The long rainy season had come to an end, giving way to the oppressive heat of summer.
Since Blair’s visit, Odelliana’s condition had improved dramatically. The panic attacks and bouts of hyperventilation caused by her crippling anxiety had gradually subsided and finally disappeared altogether. It was largely thanks to Blair’s unwavering promise to take full responsibility for her well-being. Though she couldn’t entirely bring herself to trust him, the mere fact that someone was willing to shoulder her burdens offered her a fragile sense of solace.
“Only a week remains until Matthias returns,” Odelliana murmured, almost to herself.
Malena, perched languidly in the corner of the room, arched an eyebrow. “You’ve been in unusually high spirits because of that. What would you have done if he hadn’t passed?”
Odelliana’s lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. “That would never happen. Not in a million years.”
Her confidence was unshakable. This was Matthias, after all—a beast in human form, incapable of failure in the face of a mere examination. Moreover, Adolf, one of the examiners, would undoubtedly tip the scales in his favor. Even with the competition from the heirs of other wealthy families, Odelliana felt reassured.
Still, her thoughts drifted, unbidden, to the darker undercurrents surrounding Matthias.
Does Matthias know about the Curse of the Beasts? she wondered.
The curse had haunted her thoughts since the day she first learned of it. The memory of the old tale surfaced like a ghost.
‘One child has a crippled leg, while the other… appears normal but bears a curse on the heart. This child with the weak heart… it will grow with the body until it bursts, killing the child.’
It was more than folklore—it was a death sentence. In her past life, Odette’s sudden decline in health and subsequent departure for treatment in a foreign land had likely been tied to this curse. The timing had been unmistakable, coinciding with Jocelyn’s rise to the throne. By the age of twenty-six, the curse would manifest fully, and Odette’s heart would fail.
Odelliana’s gaze turned distant as she counted the years. Less than four remained now.
But on the other hand… She gripped the edge of her chair tightly, her knuckles whitening. If I can endure for just four more years, Odette will die.
She wouldn’t have to lift a finger. Odette would crumble under the weight of her own affliction. Slowly, painfully, she would waste away, her cursed heart faltering with every passing day. The beauty Odette had once flaunted so proudly would erode like a sandcastle swept away by the tide. No one would remember a woman condemned to wither before their eyes.
Not even someone as fearless as Odette could escape the inevitability of death.
“Malena, have you ever heard of the Curse of the Beasts?” Odelliana asked.
“The Curse of the Beasts?” Malena repeated, tilting her head slightly as if tasting the words. “Hmm… no, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Odelliana wasn’t surprised by her answer. In truth, even among scholars, information about the Curse of the Beasts—or the beasts themselves—was scarce.
Beasts were shrouded in mystery, their existence acknowledged yet poorly understood. Their species were so varied that classification seemed an impossible task. While their forms generally resembled those of ordinary animals, distinct features set them apart—traits that unmistakably marked them as beasts. They were typically categorized by their intelligence and size, though even these metrics were crude approximations.
Most beasts lived deep within their own habitats, far from human settlements. Those that occasionally attacked villages were usually low-level beasts, cast out after losing territorial disputes. Such incidents were rare—over 90% of documented cases involved these lesser creatures, forming the foundation of humanity’s limited knowledge.
For the average person, beasts were little more than legends. Only those who specialized in beast hunting or undertook dangerous expeditions ever encountered them directly. To the rest, their existence was a distant, almost abstract reality.
Historically, large-scale explorations of beast territories had been undertaken. Yet even with these efforts, the vast regions the beasts called home remained largely unconquered. Humanity had only scratched the surface of their domain, leaving both the creatures and their habitats steeped in mystery.
Even within the Kingdom of Reveln lay the infamous “Land of Perpetual Winter,” an expansive and unyielding wilderness. For centuries, adventurers, scholars, and warriors had tried to explore its icy expanse, yet none had ever returned. Its secrets were buried under an eternal frost, a chilling reminder of humanity’s limitations.
“I don’t know much about curses,” Malena began, “but I do know a lunatic obsessed with beasts among my acquaintances.”
Odelliana’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me more.”
“He’s a man who specializes exclusively in hunting beasts,” Malena explained. “According to him, he’s encountered a wide variety of them. He believes that what we know about beasts is just the tip of the iceberg. He even claims that the legendary beasts wearing human faces are real.”
