Chapter 64
Lucy looked at Bartholomew.
“Bartholomew.”
Bartholomew slowly blinked.
He looked calm, as if he would quietly accept whatever she said.
“I will definitely break your curse.”
“Lucy, I—”
“So go back today.”
Lucy said it firmly.
Bartholomew’s eyebrows lifted.
“Bartholomew, I also want to spend time with you.”
“……”
“For a long time.”
Bartholomew tried to say something, but Lucy moved first.
She turned away from him and headed back to the annex.
Bartholomew couldn’t stop her in time.
He could only stare blankly at Lucy’s back as she walked away, with Cerberus running after her.
She says she can break my curse.
The corner of Bartholomew’s lips tilted slightly.
That couldn’t be possible.
Even if Lucy somehow found a way to lift the curse, it would already be too late.
He truly didn’t have much time left.
And yet—
Why was his heart racing?
Even though his mind said it was impossible, his chest felt tight.
Lucy’s determined face, her shining eyes as she spoke—there was power in it.
It almost made him believe that what she said could really come true.
It was a groundless hope, but Bartholomew couldn’t reject it.
Just like how he couldn’t reject Lucy herself.
Lucy held something absolute inside his heart.
Soon, Bartholomew shook his head.
If things went wrong, Lucy would be more disappointed than he was.
She would be sad because of someone who was dying anyway.
Thinking that, Bartholomew began to walk away.
Right now, there was something bothering him more than how Lucy knew about his limited lifespan.
Alexander’s whereabouts.
He had completely disappeared.
He had likely run away, afraid of being exposed as Duke Faraday’s accomplice.
Bartholomew’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
Yes. Running away was the right choice. As far away as possible.
If he showed up again, Bartholomew wouldn’t let him go quietly.
Lucy returned to the annex and went into her room.
Cerberus followed closely behind her.
Lucy looked at Cerberus for a moment.
Black eyes. A wet nose.
A small pink tongue sticking out.
No matter how I look at him, he just looks like a cute puppy.
But Cerberus had to be a guardian beast.
If he wasn’t, Lucy’s plan to save Bartholomew wouldn’t even be possible.
“Cerberus, you really are a guardian beast, right?”
“Woof!”
“One who protects their master from evil power?”
“Woof woof!”
“And if that evil power is dark magic, can you protect me from it?”
“Woof woof!”
Cerberus answered as if he understood her.
He spun in a circle, then sat down proudly and puffed out his chest.
As if telling her to trust him.
Lucy patted Cerberus once and walked toward the bed.
She pulled out a box from under it.
It was a box filled with items she had collected while fishing.
The system said to use items actively.
Maybe there was something useful among them.
The first thing she picked up was an eye mask.
This one restores a small amount of stamina while napping.
Next was a bone-shaped toy.
This lowers a pet’s stress.
She suddenly realized she had forgotten to give it to Cerberus.
Lucy handed the toy to him.
After sniffing it, Cerberus wagged his tail and began playing with it, biting it happily.
No matter how she looked at him, he was just a puppy.
There’s nothing very useful here.
Lucy frowned as she rummaged through the box.
Should she go fishing again for new items?
Just as she was thinking that—
Something small caught on her fingers among the items.
She pulled it out.
This is…
It was a rare item she had caught very early on.
The Mind-Link Ring.
It was an item that allowed the two people wearing it to share pain.
Lucy was about to put it back, thinking it was still useless—
Then she froze.
Share pain?
Then could it share the pain Bartholomew suffered from the curse?
Lucy’s eyes slowly widened.
This item might help break Bartholomew’s curse.
Lucy called out into the air.
“System! Can I use the Eye Drops of Truth again?”
Ding!
[Yes. There is no usage limit for the Eye Drops of Truth.]
Encouraged, Lucy asked another question.
“I want to use it on Cerberus. Is that possible?”
Ding!
[Yes.]
[Using the Eye Drops of Truth to observe Cerberus.]
A moment later, a status window appeared beside Cerberus.
[Name: Cerberus
Age: ??]
[Trait: If you become Cerberus’s master, you receive buff effects.]
[Buff: Immune to dark magic.]
Immune to dark magic.
Lucy read that line over and over.
If Cerberus makes me immune to dark magic…
Could she move Bartholomew’s curse onto herself?
The problem was how to transfer the curse.
Lucy looked at the pair of rings in her hand.
If Bartholomew and I wear these rings, could I take his cursed pain instead?
Wanting to be sure, Lucy asked the system for details.
Ding!
[Mind-Link Ring]
[Effect: Allows two people wearing the rings to share pain.]
“Does that pain include pain caused by dark magic curses?”
[All pain is included.]
Lucy’s face brightened.
That meant she could transfer the dark magic curse to herself.
With this item and Cerberus…
She might really be able to save Bartholomew.
Then he wouldn’t be dying anymore.
He wouldn’t have to die young.
He wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
Lucy finally smiled.
It was her first smile since Bartholomew became a male lead.
Now that I think about it, Bartholomew is a male lead too.
So why couldn’t she see his affection level?
If he was a target, shouldn’t she be able to raise it?
Then Lucy remembered the system error that appeared when she first met Alexander.
Because the timing didn’t match the story, the system had malfunctioned.
And when Bartholomew killed Duke Faraday—
The system said the scenario had collided and a new system was applied.
Maybe Bartholomew can’t be approached the old way.
What if the entire game had changed because of him?
If she played it the same way as before, she might never reach the true ending.
The true ending always requires bonding with one male lead.
If affection levels were visible, Bartholomew’s might already be the highest.
Does that mean she has to “攻略” Bartholomew?
Thinking that made Lucy feel awkward.
He wasn’t a target.
He was her friend.
A real friend she could interact with, regardless of stats or system windows.
But after the hidden route unlocked, the system began interfering with their relationship too.
That thought made Lucy feel strangely sad and empty.
She didn’t want Bartholomew to become just another conquest target.
Then what about Alexander?
Did Bartholomew become a new male lead?
Or did he take Alexander’s place?
If Bartholomew becomes the heir, Alexander can’t appear as the heir anymore.
Lucy felt confused.
Will I ever meet Alexander again?
She had promised to meet him again.
But for some reason, she had a bad feeling—
That she wouldn’t be able to.
