A Third-Rate Villain Tries Her Best Today 167

Chapter 167: A Patroclus Morning

“I’m talking about the curse caster. Even if he’s a crazy bastard who manipulates people’s memories and uses indecipherable formulas, he didn’t just appear out of thin air.”

“….”

“Both Byron and Lopetrefer must have known about the curse caster to request the curse. So wouldn’t he be someone connected to your families?”

Jean was suggesting they find the curse caster. Not just out of curiosity, like before, but to break the curse.

And suggesting they find the curse caster to break the curse was basically Jean Emilia declaring that he couldn’t break Sue Byron’s curse.

“Seeing you like this, I don’t think you’ll last another year, let alone five years. It’s better to explore all options.”

Jean, reading Sue’s thoughts from her expression, said urgently.

“…But the memories of the curse caster have already been erased. How are we supposed to find him?”

“That’s why I’m saying, let’s look into the people around you, or the mages deeply connected to your family, one by one. Or bring me a list of your family members. I’ll look into them.”

“As far as I know, there’s no one like that…”

“There probably isn’t. I know. That’s why you came to me. But this is the only way for now. Please look into it whenever you have time.”

Jean was adamant. Sue, convinced by his persistence, reluctantly nodded.

She had already investigated all the mages connected to her family and even checked the identities of the mages in the Imperial Magic Department before meeting Jean. That’s why she was even more skeptical.

“What kind of person is the curse caster? Why is he selling curses?”

“Because he needs something.”

“Needs something?”

Sue asked, her face confused.

“For example, I made a deal with you because I need money. And the curse caster is also selling curses by making deals. And what the high priest traded with the curse caster was…”

“Lifespan.”

“Yes. He probably wants to live a long life.”

Jean stood up after his casual remark. It seemed like it was time for him to leave.

“Why are you leaving so soon?”

Sue asked the question that had been on her mind. Jean, clutching his stomach, mumbled,

“You saw it too. I think Acrea noticed me…”

“Ah, I knew it.”

Sue had expected it. Acrea had just been pretending to be fooled. That was his specialty. She didn’t know if he would secretly gather information or continue to pretend, but…

Sue patted Jean’s back reassuringly.

“Then go back safely without getting caught. I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.”

“…Was it a bad idea to come here?”

“No, not at all.”

“Really? Then I’m glad.”

***

Day 20, morning.

“Thank you for the other day.”

The old woman visited Sue, holding a package of cookies in her hands.

“It’s a thank you for giving this old woman a final gift.”

Sue immediately recognized her, seeing her wrinkled hands.

It was as if a yellow freesia was blooming.

“That flower… I received it by chance on the day I first met my husband.”

“….”

Sue, embarrassed, awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, accepting the gift.

“From that day on, my husband would give me yellow freesia every day. He thought I liked them.”

“I see…”

The old woman chuckled, reminiscing about the distant past.

“But at some point, I really started to like those flowers. Isn’t it amazing?”

“…Yes, it’s amazing.”

It might have been an insignificant memory to others, but Sue smiled, trying to imitate the old woman, a smile as bright and distant as a field of freesia.

During break time, Sue sat on a small wooden bench outside the hospital and opened the package she had received. Inside were misshapen cookies, as if they had been baked by hand.

She took a bite. They were delicious, as expected.

“What are you doing?”

Acrea, who had been looking for her, asked as he opened the hospital door. He was shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.

Sue looked at the cookies in her hand and then at Acrea, and then smiled brightly and held out her hand.

“Want some?”

Sue and Acrea shared the small amount of cookies.

“Delicious.”

Acrea, sitting next to her, munched on the cookies she had given him.

Acrea was acting like a puppy next to her.

It was amazing what life could bring.

A warm feeling bloomed in her chest.

The sun was warm, and even the time she spent alone with Acrea was comfortable.

It was unfamiliar, but a pleasant unfamiliar feeling.

She touched the crinkling light yellow wrapping paper and called out his name, “Master Acrea.”

“I’m a very jealous person.”

She confessed calmly. Acrea, his mouth full of cookies, turned to her.

“So I was jealous of you too.”

It wasn’t just Acrea. She was jealous of everyone in the world. Everyone except “Sue Byron.” She would see people being happy about trivial things and resent God for not making her one of them.

“Did you know? You’re blessed by God, unlike me, so you are loved, you can be loved, you will be loved, and you will definitely fall in love with someone.”

“Byron, I…”

“It might be… difficult for you now. But I was so envious of you, that you could be happy, that you could do more than I could.”

She could only say this here. When they returned to the capital, everything would go back to the way it was. She wanted to say everything she wanted to say and then go back.

“But I’m not going to be jealous anymore. I’m going to think about what I can do. It’s better that way, right?”

A freesia-like smile appeared on her face. Like a distant field of flowers she would one day encounter.

***

Day 25, morning.

“Miss Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth, stepping out of the house early in the morning, ran into Acrea, who had been waiting for her. Elizabeth, realizing he had something to say to her, lowered her hood and asked,

“Woo, what is it?”

“Where are you going?”

“There’s a bakery that only sells bread at this hour…”

“There are no bakeries open at this hour in Patroclus.”

Acrea cut off her obvious lie. Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, then chuckled.

“Hmm, what are you trying to say?”

“I’ll get straight to the point. Did you cast a spell on this pendant?”

The silver raven pendant.

Even though it was tarnished, Elizabeth recognized it.

“That’s a Holy Demon Religion pendant. I didn’t know anyone still had one.”

“Is that all?”

“Huh? …Woo, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Elizabeth tilted her head, her face troubled. Acrea, his face emotionless, continued,

“This is the pendant you gave to Lady Byron.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Yes. And there was a spell on this pendant.”

“Hmm, so you suspect me. That’s why you’ve been watching me.”

Elizabeth’s voice suddenly turned cold and cynical. Acrea, surprised by her tone, raised his eyebrows. Elizabeth quickly regained her composure, her face serene.

“I’m a Byron by blood. And the Byron bloodline has weakened, they can barely use magic anymore. That’s why Sue can’t use magic either. And I didn’t buy this pendant, I received it from another patient. Is that enough of an answer?”

“Do you remember what the patient who gave you the pendant looked like?”

“Small eyes, thin lips… And… It’s been a long time, so I don’t remember. I’m sorry.”

Acrea nodded, as if he was convinced, despite her unconvincing excuse.

“Then let me ask you one last question.”

He blinked slowly.

“Where do you go every morning, Miss Elizabeth?”

“…Woo Acrea, let me ask you again.”

“…The answer…”

“What are you doing here?”

Elizabeth’s face was filled with cynicism. Her red eyes, unlike Sue’s, were cold and sharp. But her voice was still calm and gentle, as usual.

Acrea couldn’t move. It wasn’t because he was frozen by tension or fear. A faint paralysis had suddenly come over him.

“Are you really here to find the owner of the pendant? To find the owner of a pendant with a slightly indecipherable anti-magic formula? …No, you’re not.”

“….”

“Woo, go back quietly. I don’t want to harm the child who saved my niece.”

His suspicions were confirmed.

Elizabeth Byron.

The woman who had given Damon Keron his new power, who had driven the high priest of the Holy Demon Religion to a new hell, and who had pushed her own niece into the abyss.

That was Elizabeth Byron.