Darw wagged his tail with all his might, looking delighted when he saw my face.
He stood up and stuck only his nose toward me.
“Ki—”
I covered Sara’s mouth just as she was about to scream.
It was understandable.
Darw was as big as a horse. To someone unaware, he could look like a wild beast.
“Kyukkyukkyu!”
At the same time, a small warning cry came from Carro .
The servant had come to peek into the room.
As expected of a top-tier guard, they wouldn’t miss even the briefest scream.
“Mo, Sarattara, kyakkya.”
I pretended to be having fun playing around.
Sara stared at me, wide-eyed in confusion.
Darw quickly crouched down outside the window to hide.
Seeing my playful demeanor, the servant must have thought the scream was part of the game and returned to their original position.
It was thanks to my incredible acting skills, I thought.
“…We’re safe.”
“—!”
“Sara, that huge dog from earlier is Darw, my friend.”
“Darw?”
As if he thought he was being called, Darw, who had been hiding beyond the window, poked his face out again.
“Yes, this is Darw. He’s not scary, so it’s okay.”
“Darw… I heard about him from Mama.”
“Yep. Darw is also Marion’s friend.”
“Really?”
By that time, Darw had once again stuck his nose through the gap in the window.
“He’s cute, right?”
“Yeah, Darw is cute.”
I felt relieved that Sara seemed to be getting along with Darw.
“Darw… Why are you here?”
“Sniff sniff.”
Darw let out a smug sniff.
He must have chased after me to come here.
No doubt, Darw was going to get scolded later.
When that time came, I’d get scolded alongside him.
“Darw, you saved us. Thanks for helping.”
“Sniff.”
“Lady Rulia?”
“Rulia needs to meet Marion. Please cooperate.”
“It’s contagious! You can’t!”
“It’s okay. Rulia is special, so she won’t catch it.”
That was a lie. It was absolutely contagious.
But I figured Sara wouldn’t accept it if I didn’t say that.
“That’s… amazing.”
Sara looked genuinely impressed.
If I said I was approaching Marion to cure her, Sara would likely cooperate willingly.
But if I failed…
The greater her hope, the deeper her despair would be.
It might be a blow she wouldn’t recover from.
I wanted to tell Sara not “I might be able to cure her,” but “I did cure her.”
“Sara, lie down on the bedding and pretend to nap with Rulia.”
“Okay.”
Sara wriggled into the musty-smelling futon.
“Sara, wait here for a bit, okay?”
I slipped out of the window gap and climbed onto Darw’s back.
“Darw, run.”
“…”
Darw silently started running. He was as fast as ever.
I gripped his back fur tightly and clung on.
In almost no time, Darw ran fifty melts.
We quickly reached the cabin where Marion was being quarantined.
At the same time, the guardian birds landed on the roof of the cabin.
“Darw, the window.”
I whispered my request softly,
“…”
Darw silently approached the window and stopped.
He placed his front paws on the windowsill and peered inside.
“Thanks, Darw.”
I climbed up Darw’s back, perching on his shoulders like a ride, and peeked into the cabin.
Marion was lying on the bed, her eyes closed. She was emaciated, her breathing labored.
Her face was bright red, and there were swollen sores on her face and arms. They were probably all over her body, hidden under her clothes.
But most of all, her entire body was shrouded in a dark miasma.
“…As I thought, it’s a curse.”
Yet the guardian birds and Darw were doing nothing.
This meant the one who had cast the curse wasn’t nearby.
It was likely that only the curse remained.
Kuro had told me that I had the power to dispel curses.
I tried to recall something from when I was just born.
“If I remember correctly…”
Memory is vague. After all, it’s from right after I was born.
Normally, one wouldn’t remember such things.
However, perhaps because I have a past life, I remember just a little bit.
“…I think it was something like, ‘Focus and tell it to go away.'”
“Mm-hmm.”
“If that doesn’t work, I’ll break the window. Daru, will you help me then?”
“Mm-hmm.”
If I fail, the only option is to break the window, touch Marion directly to dispel the curse, and use healing magic.
I’ll probably get scolded a lot, but Marion’s life is more important.
“I’m going.”
From outside the hut, I focused on the black mist surrounding Marion and thought, “Disappear!”
I prayed with all my might, as strongly as I could.
I felt something leaving my body.
It was the first time I felt that sensation, even through my past life. No, didn’t I feel something similar when I dispelled my mother’s curse right after I was born? But I’m not sure.
“…Did it work?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Daru, too, was peering through the window excitedly, watching Marion.
When I looked inside, the mist that had enveloped Marion was gone.
“Did it work?”
Even though the mist was gone, Marion’s face was still red, and the swelling hadn’t healed.
The high fever hadn’t gone down, and her breathing still seemed labored.
“Well, in my past life…”
In my past life, I used healing magic on groups of people from a distance.
I probably can’t use the same level of power, but it would be good if I could do something similar.
“Spirits, lend me your power.”
When I asked, the many young spirits around me lent their magic.
“Leave it to me.”
Kuro suddenly appeared from the ground, lending a large amount of magic.
“Thank you.”
I used that magic to cast healing magic on Marion through the wall.
“It’s a success. She’ll be fine now.”
“Kuro, why—”
Why are you here? Why didn’t you tell me it was a curse?
I wanted to ask a lot of things, but…
“We’ll talk more later. There are people around.”
Kuro interrupted my questions and vanished.
I looked around. I didn’t think anyone was watching.
But I don’t know when someone might come.
And since Kuro said it was a success, I believe Marion will be fine.
I prayed, trusting that.
“I hope Marion gets better. Sara is waiting for you.”
After using the healing magic, I felt a little tired.
It was different from my past life, and I felt like something had left me.
In my past life, I was tired after using magic, but I never felt like something left me.
“It really can’t be like it was in my past life, huh?”
“Ah?”
Just to be sure, I peeked through the window again, and Marion’s complexion had returned to normal, and the swelling was gone.
Her fever had gone down, and her breathing seemed easier.
The swelling in her throat had probably healed as well.
“Now, it’s okay. Kuro, Spirits, thank you.”
Now, if Marion just eats proper food, she’ll be fine.
I can’t trust the baron, so I’ll ask my mother to send Marion some nutritious food.
“Marion, see you later. The birds will look out for you too, okay?”
Then, I asked Daru to take me back to Sara’s room.
A couple of birds stayed on the roof of the hut.
Now, if any curse-caster comes back, we’ll be safe.
Once I felt at ease, I became sleepy, and my stomach also growled.
I climbed over the window frame and returned to Sara’s room.
“Lady Luria… Where’s Mama?”
“Marion will be fine. She’ll get better soon.”
“…Ehe.”
Sara smiled happily, trusting my words without a second thought.
“That’s why it’s okay.”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
“Can I write a letter later? If so, I can give it to Marion.”
“…Sara… you can’t write yet.”
At five years old, it’s understandable she can’t write yet.
“Then I’ll teach you. As your older sister.”
That’s right, I am like an older sister to Sara.
As an older sister, it’s natural for me to teach her how to read and write.
“Peep!”
While Sara and I were talking, Daru, probably feeling lonely, pushed his nose into the window gap with a snort.
“Thank you, Daru. You helped me.”
I said my thanks and patted Daru.
“Ha-ha.”
Daru wagged his tail happily.
“Sara wants to pet him too.”
“Okay.”
“He’s so big!”
Sara petted Daru’s nose.
She petted Daru’s big, black, flat nose with pride.
Daru probably doesn’t like having his nose petted.
But he endured it, letting her pet him.
“…Daru. Maybe we should go back home soon?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“If it’s found out that we came here, we’ll get scolded.”
“Ugh!”
Hearing that we might get scolded, Daru suddenly realized the possibility and flinched.
“You didn’t realize?”
“Peep.”
“Daru, did you run away during your walk? If so, the servant who lost you is probably in trouble too.”
“Kyoon.”
“Let’s apologize together later, okay?”
“Peep~.”
Daru snorted and acted spoiled.
At that moment, “Kyuk-kyuk!” Carro made a warning sound.
Almost at the same time…
“Oh? Did Daru come?”
Mom entered the room.
Mom, holding Carro , who had been on alert, walked toward me.
“Kyoo.”
Carro looked down, probably feeling a little sad.
She probably regretted not making the warning sound earlier.
“Busted…”
“Ugh.”
Sara quickly hid behind me. She’s still shy.
“Wow.”
The moment Daru saw Mom, he hurriedly hid behind the window.
But it was too late.
“Goodness. Daru…”
Mom walked straight to the window and peered underneath it.
When I looked down with her, I saw Daru lying on his back, in a submissive pose.
“Daru. You understand you did something wrong, right?”
“Mom! It’s Luria’s fault. Daru just came because he was worried about Luria!”
“I understand, Luria.”
Mom patted me, then spoke to Daru outside the window.
“Daru, let’s go home together when we leave. For now, stay and wait here.”
“Wuff?”
Daru stood up and wagged his tail. He probably thought he was forgiven.
“Daru, the scolding will happen when we get home.”
“Kyoon.”
“We can’t scold a dog right away, but Daru is smart, so it can wait, right?”
“…Kyoon.”
Daru tucked his tail between his legs.
“You’re probably worried, so I’ll let the mansion know that you’re here. I’ll take you home.”
“Understood.”
Mom gave instructions to a servant, then crouched down to talk to Sara, who was still hiding behind me.
“Sara, would you like to come to our mansion?”
“…To your mansion?”
“Yes, to Luria’s and our mansion.”
“…But…”
Sara tightly gripped her animal ears.
“Don’t worry. The baron gave his permission.”
Saying that, Mom gently patted Sara’s head and smiled warmly.
It was a completely different kind of smile from the one she’d shown to the baron and the maid earlier.
