At the mention of the word writer, Hermia stopped laughing at Gerard. He calmly began to tell of an incident that had occurred not long ago.
‘If you read the newspaper yesterday, you’d know that the author of The Thief Young-ae has been wanted. They’ve listed all sorts of charges against him, but the truth is, it’s all because of me. I was a bit… ‘
‘He appears as a man with a light lower body.’
‘… That’s right. Anyway, we fined the publisher a lot and sent a summons to the author, but he didn’t show up on the scheduled date. That’s why a wanted notice was issued.’
As he said that, the piece of paper he took out of his pocket contained unbelievable sentences written on it.
[I cannot forgive you for treating me like this. You will pay the price you deserve. A terrible curse will be placed on all four of you, so just wait and wipe your feet.]
The message was written in red ink, as if to emphasize the horror. Gerard added, looking at Hermia, who couldn’t take her eyes off the torn manuscript.
‘The Royal Police found it on the desk. The writer had already disappeared, leaving only those words behind. It is said that he had decided to run away from the moment he received the summons, as all his belongings were gone.’
‘If the four people written here are like that… … .’
‘I expected Walter, Melissa, and me, but the only one left seems to be you. At first I thought it might be Count Arnold… … .’
He nodded at Hermia.
‘I just found out. The only one left is Hermia Bahnsen, you.’
Oh no. Is this ridiculous situation really because of a curse imposed by the writer?
It may be hard to accept at first, but if the curse is true, then everything is explained. But is a curse really possible?
After a moment of confusion, she suddenly asked.
‘Does the Duke know about this? If what the Prince says is true, then the Duke is also under a curse.’
‘Of course. I told you first.’
‘You didn’t say anything to me yesterday… … .’
Then Gerard made a face of incredulity.
‘Miss Hermia, your fiancé is a realist to the core. He was so old-fashioned that even his grandfather would have been shocked. He almost got a beating for being so persistent.’
If manners were born as a human being, he would be a man named Walter Rockford. What kind of nonsense is that?
Hermia blushed at the words of distrust, then returned to the original topic.
‘Then the Duke is not under a curse…?’
‘I don’t know. Since Hermia and I show completely different symptoms, I can’t guess anything until she tells me. The timing of the symptoms also seems to be different for each person.’
‘What is the prince’s curse?’
‘It’s hard to say right now… … I’ll come see you soon. I have no choice but to prove that to our colonel.’
Gerard continued to say ambiguous words until the end, then added something playful.
‘Don’t be too surprised when you see it.’
Hermia, who had finished reminiscing up to that point, poured tea into her empty cup and drank it again. Only after emptying two cups in a row was she able to calm her startled heart.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why the writer, Joel or whatever, would put down such a curse.
Doesn’t that mean he has to keep living like this until he gets caught and the curse is lifted?
‘The warrant was issued by the royal family, so why are you taking your anger out on the characters? What’s strange about him?’
Oh my goodness. They say bad things happen all at once, and it really is true.
Feeling suffocated again, I poured the tea for the third time, when a terrifying voice came from behind me.
“Are you feeling a little better?”
“… … .”
She’s quite persistent. Hermia immediately touched her forehead.
‘What should I do? Am I going to fall again? I don’t think I’ll be fooled twice.’
The countess, seeing Elizabeth, sat up so hard that her chair tipped over and forced her to stand up.
“Oh my god, how could the princess herself… …!”
“I never thought you would know Gerard. I must say it’s surprising in many ways.”
Seeing the princess come to her table, she felt determined to continue the conversation that had been interrupted. Hermia gave her a heartfelt applause in her heart.
“I was flustered earlier… … .”
I said that and then closed my mouth. It was because I saw a familiar face standing next to the princess and looking at me coldly.
“…Irene.”
“I hope you will be polite. I am honored to be the new lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth, Miss Hermia.”
Irene spoke haughtily, her arms folded with a smug expression. When she called his name at the end, she pressed down on each letter to emphasize it.
At this point, Hermia also started laughing. How could things be so predictable?
“Good, Irene. No one can ignore the Schwein family anymore.”
“what?”
“You’ve always said that. All the nobles living in the capital are unlucky. You ignore them to their faces and cowardly curse them behind their backs… .”
My eyes rolled and then suddenly stopped.
“Did you say they were trash?”
“Don’t exaggerate! I didn’t say it was trash! Ugh.”
I knew it. You’re not cursed like me, so how could you possibly get away with talking without thinking?
I didn’t mean to call it trash on purpose, but I guess I can say something vague without any problem. Ah, now I remember.
Hermia smiled as if she understood and calmly corrected herself.
“That’s right. I called him a hypocrite.”
Elizabeth, who was looking at the maid she had chosen with her own hands with pity, clicked her tongue and cut off the conversation.
“You look really fine. It’s hard to believe you were the one who collapsed.”
“I’m a bit out of shape now, but I used to be in good health.”
The gloomy look that had been shown at first was nowhere to be found in the voice that was almost cold. Elizabeth twisted her lips as if she had finally figured out the identity.
“… Mrs. Bansen, what is your daughter saying to me now? Is it because of her birth that she is not in her right mind? Is it something like that?”
Elizabeth turned her gaze to the Countess, her eyes still fixed on Hermia.
The countess answered hesitantly, sweating profusely.
“I think my teaching was lacking. I really did my best… I really treated her like my own daughter… … .”
“No. I heard that he passed away not when he was very young, but after he had grown up a bit, so strictly speaking, it’s not Mrs. Bansen’s fault… … .”
At that moment, the smile disappeared from Hermia’s face. The tips of her fingers were rapidly growing cold.
“I think it was the influence of my biological mother who was from a lower class family… … .”
“Excuse me. Everything is fine. Just don’t insult my mother.”
The front yard of the princess’s villa was suddenly filled with an eerie silence. Hermia clenched her fists, which began to tremble with anger, and continued speaking in a suppressed voice.
“I don’t know about my father, but don’t touch my mother.”
“Hey. Who are you to dare to… … .”
“Dare?”
Hermia asked back, her patience at its limit. Her blue eyes, which had seemed cold, suddenly began to glow like flames burning at the hottest temperature.
“Yes. Who dares to show off in front of you? I am the princess of this country! You are a half-defective person with low blood!”
“Get it and call it vulgar! Who the hell called it defective!”
Hermia grabbed the end of the flat table and lifted it straight up. The white tablecloth with lace fluttered and then, wow! The wooden table was completely turned over.
“Mom!”
The girls near the table screamed and scattered as tea splashed everywhere.
The sound of a teacup rolling down the floor with a thud echoed for a long time, and then the party venue became as quiet as a mouse in an instant.
Among the crowd of onlookers who had gathered like a cloud, only Elizabeth and Hermia were left standing still.
Elizabeth, of course, was as pale as flour, and Hermia was still gasping for breath with her intense emotions that had not yet subsided.
Her intense anger seemed to be transmitted through the air to Elizabeth.
‘Why are you so angry just because I brought up the subject of my biological mother?’
Unfortunately, Elizabeth had no intention of understanding an illegitimate child. All she had in mind was the fact that he had dared to confront her and even threatened her.
“This, this, this is terrorism! This is an act of terrorism aimed at my life!”
Elizabeth, who had suddenly come to her senses, pointed her finger and shouted sharply. At the princess’s shout, several of the nearby royal guards came running.
“Arrest that terrorist! Bring him in quickly!”
At the threatening word ‘terrorist’, they drew their guns and took aim at Hermia. Although the opponent was an unarmed woman, their demeanor was fierce.
“Don’t move!”
“Don’t shoot! I’m an innocent noble!”
The countess, who had already collapsed when the table overturned, trembled and waved her hands in the air.
Meanwhile, one of the guards slowly approached Hermia from behind. The guard waited for his chance and then hugged Hermia tightly.
“Arrested, arrested, under suspicion of attempted murder of a royal family… …!”
“What the heck! Let go of it! Let it go!”
She realized the forces surrounding her too late and flailed around, but no matter how hard she struggled, it was not easy to escape the young man’s strength.
Hermia resisted fiercely, ready to pour all her strength into it. The guards, expecting that she would not be easily subdued, gritted their teeth and were about to throw her to the ground when a gunshot rang out from not far away.
People screamed and fell to the ground, covering their heads. When the guards turned in the direction of the gunshot, they saw dozens of guns pointed at them.
“Everyone get down.”
The revolver, which had been emitting a puff of smoke toward the sky, was pointed downwards. Walter ordered it as he reloaded it.