Nervously, I gave a bowl of soup to Maricle-sama. With an impeccable and graceful table manner, Maricle-sama scooped a spoonful of soup and brought it to his mouth. Thenā¦ His throat moved, like he was swallowing something and thenā¦. His deep green eyes widened.
āā¦ā¦ā¦. Thisā¦ Is thatā¦ Curseā¦.?ā
āHuh? Y-Yes.ā
āā¦ā¦..Unā¦ Unbelievableā¦ The taste is absolutelyā¦ Refined andā¦ Delicious.ā
In regards to his words,, I also took another spoonful of the soup.
Yup. I still have a long way to go but I can definitely feel the burst of flavour coming from the stock!! Indeed, it tastes really good.
āWould you like to try one of these?ā
I recommended the beautifully peeled mantis shrimp that I had boiled with salt. Sure, the soup tasted good but the juiciness of the shrimpās meat hit different.
He seemed to have an internal struggle for a while but then, he cut the shrimpās white flesh apart, stabbed it with his fork and gracefully brought it to his mouth.
The shrimp disappeared into his mouthā¦. He munched on it before he swallowed it.
āā¦ā¦!!!ā
At that moment, shining cracks appeared on Maricle-samaās blue-black skin with an audible snap.
ā?!ā
A blinding light appeared from Maricle-sama, illuminating my sight.
āKyaaa?!ā
After the shining light subsided, on the chair there wasā¦. A beautiful young man I had never seen before.
No, this man before me was not at the level of an ordinary ābeautiful young manā. He was the beholder of unparalleled beauty. A face so beautiful that would put any woman to shame, his smooth, bluish silver hair. His deep green eyes, adorned with thin glasses that somehow gave him the impression of a smart person.
Is he a son of some noble? Or maybe the prince himself?
āThisā¦! I seeā¦ So thatās howā¦!ā
That voice belonged to Maricle-sama. With my mouth hanging open, my gaze was fixed on the beautiful man in front of me.
āThank you very much!! Miltia! Thanks to you, I finally understand!!ā
āHuh? What?!ā
Based on Maricle-samaās explanation, apparently when you ate the seafood made from the curse, the same magic required to dispel the curse would flow into your body.
āSo thatās the method required to break my curse! Turns out the requirement is ćeating the seafood brought forth by the curse together with the person who love you backć! Indeed! Thatās why every method I tried always ended up in failure!ā
Maricle-sama explained with a cheerful smile on his face.
The problem with a curse in general was, there was no universal solution to break it. Every curse required a different ćkeyćto break. The most famous key was ćthe maidenās kissćbut even then, that key wouldnāt work for every curse in existence.
āI didnāt know you could break a curse by doing thatā¦ Congratulations!ā
I seeā¦. But thenā¦ That meansā¦ This is the end of my happy lifeā¦.
Fresh marine products would no longer gush forward from Maricle-samaās skin.
As for Maricle-sama, since he had broken free from the curse, that meant he would become popular again amongst the high-ranking noble daughter. When I thought about that, a sense of disappointment flashed on my heart for a moment.
ā¦.. No, no. He finally broke the curse after all this time. I mustnāt be thinking so selfishly like this. If I want to eat some seafood, I can just go catch it in the ocean myself.
Butā¦ It seemed my deplorable thoughts were clearly shown in my expression. Maricle-samaās beautiful eyebrows contorted and he let out a small sigh.
āā¦.. Miltia, youā¦ Do I have to say it straightforwardly for you to understand?ā
ā?ā
āDonāt look so confused like thatā¦. I understand.ā
Maricle-sama turned his body toward me, his well-shaped face looked slightly flushed.
āMy beloved oneā¦ With this, I formally request Miltia Lyran to marry me.ā
āWha- Beloved?! M-Me??ā
Could it beā¦ Maricle-samaās taste in women became distorted too? ā¦ Could it be that the curse didnāt only corrode his skin but also his preferences?
B-but ā¦. He looks so flushed from n-neck up to the head. His ears look like theyāre on fire even.
āWill you pleaseā¦ Accept me?ā
Maricle-sama smiled, he looked like the personification of an angel.
However, so many emotions ran through my brain all at once. Tears began to overflow from my eyes like raging waves.
āā¦. Uuuhā¦ B-Butā¦ Iā¦ Iā¦ Iām s-shoā¦ I donāt behave like a lady at allā¦!ā
āI say, that part of you is very lovely indeed.ā
āI-I canāt use magic at all! I-Iām completely u-ushless!ā
A heavy flow of tears and snot poured out of my orifice from both confusion and agitation.
With this much tears, weād definitely drown even if we have ark ready for us!
āThat kind of stuffā¦ I can teach you all about it as much as youād likeā¦ Will that be alright for you?ā
āā¦. Y-ā¦. Yhh-eshhhā¦!ā
I couldnāt pronounce ćyesćproperly, maybe it was due to the heavy floods invading my eyes and nose. But despite all thatā¦. Maricle-sama was showing me a smile I had never seen before and there was no sign of him stopping any time soonā¦!
I was afraid my brain tissue would flow out of my eyes and nose because of how dazzled I was by everything. I couldnāt stop my dripping nose and my eyes from crying.