My Lord Chapter 11

Before I was possessed, I was a person who was pushed into becoming a nurse due to family circumstances.

 

A terribly poor family.

 

An alcoholic and violent father, and a mother who resigned herself to living under such a father.

 

There are many forms of unhappiness, but I bore the most common one.

 

In such an environment, dreams were a luxury, and thriftiness was a virtue. I aimed to become a nurse and attended a nursing college on a scholarship.

 

If I worked at a university hospital, I could earn a lot of money. I could help my mother escape from my father.

 

After desperately studying and passing the national exam, I immediately got a job at a university hospital and worked hard to save money—to at least secure a deposit for a tiny studio apartment.

 

When I finally accumulated an amount with zeros I’d never seen before in my bank account, my mother died.

 

She was running away from my father, missed a step, and fell down the stairs.

 

If she had been taken to the hospital right away, she might have survived. But my father, afraid that his years of violence would be exposed, didn’t report it to the hospital. My mother ended her life lying on the cold asphalt ground.

 

My poor mother.

 

My foolish mother.

 

And the person I loved.

 

From that moment on, I cut ties with my father and lived a life of nothing but work, losing track of time.

 

The only reason I worked was for my mother. To make her happy. But after my mother disappeared, I wandered aimlessly, as if I had lost my purpose in life.

 

Then I was hit by a drunk driver and died, and now I am here in this state.

 

Unlike my previous life, where I lived without purpose, I now have a clear goal.

 

To break Sedian’s curse and escape safely to live “well.”

 

But having never lived “well” in either my past or present life, I had no idea how to achieve that.

 

“I thought I’d try everything.”

 

But I didn’t even know what “everything” meant. What should I do to be praised as doing well?

 

“Was I always such a boring person?”

 

I actually knew. I was a meaningless person, someone with neither desires nor notable abilities.

 

“Ugh.”

 

I tilted my head back toward the ceiling and then slapped my cheeks a few times to pull myself together.

 

“I can just find out.”

 

This is a new world.

 

There must be things here that pique my curiosity. If I search for those, I’ll eventually find things I want to do.

 

So I told myself not to worry prematurely.

 

It was at that moment.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

A blood-curdling scream pierced through the air.

 

It came from the room next door.

 

***

 

“Hah… ha…”

 

Sedian clutched his chest, curling his body into a ball.

 

Huff, huff. His breathing grew ragged, and he struggled for air. His vision whitened, and his head spun.

 

It felt like his entire body was on fire, as if a flame were held to his exposed skin.

 

Pain. Pain. So much pain. Sedian gasped for breath, unable to do anything but pant.

 

“Young Master!”

 

At that moment, someone burst into the room. Without even lifting his head, he knew who it was.

 

The butler, Rey.

 

Though he had been in the mansion for less than a week, this crazy guy clung to him as if glued to his side.

 

“I’m here. It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”

 

Rey wrapped his arms tightly around Sedian, intertwining their fingers together.

 

Sedian wanted to yell at him to stop touching him, but he had no strength left.

 

It hurts. It hurts so much. Sedian buried his face into Rey’s shoulder, groaning in agony.

 

“Shh, it’s okay. Take slow breaths in and out. That’s it. Everything will be okay.”

 

Sedian wanted to shout back, “What could possibly be okay?” but somehow, Rey’s words seemed to have a strange power.

 

In reality, the pain began to subside little by little. The searing agony faded completely, and his breathing gradually steadied.

 

Was it because the pain had made him delirious? Otherwise, this torment couldn’t possibly have lessened so quickly.

 

“Young Master.”

 

Hearing Rey’s call, Sedian slowly lifted his head from his shoulder.

 

“Look at me.”

 

Sedian, without realizing it, obeyed Rey’s words.

 

And he gazed into his eyes—eyes that held a firm conviction, their green hue resembling an endless meadow. Eyes that seemed to stride confidently across that vast expanse. Sedian stared blankly at Rey.

 

“You’re okay now, right?”

 

“…”

 

It was true. He was okay.

 

The pain had receded.

 

He could see again, and his throat, which had only produced screams, felt manageable. His trembling limbs had also calmed down long ago.

 

“…What did you do?”

 

Sedian, worried that Rey might have done something to his already cursed body, asked cautiously. Anything further added to this cursed state would be disastrous.

 

But Rey calmly shook his head.

 

“I simply encouraged you, Young Master. You overcame it yourself.”

 

“…Overcame it?”

 

“Yes. You did wonderfully.”

 

Sedian opened and closed his mouth a few times, then lowered his head deeply.

 

That he overcame the pain himself.

 

That he did well.

 

Those were words he was hearing for the first time.

 

He felt a sensation as if a corner of his heart was swelling. It wasn’t pain. It was a fluttering sensation, a surge of joy rising from deep within his chest.

 

“Why did this happen all of a sudden?”

 

Rey, wiping the sweat from Sedian’s face with a handkerchief, asked.

 

“…Usually, I drink holy water before bed, but I ran out, so I just went to sleep… I thought I’d be fine since my condition’s been good lately.”

 

Rey’s face twisted slightly.

 

“You ran out of holy water?”

 

“Yeah, so they said.”

 

Rey—or rather, Reina—couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.

 

When she first came to this mansion, she was drenched in holy water. At that time, Daisy had said something. Hadn’t she mentioned that they had only recently managed to procure some holy water?

 

It had only been a few days since then, yet now there was none left?

 

That can’t be.  

 

Surely, this was the work of one of the spies in the mansion.

 

Reina clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists.

 

Spreading rumors about Sedian could be seen as an attack on the Duchy of Luciano, and to some extent, it was understandable.

 

But to exacerbate Sedian’s pain—no reason could justify such a heinous act.

 

If they were a servant, they must have seen how much this boy suffered, how he struggled to endure and survive despite it all.

 

If she hadn’t come today to calm Sedian’s flow of mana, he might have fainted from the pain.

 

Knowing all this, they still stole the holy water.

 

How… how could a person, an adult, do such a thing?

 

Reina let out a short sigh and gathered her resolve again, determined to uncover the traitor.

 

“Rey.”

 

“Yes, young master.”

 

Completely unaware of Reina’s thoughts, Sedian, still leaning against her, cautiously opened his mouth.

 

“…Are you leaving right away?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Sedian hesitated slightly. Pressing his lips tightly together, he soon made up his mind, his expression resolute as he lifted his chin and looked up at Reina.

 

“If it’s… alright, stay a bit longer.”

 

“……”

 

“It feels like the pain goes away when you’re around.”

 

It was true that the pain lessened in her presence, which made Reina feel a bit uneasy. Would he catch on?

 

However, more than that, she was happy that Sedian was directly asking for help. Reina smiled broadly and nodded.

 

“I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep.”

 

“…Alright.”

 

Reina hurriedly brought water to Sedian, and after he drank it and wiped away the sweat clinging to his body, he lay back on the bed. Reina sat on the chair she had pulled close and held Sedian’s hand tightly.

 

“Do I have to keep holding your hand?”

 

“Yes. This way, you’ll sleep more soundly.”

 

“I’m not a child.”

 

“Well, I am, so please hold my hand.”

 

Sedian chuckled softly. This guy never lost an argument.

 

But perhaps because of that, he felt reassured.

 

If it’s someone like him—someone who speaks his mind without hesitation, who blurts out every thought without a filter—then surely, he wouldn’t betray me.

 

“Rey.”

 

Was that why?

 

Sedian, uncharacteristically, found himself becoming vulnerable.

 

Maybe it was because of the intense pain he had just endured, or perhaps it was the warmth of Rey, who had rushed to his side, that melted his heart.

 

Whatever the reason, Sedian unknowingly let his true feelings slip.

 

“Do you think it’d be better if I just died?”