The Cursed Box

“Is he the cause of your nightmares?”

Since what happened before, it wasn’t strange for Lee Jaehun to ask that.

“Well, I don’t know.”

He could have said more—lamenting that such painful things had happened before, for example.

But Garam didn’t.

This was something he had to endure alone.

So he replied.

“Tell me about the flowerpot and I’ll tell you.”

He expected Lee Jaehun to refuse, of course.

Kang Yujun had said he didn’t know why Jaehun kept carrying that flowerpot.

There was no reason the person who trusted him that much would tell Garam.

“You can’t tell, right? I’m the same.

To be honest, even if you dig into it there’s nothing particularly special.”

Buying and selling people, backstabbing—those things were common to the outside world.

“Were you curious about the flowerpot?”

“A little? But it’s fine if you don’t want to say, so don’t worry about it.”

“I see.

Then I’ll tell you.”

“You don’t have to.”

Garam, who had been speaking until then, lifted his head.

“Hm?”

“You’ll have to stay by my side as long as the flowerpot is there anyway.”

And just as Lee Jaehun was about to speak again, someone else cut in.

“Good day to you.”

Polite attitude, neat face.

It was Choi Gunwoo.

Why now of all times!

Garam felt a flash of annoyance, but he couldn’t ignore him.

After all, he was the city mayor.

Garam forced a smile and returned the greeting.

“Hello.”

Having seen him a few times before, he didn’t feel as repelled as with a stranger.

“Nice to see you.

It’s been quite a while.

By the way, Garam, you don’t look well.

Has something happened?”

Something had happened, but there was no need to tell Choi Gunwoo.

So Garam smiled vaguely and shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“I see.”

Choi Gunwoo surveyed Garam as he spoke.

It felt oddly clingy, but it wasn’t as unpleasant as he expected.

‘Why isn’t it unpleasant?’

He couldn’t explain it.

“By the way, I noticed you returned the gift I gave you.”

“I didn’t need it.”

“I see.

Next time I’ll choose better.”

I said I didn’t need it.

If you look closely, Choi Gunwoo seemed the same kind of person as Seo Taeju.

Thinking that, one thing popped into Garam’s mind.

There was one gift he hadn’t returned.

A small box that fits on the palm of a hand.

He hadn’t even checked what was inside yet.

If he was going to return it, it might be better not to open it.

“Come to think of it, I do have something to return.”

“What is it?”

“The small box you gave me first.

How should I return that?”

“You could just keep it.”

“No.”

If he kept it, he might be misunderstood later.

“If you really want to return it, why don’t you come to City Hall?”

“Why should I go?”

Lee Jaehun asked with an annoyed expression.

“You’ve never properly toured City Hall.

If you come, I’ll treat you to something nice.”

“Something nice” suggested only one thing in Garam’s mind.

Champagne.

“I like collecting wine.

If you enjoy drinking, you’d like it.”

“There’s plenty in the guild.”

“A man who overly controls his lover isn’t popular.”

“Don’t meddle.”

At Lee Jaehun’s words, Choi Gunwoo answered playfully.

“You’re not angry, are you?

I don’t mean to cause trouble between a happily dating couple.

I’m just very interested in Garam’s profession.

Isn’t there a little room for mutual help?”

Choi Gunwoo continued chatting with Lee Jaehun.

Watching them, Garam felt a headache creeping up.

A buzzing sound filled his head.

He clutched his head and bowed it.

“Garam?”

“Garam-ssi?”

Garam finally breathed in sharply.

It felt like being pulled from deep water to shore, and his chest ached.

“I should be going back now.”

“Shall I fetch a car for you?”

“The car is downstairs.”

That ended the meeting with Choi Gunwoo.

Garam trudged back to the guild and, once again, saw the doctor.

“I don’t know why this keeps happening.”

“Do whatever it takes to make him better.”

“We’re doing our best.

But this depends on his own heart as well.”

That cold remark stabbed at his chest.

“Stop it!”

For the second time, Garam raised his voice at Lee Jaehun.

“Shut up!

I want to go back to my room.

I don’t know what the point of this treatment is.”

“Park Garam.”

The doctor looked awkwardly at Garam, but Garam didn’t even see him.

“I want to go back to my room.”

He simply stubbornly insisted on his will.

“Very well.”

And Lee Jaehun agreed to Garam’s request.

“Hmm.”

Choi Gunwoo tapped his chin with a finger as he watched Garam being carried away.

“So the effect is slower than expected?”

“He seems to have a higher resistance than he looks.”

Kim Seonyoung replied in a calm voice.

“The item is certain, right?”

“Yes.

We’ve used it several times, so the effect is definite.”

Inside the box Choi Gunwoo had given Garam was a small ring.

It looked like it would fit a woman’s pinky finger, set with a red gemstone that resembled a ruby.

It was dazzling to behold.

On the surface it was the perfect trinket.

But the important thing wasn’t the ring inside the box, it was the box itself.

The box was a cursed item.

If someone touched the box they would be cursed, and it was a peculiar curse.

At first it dug up the person’s most terrible memory and stirred it up, gradually clouding their reason.

Then it planted fondness for the box’s owner.

[Curse of Love (Unique)

The owner can make another person fall in love with them through this box.

Duration and intensity vary according to the target’s stats.]

It was a stolen item, but they had been using it quite effectively.

‘Above all, the best thing about this item is that it goes unnoticed.’

When someone receives a present from a suspicious person, they usually suspect the contents.

No one suspects the box itself.

That’s why they had used it without being found out so far.

‘No matter how much Lee Jaehun tries to hold him, what can he do if the person dislikes him?’

Love is dangerous.

Those in love sometimes throw away their own lives.

Garam would soon be in that state.

“But will Yoon Jiho stay quiet?”

He was a high-grade healer, but far too jealous.

He had even foiled Choi Gunwoo’s plans several times.

“Ah, Yoon Jiho.

A somewhat useless but clingy thing.”

Too good to give away, and tiring to keep.

“Let’s observe a bit more.

We can always clean up later, right?”

“I understand.”

Kim Seonyoung nodded.

Garam’s condition worsened day by day.

“If someone saw him they’d think he was a zombie.”

Just like Park Deokpal had said.

His body was wasting away, and dark circles formed under his eyes.

At that point, Lee Jaehun seemed to think he could no longer leave everything to the doctor.

Several healers visited Garam’s bedroom, and later a mage came as well.

“Hello!”

Ailen entered Garam’s room with a light step.

“No, no.

You don’t have to get up just to greet me.

Patients should lie down!”

When he lay back down, Ailen promptly sat in the chair next to the bed.

“My name is Ailen.

You don’t need to say yours.

I already know it.”

“Why?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you speak informally at first?”

“That’s because I have foreign blood.

When I first learned Korean I learned it wrong and never got good at honorifics.”

“Really?”

“Really.

Absolutely.”

Ailen answered with an elegant smile.

Kang Yujun, standing behind, showed a change in expression, but she didn’t care at all.

“Now then, let’s see.”

Ailen, holding a long staff, waved it a few times.

The blue gemstones embedded in the staff began to shine.

“Find the wicked energy!”

It was a detect evil spell—magic to find curse-related energy.

Ailen concentrated seriously for about ten minutes.

Then she nodded and lowered her staff.

“Hmm, it’s a bit ambiguous, but it looks like a curse.”

“What type of curse?”

“I’m not sure.

It seems the curse’s medium is of a high grade.

We should call someone more specialized than me.”

“Is there anyone in this city better than you?”

“Kyaa.

You’re making me shy by saying that!”

“Ailen.”

“All right, all right.

I’ll try something, though I don’t know if it’ll work.

These kinds of things need the medium destroyed.

Why don’t you search the nearby area?”

“I will.”

“Then, my cute lover, see you next time~.”

Like when she came, Ailen vanished like the wind.