Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Curse
His mind resurfaced.
"Hah...!"
Zeke shot up like he'd just broken the surface after holding his breath underwater, gulping in air.
"Huh...?"
His face blank with confusion, he glanced out the window.
The window was pitch black.
The sun had set, and only blue moonlight filtered through.
It was night.
Time had been skipped in the middle.
There was only one thing that meant—he'd passed out again, just like last time.
"Zeke, you're awake?"
He turned toward the voice.
Freya was watching him with her usual blank expression.
Her face was impassive, but her pink eyes trembled faintly, betraying her true feelings.
She slyly averted her gaze when he tried to meet her eyes. It was adorable.
Adorable, he almost said, but caught himself.
Back then, swept up in the mood, he'd been bold. But now that the heated atmosphere had cooled and cold reason had taken hold, it was time to return to master and disciple.
"Master... what happened?"
At the honorific, Freya flashed a bittersweet smile before quickly hiding it.
"You passed out midway."
Right when the moment they'd both been waiting for was within reach, he'd fainted.
She'd mustered the courage to confess her love, regenerated even her hymen with Complete Regeneration, and prepared for a beautiful first night... but like he'd been drugged with sleeping powder, Zeke had dozed off right before insertion.
She wanted to pick up where they'd left off.
But the mood wasn't right.
The sultry air had long since been aired out.
Broaching it first would be too embarrassing.
...What if he thinks I'm a pervert?
If Zeke had brought it up, she could've played coy and stuck out her hips. But the moment he called her "Master," that possibility vanished.
They were back to their usual relationship.
It was a shame.
"I'm sorry."
Zeke bowed his head in apology.
It wasn't exactly wrongdoing, but falling asleep after leaving a woman who'd prepared herself mentally as a man was still a failing.
"Last time too, and now this... Are you feeling okay anywhere?"
Sudden blackouts were definitely a problem.
But Zeke shook his head.
"No. I'm perfectly healthy."
"Healthy people don't just faint out of nowhere."
"I don't know about that either."
He really was healthy.
Even in the brutal battlefield, aside from combat wounds, he'd never caught so much as a cold.
His squadmates had always marveled at how he stayed so fit.
But as Freya said, healthy people didn't faint like that.
Something was wrong with his body.
He didn't know what, though.
"Did something happen while you were away from the estate?"
She was worried about his health, but also curious and concerned about what he'd been up to during those eight years—enough to leave his body covered in scars.
"Nothing special. I worked as a mercenary on the battlefield."
"A mercenary?"
It clicked immediately.
His sturdy, muscled build.
The scars covering his body.
A rough, violent mercenary life would explain it all.
"Why would you take on something so dangerous?"
It was in the past, but Freya shot him a slightly angry look.
Mercenaries could die at any moment.
Especially on the battlefield.
Every battle was a gamble with his life.
While Zeke was gone, she'd often wondered, What is he doing right now?
Her one wish was always the same.
Please stay healthy.
Please stay safe.
And yet... he'd been living as a mercenary!
Freya was a little irritated.
"Uh..."
Zeke hesitated in his response.
Was now the time to bring up that story?
He'd missed the timing.
He should've stuck with it to the end when it came up.
Cleared up the misunderstanding properly before moving to the next step—instead, he'd rushed ahead because of the heat of the moment.
No regrets, though.
He'd confirmed his master's honest feelings.
After a moment's thought, Zeke slowly spoke.
"To be honest... eight years ago, I thought it was my fault."
"Pardon?"
Freya tilted her head like a curious cat.
"I've thought it was my fault all this time."
Zeke explained why he'd joined the mercenaries.
The parts where they'd misunderstood each other.
The parts where they'd been mistaken.
Those pieces had meshed together to form the truth.
No one's fault.
Just a lack of communication.
"Wait...!"
Having heard him out, Freya realized one key fact.
"That means you too...!"
"More importantly."
He cut her off just as she was about to voice her realization.
"I'm worried about you, Master."
Zeke knew what she was going to say, so he hurriedly changed the subject.
"What kind of curse is it?"
He'd switched topics, but this was sincere too.
He was genuinely worried about her curse.
That's why he'd left the mercenaries and come back here.
"If you went to see the Great Saintess in person, it must be no ordinary curse..."
He looked at her with eyes full of concern.
"Ah..."
This was tricky.
She wasn't cursed at all.
During the eight years Zeke was gone, she'd lived a wretched life like someone afflicted by a curse, but Freya's body was perfectly healthy.
Her visit to the Great Saintess wasn't for curse consultation—it was to vent her depressive emotions and get help making an elixir she wanted.
What kind? That was a secret.
But Zeke thought the elixir she was researching now was related to the curse.
...Should I just tell him the truth?
Freya chewed her lip, pondering.
She could say she wasn't cursed, but...
She recalled how Zeke had carried her princess-style, overprotecting her.
She hated being treated like a weakling by others, but from Zeke, it oddly thrilled her.
Women wanted to be their lover's princess, it seemed—even witches weren't exempt. Well, witches were women too.
She wanted to act spoiled with Zeke like crazy.
"...I can't tell you the details, but you're right about what you're thinking."
Freya chose to indulge her selfish desires.
"I knew it..."
Zeke's expression darkened.
"Don't worry too much. I got a recipe from the Great Saintess for an elixir that can cure the curse. Once I finish it, I can be healed."
"I see..."
Zeke pulled a long face at the news of his master's curse.
Like a big dog fretting over its owner. Adorable.
So cute she wanted to devour him.
Like master, like disciple.
"Still... if it's tough, I'll borrow your hands a bit, Zeke."
Freya glanced up at him coyly.
Usually kids faked illness for parental attention, but here the parent was faking it for the child.
"Of course. That's why I came back."
Zeke thumped his chest confidently.
He'd grown taller.
Bigger in stature too.
It really hit her now—he wasn't just a kid anymore; he'd become a true adult.
...Down there too.
Last she'd seen, it was cute and small, but now it was huge—exaggerating a bit, as thick as her forearm.
She'd thought her jaw would dislocate sucking on it.
Once she got used to it, she could probably keep it in her mouth for hours later?
No, no, no.
Freya shook her head inwardly, shelving the lewd thoughts for now.
She wanted to get naughty, but there was a problem to solve first.
"Zeke, did you ever meet another witch while you were a mercenary?"
"No way."
Zeke waved his hands frantically.
"To me, there's only one witch: you, Master. How could I meet another when I have you? In my heart, there's only you."
Freya's face flushed bright red.
"Th-that's not what I meant!"
She hadn't been asking if he'd cheated.
"I just meant, did you ever run into another witch?"
"Ah..."
Thinking she'd been asking about affairs, Zeke had answered desperately—now his face heated up too.
"...No."
Freya stood.
"Mind if I check your mana for a sec?"
"Sure."
Examining someone else's mana was a huge breach of etiquette for mages, so permission was required.
Freya stepped close and placed her hand on Zeke's chest.
Zeke flinched, tensing up.
He knew this was necessary to check mana, but her touch still made him nervous.
And that tension translated straight to his heartbeat, pulsing under her palm.
Thump-thump-thump!
She could feel his racing heart.
Freya tensed up unnecessarily.
"Excuse me for a moment."
She channeled her mana.
Freya's mana flowed through Zeke's circuits.
It circled once and returned to her.
"...!"
Freya's eyes turned fierce.
"Master...?"
Zeke cautiously spoke into the heavy, angry aura.
At that moment.
"What bitch is it...!"
Freya grabbed him by the collar.