Chapter 4
Yujelia tightly gripped the handle of the watering can.
She looked as though she could not comprehend the situation at all.
Her face clearly said, How could something that is nothing more than gardening tools be the most essential items for lifting a curse?
She seemed conflicted, knowing full well that he would not joke at the cost of his own life, yet still unable to accept it.
Of course, Aquila had no intention whatsoever of joking in an atmosphere like this.
“Um… I—hm?”
Yujelia started to say something again, then closed her mouth.
Then, for reasons unknown, she suddenly began examining the watering can and shovel with great care, as though they were priceless artifacts.
The shovel was small enough that even a child could use it, fitting neatly into Yujelia’s hand, and the watering can, engraved with a cute floral pattern, was blue.
They looked less like gardening tools and more like toys for children’s pretend play. Wherever she had gotten them from, Aquila could not tell, but watching her inspect them as if appraising jewels made him shake his head.
“They are just an ordinary watering can and shovel.”
“Hah. No, I mean….”
Yujelia nearly exploded for a moment, but quickly swallowed the emotion that surged up.
Judging from her temperament earlier, she had probably been about to curse.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, swept back her brown hair, then set the shovel and watering can down. With a more composed expression than before, she spoke seriously.
“Young master. This is not child’s play. As I have said repeatedly, the curse will not stop until it burns your body and withers it away.”
“I know.”
“No! You do not understand! I….”
Her face was now filled not with anxiety, but with fear.
“I have seen people die from the Curse of Deadly Poison. Every single one of them screamed for help, begged to be saved, but there was nothing anyone could do. And when their vocal cords melted so that they could no longer even scream….”
Recalling the final moments of those afflicted by the curse, Yujelia began to tremble.
Her face was drained of color.
“I remember their bodies twisting endlessly on the bed. That, that was truly….”
Unable to continue, Yujelia lowered her head deeply.
Beside her, Shen inhaled sharply as he listened.
As though imagining his young master withering away, his expression shifted rapidly before turning just as pale.
With the atmosphere darkening in an instant, no one could bring themselves to speak.
Except Aquila.
“Do you know how the Curse of Deadly Poison is cast?”
In the same calm voice as before, Aquila picked up the blue watering can in front of him.
Despite its cute decorations, it was fairly heavy.
Yujelia shook her head with a devastated expression.
“…No. I have heard rumors that it takes a long time to cast the curse, but nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Aquila nodded.
At this point in time, the lifting method had not yet been announced, so it was only natural that the method of casting it was unknown.
To cast the Curse of Deadly Poison, one must grow a flower.
The evening primrose, said to bloom only at night, and thus believed to be blessed by the Night God.
One must bury the materials required for the curse around the seed, water it every single day for a full fifteen days without fail, and make the flower bloom using nothing but malice directed at the target.
That was the first stage of the curse.
And once the flower bloomed—
Ask a priest to offer the flower to a god.
The Curse of Deadly Poison was, in essence, a divine curse nourished by human malice.
The highest-tier curse a human could inflict upon another began in exactly that way.
By relying on a god.
That was why a priest’s help was absolutely necessary to cast the curse.
When this truth was first revealed, the entire church was thrown into chaos.
The reason the flower had to be an evening primrose was precisely because it was traditionally offered to a particular god.
Aquila looked silently at Yujelia.
It was not priests of the Sun God, wearing white robes like hers, but priests clad in black robes who maintained deep, corrupt ties with those who cast the Curse of Deadly Poison.
Followers of the Night God, Helitika.
And given enough time, the Night God would become the Corrupted God—the final boss of this world.
Aquila brushed his hand over the area of his chest that had once been pierced by a spear.
He had once wondered whether it was human malice that had stained even a god, corrupting the Night God.
‘It is not surprising.’
He recalled the dark, grotesque form of the final boss, then shook his head.
While Aquila fell silent, lost in thought, he felt Shen’s worried gaze.
Realizing her mistake, Yujelia hurriedly changed her expression and grabbed Aquila’s hand.
“It is you who will suffer, yet I spoke so carelessly. I was thoughtless. I will do everything I can so that you do not have to endure pain….”
Receiving no reply, she seemed to think that Aquila had fallen into despair or resignation.
Speaking at length about the agony of the curse in front of someone afflicted by it.
As though trying to dispel her gloom, Yujelia firmly clasped his hands with both of hers.
Then she slowly let divine power flow through their joined hands.
It was a warm, soothing sensation.
“…I will stay by your side until the very end as well. So please, do not worry. All right?”
Shen quickly echoed her words.
Though devastated by the thought that his young master might wither away and die, he was barely holding back tears.
Sniffling, Shen placed his own hand atop theirs, as if making a vow.
Yujelia nodded.
Shen nodded back at her.
It felt as though a bond between them had just been forged.
Of course, Aquila’s expression as he watched was one of pure disbelief.
He understood their anxiety, given that the lifting method had not yet been announced, but he had no intention whatsoever of dying easily.
Instead of pulling his hand away, he lightly shook it.
Shen and Yujelia, who had been exchanging intense looks, turned back to him.
Perhaps sensing Aquila’s impending end, or perhaps because their emotions had infected each other, their eyes were already brimming with tears.
“I believe I already said this, but there is definitely a way to lift this curse.”
Casually disregarding their red-rimmed eyes, Aquila placed the watering can into Yujelia’s hand and the small shovel into Shen’s.
Then he pointed toward the window overlooking the garden.
“Shen. Transplant an evening primrose into a flowerpot. And Priest, infuse the water with divine power and care for the flower while watering it. It depends on the circumstances, but if you tend it carefully for at least a day, the flower will glow yellow with the Sun God’s divine power.”
Repeating the explanation he had given earlier, Aquila ushered them toward the door.
It was not a strong push, but Shen and Yujelia moved forward without protest.
“Then, using that flower as an offering, Priest Yujelia should pray to the Sun God, and I will simply brew and drink the flower. That should lift the curse.”
“That easily…?”
“It will be easy.”
Even if one had been cursed by being abandoned by the Night God, praying to the Sun God, whose nature was its opposite, could neutralize it.
The genius alchemist had described it this way.
The Sun God was an exceptionally merciful god.
Rather than explaining the Sun God Raspalara’s mercy to a Sun God priest, Aquila opened the door.
“The great dragon also possesses remarkable foresight….”
He deliberately trailed off, then smiled.
“He must have prepared a way for me to live. I swear upon the dragon that my words are not false.”
Aquila added calmly.
At his oath, Yujelia’s eyes widened in shock.
In this world, an oath carried special meaning.
Because there were so many great beings, an oath sworn upon their names was treated as a sacred vow.
This belief transcended social class and was known to all living beings on the continent.
An oath was absolute.
Now that Aquila had spoken those words, they could not suspect him of lying.
‘Such a convenient excuse.’
Aquila thought, maintaining his smile.
This world was full of great beings to use as excuses, and over countless runs, he had sold their names repeatedly, changing only which one he invoked.
He felt no guilt whatsoever.
He was on the brink of death, and he had no intention of taking the long way around when there was an easier path.
Besides, those great beings were surely aware that this world was heading toward destruction. They would understand this much.
Aquila smoothly ushered Yujelia and Shen out of the room.
“That a priest of the Sun God happens to be at my side must also be due to Lord Raspalara’s mercy. Please help me, Priest.”
Yujelia had failed to save someone afflicted by the Curse of Deadly Poison in the past and had suffered ever since.
A kind person could not ignore someone in pain.
Just like Ark Batchel.
If Yujelia was anything like Arc, she would not be able to refuse Aquila’s plea.
As if struck by that thought, Yujelia froze briefly.
Doubt, sorrow, pain, anger, and hope flashed across her face all at once.
She closed her eyes, as though swallowing the tangled emotions.
“All right. I will do as you say.”
She nodded with a resolute expression.
Holding a watering can made her look as though she were heading out to play a child’s game, but her face was no different from that of a hero heading into decisive battle.
Beside her, Shen clenched the shovel handle tightly, wearing an equally determined expression.
Yujelia called out immediately.
“Let us go, Shen.”
“Yes! Please do not overexert yourself, young master. Rest well. We will be back soon.”
Shen bowed deeply and gestured for Yujelia to follow.
Their retreating figures truly resembled warriors marching toward a battlefield.
Aquila watched them go, then quietly closed the door.
‘That part is settled.’
He wiped the smile from his face and approached the window.
A wide garden filled with green grass, trees, and flowers of many colors spread before him.
After some time, he spotted Yujelia and Shen emerging outside.
Aquila watched them search for evening primroses for a while.
Lost in thought, he observed them carefully.
There was something he had not told them.
The materials required for the curse.
To make the evening primrose bloom, one needed the target’s hair, fingernails, and a small amount of blood.
Only by burying those in the soil and growing the flower could the target of the curse be fixed.
Which meant that someone close enough to obtain those materials from Aquila Reschenhardt was involved in the Curse of Deadly Poison.
Aquila shifted his gaze to Shen.
Shen was diligently walking around the garden, clearly searching in earnest.
Was he the one who cast the curse?
Or perhaps an accomplice.
‘The problem is that his attitude toward the young master did not seem false.’
Even so, there was far too little information about Shen to trust him.
There were countless people who plotted betrayal behind innocent faces.
Whether he sensed the gaze or was simply worried about his young master, Shen looked up toward the window.
Aquila drew the curtain halfway and concealed himself in the darkness.
“Hah….”
Offering the flower to a god was the second step.
To cast the Curse of Deadly Poison, the third and final step also had to be fulfilled.
That final step was offering the requester’s lifespan along with the flower.
A life for a life.
That was the price a god demanded from those who begged for a curse that stole lives.
And the backlash always manifested in the requester’s body.
‘I should look for someone nearby who suddenly fell ill.’
There was too little information to determine the truth.
Aquila fully closed the curtain and stepped away from the window.
Only after surveying the quiet room a few times did he summon the system window with a familiar gesture.
There was something else he needed to check while Shen and Yujelia were gone.
[Stolen Divine Authority (Minor): You can use a portion of the power of darkness.
— Engraved upon the soul, permanent.]
That authority.