55. Organizing the past and present (5)

weekend holidays.

Christine was killing time by not visiting the orphanage or going through any special personal training. The world heated by the summer sun was hot even under the shade. Christine slumped over the chair and exhaled a warm breath.

It’s hot.

Christine shook her head.

“By now…”

Christine remembered Maxim’s face. I wonder if the engagement ceremony is going well, but I’m not blushing in embarrassment. Christine let out a small laugh. I didn’t want to follow Maxim to attend the event that only aristocrats could go to, but I felt regretful that I couldn’t see it in person.

“I must be dancing.”

After saying that, Christine let out another laugh involuntarily. It was not easy to imagine the appearance of Maxim, who would force himself to dance while awkwardly matching the beat to the excited dance song.

“really…”

My heart felt empty.

Christine gazed at the summer scenery outside the window. It looked nothing different from usual, but Christine could feel a sense of deja vu.

“…What.”

Christine muttered.

An indescribable, intrusive presence mingled in the gap between those people and was getting closer. Wariness towards other wizards that a wizard can feel. Christine was able to quickly conclude that the sign belonged to another wizard. As if to announce that he was coming, the wizard approached with a mighty sign of mana.

It wasn’t long before Christine heard a knock on the front door. She approached the front door, a look of nervousness on her face.

whoever…

“Who?”

I didn’t even have to ask who are you. The person who appeared in front of Christine when she opened the door was a familiar person.

“professor…?”

Once, when Christine was staying at the Mage Tower, her advisor was standing in front of the door with an assistant. Christine stared blankly at her supervisor as she held on to the doorknob. The professor, Timothy Belham, narrowed his eyes and looked at Christine.

“Long time no see, Christine.”

Christine asked the professor, unable to hide her bewilderment.

“Why is the professor here…”

It’s been almost 3 years since I left the Mage Tower, so why is there a reason to suddenly find her in the Mage Tower? He left the upper floors of the Magic Tower and burned all of his research results before leaving.

“I’ve come to make an offer.”

Professor Timothy Belham said, prodding the ground with the leader he was holding in his left hand.

“proposal…?”

Christine scrunched up her face.

“I am already someone who has nothing to do with the Magic Tower. If you have something to say…”

Christine tried to close the door, but the professor held the captain against the closing door to stop it.

“This is not a proposal to return to the Mage Tower. Isn’t there something to be ashamed of each other?”

The professor reaches out to Christine in a calm voice.

“Wouldn’t you like to hear a story?”

—

“What do you mean by that again?”

Emile Bordain put his hands together with a meaningful expression on his face. His eyes were directed not to Theodora, but to the banquet hall outside. The blue, inorganic eyes were shining coldly.

“It is literally. The curse on Maxime Apart is not a simple curse that only takes lives.”

Emile Bordain turned to Theodora again.

“If he really wanted to take his life, he could have done it without using the expensive methods of curses and academy intervention. We could have hired a bunch of skillful assassins, or we could have faked an accident and thrown them into a more rugged environment for the final exam.”

Emile Bordain’s eyes turned towards Theodora as if asking if it was so.

“Even if you mobilize such a method, there is a high probability of failure… it may not have been easy. I heard that one skill is well-known. The young lady was always with me, too.”

So, it was a curse.

Emile Bordain concluded his words.

“…explain what it means.”

Theodora demanded an explanation.

“It means that no matter how much you think you know the truth, you never know the whole thing, and you can never know it.”

Emile Bordain knocked on the tuk-tuk table, and Theodora’s expression distorted.

“Why are you saying that to me now?”

Emile Bordain was speaking as if it were nothing, as if he didn’t care if Theodora knew the truth. No, it didn’t matter if Theodora knew everything from the start.

“Planning for a cause always requires a reserve.”

Emile Bordain said calmly. Theodora could not understand what Emile Bordain meant. The plans for the cause, the preparations for it, were all things Theodora had never heard before.

“You will find out later. The Count didn’t tell me because he had his own meaning.”

Theodora clenched her teeth.

“My lady, so please…”

“Did you think that if I pretended there was something like that and continued to make noise, I would agree that I was like that?”

Theodora’s momentum began to unravel. The air in the room became heavy.

“Now, tell me.”

The heavy air took over the space like a mist with substance and squeezed Emile Bordain’s throat.

“What is that curse, and why did we have to curse Maxim to separate us…”

Inevitably, there was the sound of cracking wood. Theodora pressed Emile Bordain with a cold, subdued voice.

“Tell me right away.”

Emile Bordain broke into a cold sweat. He raised his hand, trying to resist Theodora’s momentum.

“I was going to… tell you.”

Émile Bordain made an unspoken appeal to Theodora to regain momentum. Everything in space bent and creaked.

“Father’s plan is…”

“The Count intended to call the young lady as soon as the situation in the no-man’s land was resolved.”

Emile Bordin said quickly.

“It would be much better for the Count to tell me than for me to explain…”

Theodora’s attitude did not change.

“Put aside the plan or what.”

Theodora continued to press Emile Bordain.

“Tell me about the curse of Maxim.”

Baron Borden sighed.

“The progression of the curse can no longer be stopped. The sorcerer of the Knights of the Ravens had been slowing down the curse, but he said he was using an aura this time.”

Theodora startled and shuddered. The pressure that had been suppressing the entire space was lifted.

“The curse used is a curse of disintegration that triggers in response to mana. If you are unlucky, you may lose your life, but if you are strong like a knight, you can survive even if your body is destroyed by a curse.”

the problem is,

“It must be that something else is collapsing.”

Theodora couldn’t understand Emile Bordain’s words. To be precise, her head was refusing to understand Baron Borden’s words.

“Memory and mind collapse.”

Theodora was speechless for a moment. Every word that Emile Bordain said as if it were natural made Theodora’s mind go blank.

“And when the curse ran its course. Whether you like it or not, Maxime Appart will end up in the hands of the Bennings. It was with that intention that I deliberately connected them with my family.”

If you die because your body can’t withstand the curse, or if you say you want to live by running away without bearing the curse, it’s inevitable.

But both Theodora and Emile Bordain knew that Maxime would not do that.

“To be honest, Count Benning evaluated Maxim Appart as a talent worth killing. It went against the plan, and it wasn’t a wood suitable for a young lady’s spouse.”

Theodora’s eyes trembled. At those words of Baron Borden, my thoughts did not follow.

“…Even after doing that, does my father still want me to remain in the family?”

Emile Bordain nodded. There was no hesitation, as if to answer something obvious.

“Of course, the Count thinks that the young lady will remain a member of the family. Also, you know how much the young lady cares for that man named Maxim.”

Tuk-tuk, Emile Bordain tapped the armrest of his chair.

“As I said, Maxime Appart’s fate has already been decided, regardless of the lady’s decision.”

Theodora grabbed the armrest of the chair.

“Which path to take… you’ll decide after the mission in No Man’s Land is complete.”

—

banquet hall again. The noon sun began to tilt toward the west.

The orchestra skillfully led the banquet. Starting with a light but not fast song, the atmosphere was gradually raised, and light and exciting songs were played to lift people’s hearts to the end. Then he played a waltz that created an aristocratic atmosphere.

Aristocrats were moving their feet according to the string melody. Maxim, who was busy greeting the nobles around him, was able to breathe a sigh of relief at the quiet of the nobles as the atmosphere subsided and he surrendered himself to the beat of the waltz one by one.

“Are you tired?”

Marion, who looked as tired as herself, came and sat next to Maxim. The aristocrats’ sympathetic gazes and their rude questions were well passed over by touching the ring Maxim had given them. Maxim was somehow proud of Marion. Maxim gave Marion a weak, warm smile.

“I am a little tired.”

Marion timidly raised her arm at Maxim’s appearance, then timidly placed her hand on Maxim’s shoulder. And Marion rubbed Maxim’s shoulder little by little with her hand. Maxim burst into laughter at his timid and warm Marion-like behavior.

“…that… should I stop?”

Marion reacted in bewilderment to Maxim’s burst of laughter. Maxim took a deep breath and shook his head.

“No… thank you. Please continue.”

Marion looked at Maxim with a slightly dissatisfied look, probably thinking that Maxim’s reaction was making fun of her. In my opinion, he must have meant to stare at him, but Maxim’s eyes could see nothing but watery blue eyes staring at him with slightly crinkled eyebrows.

“Maxim…”

Marion lowered her voice and put her hand on Maxim’s shoulder. He could have just put his hand away, but he didn’t seem to ignore Maxim’s request until the end. Maxim stroked Marion’s hair. Marion dyed her face bright pink and bowed her head.

“Sorry, I won’t tease you.”

Marion raised her face, still blushed by Maxim’s apple. At that time, a nobleman who seemed quite drunk walked towards Maxim and Marion. It seemed to be another branch of the Benning family. However, he put his hand on Maxim’s shoulder with a look and dignity that seemed to have nothing to do with Benning at all.

“Oh, I use this when the bride and groom-to-be are sitting without dancing.”

The nobleman patted Maxim on the back of Tuk-tuk and raised him from his seat. Maxim was pushed by the hand and awkwardly grabbed Marion’s hand and stood up.

“Okay, you should wake up too. You can’t make your fiancé stand up and dance alone.”

Marion stood up at those words. The nobleman pushed Maxim and Marion to get them out of the white tent. Maxim and Marion stood in the center of the banquet hall as the bright afternoon sun touched their skin.

“Come on, dance. band! Wouldn’t it be better to make it a more atmospheric song?”

Maxim smiled bitterly, raising one corner of his mouth as if in trouble. Marion was embarrassed and lowered her head to avoid the crowd’s gaze. The leader of the orchestra finished the song that was coming to an end and saw Maxim and Marion standing in the banquet hall. Then he gave a signal to the members and started playing a new song.

“Come on, move!”

The aristocrat got excited and started moving by grabbing an imaginary opponent. Maxim smiled as if he was dumbfounded by the appearance. The nobles around them began to dance one by one as bitter and sweet souls flowed out. Maxim could feel Marion’s hand on his finger.

Maxim took the hand without saying anything and started leading Marion. The music flowed slowly and guided the people. Maxim could feel Marion’s feeble breath as he gathered all the courage he could for himself. The ladies and noble wives around her looked at her and compared her to Maxim, and giggled.

Maxim took Marion and naturally turned back. So that Marion would never see it. Marion looked up at Maxim. The eyes of the two met. Marion still had a faint smile on her red face.

Maxim thought in the midst of the curse that was gradually tightening his body and mind.

This moment shouldn’t be the last.

The summer sun was hot. Maxim moved a little closer to Marion so as not to show his shadowy face.