Chapter 67
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 67
Only one Great House in this kingdom employed such formal language.
Onium. The guardian that protects the kingdom.
They rarely ascended to the Capital, yet they were a lineage of considerable history and tradition, enjoying the Royal Family's unwavering trust.
Like the Black Family, they held one of the strongest voices among the forty-two seats of the Zeronum Nobility Council.
"How extraordinary—Onium has come to the Capital in full force."
Crowds had gathered to witness members of the rarely-seen Onium House.
The Seven Great Houses from the founding mythology were immensely popular.
Among them, the most beloved was undoubtedly the Golden Eagle Zerox, the Royal Family itself.
And second only to them was I—the Silver Wolf, Onium.
As guardians of the border and rarely seen in public, the mystique surrounding them only amplified their appeal.
Though the House itself was not the mightiest in raw power, Onium remained profoundly important.
As the most martial of all Houses, defending the frontiers, and with their progressive traditions allowing even women to become House Heads if they possessed the strength, they had captured the people's hearts.
'Foolish women thinking they could lead a House... Why do they dare encroach upon men's domain? They should be grinding flour and roasting meat.'
Norman clicked his tongue disapprovingly, glowering at the cheering women.
He was thoroughly conservative in his convictions, a man who revered and pursued the hereditary power that descended through male lineage.
Thus, whenever a woman appeared even remotely superior to him, she became an eyesore he could not abide.
"Come to think of it, wasn't the current Head of Onium a woman?"
Absurd. A woman as House Head—it was utterly preposterous.
The sheer ridiculousness of it sparked his curiosity about what manner of woman had assumed such a position.
Norman halted his carriage and observed the procession of Onium arriving before the Temple.
The Temple doors opened, and Ganash—the man who had driven Norman away moments earlier—emerged once more.
Norman ground his teeth, his gaze boring into him with undisguised enmity.
Shortly after, the door to Onium's carriage swung open, and a figure stepped forth.
Whether this person was truly the House Head remained uncertain, but they had arrived in what appeared to be the most exquisitely appointed carriage.
What struck him first was the dazzling silver hair.
On this brilliant summer day, the silver locks swept up high caught the sunlight and shimmered with an ethereal, breathtaking beauty.
"Ooooooh!"
The moment she stepped out, the crowd's cheers intensified.
Rather than a dress, the woman wore tailored trousers and formal attire like the men.
Like a soldier's bearing, she donned an angular jacket and a heavy, thick cloak draped across her shoulders.
Norman's face contorted.
That was no woman.
The sight of femininity stripped away was utterly repugnant to him.
He turned his head, intending to depart without another glance.
That is, until the woman from Onium turned and looked toward where he stood.
"...!"
In that instant, Norman felt as though his breath had been stolen away.
It was as if someone had struck his skull with a hammer—a resounding blow.
The red cloak that had bothered me, the sight of her wearing trousers—none of it was an eyesore anymore.
She was beautiful enough to sweep such trivialities from my vision entirely.
Her face was dazzlingly refined, breathtakingly gorgeous, and emanated an ethereal, dreamlike aura.
Ah, was this the ideal woman I had sketched even in my dreams?
Every ideal I had cherished until now became utterly worthless.
The moment I beheld her, she became my ideal—my everything.
"Young Master, shall we depart now?"
Norman did not answer the attendant's words, instead craning his neck out the carriage window to gaze at her.
The presumptuous Ganash walked toward her and extended his hand in greeting.
The two clasped hands and exchanged a few words.
When she turned away, her face was no longer visible.
Norman could not bring himself to depart until her figure had completely vanished from sight.
* * *
"A complete stranger, you say? Yet she seemed to know Grace Oellin quite well...?"
"Yes, that's strange to me as well. Perhaps she mistook me for someone else."
The conversation concerned the peculiar elderly woman they had encountered at the Countess's Mansion moments before.
When Selena asked if she could inquire who the woman was, Grace Oellin could only offer a bewildered smile.
There was no help for it—the elderly woman was someone Grace Oellin did not know.
Grace Oellin prided herself on having a rather excellent memory, yet no matter how hard she searched, she could recall no meeting with this woman.
And yet, something felt peculiar about the encounter.
All the more so because of the elderly woman's clear, piercing gaze—it bore no trace of deception or confusion.
'She said I was so young I couldn't possibly remember.'
...Which meant around five or six years old, or perhaps even younger.
Even if the elderly woman's words were true, how could she possibly recognize me now, so grown, from when I was that small?
It would be nearly impossible unless her eye for detail was extraordinary.
"Hmm, I see. Yet that elderly woman... her gaze didn't seem like she was mistaken."
Selena's words were accurate.
But there was no point in returning to the Countess's Mansion now and pressing the elderly woman for answers.
If, as the woman said, fate is inevitable and we meet again soon enough...
Should such a thing occur, I could simply ask her then how she came to know me.
For now, there were more pressing matters at hand.
"I... madam, there's something I'd like to ask you about."
"Mm, what is it?"
Selena, who had been gazing out at the landscape beyond the rattling carriage, turned to look at Grace Oellin with an expression inviting her to speak freely.
"Could you tell me more about the curse?"
The sequence of events in which Lucas Black became a horse, and then became human again.
I was born and raised in this nation, educated in its noble history and founding chronicles, yet I had never once heard of such a curse afflicting the most powerful noble house in the realm.
'I apologize. For now, this is all I can tell you with my own words. When we exchange our marriage vows, then... I will reveal everything to you.'
That night when Lucas Black had returned to human form.
When she asked him about the curse, he spoke those words.
That was all he could tell her with his own lips right now.
His eyes were complex, honest. I recalled how his lips trembled as if he wanted to say more but couldn't.
...And the kiss that followed on my earlobe.
'What on earth am I thinking?'
Deliberately ignoring the lingering sensation on my earlobe, I forced myself to concentrate.
A word terrifying merely to hear—'curse'.
Yet Selena and Lucas Black showed truly contradictory reactions regarding this curse.
They were clearly struggling, maintaining absolute silence about the curse itself, yet strangely showed no fear of the curse itself.
Rather, it seemed entirely natural, taken for granted.
I sensed a dissonance in their differing attitudes.
How could a curse that transforms humans into beasts feel so unremarkable?
And this vast curse that seemed to entangle far more than just the Black Family alone.
"Do you wish to know more details about the curse? Didn't Lucas Black tell you anything, Grace Oellin?"
"He said he cannot explain further with his own words. As if he's someone who mustn't speak of it himself."
Selena nodded.
"That's right. Lucas Black cannot speak of it 'yet'."
"Then, Madam...."
"But I cannot either."
"Pardon?"
Selena smiled gently and cupped my cheek as one would gaze upon a beloved daughter.
"'We' all cannot. Grace Oellin. Not yet.... Because a geas binds us."
A geas?
"What do you mean by that?"
"Originally, anyone connected to this curse cannot speak a single word about it. But...since you are now entangled with a part of the curse, it seems you're permitted to some degree."
"I don't understand what you mean, Madam."
"At the wedding ceremony, you will likely need to enter into a contract of 'vow'. Through that, we bind outsiders like myself and you to this curse. That is all I can tell you."
She cannot speak even though she wishes to.
It must be something of utmost importance.
I nodded in understanding.
Selena, who had been staring intently at me, added carefully.
"Once the wedding ends, you will share our fate, Grace Oellin. Grace Oellin, I'm sorry to say this now, but...are you truly certain about this?"
Selena was asking. Whether it was truly all right to be caught up in such a curse.
I read guilt in Selena's gaze as she pierced through me.
This situation was no one's fault.
They simply lost a horse for a moment, and I happened to pick it up.
It was not something that occurred through anyone's intention or malice.
Therefore, Selena and Lucas Black had no need to apologize to me.
I grasped the back of Selena's hand against my cheek and smiled slightly.
"I'm all right, Madam."
Her family had constantly forced her into things that were far from acceptable. Of course, they never sought her consent, nor did they feel the slightest remorse.
They demanded that a child who had lost her mother grow up overnight, and from that grieving girl, they stole and sold away the precious belongings of her mother—treasures she held as dear as life itself.
At times, she was subjected to unjust verbal abuse and violence simply because she was a girl.
It hurt, but I didn't know it was wrong. I had been exposed to their casual cruelty and extortion for so long that it seemed utterly natural.
I had the will to escape this place, but I never truly believed they were bad people.
Rather, I couldn't believe it. I had been so thoroughly conditioned by their violence that I could not see it for what it was.
'...But now I understand.'
Norman and Capren Oellin are bad people.
No one should have treated me that way.
Not even family—and especially not because they were family.
I came to understand this truth by watching Selena and Lucas Black.
Through their unselfconscious tenderness—the way they gently touched my cheek, the warmth of their concern for me before themselves—I finally knew.
Since affection flows in many directions, I wanted to remain with these people who gave me their warmth in return.
I didn't know how terrifying the curse truly was, but with Lucas Black, that man, by my side, I felt I could endure it somehow.
"I'm truly all right."
Grace Oellin smiled.
Selena, seeing the genuine warmth in Grace Oellin's smile, returned it with one of her own.
In that moment, it seemed as though nothing bad could ever befall them—a scene of perfect peace.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org