Who gets married for that reason? - Chapter 2

I didn’t realize it when I was standing far away, but it was obvious. Even though he wasn’t dressed, the man’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, which was inappropriate for the still cool spring day.

“Are you in lot of pain?”

Although his movements did not appear to be uncomfortable, I thought it unlikely that he would have any problems with his daily life, given his condition.

“Not really.”

It was a vague answer, as if he was reluctant to share details about himself.

‘I guess this customer seems to be a person with many secrets?’

Lydia had often dealt with such clients.

Whether it is a family secret, or an embarrassing past that one wants to hide, or a stale and unpleasant memory that one doesn’t want to recall, old magical objects often come with stories that one doesn’t want to reveal to the outside world.

Lydia decided to focus on gathering information to solve the problem rather than prying into every detail.

“A curse like this isn’t easily cast. Moreover, if it appeared suddenly, there must be a reason or condition that activated it.

“The problem is, I have no way of knowing that.”

The response I got seemed to be asking me to reply, saying, Isn’t that why I am here?

“I woke up as usual, but suddenly I noticed that part of my hand had turned black. The sharp pain started from that moment and is gradually spreading.”

Upon hearing that, her mind began to race with intellectual curiosity. None of the magic books she had diligently studied ever mentioned a curse that spread like this.

“Then we can’t use a magic item as a medium. We’d get an immediate reaction once we touched it.”

Lydia decided to try and lift the curse once, She leaned forward and reached out her hand.

But, as I gazed at the bare skin of his chest rise and fall with each breath, I snapped back to reality, and my outstretched hand hesitated.

“If I’m going to fix this, I would have to……”

Her ability required direct contact to convert and release all types of magic back to nothing and dispel it.

“You need to touch me?”

“That makes me sound perverted, doesn’t it? Yes, that’s right.”

A loose smile finally appeared on the man’s face.

“Do as you wish.”

Lydia hesitated before her hand finally moved past his chest to touch his shoulder. As soon as she did, she felt a deep flow of thick, sticky magic power. It was like an endless abyss that could swallow any magic she tried to use without even leaving a trace.

“…Oh my.”

Her normal ability, which could effortlessly clear away any magic, was powerless against this immense force.
Even if she mustered all her strength to push him backward, it only managed to move him about three steps away at the most.

“Haahhhh…”

With a deep sigh of relief, the man leaned forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder. It seemed he was feeling something different than her.

Just as she felt her courage growing and decided to try a little harder.

A wave of heat hit her, making her feel like she was standing right in front of roaring flames at the edge of an abyss. That’s when she realized she had pushed herself too far.

All the energy drained from her body. She had clearly used too much power. She needed to pull back for now……

“Are you okay?”

As Lydia began to feel her vision darken and she felt faint from overexerting herself, a hand grabbed her arm and propped her up.

“Yeah, I’m okay……”

Lydia was so busy remembering what had just happened that she didn’t notice the intense gaze focused on her until moments later.

When she looked up, her eyes met his gaze. They held a strange longing, as if he had finally found what he’d been searching for after wandering lost for a long time.

‘Is this woman the answer I’m looking for.’

Ilian Esteban was holding her much more urgently than it looked. The moment she touched him, all the pain that had been driving him crazy that felt like burning fire and the intermittent screams tormenting his head all vanished as quickly as snow melting in the sun.

When he first found this place, he’d been half-believing he’d find a solution here.

“It’s okay now……you can let go of me now.”

I was too close to the man. He had wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him, so all I had to do was raise my head to see his face inches away.

“Your face is so pale I’m afraid that you’ll collapse if I let go.”

The purple-eyed woman gazed up at him, utterly unaware of who she was dealing with.

Her eyes were clear and stubborn.

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

Ilian licked his dry lips and slowly replied. The pain had been steadily worsening, to the point where he sometimes wondered if he would lose his mind entirely. But now it was as if the pain had been wiped away, clean off his mind. His thoughts, once tangled now felt clear for the first time in ages.

“Yes, I really am.”

Despite his words sounding like he wouldn’t let go of her easily, he released her more quickly than she expected. His hands seemed to linger in the air as if he couldn’t shake off his attachment to her.

Lydia avoided his intense blue gaze and focused on her hands instead.

《The time will come when you’ll face magic that surpasses your abilities. I wish you could avoid such trouble, but if it happens, you must be mentally prepared Lydia.》

These were the words of her grandmother, a last plea as she lay dying, worried about leaving her granddaughter alone in the world.

The unique power, which had been passed down through generations of the Sollem family, had been thought have truly disappeared, until it suddenly reappeared, faintly, in her granddaughter. This brought both joy and concern.

《A spell crafted by someone who truly masters magic is incredibly powerful and dangerous. More so than it appears.》

Grandmother’s teachings were always spot-on.

Lydia had been living a relatively leisurely life, focusing on taking care of herself and quietly researching the history of magic by digging through records and collecting books. She instinctively felt that the man before her was going to shatter her peaceful routine.

“How bad is this curse?”

A question fell on Lydia’s head as she was chewing her lips.

“There’s something very ominous at the source of this curse.”

She still felt the lingering effects of the curse. At times, it was like a searing heat that threaten to burn everything up. When she managed to escape, she heard high-pitched screams that seemed to echo around her.

Lydia hugged herself tightly, trying to calm her shivering.

“It felt like an endless sea of flames was trying to swallow me.”

“The pain was like being burned alive. And the screaming”

She heard words spat out. The man sat down in a chair beside her, head bowed and leaning against the counter. He muttered as if he could still hear the sounds.

“Agonizing screams echoing with each burst of pain.”

“Continuously?”

“Worst when I’m sleeping. Maybe because my mind is most vulnerable then.”

This explanation was far more detailed than when she first asked about the curse earlier.

“I don’t know how your power works, but it definitely had an effect.”

His clear blue eyes turned to Lydia again. This time, she met his gaze calmly.

“Normally, it should have been fully reversed already. That’s my ability, I can turn any magic back to nothing.”

“Could you undo it completely if you took more time?”

“Probably. But not just a few days, it’d take longer.”

Lydia remembered her grandmother’s warning~ Don’t rush into helping people before you’re ready, But was it right to call something impossible when it might be possible?

She’d rather avoid answering than lie outright.

I’ve backed off for now, but his words weren’t wrong. My power isn’t useless at all. If I pour in a little more strength every day…..

As Lydia instinctively gauged her own abilities and did some mental calculation, it took her a moment to notice that the man had gotten up and was now buttoning his shirt.

He,who had put his clothes back on, spoke as he buttoned up his shirt with an indifferent expression, as if the emotional turmoil he had briefly displayed just a moment ago had never happened.

“Well, I guess this curse can be removed.”

“It’s possible and the more often I can add strength, the quicker we might break it. So…Please come here every day, if possible.”

“Everyday?”

“Yes, everyday. If you come only a few times a week, the curse might start spreading its influence again, undoing the progress we’ve made so far.”

“It’s a bit hard for me to come here every day.”

Lydia swallowed a sigh as she looked around. It was hard to tell who was more cursed here.

The man was fiddling with his cuff button and seemed lost in thought.

“How long will it take?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking how long I’ll have to come here every day.”

“I’d say it’ll take at least a year. There are limits to how much power I can use at once.”

This was the first time Lydia had ever drawn upon so much magic power, and she felt utterly drained already. If she needed to control herself better, it might take even longer.

It’s hard to say how much time passed after Lydia responded. The man sighed, as if it were only natural to discuss such things with her. Suddenly, he blurted out:

“Then let’s get married.”

“…Excuse me?”

Lydia thought she had misheard. She must have looked utterly ridiculous right now.

No wonder. I was hearing the strange delusion of someone she met for the first time today suddenly proposing marriage.