With a desire to confirm, he involuntarily lifted his head, and indeed, the rabbit-eyed Gloria came into view.

Gréan laughed softly, folding his eyes.

Overflowing with adorableness, it seemed impossible to contain everything in his heart.

‘You, like this…’

How could he deceive her?

How long could he keep deceiving her?

Sooner or later, something had to be said.

The deliberation was long, but the decision was made in an instant.

As in all things in the world.

“I will tell you.”

“……!”

Surprised by the unexpected declaration, I widened my eyes and stared at him. Even though I thought I would take a step back to appear serious about whatever secret it was, the sudden decision to speak was very unexpected.

‘If it’s a difficult story to tell… there’s no need to force it.’

Truth be told, just like I have a difficult-to-share secret as someone claiming to be a transmigrant from another world, it might be the same for him.

I felt uneasy, thinking that I might have unnecessarily burdened him.

As if penetrating my inner thoughts, Gréan added with an affectionate smile, “Continuing to hide this would be deceiving yourself. That’s why I made this decision. You don’t need to feel burdened in your heart.”

… The feeling of that word, ‘deception,’ was sharp. It pricked my heart like a pointed needle.

Strictly speaking, I am the one deceiving the other party.

‘I wonder if there will come a day when I can tell you the truth? That I am not the real Gloria…’

How much courage should I gather for that? I still don’t know. Talking about transmigration or being from another world might lead to being labeled as mentally unstable…

“Where should I start… This is a long and complicated story in many ways, but please be patient.”

When I nodded silently, Gréan sighed softly after smiling reassuringly. Then, he raised me and sat down next to me.

Looking at his face, which seemed filled with sorrow, I hesitated for a moment, then cautiously grabbed his hand.

In response to my gesture, Gréan firmly clasped my hand. After gazing at me quietly for a while, he opened his mouth again.

“First and foremost, it’s about the secret of the Solsberry family.”

“…….”

“Regarding this, only Arwin, April, and I, a handful of gods, know about it.”

I was briefly surprised by the fact that even April knew, but upon reflection, it seemed natural. After all, April is the Lady of Solsberry.

Gréan’s voice sounded as heavy and dense as the darkness that falls in the evening.

“… The Solsberry family has been cursed.”

“… What…?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected story.

No, perhaps― ‘It might be that.’ I had expected something like that…

But, really, a curse…

It’s a story that never appeared in the original work.

“… The Ainstern royal family has long considered the Solsberry family a thorn in their side. So, about a hundred years ago, in order to annihilate the Solsberry family, the Ainstern royal family prepared a powerful spell.”

“…….”

“As you know, the power of a shaman, a sorcerer, interferes with some unknown flow in the natural world, unlike magic. Therefore, to lift this curse, Arwin has been making various efforts, but there has been no progress.”
Before asking what kind of curse it was, I inquired about the strange point that had just occurred to me.

“But if the sorcerer who cast the curse dies, shouldn’t the curse be lifted? It’s already been well over a hundred years since then…”

It was the time that had passed even after the sorcerer who cast the curse had died. It didn’t make sense for the curse to still persist; it was an illogical story.

“I wonder about that too.”

“…….”

“Our ancestors also believed that the curse would be lifted if only that sorcerer died, but the curse still remains. The sorcerer who cast the curse on the Solsberry family… is still alive somewhere in this world.”

“…That’s ridiculous. Does that mean that sorcerer lived for more than a hundred years?”

“It seems so.”

It was an extremely bewildering story. The long-lived species in this world were only dragons and a handful of elemental beings. For example, the golden deer elementals currently ruling the Elowin Kingdom…

Only elemental beings capable of transforming into ethereal beings could have an extended lifespan.

As far as I knew, there were no sorcerers among them. Even if there were, it would be a rare occurrence for them to exert their powers for the Ainstern royal family.

‘There can’t be a defector among the golden deer tribe. The same should be true for other elemental tribes… Dragons are already scarce in number, and they tend to be reclusive loners, reluctant to interfere in worldly matters…’

If there were dragons living among ordinary humans or pretending to be elemental beings, they would be quite eccentric.

So, it was incredibly confusing. A sorcerer who had lived for more than a hundred years… Was that even human?

“The curse affecting the Solsberry family gradually drives the direct descendants of the family insane, eventually turning them into completely irrational beasts.”

“…….”

At that moment, the wolves in the underground of Solsberry Castle came to mind. It was definitely not a mere coincidence.

Those wolves…

I suddenly raised my head and looked at Gréan. As if reading the thoughts in my eyes, a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

“…As you might have already guessed, those wolves in the underground are my ancestors.”

“…!”

“Due to the curse, they cannot die and continue to live in the form of wolves. They are completely irrational beasts.”

When I heard that, my heart began to beat irregularly.

The following words—a dreadful truth—were felt as if they were an ominous premonition.

“And I, too, will become like that someday.”

As Gréan spoke those words, his voice sounded as heavy as if he had long since resigned himself to the fate bestowed upon him.