Bound by Fate's Curse
“That stubborn, rock-headed bastard…!”
Inside a tavern in Bluestone, Rewen sat clutching a bottle, his face flushed bright red.
He had never been much of a drinker, and he hated hangovers besides. But tonight he could not stay sober. He tipped the bottle back and drank in long, greedy gulps.
“Hey, Rewen, cut it out and go home. Don’t come crying tomorrow about how your head’s killing you.”
“Shut up. I’m sitting here precisely because I don’t want to go home.”
“Honestly… what set you off this time?”
“……I only ever say good things for Bern’s sake, and the man himself never even notices.”
“I’ve told you a hundred times already. Just wait. The Count will tell you everything someday.”
“How long am I supposed to wait? I’ve already held it in for more than ten years! I can tell he’s got his reasons, but he never says a damn word…….”
Rewen let out a low groan and planted his face on the table. The liquor spun his head so hard he could barely keep himself upright. Still, he clung to the last thread of consciousness. If he blacked out completely, Bern would come and haul him home, and after the screaming match he’d just had with the man himself, the last thing he wanted was to be carried back like some pathetic child.
“You’re consistent, I’ll give you that.”
“About what?”
“Whenever something pisses you off, you always end up in a tavern ranting about the Count.”
“So I’m not allowed to complain?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m just impressed. Nobody else is as stubborn as you. Most people give up after a day—or a month at most—if he won’t listen. But you? Years go by and you’re still cursing him out and fretting over him at the same time.”
“…….”
“Even if he’s the last connection your sister left you, the way you fuss over the Count is more than blood. Makes me wonder why you care that much.”
Ting—!
Rewen started flicking the empty bottle with his finger—a little habit that surfaced whenever he was about to bare his heart.
“……Bern’s a piece of trash who couldn’t protect my sister, and a fool who throws himself into sacrifice for other people without a second thought… but he’s still someone who deserves respect.”
“The people of Bluestone already respect the Count.”
“That’s not enough. His past was a little extreme, sure, but he pulled off feats that rival the current king’s. So why does everyone praise the king and spit on Bern? I just don’t get it.”
“He did go further than he needed to. That’s a fact.”
“That’s exactly what pisses me off. If you don’t kill a serial murderer, he’ll just kill again. Somebody had to get blood on their hands, and Bern volunteered for the job. The reason the king gets to shine as the pure-hearted hero is because of Bern—and nobody even knows it.”
“The world only looks at the shiny ones. What are we supposed to do about it?”
“Fuck this shitty world…….”
Rewen spat the thick curse and stared up at the ceiling. How was he supposed to untangle the mess they were in? He racked his brains, but the alcohol left nothing useful behind.
“Haa… I’m heading out.”
“Good call. But you’re that far gone—you sure you can make it home alone?”
“None of your business. I’m not a kid anymore. I can find my own house.”
“All right. Get back safe.”
Still muttering complaints, Rewen stepped out of the tavern. He forced his reeling body forward one careful step at a time. The northern wind bit into him as he wandered the streets in silence.
Smoke rose from chimneys. Children’s laughter spilled from open windows. The warmth Rewen had always longed for lived inside ordinary homes. But his only blood relative was gone, and the one person he had wanted to call family had built a wall around himself. By the time Rewen could walk on two legs again, any real sense of home had already vanished.
“Hss… haah…!”
Did I want too much?
The doubt clung to him as he walked without destination—until an unexpected figure caught his eye.
“……That woman?”
A woman had entered his field of vision. Cloth wrapped her face tightly, but Rewen’s eyes were not so easily fooled. The pink hair peeking through the fabric and the familiar silhouette told him everything at once.
It was Sherin—Count Bern Khulam’s wife.
What’s she doing out this late…?
Sherin glanced around, then slipped into an alley. Suspicion bloomed in Rewen’s mind, and his feet followed her of their own accord.
He killed every sound of his presence and trailed her down the alley until an abandoned cathedral rose before him.
Coming to worship at this hour…? No. This place is a ruin.
Rewen knew Sherin had once been a priestess. But the woman who spent her days shopping and primping was not suddenly here for pious prayer. His suspicion deepened. He slipped quietly inside.
Every lamp was broken. Cobwebs, debris, and dust choked the air. Just stepping through the door made breathing feel thick and heavy. Afraid a deep breath would set off a coughing fit, Rewen covered his mouth and nose and took only the shallowest sips of air.
“Is the evidence fabrication finished?”
“Of course.”
He had been carefully circling the interior when Sherin’s voice drifted from the sanctuary. Rewen pressed his back to the door and hid, ears wide open, every nerve fixed on the conversation.
“The Count doesn’t know, I assume?”
“Of course not. He’s off on campaign and never comes home—how would he find out? Stop fretting and just prepare the plan.”
“Preparations are already complete. Give the word and we can begin at any time.”
“Good. Then put the plan into motion without delay.”
“As you command.”
Plan? Preparations? Execution?
The fragments of conversation spun through Rewen’s head. Even from those scraps he could tell they were plotting something filthy. He had to tell Bern at once. But the stubborn man would never move against Sherin without hard proof. Risk or not, Rewen needed to dig deeper into the truth.
He shadowed the two as they finished their secret meeting and left the ruined cathedral. Midway, the man cloaked himself in invisibility magic. With no mana of his own, Rewen had no way to track him further.
Left with only suspicion, he returned to the manor and threw open the door to Bern’s study without knocking.
“Bern! You’re still awake, right?”
Barging into the Count’s study without a knock was disrespectful, but the situation was too urgent for manners. He braced for a scolding—and walked straight into something he never expected.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Bern!”
Bern sat slumped on the study floor, coughing up blood. Rewen lunged forward, but Bern raised a hand and stopped him cold.
“Don’t come near me.”
“You’re spitting blood and that’s what you say to me?!”
“I’m not saying it out of selfishness. There’s a chance you’ll get caught up in it.”
“What the hell do you—ah!”
The blood Bern had vomited onto the floor began to turn black. Rewen decided it was poison and twisted his face in fury toward Sherin—until Bern’s next words shattered the assumption.
“This is a curse laid upon me.”
“A curse? Not poison?”
“Yes. A curse that has tormented me my entire life.”
“Then call a priest and get it lifted—!”
“Unfortunately, the curse is bound to my soul, not my flesh. It cannot be broken.”
“A curse on the soul? What even is that?”
“I don’t know the details myself, so I can’t explain. More importantly—why did you come bursting in at this hour?”
“Ah—right!”
Remembering his original purpose, Rewen reported everything that had just happened, leaving nothing out. He had no physical evidence, but he urged Bern to confront her directly and force the truth out. Bern only nodded, expressionless.
“So they’re finally ready to begin.”
“You sound like you already knew.”
“Lately Sherin has been acting strange. I asked the steward to look into it. She intends to frame me for treason.”
“What—so I worried for nothing? Then we grab her and every last co-conspirator and beat the answers out of them, right?”
“No. I intend to play along with her scheme.”
“Have you lost your mind? If you know it’s a plot, you turn it back on them! Why the hell would you just take it?!”
“Because the days I have left are few.”
With a bitter smile, Bern wiped the blood from the floor. The cloth he used began to corrode at once. Rewen’s composure cracked; he fought to keep his face steady and pressed on.
“I get that your life is running out. But you’re just going to let them do whatever they want?”
“You needn’t worry about that. I’ve already gathered every scrap of their evidence. Even if I die, everyone except Sherin will share my fate. And Bluestone will pass to someone who already holds more public trust than I do.”
“Wait—why leave that woman out?”
“Long ago I lost a duel to His Majesty and agreed to entrust Sherin to him. Circumstances forced me to take her as my wife instead. She never wanted the marriage. Because of me she became unhappy—so I want to give her a chance to find happiness.”
“She looks down on you, burns through your money, and does nothing but throw tantrums—where exactly is she unhappy? If anyone’s miserable, it’s the man who had to live with her!”
Rewen could not understand. The person who deserved happiness more than anyone was choosing to fall into hell, and he refused to accept it. His body shook with rage. Bern carefully drew him into an embrace.
“Don’t hate Sherin too much. Because of her, there was a time when I was happy too.”
“That was the past! What do you even have left after sacrificing this much?”
“It was the only choice I had. I’m sorry… forgive me for leaving you alone.”
“If you’re sorry, then live longer! Forget that woman and spend whatever time you have left being happy!”
“……I can’t.”
“Why not?!”
Bern gently stepped back and drew something from his coat. A bloodstained handkerchief. Embroidered on it was the name of the sister Rewen had loved more than anything.
“My sister’s handkerchief?”
“Lin gave me this keepsake and wished for my happiness. But happiness was never my fate.”
“…….”
“After the battle with the Demon King, I happened to meet the First Witch. She looked at me and said this:”
You are bound by a curse of fate,
and all who draw near to you shall meet with misfortune.
The hidden truth of Bern’s life spilled out at last.
“At first I couldn’t believe it. But every comrade and friend who walked beside me died, and only I survived. I had no choice but to believe. Lin’s death… was probably my fault as well.”
“So the reason you’ve kept everyone at a distance all this time……”
“Yes. So that the people I cherish would not be made unhappy because of me. Even so, people kept falling into misfortune on my account. I could no longer bear to watch it.”
The reason Bern had isolated himself. A curse that could neither be purified nor escaped.
“And for that you’re going to let yourself be sacrificed to the end? Without telling anyone a single thing?”
“I meant to take the secret to my grave. Someone might pity me and draw close. I held firm. But when I saw you wearing the same expression Lin once wore… I simply couldn’t.”
“Ah…….”
“So I’m asking you, Rewen. Live happily enough for both of us.”
Bern pressed the handkerchief firmly into Rewen’s hand and smiled—a smile Rewen had never once seen before. Tears broke free at once.
But there was no time to drown in grief.
Bern used magic and put Rewen to sleep.
“Sebastian.”
“You called, my lord?”
“Carry Rewen to his room. I need to head for the capital soon.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you.”
Bern threw on a simple coat and stepped out. As he left, the old steward’s voice followed him.
“My lord… you have been the greatest master I have ever served.”
“……If you were listening, you already know. Getting close to me is dangerous.”
“Heh heh heh! I’m an old pine with little time left myself. A little defiance at the end is allowed, don’t you think?”
“……I suppose so. You were irreplaceable to me as well.”
“Your praise leaves me at a loss. May the road ahead of you be peaceful.”
“Thank you.”
The next day, news of Bern’s treason raced across the kingdom. The man who walked into the capital of his own free will slowly faded from history.
“Rewen.”
“…….”
“Rewen!”
“Nngh…? Sister…?”
“Sorry for waking you so suddenly. But you were crying.”
“Ah….”
In his dream Rewen had relived the past. His eyes were still wet.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“Yeah….”
“Must be the strange bed. I’m sorry.”
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
The horse swayed beneath them. The two siblings were riding through a forest path, and Rewen had fallen asleep in Lin’s arms.
“It’s fine! You just wanted to see Bern, right?”
“W-well, yes, but if my selfishness made you have a nightmare……”
“Sometimes people just have nightmares! Don’t worry about it! And I already forgot what the dream was about!”
“R-really?”
“Mm-hm! So let’s go see Bern already!”
He said the words, but Rewen had never forgotten that day. He could not forget it.
In the life before regression, that moment had been the starting point of endless loops. He still did not know why he had become a regressor. Perhaps Bern’s curse had made him one. If that were true, then only one task remained.
You wanted me to be happy, didn’t you? Sorry, but I feel the same way.
The two people most precious to Rewen—Lin and Bern. He had always hoped they would be happier than anyone else. Yet his sister always died before him, and Bern was fated to die young under the curse of destiny.
But this time is different.
His only sister was alive. Bern’s soul was different, yet the fundamental goodness remained much the same. Across dozens of regressions, a situation like this had never once appeared. This loop was his best chance.
This time, without fail…!
He would make both of them happy.
Rewen clenched his fist, renewing the vow once more.
“Ah! Master!”
“Oh? Lin! You actually tracked me all the way out here?”
“I sensed Master’s presence from the village and followed it the whole way!”
“That’s a little terrifying.”
The moment Lin spotted Bern she reined the horse to a stop and leapt down. Without so much as a glance back she threw herself into his arms.
Watching them, Rewen felt a small pang of loneliness—and, at the same time, a quiet joy. The future he longed for was still incomplete, but step by step it was drawing closer.