Superstar 843

“What is it that you want to request?”

To lighten the mood, Claire asked Theo. He looked startled at first, then let out a sigh of relief and began to speak.

“I’m under a spell.”

“A spell?”

Claire and Molly looked at Theo.

Theo fidgeted with his mug as if feeling awkward.

“Or maybe I should say… a curse.”

“A curse…”

Claire’s eyes widened.

Right. If there were magic and witches and werewolves, then curses surely existed too.

There were always people full of jealousy, resentment, and the desire to bring ruin. With the powerful and mysterious force that was magic, it was possible to harm others even more cruelly and effectively.

Of course, with her limited imagination, Claire could only think of things like the poisoned apple from Snow White, the spindle from Sleeping Beauty, or the potion that stole the mermaid’s voice.

“What kind of curse is it?”

The very idea of curses being real made Claire hesitate even to speak the word.

“I don’t really know.”

A shadow passed over Theo’s face.

“I’m sure it’s a curse… but I don’t know what kind it is, how many there are, or how to break them.”

For a moment, the living room fell silent.

“Do you at least know when it was cast?”

Molly, Claire’s reliable magic teacher, swished her tail as she asked.

“The time matters. If it was recent, it might be broken quickly, but if it’s old, it’ll take longer. The method could change too.”

At that, Theo lowered his head. The shadow on his face deepened.

“Since I was born.”

“…What?”

Claire and Molly looked at him as if they had misheard. Theo gave a bitter smile and repeated:

“It’s a curse from when I was born.”

Claire and Molly’s jaws dropped without them even realizing.

They were speechless.

What kind of person would curse a newborn baby?

Images of the babies at the orphanage flashed through Claire’s mind.

Small, fragile, with soft cheeks and adorable smiles.

“If it was from birth… that means even younger than them.”

Imagining an infant with unopened eyes, Claire studied Theo sitting before her.

She wanted to know what exactly was wrong, but Theo looked calm, no different than before.

Was it a curse that didn’t show? Or was Theo simply good at hiding it? She couldn’t tell.

“If it’s a curse from birth, it’ll take quite some time to undo…”

Molly stared at Theo with her sharp yellow eyes, as if boring a hole through his face.

“I don’t care how long it takes. As long as it can be broken.”

Despite Molly’s piercing gaze, Theo answered calmly.

His voice was quiet, but the sincerity behind it was undeniable.

But that desperation soon turned into anxiety. Theo lowered his head and said:

“But… I don’t have any money…”

“What!?”

Molly leapt up.

At the same time, lightning flashed.

“You said it was a request! A request! If it’s a request, of course there should be payment! It takes time and ingredients just to identify a curse, and breaking an old one needs tons of effort!”

Every time Molly stomped around, Theo’s shoulders flinched.

“You think ingredients come out of the ground!?”

“Sorry…”

“Do you even know how expensive and rare the materials needed to break curses are!?”

As Molly ranted on, Claire thought she wouldn’t need to worry about money management ever again.

Seeing the clock on the wall, Claire spoke.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go to bed. You can sleep here tonight too, Theo.”

“Even that mutt?”

Molly’s eyes grew even sharper.

“It’s raining outside, Molly. He has no money and nowhere to go—we can’t just kick him out.”

“I guess that’s true…”

Calming Molly down, Claire turned to look at Theo, who watched her anxiously.

“Sleep in the first-floor room for tonight. We’ll talk more tomorrow, and start looking into your curse then.”

“…Thank you. Really.”

With that, Claire led Theo to a small room on the first floor.

Since the room had been used as a medicinal storage by witch Margaret, there was no bed—only the scent of herbs lingered.

Claire brought down some blankets from upstairs and handed them to Theo, then headed up to the second floor with Molly.

Claire washed up in the upstairs bathroom, changed into pajamas, and laid down on her soft bed. Molly curled up at the head of the bed like it was her usual spot. Through the large window, the rain could still be seen falling.

Finally.

The day had come to an end.

So many unexpected things had happened.

“Molly.”

“Hmm?”

As she stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the day, Claire spoke to Molly. The cat, curled up, lifted her head.

“Do you think I can break a curse? I don’t know a single spell.”

She had only found out today that magic really existed.

“It’ll take some time, but if we have Margaret’s books, potions, and materials, we can do it. Margaret was a great witch. I’ll help too.”

That was a relief.

Claire sighed in relief.

Though he was a stranger she met today—or rather, a werewolf—if he had been cursed since birth, she really wanted to help.

Then Molly spoke, her voice serious.

“Still, Claire, we should find out exactly what kind of curse it is before we try to break it.”

“Huh? Why?”

Claire turned her head to look at Molly.

The black cat’s yellow eyes gleamed with wisdom.

“Like I said earlier, werewolves value their pack. Normally, they’d try to break a curse before reaching adulthood.”

Claire blinked at her words.

“But aren’t witches and werewolves on bad terms?”

“Most of them are, but some do maintain relationships. There are materials that can only be obtained through werewolves.”

“I see.”

Claire fell into thought.

Yeah… If a child at the orphanage had been cursed, and if she knew a witch or wizard, she would’ve asked for help long before now.

“It might be a curse that their usual contacts couldn’t break… or maybe it’s one that shouldn’t be broken.”

“A curse that shouldn’t be broken?”

“Yeah. In that case, it’s more like a seal than a curse.”

Molly’s tail flicked lightly.

“Maybe he was born with powers that were too strong, or he loses control when he sees blood—something dangerous. So someone might’ve cast a spell on him. A spell he thinks is a curse.”

Molly, now turned to face the young witch, looked straight at her.

“That’s why I think it’s best to know exactly what the spell is before trying to undo it. We’ve got the string bracelet, so we’re safe, but others might not be.”

“Okay. I will.”

Claire nodded with a serious expression to match Molly’s tone.

---

“Okay, cut.”

Director Wilma gave a quiet “okay” signal with a smile while watching the monitor.

Seojun, Jack’s guardian, and the staff watching the monitor with her chuckled softly. On the second-floor set, lying in bed, Hailey Rosie was quietly shaking her shoulders.

Jack, who had been “acting” by sitting at the head of Claire’s bed, had fallen asleep. He was snoring softly—saaaak-saaaak.

“I’ve never seen an actor fall asleep on set before.”

At Seojun’s remark, people burst into silent laughter.

Everyone knew unexpected things often happened when filming with animals, so neither the actors nor the crew were particularly bothered.

At that moment, Jack rolled over and exposed his belly.

Could anyone be more carefree?

“Well, since it’s come to this, shall we shoot the next scene too?”

Director Wilma grinned, and Hailey Rosie, her eyes twinkling at the sight of the sleeping cat, nodded in agreement.

With no special prep needed, the next scene began immediately.

To avoid waking Jack, Wilma softly called out, “Action.”

The next morning.

It was as if the bed had been enchanted with a mood-boosting spell. Claire woke up feeling refreshed, and everything that had happened the day before felt like a dream.

“That’s impossible, though.”

Claire glanced at the still-sleeping Molly and chuckled. Molly was sleeping on her back in a relaxed pose.

“She looks like a normal cat like this.”

After washing up and getting dressed, Claire headed downstairs to make breakfast.

“What does Molly eat? Should I buy cat food?”

She stepped onto the first floor, wondering what kind of reaction that thought would’ve gotten from Molly.

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

She came face-to-face with Theo, who was cleaning.

They both blinked at each other.

“You’re up early?”

“Yeah. You too.”

Though they’d had a long conversation the night before and felt a bit more comfortable, it was still only the second day. Things were a bit awkward.

Maybe it was more awkward because Theo was cleaning.

“Are you cleaning?”

“I came in wet last night. Molly gave me a towel, but I thought some water might’ve stayed, so…”

Theo mumbled as he fidgeted with the dry rag in his hand. (Where had he even found that?)

“You don’t have to.”

“I can’t pay for the request… so this is the least I can do.”

Well, if he insisted…

“I’m making breakfast. Anything you can’t eat?”

“No, I eat everything.”

Nodding at his answer, Claire headed to the kitchen.

She pulled out a round frying pan, placed it on the stove, drizzled some cooking oil, and waited for it to heat. Then she took eggs, sausages, and milk from the fridge.

“Should I bring out some bread too?”

Theo, who had come into the kitchen and washed his hands, asked.

“Oh? Yeah.”

There was something polite about Theo.

It still felt a bit strange, but not in a bad way.

For Claire, who was used to communal life at the orphanage, having someone to cook and eat with was actually comforting.

As they were preparing breakfast together—

Molly came downstairs and claimed her seat at the table. She glared at Theo with sharp eyes.

“If he can’t pay, he’d better earn his keep.”

Theo blinked.

A short while later—

Breakfast was ready, and the witch, the werewolf, and the cat sat at the table together.

“I was thinking…”

Theo spoke, and Claire and Molly looked at him.

“What if I paid the request fee with my fur or blood? I heard werewolf fur and blood are valuable materials.”

“That’s great!”

Molly beamed.

“I heard they’re super hard to get. Fur maybe, but werewolves almost never sell their blood willingly.”

“Then, as payment…”

Theo looked encouraged by Molly’s reaction—but when he looked at Claire, his expression froze. Molly also turned her head to look at Claire.

Claire was frozen in place, holding a fork with a sausage on it.

“…Fur? …Blood?”

Even if he was a werewolf… real fur? Real blood?

To a brand-new witch just two days into this magical world, it was a bit much.

“Ah, sorry. Not a topic for breakfast.”

“Let’s talk after we eat!”

…That’s not the point.

You werewolf.

You talking cat.