I Will Avoid The Death Flag [It's Published]
37. Curses

"Mr Princess. You are so amazing! Not only can you heal people, you can also heal animals."

What I heard from earlier was that Arcelio admired me so much, no, I mean my holy power.

I just chuckled awkwardly. He looked like a child when he was this enthusiastic. I question where is the dignity of a cardinal who has the power that the royal family deserves?

"How come you loved Angelina. Goddess, I am truly grateful to be able to see such a sacred power this close." Arcelio suddenly prayed and praised Angelina again.

His love for the Sun Goddess is a little absurd, but whatever, the important thing is this man is happy.

Moments later, Arcelio finally returned to being a dignified Cardinal.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Arcelio said, chortling. "I'm just so excited, I should've kept my attitude."

"It's okay, Mr. Arcelio." I give a soft smile. "You're so free, I'm amazed."

"really? Isn't that childish, huh, Princess?"

"Well, what's wrong with being a child? Mr Arcelio, isn't being an adult so unpleasant? Therefore, there is nothing wrong with behaving back like a child because being an adult is not fun."

Arcelio smiled gently on her beautiful face. Now, as if the sunlight had become the light, Arcelio's smile seemed to be extremely sparkling.

"As expected of the Princess, someone directly chosen by the great Sun Goddess. I will be loyal to the Princess until the end of my life."

I shuddered at that pressure. He could have said such a horrible thing so easily.

"Mr Arcelio, there's no need to go that far. I don't need your loyalty, Angelina needs it more."

As if there was an epiphany in his green eyes, Arcelio nodded. "All right, Princess. As expected of you."

I don't understand in what part of me I hope, but forget it.

"Ah, yes, Princess." Arcelio looked me in the eye. "The news about you has spread widely and now many are visiting the temple even though the seventeen date will come in a few days."

I smile. "Isn't that good? That is, they put their hopes on me."

"However, wouldn't if they came, they would support you to become Queen just because of your holy power?"

"It was like that, Mr. Arcelio. They will support me only because of holy power as a condition, but gradually they will support me as Serethy and not saintess."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Of course I'm very sure. Confidence is number one, but it certainly doesn't do it too much. As long as I have tried it, then we will see the results later."

"You are very wise."

Huh huh? What wisdom? It's just a small idea created by being stuck. People are increasingly asking for my identity and speed to be Queen. So, I must immediately find a way out so that the road to the Queen's crown is no longer thorny.

"Thank you, Mr. Arcelio," I said with a strange smile on my face.

"Thank you again, Princess."

...***...

The seventeen date arrived quickly.

"What are you doing here, Mr Cardinal?"

"What are you doing here, Sir Derick?"

I let out a breath. When they first met, they were happy to argue. Are they Viten and Axel drops or what? Ah, I don't know, I don't want to think about it.

But clearly, ever since I entered the tent that was built in the front yard of the Sun Goddess Temple a few days ago, the two of them started arguing when they met each other.

"I'm here to look after the Princess. It's my duty as the only guardian knight of the Princess Lord" Sir Derick replied in a sharp tone.

Arcelio grunting. "I have interests here too. The Princess has promised to help with my research regarding the sacred power. So, being present here and watching the Princess heal her people is a great option, Sir Derick."

I don't want to listen to their debates anymore and sit in my chair.

The chair had soft velvet foam and made me comfortable. In front of me, there was a chair similar to the one I was sitting in. Only, we were limited by a wooden table with intricate and elegant carvings.

I myself wore a white dress with gold-colored accessories and lace this time. The makeup on my face looks natural and I commend my three personal servants for their hard work in supporting me.

With me dressed in all white and gold, it seemed that I was the holy maiden chosen directly by the Sun Goddess.

Outside the tent, there are already many people who mangantre and even spend the night in front of the Temple. They were really so desperate for treatment that it came a few days before the seventeenth.

They even signed up with pastors and got massage numbers for consultations and recuperation right after the news broke.

Supposedly, there were still a few more minutes before the knights outside the tent invited the people to enter the tent and consult what their illnesses were, then I would use my holy power to heal them.

Suddenly, the door of the tent opened slowly.

I reflexively wanted to say that the consultation had not yet begun, but was silent when I saw who had entered the tent.

The two men standing beside me even stopped arguing and started to stand up politely.

"His Highness the Prince," greeted the two men while bowing their bodies, greeting the Royal Family properly.

I stood up from my chair. "Prince, what brings you here?"

Cioten Marilion Asher just smiled and sat down in front of me. "Sit, Serethy. You don't have to be so formal with your sister. Well, even if you're gonna be my sister-in-law."

Cioten chanted a crisp laugh that sounded strange, so I just smiled awkwardly and returned to comfort in my chair.

The two men who were arguing just now had even stood on my right and left sides, showing their honor towards the Royal Family. Surprisingly, they were acting in front of me. I am also the Royal Family.

"So, Prince. What brings you here?" I asked, repeating a question that had not yet received an answer.

"How long has it been since the hunting competition? Three weeks? Time goes by really fast, doesn't it, Serethy? Time goes so fast it feels creepy."

Cioten said strange things. Okay, he doesn't look like Cioten. It seems like there is a demon possessing it.

The reason for that was because Cioten would not show such a facial expression! The cioten I've known for almost two months is the ignorant, hyperactive Cioten. He likes to joke and gets along easily with a lot of people. Cioten is also friendly without seeing the social status of the person. The minus, he has a hidden side that only a few people know, which is that Cioten is a psychopath.

However, now Cioten in front of me looks sad and fragile. Though Cioten looks very strong, but apparently he is a fragile human in the corner of his deepest heart.

"Time goes so fast that it eats away at my life even faster."

I flinched at the sleepy voice Cioten was using.

How could I forget it? Forgetting that Cioten has an even unknown disease is why. I was too focused on the vigilance of not being tortured by the characters, then thinking too much about the people who showed their pros and cons to the crown of the Queen in my head. I may forget that Cioten was the most tormented during this time.

Although Cioten is a psychopath, he's still my family. So, it is my duty to cure his illness.

"Prince," call me while biting my lips.

"Serethy," he replied. "You know when you unleashed your holy power in the hunting competition, that light spread throughout the entire forest area. Do you know that?"

I don't know, but I keep quiet.

"The light watered us, it was warm and made hearts serene. However, there is something different about me, Serethy. Something skinned my life slowly calmed down."

So, the point is that the sacred power healed him.

"Prince, I will heal you" I said with a burning determination in both my eyes.

"Thank you, I wish you could heal me."

Cioten exhaled.

"But don't force yourself. I am cursed God of Death, enemy of your light. And it might be a little troublesome for you. It's gonna be hard to cure everything, so I hope you don't push yourself."

"Is it that hard to recover the curse?"

"It's quite difficult" replied Arcelio who had just noticed. "Lord Princess, the curse means that it is unwanted by God. When His Highness the Prince cursed the God of Death, then the healing for him was also increasingly complex. You must know the ways first before you heal His Highness the Prince."

"So, I can't directly channel my holy power?"

Arcelio shook his head slowly. "No, Princess. In any case, the God of Death is the enemy of the light. It also makes healing against the curse given by the God of Death complicated. If you make a wrong move, the curse will turn against you."

"So, what am I supposed to do?"

"There are several journals in my room regarding ways of restoring curses, but I don't know if these are effective when it comes to the curse of the God of Death."

"It's okay, send me all his journals," I said.

"Okay, Princess. I'll send it right away." Arcelio looked down briefly. "For the time being, my advice is to appease the enslaving curse by sending holy energy on a small and slow scale to His Highness the Prince."

I nodded at Arcelio's statement. There was no reason not to trust the Cardinal that the Asher Kingdom was proud of.

Therefore, I extended my hand. And Cioten, automatically grasping my hand.

I closed my eyes and channeled holy power through our touching fingers.

Then, I felt very cold. A pair of eyes seemed to be looking at me sharply and as if they wanted to make a hole in my head. The pair of eyes were dark, full of mystery, and I had goosebumps because they were so sharp they looked at me.

But I'm not backing down. Instead, I channeled my holy power consistently without breaking.

"Mr Princess can stop if the curse inside has calmed down a bit" whispered Arcelio, as if not wanting to break my concentration.

I nodded slowly without opening my eyes.

I felt more and more the curse in Cioten's body along with my holy power being channeled consistently.

The curse is a dark mist that blinds the eyes and makes the body feel cold. My body also felt like it was being pierced by a sword so sharp that a pseudo-view was directed at me.

It's getting deeper, deeper, and deeper. To the core of the curse. Ah, the curse is so creepy.

The black particles eat every cell that Cioten's body produces, making his body weaken from second to second, eating his internal organs and blood vessels so that the limbs do not run properly. I was amazed at how Cioten survived this long with the same pain for so many years.

The thick dark fog seemed to run amok as the holy power embraced them. Then, as if a chain surrounded the mist, it reverberated in submission. The fog stops moving, stops eating the cells that the body produces.

They stopped gnawing on Cioten's life.

However, as I said just now, I just calmed the curse. I still don't know how to completely remove the curse. So maybe this is enough.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again.

However, how surprised I was when I saw Cioten, a hyperactive man who usually spread charm everywhere, now in a state of chaos.

She cried.

Did I make a mistake when channeling holy power? Is he in pain?

"Prince-"

"Serethy." Cioten bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

"Yes?" I blinked my eyes.

"I shouldn't have come here."

What is this psychopath talking about? He was cursed and coming to me was the right option. What to regret?

"Prince, you-"

"You look tormented. Relax your face."

I gasped when Cioten's warm fingers stroked my cheeks. Just then I realized, my face was covered in cold sweat and my forehead was shriveling. I didn't realize it. Is the curse indeed within reach of my divine power?

"Serethy's. If you can't do it, that's okay. I could die without regretting anything. I can die peacefully after leaving my brother to you and making sure that Brother gets the happiness he wants."

The corner of my lips moved stiffly. Is this psychopath bastard saying his will?

"Prince, please calm down. And stop crying. Where is your cheerful personality, Prince? I miss seeing your smile."

Cioten flinched, Sir Derick and Arcelio behind me let out a sigh of disbelief.

While I was just confused. Of course what I told the psychopath wasn't real. I might want to see his smile. Am I crazy? I'm just talking nonsense so the psychopath stops crying and scares me even more.

Seeing the tears on her cheeks was strange, given her personality that was inversely proportional to what she was doing now.

Cioten chuckles small. She wiped the tears with her handkerchief.

"Thank you, Serethy. I'll smile at your request."

And he really smiled. I'm going crazy because I'm scared! That was because even though he was smiling, his eyes did not show it.

I'm throats. "Then, Prince. As for the curse, I calmed it down, but only for a while. Before Mr. Arcelio gives me his journal, I will continue to pacify his curse."

"But you look so tormented. How could I do the same, right? Soothing the curse is not necessary. For the past few years, I've survived with a curse on my body."

"Please don't say creepy things, Prince. You should appreciate your life even more. Don't end everything and give up quickly. Prince, someone once told me this: that you must not give up so quickly when there is one chance to make you reach the top."

Cioten widened his eyes.

"Then, if there's me here as your curse healer, don't give up. Besides, I know my limits, Prince."

Pause for a fraction of a moment before Cioten's laughter runs through the air.

"Goddess of the Sun, look at the daughter you love. He said wise things," Cioten said as he shouted, probably expecting Angelina to hear him.

"As expected of the Princess."

I heard Sir Derick mutter behind me, but I ignored him.

"Mr Princess," call Arcelio. "Your schedule will begin soon. However, you seem pale. Do we have to postpone it until tomorrow?"

I frowned. "People out there have even been waiting for me from dawn, from a few days ago. No, I'm not gonna put it off."

"Mr Daughter, please don't be stubborn." Sir Derick is taking over the conversation. "Although your goal is so noble, what does it mean if you end up getting sick?"

He who worries about me is sweet. "I know my limits, Sir Derick. Therefore, I will still heal the people out there."

Sir Derick sighed. As if I knew when I decided, it could not be disturbed.

"Instead, Mr. Arcelio. I'll delay for half an hour. Are you satisfied?"

"Alright if it's the Princess's will."

"To minimize the astonishment of the people. Please spread the rumor that I'm healing the Prince's curse and apparently it's taking more time." I looked at Cioten. "Of course I can spread that rumor, right?"

Cioten rubbed his shoulders. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Well, the role of the Queen candidate that the people love will really start in half an hour.

...***...

About the curse bla bla bla bla, it's pure my imagination huh. So if in another story, to heal the curse is easy, here it is not. Writers want a lot. So, suppose that here healing the curse is complicated.

But may I ask for help? As my reference, you can comment on the healing curses you've read about. Thank you so much, it helped me so much <3!

December 12, 2022