The Scar and the Curse
The Curse of Loneliness.
“Hic… P-Please, don’t look…”
The pure white bandage slipped to the ground. Beneath it lay a massive burn scar that covered the entire right side of her face. The disfigurement stretched from her forehead all the way down to her jaw.
“Ugh… uuu…”
“......”
Violet tried to hide the scar, pressing her hand over it. I stared blankly as she lowered her head with a sob. Inside my chest, a tangle of emotions swirled—sorrow, rage, pity, tenderness… a feeling no single word could capture.
Just as I stood there, lost in thought, a familiar mechanical chime rang in my ear.
The 'Curse of Loneliness' engraved in the scar is attacking you.
Due to the curse's effect, you will feel extreme disgust toward the target.
The effect will activate in 10 seconds...
“......Curse of Loneliness.”
I narrowed my eyes at the blue windows floating before me. Yes. This was it. The reason Violet had fallen into an abyss of misfortune. The reason she had no choice but to be hated by countless people.
That burn scar carried a curse that drew hatred from others. A debuff that turned its victim into a complete outcast. It was utterly horrifying. And because it had been cast by a high-ranking demon commander—one of the Four Heavenly Kings—avoiding or dispelling it was nearly impossible.
......Of course, I was the exception.
Skill 'Iron Mind' blocks the curse's effect.
The status window appeared once more, announcing the skill’s activation. I let out a small sigh of relief.
“Haa… Good. It works after all.”
Iron Mind was one of fewer than ten EX-rank skills in the entire world. According to the status windows, it boasted the highest performance among all mental barriers. While it might not stand against the Demon King’s curse, something on the level of a commander-class demon’s curse could be brushed off easily.
“......”
“I-It looks hideous, doesn’t it…? I’ll wrap the bandage again right away…”
While I was staring at the status window, Violet had hurriedly pulled out a fresh bandage. Within her trembling purple eyes, anxiety, sorrow, and self-loathing swirled thickly.
I looked straight into those eyes and grabbed the wrist of the hand trying to wind the bandage.
-Snap!
“Eep…?”
When the hand covering her face fell away, the scar became even clearer. Violet squirmed, trying to pull her captured wrist free.
“N-No! If you look…!”
She raised her other hand in a belated attempt to hide it, but her slender fingers were nowhere near enough. It seemed she already knew that people changed strangely when they saw her burn scar.
Violet was begging desperately.
“P-Please… Just don’t kill me… I’m sorry for being so disgusting and still alive… I-I won’t ever show myself again…”
Her voice, pathetically begging for her life. By now her cheeks were a complete mess of tears. That pitiful reaction felt like it was slowly piercing my lungs. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.
In my mind, Violet’s life from the original story flashed by with a sharp rustle. The memories overlapped.
I… was a child who should never have been born.
A girl who had survived alone in a burning village. She had suffered burns to her face and received a curse, dooming her to never grow close to anyone. In the end, unable to endure the loneliness, the girl sold her soul to the darkness.
I also… wanted to be loved, just like you…
Her final line, spoken as Allen’s sword pierced her heart. With blood-red eyes shedding tears of blood, she had crumbled into dust with an empty smile.
A story I could never forget. A story that had hurt too much.
-Plop. Drip…
As all those memories flickered before me, tears began to fall from my own eyes. It was because I remembered that time. The memory of sitting alone in the locker room, reading her story and feeling sad.
Only then did Violet notice. She stared at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
“Y-Young master…?”
With my blurred vision, I reflected on the past. At the same time, I quietly reached out toward Violet’s face. My fingertips gently touched the right cheek where her pain resided.
The strange texture of the skin transmitted calmly. It was smooth yet uneven and wrinkled to the touch. Yet I felt no disgust, no revulsion. Instead, a tender ache bloomed in my heart.
“Ugh, uuu…?”
Perhaps expecting a slap, Violet had squeezed her eyes shut. But when the gentle touch reached her cheek, she slowly lifted her eyelids.
Transparent purple irises. On their still surface, only my gaze was reflected.
“It must have… hurt a lot.”
I spoke amid the falling raindrops, stroking her wound as delicately as if handling glass beads.
“......And you must have been so lonely.”
Because of this scar, how much hatred had she endured from others? How long had she been forced to live as an outcast? A life of receiving only straight, unfiltered loathing without even knowing what she had done wrong. Just like I had in my previous life.
Had she also soaked her pillow alone every night, drowning in loneliness?
“H-Huh…?”
Violet let out a dazed sound, as if she couldn’t understand my actions. She looked at me with a face full of confusion.
“Young master…? Y-You’re not bothered…?”
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
“B-But that can’t be…?”
She kept asking, as though she couldn’t believe it.
“Really… truly…?”
“I don’t see how it’s any different from usual.”
“D-Do you not find me… repulsive or anything…?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“N-No…”
The girl murmured, steeped in doubt. Mixed into that murmur were surprise, denial, suspicion, and… a faint, shining spark of expectation.
I gladly answered that expectation, gently stroking the scarred cheek where flowers seemed to bloom.
“......Not at all. I don’t find you repulsive in the slightest.”
“Ah…”
Violet’s face grew complicated at those words. It twisted slightly, then furrowed, then the corners of her mouth twitched, then her eyes closed and opened again. As if she didn’t know what expression to make, she kept wandering between them. In the end, she simply let her tears fall with a blank look.
A sudden downpour accompanied by that dazed reaction. It looked like an emotion that had burst out reflexively.
“You’re crying.”
I said, brushing away the tears sliding down her cheek. Only then did Violet realize she was crying.
“H-Huh…? I-I’m sorry…! W-Why am I suddenly like this…?”
Even as she apologized, she leaned further into my hand resting on her cheek. A little more weight pressed against the fingers that had been caressing her scar. Though she didn’t seem to realize it, the girl was melting into my touch. As if she had finally found something she had longed for for a very long time.
......It must be because this is the first warmth from another person she’s felt in far too long.
Violet, letting out thin sobs as she sought warmth from me. I extended my arm a little further so she could be more comfortable. And then I sat there quietly for a long time, staying by her side.
.
.
.
-Whiiiish…
A thin wind blew, scattering the autumn leaves in its wake. The only sounds filling the quiet night were the rustling of leaves brushing against one another and the faint voices of insects. The sky was still that of early dawn. The hour when everyone else was still lost in dreams.
I sat quietly before the campfire.
-Crackle, crackle…
Even after quite some time, the fire burned vigorously, refusing to lose its life. A beautiful flower of flame blooming even within pitch-black darkness. I silently took in the petals dancing dreamily.
-Sss… sss…
As I sat there in a daze, a soft breathing sound came from beside me. There was Violet, head drooping as she nodded off. She had cried herself to exhaustion and fallen asleep.
She’ll get a stiff neck sleeping in that position…
With that worry in mind, I quietly reached out. I lifted the girl’s limp head and laid it gently on my thigh. This should be a little more comfortable.
“Mmm… uung…”
Violet’s brow was furrowed, as if she were having a nightmare. I softly stroked her cheek just as I had earlier.
“Mmm…”
When I moved my hand carefully, the girl’s frown eased and a faint smile appeared on her lips. As I caressed her burn scar, I murmured to myself.
“Now that I think about it… she fell asleep without rewrapping the bandage…”
What if someone else saw it…? I let out a small sigh and picked up the bandage lying nearby. I carefully began to wind it around the girl’s scar.
-Swish… swish…
I wrapped it slowly, careful not to wake Violet, then tied off the end. It was a bit sloppy, but… for a first try, it wasn’t bad. I smiled to myself, feeling a touch of satisfaction.
I lifted the sleeping Violet and carried her into the tent. It would be cold if she stayed out here. After laying her down on the sleeping bag, I stepped back outside. A cool breeze ruffled my hair.
My jet-black bangs fluttered, repeatedly covering and uncovering my vision. I swept the unruly hair back and looked up at the sky. Millions of stars embroidered across the night. I sat down once more beneath those small fragments that quietly lit up the dawn.
“Seriously… ever since this school trip started, there’s just been one thing after another…”
I grumbled with a sigh. Still, despite the words, I didn’t actually dislike it. It was moderately relaxing and moderately noisy. Just the right amount to get by.
I hope… it can end without any incidents like this.
I murmured while gazing at the star-filled night sky. Of course… it wouldn’t be long before that small wish was brutally shattered.