Shall I Help a Little?
“That Young Master Leon might be able to resolve our family’s curse.”
Philtron acknowledged it as well, of course. Leon Crusif. There was no boy more extraordinary than him.
It wasn’t simply because he had listened to Ceren’s opinion. Philtron had felt it himself the moment he faced the boy.
And so, deep in Philtron’s chest, a spark of hope had taken root. Even though he had tried hard to guard against such feelings, he could not stop it.
Hope was always like that. No matter how hopeless the situation, no matter how fiercely one tried not to hold onto it, the instant one glimpsed even the faintest possibility, it would sprout.
That was why it was cruel. Hope was like a rotten rope thrown down to someone praying for salvation.
Knowing full well it would snap nine times out of ten, one still could not help but seize it and cling······.
“It is not that he ‘might’ be able to.”
Ceren’s voice cut cleanly through Philtron’s thoughts.
“He can.”
“······.”
Her cold gaze stabbed straight into Philtron’s heart.
It hurt. As if a sword had been driven into his chest.
Emotions long worn thin and tattered would, whenever he looked upon his only daughter, come back to life as if by some cruel miracle.
Philtron could not break his daughter’s will. He did not dare.
He was a coward, and a sinner.
A coward who had never found the courage to sever the cycle with his own hands.
A sinner who had killed his beloved wife and passed a terrible curse to his child, all for the sake of something as hollow as a family name.
“If it is the Leon I know, he will definitely succeed.”
The daughter he had watched since she was a newborn now stood grown, sending him a gaze so clear and unwavering.
What she carried was conviction without a single crack of doubt. She truly believed he would do it. Believed he would sever a curse that had continued for more than two hundred years.
How could she place such heavy faith in that young boy? How could she stake her entire life on one person without the slightest hesitation?
······The answer was easy to guess.
Simple. Because she had watched the boy longer. Because she had been bathed longer in the light of that brilliantly burning soul.
Even though Philtron had only seen him for a short time, he had felt it with perfect clarity.
A man who would draw his sword first even if the sky began to fall. A man who would move his feet first even if the earth itself collapsed.
Unlike himself, a man who would never be swallowed by something as petty as fear.
“The longer you delay the decision, the more pressing time becomes.”
“······I know that too.”
“Then what are you hesitating for? Please give your permission now.”
Philtron drew a quiet breath. The fingertips hidden behind his back trembled faintly.
He spoke in a pleading tone.
“Can’t we just······ leave it like this? You don’t have to bear children. Even if the line ends, even if the family disappears, it doesn’t matter. Your age is less than half of the life still left to you. Can’t you simply be satisfied living out the long years remaining the way you have until now?”
Clear anger entered Ceren’s eyes.
“Family Head.”
“Daughter.”
Ceren’s mouth froze instantly.
She could not even remember the last time she had been called that. It was a title she had only heard in her earliest childhood, so the unfamiliarity outweighed any nostalgia.
“I lost your mother to this curse.”
“······.”
“Because of my choice, I had to watch powerlessly as she was consumed by the curse and dying······ as the one I loved was dying······.”
He continued, voice thick with grief.
“I was far too foolish and stupid. I thought I could endure the curse. I believed I had prepared thoroughly. I thought she could do it, that we could hold on, that my case alone would be different. I was an idiot.”
Blood dripped from Philtron’s clenched fist.
“No—the truth is I wanted to believe that. What was a family, after all? What were history and bloodline? I staked something truly precious for the sake of something hollow.”
He twisted his face as if he could no longer bear it.
“Daughter. I do not regret that choice. How could I? I lost my wife, but in exchange I gained a lovely daughter.”
To regret the choice of that time would mean regretting Ceren’s birth. That was something a parent must never say to a child.
In the quiet training hall, Philtron’s confession flowed out softly.
“But I always thought—whether there hadn’t been a better way. Why I hadn’t been more careful, more cautious. I simply resented myself. I found the self who could only produce such a result utterly disgusting.”
He looked at the child before him. The daughter who looked exactly like the wife he had lost twenty years ago.
Philtron felt something surge up from his chest—an emotion he had always held whenever he looked at his daughter. He did not suppress it this time, but spoke as if spitting it out.
“I’m sorry. For passing this curse to you, and for making you lose your mother. I’ve always wanted to say this.”
“······Father.”
Philtron’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I’ve never regretted being born.”
Ceren’s eyes were red-rimmed.
“No matter how painful, how agonizing. I’ve never once resented you, Father. How could I? You’ve suffered even more.”
“······Daughter.”
“You have done nothing wrong, Father.”
Philtron squeezed his eyes shut.
Wrong. Nothing wrong, she said. Was that really true?
Honestly, he did not think so. Philtron still could not forgive himself. He probably never would for the rest of his life.
But······ it seemed he had wanted to hear those words from someone.
“Father, we have done nothing wrong. Everything is because of this damn······!”
Ceren could not hold back the emotions that surged up for a moment. She even spat out a curse word she had never once uttered in her life.
“······curse. That’s why we must resolve it. We must cut it off in our generation.”
Philtron clenched his molars so hard his cheeks trembled.
“I’m a cowardly human, so the thought of losing even you is far too terrifying.”
“······.”
It was not that Ceren failed to understand Philtron’s feelings.
She understood his worry because she knew how vicious this curse was, how many brave ones had fallen to it.
What parent would welcome their child charging into danger?
Moreover, her mother had surely said something similar to him. That she could do it. That she alone was possible.
But right now, Ceren was not believing in herself.
“It is not some tiny hope. It is a clear possibility.”
Even she was curious where this blind faith had come from.
She had watched Leon since the beginning of the semester.
From the moment he rose to mid-Expert right before her eyes, all the way until now.
She had watched from the side what Leon accomplished, how he lived, what kind of person he was.
Of course, even so, it had only been six months.
One could say it was far too short to build faith enough to stake one’s life upon.
Yet Ceren was firm.
Even this vicious curse—if it was Leon, she felt he could unravel it. No matter how absurd, if it was Leon, she felt he would resolve it for all to see.
It was not simply because Leon’s martial talent was outstanding. That was not very important for resolving the curse.
What mattered was the mental strength that person possessed. The soul.
And Leon had a stronger spirit than anyone Ceren had ever seen.
To be honest······ yes, he was a bit crazy. One could not call him normal.
But madness was not necessarily negative. Rather, those who harbored such madness often accomplished what others could not.
That was why it was Leon. If it was him—only he could do it.
“There’s no need to throw the family away. Rather, it is time to resolve this cursed thing once and for all.”
“······.”
“Father, don’t be afraid. Don’t think of the case of failure. Think of the future where we resolve the curse and our family prospers again.”
“······.”
“There are still many tasks left to resolve. This is not the time to be stuck at the very first step.”
Philtron raised a hand to stop Ceren’s words.
“I understand.”
If his daughter truly wanted it, he had no face left to stop her. He had only tried to persuade one last time.
He was still afraid. Honestly, he wanted to stop his daughter’s reckless attempt that was no different from walking straight into a death ground.
But advancing while feeling fear was precisely courage.
Philtron decided to muster once more the courage he had lost long ago.
“Let’s do as you wish.”
“Father······!”
“However.”
Philtron’s face returned to its usual firmness.
“We must complete thorough preparations before starting the curse-breaking. We cannot waste the one and only chance.”
“Yes. Of course. But more than that······.”
“?”
“Persuading Leon should come first. The burden will be much lighter, but in any case, the curse-breaker also consumes great mental strength and effort. It is not a problem one would help with out of pure goodwill.”
Philtron realized. In his haste, he had almost skipped the most important part.
“Right. That comes first.”
Hadn’t he been trying to win Leon’s favor all this time precisely in preparation for a situation like this?
“Wouldn’t it be fine to give sufficient compensation and make a deal?”
“It will be hard with ordinary value. Do you have something in mind?”
“Wouldn’t it work if we hand over a few of the family’s secret manuals like last time?”
“Well. As you know, Leon has already passed the stage of clinging to techniques, hasn’t he?”
“Then in addition to a few selected secret manuals······.”
Philtron and Ceren.
Just as they forgot this was a training hall and began discussing seriously—
— Halt. What is the matter?
— ······.
— Quickly reveal your identity and business.
— What, can’t you speak?
Outside, the swordsmen guarding the training hall entrance grew busy. Since both Philtron and Ceren were Masters, they did not miss the commotion.
Philtron, whose train of thought had been cut, called out loudly to the swordsmen.
“What is it? Open it.”
— Yes, Family Head.
The training hall’s great doors opened.
They could see a young white-haired girl flustered among the swordsmen.
— ······.
The girl’s gaze went straight to the two of them. Philtron and Ceren felt some unknown mystery from it and flinched, their hands trembling.
The next moment.
[Hello.]
The girl’s greeting was transmitted into their minds. Philtron and Ceren’s eyes widened simultaneously in surprise.
[Wow······. You really possess something incredible······.]
The girl looked alternately at Philtron and Ceren with a fearful face.
[Shall I······ help a little?]
Above the head of the girl who spoke so, two white lights were faintly flickering.