Chapter 61: Kiss The Curse Away

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DOAAAAARRRRRRR!!

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion could be heard. It seemed the explosion was happening near Sistana’s room.

“KYAAA!!”

“W-WHAT?!”

At the same time as the sound of the explosion reached our ears, the floor of this mansion was shaking, as if there was an earthquake. Then all of a sudden, a ray of sunshine broke through the room. 

Huh?

I stretched my neck, looking toward the sky. 

HUH?!?!?!

In between all the rooms in Count Lyran’s house… Sistana’s room certainly had a good amount of sunlight but now…. In the ceiling… There was a big hole and the beautiful blue sky was staring down at us from the hole. 

And… There was the shadow of a human peeking from the hole…. Though I couldn’t see who it was because of the backlight. The shadow then jumped down from the sky hole. The prison cell was immediately destroyed and I could feel someone embracing me gently. 

“MILTIA!!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!”

“M-Maricle-sama?!”

“I was so worried about you, Miltia… Ah… You’re covered in so many wounds….”

“I-I’m sorry… But when I heard Hyatoi-san’s story… I just couldn’t stand still and do nothing….”

Unintentionally, tears started to well up in my eyes. 

After all, no matter what they said about it, the house of Lyran was still my family… My stepmother was a little scary and I didn’t have the very best relationship with her but still…. The house of the Count Lyran family itself was still the memento of my deceased biological parents… I didn’t want Count Lyran family to be known as『the house that gave birth to demons』.

Besides… I thought if I had this limestone powder with me… I could somehow manage… But still, as I thought… I was being too naive….

“Oh, Lönnrot-sama! I’ve been waiting for you!! Please throw my dirty sister away and make me your duchess at once!!”

Shageeeeeee…..

A part of Sistana’s(?) body was wiggling, swaying around, making a strange noise that was similar to the voice of a demon purring. 

“After all, that woman… She’s playing around with a mere servant and she even thoroughly bullied me, her dearest little sister with that white powder of hers, you know? I’m… So… So scared….”

“Wha-…. What is this? Just what is this thing….?”

Maricle-sama flinched the moment he laid his eyes on Sistana(?). He angled his body and stood in front of me, protecting me from Sistana(?).

“Lönnrot-sama! This woman cursed me and so… I ended up looking like this… But! But!! Lönnrot-sama! Through our love and vows-”

“【AQUA BULLET】!”

SPLASH!!!

“UGHOEEEEEE!!”

A big water ball speeding toward Sistana(?), sending her spiralling vigorously into the air. 

“SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!! BAVALEIN LYRAN! SISTANA LYRAN!! WE’VE ALREADY INVESTIGATED ALL OF YOUR EVIL DEEDS!!”

“Bhadra-sama?!”

Apparently that water magic I had seen before was Bhadra-sama’s doing. Looking down at the direction of Bhadra-sama’s voice, I saw Bhadra-sama was coming here along with Hyatoi-san and Kiddie-chan. All of the wounds littering Kiddie-chan’s body had already disappeared, she smiled brightfully at me. 

“S-Sistana! Oh my god!! How could you do this to my sweet Sistana?! In the first place, that woman is the one at fault! She should just die already!!”

“What are you doing?! This is all my elder sister’s fault!! I…. I… She cursed me and so… I ended up looking like this!! I’m actually a really beautiful girl!! This is all because my elder sister is jealous of me!!”

The two of them started to scream in their shrill voices. Everyone in here could only just stare with their mouths hanging open. Everyone was staring at my stepmother and stepsister as if there was no hope left for them. 

Maricle-sama was even sighing blatantly loud before he began to address them.

“…. And so? Where’s your proof?”

“Proof….! My own appearance is proof!!”

“That’s right! My poor Sistana!! My daughter was as beautiful as an angel!!”

“….Do you have any proof when you accused Miltia of cursing you?”

“She’s definitely the one cursing us! There’s just no other reason I could end up looking like this if not for her cursing me!!”

“That’s not a plausible answer. You need to present objective evidence.”

H-Huh? Maricle-sama? I wonder if this is just my imagination but… The mood around him feel different? Like somehow… He’s about to burst at any second but he’s trying to suppress his emotion by talking in an emotionless and flat way….? Perhaps… Maricle-sama is angry?

“My precious Miltia…. After you one-sidedly abused her,ridiculed her and even hurt her… Do you really think I will believe your one-sided accusation when you can’t even give me any objective evidence?”

Maricle-sama said while hugging me tightly.

….?!
A-at times like this my ears!!! My face!! Both my face and ears feel so hot!! I can’t even see clearly!!

“WRONG!! YOU’RE MISTAKEN!! Lönnrot-sama, the one you love is me, Sistana!!”

「「「Huh….?！」」」

When Sistana blatantly claimed Maricle-sama was mistaken, Maricle-sama and the others, all of them bore the same expression on their face. 

“What the hell is this girl saying when the person himself had already said Miltia is the one precious to him….?”

Those words were left unsaid but it was clear to see what was going on in their mind from their expression. 

I wonder if Sistana was really oblivious to the expression of everyone else here or… She deliberately chose to ignore it…. Sistana(?) was now excitedly telling us about her pet theory, she looked like she was drunk. 

“But!! Because my elder sister is using her evil magic to twist the love Lönnrot-sama has for me toward herself!!”

“Oi, oi… Not even the demon king can use that kind of magic, you know.”

Bhadra-sama muttered exasperatedly, his voice sounded strangely loud in between Sistana’s (?) monologue. 

“Young master, talking with these girls won’t get us anywhere. We already have solid proof that Madam Bavalein and Sistana-sama had used an external method to pass the curse and we even have our witness here.”

“AAAHHHH!! SILENCE!!!”

My stepmother screamed while Sistana(?) was still rambling on about her own pet theory. 

“Poor Lönnrot-sama, even though the seat to your love originally belongs to me…! Now come and break my curse by giving me ‘kiss of vows’!!!”

While saying that, Sistana(?) came crawling to Maricle-sama’s place. She used her extra legs to move step by step closer, making her look like a centipede. 

“….. I see. I understand.”

“Huh?!”

“Maricle-sama?!”

“Young master?!”

When I saw Maricle-sama suddenly smiling, my body unconsciously trembled. 

Could it be… Maricle-sama believed in my sister… Sistana’s(?) story?

N-NO!!! That girl, she always, she always takes everything away from me! The brooch that my biological mother treasured so much! The book that my biological father gave me too!! My fiancé on paper too! And…. My most precious person too!!!!

I unconsciously clung to Maricle-sama as these thoughts ran through my mind. 

“…. I now understand I can’t have a proper conversation with you, Sistana.”

“Ma-…. -ri-….-cle-sama?”

“Please do not cry, Miltia…. Now, I will release you from your curse.”

“Huh?”

“The curse from this rotten family…I vow to smash this crush away….”

Soft. 

His lips felt warm on mine and then, my world was filled with nothing but him. It was at this time that I realised… Kiss was…. It wasn’t something sweet but it certainly felt soft.

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T/N: THEY FINALLY KISSED!