Chapter 12
~Chapter 12~
<Is that child the monster?>
<Yes, look at those terrifying eyes.>
<They say he tore his mother’s belly when he was born.>
<Shh! He might hear you.>
Monster.
Cursed child.
A child who killed his mother at birth.
Asthan was called by many names.
He was the disgrace of the royal family, cursed to turn into a monster once a month on the night of the full moon.
People whispered that it would be better for him to die than to live like that.
Even so, Asthan held on desperately— Because he wanted to live. Because he wanted to be loved.
<Father.>
<Shut up! I’ve never had a monster like you as my son!>
<Father.>
<Get that thing out of here! I said, Get that monster out of my sight!>
<Father.>
<Who let it walk around freely? It’s polluting my castle!>
Even while being hated by the one person who should have loved him most, Asthan did his best.
Whenever the Sikuns appeared, he was the first to run out and the last to return.
Even after getting hurt badly enough to nearly die, he pretended it didn’t hurt and endured it alone. He never complained, even when in pain. He held back his struggles, hoping maybe—just maybe—his father would look at him one day.
But that day never came.
When he was twelve, Asthan spent ten days locked in the tower during winter.
When he returned to the mansion, he accidentally entered his father’s room and saw a portrait on the wall.
He knew instantly—it was his mother.
<Mother…>
<How dare you touch that with your filthy hands!>
Smack!
A powerful blow hit his head, making everything go blurry.
Just for touching the painting, his father beat him mercilessly and locked him in a dark room again.
That was when Asthan finally understood that I would never be loved.
After that, he lived like he was already dead.
He stopped wanting love.
He stopped trying to be a good boy.
He stayed locked in his room, avoiding his father, desperately trying not to let the curse take over, trying only to live like a human being.
Then came his sixteenth birthday.
<Asthan.>
<F-Father?>
<Tomorrow is your birthday, isn’t it?>
Because his birthday was also the day his mother died, Asthan had never once been celebrated.
When his father visited him for the first time and spoke kindly, Asthan almost cried.
<I’ll give you a present. Come to my room tomorrow morning.>
<Yes!>
He couldn’t sleep that night, his heart pounding with hope.
Maybe… maybe his father had finally forgiven him.
The next morning, Asthan knocked on his father’s door.
<Father, it’s Asthan.>
No answer.
He knocked again and again, then slowly opened the door.
<Father, are you still slee—ah! Father!>
The wind blew through the open window, making the curtain sway.
And the Duke’s body… swayed with it, hanging in the air.
A crumpled note was placed neatly beneath his feet:
[Remember this until the day you die, Asthan. How horrifying you truly are.]
“…Duke, Duke!”
Hah—
With a small groan, Asthan woke up.
His lips were dry like a desert, and he gasped for breath.
His entire body was drenched in sweat, like someone who had just been pulled out of water.
That dream again…
It was the same nightmare he always had after the curse was lifted.
No matter how many times he saw it, it was always painful.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shake off the memories, then opened them again.
His blurry vision slowly came into focus.
“Duke, are you awake?”
A gentle voice brought him back to his senses.
At the end of his hazy vision, he saw a familiar face.
Asthan blinked heavily and looked at the beautiful face in front of him.
She’s safe.
That was his first thought.
Relief washed over him, and the tension in his body slowly melted away.
Over her shoulder, he saw a familiar room.
When did I come back here?
It wasn’t the cold, dark tower anymore—it was a warm, cozy room.
As he looked around and tried to remember, Asthan slowly sat up.
“Ugh—”
“You shouldn’t get up yet.”
As soon as he tried to move, pain shot through his body. The sharp, rib-like pain made him groan, and the woman quickly supported him in surprise.
Asthan’s eyes turned to Gloria as he struggled to sit up. Her clear, blue eyes were full of worry.
Before he could ask why she was there, she placed her hand on his forehead.
It seemed like she was checking his temperature. She pressed her forehead against his, then relaxed.
“I’m relieved. You’ve had a high fever for a while, but it’s much lower now.”
“…”
“But you still shouldn’t push yourself. The wounds are pretty deep.”
“…”
Asthan glanced down at his upper body after hearing Gloria’s words. His body was wrapped in bandages.
He remembered getting scratched by Sikun, but did he get injured this badly?
The curse made his memory patchy and unclear.
What happened to Sikun? Was anyone else hurt?
The last person he remembered seeing… was it Logan?
He was too confused to organize his thoughts. As he was lost in his confusion, Gloria spoke again.
“You were tossing and turning all night. Did you have a bad dream?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Asthan just stared at Gloria.
She looked thinner than when he last saw her.
There were deep shadows under her eyes, and her lips had small cuts, almost like bite marks.
Asthan slowly opened his mouth.
In an instant, memories of the previous night crashed into him like a wave.
The woman entering the heavy iron door, the footsteps lighting up the darkness, the trembling voice calling his name, and the soft, gentle touch.
…Crazy man, even if I wasn’t in my right mind, how could I…?
He wanted to bury his head in the fireplace.
Asthan tightly closed his eyes.
“Duke? Are you in a lot of pain? Should I call the butler?”
A hurried voice reached his ears as he bowed his head.
He didn’t need a mirror to know his face was a mess, but the urgent tone, like someone caring for a person on the brink of death, made Asthan reluctantly raise his head.
His reflection appeared in Gloria’s worried eyes.
Asthan rubbed his face roughly. If he could, he wanted to erase those memories completely.
Finally, after covering his face again, he groaned. Gloria carefully spoke again.
“Do you remember what happened last night?”
“….Vaguely.”
He couldn’t look her in the eye. Asthan forced the words down his throat.
“You passed out right after seeing my face, and Logan brought you to your room.”
“…”
“The butler said… the wounds would heal quickly from your condition, but these were deep cuts.”
“….”
“Fortunately, they didn’t get infected, so I disinfected them and wrapped them up. If it hurts a lot…”
“What the hell─”
The words he’d been holding back burst out uncontrollably.
Gloria’s eyes widened in surprise at his harsh tone. Asthan barely held back his anger and clenched his teeth.
There were so many things he wanted to ask: How did she know where he was? What was her reason for coming to find him? And why had she done what she did to him?
He had dozens of questions, but none he could easily ask.
After considering what to say, Asthan finally blurted it out.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“Scared of what?”
“You saw it all.”
He spat the words out, then lowered his gaze.
Through his blurry vision, he saw Gloria gripping the edge of the blanket tightly. It was pitiful, but not unexpected. He had grown used to being ignored and despised.
His father, who hated him until the day he died, and the nanny who raised him instead of his mother, were no different.
They weren’t afraid of Asthan turning into a monster, but they ignored him and didn’t approach him.
But this woman…
“I wasn’t scared, just… a little hurt. You bit me, Duke.”
Gloria responded nonchalantly, touching the bite marks on her lips.
“How did you know it was me?”
“From your clothes. I saw Logan carrying you in.”
Her calm answer only made Asthan’s thoughts more tangled. She tilted her head slightly as if to ask if there was anything else he wanted to know.
“Well then, I guess there’s no need to say more.”
“Say more about what?”
“…”
The words that he couldn’t say cut into his throat like thorns.
He couldn’t bring himself to speak them aloud, but Asthan had never forgotten that he was a monster.
Every month, when the full moon came and he looked at the bracelet that bound him, he was reminded of the curse.
That it was the punishment Asthan von Schulzmaier, who had killed his mother and father, deserved.
When Asthan didn’t speak, Gloria finally broke the silence.
“I heard from Logan… about the curse.”
“….If you heard it, you should know everything.”
“I want to hear it from you, Duke.”
“…”
“Please tell me.”
Gloria looked at him with steady eyes.
