Who gets married for that reason? - Chapter 14

“Would it be alright if I took a closer look around?”

As she examined the objects, long abandoned and gathering dust, a thought took root, perhaps a clue to the curse’s origins lay hidden here.

She was certain the curse was not bound to an object, yet who could say for certain that a previous marquis had not dabbled in forbidden magic?

If ever there was a place to uncover such traces, an abandoned storage room like this would be the most fitting.

“Of course. I shall leave the door open for you.”

Listening to the fading footsteps, Lydia quickly turned her attention back to the room’s interior.

She stepped forward, concentrating, searching for even the faintest traces of magic.

Then, something peculiar caught her eye, a large bundle, tied shut like a sack.

A mere intuition, perhaps, but her instincts had rarely been wrong when it came to magic.

Lydia approached, carefully loosening the string, only to let out a disappointed sigh.

“Good heavens, what is all this?”

It was then that she recalled Illian once mentioning that one of the previous marquises had an odd penchant for hoarding miscellaneous trinkets.

Lydia crouched down, pulling out the items one by one.

“This has no magic, that’s just decorative enchantment, and this necklace… Oh? At least this one has a charm for luck. Barely noticeable, but still.”

At last, she had found something that could be considered a genuine enchantment, though the magic was so weak, the best it could probably do was help someone find a forgotten coin while cleaning.

Even so, Lydia carefully turned the crude pendant over in her palm, its simple, unpolished gemstone hanging from a thin cord.

Then, something else caught her attention.

In a lonely corner of the floor, half buried in dust, lay a small, forgotten book.

Lydia reached out and picked it up, coughing lightly as she brushed away the dust.

Flipping it over, she noticed a name scrawled in uneven handwriting on the back cover.

Ethan Esteban.

She froze.

Glancing around, she saw no other books nearby, this one had been left there, alone.

Her fingers, gentle yet hesitant, turned the cover.

“…A diary?”

The first page bore a date. A quick calculation told her the entries were over ten years old.

[ Today, I played with Illian. He told me not to climb trees because I might get hurt. But I can climb down just fine.

A small chuckle escaped Lydia’s lips as she read. She could almost hear Illian’s stern voice echoing through time.

For all his careful attention to his younger brother, it seemed Illian had never been able to completely hide his naturally sharp disposition.

[ He said I need to eat everything to grow big and strong. But I hate beans. Even though he leaves them on his plate sometimes. I’ll tell Katrina. Ha!]

[ Katrina is a little scary. But she’s nice. She said I don’t have to eat beans. Illian always listens to her. She’s the best. No, wait. Illian is the best.]

The diary overflowed with innocent admiration for his older brother.

Even when he complained about him, Ethan’s affection for Illian was undeniable.

And though Illian feigned indifference, his care for Ethan was evident, even in these brief, childlike scribbles.

[ Illian is the coolest person in the world. I want to swing a wooden sword like him someday. He says it’s dangerous. But he promised to teach me when I’m older.]

It was only then that Lydia fully grasped the weight of this discovery.

Ethan was gone.

His future, lost to time.

Even she, a mere outsider, felt a quiet sorrow settle over her.

Then, what of Illian?

What had it been like to make that promise, knowing it could never be fulfilled?

[ Mother seemed annoyed with me again today. But it’s okay. Illian said he would take me out to town. He doesn’t like going, but he’s taking me anyway! I’m so excited.]

[ Mother gets really scary when she’s angry. But I just want her to smile. Katrina smiled when I gave her flowers. She said I was cute. Maybe Mother will smile too. But… I don’t think she likes me. No, that’s not true. Illian said so.]

Lydia turned the pages, the writing gradually growing steadier with time.

And with it, a shadow of sadness, particularly in the entries about Mother.

Unlike the playful lines before, these sentences bore desperate, frantic strikethroughs, as if their writer had been trying to erase the very thoughts from his mind.

“Mother”… That must mean Princess Madeleine.

It was widely known that Illian and Katrina were full blooded siblings.

Ethan, however, bore little resemblance to them.

Given that their father, the previous marquis, had remarried a princess from the Kingdom of Ines, the truth was not difficult to piece together, Ethan was their half brother.

[ Mother doesn’t like Illian or Katrina. She says I shouldn’t either. But I do. Why should I hate them? When I ask her, she just gets mad.]

The next entry confirmed Lydia’s suspicions.

A few more pages of daily musings followed… but then, abruptly, the diary ended, unfinished.

As if its author’s life had been cut short just as suddenly.

[ There was an unfortunate accident.]

Illian’s words echoed in Lydia’s mind.

What had happened?

What had led to this bright, joyful child meeting such an untimely fate?

As she closed the diary, a small object slipped from between the pages, landing softly in her lap.

“A bracelet…?”

It was crudely made, merely strands of leather woven together.

Yet, what drew her attention was the faint trace of magic lingering within it.

Not any particular spell she could name.

Only a gentle, refreshing energy.

Something warm. Something good.

“Illian Esteban…”

Turning the bracelet over, Lydia noticed tiny, uneven letters etched onto the inner side.

It was the same handwriting as in the diary.

Ethan had made this for his brother.

But why did it carry traces of magic? And why did it feel so… incomplete?

Lost in thought, Lydia failed to notice the approaching footsteps behind her.

“Lydia.”

Startled, she spun around.

Illuminated by the doorway’s dim light, leaning against the entrance, stood Illian Esteban, Marquis of Esteban himself.

“How did you find me here?”

“You weren’t anywhere else. They said you were here.”

For days, he had been distant, maintaining an air of indifference.

And yet, he always made a point to check on her.

A habit, perhaps.

One that reminded her of Ethan’s diary, where, no matter the entry, Illian always appeared.

Tending to his brother. Watching over him.

It seemed he had always been like this.

Even now.

Even toward her.

Or perhaps, she thought wryly, it was merely because she was the key to breaking the curse.

A far more rational explanation.

“What were you doing?”

“Well…”

Lydia hesitated.

No one had explicitly forbidden her from reading the diary, yet she felt as though she had stumbled upon something deeply private.

But Illian’s gaze had already fallen upon the book in her hands.

“So the steward never did throw it away.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have read it, but it had fallen on the floor, and I just…”

“It doesn’t matter. It was meant to be discarded anyway.”

His tone was indifferent, but Lydia did not believe him.

She had seen the way Ethan wrote about his brother.

She doubted Illian had no feelings about this.

Silently, she reached for the bracelet.

“Ethan would have wanted you to have this.”

“What is it?”

“A bracelet. Handmade.”

Illian turned it over, examining the clumsy inscription.

Then, at the sight of his own name, his hand stilled.