As darkness settled in the guest room, the sound of rain became clearer. I let out a faint sigh and pulled the blanket up to my chest. It was a night when sleep was hard to come by.

With the intention of trying to fall asleep somehow, I gently pressed down on my eyelids. Just as I had barely drifted off after tossing and turning:

‘Your Highness, the Crown Prince.’

‘It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to kill me.’

It was the voices of Rosebelia and Ian. Immediately recognizing it as a dream from past experiences, I focused on their conversation.

‘Why must I be the one to kill you?’

In response to Rosebelia’s question, Ian rubbed his sunken eyes. He looked noticeably tired, like someone who hadn’t slept for days.

‘Due to the curse, I could go mad at any moment, but I can’t die by my own will. Even if I take poison, I don’t die.’

‘What do you mean….’

‘Think about it. I have no reason to lie to you about this.’

‘….’

While Rosebelia just stared silently at Ian, he spoke again.

‘Unfortunately, there’s no way to break the curse.’

Rosebelia’s shoulders flinched as if surprised by Ian’s words.

‘So if you care for the empire’s people, it would be best to kill me.’

The dream scene ended there. When I opened my eyes wide, I could faintly see the chandelier hanging from the unfamiliar ceiling.

“The Ian in the original story is still hard to get used to, no matter how many times I see him.”

An expressionless face devoid of any emotion and a bored voice like someone tired of everything.

For someone who came asking to be killed, he seemed strangely relaxed. As if he already knew all the cards.

Furthermore, if I say he looked like someone who already knew what Rosebelia was going to say, am I being too sensitive?

It seemed Rosebelia was also surprised, as if her thoughts had been seen through…..

“What exactly is this curse?”

He could go mad at any moment, can’t die by his own will, and even poison won’t kill him?

And there’s no way to break the curse?

“Huu.”

The anxiety I had tried to suppress suddenly reared its head. I pushed down the blanket and eventually got up from the bed.

Feeling that sleep would no longer come, I put on the shawl lying on the sofa and stepped out of the guest room. Walking along the corridor, I came across a large glass window overlooking the duke’s garden.

Standing in front of it, I quietly watched the streaks of rain falling. Lightning flashed in the distant sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

“Lady Rosebelia?”

Ah, you startled me.

Turning towards the source of the voice, I saw Renart slowly walking towards me.

“Deputy Commander?”

“It seems you have something on your mind.”

“Rather than worries…. What about you, Deputy Commander?”

Renart stared at me silently with a confused expression, then turned his gaze to the window.

It seems like you’re the one with worries, not me?

“I… I’m not sure myself.”

“May I ask you just one thing?”

“Of course.”

Renart turned his head back towards me with a faint smile.

“Did you go to the imperial palace today, or rather, yesterday?”

“No, it was my day off.”

“I see.”

I thought so. When we met at the square, Renart wasn’t wearing the Imperial Guard uniform.

“Why do you ask?”

“I was curious since you weren’t wearing your uniform earlier.”

I wonder if something happened at the palace? Or did something happen to Ian?

I hope nothing’s wrong….

“If you can’t sleep, shall I have some warm milk brought up?”

I shook my head and tightened my shawl. Outside, the rain continued to fall indifferently.

*

“Ian, are you coming to?”

Ian, who had exhaled a labored breath, blinked his eyelids slowly. It felt like a long dream, but it was too vivid to dismiss as just a dream.

‘It’s good to see you again, child born of the cursed bloodline.’

That was all he could remember.

After hearing that voice, he suffered from intense pain as if his internal organs were being twisted. He passed through several moments where it felt like his breath would stop at any moment.

As if his entire body was paralyzed, he couldn’t move from fingertip to toe. He couldn’t even open his eyes. He could only endure the endless pain that kept coming.

“Your Majesty?”

‘Poor thing. To think the curse would manifest in you of all people.’

Ian doubted his own eyes. Callisto’s lips hadn’t moved, yet his voice could be heard.

“What did you just…”

“I asked if you were coming to, why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Did I hear an auditory hallucination?

Ian, who had sat up, paused. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but something felt off.

Should I say all his senses had become much more sensitive than before?

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Nathan?”

‘What a relief. It’s fortunate that you’ve opened your eyes.’

Why am I hearing these voices? Nathan is just looking at me.

“Bring some water to drink.”

At Callisto’s urging, a servant brought a teacup filled with water.

‘They reported a big event was coming, I wonder what I should tell Her Majesty the Empress.’

“What did you just say?”

Ian asked with furrowed brows.

“Pardon? I didn’t say anything.”

Ian, who had been holding his forehead, lifted his head to look at the servant’s face. He was a new servant who had come recently. Leo, was it?

“Here you are, Your Highness.”

‘After being ill for a whole day, is he hearing things?’

Leo’s lips were firmly closed as he handed over the teacup. But the voice Ian heard was definitely Leo’s.

‘What is this voice? Where is it coming from?’

Ian, after moistening his throat, looked up at Leo with narrowed eyes.

“Judging by your expression, do you think I’m talking nonsense?”

“What? No, of course not.”

‘What’s this, there’s no way he could have read my mind. How did he know?’

Leo shook his head vigorously with a pale face. Ian swallowed the laugh that was about to escape and waved his hand as if telling him to leave.

‘What’s going on… Wait, he was ill for a whole day?’

Ian frowned one eyebrow in disbelief as he checked the clock on the wall.

‘I was supposed to meet Rosebelia at the square clock tower at six…’

“Your Majesty, has my birthday already passed?”

“Yes, it has.”

Hastily rubbing his face, Callisto asked in a worried voice.

“Ian, are you alright?”

It was a mistake to naively assume nothing would happen on his birthday.

He should have at least tipped off Nathan that he was supposed to meet Rosebelia.

“Was I bedridden for a whole day?”

“That’s right.”

“What was the cause? Was this what Your Majesty was worried about?”

“…Yes. I said I would tell you everything after your birthday passed.”

Callisto, before continuing, dismissed everyone around and spoke with difficulty.

“There is a curse that has been secretly passed down in the imperial family. The age at which the curse manifests varies – fifteen, eighteen, twenty – all different. According to records, the latest age it manifested was twenty-two, so I thought there would be no chance of the curse manifesting in you after this birthday…”

“A curse?”

Callisto added that while the age at which the curse manifested varied, if there was a commonality, it was that they were all the sons most cherished and loved by the emperor.

“So you’re saying the curse has manifested in me?”

‘Can you hear these words now?’

Ian’s eyes shook violently. Callisto’s lips were tightly closed, yet his voice was clearly being transmitted.

“Yes, I can hear it.”

“The records say that when the curse manifests, one can hear others’ inner thoughts. When not hearing inner thoughts, auditory hallucinations occur…”

“Auditory hallucinations?”

“Yes. For about a hundred years, no one in the imperial bloodline had the curse manifest, so I thought you would safely pass it too…”

“What does it mean for the curse to manifest? Is hearing inner thoughts and hallucinations all there is to it?”

Callisto struggled to continue speaking. He simply held Ian’s hand tightly with a sad expression.

Ian, who had been examining the face filled with frustration, spoke in an irritated voice.

“Your Majesty, please tell me.”

“Records about the curse are kept in the Forbidden Room. It would be better for you to see for yourself, so I’ll give you the key to that room.”

“But isn’t that room only accessible to the emperor?”

“I made a promise to Violet.”

Ian tilted his head at Callisto’s bitter murmur.

“What kind of promise?”

“That when the time comes, I would let you be with the person you love and live comfortably. That I would let you live an ordinary life with your loved one…”

It was then. Along with a giggling laughter, a young boy’s voice was transmitted.

‘I know very well. That you like blood more than anyone else. So just try killing someone first. It’ll be thrilling, won’t it?’

The voice was full of mischief, but for some reason, it gave a creepy feeling.

Ian instinctively knew. This wasn’t someone’s inner thoughts being heard, but the auditory hallucination Callisto had mentioned.

“…”

“I will appoint you as the Crown Prince.”

“What? Why so suddenly…”

Ian suddenly stopped speaking. Something was detected inside his body. The amount of aura he had faintly felt increased. No, it surged as if it would overflow at any moment.

Could it be?

Ian slowly pushed the power flowing inside his body to his fingertips. He could feel a warm sensation pooling in his palm.

‘Can I now manipulate aura? Does that mean I’ve become a Swordmaster?’

As he was looking down at his hand in disbelief, Callisto spoke with a grave expression.

“You will succeed me as the Emperor of the Fonnes Empire.”