Adopt 169

Chapter 169

Soon, his aura chillingly cold like a shard of ice, his left hand touched my cheek with utmost care.

“I’ve said this before, haven’t I? Lady Blanche is more precious to me than anything else in this world.”

A whisper, tender as a lover’s secret words slipped into a beloved’s ear.

But Sir Cherry had never spoken those words before.

That night, on the balcony, his revelation, though desperate as a sinner in confession, was at once solemn as a knight’s vow.

So I hadn’t known.

The true feeling behind Sir Cherry’s confession that night.

“Once, this feeling gave my life meaning. Now, I can’t endure it—it fills me with unbearable anxiety.”

I could no longer meet Sir Cherry’s gaze and lowered my eyes.

Some emotion, akin to fear, made my shoulders tremble before I realized it, and I bit down hard on my lip.

His hand, which had been caressing my cheek, gently traced my bottom lip, pressed sore from my teeth, and gradually slid down my throat as if a snake forging a path.

Then, a low, thick, sweet voice, seductive like a snare, grazed my ear.

“It’s as if I’ve bared my heart completely.”

I instinctively shut my eyes tight.

“My lord, the demon’s curse is cunning—it instantly senses its host’s weakness. Then it provokes that weakness, leading its host further into corruption.”

“Lady Blanche… you make it possible for me to remain human.”

Sir Penadel’s voice, and the words Sir Cherry had whispered to me before leaving the capital, echoed in my mind.

I was so overwhelmed by helpless despair that tears threatened to spill.

How foolish. Why only now…

If there were such a thing as a character to the demon’s curse, it would now be whispering incessantly at Sir Cherry’s ear.

Kill her.

Because I was the one—his weakness—who could completely erase the last vestige of Sir Cherry’s humanity.

“That’s why, Lady Blanche, you should not have come here. I have no idea how I should face you now.”

Steeling myself against the impulse to give in, I slowly opened my eyes.

Sir Cherry’s hand was still around my neck, large and strong enough to easily snap my bones.

If I made a careless move and the demon’s curse deepened, my neck would break as easily as a willow twig.

‘That must never happen.’

He had already sent his own brother to his death with his own hand.

Given Sir Cherry’s nature, if he so much as scratched me beyond this point, surely… there would be no turning back.

Such a thing must never happen.

“Sir Cherry.”

Thankfully, there was no trace of fear in my voice as I called to him.

I felt his grip on my neck loosen, if only a little, and drew a steadying breath as if standing before a target.

Physical contact with the subject was necessary to invoke my power.

But, wary of my ability, he shrouded every part of himself that touched me in aura.

Though he was this close, I couldn’t even lay a finger on him.

‘In that case, I must lure my prey in closer.’

Reminding myself how difficult it was to control my impulses when my eyes burned red, I looked up into his crimson gaze, dyed the color of blood.

Unlike before, his eyes now glimmered with a chilling murderous intent, like thin ice on a lake.

But I stepped forward into that icy lake without a trace of hesitation, unafraid of drowning.

“If I’m so precious to you, come closer.”

Immediately, all strength left Sir Cherry’s hand on my neck.

Without looking away, I whispered as secretly as if offering water to a beast wandering the desert.

“Close enough for me to kiss you—a little more.”

As if sensing a trap, he paused at my words.

Then, helpless against my urging, his hesitant head slowly inclined toward me.

“Closer, come.”

Our noses brushed; we could feel each other’s breaths.

Almost unaware, I craned my neck and pressed my lips to his.

“…!”

It was but a fleeting touch, yet the power I sealed on that kiss was enough to bind him.

Clink!

Golden chains coiled tightly around him.

His mask fell away under a violent resistance, and I barely managed to slip from his grasp.

But the real battle was only beginning.

“Tory!”

At the agreed signal, Leo’s familiar—a long-bodied beast—sprang from the hood of my cloak and wound its body about my neck.

As my magical vessel rapidly drained, Leo’s purest power flowed in to replenish it.

What I needed to bind was the demonic energy seething within Sir Cherry.

Even as I poured my magic into him, struggling to subdue the darkness inhabiting his body,

Suddenly, a pressure as daunting as Cerberus pressed down on me, and his eyes, whites and all, turned utterly black.

“Sir Cherry, come to your senses!”

I rushed to him, seized his cheeks with both hands, and pulled him close.

But there was no trace of recognition in his eyes.

I could feel the magical vessel, laden with power, emptying at a terrifying rate.

I desperately cried out, drawing from even the butterfly-shaped mana stone Cheshire had gifted me, which was pinned like a brooch to my cloak.

“No, Sir Cherry. Look at me.”

Was I already too late?

I clearly sensed the demonic energy—beyond my control—tearing through Sir Cherry from within.

Leo’s familiar faded, then vanished completely, and even the mana stone butterfly shattered to powder.

The golden chains binding him grew taut, as if about to snap at any moment.

I knew I should run now.

While my mana held him, I should turn and flee without looking back.

But it was as if my feet were frozen to the spot.

“My lord, you must stand back!”

Sir Penadel’s voice carried from afar, as if he’d regained his senses.

For what could be the last time, I stared into Cesare’s crimson eyes, swirling with murderous fury.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone else—not ever. I won’t die by your hand, either. So, Sir Cherry…”

Thunk! Thunk!

I heard the shattering of the many magic chains binding him.

Clinging to him, I whispered,

“Obey me.”

Please.

At that instant, as my magical vessel was finally drained,

Above my head appeared the sign of a successful taming—a crown—and the darkness slowly receded from Sir Cherry’s eyes until, as if all his strength had left him, he closed them.

At once, I threw my arms around his neck, holding him close, and commanded,

“Rest until the curse is purified, Sir Cherry.”

“…”

“No nightmares, no waking until you can return to me again—my own Sir Cherry.”

“I gladly… obey.”

Did he truly answer? Or was it only in my mind?

Unable to bear his weight, I collapsed to the ground with him.

“My lady! That way is—!”

Behind me, Sir Penadel’s voice sounded urgent.

But unable to resist the exhaustion from my emptied vessel, I succumbed to sleep at the forest’s edge, Sir Cherry still in my arms.

---

Three days had passed since Penadel, battered and bruised, returned to the castle carrying three beasts that looked like dogs in his arms.

At last recovered enough to move, Penadel exchanged a few words with the head maid, then made his way straight to the private chambers where Belinda had stayed.

Through the slightly open door, he saw Leo standing at the window, staring blankly out.

Penadel, guilt swelling in his chest, hesitated at the threshold. After a moment’s resolve, he knocked and entered.

“Master Leo.”

“Sir Knight! What about Lady Belinda? Did you find her?”

Leo rushed over, but, seeing Penadel alone, slumped in disappointment.

It had been three days since Cesare and Belinda had vanished beyond the enchanted forest’s boundaries.

All at the castle were plunged into sorrow; yet Penadel thought, surely no one awaited their return more eagerly than this boy before him.

He knelt, one knee to the floor, in the attitude of a loyal vassal before his master.

Meeting the child’s blue gaze, he spoke.

“I have a request, young master.”

“For me?”

“Yes. Will you come with me to the forest?”

“The forest…?”

He did not answer right away.

Penadel knew better than anyone: Leo did not hesitate because he feared the woods, or because his yearning to find Belinda was any less desperate.

Rather, the child hesitated because he harbored questions.

Why did he have to go into the woods? What could a mere child do there?

He was a clever boy.

Soon, Leo asked softly.

“If I go to the forest, can I help find Lady Belinda and Sir Knight?”

“Yes, you can.”

“How can I help?”

“That is what we must discover. If you are the one I have been searching for, the forest will open the way to Lady Belinda and our lord.”

Leo had learned from the knights about the curses in the enchanted woods, the mysterious powers, and the heroes’ tales.

Perhaps not fully, but Leo seemed to sense the meaning behind Penadel’s words.

He did not ask further; instead, he nodded.

“I’ll go. Please, let me go.”

Penadel bowed his head deeply, as if in vassalage to the child.

He had never once believed Andymion had survived.

The cursed child, so easily drawn to violence, must have perished as a fiend that night of rebellion.

But now, before Leo, Penadel—for the first time—prayed for Andymion’s survival, and whispered a prayer to the friend who now lay in peace.

‘Theodore, forgive me for my unfaithfulness.’