Chapter 28
Frieda Blanke's engagement, which had begun with a "Meet There, Go Our Separate Ways" arrangement, seemed destined for trouble... but Frieda's treatment was far better than she had braced herself for.
To be honest, Frieda had been prepared to camp outdoors and cook for herself, but House Albright had a proper room ready for her, and there were even clothes waiting in the closet.
At mealtimes, a servant guided her to the dining room, and every dish she was served was delicious.
White, fluffy bread, soup brimming with ingredients, meat sausages, and baked sweets made with lavish amounts of sugar were all delicacies that appeared only a few times a year in Valmberg.
(...This is quite different from what I imagined.)
After dinner, Frieda returned to her room and folded her arms, murmuring thoughtfully.
In Valmberg, it was rare to see let alone curse mages—even ordinary mages were seldom seen—so Frieda knew little about curse mages. Even so, she could tell that this household differed from the popular image of a curse mage's home.
(For such a large mansion, there really aren't many people here.)
The only person Frieda had met in the house was the sinister-looking old woman, Adeline. There were also a few servants, but no other residents were anywhere to be seen. Not even her fiancé.
Frieda had been the only one seated in the dining room at dinner.
(The best thing to do is check anything that bothers me right away.)
Frieda left the room without hesitation and went looking for a servant.
Looking around the corridor, Frieda spotted a male servant in his thirties carrying a pitcher and called out, "Excuse me."
The male servant was a man of average height and build with hazel hair slicked back. He was also the man who had shown Frieda to her room and the dining room. His name was Mick Henning.
"Henning-san, may I ask you something?"
"Yes. What is it?"
Mick answered in a flat, expressionless voice. He could hardly be called friendly, but apparently he treated everyone that way.
At least, he did not seem to regard Frieda with hostility or contempt. He was probably just an unsociable man by nature.
So Frieda asked Mick without hesitation.
"Other than Adeline-sama, who else resides in this house?"
"Basically, only Adeline-sama. The other relatives conduct research at their respective residences throughout the Kingdom of Ridill or accept work as curse mages."
"...Even the head of the family and his parents?"
At Frieda's question, Mick faltered slightly, though his expression remained unchanged.
Then he opened his mouth, seeming just a little reluctant to speak.
"The head's parents died when he was young. It was an accident caused by curse magic running amok."
"...I see."
"As for Ray-sama, the head of the family, he uses a residence in a forest some distance from the royal capital as his workplace and spends more than half the year there."
So Frieda's fiancé was apparently staying at that residence.
Adeline had told Frieda to do as she pleased. In that case, Adeline presumably would not complain if Frieda visited the separate residence where her fiancé was staying.
However...
(I don't have any particular reason to go out of my way to meet him.)
Frieda was not especially interested in the fiancé in question, and he presumably had no intention of meeting her, either.
If he had wanted to meet her, he would have returned to the main residence by now.
In that case, there was no need to force herself to go meet him. Frieda readily reached that conclusion.
"Is there anything else you would like to ask?"
At Mick's question, Frieda thought for a moment before asking him,
"In your opinion, what are curse mages like?"
Mick looked slightly surprised by Frieda's question, but soon answered in his usual flat tone.
"They're surprisingly human. Also, the people in this household pay very well. The wages are good, and the lack of overtime is wonderful."
That was a very important opinion.
Frieda nodded in understanding, thanked Mick, and returned to her room.
Now that she had arrived at the mansion safely, she wanted to write a letter to her brother.
Her brother was surely worried about her, so she had to tell him how respectable this household was and how delicious the food was.
＊ ＊ ＊
Ray Albright, the 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉 who had bolted from his family home, went straight to the separate residence on the outskirts of the royal capital and shut himself away in his room.
The small brick house, with vines clinging to every part of its walls, had exactly the sort of atmosphere one would expect from a curse mage's home.
Inside, medicinal herbs and dried lizards hung from the ceiling, tapestries woven with magic circles hung from the walls, and cursed implements were lined up on shelves.
It was already night. The only things lighting the room were the fire in the fireplace and the flames of the lamps.
The various cursed implements illuminated by the orange light shifted in shadow as the flames flickered.
Ray was sitting at his work desk drawing a magic circle on parchment when he picked up a small knife and cut off a lock of his purple hair.
A curse mage's body, saturated with curses, could serve as a medium for curse magic in its entirety, from the hair to the bones and flesh. The hair of the third 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉 could be called the most powerful medium for curse magic in the country.
Ray carefully braided the cut hair, wrapped it in the parchment he had just used, and placed it in a small cloth pouch.
This was a "Curse Reversal" amulet: when its bearer was targeted by curse magic, it would send the curse back at the caster. Ray had put a great deal of effort into making it, so even his grandmother's curse magic could be reflected back.
Ray spread out a sheet of letter paper and took up a quill, then wrote line after line while fretting over each word.
'Please keep this on you at all times. It will repel Baba-sama's curse.'
After putting the letter paper in an envelope, Ray realized, just as he was about to address it,
He did not even know his own fiancée's name.
"W-what should I do...? To begin with, how am I supposed to give this to her...? I don't want to go back home... But I have to find some way to give it to her..."
That wicked old woman would surely bully Ray's fiancée by cursing her with a pig's nose, athlete's foot, or a sense of taste turned upside down. That was surely what she would do.
"...Just imagining it makes me feel so sorry for her that I could cry... She must hate this, too... Being chosen as the fiancée of someone like me... And on top of that, being bullied by a mean old hag... Sniff..."
Ray sniffled and gazed vacantly at the skull displayed on his desk.
This skull belonged to the first 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉.
A curse mage's body served as a medium for curse magic. The skull of the first 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉, whose body was inscribed with countless curses, was the strongest cursed implement in the country, with enough hidden power to blanket an entire country in curses.
Ray had inherited the skull of the first 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉 when he succeeded House Albright.
Other families had staffs, rings, or crystal balls, so why did his family have a skull? Ray had been left speechless when he first learned about it.
(When Baba-sama dies, her skull will end up beside this one... And when I die, mine will, too...)
At times like this, he thought about it with particular intensity. Why couldn't his family be normal?
(...Being normal sounds nice. I wish I had been born into a normal family...)
Ray did not know what a "normal family" was.
He had had curses inscribed on his body from the moment he was born and had spent all twenty-three years of his life as a curse mage. To him, a "normal family" was little more than a fairy tale.
Put simply, the word "normal" was a convenient fantasy for Ray.
If he had a normal home and a normal family, surely they would have loved him in a normal way.
Without being treated as disgusting. Without being hated.
And then...
──We curse mages must never say "×××××" aloud. Understand, Ray.
"...I wanted to say it at least once..."
The words his mother had once declared taboo.
Ray whispered them without making a sound, moving only his lips. Just then...
"Kaboom!!"
A thunderous voice rang out, and the mansion shook.
Dust and cobwebs trickled down from the ceiling beams, while the objects on the desk rolled around and fell to the floor.
"Eek!? W-wha, wha, what the...!?"
A tremendous noise came from the direction of the entrance. More specifically, it was the sound of the door being blown away by attack magic.
As Ray cried out and panicked, the door to his room was kicked down with a resounding bang.
The one who had kicked it down was the 〈Barrier Mage〉 Louis Miller, his long braid whipping through the air.
The large, black-haired, black-bearded man laughing heartily behind him was the 〈Cannonball Mage〉 Bradford Firestone.
"Bwahahahaha! Knew you'd be here, Abyssal!"
"Now then, have you forgotten the rule that the Seven Sages are to remain at the castle during the New Year's ceremony, 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉-dono?"
Ray sucked in a sharp breath.
Apparently, the two of them had come to drag Ray back after he had bolted from the castle following the ceremony.
Even so, why had they chosen these two?
Of all people, they had sent the two representatives of the Seven Sages' martial faction. To make matters worse, they smelled faintly of alcohol.
"Hey, hey, hey, Abyssal. I was having a grand old time drinking at the banquet, y'know? But then they said you'd run away, so I got dragged out here."
"O-of all people, two drunk old men came to get me... This is the worst... It's beyond the worst..."
At Ray's mutter, Louis's thin eyebrow twitched upward.
"How rude. I'm still in my twenties."
"Bwahaha! Barely, though."
"Where in the world could you find such a young and handsome old man?"
Life must be wonderfully easy if one could have that much confidence in oneself.
Envious of Louis, Ray offered his excuse in a feeble voice.
"P-please leave me alone today... I'm heartbroken... If I stay at a castle that's partying like that, my heart will shatter just from being there..."
Louis spoke to the desperately pleading Ray in a cheerful voice.
"I, a married man with children, am enduring my stay at the castle with tears in my eyes... Do you really think such selfishness will be allowed?"
Louis smiled beautifully, but there was not the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes. He was terrifying.
As Ray trembled violently, Bradford stomped over and extended a large hand toward him.
"N-no, no, no, I don't wanna!"
Ray instinctively activated a curse. Specifically, a curse that made any spot touching Ray itch.
"Gah, what's this!? I-it itches...!"
While Bradford was distracted scratching his palm, Ray tried to escape.
But Louis was blocking the door.
Louis spun the staff he held tightly in his hand. Ray's mind flashed with the vision of that staff beating him senseless.
(Then...!)
Ray dashed desperately to the window, opened it, and tried to leap outside... but when he looked out the window, he was left speechless.
The area around the mansion was completely covered in thorns, with not a gap between them.
The one waving cheerfully in front of the writhing thorns was the 〈Thorn Witch〉 Raul Roseberg.
"Hey, Ray! There's no point in running!"
"...This is the worst."
Louis hooked the tip of his staff around the back of Ray's neck and lifted him up.
"Now then, let's return to the castle, shall we, 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉-dono?"