“I didn’t ask in detail because I thought it would be better to talk when I meet her, but was there a basement in this castle that my mother didn’t know about?”

Nellia found their conversation strange.

No matter how much the Duchess lived in this castle for decades, the Ducal Castle was incredibly vast and large.

Also, she knew that castles usually had shelters prepared for air raids, so having a secret space was not uncommon.

As if to resolve Nellia’s doubts, Duke Hart added to the conversation.

“Nellia might not know, but after my father passed away, and my mother came down here alone, she rebuilt the castle. So, it’s strange that there was a space she didn’t know about until now.”

Nellia widened her eyes. Now the conversation made sense to her.

However, a new question arose: Why did the Duchess rebuild this enormous castle in the first place? It must have been a tremendous construction project.

Nellia was curious about the reason, but Duke Hart and the Duchess continued their discussion about the basement.

“Where did you find the entrance to the basement?”

“It’s in the now-unused armory at the back of the castle.”

“Armory…?”

“Yeah. A servant who was weeding there discovered a strange door on the floor.”

Duke Hart’s gaze was serious.

“What was inside the basement besides books?”

“Only old bookshelves, a desk, and books. The books seemed to contain information about curses. Considering its secrecy, it seems that Hart was researching curses in that place a long time ago.”

Nellia thought that the Duchess’s inference was the most plausible.

Although the Duke had given up on curses, he must have met her and resolved to lift the curse.

The ancestors of Duke Hart might have been the same. Anyone would have tried to break the curse.

So, having such a space was not strange at all.

“As you know, there is no one among the people who doesn’t find this curse annoying.”

The Duchess said, lifting one corner of her lips provocatively.

“Even the ancestors must have done all sorts of things to lift the curse. Well, I did too.”

The Duchess stopped fanning herself vigorously and asked Duke Hart.

“By the way, Silian. How many pills are you taking a day now? If you take more than three pills every day, it could be quite burdensome for your body…”

“I’m hardly taking any medicine now.”

The Duchess stopped fanning abruptly.

“What do you mean?”
The Duchess, who had been staring with wide eyes, looked at Nellia with a sly smile.

“Could it be because of Miss Nellia? I heard a story that when you went to the Duke’s estate last time, you returned as a human…”

“Yes. When Nellia is nearby, I don’t turn into a snake even without taking the medicine.”

“Have you thought about the reason?”

Duke Hart couldn’t immediately respond to the question.

If asked whether they had thought about the reason, both Duke Hart and Nellia would likely say they did.

However, despite their efforts, they couldn’t find an answer.

Reading the answer from Duke Hart’s silence, the Duchess, who had been quiet, spoke first.

“Enough. It would be nice to know the reason, but not knowing is just as good.”

“But we can’t live like this forever. Not being able to separate is more inconvenient than you think.”

Nellia felt a bit strange at the Duke’s firm response.

‘He must have been uncomfortable being close to me…’

Even so, she… While it was inconvenient not being able to stay too far from the Duke, she didn’t dislike it very much.

However, Nellia tried to understand the Duke while shaking off the sinking feeling.

As he said, they couldn’t live like this forever, and he, as the victim of the curse, must have felt much more anxious internally.

The surprising thing was that the Duke hadn’t shown such inner feelings even once.

“By the way, I’m curious if there’s any positive change due to Miss Nellia even during a lunar eclipse.”

Duke seemed to be pondering the answer.

“Nellia did turn me back into a human with her touch.”

The Duchess widened her eyes at the hopeful story, but the Duke soon spoke with a self-deprecating voice.

“But before that, I lost my sanity, went berserk, and even attempted to attack Nellia. So, there’s still no reason to be relieved.”

The Duchess froze her expression as if shocked.

“That could have been a huge problem…”

“So, I plan to be perfectly prepared for the upcoming lunar eclipse.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll help with anything I can. Feel free to let me know.”

The gaze of the Duchess looking at Duke Hart was pitiful, as if seeing something pitiable.

The cup of tea that had been held without being sipped for a long time had long since cooled.

Amidst the atmosphere that had sunk since Duke Hart’s serious words, he spoke.

“If you’re not going to drink the tea, I’d like to go down to the basement.”

The Duchess placed the cup on the table and stood up from her seat.

“Well, it’s better to go now.”

As the Duchess suggested, on the floor of the armory at the back, there was an old wooden door.

Seeing the basement door, Nellia tilted her head to the side.