The answer the Brocade Duke wanted from Diana was related to her illness.

There was a rumor that she had never stepped out of the mansion, so he wondered if she might have a chronic illness. That was the only question he had.

‘I can remove the curse from this family!’

He hadn’t meant to hear such an absurd statement. The duke’s brow furrowed deeply, unable to even compose his expression.

“Um, Father?”

The duke raised his hand to stop Diana from speaking.

Declan, who had personally brought a chair from far away, sat down by Diana’s bedside.

Haa- He let out a deep sigh and interlaced his fingers.

The duke’s blue eyes, which had been pressing on his deepened brow wrinkles, turned towards Diana.

Thus began the conversation with her prospective father-in-law.

“My lady.”

It was a look as if he was watching an unruly foal.

“Yes, Father. Please speak freely.”

At her graceful smile, Declan’s expression hardened even more.

Diana removed the blanket covering her up to her neck and sat up.

I can’t lie down while talking to an adult. Though temporary, absorbing the duke’s curse had improved her physical condition quite a bit.

“Can you take responsibility for what you’re saying?”

Who are you spouting nonsense in front of?

“Of course, Father.”

Yes, it’s not nonsense.

Diana’s pink eyes and Declan’s seasoned blue eyes clashed as if in a battle of nerves.

After a brief staring contest, it was the duke who backed down.

“How much do you know about the family curse?”

“I know that the blood-crazed madness known to the public is not a hereditary disease, but a curse passed down from ancestors. And that when pushed to the extreme mentally, it leads to drastic choices. Also that Rodrick doesn’t have much time left.”

“Did Rodrick tell you?”

Hmm, she knew the contents of the original work, but she held her tongue.

“That’s right. Rodrick will die soon. Because of the family curse. The intensity of the curse worsens with each passing year.”

The duke’s eyes, bearing the weight of years, looked utterly weary.

“You probably know why Felice ran away too? Our family has tried every means to remove the curse. It was all in vain. The temple knows nothing about the curse, and we can neither question nor seek help from the suspicious imperial family. We secretly sent envoys abroad to learn about the curse, but that too was fruitless. The madness only occurs in our family.”

The duke wanted to remove the family curse more than anyone. Every time he saw his wife, who had become part of the family, going mad due to the curse’s influence, it felt like his heart was being torn apart.

His wife died, time passed, and now all emotions had faded away like weathering, leaving him to carry out his duties as the head of the family mechanically.

Nevertheless, the curse remained an object of hatred that needed to be eliminated.

“I see.”

Lost in thought, Diana replied briefly. At that perfunctory answer, Declan’s eyebrow twitched.

“…”

Before my desperation, you declared that you could remove the curse. Not knowing the weight of those words. Declan’s blue eyes cooled, lowering in temperature.

“Duke.”

Having finished her thoughts, Diana once again faced the duke with her clear pink eyes. At the formal address rather than a personal one, Declan’s head tilted askew.

“Do you know that the Beatus family is well-versed in curse-related matters?”

I do know. I also know that they have been proficient in curses since the founding of the family. Despite the stigma of using black magic, they continued to build their power beneath the surface.

Whether curses, which had all but disappeared, were being utilized now as magic gradually vanished was a separate matter.

There had been times when I set aside my pride and requested help from the Beatus family. Each time, I was refused. I knew it was the imperial family’s way of keeping the Schwartz family in check.

Because Beatus couldn’t disobey the imperial family’s words.

To hold the leash, they needed a weakness. For the imperial family, the Schwartz curse was no different from a collar around a beast’s neck.

So it was unexpected. When the youngest princess of Beatus asked for my son.

The duke tried to gauge her.

Are you acting independently, or following your family’s instructions?

“Are you saying you can handle curses?”

Even for a Beatus, she didn’t seem particularly capable, so I didn’t expect much.

I thought that her wanting to marry Rodrick was just to steal something from the Schwartz family. That there must be some other ulterior motive.

Despite knowing that she had lived practically confined in her family, according to what I’d learned. Despite knowing that it was called abuse and that she was referred to as the abandoned princess.

Declan did not let go of his thread of suspicion.

“I can see mana with my eyes. This is a unique constitution that only I possess.”

She didn’t know why mana was visible to her eyes, or why mana could leave and be absorbed into her body, but she simply passed it off as a unique constitution.

“You know what? Curses are created based on mana.”

So? At Declan’s skeptically raised eyebrow, Diana sincerely wished Rodrick was here.

“I mean I can see the curse that has seeped into Your Grace’s body right now.”

“…”

It was a fact no one knew. Everyone thought only Rodrick had inherited the curse. Even his sons didn’t know he was affected by the curse.

“I can absorb curses. You probably won’t believe it unless you experience it directly, right?”

Diana held out her hand. Her slender wrist looked like it would snap with a crack if any force was applied.

“I request a handshake, Your Grace.”

“What kind of trick is this?”

Diana put aside even the face she had put on for negotiation and pouted her lips sulkily.

“You really are so suspicious. Is the great Duke Schwartz scared?”

Diana waved her hand as if urging him to grab it quickly. This arm hurts. Even at her whining words, Declan remained still with a dubious expression.

Gradually, as a feeling of ‘maybe?’ began to arise, he raised his hand, and Diana quickly grabbed it.

The faintly rippling curse disappeared through Diana’s hand. After absorbing a certain amount, she let go, and Declan’s eyes widened.

“How do you feel? Hasn’t your physical condition improved?”

Indeed, his body felt lighter. It was the same as when Diana had held his hand in the study. The pressure weighing on his shoulders was gone.

“Did you just absorb the curse?”

“Yes.”

“Then, are you also removing Rodrick’s curse?”

Good. Now you seem to believe me. Diana said with a gentle upturn of her lips.

“Yes. So please don’t say your son will die. I’m going to save him.”

At her confident words, Declan had no choice but to believe. Indeed, there had been no reports of seizure symptoms since Rodrick had brought her to the castle.

Ha. Declan let out a hollow laugh as he ran a hand over his roughened face.

Hope. It had fallen like this, out of nowhere. Whether it was true or not would be known by watching Rodrick.

If he died, that would be the end of it. But a glimmer of hope had arisen that the family curse could be removed.

“Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Hmm, saving your son?”

As Diana lightly retorted, Declan hardened his expression again and spoke seriously.

“If what you say is true. The succession structure will change. A discarded card will become the greatest weapon again.”

Diana looked at the duke with surprise. She thought he disliked Rodrick because he disparaged him as cursed.

The greatest weapon. It still seemed like he wasn’t being treated as a person. But at least the recognition of being the greatest was attached.

“When the curse disappears, many things will change.”

She understood the implied meaning. Rodrick held powerful strength just by his existence. It meant he could build up his influence.

In fact, before her death, with Rodrick’s death, the military power of the North was reduced by half.

If the curse disappeared and Rodrick exerted his full power, the confrontation with the imperial family would likely grow larger. That was what she wanted. A strong card was needed to deal with the crown prince in the future.

“I know, Father.”

At the returned form of address, the blue eyes narrowed.

“Are you perhaps afraid?”

At his prospective daughter-in-law’s provocation, Declan burst out laughing. Ha! What a cheeky one. That was the look in his eyes.

“Rodrick will live. I’ll make it so. So, Father. Live long. It’s still far too early for you to hand over the position of family head.”

A strange light flickered in his blue eyes. How on earth did she know?

With each passing year, along with fatigue, his body weakened, and he sensed his own impending end was not far off.

When the duke dies, the curse will be fully passed on to the next generation. If that happens, the curse weighing on Rodrick will intensify and go berserk. He will self-destruct.

That’s why he was hurrying to prepare Felice to take over as family head. In other words, Declan was preparing for his own death.

To ensure that the second son, though inferior to the eldest, could lead the family perfectly.

“Your Grace. I’ve brought the court physician.”

There was a knock, and at Declan’s permission, the door opened.

The duke ordered the elderly physician to be in charge of Diana exclusively from now on. Despite this unprecedented treatment, the court physician bowed his head without any objection.

As Declan was about to leave after giving the order and telling her to rest, she stopped him.

“Father!”

At his expression asking what else she had to say, Diana smiled brightly and said.

“I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to grant it?”

Diana’s words once again shocked those around her. What was most surprising was that the Duke of Schwartz readily agreed to that request.

Diana, who dealt with the fearsome Duke of Schwartz so casually, gradually became the center of the castle.

As she visited the duke’s study every day as if going to work, even the servants came to accept it as a matter of course.

All of this happened while Rodrick was absent.

While Diana was struggling in pain at Schwartz Castle,

Rodrick, who had been accumulating curses, was also in a very foul mood.

He led only a small elite force, riding horses day and night without rest to the northwest region.

There was a reason he couldn’t return immediately even after easily resolving the conflict that had arisen in the northern border area.

Boom. Boom.

The sound of drums rang out as a mock battle began. Weapons clashed, and the thunderous shouts of soldiers erupted between the high and low rock formations.

He dismounted from his black horse just as the battle was starting. As he was about to head towards the makeshift tent after handing the reins to a subordinate, that’s when it happened.

“Well, well, who do we have here?”

At the fierce, wild voice, Rodrick’s indifferent gaze turned to the man emerging from the tent.

With his muscular body trained to the extreme and wild red hair in disarray, he looked like a raw beast straight from the wilderness.

“What brings the Black Reaper of the North all the way here?”

“That unfunny nickname. Aren’t you embarrassed to say it yourself?”

“What?”

That emotionless face irritates me every time I see it. The corners of the man’s mouth turned up fiercely, his mood twisted.

“Nathan Beatus.”

As Rodrick called out his name, red eyes filled with killing intent gleamed.