Edited by Meh21
***
***
As it was, I ran away without lifting Devan’s curse.
My heart pounded at the thought that came to mind.
If I disappeared, would Devan have to live under a half-curse for the rest of his life?
…..But Cordelia appeared.
If I disappear like this, Devan will try to find me somehow. Because he thinks I’m the main character of the prophecy.
I ran away without lifting the curse, so I’m sure he thinks it’s because I’m a fraud.
Then, he would have no choice but to share information with the temple he visited, and there was a possibility that he would meet Cordelia someday.
Then maybe they might recognize each other.
Although Cordelia didn’t have Diego’s seal, she smelt like daisies.
And they’re the main characters of the original. It could be led by fate.
I clenched my fist.
Isn’t this all my rationalization?
Could I throw away Devan to live alone?
“Sigh…”
Flop
I laid down on the bed.
An unidentified dark shape came to my mind on his right side.
My heart dropped as if I had been caught by something.
What in the world was that? There was no such description in the original.
Did something change due to my intervention?
I didn’t even know that was changing the situation between Devan and Cordelia in a bad way.
I clenched my fists until my palms turned white.
Still, from the ceiling, a lion full of arrows was looking down at me.
For the first time since coming here, the lion looked pitiful.
***
The next day. As soon as the day came, I moved diligently to examine the structure of the orchid.
When I looked around the garden with Karen, I remembered the walls that seemed exceptionally easy to climb and descend.
I had to find out where it was inside the castle.
I don’t know when to run away.
There was smoke from the outside, so it must be the kitchen side. It’s still warm, so the fireplace wasn’t heating up.
Without Hilda, I quietly headed to the Great Hall alone.
I’ve never been to the kitchen, but I always knew the direction of the butler serving food.
This way, right?
I went into the left entrance of the Great Hall.
When I turned the corner, I was immediately engulfed by the smell of food.
That was the answer.
There must be a kitchen across from here.
To escape through this place, I had to know the structure inside.
However, there was something else that was more important than anything else.
When kitchen servants empty the kitchen and how to enter the empty kitchen.
I had to figure it out.
But wouldn’t it be strange if I suddenly went in now?
What excuse should I make…..
It was that moment.
The door of the kitchen suddenly opened, and the blank look of the food ingredients came out.
“Young….lady?”
Without time to make excuses, I was caught.
I blinked quickly and hurriedly raised my chin, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Hi?”.
“He-hello, Lady!”
The servant bowed his back.
“What brings you here……”
“Can I just look around for a second?”
“Of course, Lady!”
Servant rolled his eyes and slipped out of the door.
In any case, there was no reason for the Count Ladies to stop him on the outside.
The kitchen was crowded with staff.
Unlike other empty places, this place was so active that it was comparable to Count Diego’s.
The reason why the food was delicious seemed to be because Devan cared that much.
“The water is boiling over there! It’s not fully cooked. Grill more! You told me to go to the warehouse. Why are you still…..”
A woman who appeared to be a chef was leading the way shouting around.
Then she widened her eyes when she saw me.
“Who…..? Are you that…. Young Lady?”
‘That’ Young Lady…
She wouldn’t have been able to talk about me, so she wouldn’t know that I was here to resolve his curse.
If so, is there a rumor spreading among users similar to circulating on the land?
“I just came to look around.”
“Kitchen?”
She looked a little curious, but nodded to see if she had convinced something.
“Of course. That’s possible. What are you curious about?”
I squinted at the more impatient attitude than I thought.
I thought my assumption was correct.
Rumors spread among servants will not be much different from those spread on the land.
‘So, she wants to check the kitchen in advance as the wife of this castle.’
She seemed to think that.
“Well, there are a lot of people in the kitchen. Does Your Highness pay a lot of attention to food?”
“Yes, because he’s a gourmet.”
“Do you know what he likes?”
And for now, there was no reason not to use the rumor.
Her face turned into an exciting look as if she were listening to someone else’s love story.
“Yes, of course. His highness likes fresh salads and almost uncooked meat.”
“Okay……”
I sneaked closer to her and looked around the kitchen.
The servants were in a hurry to avoid my gaze.
There were two windows in the kitchen, one of which was so small that people couldn’t escape.
Fortunately, the place where the food smoke went out through the other, fairly large, window.
It was big enough for my body to escape. Outside the window, there was a wall that looked easy to climb from the outside.
The chef glanced at me looking down.
I said with a little smile. So that she didn’t find a single harmfulness in my tone.
“Then…. I have one more question.”
***
The chef quickly blew out the information.
With just a little conversation, I could see that the kitchen was closing at 11pm.
The last person to come out was the blind-looking servant that first opened the door.
After getting all the information, I sat down at the table in Great Hall, pretending to come down for a meal.
Devan seemed a little surprised that I came earlier than him, but he didn’t care much.
Soon, a luxurious meal was presented. I ate with an indifferent look on my face, and kept an eye on the kitchen.
Will he leave the key to the kitchen to that young and blind-looking servant?
If it were me, I wouldn’t do that. There is a place where important keys are managed somewhere in the mansion, and getting keys from there while commuting.
That was more realistic.
Then, where do you manage the key? Someone who can stay in this castle and be trusted….
“Hey.”
At the sudden low voice, I swiftly raised my head.
Devan said, putting the dishware aside.
“As you said, all the curses in the left eye have been lifted.”
It seemed that he had discussed it with the doctor in the meantime.
I was not surprised because I already knew that.
“That’s great.”
“Is there no treatment today?”
“Oh……. .”
‘What about the right side? Can you solve the curse on the right side tomorrow?’
“Let’s take it easy for now. It’s not something that you can use all at once.”
Obviously, the treatment was delayed yesterday on the pretext of restoring my credibility.
It’s because I haven’t found any clue to how to deal with the strange shape on the right.
Devan was displaying some tension.
He seemed to have completely restored his trust in me.
It was understandable that no one had ever solved the curse.
But that was only the left eye.
If he hastily started treatment today and showed signs of collapse again, his trust might crack again.
As expected, today was the time to postpone treatment and just opened my mouth.
“Oh, come to think of it….. I forgot to say this yesterday….. “
Even before hearing my answer, Devan changed the subject as if he suddenly remembered it.
“Is it important?”
“Maybe.”
I put the fork next to me and looked at him.
Did the temple find a clue about me, or maybe it’s a story of Cordelia. At least I had an intuition that it was not positive news.
Looking at the old butler, meaning that he had finished eating, he quickly cleaned up the meal and served black tea.
“What is it?”
“You may already know it, or you may not think much about it…..”
Unexpectedly, his introduction was long.
“Your brother Killian Diego has applied for a visit.”
What?
I barely managed to resist spewing the tea I was drinking.
Instead, I put down the teacup with trembling hands.
The teacup and the base collided and rattled, making a noise that I didn’t want to hear.
Brother. Killian. Diego. Visit.
The words were not able to make sentences and were turning in my head.
What did I just hear?
“Since I didn’t let him know that you’re here… it’s not because of you, but I heard that the brother and sister’s relationship is strong, so I can’t let you meet him, but if you want, I can allow you to see him from afar.”
Devan spoke as if he had bestowed upon me great kindness.
I couldn’t talk with just my lips rattling.
“….what…… so…… why?”
It was a silly question that left my mouth.
“Why? If you’re asking me why you can’t meet him, I brought you here without saying any- ”
“No, that’s not it. Why did you ask me to….. participate?”
He shrugged that the question was unexpected.
“I know that he became the captain of the Astrilla Guard. It’s not strange to come to see me at least once.”
Astrilla Lantimos, the crown princess of this empire.
Come to think of it, Killian was working under her.
It was exactly as I heard; he became a captain of the Royal Guard not long ago.
No matter how cursed he was, Devan was the only heir to the throne except for the Crown Princess.
There was also an ugly rumor.
On the surface, his meeting was not a strange thing.
But is that really why you’re here?
That can never happen.
How did you know I was here?
I bit my teeth.
“Can’t you not allow it? Then you might get caught as the one kidnapping me. I don’t think it’s good for me to do either.”
“I wanted to refuse, but there was no justification.”
“What’s the justification?”
Devan buried himself deeply in the chair.
“If you refuse hastily, you may be suspected of trying to contradict the Crown Princess.”
He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. He seemed to have no intention of reversing the decision.
If so, there was only one way left.
Leaving here before he comes.
P