Dodorea seemed quite shocked by the fact that I was immune to any curse she had cast.
"That's impossible..."
Dodorea gritted her teeth and turned her head to Terdeo, irritated by my dismissive attitude.
"Lord Raphaeton! Come to me! If that's the case, I'm the only one who can lift the curse!"
"The curse can be lifted by anyone once the method is found."
I mocked Dodorea, driven by an inexplicable possessiveness.
"I was the first to fall in love with you!"
"No, you don't love Theo."
"Shut up! I love Lord Raphaeton! He is the only one I love! I live to love Lord Raphaeton!"
Her logic was absurd. The Raphaeton Duke from a thousand years ago and the Raphaeton Duke standing before me were clearly different people. But because Dodorea truly believed this, her face showed no pain or blood.
"You loved Einhardt Orphe Raphaeton. Stop tormenting Terdeo by chasing after his ghost."
Dodorea's face was covered in despair, as if her entire life had been negated.
"You look ugly, Dodorea. ...No, witch who doesn't even know her own name."
Dodorea's eyes turned cold like a tree frozen by winter winds. I suddenly wondered why she had cast the curse in the first place. After loving someone for over a thousand years, what could she possibly gain from it? Out of jealousy when she saw Einhardt with another woman? If so, shouldn't she have cursed Einhardt or the woman directly? Why should the innocent second Duke and his family suffer?
Just as I was about to ask, Dodorea's eyes lit up with a new idea, and she smiled happily. Her demeanor instantly changed.
"Lord Raphaeton. You came to me to lift the curse on the Raphaeton family, didn't you?"
Terdeo's lips moved. Under the influence of the truth serum, he spoke the truth.
"...Yes."
Seeing his genuine sincerity, Dodorea smiled brightly like a breaking ray of sunlight.
"Then I'll lift the curse for you."
"...!"
My eyes widened. Was she going to lift a curse that had lasted a thousand years so easily? It felt suspicious, but there was no trace of deceit in Dodorea's expression. She pointed at me with a finger, smiling like a blooming flower.
"In exchange, offer this woman as a sacrifice."
"...!"
"...!"
"Then I'll lift the curse, no matter what it takes."
As soon as she finished speaking, Terdeo grabbed her collar tightly. His face, twisted with anger, looked ready to strike.
"Shut up."
While hitting Dodorea wouldn't be a problem, this place was the royal palace. Of course, this woman wasn't the real Dodorea, but in appearance, she was the empire's princess, Dodorea. The emperor's beloved daughter couldn't be hit in the palace.
'I need to take her outside and hit her.'
I hurriedly tried to calm Terdeo.
"Theo, calm down. Don't hit her where it shows."
Ah, my true intention to stop him from hitting her had slipped out. Even with her collar grabbed, Dodorea shrugged nonchalantly.
"You know I'm serious, right? I'm telling the truth."
Dodorea gently held Terdeo's large hand that was grabbing her collar.
"I can make a witch's oath that the one who breaks the promise will die. I'll die anyway, so the curse will be lifted."
Dodorea laughed mockingly and pointed at me arrogantly.
"Think about it. You can save your entire family by sacrificing this one woman. It seems like a great deal, doesn't it?"
Terdeo's jaw tightened. In the quiet parlor, only Dodorea's laughter echoed loudly.
"Think about your family. Even now, they might be dying somewhere, spitting blood."
Family. The faces of my family members flashed in my mind again. Their suffering faces and the happy smiles after the curse was lifted danced in my head.
'If I offer myself as a sacrifice, everyone will be freed from the curse and be happy?'
I looked up at Terdeo's stiff back.
'You can be happy without enduring any more, and achieve what you desire.'
I was about to approach Dodorea as if under a spell. Bang! The loud noise snapped me back to reality. Terdeo threw Dodorea against the wall and kicked the table hard. If it weren't for that loud noise, I might have asked her to lift the curse by offering myself as a sacrifice.
I shook my head and regained my composure. Terdeo took a deep breath and roughly ran his hand through his hair. His cold gaze fell on Dodorea, who was lying on the floor.
"You've wasted my time."
Terdeo, who had ignored Dodorea coldly, walked towards me, dusting off his hands. He didn't say a word of reproach or even a curse.
"There's no need to listen to such lies."
Instead of saying anything, Terdeo gently grabbed my wrist.
"Uncle Phineas will find a way to lift the curse. He's capable, so we just need to wait a little longer, and he'll find the solution."
"But..."
"Let's go."
Terdeo firmly cut off my words and pulled me along. As we were about to leave the parlor, a shocked Dodorea jumped up and blocked the door, spreading her arms wide.
"Don't go, Ahim!"
Terdeo's eyebrows raised.
"I said I'll lift the curse! I also came to lift your curse..."
"Shut up."
Terdeo growled at Dodorea. She closed her lips tightly, looking hurt.
"I don't know who you're mistaking me for, but I'm not the 'Ahim' you're talking about."
"..."
"Because of your delusion, you've made my wife suffer, and now you're asking me to offer her as a sacrifice? What a load of crap."
Terdeo pushed Dodorea roughly, his expression cold. Despite her desperate resistance, her frail body couldn't hold out for a second.
"You should have just pretended to be a princess. If you had, I would have treated you with respect as Princess Dodorea until the end."
Terdeo opened the door of the parlor. Dodorea lay on the carpet like a tragic heroine.
"Lift the curse or don't, it's up to you. We won't come back to see you or meet you again."
Leaving those words, Terdeo pulled me out of the parlor. His pace quickened, as if he wanted to get as far away from Dodorea's palace as possible. The maids waiting in the corridor hurriedly followed us, but they couldn't keep up with Terdeo's brisk pace. I was in the same situation.
Hearing my labored breathing, Terdeo stopped in surprise and let go of my wrist, apologizing.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. I just need to catch my breath."
"...I should have matched my pace with yours."
"Thanks to you, we got out quickly."
Thanks to him, we were able to leave Dodorea's palace quickly. I panted heavily and checked on Terdeo. His face was pale.
"Theo, are you okay?"
"...No, I'm not."
He loosened his cravat and took a deep breath, like someone who had just emerged from water.
"Pherechati."
Terdeo fiddled with my fingertips. It was an awkward distance, neither holding nor letting go. His long eyelashes, lowered quietly, were elegant and beautiful, making it hard to look away.
"I love you."
The sudden confession made my face turn bright red. I quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard. Fortunately, the maids were waiting at a distance where they couldn't hear our conversation. I moved closer to Terdeo.
"S-suddenly...? W-wasn't it supposed to be just until yesterday..."
"That's why I don't want to lose you."
Terdeo confessed his true feelings in a small, self-reproaching voice.
'Right, Theo drank the truth serum.'
I had momentarily forgotten. After all, Terdeo, who had drunk the truth serum, had never shown any signs of pain. Not even when he rejected Dodorea's proposal to offer me as a sacrifice to lift the family curse.
"Theo."
"I've hoped to be happy at least once in my life. Just once."
Terdeo's fingers, which tickled my skin, also tickled my heart.
"If that happiness is you, Pherechati, I'd be happy to die right now."
However, the moment he mentioned death, my heart sank as if I had fallen into a deep, inescapable swamp. Seeing Terdeo's pitiful smile, like a mirage that might disappear, I instinctively grabbed his hand tightly. I was afraid he would vanish from in front of me if I didn't hold on. I was afraid of losing him.
"But."
At the same time, Terdeo also gripped my hand firmly.
"If that happiness comes at the cost of your sacrifice, I don't need it."
Terdeo was resolute. His face, free of any wrinkles, showed no sign of pain.
"Promise me. Promise that you won't meet Dodorea, that witch, without me. Promise that you won't sacrifice yourself."
His anxious expression, which I had never seen before, was unfamiliar. This must be the inner self that Terdeo had kept hidden all this time.