* * *
The response came a little late.
[We knew something would happen.]
And with an oddly ambiguous tone.
‘…Are you kidding me?’
[That’s all I can say.]
Before I could even ask for details, Noah cut me off.
‘This feels familiar…’
Every time I tried to dig deeper, all I got was “I can’t tell you more.”
Annoyed, I ran a hand through my hair.
‘So they knew something was coming.’
Did that mean they just didn’t know exactly what?
That was the most logical assumption.
Well, gods weren’t all-knowing, after all.
Looking back at the myths I’d read in Korea, unless they were monotheistic deities…
‘They all had their own domains.’
And it was the same with the ancient gods here.
Noah governed magic—essentially, all wisdom in the world.
Other gods oversaw different domains.
‘There must be an ancient god of fate or prophecy.’
But maybe they couldn’t relay prophecies directly.
Like in most myths, perhaps they could only deliver vague metaphors or cryptic visions.
Fine, I could accept that.
But there was something else bothering me.
[You’re taking this surprisingly well.]
It was Noah’s attitude.
‘Why does it feel like he’s deliberately giving me hints?’
Every time, he made sure to say, “That’s all I can tell you,” as if he wanted me to realize that information was being deliberately withheld.
He could’ve just made up an excuse.
But now wasn’t the time to analyze Noah’s or the other ancient gods’ motives.
I’d gotten enough hints, and I had a feeling I understood why this particular reward was given.
‘Since they can’t reveal anything beyond the novel’s events, they’re telling me to divine the answers myself.’
It pissed me off that they threw me into this world without my consent and now treated me like this, but… for now, I’d let it go.
[Well, what can I do? I’ll just treat this as part of the experiment.]
I shrugged, feigning indifference.
[Experiment?]
[To see what my power is capable of, how much that curse can affect me—things like that. No?]
[Not an incorrect assumption.]
Wow. I had no idea what he was thinking. But I had a hunch.
[That dream I had on my birthday… That was part of the curse too, wasn’t it?]
To be honest, it had been on my mind the whole time.
The content of the dream, the fact that I hadn’t heard Mila calling me but woke up to Raizen’s voice instead.
And more than anything, the fact that Noah asked about my dream.
Noah remained silent.
To me, that silence was an affirmation.
[That curse… seems to prey on people’s negative emotions.]
I began voicing my thoughts, almost as if talking to myself.
[But something’s strange.
There was nothing in the novel about the curse being contagious, yet it affected me too.
And it keeps changing plans whenever things go wrong, as if it has a will of its own, like it’s alive.
Who on earth could’ve cast such a powerful curse?]
Noah said nothing, as if waiting for me to ramble on.
[Could a person… even cast a curse like this?]
I paused, watching Noah’s reaction. But he remained silent.
‘At this rate, I won’t be able to get anything out of him.’
After a brief hesitation, I spoke again.
[I don’t think this curse was cast by a human.]
[Why do you think that?]
‘There it is.’
Finally, I got a response from Noah.
No—could I even call it a response?
‘It’s a hint.’
[Just… it’s too vile for a human to have done it.]
[Hmm. Isn’t that reasoning a little weak? There are plenty of lunatics out there, the kind who’d do unspeakable things just to satisfy their twisted desires.]
I agreed with that. I knew it was possible.
But I’d said it that way on purpose—to get a hint from Noah.
‘But that response… felt pointed.’
It was probably because of what happened to the ancient god—the one murdered by humans.
Even though so much time had passed since that day, Noah still radiated raw anger, as if he were recalling something that had just happened.
‘Were they close?’
Or maybe, back then, the ancient gods simply had strong bonds with one another.
Either way, one thing was clear—Noah’s hatred toward humans ran deep.
Yet, compared to that, he was surprisingly… kind to me.
‘Which is really shocking, honestly.’
Even the novel’s protagonist, Kim Minsoo, hadn’t been treated this well.
[Haha… You’re right. I was mistaken.]
There was no point in dragging this topic on any longer.
[Anyway… thanks.]
[For what? I didn’t do anything.]
‘You’ve done more than enough.’
A curse so complex, so self-aware, that it would do anything to torment Raizen.
And me, thrown into this world to break that curse and prevent Raizen from becoming the villain.
Would the ancient gods have gone so far as to use possession if the mastermind had been just an ordinary human?
Sure, they had vowed not to interfere in the mortal realm, but they still created saints and holy figures when the world was in crisis.
It was too soon to be certain.
But…
‘Raizen’s curse is connected to the ancient gods.’
That was the thread I had grasped.
∗ ∗ ∗
Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find out anything more about Raizen’s curse.
The ancient gods clearly wanted to restrict information, so asking Noah was pointless.
And I lacked the evidence to push forward with just my own speculation.
Instead, I focused on what was right in front of me—things I could only hear about now, like the public opinion following the New Year’s banquet.
“I heard about what happened at the banquet.
They say it was some awful people targeting the two young lords?”
“I heard that too. If it weren’t for Young Master Raizen, neither of them would have made it out safely. As expected of Young Master Raizen!”
“Right? To be honest… I used to be a little scared of him. Just between us, you remember what happened four years ago…?”
“I heard that was just a baseless rumor.”
“Of course, I know that! But still… it unsettled me. Almost all the servants who worked here back then were replaced, weren’t they? Anyway! But after seeing him at the banquet, I realized—Young Master Raizen isn’t like that at all!”
I wasn’t sure if this was the right way to put it, but in a way, the banquet had turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Raizen.
‘So that incident from when he was ten hasn’t been completely forgotten.’
Well, it made sense.
A disappearance would always leave behind fear.
It seemed to have settled into nothing more than a chilling story passed around in whispers.
“Yeah. I was completely in awe when I saw that light.”
“Exactly! After witnessing that divine light, who could ever doubt him?”
‘Ahem.’
I almost coughed.
‘Good thing my little improvisation worked.’
“Now that I think about it, those rumors were probably spread by his enemies.”
“I think so too. Ugh, those horrible people. But where would they have plotted something so sinister?”
“There are all sorts of rumors going around. Since the Duke hasn’t made any public statements, he must still be investigating.”
“That makes sense. Anyway, from now on, if I hear anyone badmouthing Young Master Raizen, I’ll shut them down!”
‘At least no one’s been singled out yet.’
Those who knew the situation could probably narrow down the suspects, but it hadn’t spread far enough to reach the servants.
That meant, for now, the conflict between noble factions was still under the surface.
Though only on the surface.
‘Good. That means there won’t be any unnecessary trouble—for now.’
Having gathered the information I needed, I quietly made my way back to my room.
Sitting at my desk, I flipped open a book.
Things were going better than expected, and I even found myself humming a little tune.
‘But… where’s Mila?’
By now, she should have brought my afternoon snack.
I checked the time again—she was already running late.
If anything, she usually came early, never late.
‘Did something happen?’
This world had many charms, but it had one fatal flaw—no cell phones.
There were magical tools that could function as a substitute, but they were luxury items.
I got up and peeked outside my room.
As I glanced down the quiet hallway, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the staircase.
“Young Master!”
Mila was coming up the stairs, her hands empty, her face tinged with a strange sadness.
“Mila…?”
“Haa… I apologize for being late, Young Master.”
“It’s fine. But did something happen?”
Mila gave me a faint smile, as if trying to hide her sorrow.
“Young Master.”
“Yeah?”
“His Grace and My Lady wish to have tea with you.”
The moment she said that, I understood why she looked like that.
‘I know there are things we need to talk about. Let’s discuss it soon.’
The Duke and Duchess had finally made up their minds—to tell me, or rather, Sean, about the death of the Marquis and Marchioness Kreveta.
* * *
