Chapter 138: The Center  

I expected the center of the Cursed Land to be even darker and more ominous than anything we had seen so far.  

“This is my first time here too, and it’s… unexpected.”  

“Same here.”  

Xavier and Lucas couldn’t hide their surprise at the unexpected sight of the center.  

Everyone stood on the outskirts of the center, looking inward, unable to approach any closer.  

The center was pure white, like an overturned dome resembling a crescent moon.  

It was opaque, hiding the interior, but its immaculate purity made it seem even more dangerous. Around the center, there was no black mist or irrational beastmen to be seen.  

And yet, the power of the curse was so overwhelming that even with the holy power storage device I used, those like Pope Melvin, Rosetta, and Rexton, who lacked sufficient holy power, appeared to be struggling.  

Xavier grabbed my hand and held it tightly against his body. Seeing this, Lucas spoke in a subdued voice.  

“Xavier, protect her well.”  

“Of course.”  

Lucas nodded at me with his eyes. When I gave him a small nod in return, he smiled faintly. His dark eyes conveyed a myriad of emotions, but all I could do for him was smile back.  

Xavier and I cautiously moved toward the center.  

I reached out and touched the white barrier first. My hand passed through without any issue. Seeing this, Xavier stepped forward and attempted to enter as well.  

“Ugh.”  

However, he was pushed back by the barrier, unable to pass through. Blood trickled from his knee as if it had been cut by a blade.  

“Only the saintess can pass through, it seems.”  

“Are you alright? Let me heal you.”  

“I’m fine, really.”  

“You’re not fine at all. The bleeding won’t stop.”  

As I bent down to press my lips to his wounded knee, Rosetta reached out her hand between us.  

“My lady, use this.”  

It was a holy power storage device.  

“Thank you.”  

I attached the patch to Xavier’s knee and thought to myself.  

‘Does this mean I’m supposed to go in alone?’  

The center of the Cursed Land seemed to reject anyone else, wounding Xavier as if to reinforce its demand. What if his neck had entered the dome first instead of his knee?  

The mere thought was horrifying.  

But Xavier stood up again, determined to enter with me.  

“Xavier, it seems the Cursed Land only wants me to enter.”  

“Will you be able to come out once you go in?”  

“I’ll make sure to return alive.”  

I let go of his hand, but Xavier immediately grabbed it again.  

“No!”  

He shouted desperately, his face suddenly much closer to mine.  

I expected him to look angry.  

‘Is he… crying?’  

Xavier Auguste was shedding tears. Clear streams of tears flowed endlessly from his beautiful eyes.  

“If this happens, there’s no point in me being here. Why should you have to sacrifice yourself?”  

“This isn’t a sacrifice. It’s for you and me.”  

“What’s the point of any of this if you’re not here?”  

He gripped my hand even tighter.  

“Xavier, I’ll be back soon.”  

“But—!”  

“I promise you. I’ll return, I swear.”  

Looking into his tear-filled eyes, I gently pushed his hand away with my right hand.  

“Yuria, please. Let me go with you.”  

“I love you. Thank you for everything.”  

Before he could follow me, I quickly pushed my body into the white dome.  

“No!”  

His anguished voice tore through the air behind me, but I shut my eyes tightly.  

If I don’t come back, please live on for both of us.  

Goodbye, Xavier.  

＊  

“Aaaahhh!”  

Blood splattered everywhere.  

Xavier’s clothes and face were drenched in bright red blood.  

“Pull yourself together! You almost lost your head!”  

The frenzied Xavier had recklessly tried to follow Yuria into the center but was stopped by Rosetta.  

More precisely, Rosetta had physically blocked Xavier from entering the dome, resulting in her index and middle fingers being severed by the barrier.  

Despite the blood streaming from her hand, Rosetta, pale and sweating, clung to Xavier’s clothes. Xavier collapsed where he stood, and Rosetta slumped to the ground beside him.  

“Rosetta! The holy power storage device! Quickly!”  

“Understood.”  

Melvin used the patches handed to him by Rexton to reattach her severed fingers. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped, and new skin began to grow. Even during this, Rosetta never let go of Xavier’s hem.  

“Yuria! Take me with you!”  

“Your Majesty, please get a hold of yourself!”  

“Let go of me! Let go!”  

Even Lucas, who had been maintaining his composure until now, lost his mind. Eaglin barely managed to restrain him with her eagle-like talons as he tried to approach the center.  

“This is a complete disaster.”  

Melvin muttered as he wiped the sweat and blood from his face with his robe.  

“Your Eminence, please come back alive. It’s a mess here.”  

He knelt on the ground and clasped his hands together, praying earnestly.  

＊  

I thought it would be pure white.  

But once again, my expectations were wrong.  

The world inside the white dome was transparent.  

“I thought the center of the Cursed Land would be pitch dark. Hello?”  

There was no one. The lack of anything visible made it even more terrifying.  

‘I came here to break the curse, but why is no one here?’  

Inside this transparent space, surrounded by clear walls, I could see everything outside. Xavier, covered in blood, Rosetta, and Lucas being held back by Eaglin.  

Xavier was still crying.  

“Xavier.”  

It was then—

“Hello.”  

“Ahhh!”  

My heart nearly dropped to the ground. Startled, I flailed my arms and screamed.  

“Did I scare you?”  

There was definitely no one here a moment ago. Where did that voice come from?  

Even when I looked around, there was no one. The voice echoed only in my head.  

“Who are you? Where are you?”  

“Me? Didn’t you come here to see me?”  

Suddenly, the scenery changed. The transparent world transformed into a wide grassy field, and a small boy stood in the middle of it.  

A handsome boy with glossy black hair.  

He looked exactly like seven-year-old Xavier from the childhood photos I had seen.  

“…Are you the Cursed Land?”  

“Well, to be precise, I’m the first thing cursed here. You can call me the origin of the curse.”  

So, this was the origin of the curse.  

I thought it was just a formless concept, but seeing it take shape was surprising.  

Hiding my fear, I extended my hand to the boy.  

“I’m Saintess Yuria.”  

“Hello. I never thought a saintess would come to see me.”  

The boy didn’t take my hand. He simply observed me with narrowed eyes. His expression was so similar to Xavier’s that some of my fear faded.  

“I didn’t expect you to look like a child.”  

“I’m not a child.”  

“But you look like one to me.”  

“Heh. What you see is a projection of what you hold most dear.”  

“What?”  

Oh no.  

What if he asks me to sacrifice Xavier?  

“I misspoke. I see something else now, not a child.”  

“Hmm. You’re a terrible liar, aren’t you?”  

“It’s true. Now I see something different.”  

“What do you see?”  

“A… tree?”  

I felt bad for the pine tree, but at least it wasn’t a person.  

I hastily made something up.  

“Hahaha. You’re quite the amusing saintess. It’s been 600 years since I’ve had this much fun.”  

“Haha, 600 years. I see. That’s great.”  

The origin of the curse, laughing like a child, suddenly fell silent.  

“So, what will you sacrifice that is most precious to you?”  

“Um…”  

“If you offer ‘everything most precious to the saintess,’ the curse will be lifted. Did you know that?”  

“Ah, sort of.”  

“Oh, really? Are you truly willing to give it up?”  

“Yes.”  

“Even if it’s everything you are?”  

“Yes.”  

“Even if it means the world will forget you exist?”  

“Yes. That’s fine.”  

The boy frowned, then suddenly transformed into Rosetta. I was so shocked I nearly fainted but managed to maintain my composure.  

“Won’t you feel sorry for her?”  

“No. This has nothing to do with Rosetta.”  

“Once you give it up, it can’t be undone.”  

The origin of the curse kept testing me. Surely, it wanted the curse lifted more than anyone. Why was it doing this?  

Are you afraid? Afraid that I might fail to break the curse?  

I called out to it first.  

“Hey.”  

“Hmm?”  

“Are you scared?”  

“…….”  

It didn’t answer my question.  

Suddenly, Rosetta’s form shifted back into Xavier. Even though I knew it wasn’t real, my heart sank like a frightened bird. I spoke calmly to the boy.  

“Don’t worry. I know what you want.”  

“What?”  

I gently stroked the face of the boy who looked like Xavier, even though I knew he wasn’t real.  

“What are you doing?”  

I opened the holy power booster I had brought and downed it in one gulp.  

“I’m ready. I’ll break your curse.”  

Then, I pulled out a dagger and cut my finger. Blood dripped from my fingertip, soaking into the ground.  

“Take it all. I’ll offer everything—my vessel as a saintess and all my holy power.”  

“Are you serious?”  

“Yes. Take it all. I don’t need it. I can live just fine without it.”  

“Wow.”  

A voice of admiration echoed.  

The figure smiled faintly and began to fade into the space around us.  

I felt an immense amount of holy power being drawn out of me. A golden pillar, visible even from the Everlasting Snow Mountains, pierced through the dome and soared into the sky.  

My body wavered and fell to the ground.  

As I lay there, I etched the sight before me into my memory.  

“If I was prepared to die, I should be able to live, right?”  

But my eyes kept closing.  

From the now-transparent dome, I witnessed an astonishing sight. The black mist surrounding the Cursed Land dissipated, and the cursed blackened ground was cleansed, giving birth to new life.  

The sounds of birds, animals, and people’s joyous laughter filled the dome.  

“Ah, I still need to go on my honeymoon with Xavier…”  

I couldn’t fight the weight of my eyelids.  

As my consciousness faded, a boy’s voice echoed in my mind.  

Thank you, saintess.  

And to the child yet to be born, thank you as well.  

That was the last thing I heard from him.  

＊  

“Your Grace, it’s been over two hours.”  

Xavier didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on the dome. His tears had long since dried.  

Rexton gave up trying to persuade his master and looked toward Rosetta.  

“Rosetta, what do you think?”  

“I believe Madam will return.”  

“I’ll leave once I see her come out safely. Eaglin, you can head back first.”  

“Your Majesty.”  

Melvin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, anxiously watching the situation unfold.  

“Wait, Your Grace. The mist is clearing over there.”  

“What?”  

Xavier shot to his feet.  

“Flowers! Flowers are blooming here!”  

Eaglin exclaimed in shock, pointing to the ground. The blackened earth sprouted fresh shoots, which quickly blossomed into buds.  

“Ah!”  

Xavier trembled where he stood, his arms hanging limply by his sides. The white dome dissolved like water, revealing a staggering figure emerging from within.  

Though slow, the steps were unmistakably human.  

Xavier instinctively ran toward the figure.  

As the mist cleared and the bright sunlight broke through, the blue sky came into view. He squinted against the light as he sprinted toward the figure.  

It wasn’t the golden hair he knew. Nor was it the soft, peach-like skin he remembered.  

A pale woman with hair as white as ash staggered toward him.  

“Yuria!”  

Yuria, looking fragile enough to break at a touch, was there.  

“Yuria!”  

“…Xavier?”  

With those words, Yuria collapsed powerlessly into Xavier’s arms as he reached her.  

“Yuria, Yuria.”  

“See… I told you… I’d come back…”  

“Ugh. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much.”  

“Why… do you cry so much… for a man?”  

“Don’t talk. You don’t have to say anything.”  

Yuria nodded weakly with a faint smile. Then, she closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.  

Xavier held her limp body tightly for a long time.  

Until the blackened land was completely gone, replaced by beautiful flowers, butterflies, trees, and all manner of life.