The Young Lady With the Most Powerful Specs Was Just Too Cute, so I Started Teasing Her—But Then She Tried to Trap Me With a Chain, so I Kept Running Away With All My Might - Chapter 7

The Curse of the Duke’s Family (Part 1)

Side: Oldie Rock Ryurius

The home I was born into, the Duke’s house, was very warm. My mother and father loved me so much.

But, a person like me was cursed.

It was the day I brought out my chains for the first time.

I was still just a little girl, and I let my power explode while I was crying, breaking a vase in the room.

The cursed chains.

If you’re a member of the Duke’s family, it’s a curse everyone knows about. It’s a curse from a demon that once tried to destroy the kingdom.

The demon used the word “blessing,” saying it was giving a part of its own power to someone living in the kingdom.

As I grew up, the dark magic that absorbs the life of others gradually got stronger.

It was my curse as the daughter of the Duke’s house.

Once, my power went out of control and I almost wrecked half of our house.

But, my mother held me tight.

“That’s amazing, Ludie. You just have to learn to control your power by the time you’re a grown-up!”

My mother smiled at me so brightly.

I loved the sound of her voice.

I loved her hands.

My mother was the only person who would touch my black chains without calling them creepy or acting scared of them.

That’s why I was the one who killed my mother.

—

As long as I was born as the daughter of the Ryurius Duke family, the number of people I could act spoiled with was limited.

I had been taught that since I was very little.

You must never show your weakness to anyone.

You must not let your guard down and trust people easily.

You must not say what you want out loud just like that.

A Duke’s daughter is someone who carries the name of Ryurius on her shoulders. She is a symbol of pride and must never show an opening to others.

I didn’t really understand difficult things, so I stayed inside the house and had my mother and father tell me about the outside world.

Because of that, I didn’t get close to people very much.

I had this cursed power, too. I thought I might hurt someone.

Gradually, I got bad at looking people in the face when I talked.

I forgot how to get close to others.

I didn’t like talking to anyone besides my mother.

I was bad at having lots of people look at me.

I liked reading books all by myself in a quiet room.

Even if I stayed in my room, my mother would come to see me.

“Ludie, are you cooping yourself up in your room again? Let’s go have some tea outside together.”

She was so bright, and because she was there, our family always had something to talk about.

My father was a busy man.

But, even he couldn’t say no to what my mother said.

“Dear, you are having tea with Ludie. That’s enough work for now, let’s go outside.”

“Ah… yeah. I understand.”

Having tea as a family was very happy.

“Ludie, what kind of books have you been reading lately?”

“I’ve been looking at a picture book about flowers lately!”

“You’re interested in all sorts of things, aren’t you?”

My father liked books just like me.

That’s why I wished those times would last forever.

—

The atmosphere changed after my mother started feeling unwell.

“Mother?”

“Ludie, I’m sorry. It looks like I’ve gotten sick. But, I’ll get better soon, okay?”

Even though my mother must have been the one in pain, she stroked my cheek.

But, the day after she touched me, my mother’s sickness got worse.

A curse! That word popped into my head.

It was the first time I felt that my own curse was terrifying.

Since the day my mother collapsed, the maids have been kind. The teachers, the doctors, everyone treated me well.

But no one tries to touch me.

Everyone treats me as Oldie Rock Ryurius.

The Miracle Lady. The Child Prodigy. The Talented Girl who controls the pitch-black chains.

No one calls me a cursed child. But, every single one of those words felt like a curse to me.

—

My mother died.

I killed her.

The curse. Was it because she gave birth to me, loved me, and held me?

Tears spilled out, and while I was crying, I felt like I wanted to die too.

The smell of the flowers being carried into the room, the black clothes, the silence covering the whole mansion—it all felt like it wasn’t real.

Everyone was sad.

My father and the servants were kind to me. But all of that kindness felt so far away. No matter what anyone said, it didn’t reach me.

I felt like I had to give some kind of answer, so I just said, “Yes.”

If they told me to eat, I ate a little bit.

If they told me to go outside, I looked outside.

If they told me the flowers were blooming, I said they were pretty.

That was all.

To be honest, I didn’t care about any of it.

The flowers, the sky, the food, having my hair tied, being put into dresses.

A world without my mother felt like it was on the other side of a thin film, and I felt like I was the only one left behind.

I wanted someone to lean on.

I wanted to be held.

I wanted someone to tell me it was okay, just like before.

But, if I asked that of someone, they might end up dying just like my mother.

A Duke’s daughter must not cling to someone like that.

I don’t care anymore.

Lots of people came to see me. But they didn’t stay in my room for a long time.

That was fine. I wouldn’t become friends with anyone. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Gradually, no one came anymore, and except for my personal maid, Horn, no one came near me.

But, that was fine.

—

I wonder how much time passed.

I heard that a visitor was coming for the first time in a while. A boy who was a knight apprentice.

It was my first time dealing with a boy.

But, I didn’t care. I was sure it would be the same as always.

The one who showed up was Nil Metasura.

He had a bright smile, like a patch of sunlight.

Suddenly, his vibe reminded me of my mother.

His voice was loud.

His face moved a lot.

He wasn’t rude, but he was strangely friendly.

He wasn’t overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the Duke’s mansion, but he wasn’t embarrassingly shallow either.

He was dazzling, a little over-the-top, and he just let light shine into my room without permission.

He’s someone living in a different world than mine. I’m not good with people whose feelings show right on their faces.

Nil looks like he has nothing to hide, and I’m not good with people like that because they step into a person’s heart so easily.

The suggestion he made was different from the people who had come here before.

“Um, Oldie.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s play tag.”

“……Tag?”

I didn’t understand what he meant.

When he told me it was a waste not to use my legs when I clearly had them, I seriously thought he might be an idiot.

However, I moved. I don’t know why.

No, it’s because I didn’t care. I just went along with what I was told.

And, I felt a tiny bit of hope at what he said.

“I’ll do whatever one thing you tell me to.”

It might have been because that confident, smiling face of his was annoying.

But, by the time I realized it, I had brought out my chains.

I hadn’t brought them out even once since my mother died.

My curse.

I’ll make him understand, since he’s stepping in so rudely.

I’ll make him swear he never wants to come here again.

While I was chasing him, I wasn’t thinking about anything.

I was only looking at his back in front of me.

I want to catch him.

That was my only thought.

Why does he run away?

Why does he laugh like that?

Why does he look at me and look so happy?

I didn’t understand anything, and all of it was annoying, so I wanted to catch him.

I stretch my chains. He dodges. I chase again.

That was all. But, in the middle of that “all,” without realizing it, I had forgotten that my mother wasn’t there.

There was no room left to think about things like being sad or being in pain.

There was only the feeling of being frustrated.

I couldn’t catch him with the chains my mother had praised.

Even though I was called a child prodigy, I couldn’t do anything.

Gradually my breathing got hard, and my legs started to hurt, but I kept chasing him anyway. When I finally stood still…

What was left inside me wasn’t an empty silence, but a heat that said I didn’t want to lose.

I’ll catch him next time. Definitely!

When I said that out loud, my own voice sounded a little like someone I didn’t know.

But, I didn’t hate it.

Suddenly, he picked me up as I sat on the ground.

“Let’s go back to your room.”

A princess carry.

Even my father had never done that to me.

Besides my mother, it was the first time in a long while someone had touched me! He picked me up.

His arms felt like a boy’s, someone the same age as me, and they were firm.

For the first time, my head was all confused…

“I’ll be staying at this mansion until I get certified as a knight at fifteen. So, I’ll show you I can get away next time too.”

“……You said it.”

“I did.”

“Then, I won’t go easy on you next time.”

“You were going easy on me until now!?”

“I was.”

“That’s definitely a lie!”

He’s shameless, rude, bright, and he just pushes his way inside me.

If he does that, I’ll end up wanting someone again, just like I did with my mother.

I feel like I don’t want to talk to him.

Suddenly, an emotion I had never felt before was born inside me.