CHAPTER 217: 216. CURSES

Asher dashed out of the room, calling out an order to his system. It chimed in almost instantly.

"System analyzation..."

"Whole terrain analyzed."

A detailed map of the mansion flashed before him, showing all the rooms in the mansion, and the locations of every person inside. Activating invisible mode, he sprinted to the kitchen. Rifling through the shelves, he finally found a small bottle of strange, otherworldly vinegar. He didn’t care what it was made from — all he needed were the live bacteria inside.

Using the skill he gained from Banji on winemaking, Asher quickly made two bottles of apple wine. He poured the wine into a large open bowl to expose it to oxygen — a key step for vinegar fermentation. Then, carefully, he added a splash of the otherworldly vinegar to the bowl, introducing the essential Acetobacter to jumpstart the transformation.

Finally, activating his time acceleration skill-box once again, he focused it on the bowl. Two real-world minutes passed, but days went by in the time-accelerated zone. The sharp, tangy aroma that soon filled the air told him all he needed to know.

The apple cider vinegar was ready.

He returned to Valerie, still tied and restrained on the bed so she wouldn’t hurt herself. After searching in her room, he found a small clean cloth and gently began dabbing the vinegar between her thighs. It was the best remedy he could think of to ease the itching and reduce the odor. Once he finished, he went off again to fetch clean water to wash the rest of her body.

He wasn’t even sure why he was going so far for someone he’d only just met.

Maybe it was the doctor in him—some part of him that refused to walk away from someone clearly suffering.

After carefully cleaning her up, he untied the ropes and stepped back.

"Sorry for being too rough," he said quietly, offering a small bow.

Valerie looked at herself. She looked... better. The stench had faded, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt some relief down there. Her throat was dry, her voice shaky.

"Th-thank you," she whispered.

"Can you walk?" Asher asked.

She gave a nod and slid off the bed.

The sheets were stained, so Asher rolled them up and set them aside. He figured there might be extra blankets in one of the neighboring rooms. His system terrain scan had shown that everyone in the estate was downstairs—mostly maids and the samurai guard—so he took his chances and walked out to the next room.

He opened the next room door... and paused.

His breath caught.

The walls were lined with beautiful paintings. Some were tossed carelessly on the floor. He stepped inside, drawn to them. Most of the canvases depicted two young girls with bright smiles, features nearly identical except for the difference in hair color.

He searched for blankets but found none.

In the next room, more art.

Whoever had painted these was undeniably talented. But the more rooms he opened, the more the tone of the paintings changed. The girls grew older—one still smiling, the other developing a colder, distant gaze.

Art speaks louder than words. And something about these paintings whispered a strange story to him.

Eventually, he found a room with clean blankets. He brought them to Valerie, made the bed, tidied the space, and swept the floor.

"Rest," he told her gently.

She stared at him, eyes faintly suspicious. "Why are you helping me?"

Her voice was hoarse. She hadn’t eaten in days—he could tell.

"I’m just doing what I can, ma’am."

"You’ll be cursed..." she murmured, her eyes drifting to the side. "People around me don’t last long. They die. Always."

"It’s not a curse," he replied with a sigh. But Valerie just shook her head, repeating the same thing.

Asher tucked her in, then stepped out to find food.

But his thoughts were restless.

Those paintings—the children. One of them had flowing celestial blue hair, just like Valerie.

And Veyna... she had said something strange before she walked off. "Make sure Valerie isn’t hurt, or stolen!"

Who gets stolen from their own home? And why did they all act like guarding her was a death sentence?

He was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice the woman he bumped into until it was too late.

He stumbled back.

It was a maid, dressed in the estate’s black-and-white uniform. She dipped her head slightly in apology and walked away, her face hidden under a veil of thick hate-colored cloth.

Then—

[Curse detected...]

[Neutralizing with Divine Protection...]

Asher’s eyes widened.

A curse?!

He turned sharply and tried to follow the maid but she was already gone.

His mind reeled. So there was a real curse? That maid had bumped into him on purpose, he could tell. She might be the one who’d cursed her. And all this time, he’d thought Valerie was just delusional. He hadn’t believed there was a curse.

But now?

Now, nothing made sense. Could a curse really spread illness like some kind of supernatural STI? Because he could swear on all his years as a doctor in his previous life that Valerie’s infection was an STI. From the symptoms, to everything.

This was too much.

"I’m not a damn detective!" he growled in his mind, heading to the kitchen.

The maids greeted him politely. He asked for food, and they gave him two plates—one for him, one for Valerie.

Back in the hallway, a creeping doubt lingered. Could the food be poisoned? This mansion was strange. It smelled of secrets and quiet malice. He tested the food.

No system alerts.

He exhaled in relief.

Still, curiosity gnawed at him.

"What kind of curse did that maid try to use on me?" he asked the system.

[A death curse. Victims perish within 2 days.]

His heart skipped a beat.

Two days? Like how most guards stationed to guard lady Valerie are rumored to die in that same period of time? Could someone really want him dead?

But who? The maid? Or was she acting under Veyna’s orders?

The questions piled up. Could Veyna truly be the noble hero everyone spoke of? The S-rank hunter of Eldoria? Or was there something far darker beneath her mask?

Whatever the truth was...

They had picked the wrong person to curse.

He rushed toward Valerie’s room, his system terrain map glowing in his mind’s eye as he searched for any sign of that maid.

Someone had made a deadly mistake.

And they were going to pay for it.

TBC