“One child must be given up. Only one can survive.”
The memory felt shrouded in darkness, like peering from the shadows of a forgotten corner, unseen yet privy to every word. Voices murmured in hushed tones—more than just the Duke and Duchess of Grüsewald were present.
“Adella. It’s her.”
“One child is crippled, and the other… though seemingly healthy, is cursed. The cursed child’s heart is said to grow with their body until it bursts, causing their death.”
“Are you saying Lady Odette is the cursed one?”
“That’s right.”
“How could this happen?”
“It began with a ring I gave my wife. It was crafted from the fangs of a mythical beast and rumored to bring great fortune. I spared no expense to win it at auction… But it was cursed—a power known as the ‘Beast’s Curse.’ That power infected the child in her womb. Who could have predicted this misfortune?”
The Duchess, slumped over in despair, barely held herself upright. Adella watched her, noting the lifeless glaze in the woman’s eyes.
“Is there no way to break the curse?”
“To break the Beast’s Curse, one must find the beast that owned the fang.”
“But if the fang has already been turned into jewelry, doesn’t that mean the beast is long dead?”
“Precisely. There’s no way to lift the curse.”
“…Then Lady Odette is doomed to die? And that’s why you chose to save Lady Odelliana?”
“They said only one child could live. To save one, the other had to be sacrificed.”
“When Odette’s heart reaches its limit, the symptoms will surface. At that time, if the heart of the other cursed child is taken and transplanted, Odette can be saved—and freed from the curse. This involves transferring the curse from one body to another.”
“Is such a thing even possible? Transplanting a human organ…”
“I spent years searching and discovered a small ethnic group from the Eastern Continent, the Chingene. They revealed this method to me. Difficult, yes, but not impossible.”
“…Good heavens.”
“The heart must be fully developed before the transplant, or the curse will transfer instead. Until then, Odelliana must not be killed. Keep her alive but break her spirit. Make sure she can’t rebel, so she’ll live quietly and die without knowing anything.”
The foreign memory plunged Odelliana into chaos, leaving her visibly shaken. Odette, noticing her reaction, couldn’t help but mock her.
“What’s got you so startled? You look as pale as a ghost.”
Odelliana remained silent, her mind swirling in confusion.
“Relax,” Odette said with a smirk. “I’m not here to steal anything. I just want to see how handsome he really is. So, show me.”
Odelliana stared at her blankly for a moment, before a bitter laugh escaped her lips.
“I should have known something was wrong.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Odette asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We were born from the same womb. But I wasn’t abandoned just because of my obvious disability, was I?”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?” Odette’s voice grew sharper. “Hey, you! Maid! What’s wrong with her?”
At Odette’s command, Malena, stepped forward with a calm, almost resigned expression.
“It’s one of her fits, miss,” Malena explained quietly.
“What?” Odette’s confusion deepened.
“Please, young lady, rise,” Malena urged, turning to Odelliana. “The miss… she has had episodes before. Last time, she nearly tore Adella’s mouth apart during one.”
Odette, who had been exuding smugness only moments before, suddenly went pale.
“Why are you only telling me this now?” she snapped, her tone shifting to one of panic.
She shouted at Malena and quickly gathered the clothes that had slipped to the floor, her movements frantic. Her hurried departure was almost comical, like a criminal fleeing the scene in a desperate rush.
Malena clicked her tongue, then turned to check on Odelliana. “Are you alright? You look as pale as a sheet.”
She quickly prepared warm tea and placed it gently in front of Odelliana, but Odelliana, still lost in shock, didn’t even acknowledge it.
This isn’t a hallucination, Odelliana thought. It’s a fragment of this body’s ancient memories.
