Chapter 6
The two black snakes, the reason why Sue had stared at her naked body for so long this morning, were the cause of her current agony, writhing on the floor in pain.
And that wasn’t all.
The reason for the countless wounds on Sue’s body, the reason she had woken up in the infirmary that day, the reason why the Byron family, a mere provincial noble family, had been able to become Skias, the reason why Sue couldn’t utter a single word of defiance against Enzhe, the reason why Sue Byron had to be loyal to Enzhe Lopetrefer.
And the reason why Sue Byron could never escape from Enzhe.
The root of all her problems lay right here.
“Sue, you seem relieved that it wasn’t you today.”
Enzhe, seemingly bored with the spectacle, finally wiped the smile off her face and spoke.
“Still… you should know how to hide it better. Why couldn’t you do that today?”
As Enzhe had said, Sue was relieved. She had felt a surge of relief that she wasn’t the one being tormented.
Perhaps it was because she found Sue’s relief irritating. Or maybe she simply wanted to torment Sue.
“I really don’t like you, Byron.”
Enzhe spat out the words as if tossing away garbage and left the basement with a disgusted look on her face.
“…Ha… ha…”
Only after Enzhe disappeared from the basement and several minutes had passed did the snakes that had been rampaging over Sue’s body gradually settle down.
Finally regaining her senses, Sue forced herself to sit up and leaned against the wall. She clutched her side and took a deep breath. Enzhe hadn’t physically assaulted her, it was just the snakes that had been thrashing about for a few minutes.
And yet, during those few minutes, Sue had wished for death.
*How did ‘Sue’ endure this for years?*
“Sob… Ugh…!”
Suddenly, a sob caught her attention, and she glanced to her side. Holland, whom she had forgotten about, was huddled in a corner of the basement, crying.
*…Come to think of it, the cleanup crew isn’t here.*
Normally, as soon as Enzhe left the glass garden, the Lopetrefer family servants who were guarding outside would enter the basement. Sue called them the ‘cleanup crew’ in her mind.
When the cleanup crew arrived, Sue would help them erase the evidence, threaten the still-trembling girl before her, and smooth things over to prevent rumors from spreading.
However, perhaps this too was Enzhe’s order, as the Lopetrefer family servants hadn’t come down for quite a while. It was a pattern that had occurred occasionally, according to ‘Sue’s’ memories.
“…Sigh.”
Sue ran her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply.
“Miss Holland.”
Then, she called out to Holland weakly. Seeing Holland’s shoulders tremble, Sue pulled out a small bottle from her inner pocket. The bottle, containing a green liquid, held the same potion she had taken that morning.
“Drink this.”
Sue rolled the bottle towards Holland. It stopped just within reach of Holland’s arm.
“It’s medicine. Once you’ve calmed down, let’s go to the infirmary. We can talk more there.”
Sue didn’t care whether her words brought Holland fear or anxiety.
She was simply carrying out the repetitive tasks ingrained in her memory.
Waiting for Holland, Sue stared blankly at the ceiling of the basement. It was a high, colorless ceiling.
Her chest felt tight.
She tightened her grip on the fabric of her clothes where she was clutching her side.
*I’ve been ignoring it until now.*
She felt that she could no longer afford to do so.
* * *
There was no point in remembering her name or occupation from her previous life. What mattered now was only Sue Byron’s present and future.
The future that lay before Sue could be broadly divided into two paths.
Either she would be thrown into the Wastelands and meet her downfall as in the novel, or she would live as Enzhe Lopetrefer’s plaything.
Neither was a desirable future.
The two snakes that extended from her waist were definitely not mere tattoos.
They were a curse.
A binding curse that ensured the Byron family’s eternal loyalty to the Lopetrefer family.
Originally, the Byron viscount family was an insignificant noble family from a remote province.
A hollow title with no wealth, land, power, or connections.
Why did the Lopetrefer family extend their hand to such a family? There was only one reason.
The Byron curse.
Having realized their own powerlessness, the Byron viscount family had begun researching curse magic some time ago.
They twisted and re-created existing curse magic, and even created their own unique formulas from scratch.
Researching curse magic without the permission of the imperial family was a serious crime, but the Byron family didn’t care and continued to study curse formulas, holed up in their underground workshop.
Eventually, the Byron family, which had been nothing more than a small-time provincial noble family, began to actively operate in the underworld. They mainly focused on selling the results of their research for large sums of money and cursing others.
Over time, the rumor of ‘a family in the underworld selling some pretty decent curses’ reached the ears of the Lopetrefer family.
The Lopetrefer family, who happened to be looking for a trusted follower to work behind the scenes, reached out to the Byron family, and Sue’s grandfather, unwilling to miss the opportunity, joined hands with the Lopetrefer grand duke family.
However, in the process, Sue’s grandfather hid a crucial fact from the Lopetrefer family. The fact that the magic power of the Byron viscount family had been steadily declining for generations. It was only a few months before Sue was born that this fact came to light.
The condition that the next heir of the Byron viscount family would be bound to the Lopetrefer family had been decided even before they entered the capital, but after the issue of their declining magic power was revealed, it became even more impossible to back out of the deal.
Why was the Byron family’s magic power declining? Some speculated that it was because they had been cursing others for their own benefit for so long. The Byron family desperately denied it, but it was a plausible theory.
In any case, Sue’s grandfather had sold his granddaughter just to receive the Skia medal. Her parents had readily agreed to offer up their daughter.
And that daughter, before she even reached the age of reason, had accepted the fact that she had become the Lopetrefer family’s dog. No, she even took pride in it.
“What a messed-up family…”
She would never understand, not even after a lifetime. Sue muttered with a forlorn expression, hugging her knees.
The point was, the problem Sue was facing was far more persistent and insurmountable than the one Halo had to deal with.
No matter how hard Sue tried to change her fate as written in the novel, she couldn’t run away. Because two snakes, ready to move at Enzhe’s command, were living inside her.
*Why does this kind of backstory even exist?*
She resented the author, even though it was a throwaway character.
It seemed ‘Sue’ had diligently fulfilled her role as Enzhe’s lackey, even enjoying this kind of pain, but the current Sue was different.
Over the past few weeks, as she experienced her situation firsthand, Sue gradually fell into despair. She felt like jumping off a cliff, but even that was too frightening to attempt.
Forget Halo, without getting rid of the binding curse that was clinging to her body, Sue had no future.
She was completely Enzhe’s possession.
* * *
“M-miss Sue?! Why have you suddenly come… without any notice…”
Early in the morning on a holiday, Sue arrived at the main residence of the Byron viscount family. After briefly surveying the mansion, which was several times larger than her townhouse, Sue entered. The servants couldn’t hide their surprise at her sudden appearance. Recently, the only time she had visited the main residence was for the Byron family’s regular dinner parties.
“What’s your name?”
Sue asked, pointing at a maid standing in the entrance hall. The chosen maid answered with a start.
“Y-yes! I’m Laura Hirens!”
Laura was a newcomer who had only been working at the Byron residence for three months.
As soon as Sue pointed at her, all eyes in the hall turned to Laura. They were filled with pity. Laura felt like crying, knowing what those looks meant.
Because the rumors circulating in the Byron residence about Miss Sue were all terrifying.
That she would curse people to death at every opportunity, that her personal maids never lasted more than a month, and that whenever she visited the main residence, she would always have one of the servants dismissed.
And while she didn’t know about the first two, the last rumor was true, which made Laura tremble even more.
*I’m going to get fired already, even though I just got paid?*
Images of her family flashed through Laura’s mind. *I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. Sorry, little brother. I thought I was lucky to get this job, but it had to be at the Byron residence.*
“Where are Father and Mother?”
But the words that came out of the fearsome Miss Sue’s mouth weren’t ‘You’re fired’.
“T-they went to the northern territory of Duke Lopetrefer!”
“Is that so? When will they be back?”
“They said they would be back by tonight!”
“Hmm…”
It was a crisp and precise answer, more prompt than an imperial soldier. Sue rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, then spoke to Laura again.
“I’m going to the underground workshop now. So, Laura, when my parents arrive, please let them know.”
“Y-yes! I understand.”
Laura nodded stiffly.
“Alright, thank you.”
“Yes, Miss. …Is that all I need to do?”
“Yes, why?”
“Oh, no, nothing. I apologize for the impertinent question.”
“No, it’s fine. You all can go back to work now.”
“Yes!”
The servants who had been standing in a line to greet Sue answered in unison. Their resounding response made it difficult to tell whether this was the entrance hall of a noble residence or an imperial army barracks.
Sue smiled wryly and disappeared into the underground workshop with Ten and Nine.
In the entrance hall, where the young mistress had disappeared, the remaining servants were still hesitant, exchanging wary glances. Finally, after a stern command from the head maid, they all returned to their duties one by one.
Laura was practically dragged to the workroom by a fellow maid. Then, she replayed the events that had just transpired in her mind. The reluctant wry smile of Miss Sue, who was known as the embodiment of terror and annoyance.
“Amy, I wasn’t fired, right?”
“W-what are you talking about? Come on, we have a lot of work to do.”
At the sound of Laura’s clear voice, Amy gulped and pulled her along by the arm.