Chapter 39
"Oh my, those kids... Making such a terrible ruckus in someone else's garden~"
Looking down at the backyard from the window, Mary Harvey, the 〈Star-Seer Witch〉, sighed as her silver hair, long enough to reach the floor, swayed around her.
"My grandson is at fault, Mary."
The one who apologized was an elderly woman sitting on the sofa and drinking wine—Adeline Albright, the former 〈Abyssal Curse Mage〉 and Ray's grandmother.
Mary was not offended by the old woman, who said she was sorry without seeming particularly apologetic. Instead, she smiled placidly.
"No, no, please don't worry about it. The one making all those explosions is probably Bradford-chan, anyway~? And with Louis-chan there, the mansion should be safe from damage."
Even when a spectacular explosion rang out near the party venue, the guests were only somewhat startled, and few of them were rattled.
The 〈Cannonball Mage〉 and the 〈Barrier Mage〉 were attending today's party. The guests' reactions went something like, "Well, that was a loud noise," "The 〈Cannonball Mage〉 must be setting off fireworks," and "The 〈Barrier Mage〉 is here today, so surely we won't suffer any damage. Hahahaha."
Adeline gave a sarcastic snort.
"Hmph! This country has become quite peaceful."
"Ufufu, that is truly the case~. When we were young, romance with someone from the Empire would have been unthinkable."
At Mary's words, Adeline fell silent. Then, as if to cover up the silence, she drained the wine in her glass.
Without commenting on Adeline's reaction, Mary murmured while twirling a strand of silver hair that had fallen against her cheek around her fingertip.
"I hope things work out for Ray-chan's engagement~... Especially considering what happened to his parents."
Mary Harvey knew the truth behind the incident that had taken place in House Albright more than a decade ago.
──The curse mage who fell in love was unable to control her emotions, so she cursed the man she loved and turned him into her puppet.
That was the rumor whispered throughout society. But the truth was different.
The woman curse mage who had fallen in love had cursed herself.
──Someone like me could never be loved. No one could ever love me.
By cursing herself that way, the woman curse mage failed to realize that the man truly loved her.
She did not know that she herself was the person the man secretly loved, and mourned the fact that she had cursed the man she loved and turned him into a puppet.
Apparently, Ray's mother had not listened no matter what Adeline and the others said to her.
──He loves me? No, no, that's impossible. I could never be loved. The only reason he says he loves me is because of my curse.
Then her mental health deteriorated, and she left the main estate with her husband. She attempted a spell far beyond her abilities to undo his curse... and when the spell ran wild, she died along with the husband beside her.
Apparently, her husband's body had fallen over her, as though shielding the woman curse mage from the curse. He had loved her until the very moment he died.
"Honestly, what a stupid girl. A curse mage cursing herself? It's not even funny enough to be a joke."
Grumbling, Adeline seized a wine bottle with her thick, ring-laden fingers.
Then she poured wine into her glass with a rough, careless motion.
Watching her, Mary took a delicate sip of her own wine.
"I'm amazed, you know~. I never imagined that Adeline-sama would arrange a fiancée for Ray-chan~. And the other party is the grandson of the man you loved in your youth! Oh my~ How romantic~"
"Hmph! Don't be ridiculous. I'm a curse mage! A curse mage's true calling is making others unhappy! This engagement is to spite my grandson and that very man! It has no other meaning!"
The old woman spat those words and gulped down her wine, while Mary laughed in a voice like tinkling bells.
＊ ＊ ＊
Ray sniffled miserably as he gazed at Frieda, who was holding him.
Frieda wasn't smiling kindly like a saint... but she still wasn't looking at Ray with disgust or contempt.
That alone made Ray so happy he felt as though he might float away.
"Ah, ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's my, my fault..."
"Please don't worry about it. If you ask who is responsible for this situation, it is mostly my brother's fault."
Behind Frieda, Henrik groaned, "Ugh," and clutched his chest.
Frieda did not spare her brother a glance as she continued.
"I'm relieved to see that you aren't injured, Lord Albright."
"You're so kind... Kind to someone like me, who can't say 'I love you'... Are you a goddess...?"
"No. I am your fiancée."
Though she bluntly cut Ray off, her attitude was utterly sincere.
Frieda could hardly be called personable, and her eyes were a little sharp, but she was sincere.
"You seem to think that being unable to say 'I love you' is a terrible thing, but I think there are ways to convey your feelings to someone without saying 'I love you.'"
"O-other ways...?"
"Yes. For example..."
Frieda took Ray's right hand and brushed a kiss against the back of it, barely touching it with her lips.
"Something like this."
Ray's face instantly turned bright red all the way to his ears.
The back of his hand where her lips had touched felt hot enough to catch fire.
"Ah, wa-wa-wa, aba, ababa..."
Making strange noises, Ray covered the back of his hand with his other hand.
His heart pounded like an alarm bell. It was beating so hard that he felt as though it might burst through his skin and leap out.
"All right, everyone! Now!"
Raul, who had been watching the exchange, began flinging the rose petals he had been clutching by the handful.
Urged on by Raul, Monica and the others threw rose petals as well.
Monica looked troubled; Cyril remained expressionless; Isaac wore a pasted-on smile; and Glen looked like he was having fun, though no one knew why.
With rose petals swirling around them, the sight of a man and woman gazing into each other's eyes was straight out of a novel. Ray panted heavily, savoring the emotion.
"A-amazing... I'm loved... I'm being blessed! I've never been loved this much in my life...!"
Frieda spoke to the excited Ray with an utterly sincere expression.
"No, I do not love you, actually."
An indescribably awkward silence fell over the area.
Raul and the others froze in the act of throwing rose petals, while Louis and Bradford trembled as they tried to hold back their laughter.
Henrik Blanke, Frieda's brother, shouted with a pained expression.
"Could you read the room!? This wasn't the kind of moment to say something like that, was it!?"
"Honesty is a virtue."
"Even I think that was a little cruel!"
Even Henrik, who had opposed the engagement, felt sorry for Ray, yet Frieda looked as though she had no idea why she was being blamed.
To the pitiful Ray, who had stiffened like a stone, Frieda spoke with a matter-of-fact expression.
"To begin with, today is the first time I have properly dealt with Lord Albright. We have only just met, so this is a matter that comes before love."
It was an utterly airtight argument.
Ray returned from stone to human, his face twitching into something between a laugh and a cry.
"Ha, ha, hahahahaha... That's right. There was no way someone could love me that easily... Ha ha, hahahahaha..."
Tears welled at the corners of Ray's eyes as he continued to laugh spasmodically.
The north wind whistled, bitterly cold.
(I kind of want to stop being human already... If only I could be reborn as a beautiful flower or something, and be loved by a girl next time...)
As Ray hung his head, lost in those thoughts, Frieda reached out with both hands and lifted his face.
Her wolf-like gray eyes looked straight into Ray's.
"However, I think I could come to like you."
"...Huh?"
"You need not become a jewel. Your eyes are more beautiful than any jewel."
What flashed through Ray's mind was a poem he had written when he was still in his teens.
'Ah, if this body were a jewel, would you have loved me with those fingers...?'
Ray's face turned red, then blue, then red again, and his entire body began to tremble.
"D-don't tell me you... read that...?"
"I thought the choice of words was lovely."
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!"
As Ray screamed and rolled around on the ground, Raul said, "I don't really understand, but this is a happy ending!" and scattered rose petals everywhere.