Chapter 103 – Chapter 25. Curse.
The meeting, which started early in the morning, ended around noon. The warriors, who had been waiting for the time to end, Sewol and Newol, sagging, spurred out of the meeting room as if they had waited. The meeting room quickly became empty.
Gunda caught up with Jihyeok, who was walking ahead. The brave young man hesitated a little before expressing his gratitude to Jihyeok.
“Okay, that… , Thank you. For helping me.”
Jihyeok smiled kindly and patted Gunda on the back.
“They say it happens often.”
“… I didn’t feel that way for a moment. Actually, I was a little nervous.”
“I understand. If you’re embarrassed, maybe.”
Gunda grew to like this hero named Kang Ji-hyeok more and more. The more he talked, the more he felt that he was a calm and caring person.
Isn’t there often a person whose heart is automatically drawn to? Warrior Kang Ji-hyeok was just such a person.
The two left the building shoulder to shoulder and walked all the way through the garden on a sunny day.
“There have been few visits lately… , Looks like you’re a bit busy with work.”
“Ah… , Yes. I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Well, I’m busy too, so I really don’t have time to open my eyes.”
“That’s right. Since I only look at the documents, I sometimes get confused whether I am a hero or not.”
They laughed lightly.
After talking about this and that, they arrived at the carriage stop before they knew it. Jihyeok went to the mansion together and asked if they would like to have lunch. Gunda uh… , And slightly drooped his horse’s tail, then shook his head.
“I still have some work to do. I will visit you next time I have some free time.”
“All right. … Well then, goodbye, Gunda.”
Jihyeok shook hands with Gunda and got on the carriage. The carriage carrying the warriors soon left. Gunda let out a long sigh as he watched it move away.
… Strangely, he felt himself very small.
· · ·
Returning to the mansion, Ji-hyeok finished work early in the evening and sat in the drawing room watching the sunset sky. He enjoyed the memories of the old Crescent Moon Lake while drinking tea made with dried tea leaves that his teacher Azel had given him.
After a while the sun went down. The night crows came rushing in, and darkness fell over the garden. The petals that had been wide open shriveled, and the mansion sank into silence.
Cursed human.
Ji-hyeok’s accident, which was spinning here and there, soon reached the name.
In fact, he had a good reason for that name. Everyone related to her suffered from the disease and died. … If her brother is still alive, she’ll be the only survivor of those involved. Of course, that won’t last long either.
All of that was because of the innate curse. If you have negative thoughts, the curse spell has been manifested without your knowledge. Of course, a weak one or two times does not have a great effect, but if it accumulates for a long time, it has no choice but to become a deep disease. Even a healer’s heal couldn’t cure such an illness.
The curse of the same series was much more effective than the buff in blocking the demon’s mental attack. In other words, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
In particular, buff magicians who specialized in curses like this were really rare. It was always good to bring it along if possible.
As the night progresses, Gide, Bruce, and Zeppopo return to the mansion. Soon they slowly entered the drawing room with cautious gestures. Apparently, the captain seemed to be saying something because he was just having too much fun these days, he guessed.
Gide, a bald man who became the eldest brother of the three wacky brothers, rolled his eyes and pushed Bruce’s back slightly. Mr. Child Bruce freaked out and begged his brother to leave with his eyes. Then Gide slightly clenched his fist and threatened him subtly.
Shit, you bad bastard.
Bruce laughed and scratched the back of his head.
“Captain? Why are you calling me…”
Jihyeok, who was sipping tea and looking at the dark garden, turned his head to the three crazy brothers. Their gazes were scattered here and there.
“Gide.”
“Ah… , That, Captain, there is today, just, only 2 people, only 2 people. I don’t drink too much… I’ll cut myself off tomorrow, hehe.”
The bald man who had nothing to fear in the bar shrank like a cock in cold water in front of the manager. Bruce and Zepopo made a promise to themselves that they would make sure to remember this and make fun of it next time.
“Well, I don’t care if they play in moderation. Just do your job right.”
“Oh, of course. We do our job right.”
Gide jabbed Bruce’s side with his elbow. His scarred hunk squealed.
“Oh sure. Seapearl, we do whatever we have to do and play!”
“If I don’t do my job, I will pull out all my butt hairs!”
“Hey, it’s hard, you son of a bitch.”
The harmony of the three people came together in a funny way. Jihyuk laughed.
“Okay, there’s just something you need to do.”
“What should I do?”
Gide asked.
Jihyeok lightly tapped the table with his finger. The bald hunk felt strangely tense. There was something irresistible about the captain. A presence that overwhelms the crowd.
“I want you to find someone.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“They say they are cursed humans. No one will know your name.”
“Are you a cursed human?”
Ah. The gossip-loving kobold Zeppopo seemed to have something on his mind.
“I’ve heard of it once before. A cursed human. They say you get leprosy just by getting close to it. I heard that you are a witch’s child.”
“I am not a witch’s child. Well, anyway, look for something. Where is he?”
“Should I just find that cursed human or something?”
“Hmm. ASAP.”
Gide looked at Doo’s brother and nodded his head.
“With the three of us, well, we should be able to find it in three or three days at the most. If you are definitely in the capital.”
“I’m sure there is.”
“All right. Then don’t worry. I can find it.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Have a good night, Captain.”
After bowing politely, the three wacky brothers left the drawing room arguing with each other. Jihyeok also emptied the last cup of tea and stood up.
The hero walked down a dark and silent hallway where no one was there. The sound of stair climbing piled up layer by layer over this silent silence.
He saw someone squatting in a corner next to a pillar in the bedroom door and then jumping up. He was barely visible in the dark, but he was immediately recognized.
“Grace?”
She shyly brushed her hair behind her ear, avoiding the captain’s gaze.
“To be taken care of… , Because it’s time.”
Now, the meeting of the two has a clear purpose of management. Due to her strict personality, such a fuzzy relationship where she met at will seemed awkward.
Jihyeok accepted what Grace wanted. As a leader, managing your subordinates is a duty that must be taken for granted.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
Grace moved cautiously, step by step, shyly into the bedroom. She’s like a woman entering a motel room for the first time.
Jihyeok felt the faint scent of her hair passing in front of her nose. It seemed that he had carefully prepared for this moment.
Out of habit, he swept the hallway once, entered the bedroom, and shut the door with a slam.
· · ·
Rosalia woke up at dawn before the sun rose. The cool air penetrated through her thin clothes. She quickly lifted her upper body and put her ear close to her brother’s mouth. A faint, faint sound of breathing was heard.
Thank god.
That was the beginning of Rosalia’s routine as soon as she opened her eyes. She endured day by day with the joy that her twin brother was still alive.
Her older sister Rosalia and her younger sister Lorelia were everything in her life. Because of her, she was able to endure this hellish life, and even here she felt her heaven.
Her older sister chewed on some of her younger brother’s leftover hard bread. One bite and two bites. She left the rest for her brother to eat again later.
Before Rosalia left, she dabbed her hand with charcoal and smeared her face with it. Make it look as dirty as possible. She had already cut her hair too short. She hadn’t eaten for long, so she wrapped a cloth around her undergrown breasts a few times, and she looked like a man without fail.
She came out of her storage room, lying down and looking at her little brother’s face as she slept.
Her older sister walked down her path to hell thinking of her younger brother. She had to live with swear words, insults, slander and criticism every day. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t come close to anyone because of the perception that she will be cursed if touched. Of course, it’s still annoying though.
It soon began to dawn. She quickly ran to a nearby bar. As soon as she entered her building, her familiar stench greeted her. Her old fat innkeeper didn’t even look at her when she saw her.
After Rosalia grabbed her water bucket and mop, she began to clean the floor of her mess with all kinds of vomit and filth. Even after all this grueling cleaning, she only managed to get two fairy tales. It was also originally broken by one of the three.
Still, she did this drudgery without a word of complaint. She would sometimes rummage through the pockets of her drunkards when the innkeeper’s gaze diverted. Then, on a lucky day, I was able to touch a silver coin.
After that, she went straight to the nearby inn again. There she worked clearing the stables. She was very careful when going beside her horse, as once she had broken her right arm when she was kicked by her back foot while cleaning up horse manure. When it rained, the broken part still hurt.
When she finished cleaning the stables, she received three more fairy tales. Then it was about noon.
When that was all over, she snooped around a nearby bakery. Then her kind-hearted baker would always give her a piece of bread the size of her fist. Thanks to that, she was able to survive without starving to death with her brother when her arm was broken before her.
And to endure the tough afternoon work, she still couldn’t starve at all. Otherwise, she might collapse while working. I’ve had that experience a few times before.
Sometimes her playful children would flock to her and stone her as she sat in her corner eating her bread. It’s just her little children’s pranks, but it was so painful for her. There were times when a stone hit her head and her blood flowed out. At that time, I was really sad and cried. Of course, these days, I avoided places where people would go.
She looked up at the sky for a moment and took a break after she had eaten her bread like a crab. She loved to look at the blue sky. She couldn’t count how many times she fantasized about someone coming down from that beautiful sky to save her and her brother. … But that didn’t happen. Until now.
It was time to get back to work. To pay for her sister’s medicine, she had to work hard to the bone.
In fact, it wasn’t that he didn’t even think about selling her body, but there was no place to accept her cursed woman. So she said this was the limit of what she could do.
Rosalia, who got up from a corner, moved again. I’m used to the dark alleys now, so I wasn’t scared at all. He was more afraid of people than that.
She went to the bar again. With her head tucked in as far as possible from her face, she headed for the back room. There she had to clean up the filth again.
As she moves to get her bucket and mop, she bumps into someone who has just entered the backyard. Oh. The drunk man instantly turned into a grim expression and kicked the scruffy-looking man with his feet.
“Evil-.”
She rolled over on her floor.
“This dog haircut. Unlucky—!”
He kicked her down again. Aww. She curled up on her body. Dirty filth was all over her body.
She gritted her teeth and held back her tears. If you make a fuss, you may not be able to work here anymore. She had to avoid that much. For her brother.
Then someone came in from the back room again. Then he hit the drunken kicker with his fist. He passed out as he rolled on the floor.
There was a hand that gently lifted her trembling Rosalia as she crouched down. It didn’t even care about the dirty filth.
Opening her eyes slightly, she was startled. Just by looking at it, there are people who are incredibly tall. Her body stiffened with fear.
But he was smiling so benevolently. … Like a savior who came down from heaven.
“It’s fine now. It’s okay now. I’m here. So it’s okay now.”
He hugged her and patted her on the back.
… Ah…
Rosalia burst into tears at the warm touch of her. She couldn’t help but cry.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m crying, I’m sorry.”
She cried as if she was out of breath.
What she needed was
Just a small piece of bread,
It was a warm hand.
