Chapter 14
14
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Simone spoke, watching Archduke Illestone shift his gaze back to the book.
“I came here to lift the Mansion's Curse.”
“……”
“At least you shouldn’t hide things about the curse from me.”
“Simone, I can’t listen to this anymore.”
When Archduke Illestone remained silent, Kelle, the butler, frowned and stepped forward.
“You’re mistaken. His Grace doesn’t have a son yet.”
At the butler’s words, Simone looked at Archduke Illestone.
“Really?”
Archduke Illestone still didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on the book, but once again, Kelle spoke instead.
“You speak of the obvious.”
She had stayed in the mansion for a while, so she should have known by now.
The Archduke’s family had no children.
Many believed that it would be difficult for him and the Archduchess Florie to have an heir due to their poor health.
A family without an heir meant the end of the line.
It was such a sensitive issue that no one dared to bring it up.
Yet Simone brought it up, even fabricating a child that didn’t exist.
‘Truly, a walking disaster.’
Kelle was very displeased with Simone, who, befitting her status as a Necromancer, had no manners.
“So stop talking nonsense and just do as you’re told-”
“Kelle.”
Archduke Illestone looked at Kelle, and Kelle’s mouth snapped shut. He couldn’t say another word.
Archduke Illestone’s complexion was twice as bad as usual.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Archduke Illestone closed the book.
“Don’t worry about it. Kelle, you may leave for a moment.”
“……Yes, I understand.”
“She is our collaborator. Treat her accordingly, regardless of her status.”
“As you command, Your Grace.”
Simone listened to their conversation, slowly lifting her teacup.
At Archduke Illestone’s command, Kelle averted his gaze from Simone, refilled her empty teacup, and left the study.
The study, now occupied only by Archduke Illestone and Simone, fell silent once more.
Archduke Illestone rose from his seat and sat on the sofa opposite Simone.
As soon as Simone put down her teacup, he spoke urgently.
“How do you know about Jace?”
How did Simone know about the existence of that forgotten child?
At Archduke Illestone’s question, Simone grinned.
“I’m here to lift the curse on the Illestone family. Did you think I would jump in to lift the curse without knowing anything, relying only on rumors?”
Of course, she was just piecing together information she had gleaned from the book.
Archduke Illestone’s eyes changed.
“You.”
Unlike before, when he seemed completely uninterested, Archduke Illestone asked desperately in this place where no one else was present except Simone.
“Can you lift the curse on both of them?”
Archduke Illestone didn’t care what Simone’s identity was.
Whether she was a Necromancer, a ghost, or if Simone herself was another curse, he felt like he could give her anything she wanted if she could just lift the curse.
Simone looked at Archduke Illestone and answered after a moment.
“I can’t be sure right now.”
Simone was just trying her best to lift the curse based on the information she had seen in the book.
If the Saintess's Desire didn’t work as she expected, she would have to find another way.
“But I have to lift it.”
Simone said matter-of-factly.
Even if Jace’s curse couldn’t be lifted with the Saintess's Desire, a person’s life was at stake, so there was no room for ifs or buts.
She had to lift it, no matter what.
“……That’s right. I have to lift it.”
Archduke Illestone was relieved by Simone’s resolute words. He couldn’t understand how he could feel trust in her irresponsible words, but he had a feeling that Simone would lift the curse by any means necessary.
No, he had to trust her now.
Simone was the only hope for this mansion.
“You’ll find the Saintess's Desire, right?”
“I understand. I’ll commission the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“If the rumors are true, it’s a dangerous Mana stone, so you shouldn’t send just anyone.”
“I’ll take care of it without you telling me.”
Simone nodded and stood up.
“Then I’ll see you again when someone comes from the Adventurer’s Guild.”
They were in a contractual relationship and lived under the same roof, but surprisingly, Archduke Illestone and Simone rarely met in this mansion.
Archduke Illestone had Simone watched and received regular reports, but otherwise, he didn’t pay much attention.
Just as Simone was about to leave the study, Archduke Illestone asked.
“Simone.”
It was the first time he had called her name. Simone turned to look at him. Archduke Illestone had a very uneasy look in his eyes.
“Can that child live?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know where your son is. I need to see his condition to know.”
Had the curse started nearly ten years ago?
Jace’s condition was never described in the book, so Simone couldn’t guess.
In the novel, Archduke Illestone’s plan had failed, so Jace and Florie were probably dead too.
Judging by the fact that he had suddenly decided to lift the curse and resorted to kidnapping, their condition must have been quite critical.
“I’ll see them after you find the Saintess's Desire.”
The Archduke answered without realizing it.
“I’ll find it no matter what.”
No matter how absurd the legend was, he had to cling to even the faintest hope.
“Contact the Adventurer’s Guild. We’ll need at least five skilled adventurers.”
“Yes, I understand. Is it alright if we don’t recruit any mages?”
“No mages. According to the legend, those who use Mana are more easily deceived.”
Butler Kelle bowed his head at his words, but his face was full of worry.
“Your Grace, may this old man ask you something?”
“Speak.”
Archduke Illestone reopened the book he had closed. He seemed to know what Kelle was going to say.
“While lifting the Mansion's Curse is a welcome thing, we are concerned that you may be too swayed by the words of that Necromancer.”
“That’s not the case.”
“Your Grace.”
Kelle called Archduke Illestone softly. He had served Archduke Illestone, the heir of the previous head of the family, directly as a young master since he was a child.
Even though he was someone who didn’t show his emotions, Kelle could tell that Archduke Illestone was different from usual just by his subtle actions.
He had sensed this even before the Necromancer came to live in this mansion.
It had been about seven years since Archduke Illestone and his wife, who had been a loving couple, had started using separate rooms.
One day, Florie stopped coming out of her room, and by Archduke Illestone’s orders, no one went near her room.
There was no servant who didn’t know that Florie was suffering from mental problems.
Florie, who occasionally came out of her room, was always pale and emitted a terrible stench.
And from her room, there was always an unknown sound of Florie talking to someone.
Nevertheless, Archduke Illestone, who had been managing his duties and territories without wavering, suddenly became obsessed with lifting the curse half a year ago, after Archduke Illestone had a conversation with Florie, who had come out of her room.
“Is there something I don’t know?”
Was there something he was hiding even from Kelle, his closest aide?
Kelle recalled Simone’s words.
“In order to lift the curse on Archduchess Florie and Jace Karl Illestone, the eldest son of the Illestone family.”
Jace Karl Illestone, a name he had never heard before.
He had scolded Simone for talking nonsense, but from then on, Archduke Illestone’s expression had changed greatly, and he had been dismissed.
And back in the study, Archduke Illestone had told him to recruit adventurers to find the Saintess's Desire.
This meant that the Necromancer was either manipulating her master, or the master was hiding something from him.
However, Archduke Illestone was not someone who could be manipulated by anyone, so it was probably the latter.
It wasn’t that he was dissatisfied with him hiding something. He was worried that his master was suffering in silence without being able to say anything.
However, Archduke Illestone shook his head.
“It’s nothing. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Yes?”
“When everything is resolved, then you will know. I hope that the memories of that day will return.”
“What…… do you mean…….”
“Enough of that story, did you find out?”
At Archduke Illestone’s question, Kelle hesitated and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Grace. Are you referring to the investigation into the Necromancer? I received a report from the informant today.”
Kelle handed Archduke Illestone the informant’s report.
“I have reviewed it in advance……. It seems that the child has grown up in a terrible environment.”
Archduke Illestone’s expression gradually hardened as he skimmed through the informant’s report. Kelle continued calmly, as if he had expected this.
“I gave money to a worker at the orphanage where the child was, and they opened their mouth easily.”
“Orphanage?”
“Yes, the director took in a newborn baby who had been abandoned on the street. Necromancers are noticeable from birth, so I suspect the parents couldn’t handle it and abandoned her.”
Among the contents of the report, there was a word that caught Archduke Illestone’s attention.
Occult Society.
Archduke Illestone read the worker’s words as they were written.
[‘But who would adopt that girl? She’s seventeen this year, isn’t she? She’s old, and she has dirty black hair. I’m just a porter, so I don’t know much. I heard she was beaten a lot too. Ah! I heard she tried to kill herself before she ran away?’
‘That’s right. It was a big commotion back then! Everyone was spreading out blankets to catch her from jumping off a high place! I heard it was because she didn’t want to be sold to the Occult Society. Well, if I were her, I’d rather fall to my death than be sold there.’
‘She ran away well before she died.’]
The Occult Society was famous for buying various test subjects and attempting cruel experiments and spells.
If the workers’ words were true, the girl had nowhere to go.
Even if she ran away, a woman with black hair would be caught and executed.
“So she came here to survive.”
“That’s right. It doesn’t seem like she came here with the intention of stealing money.”
Everyone in the Ruan Empire knew how persistent the Occult Society was.
They must have known that there was a Necromancer in the Ruan Empire, so they were probably searching for the escaped Simone like they were hunting rats.
She must have thought it would be better to lift the curse on this mansion and receive the protection of the Illestone family.
“Kelle, is the orphanage where that child was located within my territory?”
“Yes, the address on the document the informant gave me was within the territory.”
Archduke Illestone threw the document on the desk.
“There’s no need to maintain a place like this. Get rid of it.”
“Yes, then-”
Knock, knock-
Kelle’s voice stopped at the sound of someone knocking on the study door.
Someone who would come to see him late at night.
Archduke Illestone’s eyes sank deeply.
Creak-
The door opened before the Archduke could even give permission, and the stench of blood and a terrible odor flowed in.
“……”
Nevertheless, Archduke Illestone greeted her quietly with a gentle smile filled with bitterness.
“……Welcome, Florie.”
