* * *
Raizen’s Curse.
Even in the novel, the cause of it was never revealed.
In fact, the whole narrative of Raizen being cursed and turning into the mastermind was only properly explained in a side story.
In the main story, it was merely hinted at before being left unresolved.
After all, the main story focused on Kim Minsoo’s heroic journey, and villains were depicted in a rather one-dimensional manner.
‘I don’t know how much I can trust the novel…’
Even so, the original work was one of the few sources of information available to me.
The problem was that even in the novel, there was barely any clue about Raizen’s curse.
‘But… why the hell am I finding a lead here of all places?’
Was it just a coincidence? No way.
The Divine Beast’s egg.
The magic circle engraved on the door where the egg was kept.
The voice that resonated when I touched it, as if it had been waiting for my divine power.
I couldn’t be certain who it belonged to, but one thing was clear—it was an ancient god.
‘If Raizen was cursed by an ancient god…’
Then why was he cursed?
Only one possibility came to mind.
The event that led the ancient gods to exile humanity from paradise.
The incident where a mere human dared to kill the ancient god, Baldur.
It was only mentioned briefly in the beginning of the novel, so I had assumed it was just part of the worldbuilding.
But… if Raizen was the reincarnation of the human who killed Baldur and was cursed as punishment for it?
‘Doesn’t that fit too perfectly?’
There could be other possibilities, but this was the most plausible theory I could come up with based on what I knew.
It also explained why Raizen’s curse manifested in a way that isolated and destroyed him.
‘Love…’
[My hatred will take root as a curse upon your soul. That curse will do whatever it takes to strip you of the love you so desperately crave.]
[Only true love can free you from this curse. This is my absolute ■■.]
‘What is this, a cursed princess strayght out of a damn D*sney movie?’
The curse was brutal, yet the solution was absurdly romantic—and just as unrealistic.
‘So true love is actually the key to breaking Raizen’s curse?’
I was starting to understand why Noah never told me how to lift the curse.
If I had known the condition was ‘true love,’ I would’ve bolted and run as far away as possible.
‘What, am I supposed to kiss him with love or something?’
A hollow laugh escaped me. It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t even be mad. And yet, the more I thought about it, the heavier my chest felt.
‘True love.’
Was I really brought here to experience something I didn’t even understand myself?
‘Then… does that mean I’m destined to fall for Raizen?’
Was that why everything had unfolded the way it did?
From the perspective of the ancient gods, maybe it was all a simple matter.
After all, I had met Raizen while he was temporarily possessing a body in Korea, and I ended up developing feelings for him.
Maybe they assumed I wouldn’t be able to help myself once I saw a face identical to my hyung’s.
‘And… can I even deny that?’
At that moment, everything I had felt and experienced here seemed like a lie.
Was this how it felt to realize your entire life had been orchestrated by someone else?
‘I don’t even remember how my feelings got to this point.’
The only thing I knew for sure was that, at first, my gaze had naturally gravitated toward him because he looked like my brother.
That was undeniable.
But if Raizen had a completely different face… would I have still fallen for him?
‘Ah, fuck this.’
I just wanted to disappear.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold marble floor.
The icy chill seeped into my bones.
“…Ha… fuck.”
I slammed my head against the wall.
Thud. Thud.
With each dull throb of pain, my senses dulled slightly as well.
If I kept doing this, maybe I could become numb to everything.
This miserable one-sided love.
The gods who had turned my life into a game.
This whole wretched situation…
‘They should’ve just made my life even more miserable while they were at it.’
If I had never known what it felt like to be cared for,
If I had never known the warmth of protection,
Then maybe I wouldn’t have minded so much.
If my life had always been about being shoved off a cliff over and over again,
I would’ve just resigned myself to it like always.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
‘Even playing with a person’s life has its limits…’
“Hic…”
Before I knew it, my face was drenched in tears.
I didn’t even try to wipe them away.
I just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Then, something small and warm bumped against me.
I lowered my gaze.
The Divine Beast’s egg, which I had tucked into my pocket, was wriggling around inside.
On instinct, I reached out my hand.
The egg immediately nuzzled into my palm, as if it had been waiting for me to do so.
“…Were you worried?”
The egg trembled slightly, as if to say, ‘What kind of stupid question is that?’
For some reason, that made me laugh.
It didn’t even have eyes, a nose, or a mouth—it was just a smooth little egg.
And yet, it was acting all expressive like this.
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that.”
It only calmed down after I apologized a few more times.
I tucked my hand into my pocket, letting the small egg lean against it as I pushed myself up to my feet.
∗ ∗ ∗
Barely holding myself together, I made my way to the ‘Priscilla Hall’, where the conference was being held.
Thankfully, the map was well-detailed, so I didn’t get lost.
The real problem started once I got inside the building.
There were way more people than I expected, making it difficult to move, let alone look around.
Even so, I somehow made it to the third floor, where the conference was taking place.
The Priscilla Hall had the structure of a typical grand auditorium, with a red carpet stretching across the halls.
I pushed through the crowd of unfamiliar faces, most of whom were dressed in extravagant outfits, and finally managed to step inside the conference hall.
“Sei!”
It wasn’t hard to find the Duke and Duchess.
The moment I entered, someone called my name.
I turned toward the voice and spotted the ducal couple seated at a round table.
Without hesitation, I ran toward them.
As if they had been waiting, they pulled out a chair for me.
“Sei, how was your academy tour?”
“Yes! It was fun!”
In truth, it hadn’t been all that pleasant, but I didn’t want to show that in front of them.
They had gone out of their way to prepare a free-pass entry permit for me.
I pulled out the golden badge and held it out.
“Thank you. I had a great time exploring the academy thanks to you.”
I tried to sound as cheerful as possible.
The Duchess smiled softly and pushed the badge back toward me instead of taking it.
“You should hold onto it for a little while longer.”
“Huh?”
Before I could ask why, she gently brushed my cheek.
Her gaze seemed to deepen for a moment.
Sensing that there was no need to question further, I simply nodded.
Then, the Duke, who had been quiet until now, lightly tapped my shoulder.
“After the conference, we’re thinking of showing you the place where we used to stay.”
“Oh…!”
The ducal couple… and perhaps even the Marquis Kreveta couple had all attended the Royal Academy together.
The we the Duke referred to likely included the two who had already passed away.
‘So that’s why they told me to keep the pass.’
Would there still be any traces of the Marquis and Marchioness of Kreveta?
No, quite some time had passed, so there was no way any traces remained.
Still, for some reason, my heart pounded.
Was it because of the thought that they might be my real parents?
To say I hadn’t been curious all this time would be a lie, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask easily.
I wasn’t even certain if I was truly Sean, and if I brought up their story for no reason, I worried I might be poking at a painful wound for the Duke and Duchess of Pantheon.
‘The lost memories of Sean… will they be gone forever?’
Sean Kreveta was said to have been completely empty, like a shell without a soul.
If that wasn’t just a metaphor but the literal truth, and if the missing soul had really been reborn as me in Korea…
‘Then where are those memories recorded?’
Perhaps they had never been recorded in the first place.
Still, if there was any way, I hoped that somewhere, there remained traces of the time Sean Kreveta had spent with his parents.
Just like how my hazy memories had become clearer today after coming into contact with the divine beast’s egg, maybe someday, I would be able to recover those memories too.
‘Ha…’
My emotions were all over the place.
Just a moment ago, I had been resenting the Duke and Duchess for making me feel their warmth, yet now that I was back by their side, the storm in my heart had quieted as if it had all been a lie.
Even if this had all been preordained by the ancient gods long ago, I no longer cared.
‘I’m really such a fool.’
People are so simple—that’s probably why the gods take advantage of us.
The self-deprecating thought flickered through my mind, but at the moment, I didn’t care.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the 280th Royal Academy conference will begin shortly. We ask that all esteemed guests please take their seats.”
The announcer’s voice rang out, signaling that the conference was about to start.
‘So, Raizen is presenting his thesis at the conference.’
At first, I had just thought, ‘That guy’s terrifying as always.’
But now that I was actually here, the whole thing felt kind of funny.
A future villain who might resurrect the Demon King had, during his time at the academy, even stood at academic conferences presenting research papers?
The contradiction was hard to process.
Well… I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.
It was a different feeling from the emotions I’d had during his coming-of-age ceremony.
* * *
