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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Curse Resumes
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「I have an urgent matter to discuss and plan to visit tonight. If this is inconvenient, please reply with a preferred date and time.」

I read the concise message, composed of just two sentences, over and over again.

Just in case, I checked the back, but that was the entirety of the note.

“What about my payment? Where’s my money?”

My mood sank with betrayed expectations, but soon the words ‘an urgent matter to discuss’ began to weigh more heavily on my mind.

What could Raynerd possibly have to discuss with me? I had no clear grounds for it, but a premonition washed over me that it wasn’t anything good.

“No, let’s not worry before I know what’s going on.”

In any case, I would only find out the truth by meeting Raynerd in person.

I considered asking in my reply, but I guessed it was likely a matter Raynerd found difficult to write down in a note.

Considering his direct personality as depicted in the novel, if it were something that wouldn't matter if it got out, he would have written it in the note.

‘He must have deliberately omitted the reason in case someone attacked his bird and stole the note.’

The thought made my heart feel as if it were weighed down by a stone.

‘If it’s something that would be troublesome for Raynerd if it were revealed…’

Even with my limited knowledge of the Crown Prince, one thing came to mind, but I forced myself to shake my head.

“No way, it can’t be. It won’t be. It better not be.”

After sending Raynerd a reply saying he could come tonight, I was steeped in anxiety.

Time, which had flown by so quickly when I was lazing around without a care in the world, crawled by at a snail’s pace that day.

On a secluded night, with the distant hooting of an owl in the air.

“It’s been a while, Young Lady.”

The next emperor of the empire, Raynerd, appeared before me with the same confident smile as last time.

“The wind is chilly at this late hour. Why are you out here?”

He easily climbed a tree near my room and onto the terrace, addressing me.

I had been pacing out on the terrace for about an hour.

“Greetings, Your Highness! How could I possibly rest easy when I knew you were coming?”

“Are you sure it’s not because of the note’s contents?”

“Haha, well, there’s a little bit of that, too…”

The smile on his lips deepened.

“I felt this last time, too, but I quite like that about you.”

His distinct features, clearly visible even in the darkness, were enough to make my heart pound.

“Wh-what about me?”

“How you’re just the right amount of honest and just the right amount of servile?”

“…”

Honest, maybe, but servile? It was a word utterly devoid of romance.

Just like a high-and-mighty person, he must like people who suck up to him.

‘But he said he fell for Aila’s boldness, how she said whatever she wanted even in front of the Crown Prince!’

Of course, that was only permissible because she was the female lead. Anyone else would have lost their head without a second thought.

“Well now, let’s go inside.”

Despite having visited only once, Raynerd entered my room with a familiar air.

“Make yourself comfortable over there.”

It was enough to make me wonder if the owner of the room had changed without my knowledge.

But the next moment, the man who had settled on the long sofa hardened his expression.

“A serious problem has come up. The ‘urgent matter to discuss’ in the note refers to that.”

I swallowed hard and asked.

“May I ask what the problem is?”

“…I can’t sleep again.”

After a brief pause, the words that came from the Crown Prince’s mouth were nothing short of shocking.

“The curse of the bed has resumed.”

Damn it! I was hoping it wouldn’t be this!

I shot back a question.

“Are you hearing the voice again?”

“Yes.”

“The same words as last time?”

“That’s right. Everything is the same as before.”

Raynerd decisively crushed my last lingering, vague hope.

“The curse wasn’t broken. It only stopped for a short while.”

“…My goodness.”

“It’s already been a fortnight. After spending one night in the Young Lady’s bed, I felt unbelievably refreshed. The next day, and the day after that, I was able to sleep without much difficulty.”

The problem, he said, occurred exactly one week after his visit.

“I found it strangely hard to fall asleep. I’m usually the type to fall asleep quickly, but I tossed and turned quite a bit that night.”

Even then, he hadn’t suspected the curse’s return.

“I thought it was the aftermath of pushing myself to catch up on a mountain of work.”

But unfortunately, the following night, Raynerd had to count sheep in bed for even longer.

“And that was just the beginning. The night after that, I had no choice but to stay up almost the entire night with my eyes wide open.”

For the record, he said the cursed voice had started again two days ago.

He was completely back to square one.

“Dammit, why again…”

He slammed his fist on the table, and a dull thud echoed through the room. His hand was trembling slightly.

The emotion pouring from his bloodshot blue eyes was not despair or sorrow.

It was fury. A fierce rage directed at the one who had inflicted this trial upon him, a trial with no end in sight, if it would ever end at all.

“…Your Highness.”

As I opened my mouth, feeling the suffocating pressure, he snapped back to his senses.

“Ah, my apologies.”

An embarrassed expression. It was the awkwardness of having revealed his raw emotions.

‘He’s seriously pissed.’

He had every right to be. As for me, I get irritable and easily annoyed after just one sleepless night.

But Raynerd said that, except for the past week, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in about two months.

On top of that, just when he thought the curse was finally broken, he was confronted with a devastating truth.

The truth was that my bed, which he thought was the key to breaking the curse, only had a temporary effect, and the curse would continue indefinitely.

‘I hate just imagining it.’

If I were Raynerd, I would have wanted to chew up and spit out whoever caused this.

The only problem here was that the comment I left might be the source of the curse tormenting him, but…

‘He must never find out!’

Raynerd, completely oblivious to my secret, worried about me as I remained silent.

“Are you all right? You look pale.”

“I am fine. And even if I weren’t, how could it compare to Your Highness, who is suffering because of the curse?”

“You’re being unusually polite. It’s as if you’re hiding something. Both now and back then.”

Raynerd’s gaze sharpened.

“Suspicious.”

Come to think of it, Raynerd had a knack for being perceptive. They said his senses had sharpened from all the court intrigue surrounding the throne.

“Wh-what? I’m not hiding anything…”

Just as I started to stammer in my fluster, the glaring man let out a soft chuckle.

“It was a joke. You seemed a bit tense, so I was trying to lighten the mood.”

“…I see.”

“Was it not funny?”

“No, I would have laughed until I couldn’t breathe, had it not been a breach of etiquette.”

“You’re good at flattery.”

“I’m being serious.”

At least the part about almost not being able to breathe was.

“Anyway,” Raynerd said, getting to his real point. “It’ll be a bother, but I need you to cooperate with me until I find a way to break this damn curse. I’m asking you.”

“Cooperation, you say?”

“It’s to let me sleep in your bed, of course. Periodically.”

…Just as I thought.

“Of course, I will be sure to provide compensation worthy of your trouble. I swear it on the honor of the Imperial family and my own.”

“Your Highness.”

“Will you grant my request?”

“…”

I knew. There was only one answer I could give.

Raynerd hadn't secured the position of Crown Prince among the emperor's many children through sheer luck.

He was fundamentally a generous person, but in matters he could not compromise on, he was thoroughly ruthless, stopping at nothing.

‘And sleep is a non-negotiable matter.’

Not just for Raynerd, but for every living creature that needs to sleep.

In other words, there was no way he would back down meekly if I refused.

‘If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.’

In that case, my only option was to grant his request while he was still in the ‘asking’ phase and make sure I received my due reward or compensation.

Moreover, as the potential cause of all this, my conscience pricked me.

And most importantly…

‘My poor, cute Raynerd is having such a hard time. It breaks my heart. I want to help him.’

I fundamentally held a favorable view of Raynerd and the other second male leads.

It was a pure feeling, purely as a reader. Really!

“Yes, if it will help you, Your Highness, I would be glad to.”

Hearing my ready answer, a curve formed on Raynerd’s lips.

“My thanks. This is the most sincere I’ve ever been. That being said.”

He looked at the bed with a yearning gaze.

“May I lie down for a bit? We can continue our discussion once I’m in bed.”

…It was perhaps a more desperate plea than any he had made while courting the female lead, Aila, in the novel.

“Yes, this is the feeling. This cozy sensation that makes me feel like I could fall asleep any second.”

After changing his clothes and lying down in my bed, Raynerd’s face and voice were colored with ecstasy.

“Sleep well.”

His eyes were already starting to close, so I bid him goodnight, but he forced his eyelids open.

“Let’s get things straight before I sleep.”

“Yes.”

“About the payment I promised you. How would you prefer to receive it?”

His voice was clear, despite being steeped in drowsiness.

“I was originally going to ask this in the note, but things ended up this way. This must be the most important part for you.”

“Oh my, I didn’t do it for the reward. Just being of help to Your Highness is an honor for my family and a citizen like myself.”

“Come on, don’t be modest. Tell me.”

“In that case, I would like one-tenth of the payment you’ll give me delivered directly in cash, three-tenths in government bonds issued by the Imperial family, another three-tenths in gold, and the final three-tenths deposited into my bank account.”

I counted on my fingers one by one as I rattled off my words like a machine gun.

“For the bonds, something with a maturity date of less than five years would be suitable. Oh, right. And for the bank, please use the central bank of the neighboring Kelmir Kingdom.”

“…”

The Crown Prince’s eyes widened, but I still had more to say.