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Suddenly, the door opened and several old men who appeared to be the duke’s vassals approached Jade and began to converse with him. This allowed Lobelia to escape his attention. She glanced at Jade as she straightened the books on the shelf.

He had an extremely detailed and tedious work schedule: mountains of paperwork and other responsibilities brought in by innumerable people in and out of his office. It was hard to imagine how one person could manage such a heavy workload, but Jade Ferrado did it all without a hitch. His hand moved swiftly and the mound of documents vanished in no time.

After finishing arranging the bookshelf, Lobelia glimpsed at the grandfather clock. It was 2:40 p.m, the time for the crucial moment to unfold.

While discussing the roadwork matters with the vassals, Jade grimaced slightly. As he glanced at his trembling hands, his face hardened. It was a precursor to an episode induced by the curse.

The curse of the gypsies is quite vicious and sometimes emerges even when Jade is not holding a sword, and if he has an episode at an unexpected moment, he will lose his temper and exhibit violent behavior.

“Everyone.”

Jade rose from his seat abruptly, and the vassals who had been hovering around the desk jumped and backed away.

“Get out,” Jade growled, “I don’t want anybody here with me right now.”

The vassals scurried out of the office, as if they did all the time. No one checked on Jade or even turned around to see whether he was all right. In the world, various curses threatened different people. But Jade Ferrado was severely affected.

Lobelia hid in a corner and observed the situation in silence. Over time, the people who were concerned about their master’s hysterics and stood by his side gradually decreased until no one was left. Now, when Jade Ferrado needed to collect himself, he simply isolated himself and held his breath until he calmed down.

At the sound of the door closing, Jade paced nervously, grabbing the decorative sword on the wall. It didn’t have a blade, but if he held it and wielded it, it would be enough of a weapon. But Lobelia was not afraid. After all, this place is a dream, and if she finds the curse and erases it, Jade will be fine in no time.

At that moment, Jade discovered Lobelia. His eyes were flaring with panic and anger at the servant who dared to disobey his instructions. “I told you to get out,” he said in a terribly low voice.

As he held onto his sword, the back of his hand burned. Jade seemed to want to wield it at once. His heart was squirming with the demon beast’s impulse to harm the person in front of him. As the urge grew, Jade scowled in agony. The helplessness he felt at not being able to stop himself from turning into a demon swept over him.

“Didn’t you hear me? If you’re by my side, you…!”

“It’s okay,” Lobelia said as she took a step forward.

Jade’s eyes widened and hurriedly stepped back. “Don’t come any closer!” he bellowed. He was terrified that he would accidentally hurt Lobelia. If he was possessed by the madness of the curse and harmed people, he would be dehumanized, and that was something he never wanted.

“It’s coming…” he groaned, covering one hand over his eyes. Despite his warnings, he found himself wishing the maid standing before him wouldn’t leave, which left him confused. He was convinced he had grown accustomed to enduring the madness of the curse alone, but why…

Lobelia took a step closer to Jade. “It’s okay,” she said. She spoke firmly yet with assurance. The whirling curse near Jade’s nape was just now coming into focus. I just have to get rid of that, she thought.

Lobelia spoke again.

“The Duke’s sword has no effect on me.”

“No effect?” Jade repeated.

Lobelia didn’t know what effect she was inflicting on Jade right now, she only focused on approaching him. “Yes, never,” she reassured him.

Jade’s eyes flickered as he peeked through his fingers.  There was a faint light in his eyes—the kind of light you might call hope, or eagerness. Was it an illusion? He lowered the hand that had been covering his eyes and also dropped the sword. The sword slammed against the floor and a sharp clang resounded in the office.

Lobelia quickly leapt towards Jade at that precise moment. She bit her finger so hard that it started to bleed, then spattered the blood over the marks left by the curse. The curse then started to wane and eventually vanished.