Curse 20: Confession

Prince Matthew sighed deeply and held his head in sadness.

"... How did it come to this?" Prince Matthew asked.

"You shouldn't have told anyone anything about the items. Especially since it could destroy the world without any problem." The King scolded Matthew.

"I just wanted to show that I'm more than capable of gaining the citizens' approval!" Prince Matthew closed his eyes and slammed his hands on the table. "I didn't think that it would've ended up with us dead!"

"Are you stupid?! You risk your family, your entire kingdom, and practically the world just to earn some approval?!" Peri slammed his fist on the table.

"What does a commoner know—!"

"Enough." Prince Clarus stood up and folded his arms. "We got no time to argue. Brother, you were going to mention the noble, and what's his plan?"

Prince Matthew gulped and pulled on his collar once more.

He looked away, unable to look at any of us.

"Prince Matthew. Let me be clear." I slowly stood up and lifted my fist. "If you don't talk willingly, then... DRASTIC measures will be required."

The prince looked at me in fright. But he then laughed.

"Heh. My magic could counter whatever you got besides reviving back to life—"

Smash!

I smashed my side of the table. Luckily, I knew my own strength and only broke my own section while Peri's wasn't broken. I raised my fist again while giving Prince Matthew a cold glare. "You wanna test your theory, Your Highness?" I whispered, but loud enough for him to hear.

"...N-no, ma'am..." The prince cowered in fear.

***

And so, after Prince Matthew told us in FULL DETAIL so that I didn't bash his face in with my fist, Amissus fetched the items from a secret vault, followed by her getting my brown bag, and returned to the yard with a small smile.

It took a while for her to get here, so the king used that time to call forth the professional knights. But they weren't here yet, so I'd be getting ready myself.

"Here you are, Mistress Tristis."

I took the items and my brown bag from her hands.

"Thank you so much!" I beamed a smile at Amissus.

"It is my pleasure!" Amissus bowed to me.

I looked back and saw the King and his two sons in front of the entrance of the castle. I jogged towards them with my smile never leaving my face. After a couple more steps, I slowed down and noticed something. It seemed like Prince Matthew had two red bruises on each side of his face.

"What's with those red marks, Prince Matthew?" I asked with concern.

"Tch!... Your friend and our maid Amissus gave me two big slaps across my face as atonement for causing everyone trouble..." Prince Matthew muttered while looking away.

"Just slaps?" I blinked at him.

"Yeah—"

Wham!

I gave Prince Matthew a powerful punch to the stomach with a straight face.

He backed up and held his stomach as I raised my fist. "That's for giving Amissus such ridiculous orders," I said casually.

The prince looked at me in anger. "You b-bit—"

Whack!

I gave all my strength and kicked the prince in the jaw. The prince held his mouth, cursing under his breath. I formed both fists and stood on my right leg. "That's for causing many deaths because of your selfishness..."

I slowly moved to the side of the prince and rolled up my right sleeve. I raised my fist and kissed it before raising it into the air. I could feel my arm tensing up... as if it were made of pure light.

Wham!

I punched the back of the prince's head and forced him to slam into the ground hard.

I saw the prince dive into the dirt, his own body being shaped to the ground. I saw steam coming out of my fist, so I released it and shook my hand to make the steam go away. Not that it hurt, but I felt like there wasn't enough strength behind it.

I bent down and gave a warm smile. "And that's for Peri!"

"N-not... you...?" The prince whispered from the hole.

I raised my fist. "Adding myself in there would've killed you!" I said in a very sweet voice.

The King folded his arms and sighed. "I was surprised that she held back. Matthew's magic would've made it possible for him to survive it."

"Yet, somehow, I had a feeling that the impact from the fist was more painful than a possible swift death..." Prince Clarus shook his head.

I stood up and dusted myself.

"Just to be clear, Prince Matthew did contact the killer, right?" I asked both the prince and King.

The king nodded.

"Yup! He made sure to text that you got the items and to only take it from you in the meantime."

Prince Clarus stroked his chin. "But just as a safety measure, I'd let you know that my father and I will follow you from a distance. And sadly, if you die, then we can't jump in at the same time."

"No need to worry about that! Do what you must if it means capturing the killer!" I waved my left hand at the prince.

And anyway, if I ended up dying out there, I just need to look for the dark flower!

It was still a stretch, but if I managed to find the flower out there, then I could speed things up.

Though if it wasn't there, then I'd have to start from the morning again.

But it was fine by me.

Besides! I could double those punches and kicks to Prince Matthew!

I blew steam out of my nose.

Dying wouldn't be fun or painless, but at least I could prepare myself for the worst!

"Your Majesty! We have arrived!" I heard an elder's voice.

I looked behind the royals and could see a couple of elders running our way in knightly armor.

They slowed down and gave a salute to the King.

"We're ready to serve once more, my King!" The knight with short black hair and purple eyes said.

"Hmm? I thought that I called forth for those that were in the selection, too?" The King stroked his chin.

The knight with short black hair bowed to him. "Please, forgive me, my King! But we asked the young to back out and let us old folks do the job! They got a bright future while we all did our time!"

He raised his head to the King. "We all lived our lives with no regrets! It would be such a shame for the younger generation to lose their future for something like this!"

"... I see." The King nodded. He smiled and raised his hand. "On your feet, my loyal knight. You make my job a whole lot easier! I was having second thoughts about using the young ones as well!"

"You're too kind, my King!" The knight shed tears of joy.

"Still, I'm sorry for calling you all in like that. But for the sake of the world, I got no choice." The King frowned.

The knight looked at me. "My King. Sorry for sounding so boorish, but why is there a young lady with us?"

"My loyal knights, this is Tristis! She's the future teacher of many upcoming knights!" The King gestured his hand to me. "She's also the one who gave us a warning due to her... magic that could show us a possible future!"

"Egad! So your magic can see a possible future?!" The knight smiled at me proudly.

"S-something like that, ehehe..." I scratched behind my neck.

The King lowered his hand and continued to speak. "She will be accompanying you as 'bait' to bring the killer to justice! I want you and your men to protect her to the best of your abilities!"

"Consider it done!" The knight bowed to the King once more.

"Good! Have your horses ready to set out!" The King smiled at his knights.

"Right! Oh! And I could tell that someone was following us from miles away!" The knight reported with a serious look.

"Was it the killer?" Prince Clarus asked seriously.

The knight nodded. "Yes, sir! It seems like some of us will die today."

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I swear that I'll do my part right!" I bowed to the knight.

"Nonsense, fair maiden! Knights are known to take risks in order to protect their kingdom! And this time, it's no different!" the knight laughed at me.

I nodded and stood back up.

"At any rate, we shall prepare for the long road ahead! Please excuse us!" The knight bowed alongside his fellow comrades before turning around to head to each of their horses.

I deeply sighed, holding on to my chest.

Right. This is it. I could do this!

Terrifying or not, I'd use everything I possessed to beat that killer! I'd make them pay for their crimes even though it didn't happen yet!

The noble was a guy that was raised from the shadows and made many deals with many shady people! I'd try to capture them and get some answers about trying to betray everyone and destroy the world!

Prince Clarus narrowed his eyes at me with a determined look. "Are you ready to go, fair maiden?"

"... No. I'm scared. I'm scared of getting killed by that noble." I answered honestly. But I slowly smiled. "But other than that? I think I could take the risk!"

"You better come back alive!" I heard a familiar voice from behind.

I looked back and saw Peri with his arms crossed. And hey! Mirari was here, too!

"Peri! Mirari!" I felt my fear fading.

"Yo! How's it going, cursed child?!" Mirari gave me a teasing grin.

"A-ack!... You knew, too?" I whispered as I put my index fingers together.

Peri sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who gave her a hint the minute you asked about the cursed child. What did you expect to happen?!"

"Ehehe!" I scratched the side of my face.

Peri walked a little closer with a small frown. "... Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself? I could come to be your extra guard—"

"No." I answered quickly with my brows lowered. "... You stay put alongside the rest of the knights that just joined during the selection."

"But it's not fair! Why do you get to go and I don't?!" Peri barked at me.

"Isn't it obvious?! Unlike me, if you die, that's it! You can't be brought back to life!" I leaned forward and placed my hands on my waist.

"So what?! I'm willing to die for you!" Peri blushed slightly.

"No means no, Peri! I won't allow you to risk your life for me! Besides..." I looked away and stared at the ground. "... I never realized that your death could affect me so much."

I raised my hands and stared at them.

"Holding your body without your warmth was soul crushing. I... I didn't know what to do."

I smiled gently at him. "I know I lied to you this whole time, but it's fine, really! You don't have to put up with me anymore! I still find you very sweet, Peri!"

Peri's eyes were covered by his red hair.

"So, I'll be fine!" I laughed softly. "So... so let me do my part and return to the castle! After that, if you don't want to be friends anymore, that's cool with me—!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Peri whispered in frustration.

"H-huh?" I blinked.

"You're smart yet lack the knowledge when it comes to you!" Peri held on to my shoulder.

"Peri..." I whispered.

"Just because you can come back to life doesn't mean it's worthless!" Peri gritted his teeth.

"W-what are you saying—"

"Tristis! Listen up and listen up good, okay?! Because I'm going to say it!" Peri looked at me in anger.

"W-what?!" I flinched.

Peri went a little closer to me. "...." He stared at me, all intense like.

It was like a parent trying to see how their kid would react to their stare.

"U-um. Peri, we can always talk about this later—"

Peri went closer to my face.

"H-huh?! Peri, why are you so close?!" I was reacting so weirdly.

Huh?! What was going on with my body?! Why was it heating up?

"P-Peri—mm!"

My words were cut short when Peri went in and gave me a kiss on my lips. It was a shock at first, my eyes widened from the impact. But I slowly lowered my eyelids and simply stared at Peri's closed eyes. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

I wasn't sure why I was doing it, but it felt right.

It felt as if the clock had stopped and the world was frozen. It was like it was only the two of us in the world. Nothing would stop us from having this moment.

And... for some reason, tears started to fall.

I wrapped my arms around Peri's neck and did another kiss before he retreated.

We both took turns taking each other's breath away. Almost as if we were trying to take each other's breath away.

I wanted more, but Peri gently pushed my body away.

I slowly opened my eyes. Still holding him around the neck. He blushed and smiled at me. "... I'm in love with you, Tristis. I have always been ever since we were kids!"

"... Really?" I whispered in shock.

I slowly smiled and rested my head on his chest.

"I didn't know that's how you felt about me." I laughed at the end despite the tears still falling. "... Are you sure you're okay with me?"

"... Yeah. I've been sure from way back when, too." Peri wrapped his arms around my waist. "So I want you to be careful and try your best while returning back alive, okay?"

"... O-okay!" I nodded on his chest. I looked up with a genuine smile. "I'll return back so that we can talk things out!"

I gave Peri a kiss on the cheek and slowly backed away from him.

"But, um... you should've done it a bit more romantic! Doing that in front of everyone!" I placed my hands behind my back.

"Huh?" Peri blinked.

He looked around and saw everyone with their cheeks burning red.

The King coughed on his fist. "That was... something, Sir Peri!"

Prince Clarus placed his hand on his head. "Oh dear me! What a show that was!"

"T-thank you for the meal, Sir Peritia!" Amissus bowed deeply as steam blew out her nose.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this moment!" Mirari laughed, covering her mouth with her hands.

Peri froze in place.

"O-oh! Oh, right, right! A-ahem!... Well, uh...." Peri played with his thumbs and laughed nervously. "I didn't want you to leave without you knowing my feelings, so... yeah. I should've... been more considerate. I'm sorry..."

"Ehehe!" I giggled as I held my stomach. "It's fine! Because..."

I slowly looked up with my cheeks burning red. "... Because I realize the moment I thought I lost you, I was already in love with you!"

I said the honest truth.

I never realized it until I saw him dead. I was in love with Peri the whole time.

It was thanks to this curse of mine.

I touched my chest and laughed again and again.

Thank goodness!

Thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness!

The once scary voice turned back to a cheerful child who was full of hope and dreams.

I saw a ghost of me when I was a kid running around me; the joy was shown on her face.

'Thank goodness. I was only an evil child this whole time. Hehe!'

She spoke with a big grin on her face before fading.

I inhaled and let out a big sigh of relief.

The pain would still remain. The dark place would still be scary no matter how many times I'd visit it. However—

"Thank goodness. I'm so happy to be the cursed child this whole time. Hehe!"

I found someone who loves me for who I am.