blue light. But no one could say anything when they saw the Duke holding his wife so tightly.

Duke Wheaton strode swiftly toward his cabin as the people rushed by. People learned for the first time that a man who was as cold-blooded as an animal without blood or tears could also have such a desperate look on his face.

When news spread that Duchess Wheaton had regained consciousness, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as if it were their own business.

* * *

Lately, even the roses blooming in the Wheaton garden seemed to have lost their vitality. It was because the lady of the mansion had been unable to get out of bed for several days. As a result, the lively mansion became silent as if it were dead, and the expressions of the servants were gloomy beyond description.

But none seemed to suffer as much as Diart. He stayed by Roeni’s side from morning to morning, not opening his eyes until the next day. Some servants even whispered that something might happen to the Duke before the Duchess, considering he neither ate nor slept.

“My lord, why do you keep refusing meals?”

Butler Gordon, who was at a loss, tried to persuade him to eat and sleep several times, but Diart didn’t even pretend to listen. The only words that occasionally came out of his tightly closed lips were,

“Is there still no news from the Sau clan.”

He was only waiting for the Sau clan, who had left, to find out why Roeni wouldn’t wake up.

The late autumn night sea was incredibly cold. Diart, who was rummaging around the ship as if going mad, thought about how agonizing it must be for Roeni, even though he himself was in this state. As time passed, he became more and more terrified. The fear that he might suddenly lose Roeni like this overwhelmed him.

In the deep and dark night sea, where despair was gradually engulfing him, he spotted Roeni holding onto a rope attached to the ship. He prayed to a God he had never believed in before, grateful for this stroke of luck.

But his relief was short-lived as he saw Roeni’s arms losing strength while hanging precariously. Desperately swimming to rescue her as she seemed to be sucked into the black sea, Diart embraced her icy body and let out a sigh of relief.

After being in the sea for a long time, Roeni’s condition was extremely critical. Diart desperately rubbed her stiff arms and legs to raise her fallen body temperature. His pleas, ‘Please’, continuously flowed from his lips.

Perhaps his heartfelt plea reached her, as Roeni’s complexion gradually returned and she regained some faint breath. Diart tightly held her, as if clinging to her every breath, his shoulders trembling with heartbreaking intensity.

Several days had passed since then, but Roeni still hadn’t opened her eyes. Diart had been tossed around by the currents, experiencing bouts of despair, but she had no major injuries, and the court physician assured him that there was no threat to her life.

If she was truly okay, there was no reason for her not to have opened her eyes until now. The doctors gathered from all over the country could only offer vague explanations for not knowing the cause. Even the imperial court physician shook his head in frustration.

Now, the only ones to believe in were the Sau clan. It was possible that Roeni’s loss of consciousness was due to the side effects of a curse. Even if that wasn’t the case, the Sau clan, known for their healing abilities, would surely find a solution. However, today, Gordon lowered his head with a regretful expression, as there was still no news he had been waiting for.

Diart showed no reaction. But Gordon could sense the diminishing strength from his shoulders. Worried about his master, who seemed as dry as a bone, Gordon tried to say a few more words but eventually left the room quietly.

Alone with Roeni, Diart, who had both hands wrapped around hers, adjusted his grip on her hand and, with one hand, gently brushed away the disheveled hair on her forehead. The many torn wounds above her eyebrows have healed. It was a relief, but it also meant that the days of her being unconscious were getting longer.

“You are truly loved.”

A dry voice flowed out of his parched lips. He’s been talking a lot since the Sau clan member advised him that even if her eyes were closed, her ears were open, so he should keep talking.

“The people of the territory gave us medicinal herbs again this morning.”

Upon hearing the news that Roeni couldn’t get out of bed due to an unfortunate accident, the people of the territory came to visit without delay. The mansion was filled with herbs and fruits that they brought, all wishing for Roeni’s recovery.

Diarte continued his rambling. He hoped for a reaction to any of them, but Roeni remained motionless. Diart slowly opened his mouth.

“I heard you were going to propose.”

He had heard from Roeni’s maid that she had planned to propose to him, and he had gone to his room after slowly looking around wherever his hands could reach. Standing in front of the bed, Diart pulled on one of the hanging ropes.

At that moment, rose petals hidden in the canopy poured down like snowflakes. Diart recalled seeing Roeni looking at him in surprise with a rose petal in her hands that morning.

“I should have gone into her room that day.”

He didn’t know he would regret passing over her strange attitude in a hurry to propose. If he had gone into her room that day and found out about her plan, maybe they wouldn’t have boarded the ship. He would have held her all day and thought over the lovely proposal that came out of her lips multiple times.

He shouldn’t have planned to propose on the ship in the first place. If he had, Roeni wouldn’t have fallen into the water. No, he should have returned to the mansion when he said that Roeni seemed to have seen that woman. If only he had increased the number of guards. If only he’d never left her side. If only he’d shaken off the nobles who were grabbing him and gone straight back to his cabin….

Diart’s face, filled with regret after regret, became increasingly distorted. He clenched her hands tightly, hoping to send even a little of his energy to her, and soon snuggled into the space next to her.

He hugged Roeni tightly and pressed his lips against hers. It made him sad that the hand that would have normally wrapped around his back didn’t respond. Diart was terrified that her eyes would never open again.

* * *