SMCBRN Chapter 31

Did you just suggest we cast a curse?”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

Kirie answered my question readily.

 

I took a moment to contemplate whether the dictionary definition of the word “curse” had changed without my knowledge.

 

“When you say curse, what specifically do you mean…?”

 

Perhaps aware of my somewhat stiff expression, Kirie waved his hand.

 

“No, I don’t mean casting a heinous curse! I simply mean making it so they can’t bother the Lady even if we encounter them at social events.”

 

“Oh, like what?”

 

“Casting a curse of diarrhea so they can’t leave the bathroom throughout the event. Then they naturally won’t be able to do anything else.”

 

This person, with the face of an ice fairy, is subtly cruel and tells dirty stories.

 

Thinking back, Kirie was this kind of character in the novel too. He’s closer to a person of common sense than Raynard, who has a snake in his stomach, or Yugen, who nonchalantly slaughters enemies, but he’s not exactly a nice person.

 

When a monster appeared to harm the female lead Aila, Kirie mercilessly got rid of it.

 

‘I should take the fact that the comment I left might have brought about the curse of the bed to my grave…!’

 

While I was firmly resolving myself, Kirie was busy fleshing out his plan.

 

“What do you think? I’m confident I can cast that level of curse without being detected. Just tell me who the targets are…”

 

“No, I’m not going to cast a curse.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It seems like too inhumane a method.”

 

As someone who has experienced hell from having diarrhea while outside, I couldn’t help but think it was not something a person should do.

 

Just thinking about that time makes me feel like the sky is turning yellow again.

 

‘And I definitely don’t want to go to the bathroom where those people are holed up…’

 

Kirie scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

 

“I see. I understand.”

 

“Still, I appreciate the thought. You said it because you were thinking of me, right?”

 

“You provided me with a bed, so this is nothing.”

 

“You’re welcome. Well, it’s getting late, shall we go to sleep?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Kirie magically changed his clothes with a flick and carefully lay down on the bed.

 

His posture, clinging to the edge of the bed as if he were about to fall off, was the same as last time.

 

I turned off the light in the room without saying anything and lay down next to him.

 

Knowing Kirie’s personality, even if I told him he could lie down comfortably, he would only be more conscious of my words and feel more uncomfortable.

 

Kirie and I chatted idly until we fell asleep.

 

“My hair? I’m sorry! I’ll be sure to clean it up properly with magic next time.”

 

When I told him that I had been in trouble because someone else had spotted a silver hair of his last time, he was incredibly flustered and apologized several times.

 

And then came the tension when we ran out of things to talk about.

 

Rustle. I could hear Kirie tossing and turning, probably feeling awkward.

 

Kirie seemed frozen by the fact that he was lying in the same bed as me, and I, for my part, had to taste a sudden sense of unease.

 

“What if someone else barges in again?!

 

Come to think of it, every time I’ve let the sub-male leads sleep in my bed lately, something has gone wrong.

 

When it was Raynard, Yugen showed up without warning, and when it was Yugen, Jayden was being a nuisance.

 

I always lock the door, but I can’t help but worry.

 

‘Ah, should I really become independent…?’

 

But since I’m an adult, even if I say I want to live alone, Charlotte has caused so many accidents that the Marquis and Marchioness Lindsay probably won’t let me go easily.

 

I don’t have any special reason to be independent either.

 

Marriage? Even so, I don’t want to decide on such an important matter as marriage in such a slipshod way.

 

Study abroad or move to another region under some pretext? Out of the question. What am I supposed to do by leaving alone when the sub-male leads are here?

 

As I worried, the sleepiness completely disappeared.

 

Listening to Kirie’s regular breathing, I muttered softly.

 

“I’m screwed.”

 

I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at all. I guess I’m not going to get any sleep tonight.

 

I closed my dry eyes for a moment and then opened them. But…

 

“Lady?”

 

I met two violet eyes looking down at me.

 

“Um, Kirie?”

 

I called his name and then realized that it was somehow bright all around.

 

“You’re awake. You were sleeping so soundly that I was wondering if I should just leave without waking you this time.”

 

“Huh? What time is it?”

 

“It’s 8 AM. The maids will be here soon.”

 

I quickly wiped the wet corners of my mouth. Damn it, I drooled in my sleep.

 

‘Haha… I said I wouldn’t get any sleep, but I slept just fine.’

 

Embarrassed, I avoided Kirie’s gaze and quickly sat up in bed.

 

“Did you sleep well?”

 

“Yes, thanks to you.”

 

Looking closely, he had a neat face and was already changed, unlike me, who had just woken up from sleep.

 

“Are you leaving now?”

 

“I should. I’ll probably visit you again in about ten days.”

 

“Just give me a heads up before you come. There are days when I’m busy too.”

 

It would be a disaster if it overlapped with another sub-male lead.

 

“Of course. How about using customer notification letters from the <Forest of Illusion> for contact?”

 

“That’s a good idea.”

 

“T’ll express it in a roundabout way so that others won’t find it suspicious even if they see

it.”

 

After finishing the necessary discussions for the next meeting, we went out to the terrace.

 

“Huh?”

 

Suddenly, I rubbed my eyes. Kirie suddenly started to look different.

 

“Did you notice?”

 

Kirie asked with a faint smile.

 

“What kind of magic is it?”

 

“You’re right. It’s magic that blurs my presence.”

 

“I definitely feel like the aura has disappeared.”

 

To put it more accurately, it was as if the beauty that had been overwhelmingly eye-catching until just now had been subdued.

 

“The Lady has been constantly aware of me, so the change you feel won’t be that great, but

others are likely to pass me by even if they see me. Unless they look very carefully.”

 

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

 

“Then I’ll see you again next time.”

 

Kirie threw himself off the terrace without hesitation, but his body slowly fell and then landed safely on the ground.

 

I waved goodbye and saw off the magician.

 

After that, a small change occurred in my daily life.

 

The Marchioness Lindsay sends me one or two invitations every day through the maids.

 

All of them were invitations addressed to me, and the type and scale of the events varied.

 

“My mother’s influence must have been at play.”

 

I asserted in a confident tone.

 

“Think about it. There’s no way there would be this many people who want to invite Charlotte Lindsay, the troublemaker who was openly targeted by Duke Hicled, to their events.”

 

I nodded because it was an undeniable fact even after I said it.

 

“I looked at the names of the inviters, and most of them are friends with my mother and father or are involved in business with our family.”

 

A sigh escaped my lips.

 

“I know you’re thinking of me, but it’s troublesome. I don’t like high society.”

 

“I have a question to ask.”

 

The other person, who had been listening to my words silently until then, finally broke the silence.

 

“Why does Sister hate going to high society so much?”

 

Jayden, who was lying next to me, asked.

 

That’s right. Today was the second day that Jayden was sleeping in my bed.

 

The insomnia that had plagued the other sub-male leads had inevitably returned to Jayden as well.

 

I had hinted in advance, fearing that this idiot would foolishly suffer alone, thinking that he had no shame in coming to me.

 

“If you have any worries, feel free to consult me anytime. After all, what’s the point of having a family?”

 

“1 don’t really have any.”

 

Jayden had replied bluntly at the time, but he was no match for the curse of the bed.

 

Jayden knocked on my door again exactly ten days after sleeping in my bed last time.

 

Thus, the situation unfolded as it is now. I was complaining to Jayden, who was lying down to sleep, about the recent hardships I was experiencing.

 

Jayden, even with a sleepy voice, was faithfully being my conversation partner in his own way.

 

“Mother would be satisfied if you just went out and spent some time there.”

 

“What are you talking about? It’s natural that I don’t like it. In the first place, it’s almost impossible to just spend some time there.”

 

” Why? ”

 

“Because I have a lot of enemies.  Even if they’re not enemies, there are very few people in high society who think well of me.”

 

I tore at my hair.

 

“I can already see it. What they’ll be whispering behind my back and how they’ll pick a fight with me.”

 

Then, even in the darkness, I felt Jayden’s gaze reaching my profile.

 

“That’s unusual. I didn’t know Sister cared so much about other people’s opinions or reactions.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Haven’t you always been someone who goes her own way, no matter what others say?”

 

“Oh, yeah.”

 

“This is the first time I’ve seen Sister care about the evaluation of someone other than Duke Hicled. It’s quite unlike you.”

 

My heart stung. Come to think of it, I’ve become quite used to Jayden these days, so I might have been neglecting to pretend to be the real Charlotte.

 

“Well, I haven’t been to high society in a long time. So maybe my confidence has decreased a bit?”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yeah, I think so. Now that I hear it, I haven’t been myself! Haha…”

 

Jayden was silent for a long time for some reason.

 

My tension grew in proportion to the silence.

 

“What’s wrong? Why is he suddenly like this? Could it be.’

 

He hasn’t noticed something, has he?

 

“Sister.”

 

Then, Jayden called me in a low voice.

 

“About ten years ago, do you remember what you said to me when I was discouraged because I couldn’t do a move that the swordsmanship teacher taught me?”

 

Of course, I had no way of knowing the answer to that question.