Ophelia, the wisest sorcerer and sage of the West, stared intently at the fine, intricate knots bound all over Lu’s body.
Thud, thud, one by one, the tiny knots started to unravel. It was a much slower pace compared to Hayden, but Ophelia was intensely focused. When a knot on the left ankle loosened, one on the right ankle would follow.
Progress was being made calmly, but it was hard to stand upright. Lu swayed once more.
“Lean on me. Now’s not the time to refuse, Your Highness.”
Though they looked like tiny knots, each one stung sharply when undone. Strength involuntarily surged through her body.
Without realizing, Lu stepped back. But behind her, Hayden’s sturdy body supported her, making it more like leaning in than stepping back.
Thunk, thunk, as she began to untie two or three knots at once, sweat started to form on Ophelia’s pale forehead. Yet she scarcely blinked her blue eyes, the corners of her mouth lifted. Fierce energies clashed.
One was the absolute, solid curse of Carlos, and the other was Ophelia’s magic, which appeared soft and weak but was persistent, calm, and flexible. She somehow found the cracks in the powerful curse and broke it.
“Ah…!”
But Lu bore the full brunt of that clashing force. The shock pierced her to the bone.
“The curse weaves into the tendons. The closer we get to the body’s core, the harder it will be to break it.”
Ophelia reveled in the fact that she could interpret and understand the curse itself. It showed.
She could feel it. The intricately designed curse finally seemed to be within her grasp. Breaking it easily was impossible, and making Lu comfortable while breaking it was also difficult, but Ophelia was happy with just that.
“The curse weaves into the bones at its core. A terrible person.”
To have stolen all of Lu’s power for his own use. The more she saw, the more her teeth gritted.
Thump, thump, initially, the clashing shocks were bearable, but the moment Ophelia narrowed her eyes, Lu threw her head back and tightly gripped Hayden’s arm.
Her vision wavered, a sharp pain so intense it prevented even a scream passed by briefly. From her ankles to the middle of her calves, the curse was torn away, chunk by chunk.
Ophelia lowered her hand, breathing heavily, sweat trickling down her temples. Hayden, who was supporting the barely-standing Lu, comforted her.
“It’s over now. You’re okay.”
Though the pain she felt was brief, it was worlds apart from what Hayden had done. Lu grabbed his arm and lifted her head.
“Why, what’s different?”
“I’m sorry, but my power is limited, Your Highness. I’m sorry for that,” Ophelia said, wiping her chin.
“No, you have nothing to apologize for. I was just curious.”
The Western sage straightened her posture and smiled.
“I see. It’s natural for you to be curious since you are also a sorcerer. I heard the eyes were bound rather loosely. And you made the feet easier, Your Majesty. Just the tips. But as we get closer to the core of the curse, it can’t be helped that it becomes this difficult.”
Lu tried to step down from Hayden’s embracing arms but wobbled. He immediately supported her again.
“So, we must retrieve all the power that Carlos stole and break this curse. He completed this curse based on that power.”
Lu looked down at her powerless ankles, then up at Ophelia.
“It will be a very long journey.”
The Western sage nodded with a weary smile.
“Perhaps it might even be impossible for me in this lifetime.”
Her voice was so weak it seemed it would die on the ground.
“That’s not true.”
Hayden, who was right behind Lu, refuted.
“We’ve undone this much, and we’ve only been reunited for less than a month.”
“I’m in the same situation as you are. Let’s gather our strength. I need to build up my stamina.”
Ophelia tried to smile broadly even though she was struggling, leaving Ru unable to say anything more. Nor could Ru offer any affirming response.
Ophelia and Hayden are beings who live for a very long time. But she was just an ordinary knight. How long could she live, anyway?
[Star Icon]“This feels strange.”
Ru walked, stumbling, one hand gripping the wall, the other holding onto the hand Hayden had extended.
“This will happen often from now on. Your body will continue to be unbalanced. We should lift the curse as quickly as possible, but it’s risky.”
He looked at Ru with a furrowed brow.
“It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t there a quicker way? You are a highly skilled wizard.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t want to risk losing you by choosing a quick method when Carlos’s poison has already taken effect. I also wouldn’t want you to lose an arm or a leg instead.”
Lose an arm or a leg? Ru looked at him with an expression that said, ‘What kind of curse is that?’ and then looked down at her weak ankles before starting to walk again, clumsily. It was ridiculous to have to learn to walk all over again.
“Do I have to go through this every time you lift a curse?”
“It depends on the case. Right now, I’ve deliberately chosen a method with weaker effects and more hardship to carefully observe how the curse reacts.”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
Link to read
