Chapter 15
I just looked at him silently, as if urging him to continue. But Celesto only mumbled a few words in his mouth, unable to properly speak.
It seemed like… the reaction of someone who couldn’t figure out where to start.
I decided to generously bestow some kindness upon my friend, who had cleaned an entire villa for me.
“Just get to the point. It’s not like I’m one for lengthy talk anyway.”
“That’s something only you can do.”
“Then give it to me with an introduction, body, and conclusion.”
At my words, Celesto gritted his teeth. It seemed his temper was starting to show.
After kneading the furrow between his thick eyebrows for a moment, Celesto let out a sigh.
“You. How did you handle that last time?”
“That?”
“…The s***n, I mean.”
“Ah-ha.”
I nodded as if I finally understood.
“You’re worried that the servants might have had strange thoughts when they saw the laundry the day Celesto Castanor visited, covered in a man’s s***n?”
“…Yeah.”
This time, Celesto didn’t bother with any nagging.
Apparently, watching me speak crudely was easier than bringing up the topic himself.
I looked at Celesto’s ears, which had already reddened, then raised my gaze to the ceiling.
Now I understood the situation.
A man and a woman from families that knew each other. One of them a Holy Knight who must maintain his chastity.
Yet there was inevitably laundry soaked through with s***n.
Celesto must have thought that rather than trying to silence people, it would be more efficient for him to do the cleaning and laundry himself.
The reason he chose a family villa instead of an inn suitable for secret trysts was probably similar. To control the situation entirely himself.
Anyway… he thinks a lot.
I shook my head and opened my mouth.
“Well, you don’t need to worry. They’ll all think I spilled some reagents.”
“What?”
“It’s not like I spilled blood, so what does it matter? Ah, if it were that serious, they’d think I committed a crime and call the guards, so that would be a problem, but…”
“…they might report it to the guards.”
“No, does that make any sense?”
Celesto leaned towards me as if asking what nonsense I was spouting.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he awkwardly stepped back.
I was about to tease him for that but closed my mouth. He was a subject afflicted with a rare curse called the ‘Lust Curse’ that I’d never heard of. To gather information about the curse, it was basic to humor him to some extent.
Words he’d want to hear… what the client would want to hear…
I recalled the words my supervising professor had drilled into me and racked my brain.
Fortunately, the answer was clear.
“Don’t worry, Celesto. Everyone thinks taboo scholars know how to cast curses too. Including the servants at my townhouse.”
I gave him a reassuring smile.
But Celesto’s expression didn’t relax. Instead, he asked me with an even more serious face.
“You actually know how to cast some of them, don’t you?”
How did he know?
I maintained my smile while searching my memory.
I had personally tested a few simple curses before… but how did this guy know about that? Was it because of the blessing passed down through generations in the Castañor family? Or simply because this bastard was sensitive and suspicious by nature?
Anyway… I need to be careful around Celesto.
I made a brief resolution in my mind.
Fortunately, whether because the recent conversation had eased the tension, Celesto regained enough composure to sit on the sofa.
I waited until he sat across from me. Then, as naturally as possible, I brought up the matter.
“How are the curse’s symptoms? Do they seem better than last time?”
“Isn’t that a bit late to be asking now?”
“Would I get a proper answer if I asked in an awkward situation?”
Finding no grounds to refute my words, Celesto fell silent.
After thinking a bit more, he opened his mouth.
“For the most part, it was fine.”
“For the most part? So there were times when it wasn’t fine?”
“…”
Celesto clamped his mouth shut.
Hmm, seems he’s not going to answer that question.
I decided to back off gracefully. I had plenty of other questions to ask anyway.
“Compared to when you were first cursed? Is the intensity about the same?”
“…Probably.”
It was a rather vague answer.
Whether he realized that himself, Celesto ran his hand through his hair. His neatly styled blonde hair became a mess.
“I don’t remember exactly how it was. When I was first cursed, I did a lot more… useless things.”
“What kind of things exactly?”
“Increased the intensity of my training, extended my prayer time. Things like that.”
I stared blankly at his face.
Celesto, calmly listing the things he did as ‘useless things.’
I sensed a strange sense of helplessness from him. It was the lethargic look unique to someone caught up in an incomprehensible phenomenon.
And so, I thought I understood what had happened to Celesto over the past month.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.