Chapter 66
Bartholomew frowned deeply.
“That’s not allowed.”
He said it firmly.
There was no way he could let Lucy take his curse.
It would mean making Lucy suffer just so he could feel better.
“I told you—curses don’t work on me,” Lucy insisted.
“Even so, no.”
“You don’t trust me?” Lucy asked, widening her eyes.
For a moment, Bartholomew was speechless.
“You said you’d believe anything I say.”
“That changes when it puts you in danger.”
Their gazes clashed in the air, tense and unyielding.
Lucy let out a small sigh.
“Then can we at least try it as a test?”
She spoke as if she were compromising.
“If I feel pain from the curse, I’ll stop right away. I hate being in pain too.”
Bartholomew looked at Lucy silently.
Then he spoke.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you want to break my curse that badly?”
Lucy was stunned.
“Of course I want to! You’re my friend!”
“……”
“You’d make the same choice. And you said you want to spend time with me.”
Lucy stepped closer to him.
“There are so many fun things ahead of us. Don’t you think you should do them all with me?”
Her words made memories surface in Bartholomew’s mind.
Watching fireworks together at the night market.
Riding horses side by side.
Just as Lucy said, there were many things he wanted to do with her.
He wanted to travel the empire.
He wanted to see the sea with her.
But he thought those wishes were selfish.
With little time left, he had told himself that seeing Lucy once a day was enough.
He had pushed his desires down again and again.
And now Lucy kept shaking him.
Giving him false hope.
Making it impossible to refuse.
Bartholomew sighed quietly.
“Fine. But if there’s even a sign that you’re in danger, we stop immediately.”
Lucy’s face instantly lit up.
Bartholomew realized it had been a long time since he had seen her smile so brightly.
Yes.
He had made many choices just to protect that smile.
Having made up his mind, Bartholomew began unbuttoning his shirt.
Lucy’s eyes went wide.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“You said you want to take the curse.”
“What does that have to do with taking off your clothes?”
Bartholomew tilted his head, confused by her reaction.
“The curse mark is carved on my back.”
His calm reply made Lucy feel embarrassed.
She scratched her slightly reddened cheek with her finger and turned around.
Even if it was necessary, she thought she shouldn’t watch him undress.
Once he had taken off his shirt, Bartholomew turned his back to Lucy.
“This is the mark.”
Lucy turned around.
As he said, a large, unfamiliar pattern was carved into his back.
“There’s a book made of black magic spells,” Bartholomew said calmly.
“When the time came, I memorized the spell myself, and the mark was engraved on my body.”
Did the Duke of Faraday really make him do that?
Make him memorize the spell and curse himself?
Lucy felt angry but tried not to show it.
She forced herself to speak cheerfully.
“Your back muscles are… honestly amazing.”
“……”
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
She swore that she hadn’t meant to say that.
It was the result of her shamelessness stat hitting 100.
Of course, she had admired his sculpted muscles—but this was not the time.
After a moment of silence, Bartholomew let out a small laugh.
That was very Lucy-like.
She sometimes said embarrassing things without realizing it.
Unexpectedly, her comment eased the tension.
“Take this,” Lucy said, handing him a ring.
Bartholomew’s eyes widened slightly.
He placed the ring on his palm and looked at it quietly.
“You need to wear it for us to share the curse.”
“…I see.”
After a short pause, Bartholomew nodded and slipped the ring onto his ring finger.
Lucy noticed that finger for no reason at all—but ignored it.
The ring fit his finger perfectly.
On Lucy’s thumb, it was loose.
“Sit comfortably on the bed,” she said.
Bartholomew sat on the bed with his back facing her.
Lucy sat beside him.
Cerberus, who had been watching quietly, jumped onto the bed as well.
I have a plan, but how exactly should I do this? Lucy thought.
Did she need to touch him directly?
Carefully, Lucy reached out and placed her fingertips on Bartholomew’s back.
A low humming sound followed, and the ring began to glow.
Curious, Lucy slowly traced the curse mark with her finger.
Bartholomew’s back flinched.
“Does it hurt? I’ll be gentle. Just hold on a bit.”
Bartholomew didn’t answer.
Not because it hurt.
Lucy closed her eyes and focused.
It felt as if the ring was guiding her hand.
Her fingers carefully followed the engraved pattern.
Light lingered where her touch passed.
Soon, Lucy felt something flowing into her body.
It stung slightly.
It felt hot.
But only for a moment.
Once it fully entered her, the sensation disappeared.
Lucy focused on pulling that power into herself.
But she couldn’t take it all at once.
The curse on Bartholomew’s back felt like a tightly tangled ball of thread.
Starting from the thin end, the curse slowly unraveled and moved into Lucy.
Then—
Ding!
[The Heart-to-Heart Ring’s new ability has been activated!]
[You can now share emotions with the person wearing the ring.]
Lucy opened her eyes and stared at the system message.
Sharing emotions too?
She didn’t fully understand it, but she focused again on absorbing the curse.
Her body didn’t hurt, but losing focus weakened the ring’s power.
Sweat formed on her forehead.
Bartholomew stayed silent.
At first, he hadn’t believed her.
He thought she would stop as soon as she felt pain.
But Lucy looked calm.
Her touch told him everything.
The heavy stone that had pressed on his chest for so long began to feel lighter.
She really was taking his curse.
Warmth reached his heart, which had always been frozen.
That warmth felt like Lucy.
Gentle.
Comforting.
It’s okay, it seemed to say.
Everything will be okay.
As tension left his muscles—
Lucy suddenly felt something else flow into her.
This was different from the curse.
It was cold.
And deep.
A tear slid down the corner of her eye.
Lucy slowly opened her eyes.
This wasn’t the curse.
It was Bartholomew’s emotion.
Loneliness.
A deep, piercing loneliness.
One that had no clear beginning and no visible end.
As Lucy synced with that feeling, tears fell without her realizing it.
Through this connection, she finally understood.
Bartholomew was a very lonely person.
