The story goes back about 100 years.
Even at that time, the Solzbelli family was a significant concern for the Ainstern Kingdom.
As the Solzbelli family defended the borders of the Elowin Kingdom, it caused significant obstacles for the Ainstern Kingdom in expanding its territory.
“Ainstern Kingdom has always had a strong desire to dominate more than half of the continent. Despite having the fertile southern part divided by the Holy Land with the World Tree, Hyperion, they were not satisfied.”
Therefore, they constantly tried to invade Elowin’s borders, but they were repeatedly thwarted by the military power of the Solzbelli family. And this continues to the present day.
“Faced with repeated defeats, the Ainstern Kingdom concluded that the most formidable obstacle was the combat power of the wolf beastmen guarding the borders, surpassing the common sense of wolf beastmen. They decided to crush the Solzbelli family, the highest commanders among them.”
So, what they came up with was casting a fatal curse on the Solzbelli family.
“As planned, the curse took hold properly. Although the Solzbelli bloodline is strong in magic… surprisingly, the curse was too easily accepted, whether the sorcerer who cast the curse truly possessed powerful magic.”
And so, about a hundred years ago, the previous Duke of Solzbelli did everything he could to lift the curse.
However, no matter what he tried, he couldn’t lift the curse, and the whereabouts of the sorcerer who cast the curse remained mysterious.
In the end, the predecessor Duke, who couldn’t lift the curse, turned into a completely irrational beast and…
“…The worst tragedy happened.”
The person who was closest to the predecessor Duke, who was becoming a beast, was none other than the predecessor Duke’s wife, his companion…
…According to the instinct of the wolf trying to break free from the curse, she was going to be caught and devoured.
When I heard the story up to this point, my mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of anything.
Just soaked in shock, I could only feel the peripheral organs of my body trembling numbly.
“The fact that eating humans releases the curse was discovered because of that incident. It can’t be anything but a dreadful thing.”
Is it only dreadful?
It was miserable and horrifying.
“…Since then, accepting humans as companions in the Solzbelli family has been strictly forbidden. For over a hundred years, direct descendants of the cursed family have chosen to imprison themselves underground.”
“…”
However, Graian’s mother, the previous Duchess of Solzbelli, said she was human.
Graian’s father went so far as to welcome her as a companion, breaking the taboo.
‘…The previous Duke of Solzbelli…’
Was the person who was Graian’s father trapped underground in the form of a wolf?
Reading my question as if he had, Arwin provided an answer.
“Graian’s biological father took his own life before being completely consumed by the curse.”
“…!”
“So, among the wolves underground, he’s not there.”
When completely consumed by the curse, a wolf beastman with Solzbelli’s blood becomes a true beast. Not only that, it turns into an immortal monster that cannot die, constantly craving human blood and flesh…
The choice of the previous Duke of Solzbelli… in a way, it could be understood.
“Since his companion left this world early, there might have been a reason for him to take his own life, wanting to be with his companion.”
“…”
“It wasn’t a desirable death, especially considering his son left behind.”
Graian.
Thinking of him, something warm welled up to the back of my throat.
What must he have felt being left alone after his father took his own life… it was something I couldn’t even imagine.
What mindset had Graian adopted to persistently live until now?
“I can only tell you the story up to this point.”
Thus, Arwin concluded the story he had been narrating for about twenty minutes.
Throughout the storytelling, his eyes, which occasionally wandered into empty space, were now squarely staring at me.
What he expected from me was undoubtedly a decision.
A choice.
Whether to continue being Graian’s companion or to drink the blood of the black dragon and sever the bond.
The deliberation wasn’t long. No, he probably didn’t deliberate in the first place.
Alternating my gaze between the shining crystal bottle and Arwin’s amber eyes, the moment I gently opened my mouth.
Bang!
Suddenly, without a knock, the door opened abruptly, and someone rushed into the room.
That person was none other than Graian.
Please, don’t let it be too late.
Finally reaching Gloria’s door, Graian opened the door without hesitation.
Although opening the door without even knocking was a very impolite action, his current state was already halfway through losing his sanity.
With an anxious voice, Graian murmured her name as he approached her with determined steps.
Gloria, who was half-rising from the sofa, widened her eyes and stared at him.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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